Wildlife Circus

  The   Seething Festival Procession 2012 was bigger than ever, with a parade around the streets of Surbiton on Sunday afternoon.    This annual event is to celebrate the fable of the goat boy Lefi,  which is based around the Seething Wells area of Surbiton.                                       Biggles the Bat Photo L. Pekarova Watch the  The Official Video of the procession 2012   see here for the coverage  on the Surbiton People website see  Biggles flying technique  and What the Surrey Comet said more to follow...........

Bats build up their fat reserves in autumn by foraging at locations where insect biomass is readily available in shed loads (such as at riparian sites, standing water, sewage works). They need to sustain themselves for torpor/hibernation over the winter months, when there is little or no food available. Insects generally do not fly (or are less available) when temperatures fall below 10 degrees centigrade (or during and after periods of heavy rain). Optimal winter  roosting conditions are the opposite of those sought in the summer. Bats require cold and humid conditions. They hibernate as singles. They are not seeking warmth, but require cold conditions as they do not want to wake up to no food  as this would be high cost to their limited energy budget. Bats are very vulnerable in torpor and can take >30mins to wake up and fly. Very little is known as to the whereabouts of our London hibernation sites: some bat species are known to migrate to European caves; or use gree...

A letter (9.2.12) has been sent to residents of Thames Ditton Ward, regarding proposals to 'regenerate' Thames Ditton Marina  exploring the possibilities of new buildings, restaurant, offices and residential accommodation and a public consultation has been launched. It is not possible to visit any part of the site except the Shop. For Health and Safety reasons the river frontage, the Portsmouth Road embankment, the Boat yard and shed cannot be visited and so the current historical/ecological value of the site cannot be assessed. A Phase 1 Habitat Survey of the site has been undertaken, but unfortunately is not in the public domain. It should be the findings from the survey, which guide any new proposals. Without this basic information it is difficult to assess what would be appropriate. However this is an opportunity to undertake ecological improvement at this location  (e.g a relaxed mowing regime of the grass bank, rationalisation of the lighting, biodiversity roof...

Photo's C. McCormack 8 members of the Richmond Biodiversity Partnership joined us for a site tour on a cold Monday morning 30.1.12. Standing Water is a National Priority Target Habitat and also features in the London Mayors Biodiversity Action Plan. The Plan states that there should be 'no net loss' of priority habitats. We viewed some of the subterranean links to the small pumping station on the wharf , such as the main intake. see more  underneath Lambeth's Pumping Station 40 lapwings were noted feeding around the pools at FB 6. A green sandpiper was seen briefly.

The hearing of Planning Application  11/16502/FUL Surbiton Filter Bed Site  has been postponed to an unknown date. Kingston Council cannot determine the application without all the relevant survey information. If they determined an application, which did not fully assess the bat interest, the council could be in breach of the law. The consultants retained by the council have advised (as have Natural England, the Bat group etc) that the survey information is incomplete. This is due to the developers: a. completing only 2 surveys per year (dawn and dusk count as one); and that b. surveys were undertaken when the filter beds were not ‘in their normal state’. The applicant must demonstrate to a high degree of certainty that the development will not result in acts which could be an offence under the Habitats Regulations. This has not been done.  In order for surveys to proceed, the water in the Filter Beds must be reinstated (naturally). Members of the Bat Gro...

Filter Beds, 2010 courtesy N. Jackman The winners of the S.W. Wildlife Competition have been  notified of their prizes. Thank you to those who also sent photos. One of the prizes, is a place on the London Bat Group/Community Brain Batty Boat Trip. The boat trip has been held annually (every June 8th) since 2006, in order to monitor the bat activity along the R. Thames between Steven's Eyot and Hampton Court Bridge. This type of 'time series' data is invaluable in monitoring the diversity of species, levels of bat activity and any change along this stretch of the river. We time the boat trip to be alongside Seething Wells, as the Daubenton's bats are 'light sampling ' within their roost. Over the years we have noted changes in the local bat population, especially a reduction in the number of species.  This includes the loss of serotine (now rarely recorded in the borough) and the decline in  Natterer's bat registrations, only ever recorded foraging arou...

