Swan Dies

The father swan has died he and his daughter were the only 2 swans left in the lake but he has died believed to be from eating mouldy bread. People have started on social media quoting Angel Wing as a problem and clearly this has never happened and it only normally happen in young duck fed very high protein. Above the heron coming in to land

Tits in the park and even new baby ducks which are late this year and may struggle if we get an early winter

 

The vandals have been in at work again breaking the cycle stand and one more tree near the rack has been cut down

Wild Life master plan

A plan for wildlife in the park was compiled with the help of visiting experts in many fields to cover all aspects of the habitat.

Nesting for wildlife on the lake is none existent we have had Grebe in the past but these and others cant leave the water so need nesting on the lake a simple way is to create the floating nest see http://bthbgcm.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/building-mallard-duck-nesting-tubes.html

One year we had floating islands for the grebe and they had young all that was used was a pallet and some straw and it worked well. The problem is now with the boats they cant be on that side of the lake as we have seen people in the boat reach onto the island and smash eggs. The only place is in the middle of the fishing side which should be far enough out so fishermen are not affected pallets around the bottom island would work as well grebe are a protected species. Cut down trees could be used tied together then tied to the island so it can rise and fall with the lake plenty of old dead trees at Tipkinder You can build a floating island very simple and cheap this also cleans the water as well as providing nesting https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P28PNf2JjF0

Many of the duck struggle to bread as there is no safe /suitable place for them to breed nesting boxes would solve that http://norfolkwildfowl.co.uk/?p=duck.nest.boxes

The full answer is to plant more suitable plants in the lake which provide natural nesting sites provide food and improve the water for fish and wildlife

Suggested planting along part of the edge of the lake - a fringe of reed mace, yellow flag iris, meadowsweet and other wetland plants would create a habitat for many creatures as well as birds (N.B. reed-mace can spread rapidly, however it cannot move into deep water, so it should be OK in the lake.
The two steep banks of grass either side of Burma island on the south side are never used as they are to steep and are hard to mow so we want to cover with dense shrubs which would look nice and give wildlife a place to bread this would help wildlife and reduce the need for regular mowing. They could be used for fishing as it doesn’t put people in danger when walking past while people are casting. Possibly the area by the main road that is a bank on the north side could have the same treatment. The wildlife meadow on the South side has helped to bring in insects and should be continued

To encourage wildlife we need to start at the bottom of the food chain by putting lots of compost areas and rotting log piles this needs to be balanced with not looking a mess so it’s a matter of agreeing areas in bushes that wont generally be seen for these we are talking small piles which will barley be seen not huge ones. Other discreet project are log piles and bee hotels again discreetly situated to benefit things like hedgehogs etc. This will fit in with school projects and we would help with an educational resource

More plants are required for wildlife which would include. More bird boxes are also needed and our members are putting up bird feeders to feed birds through the winter.
• Spring: flowering currant, Berberis, Forsythia, guelder rose.
• Summer: Hebe, lavender, honeysuckle, elder
• Autumn: Buddleja, heather, Hypericum, Fatsia
• Winter: Mahonia, ivy, witch hazel, Sarcococca

Much of the winter work is collecting leaves and transporting them this is a natural resource which is being wasted by moving them a few feet into the bush's they improve soil, provide things for nature and put nitrogen back into the soil and will take half the time. A lot of bush's around the fences are cut back in winter and in a lot of cases the denser the area the better there is more for wildlife and it help security by making it harder to break into the park. When that is done all around the park railings you can see self seeded trees and these are never touched. The ANTS could spend a day just removing self seeded trees all over the site.

Since the paths have been done wildlife have suffered as the old paths with holes had puddles for wildlife to drink now there is only Coronation walk left all thats needed is a few small holes that can retain water for wildlife as there is no were to get water as the lake is too steep for a lot of wildlife bird baths would be even better.

Wildlife cameras would be a good asset these would only be deplored as the park was closing and retrieved at opening time so there is no problem with that with these we could check how many badgers we check nest a class wildlife like swans and grebe and gain information on wildlife night life which may show wildlife we didnt know we had. They could be used as a security camera if there were problems at night to capture intruders. You can get cameras for bird boxes which would be interesting to observe the birds all this goes towards getting a better understanding of the needs of wildlife in the park.

