ED Nature Watch

[Sue]

gedwina Wrote:

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> Hi everybody - very happy as just spotted a frog /

> toad in my new half barrell pond! Can anybody help

> I'd this? Thought I hadn't seen as many slugs this

> year

xxxxxx

Great picture!

Congrats on your frog!

[Katy Tonbridge]

I just saw a couple of trees with lots of dead leaves on Dog Kennel Hill (towards the top). A reminder that trees need water too - do water your local tree, especially if it's young.

[Sue]

Katy Tonbridge Wrote:

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> I just saw a couple of trees with lots of dead

> leaves on Dog Kennel Hill (towards the top). A

> reminder that trees need water too - do water your

> local tree, especially if it's young.

xxxxxx

Sadly some trees have dead leaves because they are diseased :(

Horse Chestnut is one where there have been problems in the UK over the last few years :(

[lousmith]

Yes really!

As part of my study of the insects of Warwick Gardens I am holding a Moth Night.

With 372 different insects already recorded, and home to a rare leafhopper in this wonderful little park, I am hoping to add to the species count!

Moth names are fab... maybe we will see a Dark Spinach, Blair's Shoulder Knot, The Brick, Lead-coloured Drab (!), Cousin German, Feathered Gothic, The V-Pug, Scarce Tissue, or even an Old Lady!

Please join us as we rig a white sheet and some bright lights in the park and hang around to see what flies in. Anyone with knowledge of moths would be most welcome to help with identification - though we do have the Field Guide of Moths to help us!

Bring a beer and a camera!

All welcome

Thursday 1st August

9pm - 11pm

Warwick Gardens, Lyndhurst Way, Peckham SE15

Penny

[wolis]

Just found a Small Magpie Moth on our curtains - it is now sitting in our window box and yesterday found a butterfly similar to a Gatekeeper also on the curtains.

[the-e-dealer]

What day?

[lousmith]

Next Thursday, see flyer attached to original post :)

[the-e-dealer]

Sorry but OP is in 2009 and we cant all open jpehs on our not so smart phones! :-)

[lousmith]

Thanks for the heads up on old OPs have updated post. My phone is so unsmart its never heard of the internet.

[Mousey McP]

The Jersey Tiger Moths are out and about. Saw 4 of the Beauties today, on and around Lordship Lane

[Sue]

Not in ED, but we saw a mother duck with FOURTEEN tiny ducklings on the Thames (near the Wetlands Centre in Barnes) yesterday.

Seems awfully late in the year, and a very large brood!

Hoping some of them at least will survive whatever eats them (herons?)

[elloriac]

Yes, herons eat ducklings. I've seen the heron in the pond in Peckham Rye Park try to snatch one up before, thankfully its parent managed to get it out of harms way.

(video of a heron eating one in Ireland: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KEW5w-k9d8 and some pictures in the Telegraph http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthpicturegalleries/8586845/Photographer-Paul-Hughess-images-of-a-grey-heron-feasting-on-ducklings.html)

[uncleglen]

2 crickets on the bathroom ceiling (2nd floor!) how did they get there? Rats anyone?

[lousmith]

Yes really!

As part of my study of the insects of Warwick Gardens I am holding a Moth Night. With 372 different insects already recorded, and home to a rare leafhopper in this wonderful little park, I am hoping to add to the species count!

Moth names are fab... maybe we will see a Dark Spinach, Blair's Shoulder Knot, The Brick, Lead-coloured Drab (!), Cousin German, Feathered Gothic, The V-Pug, Scarce Tissue, or even an Old Lady!

Please join us as we rig a white sheet and some bright lights in the park and hang around to see what flies in. Anyone with knowledge of moths would be most welcome to help with identification - though we do have the Field Guide of Moths to help us!

Bring a beer and a camera!

All welcome

9pm - 11pm

Warwick Gardens, Lyndhurst Way, Peckham SE15

Thursday Aug 1st

[Sue]

Hope it all goes well Lousmith, but I have an irrational need to avoid moths, especially large ones :)

[lousmith]

Thanks Sue. Is that due to childhood trauma? Or their general nocturnal flappings?

We should do a frog-watch at mine one eve. On days like these a spray from the hose will send dozens scrambling from the pond to hunt in the wet undergrowth.

I seem to have a decent population of gatekeeper butterflies to. They love the tiny oregano flowers.

I'll post the highlights of the evening for those unable to make it!

[Sue]

lousmith Wrote:

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> Thanks Sue. Is that due to childhood trauma? Or

> their general nocturnal flappings?

xxxxxxx

I have no idea, but I guess it must stem from childhood.