Lapwing night-roost 2.1.12 Councillors presided over a packed hall at Dysart School, Surbiton to hear the application 11/16502/FUL for the development of filter beds to provide 64 residential homes on floating pontoons, 92 berth marina and lock gate, restaurant, landscaping and car parking; as enabling development to provide publically accessible nature reserve, riverside walk, heritage and education centre, flood storage and river taxi stop. After a short presentation about the scheme from officers, community voices railed for over an hour, as people spoke passionately about the: ·          wildlife issues, the objections from Natural England and the London Bat Group; ·          the loss of heritage and the failure to recognise the importance of this unique site; ·          the impact on water sports and river safety and the objection from Sport Engla...

see also subterranean features November, 2011. WHARF   The Pump House: This is the largest structure on site and is designated a Building of Townscape Merit. It has a pyramidal slate roof, used by roosting bats from time to time. There is no roof void and the slates are backed by wooden planks and plasterboard. Internally there is one main room, partitioned into 6 small rooms and a larger operational area. There is a deep shaft containing 2 wells below the building and 4 wells between the building and the Portsmouth Road. In the literature they are known as’ deep wells’ and sometimes ‘deep chambers’ of which there are 24 on site. During 1998-2000, they were covered with cast iron plates, which had rotted and it was sometimes possible to watch bats emerging from the ground.Thames Water replaced the hatches with heavy duty, steel hatches during the end of 2001 (before the Inspector’s site visit at the last Pubic Inquiry). The wells are vertical brick built shafts, ranging be...

At the Core Strategy hearings September, 2011, the Planning Inspector heard various arguments about the the Filter beds and in his report to the council received last month  Kingston Core Strategy Inspector's report to the Council November, 2011   he say's the following...... Representor's said that the Thames Water Filter Beds had not been correctly shown as being within Metropolitan Open Land (MOL) on Figure 9 and the Proposals Map; that the implication of the CS was that development would be permitted there; that the details of a proposed public footpath should be later resolved taking account of biodiversity and nature conservation interests; and that the environmental safeguarding of the Filter Beds had not been clearly stated. I agree with these concerns, as did the Council at the hearings, and because of them the CS would be unsound due to lack of clarity and effectiveness. The Council’s suggested changes (CC9) would correct these unsound matters in the CS. And pr...

An intrepid crew braved the 8 degree temperatures to record  heritage and other  features along the river wall of the Filter beds. There are many niches used by wildlife, which will be tidied away if the marina and moorings are developed. This includes the old barges, which provide multiple opportunities for nesting birds, as well as shelter, night roosts etc. The river wall is a solid mass of ivy berries, indicating the abundance of pollinating insects, which must have been busy during the autumn. In turn, this will provide food and shelter through the winter for thrushes, blackbirds, blackcaps and wood pigeons .  We saw wrens, robins and a foraging tit flock as we cruised along the wall. Spanish broom and ivy along the river wall Thames. It may look untidy to us, but this is what  ecology looks like, these are ecological niches. The structure, density and variety of vegetation is habitat for insect prey and pollinators and offers shelter during bad weather o...

Harwich shells exposed during recent rains 8 participants turned out for our December walk in 10 degrees of winter sunshine. The rain had removed the silt from the substrates exposing the Harwich shells  used in the filtration process. Our research group found that these shells were instrumental in locking together to prevent the mixing of the coarse grit and fine sands. Mistletoe  The  fallen leaves exposed the great balls of mistletoe within the trees at Home Park (on the opposite side of the river). A crafty fox was seen creeping along the back wall in his lovely winter coat. 16 bird species were observed, including the little grebes, gadwall duck, grey wagtails and 2 passage green sandpipers (photographed below by one of our participants Susanna Ramsey). There was no sign of the lapwing coming into roost as it probably needs to be much colder before they begin to form their winter flocks 2 green sandpipers Photo S. Ramsey

lapwing 8 people, enjoying 12 sunny degrees, found 15 bird species during an hours stroll around the perimeter of the site. At this time of year we expect to see lapwings coming in to roost during the early evening (4pm). Unexpectedly, two birds were sitting on the dividing walls around lunchtime. In 1990-91, Surbiton and District Birdwatching Society undertook an annual survey of members local 'patches'within TQ16, the Winter Bird Count. Lapwings were present at 14% of sites which increased to 21% during the survey 1995-6. The population has decreased steadily so that they were present at only 6% of sites during the winter 2010-11. Flocks at Seething Wells can build up to 200 birds in winter. If you see a flock of birds skittishly flying over the Portsmouth Road at this location, check them out, don't assume they are starlings. heron Herons are  a characteristic species of the site and Sim remembered seeing a total of 14 on the Filter beds in former years. They...

