Wild Flowers and Butterflies in the New Woolwich Cemetery (the RB of Greenwich)

Wild Flower species seen included:

Bird's-Foot Trefoil

Biting Stonecrop

Black Medick

Bristly Oxtongue

Buck's-Horn Plantain

Caucasian Stonecrop

Common Fumitory

Common Knapweed

Common Ragwort

Cock's-Foot

Common Mallow

Daisy

Dandelion

Dove's-Foot Crane's-Bill

Fat Hen

Field Bindweed

Green Alkanet

Hedge Crane's-Bill

Herb Robert

Hoary Mustard

Hop Trefoil

Knotgrass

Lady's-Bedstraw

Lesser Swine-Cress

Mouse-Ear Hawkweed

Oxeye Daisy

Red Clover

Red Dead-Nettle

Red Valerian

Ribwort Plantain

Round-Leaved Crane's-Bill

Selfheal

Sow-Thistle

Spear Thistle

Spotted Medick

White Clover

White Stonecrop

and Yarrow

Plus, we saw our first Marbled White Butterfly and Essex Skipper Butterfly of the year viz.

To Scadbury Park (the LB of Bromley) to look for Butterflies and Moths

Sadly, a bit of a washout. Almost the whole of the area where we last looked for Butterflies and Moths is now covered in tall grass: 

Nevertheless, we saw a few viz. 

a Holly Blue Butterfly 

(at least) two Meadow Brown Butterflies

a Small Skipper Butterfly viz.

a Speckled Wood Butterfly

and two Burnet Companion Moths

but we don't think we will be going back.

We contented ourselves in the main in looking for Wild Flowers: species seen included:

Annual Meadow-Grass

Bird's-Foot Trefoil

Cleavers

Cock's-Foot

Common Ragwort

Common Sorrel

Common Vetch

Creeping Buttercup

Creeping Cinquefoil

Creeping Thistle

Dandelion

Field Bindweed

Garlic Mustard

Germander Speedwell

Goat's-Beard

Greater Celandine

Greater Plantain 

Green Alkanet

Hedge Mustard

Hedge Woundwort

Herb Robert

Hogweed

Lesser Stitchwort

Lesser Trefoil

Meadow Buttercup

Mouse-Ear Hawkweed

Pineappleweed

Prickly Sow-Thistle

Red Clover

Ribwort Plantain

Selfheal

Spear Thistle

White Clover

Wood Avens

and Yorkshire Fog

And finally, we are told these are probably Sawflies:

After stepping off the Bus to go to the Southern Erith Marsh via the Gate in Waldrist Way we found some Knotted Hedge-Parsley on one of the (regularly mown) Grass Verges: prompting us to see what else we could find. We had previously seen Common Stork's-Bill before but none was to be seen today.

Nevertheless, we found twenty-five plus Species in all (including more Knotted Hedge-Parsley) viz.

Annual Meadow-Grass

Bird's-Foot Trefoil

Black Medick

Bristly Oxtongue

Buck's-Horn Plantain

Cock's-Foot

Common Mallow

Common Mouse-Ear

Creeping Cinquefoil viz.

Creeping Thistle

Daisy

Dandelion

Dove's-Foot Crane's-Bill

Field Bindweed

Field Madder

Hedge Mustard

Knotted Hedge-Parsley viz.

Meadow Buttercup

Red Poppy

Ribwort Plantain

Scarlet Pimpernel viz.

Selfheal viz.

Spear Thistle

Spotted Medick

Wall Barley

White Clover

and Yarrow

Wild Flowers in the Grounds of All Saints' Belvedere

After collecting and delivering the flowers (thirteen years on 9 June) we looked for Wild Flowers. Despite the somewhat rigorous mowing regime we found quite a few including:

Black Medick viz.

Clustered Clover viz.

Cock's-Foot

Common Mouse-Ear

Day Dandelion

Dove's-Foot Crane's-Bill

Field Madder

Green Alkanet

Hart's-Tongue Fern

Herb Robert

Lesser Trefoil

Maidenhair Spleenwort

Mouse-Ear Hawkweed

Petty Spurge

Ribwort Plantain

Sow-Thistle

White Clover

Willowherb sp. viz.

and Wood Avens

Seaweed locally

We think it quite extraordinary that we have Seaweed growing locally viz. beside the Thames. And of course, with the River being tidal, we can often smell the Sea!

