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Issue 120 | Spring 2020

The magazine for Wildlife Trust members

10 WAYS TO Attract Our top tips will encourage butterflies and moths to your patch, whatever its size

THE SECRET LIVES OF SWIFTS They are masters of the air, but need our help

YOUR WILDLIFE- FRIENDLY HOUSE Follow our 10 simple steps to make nature feel at home \ Contents Welcome 16 8 12 4 Your wild spring Spring is in the air From meadows awash with wildflowers to singing warblers and amorous amphibians, This spring brings in not only we reveal the best of the season’s wildlife a new year, but a new decade and where you can enjoy it in London as we welcome 2020. We have so many exciting events Your wild spring: events Maya Gadjourouva Maya 7 coming up that we look forward There’s so much going on over the coming to sharing with you. months. We help you plan some great days out Camley Street Natural Park will reopen this year with a 8 Your wild garden new visitor centre. The build Even the smallest patch can welcome moths was partly funded by our and butterflies, says gardener Kate Bradbury Andrew Parkinson Andrew first-ever crowdfunding campaign – thank you to everyone who Edwardes Guy donated. We’ll announce the reopening date on our website and 10 Wild reserves social media shortly – and look forward to seeing you there soon. Spring is a great time of year to get outdoors We’re excited that the London Wildlife Festival will go ahead 20 and visit our beautiful reserves this summer. We hope you can join us on 25 and 26 July to

celebrate our city’s wonderful wildlife and its conservation. Upton Nick 12 Wild news Last year, fierce winds forced us to cancel the first-ever festival, A roundup of the latest news from London so we’ll be crossing our fingers for good weather! and movement The London mayoral election will be held on 7 May. It’s your chance to ask candidates to work towards a wilder future, so 16 The secret lives of swifts we’ve provided a handy list of green commitments to look for 10 They may be masters of the air, but when on page 12. Wildlife is in serious decline, and the UK is one of the they’re ready to nest, swifts need our help, most nature-depleted nations in the world. But public concern says The Wildlife Trusts’ Sarah Gibson for the environment has never been greater, so we must use this momentum to urge all parties and their candidates to act now – 20 Your wildlife-friendly home before it’s too late – to turn things around. Follow our 10 simple steps to make your Though it’s easy to feel helpless in the face of the current global house a haven for wildlife climate and ecological emergency, there are lots of things you can do locally to help wildlife. London is a hotspot for threatened 22 Your letters and photos stag beetles, and, from mid-May, these handsome insects will be A roundup of your views and photography blundering around on the wing. Please keep your eyes (and ears!) peeled and report sightings of stag and lesser stag beetles to us at: 23 My wild life wildlondon.org.uk/stag-beetle-campaign. Meet some of the people working with to keep our city full Penny Dixie Penny Go rd o n S co re r Sam Brewster of wildlife. This issue: Netty Ribeaux Chief Executive, London Wildlife Trust

London Wildlife Trust Get in touch 4 ways you can support London Wildlife Trust Wild London is the magazine Wild London is produced for you Our vision Volunteer Donate Visit a reserve Leave a lasting legacy for members of London Wildlife Trust. by our editorial team: Laura Mason, for London Could you spare some time to You can help build a better future Our 37 nature reserves span Protect your city’s wildlife for Email: [email protected] Ildikó Connell, Aoife McGran, join our powerful volunteer team for London’s wildlife by donating much of the capital. They range tomorrow by remembering Phone: 020 7261 0447 Rosie Oldham, Mathew Frith A London alive with across London and help our city's or helping us to raise money for from small, inner-city havens and London Wildlife Trust in your Will. Post: Dean Bradley House, Contact the editorial team at: nature, where everyone wildlife thrive? Whether you’re our vital conservation work. By spacious woodlands to buzzing Leaving us a gift is a great way 52 Horseferry Road, London SW1P 2AF [email protected] can experience and Registered charity number: 283895 a nature novice or an ecology donating to London Wildlife Trust, wildflower meadows and thriving to make a lasting contribution enjoy wildlife Website: www.wildlondon.org.uk Consultant Editor: Sophie Stafford expert, everyone’s welcome. Get you’ll be playing an important role wetlands. Wild Reserves (see page to nature in the capital. Every Follow us on social media: Consultant Art Editor: Dylan Channon outdoors, have fun and make new in protecting the capital’s wild 10) showcases the best places to gift protects our wildlife for the facebook.com/LondonWildlifeTrust Contributors: Hannah Bailey, Amy-Jane Beer, Cover image: Common brimstone friends. To find out more about spaces and their inhabitants – explore right now. Discover a new future. For more information, call twitter.com/WildLondon Kate Bradbury, Anna Guerin (Gonepteryx rhamni) feeding instagram.com/wild.london Printer: RAP Spiderweb Ltd, Manchester on a buddleia by Sander Meertins how to volunteer with us, visit now and for the future favourite this spring wildlondon. Rosie on 020 7803 4274 or visit wildlondon.org.uk/volunteer wildlondon.org.uk/donate org.uk/nature-reserves wildlondon.org.uk/legacies

2 Wild London | Spring 2020 Wild London | Spring 2020 3 Jon Hawkins Your wild spring The best of the season’s wildlife and where to enjoy it in London

