The first jackdaw to nest in Sydenham Hill or Dulwich Wood in 70 years, March ‘14 (Krisztina Fekete)
In this issue: Bat discovered in Crescent Wood Tunnel Winter workday update New hedgerow for Dulwich And the return of the firecrest Want to receive this newsletter? Email ‘subscribe me’ to dgreenwood@wildlondon.org.uk
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Sydenham Hill Wood News New hibernation record London Wildlife Trust were celebrating in February after discovering the first ever bat to be found using the hanging walls constructed in the Crescent Wood tunnel as part of a previous SITA Bat Roost project. The bat was a common pipistrelle, read on for more information. (Volunteers’ hi-vis reflected in the tunnel, by Julian Snowdon)
Winter Trees identified 24 people attended our Winter Tree ID walk on Sunday 26th January, despite the constant rain, visitors donned their designer wellies and waterproofs to be given a guide through Sydenham Hill Wood’s diverse array of tree species. Looking at tree shape, buds, bark and habitat, Daniel Greenwood showed that identifying trees when not in leaf is not as difficult as it may at first appear. As part ancient woodland and a remainder of the Great North Wood, the Wood is home to good native stock of sessile and English oak, hornbeam, hazel, ash, birch, willow and field maple as well as impressive Victorian plantings of cedar of Lebanon, monkey puzzle and other non-natives. 2013 was a great year for events and wildlife at Sydenham Hill Wood with over 500 people attending our events and donating £600 towards our work. This makes a massive difference to the Wood, thank you all for your support. See the back page for upcoming events.
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Daniel Greenwood leads the walk (by Sarah)
Common frog (John Walsh)
Jackdaws nesting for first time since 1940s Wildlife back with a bang after wettest winter on record Volunteers vigilantly observed wildlife this winter and early spring. On 22nd January a stag beetle grub was discovered during a step building task and was rehoused in suitable habitat close by. Firecrest were recorded on 19th December and 6/7th February. Mining bees were excavating nest holes on 9th February. The first comma butterfly was seen on 20th February. Parakeets were nesting and a bumblebee was spotted on 23rd February. The first brimstone was seen on 9th March. An amphibian survey on 12th March revealed six common frog, two of which were mating (pictured above), and eight palmate/smooth newt. A large bat was also seen hunting over the pond, possibly a myotis bat – either Leisler’s or noctule. The first singing male blackcap was recorded on 13th March. A common buzzard was mobbed by crows over the glade on 18th March and again over Dulwich Wood on 29th. The first singing male chiffchaff was heard on 20th March. Wood anemone was flowering on 21st March. A pair of jackdaw were entering a cavity in an oak in the Dulwich Wood borders with nesting material on 23rd March. Frogspawn was present on 28th March. The locally renowned kestrel pair which have bred in previous years mated in an oak on Cox’s Walk on 31st March. And fox and sparrowhawk were seen regularly throughout the winter, though not together.
Nature flourishes on former landfill site and shooting club at Braeburn Park
Braeburn Park is an important wildlife site in Crayford, south-east London, where former sand quarries have been reclaimed by nature. As well as being used for sand extraction, the site has also been used for landfill and has hosted an orchard and even a shooting club, Old Crayford Gun Club. London Wildlife Trust will now manage the site as a nature reserve in a long term partnership with the Land Trust and support from Bexley Council. The reserve’s funding has been provided by Taylor Wimpey, the developers of the site. A 2012 survey revealed that the site is especially rich in invertebrates, reflecting the wide variety of natural habitat which is available. These include several unusual and scarce species. including a skipping flower beetle, a picture-winged fly and several species of flies which specialise in parasitizing other insects such as wasps and shieldbugs. Mathew Frith, Director of Policy & Planning for London Wildlife Trust said: “Braeburn Park provides an excellent opportunity to facilitate people’s positive engagement with the natural world. It is a site of borough-wide ecological importance in Bexley, and has a unique range of features that have evolved from its previous land uses. These provide valuable habitats for a range of wild animals and plants, especially invertebrates. The Trust is keen to bring our expertise to the site, ensuring that our conservation work goes hand-in-hand with making Braeburn Park a safe and attractive place for people to enjoy.” London Wildlife Trust is planning to work closely with the local community as we explore how best to manage Braeburn Park for the benefit of residents and nature. Sites such as this can be a wonderful opportunity for people to grab some fresh air, appreciate nature and even work off a few pounds as they walk and enjoy our wonderful wildlife and nature.
