The Wren Conservation and Wildlife Group

Below are reports on some of our activities from June 2000 to the end of that year....

Sunday 11th June - Knighton Woods and Lords Bushes

Geoff Bosher led this walk in these ancient woods near Buckhurst Hill. A little later than last year's walk, the show of rhododendrons and azaleas were a little past their best. We still haven't found the Wild Service Trees that are reputed to live in the woods, but a magnificent conifer by the pond compensated. An anticipated lunch at a local hostelry was a severe disappointment - they weren't serving any!

Sunday 24th June - Aldersbrook Edwardian Day.

A Midsummer Millennium Celebration in Wanstead Park, with much of the organising arranged by Gill James, to celebrate a hundred years of the mostly Edwardian Aldersbrook estate.

A lot of time and effort was put into producing a photographic display for the Wren Group. As well as an introduction to some of the group's activities, we also had some "then and now" type photos, based on some of the Edwardian postcards that Pete and Val Saunders have collected. New photographs were taken by Paul Ferris from, as closely as possible, the same positions as the originals. In most cases the results were very similar - it hasn't changed that much.

We were privileged to be given the use of one of the rooms of The Temple for our display - thanks to Mr Besent and Tricia Moxey from The Warren (The Conservators of Epping Forest headquarters in Loughton). Once we had got a few sales items onto the table, the whole thing livened up and we were kept busy from Noon - 5pm.

Jennifer Charter had a small display relating to the well-known "Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady" as a preview to her 3pm nature ramble based on the book. 20 people accompanied her, walking from The Temple along the Chestnut Avenue and Heronry Pond to the Shoulder of Mutton Pond and back.

Richard Oakman and Jennifer Charter's bat walk at 9.30pm drew over 200 (!) people away from the music being performed in the grounds of The Temple.

Jennifer Charter and Paul Ferris were kept particularly busy on the day of the event and leading up to it in helping to organise an Amateur Radio Special Event Station - GB2AED. This was set up and worked by members of the Barking Radio and Electronics Society, and its purpose was to demonstrate Amateur Radio to visitors as well as giving the opportunity for radio operators world-wide (in Britain and Europe, as it turned out) to hear and talk to people at the Edwardian Day. A display of historic radio equipment was presented, together with a history of amateur radio's development from Edwardian times.

Sunday 2nd July - City of London Cemetery Open Day

This somewhat unusual event has been attended by the Wren Group on every one of its past occasions. The Group has ties with the cemetery owing to its location and the variety of wild life that is to be found there.

Making use of our display material from the previous week's Edwardian Day, we set up a stall and display amongst exhibitors of coffins, headstone plaques and embalming fluids. Once again the display drew some interested visitors - particularly to our stuffed mole, snake skeleton and "recognise the bird" quiz. In addition Richard Baker, one of our members, did five walks relating to the Cemetery's "Tree Trail" in which a total of 41 people took part. A hotter than expected day, at the beginning and end of most of these walks the participants were treated to a display of egg-laying and food catching by a pair of Emperor Dragonflies, watched over by half-a-dozen of the resident Red-eared Terrorists (sorry, Terrapins).

Tuesday 4th and 11th July - Bat Walks in Wanstead Park.

Following the somewhat oversubscribed Aldersbrook Millennium Day bat walk, Richard Oakman gallantly offered to do two more. The first was on 4th July - only advertised on the Group's notice board a day or so earlier - and drew four people including Richard. Bat detectors helped us to locate Daubenton's Bats flying over Perch Pond, though immediately we started we saw Pipistrelles amongst the trees near the Kiosk. The second, on the 11th, encouraged twelve people out on a drizzly evening. The enthusiasm was such that even an hour or two later we were still enjoying watching and hearing three species around the Perch Pond - Pipistrelle, Daubenton's and Noctule. Two more walks were planned there and then.

Sunday 9th July - Hadleigh Castle Country Park.

A walk with Bill Parrish, a butterfly breeder and wildlife enthusiast from Essex, to look at the butterflies of Hadleigh Downs.

