White Admiral Newsletter 90
Spring 2015
Suffolk Naturalists’ Society
Contents Editorial
Ben Heather
1
Logo Challenge
Ben Heather
2
Spring Members Evening 2015 & AGM
3
What’s on?
4
Chalcid wasps
Martin Cooper
6
Some observations on Agromyzidae
Martin Cooper
7
Bob Markham
9
Patrick Armstrong
11
Nigel Odin
14
Samantha Lee
16
Updating the Flora of Suffolk
Martin Sanford
19
Observation of a Water Shrew
Adrian Knowles
22
Trevor Goodfellow
23
Colin Hawes
26
A Research Hole in the Red Crag Return to Walberswick High Brown Fritillary at Landguard Saving a bird on the brink
Shield bug obsession? Stoat in my Neighbour’s Garden New Bursary available
26
Late Red Admirals
Richard Stewart
27
C. J. B. Hitch & L. Washington
28
Colin Lucas & Tricia Taylor
30
Bill Stone
32
Dr Stuart Newson & James Parry
34
Split Gill fungus, in Suffolk Three seasons of looking for leafhoppers Scarce (Yellow-legged) Tortoiseshell The Breckland Bat Project
ISSN 0959-8537 Published by the Suffolk Naturalists’ Society c/o Ipswich Museum, High Street, Ipswich, Suffolk IP1 3QH Registered Charity No. 206084 © Suffolk Naturalists’ Society Cover photo: Emerging Adder by Kevin Robson https://www.flickr.com/photos/khrimages/
Suffolk The
Naturalists’ Society
Newsletter 90 - Spring 2015 Welcome to the Spring issue of the White Admiral newsletter. I have been inundated with copy for this issue which is brilliant and I have had to put in four extra sides to accommodate it, please keep the copy coming in. It has also been excellent to get copy from some new contributors commenting on some pleasing subjects from Suffolk. One piece I would like to highlight is on page 16. This calls for sightings of Turtle Dove to be submitted via the Suffolk Biological Records Centre’s online recording pages. These online recording pages will allow users to use interactive recording forms to submit wildlife sightings. The system, which is built upon the same technology being applied by the likes of iRecord, is in its final stages of testing and will be formally launched very soon. However, parts of the site, including the Turtle Dove recording form, are fully operational and can be found here www.suffolkbrc.org.uk/turtledove. Please may I draw your attention to the list of bioblitz and recording events that SNS is getting involved in this year, these can be found on page 4. One of these events, the Holywells Park bioblitz, is being organised by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust and their new HLF funded ‘Closer to Nature’ Project. This project, by working with Ipswich teenagers, hopes to encourage the next generation of natural historians and they are also keen to work with Ipswich Museum and use its natural history collections. Finally, on a more sombre note, Darsham Common, adjacent to Darsham Marshes has been donated to SWT in the memory of Peter Lawson, SNS member and respected botanist who passed away last year. Editor: Ben Heather Suffolk Biological Records Centre, c/o Ipswich Museum, High Street, Ipswich, IP1 3QH ben.heather@suffolk.gov.uk
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Logo Challenge - Still Accepting Entries! The logo challenge continues to accept entries so there is still a chance to send in a design or simply an idea that could form part of the new SNS logo.
Above are a few ideas received so far to get you thinking. Designs need to be graphic based and ideally contain no text. Designs will be digitised into a suite of logo layouts of which some will contain our letterhead. Please send your ideas and designs to the editor using the contact details on page 1. If sending images via email please do not send items over 10mb. 2
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Spring Members Evening 2015 & AGM
Tuesday 14th April | 7.30pm Cedars Hotel, Needham Road, Stowmarket, IP14 2AJ
Speakers and Talks: Agenda: Apologies for absence Minutes of the 85th Annual General Meeting Chairman’s Report – Martin Sanford Treasurers Report – Joan Hardingham Secretary’s Report – Gen Broad Election of members to the Council: Ordinary Members proposed: Howard Mottram, Kerry Stranix Any Other Business (The Chairman reserves the right to consider only items submitted in writing 2 weeks before the AGM.) Following the conclusion of formal business and refreshments there will be a series of short presentations on natural history by members and projects funded by SNS.
Drinks available from the pay bar on arrival and half time refreshment break provided (tea and coffee). Contributions to White Admiral Deadlines for copy are: 1st Feb (Spring issue), 1st June (Summer issue) and 1st Oct (Autumn issue) The opinions expressed in White Admiral are not necessarily those of the Editor or of the Suffolk Naturalists’ Society.
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What’s on? Suffolk Bioblitz & Recording Events The Suffolk Naturalists’ Society is going to be involved in the following bioblitz & recording events in Suffolk:
Dunwich Heath Bioblitz with the National Trust - 24 hour bioblitz which is taking place from 12 noon on the 27th & 28th May.
Holywells Park Bioblitz with the Suffolk Wildlife Trust’s ‘Closer to Nature’ Project - Taking place on Sun 7th June.
Touching the Tide Surveying and Recording Day at Trimley Marshes Taking place on Sat 18th July.
Lackford Lakes Bioblitz with the Suffolk Wildlife Trust - 24 hour bioblitz which is taking place from 4:00 pm on Saturday 1st August (ending 4:00 pm Sunday 2nd).
When more information is available this will be placed online at www.sns.org.uk
Earsham Bioblitz River Waveney Trust Association Bioblitz at their Earsham Headquarters (The old Otter Trust). Taking place 18th and 19th July. More information will be available here http://groupspaces.com/ RiverWaveneyTrust/
The British Plant Gall Society SNS members are welcome to a gall recording meeting to be held at RSPB Minsmere Nature Reserve on Saturday 10th October 2015, 10am 4pm. Meet at the visitor centre (IP173BY). Leader Jerry Bowdrey (01728 603526) or jeremybowdrey@btinternet.com. Bring packed lunch or purchase from the centre. Ample parking and the usual facilities are available. The meeting is suitable for both enthusiasts and beginners alike.
