Hainault Forest Website

 Nature Diary for 2010

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May - June 2010

Coot parents feed their five chicks with weed. This is gathered from the lake bottom. Coots dive for this.  25th June 2010

After a cold and miserable start to the year the weather in May gradually improved and there has been little rain for the whole period. Frosts still occurred nightly from the 1st - 15th May. Some of the vegetables succumbed to the late frosts particularly the sweet corn and tomatoes. The highest temperature was 28°C on the 23rd May, but this has been superseded several times in the last two weeks of June when the sun has been shining and it's been hot and oppressive at times.

 The Wildlife garden is developing well this year. It has taken four years to clear the area of scrub, weeds, rubbish and timber and get it wildlife friendly. The aim is to develop a garden which encourages bees, hoverflies, moths and butterflies to feed here. The chives which flowered earlier in May were a favourite of the bumblebees, as are the flowering garden plants. We also aim to encourage ladybirds and lacewings who will feed on aphids and to curb the excesses of pest species through natural predation. To this end we do not use any chemicals or sprays. Click here for garden pictures. A pond was created last year and completed recently and already there are frogs, toads and Smooth newts in the pond and in the garden area. Pond skaters are present on the surface film of the pond and a large number of Water fleas Daphnia sp. are to be seen. Amphibia will feed on insects and other small invertebrates. One drawback to a pond is that various midges and gnats breed there. Having bats flying in the area helps reduce their numbers. Hainault lake was swarming with tadpoles, a large band of them encircling the lake, and some of these were put into the wildlife pond. On the 22nd June tiny froglets were seen leaving the lake in large numbers, crossing paths and grassland. Few of these will survive predation but those that do will remain hidden until the ages of 4 or 5 when they will return to ponds to spawn. The presence of amphibia in a habitat indicates a healthy environment. A wet area to one end of the pond has various plants including Purple loosestrife which is flowering at present.

Blue-tailed and Large red damselflies are present near the pond and a large dragonfly - the Broad-bodied chaser male was found using various sticks to perch on as he quartered the pond. This gave the opportunity to get a close-up photograph.

Some of our plants and vegetables are grown in containers which include discarded car tyres, oil drum, dustbin,  glazed sewer pipes and house bricks. Using old containers reduces the fossil fuels used in the manufacture of plastic pots. Plots are lined with old fence rails and bricks, and raised beds created from old scaffolding planks and even a second-hand pond liner was used. Felled timber and branches make an ideal beetle habitat. Recycling rubbish saves money too.

The vegetable patch contains Sweet-corn, marrows, potatoes, spinach, chard, beetroot, onions, runner beans, peas, tomatoes, peppers and aubergine.

We have created a small cornfield which has an edge of cornfield species such as poppies. One mystery plant which has grown here is the Scorpion weed. It originates from California and is beginning to appear in the UK where it is planted on field edges and among rows of vegetables. It is a favourite of Hoverflies, which in turn feed on pest insects.

One of the raised beds has annual and perennial plants including Phlomis, Lupins, Canterbury bells, Coreopsis, Daisies, Star of the Veldt, Antirrhinum, Aarons rod, Foxgloves, Scabious and Gaillardia The second raised bed has a variety of mints, oregano, marjoram, bronze fennel, feverfew and borage.

Further work to be done over the next year is to complete a path into the garden via the willow tunnel which is doing well and was planted on the 1st March. To develop a bird feeding station near the hedgerow, to install a shed, to create grass paths and to develop further natural areas. To do this work requires the dedication of volunteers. Could you spend a couple of hours a week - light or heavy work at a time to suit yourself. You would be very welcome. Further information from Linda Herbert at the Country Park Office on 020 8500 7353 or linda.herbert@redbridge.gov.uk. Thankyou.

Butterflies seen in the past couple of weeks were Purple hairstreak, Large skipper, Common blue, Meadow brown, Speckled wood, Comma, Green-veined white. While examining Field maple for galls I came across a green caterpillar of the Common Quaker moth Orthosia cerasi. St. Mark's flies Bibio marci were out in force in the grassland and shrubs on the 14th May. They are noticeable by their long legs when flying and towards the end of May the light green Tortrix moths Tortrix viridana were flying around the oaks.