Wildlife needs promoting in the park as its a crowed puller and bring responsible people into the park the need is there I tweet my wildlife photos on Twitter and often they are retweeted a 1000 times so people are interested follow on twitter @janmwright

Goosander party

With winter upon us you can see how dangerous the park can be as there is no one to salt when it freezes. The Temporary path that's been in place years as you can see is just turned into a skating rink its pure ice and you have no chance of getting down safely 

We have had a few wildlife visitors with 4 greylag geese 2 have teamed up with the swans and 8 Goosanders these should be living here but due to lack of any plants or floating islands for them to bread they only visit. It was part of the original plan to have plants all round the lake were there are wooden post and despite they council promising last summer to do it none are forth coming. The goosanders and Grebe come for the fish but cant nest on land so need floating islands to bread. 3,000 fish have been added to the lake so there is plenty of food for them

Rose in November

Nothing happening in the park but as its so mild there is a rose still out by the monkey hut lots of trees haven't lost their leaves yet very rare for this time of year

The grebe is still on the lake and has been there a few weeks now so fishing must be good as they eat mainly fish

Total Waste of Time

The park now has all sort of volunteer groups including ANTS, Wildlife, Fishing and Friends. The whole scheme is just chaos and these groups dont seem to understand what they are doing is a waste of time. The ANTS have turned up lots of times and done stuff which is a total waste of peoples time. Above they tidied the lodge garden and in the process removed some old rare plants as they have no knowledge. But time and time again they make the same mistakes they cleaned it and thats it as you can see above the weeds are back so all the time they spent cleaning is just a waste of time. They do the same in coronation walk    they tidy it up then never go back for a month or so in which time its its a wilderness again so their time is wasted, the gulf war they planted bushes and left them to die and the border full of weeds.

If they came in every time and just kept 3 areas clean it would stay clean and be improved not revert to a wilderness they could renovate one area and then they could come back and show we have done that as it is when they come back its just wild again as it was before they started. If they are not going to do it properly then leaving it rough for wildlife is a better option.

All these groups are getting out of hand and potentially dangerous along with people from Facebook groups they have resorted to threats and harassment of park users  with people threatening OAP’s not very brave of them if they need to pick on OAP this has been harassment in the internet and physical death threats in the park . There have been several allegation of the wildlife group harassing people in the park and these are women who have visited the park daily for over 6 years feeding the wildlife and now get harassed by  the group. There is still great concern by swan experts  that they are taming the swans and treating them like pets not wildlife hand feeding them with a dog present so they have no fear until one kills them. Even though people who have many years experience of swans  have said they may not survive as they are becoming humanised these people continue to put their lives in danger. All these groups seem to develop a Hitler complex refusing to listen to anyone and harassing them with new laws coming out these troll can get a 2 year prison sentance

A large tree felled by the band stand this week

A grebe back on site and has been around for a week

Wildlife Blood Bath Continues while CEC do nothing

Last Sat 12th,they  had to use a boat to reach a cygnet that was tangled in fishing line. On Mon 14th Derek, one of the bailiffs, had to untangle a cygnet from fishing line. What sort of fisherman hooks up cygnets then leaves them in horrendous pain to die instead of reporting it to the RSPCA or the bailiff they can be only described as low life. If you see anyone doing this report it straight away. Its very clear and proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that all these problems come from fishing which is what the wildlife group tried to stop https://www.facebook.com/groups/queensparkwildlife/

Once the kids come off school things can only get worse and CEC are not doing anything to solve the problem. Despite the bailiffs and people turning out to help these things are still happening so they have proved in effective. So far its only swans that have been the main victims but the Grebe on the lake this week is also a protect species. Part of the problem is fishermen using ground bate which the swans see and think its food then swim over and get caught as the fishermen wont lift their rods to save them. The bailiffs Tel number needs to be displayed all around the area so people can report problems. The low fee of £5 is stupid and should be £35 or so this would provide money for more bailiffs.     