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Counting Butterflies A Butterfly Transect Training Session run by the Suffolk Branch of Butterfly Conservation. - Saturday 2nd May An indoor presentation for novice & potential volunteer transect walkers, followed by field work on the Spring Lane Transect on Tayfen Meadows. Assemble at 09:50 in the Bury St Edmunds Library Conference Room. Time: 10:00 indoors, 12:00 short walk to site, Finish approx 14:30. The event is free, but places need to be booked in advance. Contact Rob Parker robparker@waitrose.com for more details. Register: as soon as possible, as places are limited. The training is aimed at butterfly fanciers involved in existing butterfly transect walks, or novices prepared to volunteer to walk regular transects (26 weeks/year).
Butterfly Conservation Field Programme The Suffolk Branch of Butterfly Conservation have released their 2015 field programme see www.suffolkbutterflies.org.uk/events.html. Up and coming events include:
Butterflies - Illustrated talk by Suffolk Butterfly Recorder Bill Stone with Shotley Peninsula Wildlife Group. Thursday 23rd April, 7.30pm to 10.00pm, Tattingstone Village Hall.
New Members and Novice Recorders Day - An indoor training session, followed by practical butterfly watching on an excellent site. Sat 25th April, 10:00am, Barnham Village Hall, Enrol in advance Rob Parker 01284 705475
Dingy Skipper surveys in the King’s Forest - Assemble at access track to John O’Groats cottages, on west side of B1106. First count at King’s Archery Site. Please enquire in advance to notify availability and whether you can assist with other locations. Surveys continue until end of May. Wednesday 13th May and Wednesday 20th May, 10:30am, Leader is Bill Stone 07906 888603
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Chalcid wasps Jewel-like inhabitants of Suffolk gardens and countryside Chalcid Wasps are tiny, beautiful and often overlooked insects. I became aware of them by chance. In October 2014 I found a small green wasp resting on a parsley plant in my garden near Christchurch Park in Ipswich. At the time I thought it was a fly! However, under the microscope I saw it was worth photographing because of its striking colour and the interesting sculptured texture of its surface. I posted the photos on the Facebook Hymenopterists Page where the family was quickly identified as Pteromalidae. A key to the European Pteromalid species indicated that it was a male Halticoptera flavicornis, a parasite of flies. Hannes Baur, an expert on these wasps based at the Natural History Museum at Berne in Switzerland, subsequently confirmed the identification.
Pteromalus cf. albipennis
Halticoptera flavicornis
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Having become interested in these tiny insects, I remembered a specimen I had collected near the Martlesham Recreation Ground in July. I photographed it and consulted Hannes Baur once again. He identified it as a species close to Pteromalus albipennis. The taxonomy and nomenclature of Chalcids is complicated and for now this one has to be labelled Pteromalus
cf. albipennis. These wasps are parasitoids of fruit flies (Tephritidae) developing in flower heads of Asteraceae, for example the Banded Burdock flies (Terellia tussilaginis) of which there is a large colony on the Burdock plants (Arctium) near to where I found it. I have now sent the wasp to Switzerland to be added to Hannes Baur’s collection. Martin Cooper
Some observations on Agromyzidae This note records two species of agromyzids reared from mined leaves found near my home in Ipswich, East Suffolk, TM166450. On 16th June 2014 I collected a mined Nipplewort (Lapsana communis) leaf, which was growing at the base of a wall
in the street near my house. The whitish blotch mine extended along the mid-rib with offshoots into the leaf blade. I kept the leaf in a plastic bag until, on 26th June, a fly emerged. A yellow/brown puparium was found in the bag afterwards. The small black fly was compared with the key by K.A. Spencer (1972. Fig. 1. Ophiomyia cunctata (Hendel, 1920).
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Lateral view of head of Phytomyza petoei
The inset close-up in the photograph (Fig. 1) shows the orbital setulae of the specimen, which are a very good match to the figure given by K.A. Spencer (1976). The Agromyzidae (Diptera) of Fennoscandia and Denmark.
Fauna entomologica scandinavica
Diptera Agromyzidae. Handbooks
for the identification of British
apple mint (Mentha suaveolens) in my back garden was The
also mined extensively this summer. I took a few leaves on 5th
Mine of Phytomyza petoei Hering, 1924
Insects Vol. 10 Part 5g. Royal Entomological Society of London) and identified as Ophiomyia cunctata (Hendel, 1920). The identification was confirmed by Miloš Cerny.
Vol 5. Part 1. Scandinavian Science Press Ltd.), which he described as “unique to Ophiomyia cunctata”. Spencer (1972) reported a single previous Suffolk observation of this species from Newmarket (J.E. Collin). I suspect that this is a case of under-reporting. Nipplewort is a very common weed and, around here at least, many of the leaves have been mined.
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July and kept them to see what emerged. On 11th July I found 8 small brown puparia on one of the leaves. These hatched into small black flies on 19th July, only 1 of which was obviously male. I photographed the leaf, the puparia and the male adult fly. To my great frustration I lost the abdomen when I was detaching it to get a better look at the genitalia! Using the keys in Spencer (1972, 1976) and information provided by www.ukflymines.co.uk, www.leafmines.co.uk and www.bladmineerders.nl, I identified the fly as Phytomyza
petoei Hering, 1924. This identification was confirmed by Miloš Cerny. Spencer (1972) gave the distribution of this species as “Probably not uncommon in south”. There were so many mines on the leaves of my mint that it was quite hard to find enough unspoilt leaves to make the mint sauce. I am grateful to Laurence Clemons, John Coldwell, Tony Irwin, David Henshaw and Miloš Cerny for assistance with identification and other information. Martin Cooper
This article first appeared in the Dipterists Digest published by the Society for the study of flies (Diptera).
