In this issue: When the storm came Workday update New bat roost record And the arrival of London’s woodcocks

Cox’s Walk in December

(Daniel Greenwood)

Protecting London’s wildlife for the future

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Fungi walks In October the Wood’s fungi expert, David Warwick, led two walks to educate visitors about fungi. Black bulgar, trooping and clouded funnel, puffballs, hare’s ears, parasols, bonnets, blushing bracket, slime moulds and many more were recorded. Thank you to David for sharing his time and knowledge yet again.

Sydenham Hill Wood News

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Open Day success On Sunday 1st September 2013 London Wildlife Trust hosted Sydenham Hill Wood’s 31st birthday Open Day. Volunteers made cakes and donated items for a tombola, as well as leading tree, bird and ‘nature safari’ walks for the public. Visitors donated £282 to our work at the Wood. We have already spent £120 of the donations on two new billhooks and new blades for our Silky saws. Therefore we would like to thank everyone who attended, and London Wildlife Trust would like to say a massive thank you to the great work and dedication of the volunteer group who have been looking after the Wood for more than 30 years. We couldn’t do it without you.

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Fly agaric (DG)

“Roll up, roll up!”(DG)

Airport expansion exposed as environmental folly? London Wildlife Trust is unsurprised at the findings of the interim report from the

Airports Commission, chaired by Sir Howard Davies, which was published yesterday

(17th December 2013). For all the political commitments to the contrary it

confirmed that Heathrow is one of the main choices for another runway. Whatever is

chosen the Trust is deeply concerned that the race for airport primacy will irrecoverably damage the environmental infrastructure of the south-east.

Whilst environmental matters have informed the interim report, it is not clear at this stage as to what extent these have been considered and what weight is attributed to them in determining the options. Nevertheless, the Trust welcomes the recognition the report gives to the profound ecological destruction that a new airport would cause in the Thames estuary, strongly advocated by the Mayor of London. Davies believes that there is only demand for one new runway in London and the south east for the foreseeable future. The shortlist sets out three main options: a new runway to the north-west of Heathrow; extending the existing northern runway at Heathrow; and a second runway at Gatwick. Expansion at Stansted is ruled out.

But Davies has included a new airport on the Hoo Peninsula on the Isle of Grain in the Thames estuary in a second tier of consideration; the Commission “will reach a view later next year on whether that option offers a credible proposal for consideration alongside the other short-listed options.” Neither ‘ruled in nor ruled out’, Davies nevertheless acknowledges that such an airport would be environmentally damaging, subject to flood risk, and, at up to £112 billion, highly expensive.

The report states that “none of the proposals submitted… for an Isle of Grain airport has provided clear evidence that the impacts on… designated [nature conservation] sites could feasibly be addressed or compensatory habitats provided.” However, by creating a new estuary airport the report also identifies what could happen to a closed Heathrow; “a very substantial site for redevelopment, with on some estimates scope to provide homes by 2050 for around 150,000 people.

Any expansion of airports through the creation of new runways or airports will have significant environmental impacts. Important wildlife sites are at risk, and the adverse impacts of pollution, noise and carbon emissions will be significant wherever these are.

Aviation emissions are still outside the international legal frameworks on cutting carbon pollution, despite the industry being one of the fastest growing contributors to climate change. Further airport expansion is clearly incompatible with the Climate Change Act, and will undermine efforts to reduce our climate impact in Britain. The question as to whether expansion is really needed to meet what appears to be a significant leisure-based demand isn’t really being addressed. The Trust is deeply concerned that the race for airport primacy will irrecoverably damage the environmental infrastructure of the south-east.

On Monday 28th October the storm of St. Jude hit the south of

England, here’s what happened at Sydenham Hill Wood In October 1987 the Great Storm struck. Over a million trees were downed, houses were destroyed and lives taken. It was a once in a century kind of thing. In October the south of England was hit by another storm, and though people were tragically killed by the impacts of the storm the technological foresight of weather analysts gave an idea of what was to come. The Typhoon in the Philippines has put things into perspective for us southerners but there has still been damage done, with several hundred incidents involving fallen trees reported across Southwark alone. In 1987 Sydenham Hill Wood was featured on the front page of The Times, with horses pulling some of the large trees out. There was no need for such an intervention this time, but chainsaws and a chipper were required to deal with the aftermath of St. Jude. It is safe to say that it was not as bad 1987. The key thing to remember here is that windblow is a natural way for woodlands to regenerate – the monoculture of spruce-dark forest that television and film has defined as a woodland setting down the years is not a ‘natural’ scene. Winds can tear holes in woodlands – as in the Tatras of Slovakia and Poland – and allow natural regeneration where light comes in and a new layer of trees and herbaceous plants can thrive, along with all the small birds, mammals and invertebrates which can benefit from this. In Sydenham Hill Wood, the situation is slightly different. The major damage has been done either side of the old track bed where iron fencing has been crushed by fallen trees. On Cox’s walk a sessile oak was smashed in half and on

