Wildlife Circus

Paul and Caitlin with Kingfisher   Thames 21 are an organisation that aims to: connect local communities with their rivers; demonstrate what is happening to them; and design bespoke solutions for them. I have blogged  some of their amazing projects elsewhere see Rainscapes in Enfield       Ewell storm tank outfall We are lucky that one of their research projects - using robot boats to  measure water quality- includes  the Hogsmill,  and a boat known as KINGFISHER. The hulls are  made by a company called Platypus' and the first step is to install and calibrate  its monitoring systems. We met last Friday to introduce the superboat to the range of different chemical and other influences presented at different stretches including the various outfalls along the Hogsmill.This included the Ewell Storm Tank outfall   where water quality can be affected by sewage overflow. sediment from the Bonesgate   The floating l...

  Highlight of the week: looking for sandmartins at Kingsmeadow and finding slow worms along the Hogsmill. Now the weather is warming it is a good time to spot slow worms. One was seen slithering across the path near Dickerage Lane recreation ground close to where strimmed dead animals are sometimes found.   Last weekend I visited Risborough Green - near the Beverley brook - where these animals have been recently recorded. The last comprehensive reptile  survey of the borough was carried out by LEHART as they were then  known (now the London ARG) by Will Atkins. It is thought that Risborough Green  was known as Kingshill Conservation Area in these surveys. Risborough Green, W.Park    The rough grass on sunny banks, should be retained for them as there are few places - other than allotments - where we have recent records except Tolworth where there are records of slow worms and common lizards. The latter species was recorded during surveys...

The importance of old maps Participants largely from Malden Manor and the Sunray Estate community  groups, joined me for a  three hour walk along the Hogsmill  organised by the Sustrans. Sharing information about our open spaces can assist in their protection. Furzeland House   We began by looking at old maps revealing how the river had been straightened in three sections; and how former land-use was reflected in the names of local streets and buildings such as at Furzeland house, which would have been built on the site of common land  growing gorse.  We discussed two corridors additional to the river that are considered important for animal movement: the railway used by reptiles for basking on substrates;  the pylons, where the vegetation beneath requires annual management for access and maintenance. The latter attracts species totally, dependent on  the type of management employed (ranging from traditional coppicing at Castle Hil...

The Tolworth Area Plan was on Wednesday's Agenda of the  council Growth Committee, although it didn't grow very far - being deferred at first base - despite the presence of several interested parties wishing to make representations. Bristows haulage yard, former mill site    Who is the TAP for and whose future is it meant to guide, given that it would be a material consideration in determining future planning applications? If development is inevitable, can it be made more relevant to the local community, providing an environment, more meaningful to Tolworth, rather than serving outside interests. Recent  sequestering of  natural heritage and cultural assets for the use of offshore companies and hotels does not engender reassurance. Why for example, are we building multi-storey car parks when in other boroughs  they are being demolished in an effort to meet housing targets and tackle air pollution. From the viewpoint of someone who responded to the c...

  Many participants on our afternoon stroll, had been on a morning litter pick, around the snowy, service roads on the Sunray Estate; they had a jolly good turn out despite the obvious weather - related- inclemencies. After meeting at the Court Farm Garden Centre Cafe (aka as CFGCC) we took the Old Kingston Road, overlooking  snow covered fields; and saw the kestrel, twice. I imagine however that the kestrel saw a lot more of us. There was a brief discussion on Mercy - we couldn't remember how to avoid straying snowballs, but fortunately our young assailant had a familial enemy in his sights. According to Wikipedia, 'Mercy' is a regular game and is more popular when played in the snow. Players must use the basic mercy stance: twisting fingers, pushing to the ground - whilst of course - avoiding snowballs. The person who says 'Mercy!' or gets floored loses the game. We used to say 'Uncle' but no doubt you will have your own version and the safe wo...

