ED Nature Watch

[Moos]

reetpetite Wrote:

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> Yes the top that was off was on the other wall of

> the bridge this one has had most of the wall

> knocked down ,certainly not wear and tear.Must

> have happened Sunday night cos we found it like it

> early Mon morning and strangely the gates were all

> open at 6am , seemed to me they hadnt been locked

> Sunday night !

One of the other bridges has its top off too - perhaps it's a maintenance job rather than vandalism.

[reetpetite]

Yes I said that in a previous post it def wasnt maintenance cos I spoke to one of the guys who workes there. Also they wouldnt have knocked it all down into the water but taken it off bit by bit .

[Moos]

Oh sorry reetpetite, missed that comment.

[reetpetite]

Your welcome

[TarahC]

My housemates and I just saw 2 fox cubs in our garden, they look in good shape, they sniffed around a lot and then went into the shed and haven't come out yet... I can only assume they're living in there, no adult in sight... Is it wrong to feed them?!

[Smiler]

There are always missing cat signs in Dulwich, is it the foxes getting them?

Poor kitty cats.

[Vince]

We have blackbirds nesting in our garden every year. This year a pair laid four eggs in a nest in a bush but they didn't hatch. Possibly the same pair then laid one egg in another nest in some dense ivy-like growth and again it didn't hatch. Then we think the same pair (it's difficult to tell) had a third go in nest number two and we were rooting for them. Today we found the mum dangling dead next to the nest with her foot caught in some foliage. In the nest were five dead hairless chicks. Does anyone know a good bereavement counsellor?

[SimonM]

Was quietly sitting watching TV this evening when a young fox jumped on to the window box and looked in! He looked quite thin but otherwise ok...

[SteveT]

I saw the family of great tits (4) I had not seen them since they fledged so it is a pleasure to see their 2 offspring.

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

The house martins are back. I love the sound they make in the evening when they swoop up and down before settling for the night.

And someone please tell me, how do the coot chicks go from ugly little beggars with red heads to quite pretty birds with a white streak overnight?

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

... and, the elder flowers are out - does anyone have a foolproof champagne recipe?

[Nero]

Anyone see bats in the Upper East Side (ask your dad)? Would've thought there would be some around the top end of Goodrich, near to the Heights but I've never seen any. I would imagine there are bats a plenty on the Rye and in Dulwich Park, but I'd like to see some closer to home.

[louisiana]

Nero, there should be some around, but like you I haven't seen any.

London Bat Group run bat surveys, and have equipment for detecting them...

[louisiana]

Dozens of painted ladies in the garden this week.

And on butterflies, has anyone ever seen a Camberwell Beauty in the area?

"The name originated from the discovery of two individuals at Coldharbour Lane in Camberwell in August 1748" (Wikipedia)

Just back from Turkey, where the density of insect life (and other wildlife) seems so much greater than in the UK...

[reetpetite]

Multiple birth in Peckham Rye park....7 baby ducks in one family .

[louisiana]

I have a neighbour who runs a dandelion farm. Hundreds of them. It's all flying through the air and landing on my garden. I know that dandelions are great for wildlife. But monoculture dandelions...

[SimonM]

The septuplet ducklings - are they the very small fluffy ones living on the island? We were there today but could not see how many there were..It's really busy on the lake just now! Lots of coot and moorchicks. the three surving goslings...

[reetpetite]

They were there this morning swimming with their mum, saw them for the first time yesterday so only a few days old .I do go over every morning so Im doing my own nature watch ! They must have been having a rest when you were there..

[reetpetite]

Only 6 today:(

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

So much in last two days. Have to say, the binoculars have been the best ?6 investment ever. Now I just need a cheapo camera.

All found on the Rye:

Cuckoo spit on lavender plants in Sexby Garden (the whole of which smells divine at the moment)

Red lily beetle

Copper coloured beetle (like ladybird shape and size but without spots in a lovely burnished shade)

Both turtles sunning themselves on the island. Could they be red eared sliders?

The trees (some sort of Poplar?) that look as though the fairies have spread cotton wool on the ground

Red, and blue dragonflies

And the highlight - a young cuckoo. Never seen one before so thrilled.

[SimonM]

There were still 6 ducklings there when I passed the lake yesterday.....Have also seen blue dragonflies!

[louisiana]

The blackbird is feasting on the cherries like some toddler with a bag of sweeties. He's going to get very sick indeed. Now I know where they all go. :-S

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

Where they ultimately go is on my washing! Why do I have a line underneath a tree?

Blackberries are in full blossom at the mo which bodes well for a good harvest.

Next time you pass a horse chestnut, have a good look at the conkers. They look like gooseberries at this stage with fine red hairs.

Edited to say I really meant sweet chestnuts. Conkers at this stage look pretty much as you'd expect.

[Ted Max]

There are ginkgo trees at the Oglander Rd end of Ady's Road. I have never noticed these before. Impress children of all ages by telling them these are the actual trees that Dinosaurs would have scratched their 'arrises on.

[Penguin68]

these are the actual trees that Dinosaurs would have scratched their 'arrises on

Strictly I think the types of trees, since I doubt the ones in Oglander Road are actually 60 million years old!