The black redstart is synonymous with green roofs for me. Importantly, the story of the black redstart is a story of renewal. It is a story of colonising destroyed and forgotten parts of London.
So get your pictures ready – whether it be on a shed or on a large retail unit. Every green roof counts. Tell your town or city or country why you think green roofs are important.
It would appear hedgehogs are ungrateful beasts. Regent’s Park is a vast wilderness that must just be the perfect hedgehog home range.
I used to see foxes when I was a child in the countryside but rarely. Since I moved to London, 30 years ago, they are almost a daily sight.
The hairstreak moved around the ragwort unperturbed. For ten minutes it slowly worked the golden florets.
Wildflower verges – we need more wildflower verges in London like those on Blackheath. Blanket mowing of roadside grass really needs to become the rarity not the norm in London.
Starlings summon up images of great murmurations in the sky. Flocks of wheeling dark dots morphing and merging as they come into roost.
The Bee wolf main claim to fame is that it hunts honey bees. Hence its name ‘wolf’. But it is also a good pollinator.
Anyone familiar with my work over the last 20 or so years in London will know my association with the black redstart. It was in fact, how i became involved in green roofs.