Saturday 18^th May 7.30 pm

The AGM of the Association will be in the Pavilion at 7.30pm on Monday 15 April 2019. Please book the date and join us – a drink and nibbles will be there as a welcome at the start. This is a chance to meet neighbours as well as playing a part in the serious business of looking after our unique asset. Tell us any ideas for activities or for improvements in the Park. Any items for discussion should be put in writing and emailed to WERFA or given to the Hon Secretary, 69 Woodland Gdns by 31st March. The Social Club AGM follows on the same evening.

Some of us are old enough to remember…

Saturday Morning Pictures for Children

Join us – on a Saturday evening- for Saturday Morning Pictures for Grown Ups. See the old movies featuring favourites such as Laurel & Hardy, Flash Gordon, cowboys and cartoons. Any special requests and suggestions for the films to Les. Further details soon.

The Conservation Volunteers (TCV) held a volunteer day on Friday 22 February in the Duke’s River, starting at Octavia Road and ending at the Royal Oak. The primary purpose was to remove the invasive floating pennywort, but they also removed a lot of rubbish. They were delighted to see our resident kingfisher. They have promised to tip us off when they are next holding a volunteer day in the Woodlands and will welcome any volunteers from the estate who wish to join them. They provide waders and all necessary equipment. Details of local activities can be found on their website: www.tcv.org.uk/london/richmond.

Unfortunately, they always work on weekdays, so many people are working and unable to join them. It’s unlikely we’ll get enough notice to advertise an event in WERFA News. So, if anyone is interested in joining TCV’s activities, their best bet is to keep checking the website.

Of the 5 thrushes that can be found in the UK, two can be seen only in the winter months. These birds travel south from Scandinavia and Iceland to avoid the bad weather and search for food in our warmer climate. The smaller one is the Redwing. The larger of the two is a Fieldfare. Slightly bigger than our native Mistle Thrush it can be observed in groups of from 10 up to several hundred or more.

Look for this colourful thrush at the top of large leafless trees around the estate, slate-grey head and rump with a chestnut coloured back and wings and always facing into the wind. The name is derived from their being seen most commonly searching for worms on rough open grassland or fields (the traveller over the fields). Fallen apples, berries and fruit are readily eaten along with snails, hawthorn, rose hips and rowan. They arrive in October
and return to their breeding grounds in the spring.

Redwing– The other thrush is perhaps a little more common but is often overlooked.  The Redwing is slightly smaller than our native song thrush and perhaps much more attractive with its red flanks and cream eyestripe.

They arrive from Northern Europe and Iceland in their tens of thousands, a classic night time migrant that sometimes comes to grief in the dark by striking lighthouses and then dying in their hundreds.

These two species will often occur together in nomadic winter flocks as they both search for the same food supply. Look out for them in your garden or do what I do, sit on the bench by the Dukes River and see them feeding on the ivy overhanging the water.

                                                                                                                 Les