Wildlife Circus

  Say 'Goodbye' to our public buildings Enclosed into gated estates, Hawks Road Clinic at the cusp of demolition, where a developers paradise awaits. Where neighbourhood kids had their growth checks Met Nitty Nora , zapped veruccas and warts. Health staff wafted asbestos mothballs, & essence of Jeyes Fluid with old farts. Long - winded ante - natal classes with their throw-name, cushion-games; ground down the room. Praise for the wisdom of the iced - finger glove the new babes created a free contraceptive clinic boom. On the tarmac no more mammogram pantechnicon. No more recognition song for the spires of Jack - in - the - hedge. Trees gone, stump - ground, dissappeared  by attrition Blackbirds no longer crave subterfuge. I say 'Goodbye' they say 'its only 2 buses to the clinic in Surbiton'.    see also hawks-road-clinic 2021

                                     Ancient Oak   There was a good turn out for the bat walk on Saturday evening (23.9.23). Three species were recorded on bat detection equipment:  Common Pipistrelle bat, Soprano Pipistrelle bat, and Nathusius’ Pipistrelle bat. The activity was slightly down on previous years, but we were still able to see: foraging bats in the old orchard, commuting bats along the tree lines, and  detect many social calls at the end of the evening by the lake. The lower activity level was surprising due to the warm evening temperature, lack of wind and at a time of year when bats normally require stocking up on food for the colder months ahead. We had a good discussion on the problems faced by bats with climate change, light pollution, insect loss and loss of habita...

It is some time since I have attended a Guildhall meeting, as everything can be viewed on - line now; last Thursday's Place Committee was a must see/hear culmination of several months of meetings between the council and interested parties to work on a consensus position for the future of the Filter Beds.  https://kingston.public Seething Wells All Party Working Group Meetings began 11.3.22 and there were five during 2022 and three this year with  recommendations produced for the Place Committee's consideration. Throughout, there was a useful focus on actions that had often been on the agenda, but never progressed, such as the application for designation as an Asset of Community Value. The application was unsuccessful based on the lack of public access onto the site. The Neighbourhood Manager stated that the decision does not preclude a further application in the future should circumstances change.   Meetings have also been convened with the site owners, Cascina, who welc...

When a bat walk was advertised as an event taking place in the grounds of  this intriguing building, it was impossible to resist. Hanworth Park House dates back to 1802, wings and a clock tower were added in the early Victorian period. This mansion replaced a Tudor building, burnt down several years earlier, that had been used a hunting lodge by Henry VIII to access Hounslow Heath. The House became a military Hospital during the First World War. It was bought by the Whitehead Aircraft Company during WWI, factories were built along the north side of the park for the production of the Sopwith Pup fighter plane with the park used as an airfield. It became an old people’s home run by the London Borough of Hounslow; a Grade 2 Listed Building now on the Buildings at Risk Register . Read more about the setting The activity was slow at first, with the bat detectors registering the odd pipistrelle bat around the grounds. A few larger bat species namely, the Nyctalus bats Noctules and t...

  Squirrels foil  our best efforts to label trees - string, wire, cable ties - swopped in the blink of an eye. So it was with these 'heritage' apples that went to Pevensey Road orchard in the winter of 22,  now challenging us to identify.  The above displays none of the characteristics of the  two apples I  graft:- Kingston's own heritage variety Mitchelson's Seedling Kingston's apple story ; and the russety, Claygate Pearmain. The first port of call when attempting  apple ID is the New Book of Apples by Morgan and Richards. The second is  Fruit ID which contains a lot of  not - in - books info, accounting for information obtained from DNA. This includes synonymous varieties (sharing the genetic make - up) such as Chelmsford Wonder. Makes you wonder how an apple thrown into a hedge - classified as a seedling  - turned out to be the same as grafted stock.               ...

 Its important to document the rapidly occurring loss of open land to development in the borough, particularly where that loss seems contrary to policy. This is a contribution from an objector to the development proposals, whose comments we wouldn't otherwise see, as comments are no longer publicly accessible.  The comments may help with objections to similar applications, where land has been cleared prior to survey; as you read, it becomes clear how alienated we are when it comes to discussing nature . The contributor to the blog is happy for the following to be copied: I object strongly to this application for the following reasons - A) Ecology and BNG (and possibly UGF) assessments are all in error due to the site being cleared for the development. It is impossible to say what was here beforehand as the site was cleared in advance - some time between August 2022 and February 2023 - almost certainly for the development. It looks as if the Preliminary Ecology Assessme...