There are a couple of Bird cherries Prunus padus in the Country park, and they were in flower on the 9th May. The flowers hang in large racemes. Bird cherry is much more common in the north and Scotland woodlands. The Whitebeams are a difficult group to sort out. The female produces seed without fertilization. In plants where this happens they are referred to as apomictic. This leads to considerable individual variation and also occurs in Dandelion and Hawkweed families. I know of three Broad-leaved Whitebeams Sorbus latifolia agg. in the forest and two have flowered this year.

On the 8th May on the anniversary of VE day in 1945 several hundred people went to Fairlop Waters formerly Fairlop Aerodrome during the 2nd World War where a replica spitfire was on exhibit. It was a freezing cold day but well supported. Ilford North MP Lee Scott performed the welcome address and indicated to all present his intention to set up a fund to have a permanent memorial to all those air force personnel and civilians who gave their lives in service of this country at Fairlop. Memorabilia was on sale and exhibitions of the Fairlop Oak and Fairlop Fair in the 18th and 19th centuries, photographs of the WW1 and WW2 operations and personnel and a wartime exhibit by Redbridge Museum services.

Bird cherry  9th May 2010

Broad leaved whitebeam  14th May 2010

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March - April 2010

Duck family 30th April 2010 - Eleven ducklings

Duck family 3rd May 2010 - 6 ducklings left

Duck family 9th May 2010 - Two ducklings survive.

March began with a week of sunny days and very frosty nights and similar weather continued for the whole month but with the hottest day so far of 17.5°C recorded on Wednesday the 16th March.  Cold weather from the north continued  throughout April with  many  ground frosts and

resulted in the season being around three weeks late. There were no flowering bluebells on the Bluebell walk on 24th April and only three people turned up.

At Easter and most weekends large numbers of the SBB (Stale Bread Brigade) arrive with full bags of stale bread to feed the farm animals and the water birds on the lake. Pictured left is the lake edge after the Easter Monday. The birds cannot cope with this amount of bread and it feeds the rats which can be seen darting to and fro most days and there is always the problem of Weil's disease in the water. Each day flocks of Canada geese can be seen grazing on the grassland. This is their normal food.  On the farm people continue to ignore the DO NOT FEED THE ANIMALS notices. The farm animals have a balanced diet and the animals soon become ill and overweight by giving extra and inappropriate food. It is in fact an offence to feed the animals on the farm. We didn't have stale bread to waste at home. My mother turned it into bread and butter pudding for afters or sweet, and bread pudding was another of her specialties for a treat. This is something that I still enjoy today.

At the beginning of March the sun streaming through the Country park Office window awakened large numbers of Harlequin ladybirds Harmonia axyridis which had overwintered there. Comma and Peacock butterflies appeared by the 14th March, with a Brimstone male on the 8th April and Orange tips, Speckled wood and Small white seen on the 23rd April. Bee-flies were seen hovering along the woodland edges on the 8th April and on warm days from the 28th April swarms of the harmless but nevertheless annoying long legged St. Mark's fly Bibio marci appeared in the shrub and grassland areas. St. Mark's day is the 25th April. Accompanying them around the oak trees were the long horned metallic micro-moths Adela reaumurella. When the weather is still the males with 5 cm antennae compete with each other in a flying dance to find females who sit on the branches and have a modest 2 cm antennae.

Flocks of Black-headed gulls who overwinter in the area were beginning to get their characteristic "black" head spring plumage in the first week of March. The first Swallow was seen on the 5th April. On 8th April two Herons were seen at Roes well and a Chiff-chaff was heard, as was a Cuckoo on the 21st April.

On a bright sunny Thursday 8th April I walked with the "Time Out" group from Hainault Baptist Church, renewing acquaintances and remembering folk from decades ago and from my childhood. Starting at Chigwell Row, we looked at wild flowers and their identification, visited Roe's well and Sheepwater and looked at pollarded hornbeams. One strange object puzzled the group. It was a slime mould Enteridium lycoperdon growing on an old stump. They used to be included in the fungi but now along with the fungi each have their own Kingdom. Slime moulds known as Myxomycetes are composed of single cell animals who come together in their millions out of a tree stump after rainfall. They form a large gelatinous mass which forms a skin over it. The whole thing eventually dries out in a few days and breaks down releasing a mass of spores which blow away and the cycle continues. For other slime mould pictures click here.

