The Egyptian Goose Family

On 4th May, Wanstead Park was presented with six goslings by the pair of Egyptian Geese that have taken up residence there since last year.

Strictly, they were six ducklings, as Egyptian Geese are actually ducks - but that's a bit pedantic considering the six cute and fluffy, light-and-dark youngsters that I found sitting on a floating log near the bottom of the Glade, together with mum up close and dad keeping his eyes open.

It had been thought that they were nesting, as only one was typically to be seen in the preceding weeks, but sharp-eyed Pete Saunders reported to me that he had spotted their nest in a lopped ash on the east side of the Ornamental Waters, about 40 feet up in the hollow tree.

I was lucky to get some photographs on 4th, as by the 6th, the youngsters were not seen and have quite possibly been eaten. What took them is unknown, but there are a variety of predators in the area that could have done. These include the now-regular patrols of Lesser Black-backed Gulls - plus, apparently, some Herring Gulls - Carrion Crows which seem to be becoming adept at grabbing young water-birds, Pike - and the Mink. The last is a definite possibility as such a creature would at this time of year be having a right feast on many young water-birds in the Park. Perhaps it might be an idea to try to trap it - professionally, of course?

Paul Ferris, 6th May, 2011

What's happening in late April ?

...and what has happened over the last couple of weeks? Well - lots! It has been one of the nicest Springs that I can remember, and the peculiarly warm weather that we had up until about the 26th helped a lot. The blossom has been lovely, with all manner of trees and flowers showing particularly well.

As it has been so warm and sunny on so many days, I was able to spend quite a bit of time looking just around my garden - which catches the Sun from morning 'till early afternoon, then becomes a bit shady. This has been a rewarding exercise, and an indication of just how much wildlife there is to be seen in a relatively unremarkable garden.  I have found that the leaves of honeysuckle have been particularly good for both attracting and observing insects; they seem to like basking in the sunshine.

Perhaps the most notable find here was the sawfly Zaraea lonicerae which turned out to be a first for Essex. More about that is available here. However, it isn't just the "rare" things that are notable - it is nice just to see the first occurrence of the year of regulars, or have the opportunity to discover species new to me, although they may in fact be quite common.

Melecta albifronsSo: there were numbers of Honey Bees Apis mellifera quite early - certainly 11th April, and other bees such as the Hairy-footed flower bee Anthophora plumipes - particularly the almost-all-black females with a distinctively long tongue - which I started seeing from about 8th April. As well as these, there were also the cuckoo-bee of this species, Melecta albifrons. Of course, earlier still had been the questing bumble-bees Bombus terrestris. The Bee-fly Bombylius major - a furry fly that looks like a bee - also paid a lot of visits to my garden (and elsewhere) during April and I saw more of those this year than I've ever seen before.

Holly BlueSpeckled Wood butterflies were common visitors, again from early April, and I would say that this is now the commonest butterfly to visit the garden. The first blue - a Holly Blue - was seen a few days before 19th April when I was able to get a photograph, and then Peacocks made rapid visits, and both Small and Green-veined Whites were seen from 11th April. A day-flying moth Pyrausta aurata that's quite a regular feature of the garden turned up on the 23rd April.

Pyrausta aurata

Hoverflies were much in evidence, and these included the small but distinctive Baccha elongata, which I'd never seen before and another new one - a tiny species which I believe is Pipizella viduata. Other species were Episyrphus balteatus, the big Myathropa florea, Sphaerophoria scripta, possibly Eupeodes luniger and possibly Melanostoma scalare. You can tell from the possibly's that my skills in identifying these is limited - but I'm unwilling to capture them to do detailed examination. That's true also of the flies that turn up - although a distinctive new one was the Golden Dung-Fly which I believe is Scathophaga stercoraria.

As has been usual over the last couple of years, the first Damsel-fly is the Large Red Pyrrhosoma nymphula, which I saw on the 23rd. Away from the garden, in Wanstead Park, as well as Large Reds also on 23rd were Blue-tailed Damselflies Ischnura elegans and the first Dragonfly - a fast-moving blue species slightly smaller than an Emperor. Standing at the west end of Heronry Pond in the afternoon, teneral damselflies were making their first flights with their silvery-wings glistening in the sunshine.

Misumena vatiaOne of the notable features in Wanstead Park on that day and days either side were the immense numbers of Long-horned Moths flying around Sycamore and Limes. There were also a number of spiders to be seen by the lake-side, and my tentative identifications are Cercidia prominens, Larinioides patagiatus, Pardosa proxima and more certainly Tetragnatha extensa and certainly Misumena vatia. For arachnophobes, it might be worth mentioning that to a small extent - I still am, though this has been tempered by just looking at them.