Some new baby ducks on the lake this week lets hope they survive and below a mysterious egg floating in the water this week

Very heavy rain this week meant the sewer at the bottom of the lake over flowed into the lake

The boat house has had a face lift and some painting done to it

Two weeks ago the ANTS cleaned Cory walk and removed the rubbish and two week later the rubbish is still there now causing problems for mowing and rotting the grass so they have just moved rubbish around and solved nothing there is no reason they couldnt have done a proper job and used a wheel barrow to remove it all together

Save the wildlife

There are still 6 signets left and we have lots of people watching out for them after the mysterious death of the mother. The controversy roles on with claims made by the press that the RSPCA no nothing about the death  even though the park made this statement on  Face book  Sadly Swan found dead on the lake this morning. RSCPA notified. All indications are eaten, possibly by a fox, no indication of being ravished by dog. Hence previous assumption removed off the web as unnecessary. However, mum may possibly find it difficult to look after all her young, so please all keep monitoring them and help. She has plenty of food thank you to all. Thank you Waynne also for your prompt call.

Queens Park wildlife conservation group

The group was setup after the death of a swan and other wildlife the aims and objectives are.

Urgent need for ramps onto all islands on the lake so wildlife can escape onto them away from human and natural predators

Islands to be planted with wildlife friendly plants to provide cover and suitable nesting

Lake plants need to be planted to provide to oxygenate the water and provide nesting for wildlife reed beds are needed in the middle of the lake for protected species that cant nest on land ie Grebe

Make the park more wildlife friendly by planting suitable bushes and plants to encourage wild life which fits in with the schools education programme

After a serious dog attack last year we were promised a dog control order which hasn’t been actioned dogs off the lead are a major problem as they attack wildlife and children the order is of no use unless dog wardens enforce it. The remaining swan was attacked last week by a dog off the lead.

Small water holes to be placed around park for wildlife to drink from as most can drink from the lake.

Log piles and bee hotel to get more insects in the park cost nothing and helpful for children’s education.

There will be a meeting in the park pavilion on Sunday 6th July 2pm all invited

There has been a lot of dead fish in the lake estimates between 50-100 and experts say this is down to failure of the CEC not providing plants for the lake or a fountain to oxygenate the lake. Its believed they all died due to lake of oxygen. This is all despite Cllr Jones promising last year to do all he could to protect the wildlife in the park they have failed to get the dog control order requested last year and no effort has been made to do anything for wildlife 

ANTS Good or BAD?

In the grass cutting Grand Prix the mower lost control in the drs zone and spun out of control on a corner and the race had to be stopped while the mower was retrieved

The boat are back on the lake and are very expensive costing up to £10 which is a lot just to row around a little island as they shouldn’t row down the bottom of the lake because of fishing. Some have gone down the bottom so they wont be very popular. Even after a couple of days problems are starting to come to light. The boats are being tied up on the island at night were the swan is nesting and as such if she leaves the nest she can only get back on at one spot and that is were they are putting the boats so she could loose the eggs as she cant get back. Also people are going close the the island were she is nesting which isn’t helping. Its frightening the ducks away and they are going down the bottom of the lake were they are fishing as such risk being hooked by fishermen.

One important concern is who are the people running the boats as they help young children in and out of the boat questions have been asked are these people CRB checked are they first aiders and are they life guards in case someone falls in?

Ants

There has been a lot of discussion about ANTS this week on social media etc as a result of a letter to the Chronicle complaining. ANTS was formed when the BBC highlighted the state of the park and Cllr Jones asked for backing from local people. He specifically stated that he didn’t expect people to pick up rubbish etc that’s was the councils role.

The ANTS was then formed and they held a meeting in the park it was clear from the start that they weren’t going to listen to what users had to say they had their own ideas and that was that. Most of the founders by their own admission hadn’t been to the park in 2 years so new nothing about it or what was going on or what people who visit daily felt about the park and they weren’t going to listen.

They started doing some bench repairs and brushing up some of the rubbish from the first day last August is still piled up near the café and now a lovely garden of nettles.

Many people then commented that one leader ran her own hairdressing company and as such was using ANTS to promote her company, another had political aspirations and was using it to further his political career. There were then problem with allegation of ANTS leaders coming in the park slagging off Friends and other people and verbally and emotionally abusing people. You don’t have to agree with what people say but defend their right to express their opinion the ANTS seem to take a Gestapo approach if you don’t agree with hem then you are trash an example is these comments about the writer of the letter to the paper given they know nothing about this person

Chris Curran I've now read the letter . I think the old duffer has neglected to take his medication writing some intolerable nonsense as that

Matthew Reen Pfffttt, I hope he has a bad Friday and the easter bunny doesn't visit him, loser!