A photograph taken during our Walk on Friday reminded us that a few years ago we had intended to see what different Seaweed' species we could find locally. Like lots of things, almost immediately forgotten! 

We initially thought the Seaweed in the picture below (lower right) keeping company with the Sea Milkwort &c. to be Bladder Wrack:

But we read that Bladder Wrack is often found with Egg Wrack (which can apparently live for decades) and which looks similar to Bladder Wrack although the fronds of Egg Wrack seem to be generally narrower that those of Bladder Wrack: both have distinctive air bladders and it seems that for Bladder Wrack, they are often in pairs. We wonder if both Wracks are present in the picture? As if we didn't have enough to worry about already!

Next time we are down by the Thames we shall take lots of Seaweed' pictures to see what we can find...

A Wild Flower' Walk

We arranged a Wild Flower' Walk via Twitter: just four of us but our number included a proper Botanist. 

Meeting beside the Church of St John the Baptist, Erith, we walked down Church Manorway to the Footpath linking it to the Thames Path: where we walked a few hundred yards upstream before turning round and walking back along the Thames Path to Corinthian Manorway.

Wild Flower' species seen included:

Musk Stork's-Bill

Knotted Hedge-Parsley

Round-Leaved Crane’s-Bill

Wall Barley

Ribwort Plantain

Bristly Oxtongue

Dove’s-Foot Crane’s-Bill

Narrow-Leaved Ragwort

Common Bramble

Wild Mignonette

Oxtongue Hawkweed

Black Medick

White Melilot

Sow-Thistle

Creeping Cinquefoil

Goat’s-Beard

Common Field-Speedwell

Hedge Mustard

Common Mallow

Bird’s-Foot Trefoil

Potentilla sp.

Perennial Wall Rocket

Lucerne (possible)

Water Bent

Ribbed Melilot (probable)

Fiddle Dock viz.

Purple Toadflax

Yarrow

White Campion

Dandelion

Buddleia

Daisy

Mugwort

Groundsel

Cock’s-Foot

Common Mouse-Ear

Ivy Broomrape viz.

Red Poppy

Yorkshire Fog

Green Alkanet

White Clover

False Oat-Grass

Oxford Ragwort

Field Bindweed

Curled-Leaved Dock

Common Knapweed

Grey Field-Speedwell

Wall Speedwell

Spear Thistle

Wild Radish

White Dead-Nettle

Tufted/Hairy Vetch

Prickly Lettuce (including the lobe-leaved variety)

Mayweed (Scented?)

Lesser Swine-Cress

Fennel

Goat’s-Rue

Shepherd’s-Purse

Hedgerow Crane's-Bill

White Campion

Herb Robert

Creeping Thistle

Scarlet Pimpernel

Giant Hogweed

Lesser Stitchwort

Hoary Cress

Sea Aster

Sea Beet

Sea Couch Grass

White Stonecrop

Biting Stonecrop

Sea Plantain viz.

Lesser Sea-Spurrey viz.

Bladder Wrack Seaweed (assumed)

Sea Milkwort viz.

English Scurvygrass

Sea Arrowgrass

Hemlock Water Dropwort viz.

Sea Club Rush

Spear-Leaved Orache

Golden-Samphire viz. 

Sand Lucerne

White Bryony viz.

Bladder Campion

Black Horehound

Pellitory-of-the-Wall

Bittersweet

and Wood Avens

Bird species seen included:

Canada Goose

Kestrel

Linnet

Mallard

Oystercatcher

and Shelduck

Butterfly' species seen: Common Blue, Holly Blue and Small White...

White Bryony on the Upper College Farm and Andrena florea Bees

It is suggested that the Andrena florea Bee, described as being confined to Southern England, is supposedly rare but we are inclined to think more likely under-recorded, since wherever we see White Bryony (the Bee's sole source of pollen), we invariably see the Bee.

And so it was when we visited the Upper College Farm viz.

The sightings have been submitted to iRecord.

A day of alternate Rain and Sunshine

We decided to pop down to the Grounds of St John the Baptist, Erith, to see whether the Bee Orchids had survived the Council' strimming. As expected: they hadn't. 