The weather forecast and the weather on the day did not bode well, but seven of us met Bill at Hadleigh Castle Country Park car park. It wasn't quite raining as we started out, and butterflies were flying. We quickly saw Meadow Browns and Small Skippers, then the first of plenty of Marbled Whites was spotted atop a Thistle flower. This was avidly photographed - the wind probably made it so obliging, until it flew off. The first of many 5-spot Burnet Moths was found on a Clover (this being a day-flying moth rather than a butterfly - but we are not too exclusive a group) and this was followed by Large White, Small White and Green-veined White, Essex Skipper and Large Skipper, Ringlet, Comma, and Small Heath. We saw Emperor Dragonflies and a Red Darter, Roesel's Bush Cricket and a stout green job that may have been a Speckled Bush Cricket. Birds noted were Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Skylark, Turtle Dove, Wood Pigeon, Green Woodpecker, Lapwing and Kestrel. Plenty of wild flowers - perhaps particularly some lovely drifts of Birdsfoot Trefoil.

Saturday 15th July - Dragonfly walk at Waltham Abbey.

The hot sun of previous visits did not repeat on this one; only one dragonfly an - Emperor - and not many damselflies on this cool, windy day. The damselflies consisted of Common Blue, Blue-tailed, possibly Red-eyed and a Banded Demoiselle. Butterflies included a few Small Whites, Green-veined White, Meadow Brown, Essex Skipper, Small Skipper and Gatekeeper, plus some 5-spot Burnet moths. There were a number of Yellowhammers to see and hear, plus Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Sedge Warbler, Long-tailed Tit, Blue Tit, Woodpigeon, House Martin, Sand Martin, Sparrowhawk, Reed Bunting, Goldfinch, Wren, Green Woodpecker, Carrion Crow, Blackheaded and Lesser Black-back Gulls, Coot, Moorhen, Mallard, Greylag Goose, Lapwing and Green Sandpiper. Two of us also had quite a good view of a very dark coloured Fallow Deer as it broke cover and ran. Disappointing as far as dragonflies were concerned, but nevertheless I think that the eight of us who went enjoyed the walk.

Tuesday 18th July and Tuesday 1st August - Bat Walks in Wanstead Park.

Two more successful walks led by Richard Oakman, the first with sixteen people including four children, whose shouts and movements tended to confuse the bat detectors! However, the insects they put up probably fed the bats and we enjoyed walking around the Perch Pond and hearing and seeing our now usual three species: Pipistrelle, Daubenton's and Noctule. The second bat walk encouraged about 12 people to walk around the Perch Pond, again experiencing three species. This will probably be the last such walk organised this year, so well done Richard, and get planning for more in 2001!

Sunday 13th August - Butterfly Walk in Wanstead Park.

Jennifer Charter's walk to look at the Butterflies of Wanstead Park and the old Sewage Works site attracted only six people on a fine day. Surprisingly, there weren't many butterflies to be seen, but as usual we were able to enjoy plenty of the other wildlife of the area. Perhaps the most notable find was a magnificent spider in grass in the sewage works site. With a yellow and black striped back, it could easily have been called a wasp spider, but apparently it does not have a common English name. It has a good scientific one though - Argiope bruennichi. It is one of the orb-web spiders, a relative of the common Garden Spider Araneus diadematus, but is a southern species probably only recently making its way into our area. It was happily contemplating feeding on a Common Blue Dragonfly that it had prepared for its meal as we watched it. We stopped as we'd intended by the Roding for lunch, but most of us had sandwiches.

Sunday 20th August - Ealing/Gunnersbury/Kew

Only four of us met at Stratford Station for Norman Olley's walk from Ealing Broadway to Kew. It is a shame that we didn't have a few more members with us, though there are lots of other things going on in August. We had a most pleasant and easy walk, very quickly finding a wealth of interest in W5. These included Pittshanger Manor, Walpole Park with some lovely trees, Lammas Park, a very impressive church in Ealing, and Gunnersbury Park where we had lunch. The rough grassland of this park seemed to harbour relatively little wildlife - then we came across another specimen of the Argiope spider seen on our butterfly walk. The more formal parts of the park were busy, but well worth a return visit. Originally the home of the Rothschilds, there are some very imposing buildings including a mansion such as Wanstead House might have looked, their own Temple which is similar to ours but lacking the side-additions, an orangery and various other follies and lakes. A return visit just to look at the trees would be worthwhile. We reached the Thames at Kew Bridge, and took a short detour to look at the houseboats moored nearby, then went across the bridge to make for Kew Gardens Station for the return journey.