A Research Hole in the Red Crag at the Great Pit, Newbourne ‘We have a digging machine on site, clearing wildlife ponds and refreshing the crag face for sand martins, come along tomorrow and we will dig your research hole.’ The message came from Andrew Excell of the Suffolk Wildlife Trust who kindly facilitated the project. We arrived excitedly the next day, November 5th 2014, to meet Barry Day and his giant caterpillar-tracked digger – who needed fireworks White Admiral 90
when we had this! A spot was chosen in the base of the Great Pit - how deep was the crag here? Certainly no one had done this before. Within centimetres we hit a hard band of clay-ironstone, greenish in colour and with a gentle dip towards the north. For 1.75 metres we dug through pale yellow crag similar to that seen in the lower part of the face in the pit. And then we hit a layer of large bivalve shells of Glycimeris. 9
From here downwards digging was below the water table for another 1.9 metres until we reached the London Clay. This lowest crag was deeply ferruginous, the rich red colour which gives this crag its name, with noticeable Neptunea contraria whelks and with phosphatic nodules (‘coprolites’) but not in a defined basement bed. This all suggests that the site was never a coprolite pit, indeed it was already a working pit in the 1830s, a decade before ‘coprolites’ were discovered by John Stevens
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Henslow. With excavation over we were able to see the driving energy of the nearby springs (the sides of the hole stood vertical in the coherent crag) as water poured in with spectacular unstoppable force until it reached its underground rest level. With samples and photographs taken it was time to fill in this special hole and go to lunch, happy and satisfied with new knowledge. This was excellent geology! Bob Markham
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Return to Walberswick I first visited the East Suffolk coastal village of Walberswick on a rather cold spring day in 1947 – when I was five. Then, for the better part of a decade my family used to spend part of the summer camping or caravanning at Manor Farm - the land has long since been built over. Once or twice we borrowed a cottage or stayed with friends, and spent time there at other times of the year. It was in and around Walberswick and amongst the heaths, woods and marshes of the Sandlings region that I learnt about natural history – about how to identify and record plants, insects, birds and other creatures, and how the different parts of nature fitted together. When I first visited the Suffolk coast the heather heathland, broken occasionally by patches of bracken, extended from the outskirts of the village of Walberswick almost all the way to Blythburgh. Within a year or two, when the agricultural economics and subsidy structures encouraged it, and when the solution of certain fertiliser and trace-element problems allowed it, substantial acreages were being ploughed for arable. Later I discovered that this was just an incident in a longWhite Admiral 90
continued process. After examining old maps, land records and leases I understood that in the Medieval period, and indeed well into the nineteenth century, the heathlands were maintained as open, virtually treeless, plant communities, as the result of being intimately linked to the other land uses around them. Sheep grazed part of the year on the heathlands of the Suffolk Sandlings, part of the year on the drained marshland pastures close to the sea, and on farmland stubble after harvest. Sometimes a root-crop, such as the turnip, was included in the cycle. It was even more complicated than this: some areas of the Sandlings heaths were managed as rabbit warrens: sheep and rabbits sometimes grazed on the same areas. It was said that ‘there was a certain something that the sheep ate, and a certain something that the rabbits ate’ when they grazed together on the East Anglian heaths. Under the terms of several eighteenth century leases of Westwood Lodge Farm the tenant was bound to keep a certain number of sheep, grazing them on the ‘sheepwalks’ for part of the year, fertilising the arable land with their dung when 11
they fed on stubble during the autumn and winter. Rabbit warrening had obviously also been an important economic activity for centuries: an early sixteenth century lease ‘for all that woreyne
of coneys in Blyburgh belonging to the manor of Westwood’ was worth 14s a year – then a goodly sum. This tightly knit ecological and economic system helped to maintain the open Calluna/Erica heaths. As the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries wore on, the number of sheep in the area decreased, and the vital links between the different land uses withered away. Another important factor was the arrival of myxomatosis, first reported in East Suffolk in early December 1953. By the late summer of 1954 the virus was widespread in the region. Many areas of heathland literally stank because of the abundance of rabbit carcasses: in the years following the level of grazing by rabbits was much reduced: although there has been some recovery, total grazing pressures have not built up to the earlier level. In my childhood heathland bird species such as red-backed shrikes were to be found in many parishes along the coast. Nightjars churred on several heaths near Walberswick and I recall once seeing a flock 15 stone curlew near Westwood. Yellowhammers were common. 12
These species are now much rarer in the Sandlings heathland belt. One possible reason for the decline is the reduction in the total area of heath, and the invasion by scrub (often birch, oak and holly) of the fragments that remain, in the absence of heavy grazing pressure. As children my brother and I wandered across the heaths, along the river and across the marshes largely unsupervised. Many parents would regard this as unthinkable now. Into the 1950s the pine trees along the estuary near Blythburgh were noisy in spring and summer with breeding herons. I believe the name ‘Heronry’ is still sometimes used but the old pine trees have been silent for several decades. Since moving to Australia in the 1970s, opportunities for birdwatching and rambling in Suffolk have been few and far between. Occasionally a few brief hours have been snatched during periods of study-leave, but for a few days in July 2014 my wife and I took a room at The Bell, and explored some of the familiar haunts. Certain things were much as I recalled. The general appearance of the Green was as it was, although some of the houses and shops surrounding it had been tarted up: some were now ‘boutiques’. In the 1940s and 1950s the crumbling White Admiral 90
