Programme 2012

Programme 2011

AUGUST 2011

Tim Harris has been asked to lead two Bat Walks for the Friends of West Ham Park (Wren Group members are welcome to come along) : Wednesday 10th August, meeting at Manor Park Station at 8pm; Wednesday 7th September, meeting at Manor Park Station at 7pm. These walks will take in Alexandra Lake (Wanstead Flats), and then go on to Perch Pond and Shoulder of Mutton Pond (both in Wanstead Park). Looking for Noctule, Daubenton's, two species of pipistrelles and anything else to be seen. Please contact Tim beforehand (phone numbers below) as numbers are limited and you will have to book a place.

August 14, Sunday 10.30 am Recording Water Bird Species in Wanstead Park and Southern Epping Forest for the Britsh Trust for Ornithology and recording dragonflies and damselflies. Meet at the Refreshment Kiosk in Wanstead Park. Leader: Tim Harris (no need to book)

SEPTEMBER 2011

September 7, Wednesday Bat Walk 7.00 pm Manor Park Station   (see above - book a place) or 7.15pm outside the gates of the City of London Cemetery.

September 18, Sunday 10.00 am Recording Water Bird Species in Wanstead Park and southern Epping Forest  The first of our monthly Water Bird Counts for the autumn and winter seasons. Meet at the Refreshment Kiosk in Wanstead Park. Leader : Tim Harris.

Contact telephone numbers for the above events: Tim Harris - H : 020 8989 5453 M : 07505 482328

OCTOBER 2011

October 2, Sunday 10.00 a.m.   Practical Work  The first of these autumn/winter morning sessions. Equipment provided from our own store.  Meet at The Temple, Wanstead Park. Leaders: Peter Wiliams/Mark Gorman.

October 15, Saturday 10.00 a.m. Recording Water Bird Species (as above)  This has now been cancelled though members will try to cover the area the following day.

October 16, Sunday 10.30 a.m Autumn Walk, Wanstead Park.  Tricia is leading this walk to look for fungi and other signs of autumn.  Meet by the Park entrance at the end of Warren Road, Wanstead . Leader: Tricia Moxey

NOVEMBER 2011

November 6, Sunday 10.00 a.m. Practical Work

The task will be clearing scrub on Aldersbrook Exchange Lands (The old Sewage Works site), Empress Avenue, E12. (Please note the meeting point below as it is different to the usual one)

Meeting Point :    By the entrance to the Aldersbrook Riding Stables, Empress Avenue, E12 5HW.  There is car parking available, but do not park immediately by the stables'  gates and bear in mind that people using the riding school facilities should have priority. Click Here for a Map

November 20, Sunday 10.00 a.m. Water Bird Count (as on October 15th) Leaders: Pete & Valerie Saunders.

DECEMBER 2011

December 4, Sunday 10.00 a.m. Practical Work

December 12, Monday 7.30 p.m for 7.45pm talk by Tricia Moxey and Paul Ferris on The Flowers of Wanstead in the Roding Room in Wanstead House, 21 The Green, Wanstead E11 2NT  Entrance Fee :£1 for Wren Group members ; £2.50 for non-members; mince pies will be available on the night to entice you, and we will also be holding a raffle. If you require more information, please contact Richard Oakman :   020 8989 3243

December 18, Sunday 10.00 a.m. Water Bird Count meet at the refreshment kiosk, Wanstead Park     Leader: Natalia Benajeh 

JANUARY 2012

 January 8, Sunday 10.00 a.m.  Practical Work (see article).

January 15, Sunday 10.00 a.m. Water Bird Count (as above) Leader: Richard Oakman

 FEBRUARY 2012

February 5, Sunday 10.00 a.m. Practical Work (as above)

February 12, Sunday 10.00 a.m.  Water Bird Count (as above)  Leaders: Pete & Valerie Saunders.

February 20, Monday 7.30 p.m.  The Bats of Epping Forest: a presentation in words and pictures by Andy Froud and Keith French. Wanstead House.

February 22, Wednesday 7.30 p.m.  Wren AGM and "Open House" at 44 Grosvenor Road, Wanstead.  Booking is not essential but contacting Richard Oakman (020 8989 3243; This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ) will allow him to plan seating arrangements and food.

MARCH 2012

March 4, Sunday 10.00 a.m. Practical Work (as above)

March 10, Saturday  10.00 a.m. Water Bird Count  (as above but note this is on a Saturday) Leader: Tim Harris

APRIL 2012

April 1, Sunday 10.00 a.m. Practical Work 

April 15, Sunday 6.00 a.m. at Jubilee Pond, Centre Road, Wanstead Flats  Migrant Bird Watch or 9.30 am at The Kiosk,, Wanstead Park for Water Bird Count. Leader: Tim Harris 

Meeting locations:

The Refreshment Kiosk in Wanstead Park can easily be found by entering the Park at the Northumberland Avenue entrance from the Aldersbrook Estate and it is directly in front of you. From the Wanstead direction, enter via Warren Road and follow the gravelled drive to the keepers' lodges and the Temple, the kiosk is across the plain (follow the gravelled path).

The Temple, Wanstead Park, is the white building at the end of the Warren Road entrance drive (as described above) and is set in the middle of the Plain. There are toilets on the kiosk side.

