Wildlife Circus

Build Higher Build higher they said, We need 1300 new homes a year. But why Tolworth we asked? Not on land that soaks up the water that keeps your feet dry. Why destroy more green verges to extend the misnamed Greenway? Build car parks they said, But not on Metropolitan protected areas, But perversely the Mayor said ‘go ahead’. Build road and rail they said, With slip roads and spurs across the green belt, We can access more housing land. We said stop neglect! Protect hedgerows planted before the Enclosure Acts with it’s omelette of brown hairstreak eggs. We already have a railway with its own ‘trip’ freight- Slow worms glory on its embankment. Don’t do this on ‘Our Place’ on the apple space. Not on Richard Jefferies footprints, Don’t destroy the edgelands. by Alison Fure Tolworth Apple Store

Lucy reading William Blake    Drove roads often followed ancient trackways and sometimes ran parallel to turnpikes in order to avoid paying tolls. Drove roads were nearly 20m  in width and were often hedged to prevent animals straying into local  herds, and from damaging  cultivated crops. The routes were sometimes way marked with evergreen trees - easily visible at all times of the year - and included holly, laurel, yew,  growing freely above the hedge line.  Scots pine and larch were also used as way marks along the route and clumps of these trees also denoted stopping places at inns and farms, the word 'clump' being associated with drover's roads. Lucy reading 'Pylons' just before the kestrel appeared  Droving  inns were  called 'butts' and had adjoining paddocks of about 8 acres where the animals rested on their journey. Tree lined ponds were also situated along the route for the watering of animals. Drove roads are often called Lanes or

London Bat Group continue to participate in the National Nathusius’ Project during 2018. Four 3-bank harp traps and lures were purchased in May 2016 and a series of training events were organised. A total of eight species of bat have been caught during the south-west London surveys so far including ringed Nathusius’ pipistrelle bats along with a few surprises - four noctules 2 Leisler’s bats and two small Myotis (Whiskered bats Myotis mystacinus).   So far in south-west London, survey sites have included Wimbledon Park, Richmond Park, Barwell Lake, Jubilee Wood, Sixty Acre Wood and Tolworth Court Farm Moated Manor site. Last Saturday we went to Ham Gate Pond at Richmond Park - the first bat caught was a Nathusius’ pipistrelle at 21.30 sufficiently early to be deemed roosting in trees nearby! We also caught 6 juvenile common and soprano pipistrelles and this female Leisler's  bat - which played dead - a  sufficient length of time, for this shot taken by T. Hooker.