On the 11th April I found several Egghead Mottlegill fungi growing on a dung heap in the farmyard. This is a common species on dung but not edible. Two Semifree Morel fungi were found on the bluebell walk on the 24th April. It likes damp woodland and was found near Roe's well by one of the group. It was later identified by local mycologist Peter Comber. It is said to cause stomach upsets if eaten. According to Roger Phillips book "Mushrooms" it is said to be occasional.

Some woodland and scrub have been cleared or thinned. Along the Hainault Oak path from New North Road to the lake the Early dog violet Viola reichenbachiana was flowering in profusion on 18th April and along several paths from Cavill's walk the Wood sorrel Oxalis acetosella is a welcome sight. Lady's smock or Cuckoo flower appeared on Cabin plain and in the Country Park grassland  this April but in fewer numbers. To grow successfully it requires an early cut but due to the saturated ground this was not possible this year. The bright yellow heads of Coltsfoot Tussilago farfara appeared around the lakeside on the 21st March. The tiny and vulnerable patch of Wood anemone produced three flowers.

The weather lore;

Oak before Ash in for a splash

Ash before Oak in for a soak.

was a dead heat, with individual trees of each species coming into leaf at random over a few weeks. Some trees are still in bud at the end of April. How can we predict the coming weather?

The first monthly Essex Farmer's market came to the Country Park on the 18th April. There were about a dozen stalls and hopefully this will build up in the months to come.

Frogs were spawning in large numbers in Roe's Well on the 20th March and many Toads were spawning a couple of weeks later 5th April in the lake.

The pen swan is still incubating her eggs closely guarded by the cob who attacks aggressively any goose that comes close to the nest. The Canadian geese have produced huge families this year with one brood of 10 goslings. The ducks don't fare as well. One duck produced 11 ducklings on the 30th April and by the 3rd May the family was reduced to 6 and on the 9th May only two survived. The main predators are the Carrion crows who swoop down and pick them off the lake. Pike in the lake may also be responsible. Any duckling who inadvertently strays from its parents may be pecked and harassed by passing Geese and goslings.

 In the Garden for Wildlife has been much planting of perennial plants - lupins, poppy, foxglove, phlomis, Marguerite daisies, Aarons' rod and Star of the Veldt. The Strawberry plants are strong and the herb garden is being developed. Various shrubs have been planted and a small area of cereal crop alongside should have poppies, cornflowers and other wildflowers growing among it. The Willow tunnel was put in place on the 1st March  and is shooting well. The long winter has made planting difficult.

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January - February 2010

Blue Tit in Foxburrows Cottage garden © Adam Locke January 2010

Following on from a cold and snowy Christmas period the weather in January and February has been very similar. Extremely cold, snow, ice, much rainfall, strong winds and a general grayness with only a couple of days of sunshine. The days are getting noticeably longer by the end of February and the temperatures rising to around 9°C. The whole of the Country Park is waterlogged and paths in the woodland very muddy. Some thinning of trees by the lake has been completed and work continues on the farm with fencing and completion of the pig enclosure. Work on the wildlife garden is progressing slowly. Funding has been secured for fencing and rabbit proofing the site. A path is being constructed. I have managed to secure £500 from the Hainault Community Fund for the volunteers and I have purchased 2 tons of pebbles to landscape the pond area, two tons of topsoil for bedding, and 28 lavender plants to form a hedgerow along with some other shrubs. We had hoped to have Danielle Robson plant a willow tunnel over the path but this was postponed due to inclement weather and we hope to have this completed early in March. We welcome volunteers to join us and if you have a couple of hours to spare from time to time please telephone Linda Herbert at 020 8500  7353 or e-mail linda.herbert@redbridge.gov.uk .

I have very little to report this time, so I am including some pictures that best illustrate the Country Park this winter and I am grateful to Adam Locke for allowing their use here.

Looking at the grassland area. © Adam Locke January 2010

Another view of  the grassland area. © Adam Locke January 2010

Foxburrows cottages. © Adam Locke January 2010

Woodhenge. © Adam Locke January 2010

Owl sculpture, Woodhenge. © Adam Locke January 2010

Foxburrows farm and zoo. © Adam Locke January 2010

Trees on Hog Hill. © Adam Locke January 2010

Trees on Hog Hill. © Adam Locke January 2010

Wildfowl find a small area of open water. © Adam Locke Jan. 2010

Wildfowl on the lake. © Adam Locke Jan. 2010

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