Maybe keeping silkworms for a while. Found the whole process a bit yuk rather than fascinating :(

A frogwatch would be good!

[lousmith]

I'll make it so. :)

[Nigello]

Would a small, shallow pond - about the size of the base of a shower unit and about 8" deep - in a shaded area be a good bet? I could easily put one in but don't know whether the lack of sunlight will be a hindrance to attracting wildlife - frogs, toads etc - or a help. Thanks.

[Sue]

I think it might not be deep enough, Nigello, but probably somebody more knowledgeable can say.

I don't think the shade is a problem. I was worried about lack of sunlight, but my tub gets almost no sunlight, but has attracted frogs, hooray!

[kiera]

Nigello Wrote:

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> Would a small, shallow pond - about the size of

> the base of a shower unit and about 8" deep - in a

> shaded area be a good bet? I could easily put one

> in but don't know whether the lack of sunlight

> will be a hindrance to attracting wildlife -

> frogs, toads etc - or a help. Thanks.

Any amount of water is likely to be attractive to.wildlife,

but a pond for frogs should be a minimum of 18 inches deep, in order to

give them adequate protection - to allow them room to escape from predators

and to ensure they are well below the ice if it gets frozen over in winter. Other considerations would be that the material the pond is made of should have some flexibility, otherwise it would probably become cracked by ice in winter and then leak.

Birds may go to it to drink, so would they be safe, or could cats hide behind plants nearby and pounce on them. If you have overhanging leaves, these may fall in the pond, in which case you would have to keep removing them to prevent them decaying and depleting the oxygen in the water.

A pond can be a really interesting addition to a garden, but, unless it's set up with aeration and filters, it needs quite a lot of regular attention

[fl0wer]

Wondering how you got on, Lou with the Moth Watch?

[lousmith]

Hi Nigello, I agree with most of what Kiera writes above.

For a pond to be self sustaining (more or less) it does need to be around 18" deep or more to maintain a buffer against extremes of temperature. A frog can survive happily at the bottom of a pond all winter if it is deep enough as the water temp will remain at 4 degrees in all but Siberian conditions. 8" inches could easily freeze solid killing everything.

Shallower areas are beneficial as nurseries for a variety of invertebrates as well as tadpoles as they quickly warm up in the spring sunshine, but without the depth, temperatures could rocket, depleting oxygen to critical levels, at which point only anaerobic (stinky) organisms will thrive.

The best site for a pond is in full sun or partial shade.(full sun for at least some of the pond some of the time) The plants which will rapidly colonise will themselves provide any shade or cover that is required and the pond will be dynamic and productive. Insects such as Damsel and dragonflies will not be interested in a shady pond.

A large amount of fallen leaves will seriously affect the balance and diversity of a pond.

The only maintenance required in a well-sited 'natural' pond will be to reduce the mass of plant growth by periodic removal (pruning) to prevent choking and eventual colonisation by grasses and then trees! and topping up with preferably rainwater, but tap water will do.

Don't be tempted to add fish as these will rapidly dictate the entire ecosystem, eating everything and causing the water to fill with nitrates. Sticklebacks may be ok as they remain tiny, but they will still eat all

As kiera writes, the material should be flexible to avoid cracking.

A PVC or polyethylene liner is pretty cheap and as long as you cover it with stones etc to prevent the sun degrading can last 1 or two decades.

Frogs particularly, love to rest up in cool. damp crevices during hot weather. I always like to build a sort of dry stone wall arrangement into the pond (protecting the liner with old carpet) which will provide just that. Skips around ED always have bits of old patio tiles or york stone pieces which are great for this.

Good luck if you decide to try a pond. It is the single most effective way of permanently adding a huge biodiversity to a small area.

[lousmith]

Hi Fl0wer

Moth-Watch was great thank you. Well attended, (20+ people)warm and congenial! Also beers, Prosecco and sausages!

The lamps we originally used were not brilliant at attracting moths, so we tried my screen-printing lamp (metal halide) which is strong in UV and the blighters rocked up in good numbers then. A couple of the group with a decent knowledge of the quarry set to to identify what we were getting and there was an enthusiastic and skilled at catching youth wing too.

I await penny's photos and species list, and will post when I get it.

We did manage to attract a great many other insects such as ladybirds, flies, all manner of bugs (technical term) Soldier beetles, lacewings, leaf and frog-hoppers.

There were a couple of star attractions, a 'pretty' weevil and a spectacularly double humped quasimodo hopper.

[Sue]

I look forward to seeing the photos.

I'm OK with photos, they don't flap about around you :)