In case you missed it, we enjoyed a fascinating wander amongst the trees last Saturday, discovering so much about the Park’s treasured trees and habitats. Following that successful walk, John Denton will be leading a butterfly walk this Saturday.
He aims to help you:
1) Identify the summer butterflies in the park.
2) Try to observe the differences between the sexes.
3) Link their behaviour to the different habitats in the park.
Meet by the carpark notice board. Route will be off and on the paths, so please contact fspdog@hotmail.com to help us accommodate mobility issues. This is a very much a weather dependent walk, and if the forecast is for heavy cloud, rain or showers it will not take place.
Join John Denton, a woods-wise FSP member, as he leads us on an hour’s walk through the Park; identifying trees by leaf/fruit/bark, finding the height of trees, calculating their ages, making bark and leaf rubbings AND tree beating!
Correct meeting place is by the notice board in Plum Lane carpark . Wear sturdy shoes. Route will be off and on the paths, so please contact fspdog@hotmail.com to help us accommodate mobility issues.
Members free, others £2 (but free if you join the Friends)
We would like to thank Jon Crouch, Store Manager at Tesco’s in Erith for the donation of a cordless hedge trimmer. We will be using the trimmer to help cut back the brambles in the park, to help make the park more accessible.
Each winter the bird boxes sited along Dot Hill path need to be checked and emptied in order to be ready for new occupants in the spring. Martin and Peter from RBG Parks and Open Spaces met us early morning on December, set up the ladder and then opened each box in turn.
The blue tits have been busy again this year and we found nine boxes containing successful nests. Some were more cosy and substantial than others, maybe built by more experienced birds – we had fun speculating. The remaining three boxes were empty.
Blue or Great Tit’s nest from one of the bird boxes.
Results show that #7, #11 and #12 have been empty two years running and Martin suggested moving them if this occurs next season. The boxes are easily visible this time of year so have a wander and see if you can spot them. They are numbered in order, 1 – 13, and you will notice that #4 is ‘in need of rennovation’ as it was damaged in 2014. Look out for the one with the extra front door…
FSP would like to thank Parks and Open Spaces for accommodating this visit in their packed work schedule.
Formed in 2006, the Friends of Shrewsbury Park encourage the use of Shrewsbury Park and support the development of facilities for recreation, education and amenities for local people and to encourage a sense of community around the park.