We then walked down Church Manorway to the Footpath linking it to the Thames Path: where we walked a few hundred yards upstream before turning round and walking back along the Thames Path to Corinthian Manorway.

Before heading along Church Manorway we walked along the Lower Road to look at the Wild Clary: where we also saw two Common Blue Butterflies viz.

In the small pool beside Church Manorway we saw a (female) Pochard viz.

We think Reed Warblers were present too. We had always hoped to see Tufted Ducks there: but super-pleased to see the Pochard. We wonder if a male is present: ducklings too? 

Wild Flower' species seen included (in general order of sighting): 

White Campion

Wild Clary

Bird's-Foot Trefoil

Wild Mignonette

Perennial Wall-Rocket

Hoary Mustard

Common Mallow

Oxford Ragwort

Common Ragwort

Meadow Buttercup

Common Bramble

Bristly Oxtongue

Green Alkanet

Creeping Cinquefoil

Red Poppy 

Yarrow

Tufted Vetch

Common Knapweed

Lady's Bedstraw

Ribwort Plantain

Common Vetch

Creeping Thistle

Hedgerow Crane's-Bill

Red Campion

White Dead-Nettle

Cow Parsley

Hogweed

Sea Beet

Hoary Cress

Narrow-Leaved Ragwort

White Stonecrop

Hemlock Water Dropwort

Sea Arrowgrass

Sea Plantain

English Scurvygrass

Sea Couch Grass

Sea Aster

Sea Purslane

Sea Milkwort

Prickly Lettuce

Lesser Sea-Spurrey

White Bryony

Black Nightshade

Golden Samphire

Buddleia 

and Bladder Campion

As mentioned, a day of alternate Rain and Sunshine. And some impressive Clouds viz. 

Parmelina pastillifera on the Sea Wall beside the Thames (north side) just downstream of Blackfriars Railway Bridge

First seen a few months ago we finally caught up with it again. Not common in the South-East apparently. But under-recorded perhaps?

We had been anxious about identification but John Skinner, Lichen' Recorder for the London Natural History Society, sent us a specimen. 

Among lots of dark smudges we were able to find some of the shiny bun-shaped isidia. There were also some light-coloured shiny bun-shaped isidia which we assume darken over time. The lobes are brownish at the margins and black underneath. 

The record will be submitted to the British Lichen Society

The Clovers are coming out to play on Bostall Heath (the RB of Greenwich)

And where there are Clovers there will hopefully be Bees. As was the case with the White Clover although nothing seen on the Red Clover:

Wild Flower species seen flowering during a brief visit included:

Bush Vetch

Common Bramble ~ our first flowers of the year

Common Vetch 

Dandelion

Dove's-Foot Crane's-Bill

Green Alkanet

Hawk's-Beard (Beaked?)

Herb Robert

Lesser Trefoil viz.

Red Clover

Ribwort Plantain

and White Clover

And we spotted what might, or might not be, a Red-Headed Cardinal Beetle viz.

To the East Wickham Open Space with vague hopes of a Small Heath Butterfly or two. Nothing doing but our first Brown Argus, Common Blue and Small Copper Butterflies of the year so not a wasted visit.

Wild Flower species seen included:

Bird's-Foot Trefoil

Cock's-Foot

Common Chickweed

Common Knapweed

Common Mallow

Common Mouse-Ear
Common Ragwort

Common Vetch

Cow Parsley

Creeping Buttercup

Creeping Thistle

Dandelion

Dove's-Foot Crane's-Bill

Germander Speedwell

Goat's-Beard

Greater Plantain

Hairy Tare

Hoary Plantain

Hogweed
Lesser Trefoil

Meadow Buttercup

Meadow Foxtail

Mouse-Ear Hawkweed

Red Clover

Ribwort Plantian

Smooth Tare

Spotted Medick

Teasel

Wall Barley

White Clover

and Yarrow

The Andrena florea Bees are back: Yippee

A few years ago we decided not to pull out the White Bryony in the Garden (at Home): and we saw our first Andrena florea Bees. We have seen them every year since. They collect pollen from White Bryony and White Bryony alone.

The sighting has been submitted to iRecord: the first record we have submitted for a while now. We are still submitting Butterfly and Hoverfly records but not via iRecord. It was becoming too onerous.