The Thames is central to my world this week.
On Tuesday I'll be at our Rainham Marshes nature reserve downstream of central London at Purfleet, still within sight of Canary Wharf. Led by TV presenter and Londoner Bill Oddie, we'll be celebrating its tenth birthday as a nature reserve.
We, the RSPB, took over the site from the Ministry of Defence in 2000. It took some five years before it was deemed safe to allow public access. The reserve had been used as a firing range and there were lots of unspent cartridges and other munitions littering the ground. Every last bullet and shell had to be carefully removed by hand.
Things are very different today. Its unique and medieval landscape is home to a healthy population of watervoles. A species we're close to losing in the UK. There are of course dozens of different birds, including this last week a white tailed plover... a rather rare sight and a bird that's excited hundreds of people. A great way to mark our first decade. If you know nothing about birds, imagine feeling peckish, the cupboards are bare, you turn to the fridge and in desperation open the salad drawer to discover a long-forgotten bar of your favourite chocolate. Unexpected, welcome and delicious.
As if this isn't enough, at the end of the week, back up river near the Tate Modern, we'll be kicking off our two and a bit long months of showcasing the peregrine falcons that use the Tate's famous chimney as a daytime roost. They hang-out there like teenagers are drawn to bus stops or shopping malls.
We'll have staff and volunteers there every day from Saturday 17 right through to 12 September, from 12 Noon until 7 pm . The peregrines have rarely let us down... and no. We don't glue them to the chimney and we don't have to take them up each morning and bring them down each evening.
Peregrines are living wild in London. More than twenty pairs of them. Volunteers keep a close eye on their nests and help protect the young. These are stunning creatures. They feed primarily on pigeons but also eat other birds and small mammals.
The thing about Rainham, the Thames and the peregrines is that all three help keep my world going.
Apart from that, there is something calming about seeing them. Each is independent but plays a role. It reminds me I'm just a small part of the bigger thing and that some niggling nuisance at work or at home is nothing compared with the vastness of the world. Get me, coming over all new agey.
Rainham wouldn't exist without water. London's peregrines are mostly clustered around the Thames. London itself evolved beause of its location on the river. Right now, we're baking and water is growing in importance. Wildlife needs water too, so please do put out bowls of fresh water. Resist cutting grass and try to keep it lush. That's good for a wide range of critters from ladybirds and worms right through to blackbirds, cats and picnicking children or sun bathing adults.