Woodlands in bloom

You might think you’d need to get out meadows, hosting a rich array of insects. in the London Borough of . They of London to visit wildflower meadows, Threecorner Grove, a chalk woodland give their name to the but if you know the right places to look, in New Addington, is a butterfly spotter’s district. The abbey kept fish ponds, which you can find meadows humming with life paradise and a great place to find carpets were fed by a small stream running and the first flowers of the season. These of bluebells and wood anemones. through the woods, and these are still precious habitats are not only beautiful, Chapel Bank features rolling chalk visible today, though the water level is but also an important source of food and , studded with wild primroses often low. The woods are adjacent to shelter for bees and butterflies. Here are and hairy violets, as well as scrub and Bostall Woods and boast several features some of the best places in and around enchanting ancient woodlands. dating back to the Bronze Age, as well London to enjoy wildflowers... Wood is the Trust’s as fine spring displays of wild bluebells, Gutteridge Wood in sits oldest . Here, you’ll find a daffodils and wood anemones. in an area of traditional countryside, unique mix of new and . If top of your wishlist this spring is to where ancient woodland and wildflower and the remains of a Victorian garden. see bluebells in bloom, you’ll find all these Did you meadows meet. This part of the Springtime in this beautiful ancient woods are well worth a visit: Brook Valley is a haven for birds. In woodland brings bluebells, bursting Wood (probably London’s finest display), know? We manage many woodlands spring, and hazel coppice woodlands tree buds and territorial birds. , Woods, Selsdon sympathetically for wildlife. burst to life with blankets of bluebells. Woods are ancient Wood, and many areas , cutting scrub, Wildflowers and grasses dominate the woodlands near the ruined Lesnes Abbey of . maintaining rides and simply leaving them alone all help woodlands to thrive.

4 Wild London | Spring 2020 YOUR WILD SPRING GET INVOLVED NATURE’S LACE SPLASHES OF COLOUR STAR OF THE MIRE With its delicate, frothy white flowers and -like The large, golden flowers of marsh-marigold provide The eye-catching, exotically fringed flowers of foliage, cow parsley brightens London’s hedgerows, early nectar for insects and shelter for frogs along the bogbean bloom briefly atop a sturdy stem. Look for it

bramble thickets and young woodlands. Philip Precey fringes of slow-flowing streams, ditches and ponds. Mathew Frith Mathew Frith from March to June in shallow ponds and wet ground. Lewis Amy 6 spring events We have loads of great wildlife events for adults, kids and families in London. Come and join the fun!

Butterfly bonanza Centre for Wildlife and activities to help you find

Xxxxxxxxx Gardening your wild side and discover the

Spring Aldridge Neil While butterflies are one of summer’s joys, arguably the Toad Day wonderful wildlife supported by songsters most important stage of their lives is spent as a caterpillar. Sunday 15 March chalk . After emerging from tiny eggs in spring, most British A free open day celebrating Spring is a time of change. For our feathered friends, thoughts turn caterpillars spend up to seven weeks munching leaves. amphibians and ponds. Join us from survival to more amorous pursuits. As birds across London Many species have a favourite plant. You’ll find the for pond dipping, nature arts and search for a mate, the city fills with song, the dawn chorus growing caterpillars of the small blue butterfly on kidney vetch, family crafts, as well as live music. as summer visitors arrive from the south. Almost any garden will brimstones on buckthorns, and small tortoiseshells on More at wildlondon.org.uk offer a seasonal symphony, perhaps with the warble of blackcaps, stinging nettles. Others have broader tastes – small skipper, the melodic voice of a robin and the flourishing finale of a chaffinch. ringlet and marbled white larvae enjoy a range of grasses. But to experience this miraculous morning chorus at its best, you The green hairstreak caterpillar will eat anything from need to get up about an hour before sunrise from late April to early dogwood to buckthorn and rock-rose. As caterpillars eat, Owens Charlie June and visit Wetlands or one of London’s parks. they grow. And as they expand, they shed and may also Norwood Country Park, , Oxleas Wood, consume their outer skins up to five times before they Greenwood Daniel Horsenden Hill, Bentley Priory, , Cemetery change into a pupa – or ‘chrysalis’ – prior to metamorphosis. and also offer outstanding performances. Soft and nutritious, caterpillars are vulnerable to hungry Wonderful Wildlife Weekends The dawn chorus only lasts for 20 minutes or so, until it grows light shrews, birds, lizards, spiders and ground beetles. So Every Saturday, 10am–12pm enough for the birds to get on with other duties, mainly feeding. they have evolved various defences, such as bristly coats by the education ponds and (peacock), aggregating in nests inside webs (red admiral), 1pm–3pm by the Coal House Café and symbiotic relationships with ants (chalkhill blue). Just drop in and join us for fun Camouflage is their main protection – they can match the activities including bug hunting, colour of grasses (meadow brown), the shape of old leaf buds London Wildlife Festival nature crafts, stories, games, (purple hairstreak) and the colour of flowers (small blue). Saturday 25 July–Sunday 26 July songs and making wildlife As the kaleidoscopic butterfly season returns, keep an Enjoy walks and talks, habitats. All children must eye out for three of the earliest butterflies to appear in workshops and exhibitions in be accompanied by an adult. London’s gardens and green spaces... celebration of urban wildlife Suggested donation £2 and conservation. Take part in More at wildlondon.org.uk waterside yoga, get involved in wildlife-friendly gardening, Amy Lewis Amy go on a bug safari or sample Brilliant Bats

Frogs in a frenzy Zsuzsanna Bird locally sourced food and drinks. Tuesday 7 April, 7pm It’s starting to get crowded in London’s They remain in and around water To buy tickets, visit wildlondon. Are you a resident of Richmond ponds and lakes. Frogs are in a frenzy of until April before returning to org.uk/london-widllife-festival Borough who loves bats? If spring fervour in the shallows, producing drier habitats. so, come and learn more on a great clumps of spawn, otherworldly A larger and greener species, Walthamstow Wetlands workshop and bat walk around spheres of jelly dotted with tadpoles-to-be. the marsh frog, prefers to spend Orange-tip Brimstone Mindful Walk: Spring Equinox Crane Park Island. The island A female lays several thousand eggs. its life in water and has a particular In French, it is known as Its bright yellow hue is said Saturday 21 March, 10am–12pm has a host of activities that The black buds inside the eggs become fondness for Twickenham. In the ‘Aurora’ – goddess of the to have inspired the name On a spring morning in beautiful residents can enjoy for free.

