Picture left: Beverley Brook September 2024. Photograph: Amanda Boardman.
Top 5 Safety Tips for Visitors During Deer Rutting season
Richmond Park September 2024 Photograph: @lundonlens
The Royal Parks has issued safety advice for the deer rutting season.
- Keep Your Distance
- Keep Dogs on Leads
- Avoid Intervening or Crowding
- Watch for Warning Signs
- Observe and Respect Volunteer Rangers.
Paul Richards, Park Manager, said:
“While the rutting season provides a spectacular natural display, it is crucial that visitors behave in a safe way. Deer can quickly shift from calm to aggressive, so it’s essential to keep a safe distance and use binoculars for a closer view. I would like to thank visitors for their cooperation and encourage them to follow our guidelines.”
The 2025 Richmond Park Calendar and Christmas cards
Calendar November main image (c) Arnaud Montagna
Our 2025 Richmond Park Calendar has 17 beautiful and original images of the Park all taken by talented local photographers. Treat yourselves and delight your family and friends whilst helping to raise funds for projects in the Park. Same price as last year. £10.
Our Christmas cards also feature beautiful photos of the Park’s wildlife and scenery. Same price as last year. £5 per pack of eight cards.
Buy now online or at the Visitor Centre by Pembroke Lodge car park:
Buy online (https://www.frp.org.uk/shop/)
Visitor Centre Information and Opening hours (https://www.frp.org.uk/visitor-centre/)
Conservation volunteers at work at the Platinum Jubilee Woodland
Before and after the work of Friends Conservation volunteers
The Platinum Jubilee Woodland by Ham Cross had a variety of whips planted around the perimeter. Inevitably bramble and bracken have since been encroaching! The Friends’ Conservation volunteers spent three recent Saturdays “weeding”. Cutting back to give more light to the whips will help them to continue to grow.
A rare visitor
Photograph by Steve Read
Early in September there was the unexpected and exciting discovery of two Long-tailed Blue butterflies in the garden of Thatched House Lodge. The butterfly gets is name from the distinctive ‘tails’ on the trailing edge of the hindwings. Although anything but blue with its wings closed, as pictured, the Long-tailed Blue’s upper wings display variable amounts of blue.
This small butterfly is one of the world’s most widespread and successful species, but in Europe it is only permanently resident in the Mediterranean belt. However, it is a highly migratory butterfly and occasionally reaches southern England in small numbers. Should it cross the English Channel, usually in August and September, it occurs mostly in gardens along the south coast, so the sightings at Thatched House Lodge were a first for the Park and a real bonus. Climate change may encourage more sightings in future years.
Ham Gate restoration
Since Ham Gate was damaged in August last year by a car colliding with the gates, The Royal Parks have been working on the required restoration. A planning application for the restoration was submitted to Richmond Council. Two changes were proposed – for environmental reasons LED lights to replace the gas lights and for accessibility reasons the pedestrian gates to be aluminium but in the same style. Richmond Council have refused the planning application, so further work is required to resolve this issue.
Autumn Bird Count
Richmond Park Bird Group’s tenth and most successful ever annual Autumn Bird Count took place on a beautifully sunny 28th September. Looking to find as many species as possible they finished the day with a wonderful record seventy six, demonstrating once again how valuable an asset the park is for birdlife. ‘Bird of the day’ continually changed as different species were spotted, but was eventually shared by two remarkable and totally unexpected sightings by a few lucky individuals. Firstly an adult and four juvenile Gannets, the UK’s largest seabird, flew over the park. Later an Arctic Skua, a gull-like seabird and rare in the UK, was seen flying over the Ballet School. Both species have only been recorded traversing the park once before, in 2008 and 1978 respectively.
Loyd Grossman CBE reappointed as Chair of The Royal Parks charity
Loyd Grossman CBE has been reappointed as Chair of The Royal Parks, from 1 September 2024 to 31 May 2025, while a process to appoint a new, permanent Chair is run.