wood-built Gannon Room was rather sad: it has been replaced by a more permanent-looking new village hall. There is now very little entirely open ground. Former heathland inland from the village is now scrub – almost low woodland: successional pine and birch has invaded. For example, it appeared almost as though Hoist Covert had increased in area. However, although heathland bird species seemed to have declined, the butterfly species I remembered on the heaths in earlier times were present: we noted grayling, meadow brown, hedge brown, small heath and large skipper flitting amongst the wildflowers just as they did several decades ago. I didn’t see any of the earth star fungi on the lanes around the village that I used to find there, although I came upon a charm of goldfinches more than once. A stoat scuttled across Palmers Lane. Turtle doves that formerly nested in the hedgerows close to the village seemed to be absent. Their place in the ecosystem and in the soundscape has been taken by the collared dove. In the marshes there seem to have been fewer changes. Although the area of open water pools appeared to be less that I recall from the 1940s and 1950s, bearded tits and
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reed warblers were much in evidence. Some of the paths across the marshes had been improved, but others had been gated or blocked. Piles of carefully stacked reeds showed the traditional craft of reed-cutting for thatching was still practiced. Along the shore some of the hideous concrete blocks that were strewn along the coast in the early 1940s as protection against Hitler’s Operation Sealion were still there. (Couldn’t a now prosperous and united Germany be requested to pay for their removal?). The shore pools between Walberswick and Dunwich are diminished, and the glorious spreads of sea lavender I knew as a child are not what they were. Nevertheless some interesting wading birds, such as the odd ringed plover, were to be observed. The avocet and egret were rare species when I first came to Suffolk, but form a striking component of the avifauna now. When I walked along the Blyth as a young lad, herring gulls greatly outnumbered black-headed: the position seemed to be reversed this last summer. Active conservation frameworks are now much more in evidence than in the days just after the war when all seemed to be able to wander at will though the countryside. The heaths and marshes are now part of 13
a National Nature Reserve, a Shorebirds Special Protection Area has been designated, and the establishment of the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty implies some conservation and planning protection. So as is ever the case, some things had changed, some things had remained the same; some things had improved, some deteriorated. I
look back nostalgically to the Suffolk of over 65 years ago. I wondered, as I threaded my way through a group of children crabbing on one of the bridges over a tidal creek near the village whether they would think back with similar affection to the Walberswick of their childhood in the 2070s? I hoped so. Patrick Armstrong
Patrick is an Adjunct Professor of Geography at both the University of Western Australia and Edith Cowan University. He wrote his doctoral thesis on the heaths of the Suffolk Sandlings over 40 years ago and has been a member of the Suffolk Naturalists’ Society for nearly 50 years. He now lives in Nedlands, Western Australia.
High Brown Fritillary at Landguard
Photo by Wendy Marshall
During the summer of 2014 an influx of Scarce Tortoishell Papilo xanthomelas butterflies into Northern Europe was being widely reported on social media regularly so Landguard observers were on 14
the alert for one turning up at this site that is renowned for unusual bird and moth species. During conversation with Chris Ryde, the Landguard Ranger, I informed him that butterfly recorders were a bit White Admiral 90
draconian when it came to the vetting of records of rare butterflies and the best option if one was suspected was to get a photograph. Chris, in the company of Wendy Marshall, was wardening on a part of the nature reserve known amongst local birders as the “icky ridge” on Saturday 19th July 2014 when they saw an unusual butterfly on Buddleja with Wendy managing to get a couple of quick photographs. When they returned to the office at the cottage they looked up the butterfly and identified it as a Fritillary. Chris e.mailed me the pictures and it wasn’t long after this that many of the Landguard Bird observatory regulars descended on the area where it had been seen. After several hours searching it became apparent that the creature had moved on. Chris & Wendy did not realise the significance of their sighting and were surprised to learn that it was the first Suffolk sighting of High Brown Fritillary Argynnis adippe since 1959. Old Suffolk records and the species’ sad demise in the county are well
documented by Mendel & Piotrowski (1986). Suffolk’s decline is just part of a range contraction across the United Kingdom and Northern Europe. In Britain the species only now survives in a few areas in the west. The habitat at Landguard is completely wrong for High Brown Fritillary so it is speculated that this individual was a migratory individual that arrived in off the sea during an onshore breeze from the continent, fed briefly on Buddleja, then moved quickly inland to find a more favorable location. Unfortunately pretty butterflies are bred and released in this country for human entertainment but this is unlikely to be the origin of the one at Landguard so near the sea. This individual is just a freak occurrence but whether another one will turn up in our lifetimes is not known. What I do know is that the Buddleja it was seen on will be well scrutinised in future years just in case lightening strikes twice. Nigel Odin
Reference: Mendel, H. & Piotrowski, S.H. (1986) The Butterflies of Suffolk An Atlas & History. Suffolk Naturalists’ Society, Ipswich.
