A wildlife diary
Mary Smith 33 Gaynes Park Road, Upminster, Essex RM14 2HJ
The new Visitor Centre in Bedfords Park was an interesting place to visit in late July. It
was opened in June, having been funded by the Essex Wildlife Trust, the London Borough
of Havering and Havering Cleanaway Trust. The panoramic view from the cafe area is
stunning, there is a small shop selling EWT merchandise, and the modern toilet facilities
are very hi-tech. The staff are friendly too! And, of course, Bedfords Park is a fine
place for a walk, with a wealth of habitats each with flora and fauna of many kinds.
There is an interesting selection of planted ornamental trees near the Visitor Centre,
which is near where the big house was. The top of the hill is just over 100m above sea
level, and gives fine views of the surrounding countryside and the City.
I expect most of you are already very familiar with the Wasp Spider, but I saw my first
one in late July. Three of us were botanising in the Ingrebourne valley, and we saw a
remarkable spider in a vertical web strung between tall grass stems. The spider had an
abdomen so like that of a wasp that it had to be the Wasp Spider. When I got home I
looked up the article about it in the EFC Newsletter a few years back (No 31: 13-14)
and the photo looked right. It seemed it was already not uncommon in southern Essex.
Peter Harvey confirmed that they are unlikely to bite you, but it is better not to pick
them up and hurt them. Since then, I have seen them quite a lot, and the local paper
reported one had been found in the Hornchurch fire station, inside the building!
A conversation with Mark Hanson, our President, revealed that the largest Crack Willow
tree he had ever seen in Essex is very close to my home. Parklands is a small public
open space around a lake in southern Upminster, that is the remnant of a landscaped
park of about 250 years ago. At one end is a fine specimen of the native Black Poplar,
often called the Water Poplar. Along the lake edge grow many willows, but one Crack
Willow is outstanding, (see plate 3) Around its bole it measures over 6 metres! This
makes it around 250 or more years old. I estimated from the photo the height of the tree
was about 28 metres, which means it is probably the variety known as Bedford Willow,
which is quite common in our area. It is clear that the tree has suffered in the past as
several huge branches lean right to the ground, but new trees have grown up at the
ends, making it look as though it is kneeling down, or leaning on its elbows.
On Is' August I had a phone call from fellow member Bob Creber saying he had found
a few plants of the very rare Jersey Cudweed growing in Harrow Lodge Park in
Hornchurch. A few days later I went to see them, and then 1 found another group in a
private garden in Upminster, only about 100m from my home. Although this is a rare
plant where it is native, in Havering it is not that uncommon as it was brought back
from New Zealand, where it is probably native, by someone who stalled a nursery in
the area and some of his plants escaped. I have yet to find other New Zealand plants
10 Essex Field Club Newsletter No. 43, January 2004