The Wren Conservation and Wildlife Group

by George Washington

To assist other members and anyone reading this who has special interests and who may want to locate flora and fauna I have recorded, I have divided that part of the Wren Group Study Area which I visit (Gilbert's Slade) into 14 sections. In clockwise order they are:

(Epping Forest East of the Woodford New Road)
1 Gilbert's Slade Wood West.
2 Gilbert's Slade Wood East, (From Waterworks Roundabout to Gilbert's Slade Plain, a horse ride marks the boundary between Gilbert's Slade Woods East and West and separates the two woods.)
3 Gilbert's Slade Plain.
4 Gilbert's Slade Wood South, (A stream running from the Woodford New Road, through Gilbert's Slade Woods and out along the southern edge of Gilbert's Slade Plain marks the boundary between Gilbert's Slade Woods South and West.)
5 Southern Woodland.
6 Buxton Drive Thicket.
7 Round Pond Plain.

(Epping Forest West of the Woodford New Road)
8 Forest Rise Plain.
9 St Peter's Wood.
10 Rising Sun Wood South, (a paved path from the junction of Upper Walthamstow Road and Forest Rise to Woodford New Road marks the boundary between Rising Sun Wood South and St Peter's Wood.)
11 Bulrush Pond and Plain (includes island)
12 Rising Sun Wood North, (a straight line from the corner of the allotments to Bulrush Pond marks the boundary between Rising Sun Woods North and South.)
13 Waterworks Hill.
14 Waterworks Wood.

A Map is Provided - Click Here

If you visit any part of this area you will see things that are not listed below as I have listed only the fauna and flora I have been able to recognise. (The brown rat listed for example was definitely a rat and not a
vole. The nose and tail are quite distinctive.)

BEETLES

Chrysomelidae Beetle (Haltica oleracea)
Observed in section 10.

Click Beetle (Agrypnus murina)
Observed in section 3.

Fourteen-Spot Ladybird (Propylea 14-punctata)
Observed in section 3.

Ground Beetle (Adelocera murina)
Observed in section 3.

Ground Beetle (Nebria brevicollis)
Observed in sections 10; 12.

Ground Beetle (Oedemera nobilis)
Observed in section 14.

Larder Beetle (Demestes lardarius)
Observed in section 14.

Leaf Beetle (Donacia vulgaris)
Observed in sections 3; 13.

Longhorn Beetle (Alosterna tabcicolor)
Observed in section 13.

Pine Ladybird (Exochomus 4-pustulatus)
Observed in section 14.

Seven-Spot Ladybird (Cocinella 7-punctata)
Observed in sections 1; 10; 13; 14.

Skipjack Beetle (Melanotus rufipes)
Observed in section 1.

Thick-legged Flower Beetle (Oedemera nobils)
Observed in section 14.

Twentyfour-Spot Ladybird (Subcoccinella 24-punctata)
Observed in section 14.

Two-Spot Melanic Ladybird (Adalia 2-punctata)
Observed in section 3.

Wasp Beetle (Clytus arietus)
Observed in section 10.

Weevil (Curculio nucum)
Observed in section 14.

BUTTERFLIES & MOTHS

Large White Butterfly (Pieris brassicae)
Observed in section 13.

Red Admiral Butterfly (Vanessa atalanta)
Observed in section 14.

Silver Y Moth (Autographia gamma)
Observed in section 13.

Speckled Wood Butterfly (Pararge aegeria)
Observed in sections 9; 10; 13; 14.

OTHER INSECTS

Blue Bottle Fly (Calliphora vomitoria)
Observed in section 12; 13; 14.

Buff-Tailed Bumble Bee (Bombus terrestris)
Observed in sections 3; 7; 13; 14.

Bumble Bee (Bombus pascuorum)
Observed in section 14.

Common Frog Hopper (Philaenus spumarius)
Observed in section 3.

Flesh Fly (Sarcophaga carnaria)
Observed in section 12.

Forest Bug (Pentatoma rufipes)
Observed in section 6; 13.

Four-spotted Oak Bug (Dryophilicoris flavoquadrimaculatus)
Observed in section 10.

Garden Spider (Araneus diadematus)
Observed in section 12.

Green Shield Bug (Palomena prasina)
Observed in sections 8; 13.

Hover Fly (Volucella zonaria)
Observed in section 10.

Mirid Bug (Liocoris tripustulatus)
Observed in section 14.

Red Ant (Myrmica laevinodis)
Observed in sections 1; 10.

Red-tailed Bumble Bee (Bombus lapidarius)
Observed in section 14.

Shield Bug (Verlusea rhombea)
Observed in section 13.

AMPHIBIANS & REPTILES

Common Frog (Rana temporaria)
Observed in section 14.

