Jimmy Burns - Editor Mike Bates - Production - Battersea Park

In the continuing series of Nature columns,
the Park’s Ecology Officer, Valerie
Selby, looks on, under and over the Lake
of Battersea Park.
Attila’s Diet
Four geese have just flown overhead en
route to the lake here in the park. This
year has seen a family of Greylag geese
raise young on the lake. These geese differ
from Canada geese in that they are
grey all over and have an orange beak
and legs whereas the Canada geese have
black legs, a black beak and a distinctive
black and white head.
Most domestic geese are descended
from Greylag geese and they are quite a
bold species, not afraid to walk towards
people and confront them demanding
food. Once again, I would urge you not
to succumb to this “mugging”. Bread is
NOT good for the birds digestive systems
making their organs become engorged
and fatty, which can cause them
to suffer from heart disease, liver problems
and other health complications.
Valerie Selby
Secret Dwellers
Below: It’s not a good idea to feed the Swans.
NATURE NOTES
In a natural setting they will seek out
a variety of nutritious foods such as
aquatic plants, natural grains, and invertebrates.
Bread is very low in protein,
contains additives that wildfowl aren’t
built to cope with, and it’s a very poor
substitute for natural foods.
This dietary rule applies to all the birds
on our lakes including “Attila”, the extremely
territorial male swan, and his
family. For the long-term survival of
the cygnets it is important that they learn
to identify and eat natural foods, as this
will give them a greater chance of finding
a safe and secure home.
Swans are by nature territorial and
therefore need to find a patch of water
that can support two adults and any
youngsters with enough food and shelter.
If the swans are unable to learn to
locate natural foods as cygnets, the locations
available for them to establish their
own territory are limited later on in life.
Elsewhere in the park, we have installed
some more areas of aquatic planting
in the lake. These include plants to
help pump oxygen into the water and
water lilies to help provide shade to limit
the growth of algae. In wildlife terms
not only is this the natural version of the
aerators you see bubbling at the waters
surface, it also provides an important
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home for may invertebrates who
live and breed amongst these
submerged forests. Among
these secret park dwellers we
have damselfly nymphs that will
turn into damselflies later in the
year and a variety of water snails that
help to devour the detritus in the lake
such as fallen leaves. In the long term
these plantings should have the added
benefit of providing an attractive display
of flowers on the waters surface.
Crow Patrol
This is a very bird themed time of year.
One of the other common questions we
are getting at the moment concerns crows
“attacking” people who are going about
their usual business in parks and commons.
This is a short lived phenomenon
and, in much the way that we see Attila
being aggressive on the lake to protect
his young, the crows are protecting their
fledglings as they leave the nest. The
youngsters move out from the nest but
stay close by and are not fully independent
for 3-5 weeks. During this time the
adults will do all they can to protect them
including flying at people and sometimes
even launching at them with their feet.
The simplest thing to do is to avoid the
area – the one case we were aware of in
Battersea Park happened close to the Albert
Bridge pedestrian gate and we were
able to put notices up advising people to
avoid the area in the short term.
If you have wildlife information to
report or a query that needs answering,
Valerie Selby can be reached
Monday-Thursday,
8:30 am-5.00 pm on 8871-7019 or at
Vselby@wandsworth.gov.uk
How about Attila the swan for lunch?
(cartoon by Philip Wright OBE)