The second  walk in the series presented by myself and walking artist Lucy Furlong, was designed to highlight features in the Tolworth Edgelands and it's environs. The edgelands are a window through social and cultural history; as well as being a reservoir for the shyer species of animals and birds, such as badger, deer, kestrels and buzzards etc. Tolworth was an inspiration to the nature writer - Richard Jefferies (see previous post), and we followed in his footsteps, as well as navigating the informal pathways and desire lines made by  animals, birds, and people. Tithe maps and the tithe apportionment are sound  documents for historical research regarding past land use; as well as dissertations available in the Local History Room (at the back of the Guildhall); one comprises a series of interviews with staff that lived and worked in the Worcester Park. This included the silk printing mill whose remnants exist at the Bristows haulage yard and until 2017, the mill w...

      Jefferies' biographical sources (Thomas, Besant and Looker) - agree that his years in Tolworth were his most creative - those between 1877-1882.  He lived at number 2 Woodside (now 296 Ewell Road and an estate agents) for which he typically paid around £28 annual rent. It was described as abutting a copse in 'Round About a London Copse'. Despite his daily walks around Tolworth (up to ten miles per day) his initial focus remained on the Wiltshire agricultural landscape, which he had recently left. The 'Future of Dairy', for the Livestock Almanac was his last essay on agriculture. Jefferies was encouraged by his publishers to write about his observations in the north Surrey landscape, as there was a market for this information amongst the suburban commuters. Former St Marks School In  'The Crows', published in The Standard November 1880, he wrote,' the numerous pieces of waste ground, to let on building lease, the excavated ground where rubbi...

I read The Lady of the Butterflies, when it was first published. Set in the ancient marshlands of Somerset, in the shadow of the English Civil War, 'Lady of the Butterflies' tells the story of Eleanor Glanville, the first English female lepidopterist. The Glanville Fritillery butterfly was named after her https://butterfly-conservation.org The daughter of a strict puritan, her longing for colour and brightness lead her to an obsession with butterflies. During this period butterfly hunting was seen as a purely masculine pursuit, something no woman in her right mind would ever consider, as it could lead to accusations of  witchcraft and madness.  She kept accurate records of laval food plants and reared a number of species which are identifiable on account of her accurate records. Some of her collection is available at the Natural History Museum. This is a link to a radio 4 segment on where author Fiona Mountain to discuss the life of lepidopterist Lady Eleanor Glan...

Conceived in 1854, Kingston Cemetery along Bonner Hill Road, Norbiton comprises 32 acres of parkland and was opened in 1855. Burials include Thomas Hansard recorder of Parliamentary debates, A.C. Ranyard editor of Truth magazine and Dr Joseph Moloney, an African explorer. The only bronze is the tomb of Dorothy Burton 1908 - a listed monument cast at her parents foundry in Thames Ditton. I love searching the council website for grave records For many years the cemetery was a special plot in the national Common Bird Census surveys convened by the British Trust for Ornithology. It was started by Duncan McNeil, and Surbiton and District Birdwatching Society, which I participated in during the 1980's and 90's; we have about twenty years of  good data for birds (and plants). If you put 'cemetery' into the search box at the top left corner several posts on the wax caps and roll rims; orange peel and honey fungus appear - but very little on it's trees  - and predicta...

Sediment: view from the Hogsmill Sediment: view from the Bonesgate A wet start: - our band of twelve walkers- gathering at the confluence of the Bonesgate with the Hogsmill - discussed the amount of sediment flowing down the minor river from Chessington and the effect on its fauna. From a fish perspective this can transport beneficial food resources as the routine presence of the kingfisher testifies, perching just above the deep pool carved at the join.     However, in times of spate the system can be  overloaded with suffocating sediment. Lucy read  'A Ramble by the River Side' by John Clare, a highly accessible poem with resonances of the Hogsmill, due to the coincidence in species such as teal; followed by a passage from Richard Jefferies on finding bluebells in the district with a reluctance to divulge the location; based on his wish that we find beauty for ourselves. We discussed how sensitive species can be lost during urban densificatio...