tadpoles, which slowly lose their tails and evenings, listen out for a croaking Edwardes Guy dawn – due to the striking ‘butter’ fly. It flies March to Walthamstow Wetlands, Liz More at wildlondon.org.uk gills, and grow legs, becoming tiny froglets. chorus alongside the River Crane. sunrise-like pattern on the May with a second brood Keates will guide you in mindful There are at least two types of frog in Frogs – like all amphibians – are male’s wings. It flies from in July to August. Look for walking and practices for London. Our most familiar, the common under threat across the world. Their March to June in varied, brimstones on purple nectar- promoting calming, restorative frog, is usually brownish, camouflaged sensitive skins and aquatic lifestyle make often damp habitats. rich flowers such as thistles. feelings and well-being. Jeremiah Quinn Jeremiah with spots and stripes and sporting a black them vulnerable to pollution, disease and To buy tickets (cost £15 pp), visit ‘mask’ behind the eye. It’s found across the habitat loss. But we can all help: Holly blue walthamstowwetlands.com/ capital, wherever there is still water nearby. n Make a wildlife pond with a sloping edge The only blue butterfly seen spring-equinox Common frogs hibernate through (even a small one can be useful); commonly in gardens, it winter beneath logs and damp leaves, n Provide piles of rocks for them to hide in; feeds on honeydew left Hutchinson’s Bank before making their way to breed in garden n Allow wild vegetation to grow to support on leaves by aphids. The Big Butterfly Festival

ponds, park lakes and even puddles. the molluscs and earthworms they eat. Hamblin Mark first brood flies April to Saturday 30 May, 12pm-4pm early June, the second Come to New Addington for a

July to September. Lewis Amy day packed with nature walks

6 Wild London | Spring 2020 Wild London | Spring 2020 7 GARDENING FOR WILDLIFE

Butterflies and moths have suffered huge declines hedgehogs and amphibians. So by gardening for in recent years. This is largely due to habitat loss, moths, we can also help other wildlife. Gardening for but agricultural pesticides and climate change have As adults, most butterflies and moths drink made life even more challenging for many species. nectar, but their caterpillars eat leaves and other Happily, there’s plenty we can do to help them on plant material. To make them truly welcome in our our own patch, no matter its size. The UK’s gardens gardens, we need to support all stages of their life Kate Bradbury take up more space than all of its nature reserves put cycle by growing nectar-rich flowers for the adults is passionate about moths and Grow nectar-rich flowers together, so if we all gardened with butterflies and and foodplants for the caterpillars. We also need to wildlife-friendly Make sure something is in flower moths in mind, we could help slow, or even reverse, accommodate the stage in between caterpillar and gardening and from March through to November, some of these declines. adult – the chrysalis (butterfly) or cocoon (moth). the author of starting with primroses, bluebells We tend to feel more fondly about butterflies than Many species spend the winter in this vulnerable Wildlife Gardening butterflies and forget-me-nots in spring, then for Everyone and moths, which can be viewed with ambivalence as stage so leave a little patch to grow a bit wild for By day and by night, gardens large and small can provide a haven alliums, lavender and scabious in they fly at night and a few species eat our clothes. them. Making space for butterflies and moths to Everything in late summer, and late-flowering But not all moths fly at night – the six-spot burnet feed, breed and hibernate in our gardens will make association with for Britain’s beleaguered butterflies and moths. Kate Bradbury Verbena bonariensis, sedums and The Wildlife Trusts. and hummingbird hawkmoth can be spotted during all the difference to these struggling pollinators. suggests nine ways to support all the stages of their life cycles rudbeckias in autumn. the day – and many of them are just as beautiful as their day-flying cousins. Only about five of our Discover more ways to welcome moths and 2,500 species eat clothes and moth caterpillars butterflies into your garden on our website: Plant some climbers Illustration: Hannah Bailey, photo: Sarah Cuttle Sarah photo: Hannah Bailey, Illustration: are an important source of food for nesting birds, www.wildlifetrusts.org/butterflygarden Bare fences and walls are a wasted opportunity to help butterflies. Cover them with Grow night-scented plants Avoid cutting down plants and provide nectar-rich Plant groups of common jasmine, flowers and shelter for species, such plants in autumn Plant a mixed native evening primrose, honeysuckle and as brimstones, to hibernate. If you Some butterflies, such as night-scented stock together, so that grow hops, comma butterflies may orange-tips, overwinter as If you have space, plant a native tree moths can find them more easily. lay their eggs on its leaves. chrysalises, which makes or two. Many moths lay their eggs on them vulnerable to tidying. the leaves of , dog rose, birch Leave plants intact over and hawthorn. Grow a climber, such winter and clear them in as honeysuckle, through the hedge spring instead. Always check to make it even more moth-friendly. for chrysalises just in case!

Provide caterpillar Leave some weeds foodplants Many moths lay their eggs on the Butterflies need the right leaves of nettles, brambles, docks and plants to lay eggs in your dandelions. Even leaving weeds at garden. Grow cuckooflowers Add a window box the back of borders, where you can’t for caterpillars of the orange- If you don’t have a garden see them, will make a difference. tip butterfly, nettles for or your space is small, peacocks, small tortoiseshells grow nectar-rich flowers and red admirals, and holly in pots, window boxes or and ivy for the holly blue. hanging baskets. Choose low-growing primroses Don’t be too tidy and lavender for pots, and While some moths breed in nasturtiums for baskets. long grass, many caterpillars and pupae spend winter hibernating in grass or among leaf litter and other plant debris. Leave things where they are in autumn and winter, and tidy up in spring instead.

8 Magazine Name | Spring 2020 Wild London | Spring 2020 9 GET OUTDOORS SPRING RESERVES Our wild reserves At their best in spring Thank you With your help this remnant Thanks to your support, London Wildlife Trust protects and manages of an old Victorian garden Grove 37 nature reserves around London – and they’re free for everyone to enjoy is developing into a site of increasing value for wildlife – and we’ll continue to restore it!

Penny Dixie Penny Find a London Wildlife Crane Park Island Trust nature reserve From woodland ponds to secret islands and reedbeds teeming with wildlife, there’s always something new to discover

Produced by London Wildlife Trust. Based upon the 1: 10 000 map with the permission of The Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office. © Crown Copyright and database rights June 2018. OS Licence No. AL100023493. All rights reserved.

Kingfisher Mathew Frith Terry Whittaker Terry David Fielding David Richard Burkmar Richard J Cracknell Purple loosetrife

Uxbridge Grove Once part of the grounds Marsh-marigold Much of the Grove is Wilderness Island Crane Park Island of a 16th-century mansion managed by local volunteers, Mill Lane, SM5 2NH Ellerman Avenue, Whitton TW2 6AA Robinwood Grove, London UB8 3TW demolished in the 1970s, Uxbridge with the help of students from Wildlife to spot Kingfisher, grey wagtail, blackcap, great pond sedge Wildlife to spot Water vole, moorhen, great spotted woodpecker, purple loosestrife Wildlife to spot Grey wagtail, marsh-marigold, jay Grove comprises a ‘staircase’ of three ponds Brunel University. We’ve now begun Great for watching butterflies and enjoying the seclusion Great for a family day out Great for experiencing a hidden gem in a woodland setting. A Site of Borough restoration works to reduce the tree cover Map ref TQ 28190 65302 Map ref TQ 12861 72841 Map ref TQ 06788 82440 Importance for Nature Conservation, the over the ponds (as the fallen leaves Find out more: www.wildlondon.org.uk/nature-reserves/wilderness-island Find out more: wildlondon.org.uk/nature-reserves/crane-park-island Find out more: www.wildlondon.org.uk/ Trust started managing Uxbridge Grove on de-oxygenate the water), and to re-wet dried- nature-reserves/the-grove behalf of Hillingdon Council in the mid- up areas. A new wetland scrape has been Situated at the confluence of the and Carshalton ‘arms’ Hewn from the remains of the Gunpowder works, the 1980s. It was opened to the public in 1988. dug out and planted with wetland species, of the fast-flowing , Wilderness Island comes into its Island sitting between the River Crane and an artificial ‘mill race’ It’s a delightful site to visit in spring and the boardwalk has been replaced, and one own in spring with an explosion of blossom along the river and packs a lot of wildlife punch for its compact size. Visitors experience

early summer when wetland plants such as of the sluices repaired. Future plans include Bertie Gregory amphibian activity in the ponds. The reserve was once the grounds a lush combination of reedbeds, pools, hedgerows, stubby willow yellow flag, brooklime, hairy willowherb, de-silting the largest pond, of a house, demolished in 1933. Only the northern part is an ‘island’ pollards, elegant ashes and grand horse chestnuts. This comes to marsh-marigold, ragged-robin and square- creating a new sedge and it is dominated by mature horse chestnuts, several ponds and life in spring, when the path edges are bedecked with the white stemmed St John’s-wort flower. The ponds bed with the silt a sedge bed, an uncommon habitat in London. The southern half and pink blossom of cow parsley, hawthorn, willow-herbs and red also support breeding common frogs, and improving is more open with scrub and grassy areas, which are important for campion. The shrubs thrum with the song of dunnocks, robins and toads and smooth , and attract grey paths, which breeding dunnocks, blackcaps and wrens, as well as brimstones and long-tailed tits, and later, lesser whitethroats, garden warblers and wagtails, grey herons and . Under a we hope to orange-tip butterflies. Grey wagtails and kingfishers can often blackcaps. The Trust has planted reedbeds with secluded refuges Smooth canopy of oak, ash, sycamore and yew grow complete by be seen darting along the river. In 2013, we installed a kingfisher and enhanced the banks of the River Crane to improve the habitat

Niall Benvie bluebells, foxgloves and red campion. 2021. nesting bank, which should make seeing them easier in future. for elusive and fast-declining water voles.

10 Wild London | Spring 2020 Grey wagtail Wild London | Spring 2020 11 £17bn WILD NEWS The mayor of London controls a budget of around £17 billion per year. So let’s make sure they work to help nature thrive through protecting the expansion Regional and national wildlife news of wildlife-rich green spaces.

Time for a Dixie Penny greener London Camley Street to reopen

Thanks to your amazing support, wildlife has been cared for by volunteers. More trees in London

Green goals Camley Street will soon reopen with The new building will provide a learning The London Urban Forest Plan will soon Edwardes Guy a new visitor and learning centre. centre for visitors and school groups to be published by the mayor of London for election Last September, we launched our first- discover and enjoy wildlife, expanding and Forestry Commission. It details how manifestos ever crowdfunder. Our goal: to raise £30,000 the community of nature-lovers who will organisations will meet the London to build a new visitor centre at Camley care for and protect London’s wildlife in Environment Strategy’s ambitions to Our priority is for the mayor to Street Natural Park and reopen the reserve. the years to come. The building has been increase tree cover in the capital by work with key stakeholders in Our target was ambitious, but we needn’t designed sustainably, and the roof will 10% – from 21% to 23% – and create 200 London’s natural environment sector have worried – with your help, we did it! provide a roost for bats and birds. hectares of species-rich woodland by 2050. to implement a Nature Recovery In total, you raised a magnificent £36,763. In addition, a new outdoor learning area The plan was developed by a partnership Network for London by adopting Thank you to everyone who helped! will ensure that high visitor numbers do that includes London Wildlife Trust, and the following actions: In the heart of King’s Cross, Camley not disturb wildlife-sensitive areas on the we’ve made sure the needs of woodland  Restore and connect key habitats Street Natural Park has been closed since other side of the nature reserve. biodiversity are effectively embedded in future actions to deliver it. and species; 2017 while we constructed the new visitor Camley Street will reopen later this  Enhance green spaces for key centre. During this time, this haven for year, so watch out for updates. wildlife populations, especially invertebrates;  Improve water quality by