Southwark tree surgeons at

work on Cox’s Walk (DG)

Lapsewood Walk a sycamore came through two lines of fencing to strike a street lamp. It broke in two. Part of the tree has been chipped and spread along the muddy footpath, with much of the tree used for deadwood habitat for fungi and our celebrity invertebrate, the stag beetle. Another oak limb was torn off over Beech Corner, up from the Cox’s Walk footbridge and into Sydenham Hill Wood. One question we often encounter when trees fall is – what are you going to do with the wood? Most of the timber is left in situ, always with the pathways kept clear, for the reasons above, whereas smaller pieces are used for dead hedging and path edging stakes. Everything has a purpose in nature, especially in the Wood. The big relief from the storm was that no one was hurt in Sydenham Hill Wood. There were reports from residents of the estate next to Cox’s Walk witnessing a person walking up into the Wood at the height of the storm, this person could have been seriously hurt. London Wildlife Trust staff and volunteers had to accost a small minority of visitors removing red and white hazard tape from paths below hanging and snagged branches, one instance of a man and a child. There has been a lot of discussion about why this is happening, why people are so careless. It could be that our living environment has become so sanitised and safe that we are generally losing our sense of awareness and sense of risk. Woodlands do have their dangers, particularly after a storm has hit. Deadwood in the canopy can become dislodged when high winds blow through and the harm done to passers by could be fatal, though the chances are generally very low. Therefore we implore all visitors, when seeing hazard tape, to look up and choose a different path. Removing hazard tape threatens other visitors’ safety, not merely the poor decision-making of the individuals concerned.

Volunteers survey the wreckage on

Lapsewood Walk (DG)

On the right path Volunteers worked solidly to sure up the thoroughfares this

season but it hasn’t all gone to plan

Those of you who have attended recent public walks at the Wood will

recall the eroded landscape of the Dulwich Wood and Sydenham Hill

Wood borders. In September volunteers coppiced sycamore trees and

used the timber for path edging along the border in order to guide visitors

through. This was achieved in no time at all. Longer and thicker pieces of

timber are used as the path edge and thinner pieces are turned into

stakes with a few blows from the billhook, one of the volunteers’ favourite

tools. The sound of billhooks clapping against wood and whetstones

grinding their blades is a common sound on a Wednesday or Thursday

afternoon. It’s also an excellent opportunity to answer questions from

members of the public about the old fashioned style of management, one

which relies on very basic resources and tools but has proven very

effective.

Volunteers busy on the

Dulwich Wood borders (DG)

In the 1990’s a hedge of hornbeam, field maple, hazel and hawthorn was

planted along upper Cox’s Walk. In late August volunteers laid the hedge,

then overgrown and turning into larger trees. Volunteers pleached the trees

by cutting almost all the way through until they could be pushed over to rest

along the line of the hedge. The tree was attached to the base by at least

the bark and a splinter of wood, meaning that the nutrients could still travel

to the wood above the cut (almost 90% of the tree) and so it would then

sprout upwards in spring, creating a hedge. This is a very old form of land

management. Hedgerow loss in the UK is one reason why farmland bird

populations have crashed. Unfortunately, a month after this work was

completed we were alarmed to hear the sound of chainsaws on upper

Cox’s Walk and discovered that the hedge was being cut to the ground with

chainsaws and the cuttings chipped by tree surgeons. Southwark Council

have since apologised. Both the Trust and the Council will work together to

ensure similar mistakes do not occur again. Southwark have offered £200

towards new saplings to replace the losses.

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Volunteers laying the hedge (DG)

Joy over new autumn resident Hannah Van Hesteren on a fantastic new bat roost

record for the Wood

On Thursday 26th September the annual bat box survey was conducted in

Sydenham Hill Wood by bat ecologists Huma Pearce, Ishpi Blatchley and

Caroline Nash with the help of some eager volunteers. The bat box survey

involves climbing ladders to check inside each of the 48 bat boxes discreetly

secured in trees for roosting bats. The boxes have been in place since 2009 with

the aim of encouraging bats to roost in the woodland.