This trend seems to have become the norm if you don’t agree with what they say then they become abusive on social media and threaten people who cant defend them selves. They have continued brushing up and cutting down shrubs etc in doing this they have destroyed the nesting areas that were used by wildlife so they have no were left to breed, damaged the heated floor in the bowling hut with varnish.

The council was applying to the lottery for a further 1.2 million pounds to do the paths it was then found out the cost was on £320,000 so the CEC decided they would pay for the path and as a result the lottery who were holding back £500,00 released the money giving the CEC a profit on the deal. The ANTS claim it was all there doing which it wasn’t.

The argument is now that by cleaning up they are just doing someone out of a job and the results only last for a day or so before its back to the state again as there are no full time people cleaning up. The only long term things they have done is the bench’s and planted the gulf war memorial area. The latter has had plants stolen and half the other are dying as you cant just put plants in when its very dry weather not water them and expect them to live.

that.

The grebe was back  again this week but was down the bottom of the lake and at risk from fishing as they dive and swim great distances under water were they can be caught in the line. They are a protected species and heavy fines if they are hurt

The week the Wind Blew

The side effects of the bad weather is the wildlife coming in for some shelter like the Goosanders above we had four on the lake this week along with 4 grebe then the next day they have gone

The wigeon above  is a medium-sized duck with a round head and small bill. The head and neck of the male are chestnut, with a yellow forehead, pink breast and grey body. In flight birds show white bellies and males have a large white wing patch. Birds breed in central and northern Scotland and also in northern England. Many birds visit the UK in winter from Iceland, Scandinavia and Russia. With large numbers of wintering birds at a few UK sites it is an Amber List species.

Overview

Latin name

Anas penelope

Family

Swans, ducks and geese (Anatidae)

Where to see them

Large numbers winter on the coast. A great place to see thousands together is on the RSPB Ouse Washes nature reserve in Cambridgeshire.

When to see them

All year round.

What they eat

Aquatic plants, grasses, roots.

The wind took its toll all over Crewe but lots of trees suffered in and around the park above a big tree on Tipkinder car park 

One blocking the bridge by Coronation walk

This one by the cafe luck it wasnt any bigger or it would have hit the cafe

By Tipkinder end the one tree was badly hit butt other in the area lost lots of branches each tree that falls means other trees are in danger of wind damage. a very large tree came down by the golf coarse end of the lake

Another new year in the Queens Park

The start of another new year in Queens Park its now over 6 years since I started the website it was supposed to last a year before it was all restored but we are still waiting for that day to come. As  you would expect this time of year there is very little happening in the park. We have had the idiots with their xmas present's of boats using them on the lake showing little regards for the wildlife. So we all thought there is a god when the idiot chasing ducks with the boat lost control and it ended up stuck in the middle of the lake.

We have had a greylag goose return o the lake as well as the Grebe coming back from time to time. The wildlife seam confused with the mild weather and show signs of mating. Some birds seem early as nut hatches have been around this week. 

Queens Park Crewe Master Plan

 

Having talked to people who like myself visit the park everyday we have put together a master plan of what needs addressing in the park. Many people will visit the park once a week or once a month and can have different experiences depending on various factors. People who visit daily see a lot more and understand what goes on at all times of the day.

Restoration

Below the Monkey Hut restored a few months ago and the floor is now cracked and dangerous and its only time before kids pull it up

Everyone agrees that the park needs to be finished but there is little we can do about that as its down to the council do it but we could raise money from local companies to help. What is important that people get a say on what is done and don’t turn up one day and find something they disagree with. Some smaller projects could be done by ANTS but a lot its down to a partnership with the council.

Below the clock once again isnt working even after the restoration

Cleaning and look of the park.

