NEWS

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We are delighted that Mary Tester has agreed to talk with us on 20th January at 7pm via Zoom about the animals that can be found in the Thames.  Mary is a British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) medic and was in charge of monitoring the movements of  Freddie the seal.  Mary was part of his rescue party when he was fatally injured last year. Since then Mary has been working to provide seals with stronger legal protection. Mary will also talk to us about the history of the Thames, it's importance to humans as well as animals and some of the wonderful creatures that can be found within its waters - 3 species of shark, seahorses and the endangered European eel - whose lifecycle is one of the most amazing you will ever hear of!   

This should be a very interesting talk and we hope you can join us!

please email events@wildchiswick.com to register.

Photo:  Freddie the seal. Credit: Mary Tester

We were delighted to host an evening with Mike Toms, Head of Communications, The British Trust for Ornithology last month.

We have been asked by several if this talk was recorded.  We are afraid not!

However, Jo Gilbert did recently write a blog about it for Chiswick Calendar which outlines the main point spoken about by Mike Toms.

Please visit the blog  by clicking on the button below:

WildChiswick worked with ZSL LondonHogwatch this year to place cameras across areas of Chiswick to monitor for hedgehog activity.  Today they released their findings from monitoring across London boroughs over several years.  This showed that green spaces with mixed habitat, allotments and having access to gardens is important for the survival of hedgehogs across London.  

This supports the work WildChiswick is doing in encouraging people to open up their gardens to these lovely creatures now at risk of extinction (British Mammal Red List).

Please could you contribute to our fundraiser to buy equipment to make a hedgehog highway across Chiswick?  

Click on photo above to read ZSL report.

We had a lovely evening last Thursday. Thank you for all who attended.  Phi Baker spoke about how the red fox has been successful - mainly down to humans!  We introduced them to North America and Australia for hunting.  They found the habitat very good and thrived.  In Britain we hunted wolves to extinction which meant the red foxes had one less predator.  We also introduced rabbits and pheasants which meant they had plenty of food.  Phil also covered other interesting facts, such as litters of fox cubs may not necessarily have the same father.  Foxes do not grow to the massive sizes shown in the press.  The average size of a red fox is 6kg.  However in Scotland, where it is colder, they do tend to be larger To deal with the climate.  They do have the capacity to grow larger, particularly in cities, but they appear to choose not to do so.  Despite the fact that family members help feed the young and there is plenty of food to be found, they appear not to increase the amount of food they eat.  Basically they are happy to spend time relaxing!  It was an interesting evening.  We hope you join us for more events in the future.  Thank you Mukti Jain-Campion for the photo.     

(Photo credited to PTES)

This is really important to allow our hedgehogs to move the mile they require each night safely and to help them find habitat that is suitable for nesting, mating and food supplies.

We need to provide a green highway by cutting a small 13cm hole into our fences and walls to give hedgehogs access.

Please Join us in creating this highway.  It is the most important thing you can do for hedgehogs.

If you would like to be part of the Chiswick Hedgehog Highway, please book now!

We had a lovely evening on 14th September with Philip Briggs of The Bat Conservation Trust.  

We were worried that the weather would mean we had to cancel but it dried up just in time for our evening adventure to start.

We saw and heard two types of Pipestrelle and also watched Daubenton's bats swooping over the lake.  It was lovely to be in the grounds when they were shut.  

Thanks to all those who attended we raised £200 for the BCT.

Out with Barnes Hedgehogs, we put in our first hedgehog holes to begin the job of creating a Chiswick hedgehog highway.  Book your hole to help extend the Chiswick Hedgehog Highway

We had a great day putting hedgehog trail cameras across Chiswick House and Gardens with Kate from ZSL London Hogwatch.  Thanks to all those volunteers who helped!