Leaving Hackney Town Hall after talking about improving protection for the borough's special places and species I happened to look-up as I cycled towards the traffic lights.
In the sky, visible between the bulk of the Hackney Empire and an old bank building on the other side of the street, were two grey herons being hassled by a crow; right there over Mare Street.
For those of you who don't know Mare Street, it's a busy four lane road in Central Hackney. Not the sort of spot you'd head to, to go bird watching. Yet here above the heads of people heading home or going to the shops was an epic battle. A crow chasing off two far bigger birds with dagger-like beaks. OK, so a crow has a pretty fierce beak too so let's not "big-up" the street imagery. What I'm stumbling to get across is the fact that urban wildlife is all around us, all the time.
This was tragically obvious this past week, following the shocking story of the Koupparis twins, Lola and Isabella, bitten and scratched by a fox as they slept in their beds. This is an extremely rare incident and my heart goes out to the girl's parents. I wish the girls a speedy recovery. Foxes are common in London and I'd urge people to continue to enjoy our wildlife, but please remember that it is wild. This experience will change their whole families views about wildlife. I hope one day I can welcome Lola and Isabella to one of our Date with Nature events where we can celebrate and marvel at the spectacles of nature safely.
I can't wait for the results of our Make Your Nature Count survey. The more people that take part, the more we'll find out about London's gardens and what lives or moves through them.
Last weekend at the Wild Day Out at Alexandra Palace Park I spoke to people who've got moles, hedgehogs and even deer in their gardens.. in London. That's fantastic! Last year, cats and squirrels were the most common non-bird visitors to those spaces beyond our back doors.
A quick analysis of some of the data that's already been submitted shows the UK's house martin population is down on previous years. This may be due to the weather delaying their arrival or it could be the start of a decline. The final results may be different and even then it may be just a blip. We'll have to wait a few years to get a more accurate impression of what's really happening.
Maybe the house martin population can't wait that long? There's plenty we can all do to support wildlife immediately. Here are three suggested options: