Appendix - Wildlife 2001

(Click for a review of the wildlife during, 2000 2001 2004 2005 2006 2007)

Birds

March. Pairs of Little Grebes were active on the the Henronry Pond in Wanstead Park and on Alexandra Lake on Wanstead Flats. Pairs of Swans were present on many of the areas waters. Kingfishers were seen occasonally, but by late March had not re-established their traditional nest site. Great Tit, Blue Tit and Long Tailed were as usual much in evidence, with Goldcrests frequently seen in March. Chiffchaffs were increasingly being seen and heard in the third week of March and in Wanstead Park a Blackthroat was in full song. A couple of Green Woodpeckers, Kestrels on the pylons and a Sparrowhawk overhead in the sewage works. Skylarks were singing well on Wanstead Flats and one could sometimes be heard over the Plain in Wanstead Park. A Jackdaw was carrying nesting material in the vicinity of the Perch Pond and Northumberland Avenue (28/03/01), but these birds normally nest communally.

April. Six House Martins and Eight Mallard ducklings were reported from the Heronry Pond on April 3 by Jennifer Charter, and Pete Saunders had noted three nests of Long-tailed Tits by the same date. On Alexandra Lake, there was at least one pair each of Dabchick, Shoveler and Pochard present on 3 April. By the 8th April, some Willow Warblers and Blackcaps could be heard by Alexandra Lake, and there were a couple of House Martins flying over. On the 10th, a Common Whitethroat was seen in the sewage works, and was singing on 11th. Many Chiffchaffs, Willow Warblers and Blackcaps singing in Wanstead Park by 12th, and also Song Thrushes frequently heard. A Lesser-spotted Woodpecker and a Nuthatch - both seen and heard in Reservoir Wood.

May. By the beginning of the month a pair of Ruddy Ducks had been seen on the Heronry Pond. On 2nd there were two females and a male. Swifts were now being seen, and also a Hobby over Perch Pond

Plants

Lots of Coltsfoot in flower by 29 March.

On 31st March, Lesser Celandine was beginning to show in some large patches throughout Wanstead Park

Wood Anemone were also just beginning to flower on 31st March. The effect of our programme over the last couple of years to try to encourage this plant has proved worthwhile. On Florries Hill, the track from Warren Road down the northern edge of the Park by the golf course, patches can now be seen from the bottom to about 3/4 of the way to the top. This is a remarkable increase! By 8th April they were well in flower

About 30 Daffodils were in flower by 8th April on Lincoln Island in the Ornamental Water - the site on which the Wren Group has worked for the last couple of years to encourage this colony. By the end of the month there were over 50 in flower.

The colony of Bee Orchids in our area were in flower in the latter half of June.

A single plant of Maidenhair Spleenwort Asplenium trichomanes was found growing from beneath a gravestone in Church Avenue, the City of London Cemetery, on 3 November (photo)

Other Wildlife

March. Frog spawn in some ponds by mid-March, bees in the old sewage works site at the end of March, two-spot Ladybirds emerging in the sunshine and a Peacock butterfly in Forest Gate on 30th.

April. More Peacocks, a Comma and a Small Tortoiseshell were seen in Wanstead Park by Pete Saunders on 2 April, and by the end of the month Speckled Wood and Red Admiral had been sighted. The very poor, often wet, weather has not made it a good year so far for butterflies.

August. While walking the whippets by the Heronry Pond, Jennifer Charter was startled when she found what at first she thought was a scorpion. It quickly proved to be a crayfish, which she duly photographed and released. From the photograph, it appears to be an American Signal Crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus). At the moment there are at least four non-native crayfish to be found in Britain. The most common of these is the Signal Crayfish which was first farmed in this country in 1976. Many soon escaped from fish farms and it spread rapidly. One of the original reasons for introducing the Signal Crayfish into Europe was because it has similar characteristics to the Noble Crayfish which was only found on the continent. However, the former is a carrier of the fungal disease Aphanomyces astaci and this has caused great mortality of both White-clawed (Austropotamobius pallipes) - which is our native crayfish and now quite rare - and Noble Crayfish. Also found in Britain but less widespread are the Turkish (Astacus leptodactylus) and Noble Crayfish (Astacus astacus).

September. A caterpillar of the Sycamore Moth (Acronicta aceris) was found in a garden in Northumberland Avenue on 16 September, feeding on Norway Maple