In praise of street wildlife

Chepstow Road is not the most memorable of thoroughfares. It is a dual carriageway running between the Park Hill roundabout and the Addiscombe Road tram crossing, on the way from Croydon town centre eastwards to Addiscombe, Shirley and beyond. 

However, this time of year, the grass verges are awash with a sea of yellow. This looks striking if you're driving or walking past.

On closer examination, there's a wider variety of plant species and they support an array of wildlife.

Bumblebee inside a daffodil, Chepstow Road, March 2021

Violets, Chepstow Road, March 2021

Fig buttercups, Chepstow Road, March 2021

I was excited to see a brimstone butterfly flitting between plants on Chepstow Road. It particularly liked the plants below, which I think may be dead nettles. It's nice to go to a quiet nature reserve and see butterflies but it feels extra special to see them living in such urban places. 

Brimstone butterfly

Dandelion, Addiscombe Road, March 2021

Here's some more examples of very urban wildlife on the streets of Croydon:

Bumblebees outside the Fairfield Halls, May 2020

House sparrow checking the parking regulations on a central Croydon street. There are flocks of these small birds on a number of streets in Croydon, where they live among hedges, trees and people's houses.

Foxes are a common sight on our streets. This one was in Shirley.

Street trees are very important, providing wildlife corridors for our birds and insects. Here's a selection of birds that benefit from street trees:

A long-tailed tit outside Croydon police station.

A blue tit enjoying blossom on a street tree near Croham Hurst.

I've seen pied wagtails in many incongruous urban settings, including on the platforms at East Croydon and Gatwick Airport train stations and outside South Croydon bus garage on the Brighton Road. This one was near Croydon Minster in the Old Town.

Starlings on the weather vane of a church in Addiscombe.

Tulip and daffodils in Addiscombe

Please take care of street trees

If there are street trees in your local area which were planted in the last few years, please try to water them during dry, warm weather to make sure they thrive and can support wildlife and shade residents for decades to come.

Usually, if a tree was planted recently, some or all of the following may apply:

• a thin trunk attached to two wooden stakes
• have a white label with the species name on
• have a plastic pipe sticking out of the soil (you can pour water into this pipe to get it directly to the soil)
• may have a green "hydration bag" attached.