The Lewisham end of the Crescent Wood tunnel (DG)
The long term bat roost project in the Crescent Wood tunnel is making a difference, writes Hannah Van Hesteren The winter months at the Wood saw volunteers along with bat ecologist Huma Pearce and officers from Southwark Council taking up the challenge of surveying the tunnel for hibernating bats. The disused railway tunnel, part of the Crystal Palace High Level railway line that once connected Nunhead to Crystal Palace, may seem like an uninviting place to spend an afternoon, but older buildings and bridges tend to provide ideal habitat for bats that make use of the cracks and crevices which provide the stable environment suitable for hibernation; cool, dark and damp. Safety precautions were taken before anyone was allowed to enter the tunnel, as it is defined as a confined space by Southwark Council’s Highways Department. After the Southwark officers emerged with beeping devices, the tunnel was deemed safe and a few willing (and high-vis) volunteers began the survey. The survey itself involves scanning the walls, ceiling and bat boxes inside the tunnel with torches. Searching for bats is a daunting task as the animals like to stay hidden away. In recent years, hibernation surveys have revealed only one sighting of a bat inside the tunnel; a brown long-eared in 2011.
The first of two surveys in 2014 was encouraging. On 16th January we found droppings as well as discarded wings of moths. Moth wings are indicative of brown long-eared bats which prey on moths, beetles and other insects. Were our bats back for another winter? The findings were promising but there was still no solid evidence – we hadn’t seen a bat. Luck changed on 6th February when a second survey was undertaken, this time with bat ecologist Alison Fure. While we scanned the walls and ceilings just as before, the only things found were hibernating peacock butterflies and herald moths (which overwinter as adults) and the hoard of a wood mouse hidden away by the tunnel exit on the Lewisham side. Maintaining optimism, the bricks on the batwall were checked individually. Daniel Greenwood braved the ladder and to his surprise and delight spotted a bat. A pipistrelle was found snoozing in a tiny hole in the brick. This was a fantastic result for the survey and an encouraging sign that the walls are working. It’s great to see Sydenham Hill Wood providing much-needed habitat for bats all year round, a testament to the hard work put in by London Wildlife Trust and the dedicated volunteers working to protect the future of these incredible animals.
Volunteers are led during the survey by the Southwark Highways team (DG)
Volunteers wade in at the Wood 2014’s first workdays were somewhat damp but an unseasonably warm spell in March brought out early butterflies
Volunteers make tea next to a winter puddle (DG)
The wettest January on record left Sydenham Hill Wood drenched and waterlogged. Heavy rain and Christmas storms created plenty of work for volunteers as the New Year waded in, with paths flooded and trees brought down by a combination of waterlogged roots, ivy and gusting winds. This has meant a lot of mud-raking has been required as well as work to steps which have been washed away. Volunteers worked diligently through three weeks of rain to repair a set of steps leading up from the Cox’s Walk footbridge. The group are due big thanks for their stamina and dedication in historically unique weather conditions. With Sydenham Hill Wood remaining a popular destination for visitors and unpredictable weather predicted to continue, investment of time and toil on steps and paths will be vital for protecting the Wood’s ecology from disturbance in the decades to come.
The Christmas storms created a good deal of trouble. Southwark Council’s tree team were called in to fell a large hornbeam which had split at the base and was hanging over the old trackbed, as well as a giant oak which had fallen across another path. Fencing had to be removed and put back due to the difficult nature of the felling. Thanks to Andy Braithewaite of Gristwood & Toms for his expertise and to Ian Williams at Southwark Council for acting so quickly to approve the works. As the final part of the SITA Trust funded Ambrook and Dewy Pond project, volunteers have been crafting a pond dipping platform in Dulwich Wood on the banks of the Dewy Pond. The weather has slowed the process greatly but the platform was completed in March, built from seasoned native oak. The platform will be open to school groups and public events in the summer months to come, as well as being used by staff and volunteers to survey the pond for amphibians and aquatic wildlife. Thanks to volunteer John Walsh for his time and effort in sketching, advising and leading on the construction.
