Rivers are getting cleaner

[Nativeman]

Its been a while since i last posted on FM. Anyway the River Cray in SE London/NW Kent has pased the 81.7% cleaness mark. Even the EA & Water Company are dealing with a few issues and have dealt with many more over 2006 on our request and provission of evidence.

24 fish species confirmed from only 9 species on recored in 2003 and work to introduce Trout back into the Cray is now being planned if studies and a few more improvements are carried out over 2006/7.

We have had the EA & Shefield Council visit us to find out if they can replicate our methods, also a Thamesmead Waterways & the River Quaggy in Lewisham, SE London are keen to see sister projects up and running in 2006.

More info can be seen on www.cacg.co.uk
www.thames21.org.uk

Tight Lines Chaps, cos rivers are getting better & we've had some great fishing down here.

 

[The Monk]

In the Northwest, once all the heavy manufacturing, engineering and extraction industries died away, many of what used to be the most heavily polluted rivers in Northern Europe, self cleaned. This was noticable initially with the growth of river vegetation and weed and then with birds life which had not been seen in these regions for years. I don`t know a local river which does not have a pair of Kingfishers on it these days, but 30 years ago you would be struggling finding anything without a cough. Only last week I watched a pair of Dippers near the bus station in Rochdale Town Centre on the River Roche, an amazing sight.

 

[Fred Bonney]

Keep it up Ashe,excellent work.

 

[Nativeman]

i can gurantee a 95% kingfisher sighting along any stretch of the Cray, even know most nest sights now.

Herons are seen every day, dippers are becoming common, Grey Wagtail, Egrets roosting now, Sparrow Hawk, Kestral, Peregrin, Owls, Bats, llamas, the list just goes on.

Chub to 6lb+ Bream to 7lb, Pike to 21lb, eels to 2lb, Perch 3lb +, Dace topping at 1lb, Roach 2lb + and the rest, SHhhh!

 

[EC]

The River Birkett near me is still category E water quality (For category E, now read 'at risk'), despite many unanswered emails and calls I have never been able to make any inroads into getting that cleaned.

Any suggestions?

 

[The Monk]

Egrets , yes they appear to be making more and more sorties to our coasts these days, especially the Cattle and Little SPs which in my locality have been turning up around the Wirral other parts of the Northwest in recent years

 

[Frank "Chubber" Curtis]

My Son-in-Law managed to take some great photos of a bittern on Cley Marshes last week.
I suppose this part of the country is fortunate with it's clean rivers, forests, salt marshes and abundance of wildlife.
I should have moved to here years ago instead of spending most of my life in that shithole called London.