I'd had a few enquiries via the website about visiting the bluebells in the Park; when the best time is is always a bit difficult to ascertain. This year, they were early into flower and when I looked after a rainstorm on 23rd, they seemed past their best. I have a suspicion that those in Chalet Wood are a victim of their own success, for the paths seem wider, people were standing in them to photograph them, there was a couple laying in them, with two large dogs running wild amongst them. The notices explaining the problems with these sort of activities were in place - I am pleased to say - but perhaps some appropriate delineation of paths from flowers might be in order in future?

Ending on a somewhat negative note itself doesn't seem quite appropriate, so I shall just finish by saying that it has been a lovely Spring. May Day is just a few days hence, so let's hope it is an equally lovely Summer.

Paul Ferris, 28th April 2011

Objection to MBDC lodged with House of Lords

The local Campaign to prevent the Metropolitan Police using Wanstead Flats as a base (MBDC Mustering, Briefing and Deployment Centre) during the 2012 London Olympics has moved to the House of Lords.

To enable the base to be established lawfully, Parliament has to amend the 1878 Epping Forest Act which does not allow any non-recreational or leisure based activity in the Forest (which includes Wanstead Flats).

Instead of promoting an amending Act, the Government has opted to use the device of a Legislative Reform Order, made possible by an Act passed by the last Labour Government in 2006, which was intended to address minor issues in current legislation without requiring full debate in Parliament.

The Legislative Reform (Epping Forest) Order 2011 is a draft order which would enable the Metropolitan Police to build a temporary muster station on land in Epping Forest (Wanstead Flats) and use it for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The MBDC would be dismantled after the Games. The order has to be approved by both Houses of Parliament before it can have effect.

Objectors have lodged eight petitions for consideration by the Hybrid Instruments Committee of the House of Lords which consists of eight Peers.

• Two petitions are from local councils - Newham and Waltham Forest.

• One is from a local conservation body, The Wren Conservation and Wildlife Group.

• Three are from individuals.

• One is presented by 36 residents who live in the roads next to the designated area for the MBDC.

• One is from the Save the Wanstead Flats campaign group, which organised a petition signed by 1600+ local people, which was presented in December to Redbridge Council, the planning authority for the Flats.

You can read the petitions on the House of Lords website at the following link http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/lords-select/hybrid-instruments-committee/

The petitions had to be lodged in the House of Lords by Monday April 4. The Home Office has to respond to the petitions by today Monday April 18. Petitioners will have then till Monday May 9 to respond in turn to the Government's response to the petitions.

The main objections to allowing the Police Base on Wanstead Flats are:

• It would cause unacceptable noise and traffic and other nuisance to local residents and pose a serious threat of a terrorist attack, being a more vulnerable alternative target than the Olympic Site itself, as it is surrounded by open land that will be difficult to police. It is a “sitting duck”

• It would damage severely the breeding and feeding habits of protected species of birds- skylarks and meadow pipits- the risks to which were inadequately assessed by government-commissioned research. There is a strong likelihood of the permanent destruction of this irreplaceable habitat, the closest to the centre of London.

• The police base would create an easy precedent for an unknown range of future requests for non-leisure use of the Flats and Forest .

• The police made inadequate efforts to find a more suitable site more distant from residential areas, presumably for economic reasons, and falsified the risks to local residents in their consultation events.

• The Home Office consultation in 2010 was delayed, shortened and quoted the wrong section of the 1878 Act and so is invalid.

Petitioners would be appalled if the House of Lords failed to give these objections full and serious consideration and look forward to the opportunity to press their case in person to the Hybrid Instruments Committee or a Select Committee later in the summer, if the HIC itself does not refuse to approve the order forthwith.

From Press Release - Monday 18th April 2011

Mosses in Wanstead

In the introduction to the wildlife of the Wanstead area, a notable omission in information about particular groups of plants or animals includes mosses. It is stated that this is because the expertise has not been available for this group, and this of course needs addressing - if possible.

In fact Roger Snook of Wanstead does have some expertise in these plants, so as an introductory guide to them we arranged a couple of simple "overview" walks - one in Wanstead Park and another on Wanstead Flats.

The results are shown below as a simple list of species that we found to be present, without a close examination. It is certain that many more species would be found, particularly if samples were collected and examination performed. Hopefully, this might come later.

I have also included species found in my garden; even here it is very likely that more will be present.

Wanstead Park

Atrichum undulatum - Chalet Wood

Brachythecium albicans - the Plain

Brachythecium rutabulam - the Plain

Eurhynchium sp. - Chalet Wood, the Dell

Fissidens bryoides - Chalet Wood - damp banks

Funaria hygrometrica - the Plain

Wanstead Flats

Brachythecium albicans

Brachythecium rutabulam

Polytrichum commune

Polytrichum juniperinum

Polytrichum piliferum

Garden

Amblystegium serpens

Tortula muralis