Sunday 3rd September - Tree Trail in the City of London Cemetery.

A walk led by Richard Baker around part of the City of London Cemetery's Tree Trail attracted twelve people. We looked at the part of the trail near the Gardens of Remembrance, seeing the cemetery's nice specimens of Blue Atlas Cedar and Deodar as well as the nearby Tulip Tree. Some of the trees we looked at were less impressive - varieties of Cherry for example - but interest was shown by those that were unfamiliar with the Maidenhair Tree (Gingko), and very impressive was the magnificent Beech. After we had seen a row of Incense Cedars, we finished looking at trees by the lovely specimen of Strawberry Tree (Arbutus) - a good shape, colourful bark and both flowers and fruit (just) in evidence. It is a pity that so many of the trees in the cemetery are so relatively young, because there are certainly a wide variety of species. For anybody wishing to look at the Tree Trail for themselves, a booklet is available from the Cemetery Main Gate price £2.

Saturday 16th September - Canal and Riverside Walk

Nine of us assembled at the Tescos car park at Bromley-by-Bow for a walk around the Bow Back Rivers. We were lucky that Len Pringle joined us for the walk, as Len is very involved with the Lower Lea Project and is familiar with the area. Of the three mills, two survive, and immediately on crossing the small bridge across the Lee Navigation we looked first at the Grade 1 listed building dating from 1776 known as the House Mill. This comprises the biggest tide mill of its type in Britain. The miller's house from which it gets its name is adjacent and has been converted into meeting rooms and education centre. On the opposite side of the cobbled road which now leads to television and film studios, but was previously a distillery, is the Clock Mill. The reason for its name is obvious from the ornate clock tower at one corner. This was another tide mill and Len explained that in protecting the building from the tidal waters which flow beneath, the wheels were encased in concrete!

The few birds that we saw on the walk were mainly seen behind the House Mill, where floating rubbish harboured Carrion Crow, Mallard, Common Gull, Coot and both Pied and Grey Wagtails. Here too was an example of one of the invasive waterweeds that are such a menace in so many streams and Rivers nowadays - Floating Pennywort Hydrocotyle ranunculoides. We were to see more of this. We passed the television and film studios, and crossed the Prescott Channel, beyond which the buildings that had housed until the evening before our visit the contestants in "Big Brother", and walked along the edge of the Chanellsea River, noting Guelder Rose, Butchers Broom, Japanese Knotweed and Himalayan Balsam, to reach the Greenway - the "processional" way atop the Northern Outfall Sewer. Here we viewed "the Cathedral of Sewers" - the incredible ornate building which was Abbey Mills Pumping Station. Passing over the Meridian Line en route, we reached Stratford High Street, crossed this and viewed the Lavender Girl on the old Yardley Factory. Nearby on the very recently opened stretch of the Greenway was an enormous Fig tree - quite a surprise in such a location. Not yet shown on the maps as a footpath is that which now enabled us to walk beside the long inaccessible Waterworks River to Marshgate Lane. Along this stretch we saw a number of isolated rafts of Floating Pennywort moving swiftly north in the current - a good illustration of how this plant spreads to new locations.

We spent some time looking around Carpenters Lock. The lock itself is disused, but is of an unusual design in that the paddles are lifted by means of an engine above each gate (photo). Adjacent is a variety of plants both wild and planted as a nature reserve. Perhaps the most interesting was a specimen of Deadly Nightshade (the real thing - not Woody Nightshade which is often miscalled deadly). There was also an abundance here of the local speciality Dwarf Elder, one of which alternative names is Danes Blood, as it is well known that the plant thrives where it has received sustenance from slain Danes. One of only two Butterfly species seen on the walk was here - a beautiful Red Admiral. The other species was Small White.

To the west of the lock an incredible sight presented itself - the channel as far as you could see was bank to bank with the Pennywort (photo). There is a lovely metal bridge crossing the City Mill River, with ceramic gutters on either side of the ridged path, then a stretch of what should have been the old River Lea, but was a stretch of Pennywort as far as Pudding Mill River. A lot of work has been done on the Pudding Mill Stretch recently by the Lower Lea Project volunteers. A short way beyond we reached Old Ford Lock - in time to see a narrow boat passing through, followed by the Pride of Lee; the Project's own cruise boat on its return from a trip to Islington. We watched her as she passed through the Lock - alongside another TV studio (where "The Big Breakfast" or something comes from) - then followed the Pride down the Lee Navigation, and back to Three Mills.

