Dear Neighbour

“Not us”, said Kempton Park.

We don’t know what caused the sparrow-hawk’s demise (see here)  they told us verbally last weekend, but it definitely wasn’t due to gas leaking from the landfill underneath that area of Kempton Park, they insisted. Well, maybe.

But if we rule out a heart attack at 2000 ft leading to it falling directly into that grey plastic tube (within which the gas monitoring equipment is placed), then what could have caused its death? An open verdict is what we are left with. (The picture above shows the sparrow-hawk on top of the cover of the monitoring equipment after the grey plastic tube had been lifted off.)

Since then, a number of square pieces of what appears to be roofing felt have been placed at various places on the Kempton Park estate.

They are part of a reptile survey, we are told. It is hoped the reptiles will be enticed to climb onto them after the squares have been warmed by the morning sun, and can then be counted as they take advantage of the heat. Sort of sunbeds for snakes.

Let’s hope they don’t end up like the sparrow-hawk.

Kind regards
Keep Kempton Green