News of wildlife and other issues
Bat roosts in Wanstead Park
Three unusual bat roosts were erected at the north end of Wanstead Park in early 2008. These are oak trunks, hollow, and split in such a way as to encourage bats to roost therein. They are lashed to living tree trunks, appearing somewhat like gigantic garden canes as if to support the trees! (photos)
These were erected, it is supposed, in compensation for the destruction of natural bat roosts nearby in preparation for Thames Water Authority's pipe-laying operation over the last year. (see here)
As well as these, two others were provided at the same time. One is again a log from a tree, but his time it is strapped above a branch of a living tree that overhangs (and indeed leans towards!) the Ornamental Water at its North-east corner. The other - midway along the golf-course fence - is attached to the side of a tree and looks somewhat like a plastic dustbin.
Ash trees felled for pipeline work
Some mature Ash trees were felled during the second week of March 2007 at the north end of the Park, near to the golf course and the pump house (photos). Apparently this was done by Thames Water Authority in preparation for a water pipeline intended to convey water from a borehole near the Temple to the pumping station across the River Roding from the Park, near the Redbridge roundabout.
Although the photograph shows that the interior of the tree is decayed at the base, there is still plenty of surrounding wood that should ensure that the tree would have survived safely for some time. Indeed, it can be seen that higher up, the tree is perfectly sound.
Woodpecker holes were present in the trees, including one that had very recently been worked upon. I was told that during this operation four Noctule Bats were found to have been roosting in one of the trees. This disturbance may well have contravened some important regulations. Bats and their breeding and nesting sites (roosts) are protected under the Conservation (Natural Habitats) Regulations 1994 and Section 9 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Subsequently, some impressive artificial bat roosts were attached to the trunks of oak trees nearby, apparently in compensation for the loss of the natural ones.
A number of ash trees were cut down, mature hawthorns were severely pruned, and perhaps worst of all a rare specimen of an American species of hawthorn in Wanstead Park, Crataegus coccinoides, was also felled!
Yet again, it seems to me, that destruction of the habitat has taken place with little regard for what is there.
Paul Ferris, March 2007
Cockspur Thorn felled in Wanstead Park
The stump of the small tree to the left of the felled ash in the photograph is a Large-flowered Cockspur Thorn Crataegus coccinoides, an American hawthorn and one of only a few in Wanstead Park. It was felled during the second week of March 2007, as was the ash, at the north end of the Park, near to the golf course and the pump house. Apparently this was done by Thames Water Authority in preparation for a water pipeline intended to convey water from a borehole near the Temple to the pumping station across the River Roding from the Park, near the Redbridge roundabout. This photograph was taken on 20 September in 2005, it shows a healthy young tree.
This hawthorn, although self seeded, may be descended from the American Garden, that is shown as a feature on some very old plans of the Wanstead Parklands. Whatever, the question must be asked "Why was it allowed to be cut down - was it necessary?"
There may be one or two seedlings of this species remaining - a mature specimen exists elsewhere in the Park - but at least two other mature specimens are known to have been cut down at previous times!
Paul Ferris, March 2007
Aldersbrook Wood
Aldersbrook Wood : never heard of it? I am not surprised – to my knowledge the name isn’t mentioned on any map. In fact, I’ve given it that name myself; otherwise it might be just “that patch of land adjacent to the south edge of Perch Pond…” etc.
Aldersbrook Wood seen from Wanstead ParkJust outside of Wanstead Park’s boundary fence, and forming an effective barrier to the development of Aldersbrook’s newer housing, this area of land belongs to London Borough of Redbridge. This was the site of an isolation hospital and is now mainly woodland, with some small area of rough grassland.
The area requires to be investigated more thoroughly for its wildlife, but apart from a Corsican pine Pinus nigra ssp. laricio and a Lombardy poplar Populus nigra "Italica", it is not expected that it will show any surprises. Its main value is that it is there, and forms a pleasant buffer between the Park and the housing estate.
The narrow and uninviting access to Aldersbrook Wood from Westmorland CloseHowever, Redbridge does not appear to maintain the land in any way and a considerable amount of rubbish has accumulated. It is probable that it is used as a temporary refuge for those that might be illegally night-fishing if (if?) a patrol came along. Certainly a lot of the rubbish dumped there is from people fishing nearby - particularly alcohol cans. There is a frequently used unofficial route across the wood into Wanstead Park from the end of Westmorland Close through a narrow opening between fences, leading to an untidy footpath, laid with concrete slabs in an attempt to avoid the mud – not an attractive entrance to the Park, but a useful one, and one which could be a lot better.
The 'nuclear bunker' by Aldersbrook Wood, just prior to demolition in 2000It must be asked what the London Borough of Redbridge has in mind for this land? Already the “Nuclear Bunker” - a local Nuclear Command Centre - that stood on part of it has gone, and houses (“Bunker Villas”?) erected. Probably its greatest value would be for house building – but this would bring if not windows, at least the tiny back gardens which are usually the case these days almost up to the Perch Pond. Or perhaps Northumberland Avenue could be extended – a road to serve these houses?
With some tidying and some maintenance, Aldersbrook Wood could be a very valuable addition to the Forest, and give people living in the Empress Avenue area of Aldersbrook a nice access to Wanstead Park. Epping Forest's "Buffer Land" is all in the north - is it not about time that an area such as this could not be given permanent status before it becomes just another housing area to the detriment of Wanstead Park?
27 October 2009
Newts and Toads relocated to Wanstead Flats?
An extract from the Wanstead and Woodford Guardian of October 15th 2009 reads "Thousands of Newts and Toads have been moved to a new home in Wanstead to make way for work on the Olympic Site. More than 2000 amphibians have been released in specially created ponds on Wanstead Flats....".
Perhaps some questions need to be asked?
• Where are these new habitats?
• What studies were done to ascertain that no plant or animal life was unduly damaged in creating these habitats?
• What studies were done to prove that the introduction of these creatures would not be detrimental to the existing ecology? (eg were they disease-free?)
• What negotiations took place with the City of London Corporation - the Conservators of Epping Forest?
• Why were local conservation groups or naturalists not informed about this? (information like that would certainly help local naturalists and conservation groups in their studies of the area, yet as is so often the case, nobody has thought to inform us of what is going on.)
• Did this relocation actually happen?
Wanstead Flats is a threatened environment; it suffers considerably from man-made disturbance, be it useage or abusage. The loss of the cattle that have traditionally been grazed there has encouraged the growth of rank grasses and allowed increasing shrub invasion. A suggestion has been made (by the Superintendent of Epping Forest) that there may be a possible increase in sports facilities on the Flats - even including provisions of a new football pitch at the expense of rough grassland.
Water supplies to the Flats are increasingly scarce; marshy areas and even a spring have disappeared in recent years as supplies have been cut off, particularly due to road-works. How is it possible that NEW amphibian-friendly areas have been created under these circumstances?
We should be doing all we can to improve the facilities for wildlife on Wanstead Flats, be it skylarks or amphibians, but this needs careful planning. Was this the case with this relocation?
Paul Ferris, 19 October 2009