Summer is survey season on Barnes Common and, in the last few months, our conservation team have been focusing on carrying out a range of ecological surveys. Our pond surveys this year were very successful with the discovery of newt larvae in three of our ponds, including over fifty individuals in one pond! This is the first recording of newts on the Common and, although we were unable to ascertain species due to the larval stage of development, it’s a strong indicator that our ponds are improving.

You may also have seen our monitoring stations in the meadow by the brook which are being used to measure bat activity levels and insect abundance ahead of the planned construction of the new reedbed.
This year we have also set up new volunteer-led transects including reptile mat surveying. This survey involves checking beneath corrugated iron mats that have been strategically placed around the Common. As reptiles are cold blooded, they are attracted to the warmth offered by the metal sheets, and so it is a good way to survey them. These mats have been very successful with several new records of Common Lizard on our Acid Grassland areas. If you discover one of these mats, please do not disturb them!

Volunteer-led surveys are a huge help to us as they allow the Common to be extensively surveyed without occupying many hours of staff time. If you are interested in helping out on any of our volunteer surveys, please contact [email protected].

Hedgehog camera traps
As part of our survey effort and in collaboration with ZSL and London Hogwatch, we are conducting our annual Hedgehog Survey. This involves placing camera traps in systematic locations across the Common for a month to capture any hedgehog activity. As a bonus, it also gives us an idea of the size of other mammal populations such as badgers and foxes.

Palewell Litter pick
In the last month we also held a volunteer litter pick in the Beverley Brook with help from members of the Hertford Avenue Allotments. This was part of our Rewild project restoration on the brook and we removed over a tonne of rubbish from the river. We will be running more wading litter picks later in the year to get the stream clean!