supporting the delivery of the Taylor Neil Thames Basin River Management High speed damage Plan and catchment plans;  Develop and implement a light- A new report published by The Wildlife known to be threatened with loss or objected to and petitioned against HS2 and

reduction strategy for London Bertie Gregory Trusts in January reveals, for the first damage and over 9,500 Local Wildlife has worked with our neighbouring Wildlife to reduce adverse impacts on time, the vast scale of the destruction and Sites will be negatively impacted by the Trusts and others to minimise the damage birds, bats, migrating fish and impact that HS2 will cause to nature. construction of HS2. It’s feared they may to biodiversity affected by the railway The UK has become one of the most should be done, especially given the growth invertebrates; The report What’s the damage? Why not recover their existing biodiversity and the works required to construct it. nature-depleted nations in the world, so of London and the growing challenges of  Create a pesticide-free London by HS2 will cost nature too much sets out value under the timescales used in HS2’s Though this report has not persuaded the it’s vital that the next mayor of London climate change. 2030, by adopting, creating and how the current plans for High Speed 2 calculations. In London, most of the Government to stop HS2 in its tracks, we helps nature’s recovery in the capital. However, mayoral ambitions are implementing an integrated pest will affect five internationally designated damage will occur around the Colne Valley hope it will implement major changes to The mayoral elections on 7 May give constrained by limited powers and management plan for London, protected wildlife sites, and 33 Sites of to the west of Ruislip, such as Broadwater make HS2 deliver a net gain for nature. Londoners the opportunity to influence resources, and delivery requires others to supporting the increase of Green Special Scientific Interest. Lake and at New Year’s Green. Read the report at www.wildlifetrusts. the policies and programmes of the Greater implement. In addition, the mayor’s role as Flag Awards (GFA) in London and A total of 108 ancient woodlands are London Wildlife Trust has always org/news/hs2-exorbitant-cost-nature London Authority for the next four years. a leader, broker and influencer is dependent initiating a programme to help So we’re asking you to vote for the most as much on his or her specific interests as on train and mentor new GFA judges; environmentally friendly candidates. the political agendas of the time.  Support a citizen science project Over the past 20 years, policies for The Trust has already liaised with that engages Londoners in protecting and enhancing London’s candidates’ teams to ensure their recording key species to help environment have largely moved in manifestos include ambitious but realistic monitor our city’s biodiversity. a positive direction, thanks to plans objectives to protect and enhance the and programmes promoting green capital’s biodiversity. We’ve also worked OVER TO YOU infrastructure, urban greening and cleaner with other organisations on a consistent set Don’t miss the chance to use your air. These are a great start, but more can and of environmental priorities for candidates. vote for nature and a greener London

12 Wild London | Spring 2020 Wild London | Spring 2020 13 OUR SUCCESSES

Last July, the UK recorded its hottest day ever in a heat wave that also shattered temperature Here are some of the ways your membership has been records in France, the More than 100 pyramidal orchids were found Netherlands and Belgium helping to protect your local wildlife and wild places last summer in a small area at that had been cleared of scrub and trees. Mathew Frith 8,486 Thanks to our amazing Water for Wildlife project volunteers, 8,486 dazzling individual Weathering the changes Clarke Jane dragonflies and damselflies The increasing frequency of extreme climate change impacts in London. These includes managing grasslands to be more have been recorded since weather events, such as the recent include rising summertime temperatures, like species-rich meadows, extending areas 2016, when the project began. flooding in England and the wildfires which are exacerbated by the Urban Heat of woodland, naturalising watercourses, in south-east Australia, appear to be Island effect, whereby central London can creating wetlands and conserving soils. evidence of global climate change. be more than 10°C warmer than the rural In addition, installing green roofs, rain In 2019, Britain experienced its 11th fringes of the city. gardens and living walls within housing hottest year on record with its highest They also include surface water flooding estates, business and retail parks, and recorded temperature tipping the mercury due to the amount of hard surfaces, the new developments, can further assist at a scorching 38.7°C in July. All 11 hottest decreasing incidence of frosts (essential the city to mitigate the impacts of a years have occurred since 2002. The Trust for the germination of many plant seeds), changing climate. We were thrilled to find a hazel dormouse hibernating on our part of Riddlesdown. 12Twelve Keeping it Wild paid traineeships supports the growing clamour for action the growing incidence and impacts of In 2020, we will update our Climate have now been completed, giving young to be taken, and welcomes the fact that pests and pathogens, and the shifting Change policy, publish a new climate This elusive species is also one of the people practical skills in nature conservation most London borough councils have now of seasons, which disrupts the natural change adaptation strategy setting out most endangered animals in the UK. We didn’t know it was here, so we’ll and communication. We also welcomed 57 declared a climate emergency and/or set rhythms of wildlife. how we will manage land for nature be carrying out further monitoring to young people from youth clubs across out the initial steps they will take to help The Wildlife Trusts work with our in a changing climate, develop a new discover the size of the population. the capital to our Wild Action Days to meet the UK’s commitment to net zero partners to help ensure larger areas of land community-focused climate change learn about their local wild spaces. Danny Green Danny carbon emissions by 2030. can effectively be designed and managed project, and engage with more local The Trust’s work is guided by the need to for wildlife, and to make London better authorities to help them meet their ensure resilience for wildlife in the face of able to cope in a changing climate. This climate emergency objectives. XXXX Andy Rouse An insect apocalypse

