ED Nature Watch

[Nigello]

- no more pollarding in Southwark till Nov.

[kiera]

Nigello Wrote:

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https://twitter.com/bermondseytrees/status/1377970

> 454183444480?s=21 - no more pollarding in

> Southwark till Nov.

Quoting the Twitter post:-

Trees For Bermondsey

@BermondseyTrees

Good news: Southwark Tree Section have announced that routine re-pollarding is now suspended until Nov. "Crown reduction work will continue ... however this will be postponed until the end of the nesting season where nesting birds are present following a wildlife assessment"

Good news about the pollarding, but not good that crown reductions are to continue during the nesting season. The wildlife assessment is likely to be simply the contractors standing looking at the tree to see if any nests are clearly visible, before starting up their chainsaws. Generally, birds choose hidden, well covered and protected places to nest and I have witnessed council tree pruning taking place in trees and shrubs where birds are nesting. I don't consider the council should be pruning trees at all during the nesting season.

[jimmah]

There were two big Jays on the allotments yesterday

[Zig-Zag]

Two Jackdaws eating from my feeders now

[Maple]

We had this sparrow hawk in our bird bath this evening. By chance the camera was set up and handy.

[kiera]

What a great photo - can clearly see every detail! Thank you.

[malumbu]

Wow!

[Nigello]

Great pic, Maple - where are you? I hear some raptors like areas nearer to PR Park, Dawson's Hill, etc.

[Maple]

It was in our tiny front garden in North Dulwich, only a couple of metres from the window. It was a lucky pic because my son had left his camera out after snapping parakeets on the peanuts earlier.

[Sue]

Fantastic pic 😮

[Zig-Zag]

Earlier today I witnessed rather clever behaviour by a magpie. I'm leaving food out for fox parents with 4 babies. I watched the father fox take the food away and bury it under a garden bench, for later use. Seconds later a magpie flew down and unearthed the food from under the bench. Very smart!

[louisemurray]

Brilliant

[Sue]

Poor fox!

I'm not fond of magpies. They have nasty big pointy beaks and they seem to terrorise other birds 😶

In my garden anyway!

[another annie]

Pair of jays in our tiny back garden this afternoon - well, I assume it was pair, though they looked identical? Have only ever seen them up in the trees in the woods before, didn't realise they were so big. One found some worms to eat while the other kept watch from the shed roof. They looked so exotic, made my day!

[Aurorablast]

Wells Park - just over the hill from Dulwich Woods has some amazing wildlife. Saw a Merlin take a pidgeon last spring and last week a goldcrest nibbling someone's Camelia's on the edge of the park. I know many of the EDF people walk/run in that park and if you're up there of all things a solitary Raven (!) has been there for the past three weeks or so. If anyone gets pictures of that - gold star that snapper. We've an amazing area for Wildlife.

PS The Sydenham Panther did exist - my husband saw it in Dulwich Woods walking very early one morning with our two huge Dobermann... who whined and tried to hide behind my husband's legs!

[Plough Man]

I'm not a 100% dedicated twitcher but fairly convinced we had a nuthatch on the feeder yesterday, Could this be possible?

It had the very distinctive narrow eye stripe and rosy chest. It was clinging on tail up/head down whilst feeding.

[Aurorablast]

Absolutely possible - we've enough woodland locally to support Nuthatches; I've definitely seen Tree Creepers in the local woods we really do have astonishing biodiversity for so close to the centre London.

[Nigello]

Nuthatches in Dulwich Park in the gated wildlife area are pretty easy to spot. They like the seed feeders.

[Sue]

Aurorablast Wrote:

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>if you're up there of all things a

> solitary Raven (!) has been there for the past

> three weeks or so.

Didn't the Tower of London have an escaped raven quite recently?

Could this be it??

[colville09]

Yes, ring the raven keeper at the Tower. It would be fantastic if it was. I saw a news item when it went awol and he was very upset.

[Aurorablast]

O yes Sue & colville09, I was hoping it was Merlina the Tower's missing raven and did mention it to Chris Scaife - but The Ravenmaster (goodness I long for a title like that) seems certain she's crossed the rainbow bridge.

I'd love to get a photo.

[Sue]

I had a tour of the Tower by the Ravenmaster a few years back, we were lucky as it isn't always him who does them. He was excellent.

Surely he could only be sure she'd crossed the bridge if they had found a body?

[Reg Smeeton]

Hardly any rain for a month - good to top up bird baths, and there might be young trees out and about that need a bit of water.

[malumbu]

I imagine nature will all be out of sorts, sunny days with a chill wind as the predominant wind is not in its normal direction; no rain as you say, and it's been maybe 6 weeks now. The natural balance is already screwed, eg insects coping with climate change better than birds and so the latter being out of sync with their main prey in nesting season. Strawberry plants are flowering early. Grass is not growing. No doubt one of my favourite programmes Countryfile will explain more.

[sjsl]

Just spotted some swifts over North Dulwich, always makes my Spring to see them safely returned.