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Saving a bird on the brink
Turtle Dove by Andy Hay
We have lost 96% of our turtle doves since 1970 and numbers are still in freefall. Their population decline is so dramatic that the species could be lost as a breeding bird in our country within the next few decades. But all is not lost. There is still time to save the gentle purr of singing males from disappearing from our countryside’s musical repertoire, but only if we act now. The turtle dove, Streptopelia turtur is ecologically unique in Europe. It is our only long-distance migratory dove, travelling over 3,000 miles from their wintering grounds in West Africa to arrive here from late April to breed and raise their chicks before departing once more late August – early September. They are ‘obligate granivores’ which means that they manage to do all this on a diet made up solely 16
of small seeds. They have a song like no other species you’ll hear during spring and summer and are easily identifiable to even the novice birder once you know what you’re listening for, a low ‘turr turr’ (roll the ‘r’). Often, they will be easily visible from dead tree branches or pylons and wires. Whilst they are similar to their more common relatives (wood pigeons, collared doves and stock doves), they are significantly more ‘exotic’ looking. Daintier in stature than their counterparts, they are the smallest dove species we get here. With orange eyes, a black and white striped neck patch, chestnut and black diamonds on their wings and a rosy-lilac coloured throat and chest you would think that they would stand out a mile but often you just spot the flash of the white tail tips as they disappear from view. White Admiral 90
They have long been an iconic farmland bird, the sound of summer to many and not that long ago, been seen in flocks of several hundred birds either feeding to ge ther o r o n mig ration. Culturally, they are included in texts and song and used as a symbol of love and commitment because of their monogamous pairings. Reasons for their decline are complex and not completely understood, especially as turtle doves are a migratory species which means they face threats r i g h t a c ro s s t h e i r f l y w a y (migratory route). Research shows that the main driver of the current decline in turtle doves is that adult birds are producing half the amount of chicks that they were in the 1970s because of a reduction in nesting attempts. Turtle doves once had up to four nesting attempts during a breeding season, they are now having half this. A change in diet from mainly seeds of arable plants in the 1960s to mainly crops by the late 1990s has occurred concurrently with a reduction in breeding attempts. The resultant reduction White Admiral 90
in reproductive output across the breeding season is sufficient to explain the population decline. It is possible that the quality (as well as quantity) of available food has deteriorated. The natural diet of turtle doves are the small seeds of arable plants, including fumitories, stitchworts, pansies and knotgrasses. Many of these plants that were commonly found in the diet of turtle doves are now absent or scarce themselves. It is therefore possible that shortages in seed food may now be detrimental to turtle doves at critical stages of the breeding season. So what can be done? To meet the challenge of saving a bird on the brink of extinction in the UK, Operation Turtle Dove, a partnership project between the RSPB, Conservation Grade, Pensthorpe Conservation Trust and Natural England, was launched in May 2012 with the
Turtle Doves by Tony Morris
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aim to reverse the species declines. To do this, project partners are leading on research into turtle dove ecology on breeding grounds in England and into factors operating during their migration and wintering areas. Dedicated advisers are working with landowners and farmers to establish foraging habitat across their core breeding range and maintain suitable nesting habitat. With the new agri-environment scheme opening in 2016, advisers will play a critical role in supporting farmers applying for the new scheme and including turtle dove habitat management as part of their applications. Suffolk supports almost 17% of breeding turtle doves in the UK (data provided by BTO), therefore establishing suitable habitat here will be crucial to securing the future of turtle doves. But don’t sit back thinking that all the work is down to our farmers, they are doing great stuff and many have voluntarily created habitat for turtle doves, but they need our support too. Every one of us can support this species by shopping
‘Fair to Nature’. Products with the ‘Fair to Nature’ logo mean they have been produced from farms that have created at least 10% of wildlife habitat on their land, we need to tell our suppliers and retailers that this is important to us and that we are prepared to put our money where our mouth is, which hopefully over time will mean that ‘Fair to Nature’ products will be as common to come by as Fair Trade. Last but not least, the easiest and most enjoyable way to help support turtle doves is to report your sightings. Your accurate records of sightings help us to focus our conservation work and ensure that we have the most up-to-date species distribution data. Operation Turtle Dove has been working with the Suffolk Biological Records Centre to create a Suffolk Turtle Dove Survey where records can be uploaded online. This page can be accessed at the following link: www.suffolkbrc.org.uk/turtledove and is live now! Samantha Lee
For more information visit www.operationturtledove.org and follow @SaveTurtleDoves To find out more about Fair to Nature visit www.conservationgrade.org For habitat advice contact your local advisor, Samantha Lee on: Samantha.lee@rspb.uk.uk or 07894 802267. 18
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Updating the Flora of Suffolk (and Great Britain) The next Atlas of British Flora is planned for 2020 with the ‘recent’ date class covering the period 2000 -2020. For details of the national project being run by the Botanical Society of Britain & Ireland (BSBI) see http://www.bsbi.org.uk/ atlas_2020.html. The data will not only provide new distribution maps for all native and introduced taxa, but will also enable further analysis of change when compared to datasets collected for the previous two Atlases (1962 & 2002). In Suffolk, with the production of the Flora in 2010, we already have plenty of records in the post-2000 date class for most 10-km squares. However, the analysis below, done at the end of 2014, shows that there are still many areas where more than a third of the species recorded in a square have not been seen (recorded) since 2000. We have five years to gather new records and I would like to set a target of all Suffolk 10-km squares with at least 85% of taxa recorded post-2000. The challenge is to target surveying to improve post-2000 coverage without having to resurvey the whole area. With this in mind I have produced a series of Excel spreadsheets with the data for each 10-km square in the White Admiral 90