A new report, Insect Declines and The report concludes: “If insect Why They Matter, commissioned by declines are not halted, terrestrial an alliance of Wildlife Trusts in the and freshwater ecosystems south west, concluded that drastic will collapse, with profound Ten common snipe were recorded at Frays Farm declines in insect numbers look set consequences for human wellbeing.” 10Meadow, Hillingdon, one of the finest examples to have far-reaching consequences Read more at www.wildlifetrusts. of rare wet grazing meadow in London. We also for both wildlife and people. org/urgent-action-insects cleared bramble from 100m of ditch bank to improve the site for endangered water voles. Ross Hoddinott Ross

14 Wild London | Spring 2020 Wild London | Spring 2020 15 NATURE CLOSE TO HOME

Swifts epitomise British summertime with their screaming flight. But as fewer of these miraculous birds return to our skies each year, Sarah Gibson Sarah Gibson reveals how we can help them works for Shropshire Wildlife Trust. She’s met swift experts across Europe, raises local awareness of the The secret birds’ plight and revels in the aerial skill of lives of these awesome birds. swifts

wifts are not the quietest birds. There was a pair nesting in the eaves air: aphids, flies, spiders, beetles, moths; travelled birds come to the UK when so extended feeding forays by the in walls, under roof eaves or inside Nor are they given to skulking of the house next door. They would even dragonflies, whirled into the sky, many of our summer days are rain-soaked, parent birds during incubation pantiles (S-shaped roof tiles). Gathering in the undergrowth. They live storm down the narrow gap between carried on the wind. Swifts drink and making it difficult, you might think, to and brooding can cause the materials takes time – all the feathers, their entire lives in the open air, the buildings with a rush of wings, and bathe, sleep and even mate on the wing. catch the insects they need to feed their nest to fail. Swift embryos, by wisps of grass, tree seeds and flower sepals Sscything past on crescent wings, often perform a handbrake turn to enter their They fly closer to the sun than any other young. The answer must be that, apart contrast, are resistant to cooling, must be found on the wing, blowing about making piercing screeches. Yet, like many nest hole. Blink and you’d miss them. bird, feeding and resting at altitude. from the occasional particularly bad except at the start of incubation. in the air. Inevitably, scraps of plastic are people, I never used to notice them. Sitting in the garden on fine, still evenings, Swifts spend most of their lives in year, it works for them – and has done Chicks can become torpid (a now often found woven into the nest, a There had been swallows nesting in I watched them gliding through the air, Africa, but they journey thousands of for millions of years. In fact, our northern state of lowered metabolism) to conserve shallow dish glued together with saliva. a barn near my old home in the Welsh snapping up insects, until the light drained miles to breed in a vast swathe across the summers have a great advantage for energy, enabling the parent birds to feed Finding a nest hole is the most crucial borders. I’d see them swooping over the from the sky and the first bats emerged. world, from the westernmost fringes of swifts – long daylight hours, which allow elsewhere, until the weather improves. thing a swift has to do. Most individuals stable door, beaks stuffed with insects Europe, eastward to China. Around the them to forage for 16 hours a day at the Once they are a few weeks old and have do not breed until their fourth year, but for their chicks. Later, I’d watch the Life on the wing globe there are estimated to be somewhere season’s peak. fat reserves, swift chicks can survive the young birds still make the migration fledglings practise flying in the safety Swifts are incredibly aerial birds, living between 95 million and 165 million of them Swifts have several unusual adaptations several days without nourishment, greatly journey and start looking for a safe, dark of the barn. When I moved to a nearby entirely on the wing for years at a sailing across the skies, justifying their that enable them to cope with our bad enhancing their chances of fledging in hole. Once they have found one, the market town, I missed that closeness… time, rarely touching ground for even a English name of ‘common swift’. weather. The eggs and chicks of most variable weather conditions. young birds pair up and start to bring

Common Swift: Robin Chittenden/Naturepl.com Common Swift: until I discovered swifts. moment. They catch all their food in the You may wonder why these well- small birds are vulnerable to chilling, so Swifts make their nests in crevices in feathers and other nest materials.

16 Wild London | Spring 2020 Wild London | Spring 2020 17 NATURE CLOSE TO HOME

How to Swifts like high, deep Swifts migrate between the UK and crevices to nest, but as their wintering grounds south of the many old buildings have Sahara. They are the UK’s fastest distinguish swifts been lost and roof spaces birds in level flight, reaching Swifts are not hirundines (the family of filled, their numbers speeds of up to 69.3 mph birds that includes swallows and martins), have declined but they have a similar appearance and lifestyle, so are often confused with them

Common swift Slender, scythe- Apus apus shaped wings

Uniform dark brown all over

Pale throat patch

Swallow Hirundo rustica White underparts Glossy blue upperparts

The apparent joie de vivre of young because the homes and other buildings always results in access to their holes nesting bricks (a brick with a hole GET INVOLVED swifts is breathtaking. You hear them we constructed for ourselves have also being blocked, while new housing tends behind which a nest box is fixed) Long, deeply Red face before you see them, screeching over the suited them. Today though, we make it to be sealed completely against nature. written into local planning policy and forked tail and throat Five ways rooftops in gangs of seven or eight, racing much harder for these birds to survive. Modern building materials, such as plastic building conditions. circuits around buildings. As the poet Fewer insects is likely to be a factor – soffits (part of the eaves), offer little North Wales Wildlife Trust is to help swifts House martin Ted Hughes put it: many other insectivorous birds are also potential for future weathering and gaps particularly active on behalf of swifts. Delichon urbicum Glossy Their lunatic, limber scramming frenzy in decline – but swifts are also up against opening up. We need to accommodate Ben Stammers, the Trust’s people and Ensure nesting holes are kept blue-black And their whirling blades a catastrophic loss of nesting cavities. nesting swifts – and urgently. wildlife officer, is passionate about the open when carrying out roof Black tail short and 1

