Kew is wild!
I am fortunate enough to live in an area right next to the River Thames in Kew. Not only that, there is also a pond at the end of my road and the ancient Kew Green beside that. For an Urban area I live amongst lots of nature, so that got me thinking.
Recently, I have been going on runs and walks on the towpath beside the river to observe the wildlife in my area. During my time living in Kew, I have seen a surprisingly diverse assortment of animals in all sorts of places. I have seen a hedgehog on my road, foxes almost daily, an otter in the Thames, frogs in my garden, and a nest of swans in the pond. So, I wanted to dive a little deeper to see whether Kew still has the wildlife it used to. And is it still a wildlife hotspot?
It seems Kew is alive with a diverse range of incredible birds from small feathery blue tits to the majestic herons that stalk the banks of the river. We even have a friendly Greater Spotted woodpecker who visits our garden from time to time! The male has a bright red patch on the back of its head and younger birds have a red crown. Surprisingly, there are only 140,000 breeding pairs in the UK! We have also had the chance to see beautiful goldfinches and been lucky to have a rare sighting of a Redwing.
There are a large number of animals on the ground that do not seem like they’re leaving anytime soon. We have tiny field mice in the garden and hear the screeches of foxes at night time. As cute as they are, it is always a pain when they attack your bins! Urban foxes are booming in London as numbers have quadrupled nationwide. Over 3,900 were spotted in London on one survey which makes them the biggest population in the UK- with a nationwide population of 150,000. Sadly, the hedgehog population is on the decline and it is very unusual to see them. Squirrels seem to be thriving and can be seen everywhere in Richmond, they seem to get more and more confident! The land animals are holding up well.
It is hard to spot many rare animals in the Thames, but from time to time, you may be lucky enough like me to see a seal, which seemed so out of place bobbing in and out of the water near Kew Bridge. Sadly our local pond is not doing so well. For the last couple of years it has become increasingly dirty and there are fewer birds. Each year, we used to have a family of swans that would nest there. One year, 6 baby swans hatched there. Sadly, foxes terrorised the nest and some didn’t make it. Nowadays, we rarely see any swans amongst the algae riddled water. Ducks and moorhens are a more familiar sight.
Overall, the neighbourhood of Kew is still thriving, and the local wildlife is a crucial part of the area. With many species here, and many important ecosystems, it seems as though it has held up well as an important nature site in London and greater England.
