Blog
Just in Case
25/02/2018
Arriving too early for my appointment we went for a walk around the streets off the Kings Road. In the distance we saw birds high in a tree, a charm of Goldfinches, approaching we counted 13 birds with more over the roof top. But were they Goldfinches, they looked like Goldfinches with their slim shape and their flighty movement but something was wrong and we couldn't put our fingers on it. We went through a list of birds they could be but to no avail. They were forty feet up in a tree, too far away for our aged eyes to discern details. Oh for a pair of binoculars! In the end we left disappointed that we hadn't been able to identify the birds.
By now the bitter cold was biting through so we headed off to the warmth of the hospital, turning into Chelsea Manor Street we put up two Ringed Neck Parakeets eating apples from the pavement which had fallen from a tree overhanging a fence There were three more eating the very large Russet type apples hanging from the tree. They were soft and juicy, more like pears and the Parakeets were really enjoying them. It was a perfect picture, the green bird against the russet coloured fruit and they were so close but alas there was no camera.
I know that not everybody likes Parakeets but it's lovely to see these exotic birds on the streets of London.
Apple Day Gillespie Park
20/10/2015
There were twenty different varieties of organic apples all labelled and laid out in a semi-circle in cardboard boxes ready for tasting and juicing. These heritage apples come from the National Fruit Collection at Brogdale Farm near Faversham in Kent which is one of the largest fruit collections in the world.
There are varieties with wonderful names such as, Christmas Pearmain, Nonpareil and Lord Lamborne. Not to mention those which sound like other fruits: Barnark Orange and the better known Blenheim Orange, along with Pitmanston Pine Apple and Winter Banana!
Lots of varieties have Pearmain as part of their name, Mannington’s Pearmain or Worcester Pearmain for example which means pear shaped apple.
Visitors had a lovely afternoon visiting the stalls, listening to the music and eating the apple related food prepared in the Sunday Café and some people even brought along their own apples for juicing.
The children were happy helping with the juicing, getting wet apple bobbing, competing for the longest peel or playing William Tell with a rubber arrow.
The apples were the star of the day and happily there has been a renaissance in apple growing in this country after many orchards were grubbed out in the 1990’s due to EU subsidies. We should be buying more British apples particularly the older more vulnerable varieties such as Lord Lamborne pictured left so that future generations can enjoy them.
Mile End Park
18/03/2014
The Eco Pavilion overlooking the nature park is an earth sheltered building sustainably built with a reed fringed lake in front. Unfortunately I've never seen this resource open and it appears to be used mainly for weddings and other private hires rather that its original purpose.
The abundance of water around the park is a great asset for wildlife and I was amazed to see a flash of blue which turned into a Kingfisher on the decking around the lake followed quickly by a second bird. I wondered if they were looking for somewhere to breed. They appeared quite unafraid. At the same time I heard a Wren calling and later saw it in one of the trees nearby. A little further east I spotted a pair of Grey Wagtails by the side of a second lake. I added Robin and Starling to the list with Mallard, Moorhen and Coot on the lake. Earlier I’d heard a Woodpecker drumming in Victoria Park just to the north. Lastly, south of the Green Bridge and close to Burdett Road a pair of long tailed tits, little bundles of fluff fluttering in the breeze each with a feather in its mouth headed towards a tree next to the path. Could they possibly be making a nest there? A pretty sight in the late afternoon sunshine..