Sunday 15th October - Ongar

Vivienne, Jennifer, Paul, Jim and Martin joined Norman Olley for a walk in the countryside around the old market town of Ongar on a lovely day. From Buxton Hall car park we walked a short distance along the High Street to look at the Church. We couldn't very well go inside as there was a service taking place, so we proceeded to the outer edge of the town, spending some idle moments looking at a variety of ducks in an attractive farm pond. We recognised Mallard of course, as well as Shoveler, Gadwall and Pochard - though all of these we believe were actually captive specimens. A variety of wild birds were in evidence however - though we weren't really bird-watching. These included Chaffinch, Long-tailed Tit, Blue Tit, Woodpigeon, Collared Dove, Rook, Crow, Jackdaw, Green Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker and plenty of Pheasants. Just on from the farm pond we encountered the impressively deep moat of Ongar Castle. What we didn't really encounter was Ongar Castle, because it consists almost entirely of a (very large) tree- covered mound which is inaccessible to the public. An informative notice board gave us a lot of information about the castle, however, and we realised that the extensive moat that had once surrounded it had also surrounded the town itself. We realised that the farm pond had actually been part of this.

Our walk continued past Ongar Station - unfortunately as inaccessible as the castle. An impressive 2-8-2 steam locomotive (2-8-2 - wheel configuration!) plus an assortment of carriages and what looked like a diesel railcar gave evidence to the Epping to Ongar Line being under the care of enthusiasts that would like to see it running as a passenger-carrying concern again. Good luck to them - it should never have been closed down!

Out into the fields then, most of us shedding some clothing as the sun beat down (really!). Not to bore you any further with the details of every pathway and track - nor all the mushrooms and views. We eventually made our way to a pub. Regretablly we were too late - it had been converted into a private house. Braving shotguns and stampeding deer, we did reach Greenstead Church (by way of a tree full of very tasty cherry-plums) and had our lunch there. From there, a short walk back to Ongar and then home. Thanks, Norman.

Sunday 29th October - Fungus Foray in the City of London Cemetery.

A fungus foray - that is, finding and identifying (where possible) fungi - was led by Richard Baker in the City of London Cemetery. About 30 people, including a number of children, attended on a reasonably pleasant and dry afternoon. With so large a group it was difficult for all to gather round Richard as he attempted to identify the various species that we found, so the group was somewhat splintered.

It was a good day for fungi - the recent damp (understatement) and fairly mild weather enhances the growth of these plants. Particularly there were many small but colourful species to be found in the lawns. A few of us, not being able to get close to the identifying procedures, wandered off and found some Mistletoe growing in a Hawthorn. This was certainly an interesting and exciting find. A few people had never seen it growing wild before, and it is only the second place that I have seen it locally.

Once again we had a look at the cemetery's Strawberry Tree (Arbutus unedo) This time the fruits had ripened and many of us had a taste of the rather insipid "strawberries" before we made our way back to the main gate and home.

Sunday 3rd December - Practical Work in Wanstead Park
The work involved clearing brambles and sycamore from the area known as Florries Hill at the north end of Warren Wood. This location is a prime site for Wood Anemones and the work should enhance their presence here.

Tuesday 12th December - Christmas Social
We met at the George Public House, Wanstead (opposite the station and with lots of bus routes) from 8pm for our informal Christmas social.

Tuesday 26th December - Boxing Day Walk in Wanstead Park
On one of the marginally better days of late, only a few people (being seven stalwarts and one new and welcome guest) bothered to turn out for a shortish walk around Wanstead Park. We had a look at some of the practical work that has been taking place, and were interested to see the number of plants that are making an un-seasonal appearance. Showing well were Cuckoo Pint, and Daffodils, Lesser Celandine and Bluebells were all recognised. Birds were not very evident - a few crows including Jackdaws, some tits and pigeons and a variety of water birds - Shoveler, Gadwall, Tufted Duck, Herons and Cormorants included.