Common Lizard (Lacerta vivipara)
Observed in section 14.

Common Toad (Bufo bufo)
Observed in section 14.

FISH

Three-Spined Stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus)
Observed in section 11.

MAMMALS

Brown Rat (Rattus norvegicus)
Observed in section 7.

Fox (Vulpes vulpes)
Observed in section 14.

Grey Squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris)
Observed in sections 1; 2; 4; 6; 7; 9; 10; 12; 14.

BIRDS

Blackbird (Turdus merula)
Observed in sections 1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6; 7; 8; 9; 10; 11; 12; 13; 14.

Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla)
Observed in section 9.

Blue Tit (Parus caeruleus)
Observed in sections 11; 12; 13.

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)
Observed in section 11.

Carrion Crow (Corvus corone)
Observed in sections 1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6; 7; 8; 9; 10; 11; 12; 13; 14.

Collared Dove (Streptopelia decaocto)
Observed in section 12.

Coot (Fulica atra)
Observed in section 11.

Dunnock/Hedge Sparrow (Prunella modularis)
Observed in section 13.

Feral Pigeon (Columba livia)
Observed in section 7.

Great Tit (Parus major)
Observed in sections 4; 11.

Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea)
Observed in section 11.

Jay (Garrulus glandarius)
Observed in sections 2; 3; 5; 14.

Magpie (Pica pica)
Observed in sections 1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6; 7; 8; 9; 10; 11; 12; 13; 14.

Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
Observed in sections 1; 11; 14.

Mistle Thrush (Turdus viscivorus)
Observed in sections 9; 10.

Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus)
Observed in sections 7; 11.

Pied Wagtail (Motocilla alba yarrelli)
Observed in section 7.

Robin (Erithacus rubecula)
Observed in section 2; 10.

Wood Pigeon (Columba palumbus)
Observed in sections 1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6; 7; 8; 9; 10; 11; 12; 13; 14.

OTHER FAUNA

Cross Spider (Araneus umbraticus)
Observed in section 1.

Red Slug (Arion rufus)
Observed in sections 3; 13.

Geophilomorrph Centipede (Geophilus sp.)
Observed in sections 12; 13.

Lithobiomorph Centipede (Lithobius forficatus)
Observed in sections 1; 12; 14.

FLORA

Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa)
Observed in section 12.

Bluebell (Endymion non-scriptus)
Observed in sections 2; 9; 12; 13; 14.

Common Vetch (Vicia sepium)
Observed in section 13.

Creeping Buttercup (Ranunculus repens)
Observed in section 13.

Daisy (Bellis perennis)
Observed in section 7.

Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)
Observed in sections 3; 7; 14.

Ear Fungus (Hirneola auricula-judae)
Observed in section 9.

English Oak (Quercus robur)
Observed in sections 1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6; 7; 8; 9; 10; 11; 12; 13; 14.

Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna)
Observed in sections 6; 12; 13; 14.

Hazel (Corylus avellana)
Observed in section 2.

Holly (Ilex aqulfolium)
Observed in sections 1; 2; 4; 6; 10; 12; 14.

Hornbeam (Carpinus betulus)
Observed in sections 1; 2; 4; 14.

Horse Chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum)
Observed in sections 6; 9.

King Alfred's Cakes (Daldinia concentrica)
Observed in section 4.

Mountain Ash/Rowan (Sorbus aucuparia)
Observed in section 1.

Perforate St John's Wort (Hypericum perforatum)
Observed in section 7.

Red Clover (Trifolium pratense)
Observed in sections 8; 13.

Silver Birch (Betula pendula)
Observed in sections 1; 2; 4;12; 14.

Sycamore (Acer psuedoplatanus)
Observed in sections 4; 6; 12.

White Clover (Trifolium repens)
Observed in section 13.

Woody Nightshade (Solanum dulcamara)
Observed in section 4.

Yellow Iris (Iris pseudacorus)
Observed in section 11.

A FOOT NOTE

As well as being home to the above, this area is there for people to enjoy. With that in mind I'd like to mention two things...

If you bring your dog with you, please do think about where you let him/her off the lead. On one visit to Bulrush Pond, I stood for about 15 minutes and watched a stickleback successfully chasing off other males from the area around the nest he was protecting. It was all to no avail. A couple came by and allowed their dog to romp in the pond. By the time the dog came out of the water, I suspect, that the stickleback's nest was destroyed.

If you have children to entertain during school holidays etc and the weather is fine, the Waterworks Wood could be a good place to have a picnic. The wide, flat, grassed area over the covered resevoir is ideal for playing any game which requires even ground. (For anyone who does not drive, the 20 and 123 bus routes pass by Waterworks Wood.)

George Washington