Every bat found roosting was gently placed into a cloth bag to have their species

and sex identified, their measurements taken and to be ‘aww’ed-at by delighted

volunteers. Measurements taken were the weight (g) and forearm length (mm)

which varies between species and sex. These are all recorded and sent off to be

included in the NBMP (National Bat Monitoring Programme) data records that

help us understand population changes in the UK’s 13 native bat species.

The Wood’s first roosting

noctule is discovered (JW)

Twelve individual bats were recorded in the 2013 survey. Though this is fewer than

the survey in 2012, which found 23 roosting bats (all of which identified as either

Leisler’s or soprano pipistrelle), it’s not all bad news! Despite having found fewer

individuals this year, we were all thrilled to discover a third species roosting in the

bat boxes. Box number 37 revealed an encouragingly plump bat, weighing a

massive 26 grams heavier than the average weight of our soprano pipistrelles (6g)

and just over 15 grams heavier than our average Leisler’s (16.3g).We had come

across a female noctule, which is great news. Noctules have often been recorded

during bat transects at Sydenham Hill Wood, using bat detectors to determine the

species of bats in flight. However, this is the first year a noctule has been found

roosting here, which is very encouraging. While noctules have a widespread

distribution across England and Wales, even reaching into southern Scotland, past

records show populations have been subject to decline in Britain.

Historical records show many UK bat populations can be sensitive to decline, so

providing roosting space for bats is an important measure for their protection.

Finding noctules in bat boxes may be an indicator of other noctules roosting in tree

holes throughout the Wood, so this find is a fantastic result for the efforts put in at

Sydenham Hill Wood! Of course, it was wonderful to see Leisler’s and soprano

pipistrelles roosting this year too. Hurrah! All bats and their roosts are afforded

legal protection in the UK and bats can only be handled by those with a license.

The noctule’s wing is measured (JW)

Wood you believe it? London Wildlife Trust staff had an unusual visitor to Head

Office this winter, writes Peter Beckenham

A beautiful woodcock was found on the pavement at Southwark tube station and

brought into Skyline House, London Wildlife Trust’s headquarters. From the photo

you might think that it looks alive, if rather stunned, sadly though, it soon became

apparent that despite its immaculate condition, the bird was deceased. It was a

remarkable find for central London, an area not normally known for being home to

secretive, ground-dwelling woodland birds like this. Unfortunately it appears likely

that this bird collided with a nearby building during the night.

Its presence though was not as unusual as might be expected as woodcock are

regular winter visitors to London. Just days before this encounter, a woodcock was

seen in Sydenham Hill Wood by Daniel Greenwood. This is a great site record and

demonstrates the importance of well-maintained mature woodland and understory

The Southwark

woodcock

© Peter Beckenham

demonstrates the importance of well-maintained mature woodland and understory

for a range of wintering birds. As the photo shows, the woodcock is a master of

camouflage, perfectly suited to lying still amongst the leaf litter of a damp woodland

floor, before emerging at dusk to feed on worms and beetles.

As this BTO Birdtrack chart shows, whilst being resident in the UK, woodcocks are

more typically recorded during the winter months with peaks from late October

through to mid-January and again for roding (breeding) male birds through April.

Resident bird numbers are boosted by continental arrivals from the east and I

wonder if this was such a bird, migrating over London to a rich and sheltered

wintering ground somewhere before its journey was cut short. Woodcock are

known to be great travellers, often arriving in numbers and flying through the night

(these incredible journeys were once thought to be the means by which tiny

goldcrests would appear in greater numbers on the east coast during autumn - so-

called 'woodcock pilots'). Migration is tactically a great risk for any species but as

ever, this has shown the perils that many migrating birds face in heavily built up

areas like London.

There is a positive end to the story of this woodcock though. The bird was picked

up by a curator from the Horniman Museum in Forest Hill, where it may be added

to the museum’s extensive taxidermy collection or used as a skeletal reference

piece. Either way, it’s nice to think that from a sad demise, it may end up inspiring

the next generation of south London birdwatchers and citizen scientists.

If you’ve seen a Woodcock in London, please submit sightings to

http://www.gigl.org.uk/online/submitrecord.aspx, your sightings can help inform

decisions affecting wildlife in London and ultimately the conservation of species

and habitats in the capital.

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Winter tree ID

Protecting London’s wildlife for the future

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Sydenham Hill Wood & Cox’s Walk

Sunday 26th

January 2014 at 14:00 Meet inside the Crescent Wood Road entrance This is a free walk, booking is not required Contact dgreenwood@wildlondon.org.uk

Visit London Wildlife Trust online: www.wildlondon.org.uk www.facebook.com/londonwildlifetrust www.twitter.com/wildlondon

Learn how to identify trees without leaves

© D. Greenwood