Draining the Filter Beds 2011 Wildlife Walks 18th, 25th November at 11am and 3 December at 2pm These walks involve a perimeter tour and short  talk about the key habitats and species found on this site of nature conservation importance. Booking is essential as only small groups can be accommodated along the busy Portsmouth Road. Bring your binoculars but more importantly wear warm clothing. Allow around forty five minutes. Book at Alison Fure or via the website seething wells water: Surbiton's hidden heritage

PROTECTION Seething Wells Filter beds, including the land known as the wharf and the river wall are theoretically no longer under threat of housing development. According to the UDP inspector’s report March 2004 they are now protected as Metropolitan Open Land in their entirety. The filter beds are also an SNCI (Site of Nature conservation Importance) a designation conferred on the filter beds in 1992 by the former London Ecology Unit, irrespective of whether the local authority accepted the designation at the time. The river Thames is designated a Site of Metropolitan Importance throughout its metropolitan length. In addition there is a functioning SASC (Strategic Area of Special Character) to protect strategic views. Offsite and onsite land has SNCI (Site of Nature Conservation Importance) and SMI (Site of Metropolitan Importance) designations make the Filter Beds the most designated section of our river (Inspector at the Core Strategy Hearings September, 2011). Taken together...

The Filter Bed site at Seething Wells is facing a monster planning application Hydro Properties Planning Application . This is far more damaging than the Thames Water 2002 application, which sought only to develop the Wharf site, whilst leaving most of the heritage and wildlife areas  intact (and unaffected by water pollution, disturbance, lighting). Our council specnt £20,000 of our money at the Public Inquiry trying to defend its decision to reject the proposals. This is probably the best site in the borough for 'specialized' wildlife communities, because of the lack of disturbance. It is also an important heritage site. The main features include: The Industrial archaeology; Standing Water habitat (a UK, Regional and local Biodiversity Priority Habitat); Roost sites of European Protected Species; Birds on the Red List of Conservation Concern; 5% of Surrey's Little Grebe breeding population; Invertebrates of National, Regional and Local Importance; Chalk grassland...

December , 2010 Ecologists undertake what is called an evaluation of the habitats and species within a site. This means that they assess the rarity and fragility of it's ecological communities. This is often undertaken during an Environmental Impact Assessment. An EIA is performed when requested by a planning authority. During the EIA undertaken by Thames Water at Seething Wells, some of the ecological communities were assessed as of HIGH REGIONAL VALUE. This was part due to the invertebrate fauna in the standing water.  Four water beetles were described as Nationally Notable B species, two of which were described as 'rare inland'. The bird community is complex to describe, due to many factors including: the cyclical nature of bird populations. But reed bunting, a rare breeding species once found at Filter Bed 7, is even rarer now (sadly no longer recorded in urban areas, only at the fringes of the borough). The calcareous grassy banks (see post below) once...

Legislation to Halt Biodiversity Loss This is a bit of a convoluted article but it is important  to demonstrate that our Local Planning Authority has a duty to protect Seething Wells under International Convention, (enshrined in our Planning Law). The first global agreement to protect wildlife was signed by over 150 world leaders in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. It is often called the ‘Rio Convention’ and participating countries are required to draw up plans detailing how they intend to protect their biological diversity. National Biodiversity Action Plans (BAPS) The European Union has now made the further commitment to halt biodiversity loss by 2020 at Nagoya.  All signatories to the UN Convention on Biodiversity, are supposed to draw up national biodiversity plans. Together, their voluntary actions are supposed to halt over-fishing, control invasive species, reduce pollution minimise the pressure on coral reefs from ocean acidification, and halt the loss of geneti...

Bats of Seething Wells additional articles regarding the Bats of Seething Wells   Kingston benefits from being encapsulated by RB Richmond and the river Thames. Kingston is 12% open space, whilst Richmond is 55% open space. The nature reserves in Kingston tend to be small linear parks along the rivers Hogsmill, Bonesgate and Tolworth brook. Woodland canopy cover is rare habitat in Kingston and tends to be restricted to Chessington and Kingston Vale. It is woodland that forms the primary habitat for many bat species all of which will usually spend some of their nights foraging near water. Bats require large areas of quality habitat, with strong linear features used for navigation and that are unaffected by light pollution. There are 17 bat species in the UK. Of these 10 are regularly recorded in the London Region, all of which are recorded in Richmond Borough (although two of these are only rarely found). Of the eight species recorded in Kingston: four are recorded regularly...

Daubenton's roost distribution London Bat Group 2011. Knowledge of a roost location is usually kept ‘secret’. However, the Daubenton's maternity colony at Seething Wells has become widely known and why not, it is something we should celebrate. What hasn't been publicised is the rarity of Daubenton's colonies in London. The distribution map indicates known Daubenton's roosts within the London Region, recorded within the last 5 years. These are marked by the grey dots of which there are only 4.The black dots are the numbers of Daubenton's roosts known in the last ten years swelling the total to nine. The red dots indicate all the roosts we have ever known since we began recording. The blue dots equate to all flying records and the open water habitats where this bat is found. Daubenton's bats require very specific habitat requirements. Daubenton's bat Daubenton’s bats are closely associated with water and this species is known for its habit of...