London Wildlife Trust - here's your monthly dose of London's wildlife!

 

A month after I last wrote to you, I hope this message finds you safe and well. A lot has happened, with more Covid-19 restrictions lifting, and many of us feeling our way through the current version of “new normal”; while a protracted heatwave brought the climate emergency to the forefront of our minds. I hope you survived the heat well enough – it was certainly tough in my house. On the plus side, our garden tomatoes loved it.  A couple of weeks ago in blazing heat I took my bike over to Centre for Wildlife Gardening in Peckham. While the hilly route was not my finest hour, I was rewarded for my efforts with, among other things, the sight of a tiny toad making its way through the reserve. Centre for Wildlife gardening contains multiple mini habitats and is great for spotting toads, stag beetles, butterflies and more. Outdoor spaces like parks and nature reserves have been so important to so many over the last few months, providing places of calm, and all the riches of nature, as well as somewhere to safely meet friends and family at a distance. We must protect them. Read the Wildlife Trusts Booklet Let Nature Help and find out about how nature’s recovery is essential for tackling the climate crisis. As ever I would love to hear from you about wildlife you’ve been spotting and what you’ve been up to this summer – send pictures and anything else through to supporters@wildlondon.org.uk! I’d especially like to see how you’ve been enjoying our reserves.

London Wildlife Trust News Brilliant Blue Butterflies Our Brilliant Butterflies team spotted two Adonis blue males at our Hutchinson's Bank reserve last week. The Adonis blue is the rarest of the blue butterflies in the UK, but can be found on sunny, south-facing grassland that is rich in herbs. In this blog post, our Brilliant Butterflies Reserves Officer Anna takes a look at some of the winged wanderers from the butterfly world, and their summer migrations over the south of England   Walthamstow Wetlands Walthamstow has a few rarities for the wetlands in recent weeks, including: wood warbler, spotted flycatcher (left) and two pied flycatchers (one seen right)! The flycatchers have been seen together on the central pylon peninsula low in a sycamore tree.   Great North Wood We discovered a couple of young beefsteak fungi (Fistulina hepatica) in Dulwich Wood on our last volunteer day there. As its name suggests, when mature, it looks similar to a slab of raw meat and even oozes a blood-like substance when cut. It's a type of bracket fungus and other names for it include beefsteak polypore, ox tongue or tongue mushroom, which are given for its resemblance to a tongue when young. Their fruiting season is from late summer until winter so look out for them in the woods and send us a picture if you spot any!   Animals of London We're delighted that award-winning design studio Run for the Hills have chosen to donate 20% of the sale price of their latest creation, Animals of London, to London Wildlife Trust. This beautifully illustrated typographic map of London is packed with our capital's creatures great and small, plotting all the places you can find our furry, feathery or scaly friends, including zoos, parks, farms and museums. Don't miss out on the chance to own this distinctive piece of art - a perfect gift for the London animal lover and opportunity to support the work of London Wildlife Trust. These limited edition prints are now available to purchase online in two sizes at https://www.wildlondon.org.uk/news/animalsoflondon