This is an on going problem some caused by nature other caused by litter and the public. Its not a one off problem but a daily or weekly problem and needs work doing on a regular basis. Droppings for the geese can soon make a mess of paths and this can happen daily. Due to lack of staff this is being done by volunteers and ANTS did a wonderful job at their weekend clean up. The problem is getting people doing this on a regular basis as some times of the year it can get worse ie winter when there are lots of leaves and people don’t want to go out.

Below ANTS did a wonderful job of cleaning this path but 3 days later its a mess its almost a daily chore that wants doing

Projects

At the moment we don’t have set projects for anyone volunteering we need a list of project that people can work on so a volunteer can come along and choose from a large list of projects that match their skills and interest. These list need to be well designed for instance refurbishing the lodge gardens the list would have to include exactly what the plan is so people would know what they can and cant do this applies to all projects. We need a big list so we can use all the people who want to help from a single person to a organisation with lots of people. Without this list it will be a cock up. People may not be able to come for a day but happy to pop in and do an odd hour when it suits them we need to make this happen so people can come in know what to do and get any tools etc.

Problems

Virtually everyone that comes daily has the same comment on problems that are not being address. Dogs of f the lead, illegal and dangerous fishing , bikes and of coarse vandals. As there are no wardens this is a major problem for people as no one feels safe in the park. Dogs off the lead is a major problem and there are a few that come and set the dogs on wildlife and are yet to be caught, some are so frightened of dogs they have to leave the park if they see them off the lead.

Fishing is a major concern as its very dangerous kids ride bike with rods sticking out in front with line and hooks attached, they cast next to ducks and swans and two swans have suffer already if it happens to a duck I don’t think the RSPCA would come to the rescue and it would die a horribly death. 90% of those fishing will have no rod licence and it is illegal fines can be as much as £2,500. They leave litter and hooks block foot paths cast near people and make a mess everywhere after climbing fences and causing criminal damage. On Health and Safety grounds we can allow fishing even if controlled no one is going to be a bailiff and be there all day everyday so its not enforceable. As we often have Grebe on the lake which is a protect species along with the swans fishing is dangerous for them as they swim a long way underwater and even a good fisherman wouldn’t know it was there until it get hooked up. 99% of regulars are against fishing and the damage they cause.

Dogs off the lead

Everyday you can find dogs off the lead in the park many will let GSD roam around the children's play area off the lead, they will be off the lead near wildlife and often chase the wildlife and under new laws this can be considered a dangerous dog. If you come to the park with a young child you dont want any dog big or small running about near them even f they dont bite they can knock a child over and hurt it. If like me you own a dog which you keep on the lead you dont want loose dogs attacking your dog or coming up to it barking etc. This again is an accident waiting to happen. A dog control order is being proposed for the park but again with no one enforcing it wont do any good.

Bikes are another problem and one that causes confusion as its not clear if and were they can be ridden this needs to be made clear. Again sensible cyclists are not a problem but kids on BMX speeding down path and over the bridge are.

Wildlife

Most visitors to the park come in contact with the wildlife either to view them or bring the kids to feed them. Enough isn’t being done to help wildlife last year we managed to get a pallet by the island and the grebe bred ok this year there was none as a results their nest and eggs were destroyed by kids and they had no young. Suitable plants for nesting are needed by the island away from the kids and rams up to the islands so wildlife can get off and on with their young this is low cost to do and would benefit everyone. A lot of wildlife is subjected to people throwing at them or being chased by dogs off the lead.

Vandals

Vandalism everyone is against that of coarse and it needs to be stopped. New CCTV soon to be installed will go some way to addressing this but as the park may not be on the monitoring screens all the time so it may well be missed unless people can ring and tell the control room to turn the camera screen on. CCTV is no good unless someone can respond quickly to problems.

New Approach

New approach to the problems. A there are no wardens no one is stopping any of this and a warden approach can not always work. A new way to tackle this education its possible a few ladies with high vis jackets could be more effective this is not a sexist remark but a practical one often its young kids causing problems and a man approaching them in this day and age can give concern about paedophiles. Women can often deal with the children better being mother them selves and often if women with a baby approaches a dog owner and explains she is frightened for her child as the dog is loose will be more effective. In stead of a warden approach its an educational approach the same applies to people dropping litter which then reduces the time needed cleaning up.