upperparts Sparkle out into blue Renovation of old buildings almost birds and, since 2014, has raised funds renovations or insulation Mathew Frith clearly forked Hughes also wrote the much-quoted lines Meet the swift champions to install more than 300 nestboxes on Put up a swift box on your house. about the swifts’ return: Renovation of old Thankfully, an inspirational movement of schools, houses, university buildings, Make sure it’s at least five metres high They’ve made it again, swift champions is coming to the rescue a community pub, a doctor’s surgery, 2 Which means the globe’s still working, buildings almost across the UK. Around 90 small groups are a theatre and a chapel in the area. Stop using garden chemicals to the Creation’s taking action locally. They run surveys to More than 60 people have been trained 3 support a healthy insect population Bright Still waking refreshed, our summer’s always results in find swift breeding sites, work to prevent as surveyors and, so far, 500 swift Keep records of swifts entering white Still all to come access to swift nest nesting holes from being blocked, install records have been submitted to their 4 holes in buildings and tell your rump Underparts white This anxiety about whether or not ‘our’ nestboxes, share information and help database. Dozens of talks, walks and local record centre swifts will return each May is something raise awareness through walks and talks – other events have engaged more than holes being blocked Find out more about swifts and most swift-watchers can relate to, but all with the support of their communities. 1,000 local people. Sand martin how you can help protect them at concerns have escalated since Ted Several of these groups work with Ben sums up what it means to him: 5 Riparia riparia www.swift-conservation.org and Hughes’s poem was published over 40 their regional Wildlife Trusts, which are “Seeing joy in people’s faces when they Sandy brown above www.wildlifetrusts.org/swifts White belly years ago, with a massive and alarming perfectly positioned to assist grassroots watch swifts on their own patch is so and throat 57% decline in numbers in the UK action, such as nestbox schemes in church uplifting. I hope swifts can become an Swifts & Us: The life of recorded between 1995 and 2017. belfries and public buildings. The Wildlife inspiration for how we can share our the bird that sleeps in For thousands of years, Trusts also advocate the use of swift nest living space with wildlife, to the benefit the sky by Shropshire swifts have lived alongside us, bricks – and nature-friendly green spaces of us all. If we can’t find ways to help a Wildlife Trust’s Shallow – in new housing developments. Several species as fascinating and charismatic as Sarah Gibson will be fork in tail Brown breast-band As traditional nest sites become Trusts are campaigning directly with the swift – and one so dependent on us published by William separating throat scarce, you can help by fitting a local authorities and working with – what hope is there?” I feel sure that’s a Collins this spring.

from belly wooden nest box to your home planners to get the installation of swift sentiment we can all agree with. Catley Graham in flight: swifts Upton, Nick box: nest Upton, Nick swift at eaves: Chris Shields, Illustrations:

18 Wild London | Spring 2020 Wild London | Spring 2020 19 CLOSER TO NATURE

Swift box Bat boxes Modern houses leave little By fixing a bat box to your space for swifts to nest, but wall you can provide the swift boxes create a home At home with nature perfect resting spot for your for these summer visitors. local bats. It’s important to Broadcasting a recording avoid directing any artificial of their calls encourages We put a lot of effort into making our lighting onto the box. them to move in. gardens wilder, and rightly so. But what Window-mounted feeders Even with no garden you can still feed about our houses and flats themselves? the birds. A window-mounted feeder In a world where the wild places are gives them a helping hand and lets you shrinking, every inch of space we can enjoy their antics from your armchair. make for nature is vital.

Whether it’s the joyful song of a robin drifting through an open window, or the colourful flash of a peacock butterfly just beyond the glass, it’s always a delight to glimpse the wild world just beyond our walls. But our wildlife is in trouble. Natural habitats House martin nest cups are shrinking, becoming fragmented and isolated by Invite house martins to move in roads and other developments. With every tree that under your eaves with a specially is lost, there are fewer natural cavities in which bats made nest cup. They’re especially and birds can roost and nest. Nature no longer has useful when martins can’t find the space it needs to thrive. enough mud to build their own. Nature reserves are invaluable, but to keep Green wall these protected areas from becoming wild oases From a simple climbing plant in an impoverished landscape, we need to use every to a trellis laden with different single space to help wildlife. Our gardens, streets, species, a green wall adds road verges and even houses can become part of colour to a house, creates vital a wild network, creating vital green corridors and habitat and helps regulate stepping stones that connect larger wild spaces. pollution and rainfall. Every home, new or old, can play a part. The Wildlife Trusts have a vision for future housing and Hanging baskets work with some developers to make new builds and window boxes as green as possible, with built-in features that Wildflower-filled hanging Water butt complement the habitats around them. But existing baskets and window boxes Using less water helps keep homes can do their bit, too. With just a few mostly make the perfect pit stop our wetlands healthy, so set up inexpensive adjustments, we can make our roofs, for passing pollinators. a water butt to catch rainfall. walls and even windows a little more wildlife-friendly. You can use the water to clean From bee bricks and bat and bird boxes that your car and water your plants. provide safe roosting and nesting spots, to walls blooming with climbing plants, there are lots of great ways to turn the outside of your house into a wildlife Window stickers sanctuary. The best results will come when they Placing stickers on your complement the surrounding landscape, so take a windows gives birds a better look at the habitats around your house and choose chance of spotting the glass, the best features for your location – bats are more reducing the chance of a likely to use a roost close to a hedgerow or line of fatal collision. You can buy trees, and birds need to be able to find enough food them or cut out your own. to feed their hungry chicks. Together, our homes and gardens take up more Hedgehog holes space than all of the UK’s nature reserves put Hedgehogs can travel over together. So let’s make every inch count! a mile each night as they Bee box Bee boxes offer nesting space forage and look for mates. Brewster Sam Illustration: A 13cm x 13cm hole in for some species of solitary Visit our website for handy guides to your fence helps keep the bee. If you’re having work helping wildlife, from building bat boxes hedgehog highway open. done on your house, you can to attracting bees www.wildlifetrusts.org/actions even fit a built-in bee brick!