county. Each list is split into five worksheets named: All – an alphabetic list of all species ever recorded in that square Post 2000 – an alphabetic list of all species recorded in that square since 2000 Not recorded post 2000 – an alphabetic list of species not recorded in that square since 2000 Records needing updating – a table showing all records of the species not recorded in that square since 2000. This is the most useful worksheet. The species have been sorted by their frequency in Suffolk; Column A ‘Total of taxon group’ has a figure (1–58) showing how many 10km squares the species has been recorded from in the county. This should mean the species you are most likely to refind will be at the top of the sheet. Rare garden escapes and ancient records from the 18th and 19th centuries will be found towards the bottom of the sheet – these are probably not worth the effort of chasing up unless you think there is still suitable habitat present. If you want to see everything from a particular site you can set a filter on column D ‘sample location’ untick the ‘select all’ box in the filter dropdown and then tick just the site you’re interested in. 19
Total plant taxa
pre2000 only
post2000
No. Common species missing
2000+ as % of total
TG40
825
362
TG50
781
420
463
79
56
361
126
46
TL64
578
183
TL65
385
132
395
66
68
253
132
66
TL66
616
194
422
71
69
TL67 TL68
690
207
483
51
70
572
144
428
86
75
TL74
660
138
522
29
79
TL75
705
172
533
24
76
TL76
862
313
549
27
64
TL77
1089
366
723
10
66
TL78
1018
301
717
22
70
TL83
614
207
407
62
66
TL84
981
237
744
5
76
TL85
668
132
536
16
80
TL86
1048
329
719
1
69
TL87
964
300
664
17
69
TL88
823
264
559
41
68
TL93
847
219
628
7
74
TL94
872
204
668
8
77
TL95
823
225
598
13
73
TL96
936
207
729
2
78
TL97
946
244
702
6
74
TL98
660
321
339
123
51
TM03
815
309
506
31
62
TM04
865
302
563
14
65
TM05
922
318
604
13
66
TM06
735
421
314
107
43
TM07
987
258
729
12
74
TM13
962
560
402
78
42
TM14
1199
625
574
24
48
TM15
901
327
574
11
64
TM16
835
175
660
9
79
TM17
837
234
603
4
72
10 km Square
20
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TM23
1082
357
725
12
67
TM24
1151
461
690
13
60
TM25
979
543
436
77
45
TM26
764
167
597
21
78
TM27
724
144
580
11
80
TM28
652
234
418
53
64
TM33
857
271
586
29
68
TM34
972
294
678
26
70
TM35
1100
353
747
6
68
TM36
939
262
677
6
72
TM37
877
108
769
2
88
TM38
931
307
624
17
67
TM39
716
321
395
77
55
TM44
557
243
314
154
56
TM45
1019
323
696
22
68
TM46
1189
335
854
3
72
TM47
1313
242
1071
1
82
TM48
1038
239
799
5
77
TM49
1062
265
797
11
75
TM57
855
480
375
173
44
TM58
950
197
753
19
79
TM59
1158
300
858
5
74
Average
858
277
580
36
67
Using this data you can quickly identify a few sites in your 10-km square that contain good numbers of records that need updating. Many of the records will have 6figure grid refs which should make re-finding the plants a bit easier. Common species not in TXXX pst 2000 – this sheet uses the same 10km frequency data to list particularly common plants (found in 40+ 10km squares in Suffolk) that have not been recorded recently in that square. You should White Admiral 90
be able to find most, but probably not all, of these species in any 10km square. If you are able to use Excel spreadsheets and would like to see the data for a particular square (or squares) please e-mail your request to me. Martin Sanford email: Martin.Sanford@suffolk.gov.uk
21
Observation of a Water Shrew (Neomys fodiens) in Capel St Mary - a cautionary tale of too much haste and disbelief During 2014 I have had the unwelcome attention of a large number of Wood Mice and Bank Voles in my greenhouse, strawberry patch and even the cupboard under my stairs (mice only). This resulted in the ‘last straw’ deployment of a ‘break back’ trap in my greenhouse (actually more of a lean-to with a plastic roof at the end of my house). This trap was baited with peanut butter and was left out all winter. On 4th February 2015 I had my first catch for some months, which I hastily dismissed as a curious record of a rather dark Common Shrew. However, after mentioning this catch to Simone Bullion, our Mammal Recorder, she ventured to question whether it might have been a Water Shrew. Despite the dark fur, which should have alerted my suspicion, this potential identification just did not occur to me on account of the location of the beast. Mine is one of five houses in a triangular formation, surrounded by busy roads on all three sides, on the old A12 (London Road), so I have a rather isolated and distinctly suburban garden, a long way from water.
My assumption that Water Shrews are strictly tied to water is, of course, unfounded. In ‘The Mammals of Suffolk’, Simone notes that Water Shrews do sometimes occur a long way from water in deciduous woodland, hedgerows and rough grassland. Larger wooded gardens and rough grassland lies only a short distance away, but I’m still wondering if its arrival in our island of houses was ‘cat assisted’ – a prize brought home alive by our neighbour’s pet. Fortunately, I have the habit of giving any such captures a decent burial, so I managed to exhume the body and look more closely for the t e l l- t a le
Shrew foot detail 22
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signs of a Water Shrew. Other than the dark fur colour, it has a distinct keel of long bristles
on the underside of its tail and a short fringe of hairs under its feet – both adaptations for more efficient swimming (see pictures). It was most likely a juvenile, so falling into the general body size of Common Shrews (5-8cm) rather than the larger adult body size of the Water Shrew (6.5-9.5cm). So, the moral of the story is: don’t jump to conclusions and don’t dismiss a provisional identification on the basis of habitat and location!
shrew tail detail
Adrian Knowles
Shield bug obsession? Since I was a child, if I had two of anything, it started a collection. So after seeing a few different shield bugs, I started looking a little harder for more and to identify these unusual insects. The main challenge to begin with was understanding ‘instars’ (stages of growth) as these canny bugs have various stages of growth which often do not resemble the adult at all. I collected many photos of shield bugs as time passed and with the White Admiral 90
help of books, internet and of course the resident SNS experts, I identified most of them. They appear on all sorts of plants and most are especially easy to spot on leaves of their host plants and bushes in the full sun, although I also often find one or two rogue ones in my moth trap in the summer. I have found that hawthorn, yew, privet, dock are the most likely plants to see them on, although early instars can be small and often elusive. On occasions I have spotted them 23
Clockwise from top left: Troilus luridus 2nd instar; Green Shield bug pair; hawthorn shield bug; bronze shield bug; dock bug; green shield bug summer; forest bug; dock bug - Coreus marginatus mid instar; box bug late instar; juniper shield bug; red legged shield bug pair; woundwort shield bug; Pied shield bug; hairy shield bug 24
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sucking the ‘juice’ from small caterpillars and grubs with their extended mouthparts. Dock, box, and forest bugs along with green, bronze, hairy, redlegged, pied, wound-wort, hawthorn, birch and juniper shield bugs have all been recorded at home in Thurston.
