ED Nature Watch

[Nigello]

The collared dove isn't that, but a mistle thrush (or maybe a song thrush).

[BrandNewGuy]

There are quite a few mistle thrushes in the area ? particularly Peckham Rye, Alleyns' and JAGS' playing fields, and Green Dale. And lots of song thrushes everywhere ? they seem to have risen in numbers around here at the expense of blackbirds.

[Nigello]

I think it is a mistle but cannot be sure because it was about 40' up and I only had an RSPB guide to look at later.

[coalakid]

Bee question - we've been noticing what I assume are bees appear every so often on the same spot holding on to the fabric blind of a window in our living room . It is always there nowhere else. One insect every couple couple of weeks.

To my layman eye some I would think are bees (like the latest arrival discovered this evening, which I snapped a photo of) others look like a bee but are almost completely black.

We very rarely open that particular window - could they be hibernating somewhere indoors?

In case they are bees I try to offer a drop of sugar water and let them out in the morning, but am now just curious where they are coming from...

Any insights from bee experts appreciated!

[MarkT]

frogspawn in my garden sink today,

MarkT

[TheArtfulDogger]

Colakid, it could be a mason bee , they hatch from a cocoon around the beginning of April and with the warm February we had some could be hatching early, normally very unlikely to sting and they lay their young in cracks or holes in walls, wood or similar

Look them up and see if they are similar to the ones you saw

[Penguin68]

The cherry blossom across ED at the moment is amazing - Whately St is transformed - and it's the best season for Magnolia I can remember - I suspect all down to that wonderful hot spell we had in February. Worth going out to catch it - the cherry blossom will be gone in a week. We could be in Japan (as I was this time last year). Friern and Upland good too, as are sections of Underhill.

[alice]

Why has my frog spawn disappeared?

Will it come back?

[MarkT]

Alice,

do you have a pond pump? The spawn may have drifted. Frogs tend to spawn in the shallows, I guess there is most algae for food for the hatchlings close to the surface, but if the spawn has drifted into deeper water it would sink. If so can you move it into shallow water, perhaps anchored around some marginal plants?

[Sue]

alice Wrote:

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> Why has my frog spawn disappeared?

> Will it come back?

Hopefully it will, but cats eat it :(

Mine has disappeared in the past and never come back :(

[east-of-the-Rye]

I had two lots of frogs spawn in my little pond quite early - maybe 2 weeks ago. One lot seemed not to have been fertilized properly, I couldn't see any tiny black dots in it and it has now disappeared. In the other lot, the dots have become lines and I hope will soon start wriggling.

[alice]

Thanks all - could be cats. But if anyone?s got any spare spawn I?d love it.

[nxjen]

Spotted a clutch of 7 newly hatched coot chicks on the lake at Peckham Rye Park this morning

[Sue]

Yay!

ETA: Not local, but we saw ten Egyptian goslings at Hampton Court at the weekend.

Very fluffy and very spotty!

[Nigello]

The pond at Goodrich School (outside the separate three-storey house on the school site, Dunstans Road) has been drained. I hope it gets refilled and restocked with plants because it's helpful for local biodiversity. Does anyone know whether it's likely to happen?

[louisemurray]

I've had a bad year for toadspawn after a spectacular year in 2018. Overall less spawn laid, and many of the eggs turned white and dead before hatching. Not many tadpoles this year.

ANyone else had a similar experience?

I'm in Marsden road.

[tarafitness]

Yay to the baby coots in Peckham Rye Park's pond, being marvellously well looked after by their parents.

Boo to all the people deliberately ignoring the 'please don't feed me bread' signs :(

[Sue]

tarafitness Wrote:

> Boo to all the people deliberately ignoring the

> 'please don't feed me bread' signs :(

Whilst that annoys me greatly as well, to be fair, maybe they are not "deliberately ignoring" the signs?

Maybe they just haven't seen or read them?

[staplemeg]

Seven fluffy Egyptian goslings in Dulwich Park this evening!

[tarafitness]

Sue Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> tarafitness Wrote:

>

> > Boo to all the people deliberately ignoring the

> > 'please don't feed me bread' signs :(

>

>

> Whilst that annoys me greatly as well, to be fair,

> maybe they are not "deliberately ignoring" the

> signs?

>

> Maybe they just haven't seen or read them?

They were stood right next to the signs :D

[Sue]

tarafitness Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Sue Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > tarafitness Wrote:

> >

> > > Boo to all the people deliberately ignoring

> the

> > > 'please don't feed me bread' signs :(

> >

> >

> > Whilst that annoys me greatly as well, to be

> fair,

> > maybe they are not "deliberately ignoring" the

> > signs?

> >

> > Maybe they just haven't seen or read them?

>

> They were stood right next to the signs :D

I passed by there yesterday and only saw one sign?

I think if I had seen anybody feeding ducks bread next to it I might have had a polite word with them :)

[Sue]

nxjen Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Spotted a clutch of 7 newly hatched coot chicks on

> the lake at Peckham Rye Park this morning

If it's the same coot family, I could only see two with their parents yesterday :(

Hope the heron hasn't had the rest (haven't seen any herons lately).

[nxjen]

Very sad to learn that. Nature can be a real b*stard sometimes.

[Sue]

nxjen Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Very sad to learn that. Nature can be a real

> b*stard sometimes.

On the other hand, nature seems to arrange things so that enough are born that some will hopefully be left.

If all the tadpoles which hatched became mature frogs, we would be knee deep in frogs!

[staplemeg]

Saw five of the coot chicks with their parents yesterday evening! :)