20 Wild London | Spring 2020 Wild London | Spring 2020 21 Please note: letters may be edited YOUR VIEWS for length and house style MY WILD LIFE We love to hear from you! Please send your letters and photos to [email protected]

Your wild photos STAR PHOTO Robin reliant

Netty Ribeaux I spotted this beautiful herring gull near Win! in central London where it was one of many attractions. Tourists were Conservation Officer, Triangle stopping to take pictures of the bird, which The star photo wins a I saw this robin by a Vietnamese seemed to enjoy the attention. restaurant in South Kensington. It signed copy of A Birder’s Journey to the Big 300+ Malgorzata Sikora via photo competition seemed to be doing fairly well on all I’m the conservation officer iron squares for reptiles and amphibians There are spotted snake millipedes in by Terry Wells. the leftovers.Chris Allnutt via email for to hide beneath. Reptiles use these ‘refugia’ the soil at Gunnersbury Triangle. They’re Nature Reserve. I survey the as a basking spot where they can warm whitish with tiny red spots and so cool. site for butterflies, bats and up unseen. This technique enables us to dragonflies, and I manage volunteers doing estimate their populations simply by lifting My favourite wildlife spot in the city is A siege of herons practical conservation. This work can be up the felt and looking underneath. my garden! It’s small and messy, but I’ve any form of habitat improvement, but had hedgehogs, frogs, newts, stag My girlfriend and I love walking around London Wildlife Trust says: Grey heron we do dig out a lot of brambles! When I started, the reptile beetles and dragonflies, as well London’s parks. One thing we’ve noticed is that numbers in London have risen and, since population was zero. The as breeding coal, great and blue we always, almost without fail, spot a heron or 2000, there have been about 500 pairs On a volunteer day, I whizz around the volunteers created a tits and robins. I recently saw a two. We used to take a picture every time recorded each year. Their success has been There are least two pairs of little owls in site picking up litter before the day starts. ‘reptile corridor’, an open tawny owl fly over my garden to send to my heron-loving mum, due to polluted rivers being cleaned, so Park. One pair had two owlets last This gives me an opportunity to check area between the train and land in a tree in the school but we had to stop because we that fish populations have recovered, year, and the family proved quite a draw as the morning wildlife, listen to bird song tracks and the reserve. For next door. looked a bit obsessed. We were as well as specific conservation they were out and about during the day. I and contemplate the pond. We then work four years, we kept it clear wondering: are there a lot of actions, such as creating reedbeds glanced up and found this one peering at me. outside on the reserve until mid afternoon. but there was no sign of any We’re so lucky to live in London. herons because of London- and new wetlands to give them Simon Wickes via photo competition reptiles. This summer, it finally paid Once you start looking, wildlife is based initiatives, or do herons a broader range of nesting and I love my volunteers. They are an inspiring off. We found at least three slow-worms, everywhere. My commute takes me over just particularly like London feeding opportunities. There’s also This grey wagtail was hopping on floating bunch who willingly give up their time and including two juveniles. I’m over the moon. the Thames at Hammersmith, where I’ve parks? Previously, I’ve lived in evidence that herons have become leaves and picking off aquatic invertebrates knowledge. They have diverse backgrounds seen a peregrine falcon trying to catch a Norfolk, Cheshire, Suffolk and more tolerant of people in parks and on the River Cray in Orpington. It stopped to and interests, and they constantly broaden I like to feel I’m making a difference and pigeon just a few metres away. Sussex, and I don’t think I’ve ever spotted learned that tidbits can be found. Regent’s look towards me and I got the shot. my horizons. I have huge respect for people helping to enhance London’s biodiversity. them this regularly. Park, near the Baker Street end, is the best Tom Fitton via email who give up their precious time for nature I get to spend time outdoors in nature, My goal is to enable people who visit Duncan Vicat-Brown place to see grey herons close up. – and I can really see the difference their where I’m constantly learning and Gunnersbury Triangle to feel closer to hard work makes. improving my identification skills. The nature: to see something, learn something, more I find out about the world around me, be inspired and breathe easier. One of the first things I did when I started the organisms in it and the interactions And for volunteers to see that Talk at Gunnersbury Triangle five years ago between them, the more inspired and the work they do here really to us... magazine@ twitter.com/ instagram.com/ facebook.com/ was put down roofing felt and corrugated connected I feel to this gorgeous area. does make a difference. wildlondon.org.uk wildlondon wild.london LondonWildlifeTrust

22 Wild London | Spring 2020 Wild London | Spring 2020 23 Protect the Chris Gomersall wildlife you love by leaving a gift in your Will

After you have taken care of those closest to you, please consider remembering London Wildlife Trust in your Will. Every gift, however large or small, makes a difference. Even 1% will help our city’s wildlife and wild spaces to thrive for generations to come.

Gifts generously left in Wills by our supporters have enabled us to: n Protect vulnerable wild spaces in the capital n Take on the management of nature reserves for wildlife n Inspire new generations to access, enjoy and love wildlife

To talk about leaving a gift in your Will, please contact Rosie on [email protected] or call 020 7803 4274