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I would recommend that you check out these interesting bugs and marvel at their diversity and intriguing life cycle. Trevor Goodfellow
25
Short Note – Stoat in my Neighbour’s Garden
Stoat by Bob Mawkes
Bob Mawkes, took these photos of a stoat (Mustela erminea) on his bird table at his home in Bentley (TM 113373). It has probably visited the bird table quite often but as yet has only been seen on three occasions: the first was 18/01/15 between 8 and 9 a.m.; second 19/01/15 between 3 and 4 p.m.; and third 25/01/15 around mid-day. The bird table is in his
small front garden (which is partially screened by a laurel hedge) and is close to the road. The stoat is attracted by and feeds on the nuts and fat in a fat ‘cake’ made by Bob. Some of the shots show the distinctive black fur at the distal end of its tail. Colin Hawes
New Bursary available Thanks to the generosity of the late David Ridley Nash we are now able to offer another bursary to encourage the study of Suffolk’s Coleoptera (beetles). David very kindly left the Society £5000 in his will to set up the new bursary which will be run using the same criteria as the other SNS bursaries (see inside back cover).
26
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Late Red Admirals On 23rd December 2014 my wife Ann-Marie saw a red admiral sunning itself on the wall of Christchurch Park’s Visitor Centre. Subsequent sightings occurred on the 24th and 25th, both on sunlit bricks at the front of Christchurch Mansion. Further searches in the next week produced no more sightings. These now add to the two red admirals coming out of our garden pine on 1st January 2000 and a red admiral rescued from a pavement outside Sainsbury’s in the middle of Ipswich, on 20th December 2008. When I was the Suffolk Butterfly Recorder such sightings in the winter months between December and February were rare enough to be mentioned in the annual report. However, the status of these winter red admirals is still unclear. As far back as 1945, in Ford’s butterfly book, which was part of the ‘New Naturalist’ series, he was already commenting that a few red admirals survive our winter but most perish. In ‘The Butterflies of Great Britain and Ireland’, vol. 7 part 1, 1990, Maitland Emmett and Heath, the authors comment on the impossibility of differentiating between local
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hibernation and early immigration. This is expanded in the 2001 ‘Millennium Atlas of Butterflies in Britain and Ireland’, Asher et al, which comments: There is no welldefined overwintering strategy in Britain and Ireland. The variable waves of adult migration patterns, post-winter and summer emergences and autumn reverse migrations make the interpretation of records complex. Thomas and Lewington, 1991, in ‘The Butterflies of Britain and Ireland’ point out that red admirals apparently ‘overwintered in quite cold localities in Central Europe’ adding that the red admiral ‘is a resident species mainly in the Pyrenees, where winters are every bit as cold as in Britain’. My own impression is that overwintering is on the increase and I wonder if this is connected to the series of warm years we have
Red Admiral 24.12.14 27
experienced in the last few decades, with 2014 the warmest on record. However, that may not necessarily benefit hibernating species since obviously it increases the survival rates of parasites and hunting birds or mammals. Perhaps the answer lies in actually
finding red admirals in hibernation quarters, something I have never discovered in my many years of studying butterflies. Has anyone else seen them actually hibernating? Richard Stewart.
Schizophyllum commune - Split Gill fungus, in Suffolk As part of the Bioblitz on August 9th 2014, at Foxburrow Farm, Melton, an SWT Reserve on the Foxboro Hall estate, I (CJBH) accompanied by interested visitors and Leonie Washington of SWT, who knows the site well, looked at the lichens on various substrates around the education centre. During this first visit, it was felt that a more detailed survey would be advantageous and again with Leonie’s help, this was arranged for 30th October, when a greater number of habitats were looked at.
The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, where there is a strong contingent of mycologists, and Paul Cannon, was able to tell us what it was and also that it was not uncommon. It turned out to be Schizophyllum commune. Tapping into the Internet and consulting Wikipedia etc. we were able to learn a great many fascinating facts about this fungus, such as
At the end of the second day in the orchard area, our eyes were caught by a ring of thick slices, of a birch bole, approximately 15–18 inches diameter and 9–12 inches thick, set in a 12-15 foot circle and acting as seats around a campfire. Looking at these blocks of lignum closely, we saw that several were colonized by a wood rotting fungus. Material was collected and sent to 28
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(i) having a worldwide distribution, on all continents except the Antarctic due to a lack of a suitable substrate there; (ii) despite the small size of our material, it is a species where the caps grow can up to 4 cm diameter; (iii) it was thought to be uneatable, but is in fact edible, though very tough, which makes it a favourite in more tropical countries where the caps do not decay so fast; (iv) it has proved to be a species complex with over 28,000 sexes involved! (I will leave the geneticists to appreciate the significance of that remark); (v) it can be also pathogenic in man and anybody with a weakened immune system may be at risk - in humans the fungus has occasionally been shown to actually produce caps in the nasal cavity. I
wrote to Neil Mahler, the f u n g a l recorder for
Photo by Neil Mahler White Admiral 90
Suffolk, to give him the details of our find and although he knew it, see photo, he was very pleased, as he had not seen it in the county himself.