Group Liability:

Please note that members and visitors on our activities on Epping Forest are covered by the City of London's public liability insurance. A schedule of those attending each event must be signed by those attending and submitted to the Corporation on each occasion. The Group, its committee or organisers can accept no liability in the event of any accident or injury occuring to members or visitors where the activity is not on land owned by the Corporation.

New Arrivals Are Doing Well

Anyone who had the pleasure of walking in Wanstead Park on one of the warm and sunny days at the end of July would have realised that this is most definitely not a dull time of year. It may well be quiet – after all, bird song is limited now young birds are in the nest and adults are keen not to draw attention to their vulnerability – but it’s also extremely busy.

Keen to find out how our dragonflies, damselflies and butterflies were faring I went for a wander in the park on the last weekend of the month, taking advantage of warm, calm conditions. In particular I wanted to get a handle on the status of one of our most recent colonists, the Small Red-eyed Damselfly. Its larger cousin, Red-eyed Damselfly, have long been resident of the park but the diminutive version was first seen in the UK (at three coastal sites in Essex) as recently as July 1999. By 2002, ‘SREDs’ had already become abundant in some places in south-east England and since then they have spread even further afield. They were first noted in our area, by Shoulder of Mutton, in the summer of 2007.  

At first glance the algal mats at the western end of Heronry Lake, so beloved by these damselflies, seemed unoccupied. It was only after scanning with binoculars that I saw a few dark red eyes. Then something disturbed those eyes’ owners and several took to the air, zigzagging over the green mats like tiny winged sticks.

Without getting good views, or – better still – images with a camera, it can be very tricky separating the two ‘brands’ of red-eyed damselflies. The smaller variety emerges a little later than its cousin. Its eyes are a darker shade of red and its wings are a bit shorter. The best way to tell them apart is to look at the pattern of blue and black near the tip of the abdomen. Yes, these were definitely Small Red-eyes.   

It was clear that good numbers were enjoying the warm afternoon, basking in the sunshine on lily pads and algae in Shoulder of Mutton, Heronry and the Ornamental Waters. My estimate of 50 individuals was probably a gross underestimate. Whatever the true figure, they seem to be doing very well.

Wandering into the Bund clearing I kept my eyes peeled in the hope of seeing one of our recently discovered butterflies, Brown Argus. In fact, there were two very coy individuals there, neither allowing a close approach. Half an hour later I found another in the Old Sewage Works. This is a beautiful little insect, one of the ‘blues’ but decidedly un-blue. It first registered on the radars of local naturalists after photos of a tatty ‘Common Blue’ in the Old Sewage Works were re-examined a month after they’d been taken. They showed the distinctive underwing pattern of Brown Argus. Subsequently, Paul Ferris has found ‘fresh’ individuals on The Plain and in the Old Sewage Works (see Wanstead Wildlife website at  www.wansteadwildlife.org.uk). This great news follows the discovery of Marbled White in our area for the first time, with sightings in Northumberland Avenue and then the SSSI by Centre Road in early July.

When I got home I listed the species I’d seen: there were 10 different kinds of butterflies and eight species of dragonflies and damselflies. And there’s a whole world of grasshoppers, bush crickets, bees and hoverflies out there to investigate. It’s nice to know that there are so many interesting insects in our area!

Days of the Damsels

The forecast for bank holiday monday (30 May) wasn't great, but a quick look outside after breakfast suggested the morning could turn out sunny. So it was that I ventured into Wanstead Park hoping to find a butterfly or two to photograph. I waited by Shoulder of Mutton pond, where there was a nicely sheltered, sunny corner, and waited. After 20 minutes I hadn't seen—let alone photographed—a single butterfly. However, a Broad-bodied Chaser did put in an appearance. 

Over the pond itself, an Emperor dragonfly harried smaller flying insects, including a growing number of damselflies. And I watched as a pair of House Sparrows attempted rather clumsily to catch flying damselflies ... without any discernible success. At the west end of Heronry pond it was a similar story, but as I watched, more and more damselflies started to appear over the water. 

Clearly, many of them had very recently emerged from their larval state. Patience was the order of the day. Eventually I had close views of Azure and Common Blue, Large Red, Small Red-eyed (thanks, Paul!) and Blue-tailed damselflies. They were variously cruising over the water, basking in the sunshine, mating or half-heartedly ovipositing. Azures and Common Blues can be very difficult to separate unless seen very well; I didn't see them very well but it's amazing the surprises that digital photography can produce, and when I look at my pictures on the laptop it was clear that both species had been sunning themselves.

After meeting fellow Wren members Kathy, Pam and Amina at the Teashop of Happiness, a quick traverse of The Plain produced a paltry butterfly total of, errm, one unidentified white and one unidentified brown to add to my previous tally of one Speckled Wood. Better stick to the dragonflies then. To round off a fine day for the Odonata, a Banded Demoiselle was resting on a weedy island in the Riving Roding, and there were more damselflies. But only one more butterfly, a superbly coloured Common Blue. So, that gives the final result for the day (species seen) as: dragonflies and damselflies 7, butterflies 2.

Tim Harris, 31st May

Birds of Wanstead 2010

This is the second Annual Bird Report in the new series, compiled by local naturalist Tim Harris - The Birds of Wanstead, 2010

to download The Birds of Wanstead, 2010 (as a pdf. file) click here   Please note that it is a large file

To download The Birds of Wanstead, 2009, click here