Plant life thriving

This past week is, to my shame, the first time that I have been over to the RDW in several months. I went to see the new ecological base on Saturday for a meeting about how to develop the Friends of Russia Dock Woodland website, and was impressed with the work being carried out by both the Trust for Urban Ecology (TRUE) and volunteers. I hope to find out more about their work soon.

It was also wonderful to see the wildlife there. Steve Cornish recently photographed a kingfisher, which has made its home on one of the ponds where there is running water, but less unusual residents and visitors are everywhere at the moment. On Sunday a wander round produced coots with their colourful chicks, a heron who was obviously used to all the attention he was attracting, magpies, Great Tits, and an assortment of lovely plant life including bright yellow water irises. Everwhere you look the grass has bloomed with carpets of white and yellow daisies interspersed here and there with buttercups - a lot of people frown on them as weeds but I thought that they truly sparkle in parkland contexts.