Thread by @LondonLegacy

NEW: Today we have published our Biodiversity Action Plan, which sets out the long-term environmental management of @noordinarypark to maintain and enhance its biodiversity🌼🦋🪲

Over the next few days we will highlight some of the interesting flora and fauna on the Park. #BAP

1. The streaked bombardier beetle was thought to be extinct, until a small number were discovered in east London about 15 years ago. The beetle is found on brownfield habitats across @noordinarypark. The beetle defends itself by spraying a boiling mixture of chemicals. #BAP

2. The black poplar tree grows alongside rivers and waterways. This is the tree that gave the district of Poplar its name. It is now the UK’s rarest native tree. @noordinarypark has 100 black poplars, most of which grow in the wetlands and along the banks of the River Lea. #BAP

3. The black redstart is one of Britain’s rarest birds. Numbers in London grew during the 1940s as sites left derelict by the blitz offered the ideal breeding habitat: thus the nickname ‘the bombsite bird.’ You might spot one along the Lea in @noordinarypark. #BAP

4. The sand martin, a small bird, only spends part of the year in @noordinarypark. They arrive in April or May, and then leave by mid August, to start their long journey back to Africa, where they spend their winter months. Look out for them along Carpenter’s Lock. #BAP

5. The brown-banded carder bee is a ginger coloured bee that nests in long grass. The bee depends on flowers like clover and knapweeds that are found in wildflower meadows, which are under threat. You can see the bee from May in meadows and grasslands across @noordinarypark. #BAP

6. Eels were once abandoned in the Thames, but numbers of European eels have dropped dramatically since the 1980s, making eels one of our most critically endangered species. European eels have been found in all four of the waterways at @noordinarypark. #BAP

7. There are few records of reed buntings on the site before @noordinarypark was built, but since the wetlands and reed beds were created, these rare birds have been recorded breeding here since 2013. During the spring and summer you can see the adults and their young. #BAP

8. The common knapweed is a bright purple flower found in the wildflower meadows on @noordinarypark. The flower is very popular with goldfinches, which feed on its seeds, and the birds can often be seen in large flocks, called charms, around the Fantiscology meadows. #BAP

9. There are seven different bat species on @noordinarypark. Bats are nocturnal. The Park has 150 bat boxes, many of which you can see underneath the bridges. Our smallest bat is the common pipistrelle, which likes to forage along the river corridors. #BAP

10. The cetti's warbler was unknown in the UK until the 1960s. These birds like to stay hidden and have one of the loudest songs of British songbirds, so you have more of a chance of hearing one than seeing one. Listen out for the warbler by the reed beds in @noordinarypark. #BAP