At the present time these problems are not being addressed and to get the park back to its formal glory need a total approach to the whole problem not just some of the problems. As people see improvements and more people use the park so the problems ill reduce as lots of people in the park helps to reduce vandals as they don’t like lots of people about. Its really not new it goes back to the old days when the communities would police its self as there was always some stern granny who would tell kids off and would be supported by other people.

Queens Park Cafe damaged again

 

Above the Cafe window smashed again this week. The grebes nest and eggs have gone we cant say its kids but its sad anyway. Man hole covers have been removed and its believed one was used to smash the cafe.

REMOVAL OF WARDENS LEADS TO SURGE IN MINDLESS VANDALISM AT QUEENS PARK

Willaston and Rope Ward UKIP Councillor Brian Silvester is calling for more warden patrols at Queens Park, Crewe to curtail the surge in mindless vandalism. He said," I understand that since the park wardens were removed by the Council that  vandalism in the park has escalated. The cost of vandalism in the last few weeks has averaged a £1000 per week. I am calling on the Council to take action to stop this gross and unnecessary loss of public money. Millions have been invested in the park to return it to its former Victorian glory. It is a great shame that the Council short-sightedly withdrew the wardens and left the park to the mercy of mindless yobs."

Please see  e-mails below
Cllr Brian Silvester

UKIP Councillor

Willaston and Rope Ward Councillor

Cheshire East Council

Tel/fax 01270 567757

From: HARTWELL, Peter
Sent: 02 June 2013 13:03
To: SILVESTER, Brian (Councillor)
Subject: Re: Queens Park

Dear Brian
There have been a number of incidents of vandalism and theft from QP recently and we have held a coordination meeting with local police. The incidents tend to happen in the late evenings when the park is empty.
We based the community wardens here some months ago to provide a uniformed presence as they come and go and police have increased their presence through pcso's.
However, the behaviour continues, so I have recently tasked our cctv engineers to put together a scheme for the park, particularly in those areas which seem to be the targets around the pavilion.
They are developing this scheme now, including looking at lighting, to see what can be done to deter this behaviour or gather evidence. We do not have a specific capital fund for this and we will need to look at virement options when we have the estimated costs available.
Hopefully we can make the case for invest to save on this given the costs of damage so far. It is unfortunate that additional security measures were not introduced as part of the major project works inherited from C&NBC in order to protect the investment into the park. We will seek to get new funding once we have designed an effective scheme based on recent incidents.
Kind regards
Peter

Baby Swans in Danger from Illegal Fishing

 

The three baby swans are growing nicely but they are in danger form illegal fishing last week the swan ad a hook in its mouth. This week kids fish under Burma Island bridge and as people throw bread for the duck the swans come and it was frightening to see them just missing the fishing line. The kids dont care about the wildlife so dont bother to pull the line in when lots of ducks geese and swans come to get food. Its a tragedy waiting to happen. We must get the Police to catch these kids and take them back to their parents as they just give verbal abuse if anyone else says anything to them

The poor old grebe has at last made a nest with three eggs in it but once again its close to the bank and its frightened off the nest due to the illegal fishing again and people looking at it so it will be a miracle if the eggs survive

Crazy Golf

We have a new facility at the park Crazy Gold outside the cafe and its already a big hit with the kids. With kids still off school and a few nice days its proving very popular.

On the wildlife front the grebe are trying to build a nest on one of the new platforms so lets hope we get some more babies this year. We are getting a lot of wild life we havent had before with 4 greylag geese, goosanders and tufted ducks. This week the first Jay of the year was spotted as well

Wildlife get help with nesting

Dont Forget Punch and Judy over Easter weekend

We now have float islands for the wildlife so they can breed away from the side of the lake were last year Yobs stole and smashed their eggs. Above a Moorhen try's one out for size normally there is rubbish in the lake so the wildlife can build a nest but they have the base for a nest but no rubbish etc to build one at the moment. Some straw was put on the island that can be used but Grebe cant walk so there is no way for them to get at it.

Lots of new wildlife

This week we now have two Grebes on the lake lets hope they have come to breed

Three Tufted ducks are now with us these are new and have not been seen in previous years so we hope they will  stay

Two Greylag Gees are on the Island and look as if they want to breed so its been a buzzy week wildlife wise