Volunteers christen the platform (DG)
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Fiery visitor returns for second year running Local birders flock to the Wood to catch a glimpse of beautiful migrant
Firecrest on Crystal Palace Park ridge Š D. Greenwood
Just before Christmas a firecrest was sighted at the same spot where it was seen earlier in 2013, at the Crescent Wood Road entrance to the Wood. London Wildlife Trust staff and volunteers were quick to confirm the sighting and spotted two birds feeding in holly and and ivy just inside the entrance. The firecrest is a very close relative of the goldcrest but is identified by its orange crest (though male goldcrests flash their crests orange a times) and white eye stripe, as well as having an overall more colourful image than the comparatively plain looking goldcrest. The firecrest was spotted again closer to Cox’s Walk in February, at first sight a goldcrest. But staff and volunteers managed to get a good enough look to confirm it as a firecrest with the naked eye. It was seen again the following day. These birds breed in the New Forest in Hampshire but are deemed a rarity in the north. They could be responding to a warming climate by their more regular appearances, though they did make it into the papers in the 1990s after an appearance at the Wood.
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Hedge fun London Wildlife Trust and the Dulwich Society have created new habitat in the heart of Dulwich
London Wildlife Trust have teamed up with the Dulwich Society to plant more than 25 metres of native mixed hedgerow in the grounds of Edward Alleyn Sports Club on Burbage Road. Four new lines of hedge were planted by the Wood’s volunteers on Wednesday 19th March. Angela Wilkes and Sigrid Collins of the Dulwich Society Wildlife Committee said: ‘It's been a real pleasure working alongside LWT's doughty volunteers to help turn a rather dingy litter-filled and scrubby patch - only slightly alleviated by some thick clusters of dog violets - into a green oasis. A future food larder for birds and insects, thanks to the new native hedgerow and climbers around its edges, Dulwich's newest Wildlife This new hedge will offer habitat for birds like blackbird, robin, wren, blue tit and great tit as well as offering shelter and nectar for invertebrates like butterflies and moths. The hedge is made up of
Garden should be a feast for human eyes, too, once our whip plantings and wildflower seeds get going.’ This new hedge will offer habitat for birds like blackbird, robin, wren, blue tit and great tit as well as offering shelter and nectar for invertebrates like butterflies and moths. The hedge is made up of hawthorn, blackthorn, crab apple, and rose. The square of ground has already been colonised by nectar rich dog violets and early blooming lesser celandines.
Tens of thousands of kilometres of hedgerow have been lost in England since the 1950s, with most of the damage done up until 1975 (source: Campaign to Protect Rural England). This is a major factor in the decline of once familiar farmland birds like skylark and corn bunting as well as rural bat populations which use hedgerows to navigate using their echolocation or sonar when hunting. Planting hedgerows in urban areas will help to reduce the urban heat island effect created by a lack of ‘green infrastructure’ (trees, hedges, grasslands, woods) and prevalence of hard standing surfaces and buildings. Hedgerows also create wildlife corridors that will connect green spaces across the capital and help to enhance biodiversity in the city’s areas of ecological deficiency. (Photos by DG).
Spring and Summer events 2014 Join us for a range of free natural history walks Friday 9th May 2014, 4:45am
Dawn Chorus bird walk Local birder Dave Clark will lead us through an orchestra of birdsong
Thursday 15th May 2014, 19:00
Evening bird walk Those unable to rise at dawn can enjoy birdsong at dusk
Thursday 29th May 2014, 19:00
Evening tree walk Discover the natural history of Sydenham Hill Wood and the Great North Wood
Sunday 8th June 2014, 14:00
Wildflower walk Discover the diverse flora of this part ancient woodland
Saturday 28th June 2014, 14:00
Butterfly walk Learn how to identify the Wood’s range of butterflies
Friday 4th July 2014, 21:00
Bat, moth and owl prowl Watch and listen to bats hunting and tawny owls calling from the treetops
Meet inside the Crescent Wood Road entrance Booking is not required unless stated Contact dgreenwood@wildlondon.org.uk Visit London Wildlife Trust online: www.wildlondon.org.uk www.facebook.com/londonwildlifetrust www.twitter.com/wildlondon
Protecting London’s wildlife for the future
Registered Charity Number: 283895