The 4 following paragraphs are by Neil Mahler (pers. comm.) Brilliant! I have never recorded this in Suffolk. As soon as I saw the first photo, I knew it to be S.commune and hoped the following text (an email) would say it was found in Suffolk. It certainly is not common in Suffolk (or Norfolk) and according to their booklet on Suffolk Fungi, the Ellis’s only have 3 records of it. However, doing a spot of searching, I have now managed to find a total of 4 records of S.commune from Suffolk - Assington Thicks, Flatford (FSC), Bury, and Walberswick. It would also appear to be scarce in the UK generally, but there was an apparent increase in sightings after the storms of 1987 (it was always assumed this fungus was a wood saprotroph species), though by 2000, most of the sightings on storm damaged trees began to dry up - probably because all the cellulose and lignin had become depleted. From 1991 in Devon, came the first of many sightings on silage bales wrapped in black plastic where the fungus could emerge through any 29
tears. Then a well known mycologist recalled seeing similar habitats being colonized in Scotland in 1988 and 1990 and a survey in 2000 revealed 53% of farms visited in Ireland had this growing on silage bales. “I guess if I were to stop my motorcycle every time I see black plastic wrapped silage bales stacked in a muddy farmyard, I may be able to increase the Suffolk sightings 3 times over, but farmers don’t take too kindly to strangers acting in a strange way!” Neil has also pointed out, that unfortunately a lot of new UK publications give the wrong common name to this fungus and this extract from the BMS web site explains how the error came about. “Liz Holden is the Scottish
mycologist who was given the job of coming up with the new list of English common names for fungi, in an attempt to standardize things before they got out of hand. The error with Split Gill was spotted too late though and already on iSpot, people have written in identifying the fungus as “Common Porecrust””. Naturally Split Gill fungus has gills, which are pale reddish or grey and very narrow with a longitudinal split edge which becomes in rolled when wetted by rain. It is the only known fungus with split gills that is capable of retracting by movement and the cap which is much more resilient, allows spores to be liberated over a long period of time. C. J. B. Hitch & L. Washington
Three seasons of looking for leafhoppers In the last 3 summers, we have surveyed for leafhoppers across Suffolk and this article sets out the outcomes of our work and outlines the current distributions of leafhoppers in Suffolk. We have collated records from the NBN gateway, Suffolk Biological Records Centre and the National Leafhopper recording scheme. Apart from Claude Morley’s incredible contribution, little recording of leafhoppers took place until the 1980s when professional 30
entomologists started to visit the well-known sites. Since then several naturalists have contributed relatively small numbers of records. In the last 3 years, we have surveyed 49 sites across the county. The area bordering Essex in the south is noticeably under-recorded. The paucity of historical records does mean that all occurrences of common or scarcer species are a cause of much excitement! We have now recorded 153 species White Admiral 90
of leafhoppers, of which 29 species appear to be new for the county. Of course, some of these may have been collected before and are sitting in someone’s notebook awaiting publication! 178 species have been recorded here in the last decade so we have a good account of the contemporary distribution of leafhoppers in the county. There are currently 408 hoppers on the national list so we now know that we have well over a third of the national fauna here in Suffolk. This total will hopefully increase over the next few years as we target different areas to search. Last summer, we tried to locate some of the rarer species that we suspected could be present or that have been found early in the last century, sadly without success. There are 7 BAP species of leafhopper in Britain but none have been recorded in Suffolk. The most likely candidate would be Doratura impudica. It is present in Essex and Norfolk. Its foodplant is Sand Couch, Elytrigia juncea. This is found at the front edge of sand dunes. Along our coast this plant does not appear to be present in sufficient quantity to support the leafhopper. We also tried to locate the very beautiful Metalimnus formosus which lives on Tufted Sedge, Carex acuta. This sedge is present in many locations in Suffolk so we have not given up White Admiral 90
Acericerus vittifrons
hope yet.
Last year, we were thrilled to find some stunning species. For example, Opsius stachtogalus, from the Tamarisk below the Coastguard Cottages at Dunwich Heath. We suspect it is found throughout the length of the coast wherever this plant is present. We
also
found
the leafhopper Acericerus vittifrons on Sycamore at Captains Wood. A common species which appears to be unrecorded in East Anglia. It is from the sub-family idiocerinae which are relatively large and often well-marked leafhoppers. For anyone thinking of looking at a new family of insects the leafhoppers are a nice group. There are modern keys to all British species and a very good photo guide to accompany them. Many species do not need a microscope although this is essential for the tricky species. Some common species are yet to be discovered in Suffolk and all records are gratefully received. Colin Lucas and Tricia Taylor 31
Scarce (Yellow -legged) Tortoiseshell Nymphalis xanthomelas The Scarce Tortoiseshell is a species of butterfly, similar in size to the Peacock Inachis io which is local and uncommon within its range in eastern and central Europe. It is a species which favours damp woodlands and river valleys especially those containing willows and sallows. The flight period is normally from July through to September. The butterfly then goes into hibernation normally emerging again in April and May. It is univoltine. The only previously accepted record was at Shipbourne, near Sevenoaks, Kent in July 1953. On 14 July, Chris van Swaay of the Dutch Butterfly Conservation posted on the UK Butterflies website forum that good numbers of Scarce Tortoiseshell were being seen in the Netherlands. Other reports indicated that it was also appearing in Denmark, Sweden, Germany and Belgium. This is a butterfly, which like the other tortoiseshell species shows a strong migratory tendency and it seemed that a particularly good emergence across its home range had coincided with an unusual weather pattern. This had caused a strong flow of warm air from over Russia to push through central Europe and carry the butterflies north-west towards Scandinavia and the Low 32
Countries. It, therefore, became apparent that this butterfly species could reach UK shores and in particular the south-east of England. However, at the time of Chris van Swaay’s post it appeared that the butterfly had already made it across the North Sea as during the evening of 14 July a number of Scarce Tortoiseshell butterflies were being reported along coastal locations in East Anglia. Thankfully, Suffolk was lucky to share in this European butterfly event and we have had two confirmed records. Both butterflies were observed nectaring on buddleja and were identified as Scarce Tortoiseshells from the photographs and videos taken. One was found in the warden’s garden at RSPB Minsmere by Adam Rowlands on 14 July 2014. It was also present again during 15 July. The second record was also found on 14 July by Perry Fairman at Marina Park, Burgh Castle. It was also observed during the 15 July. For those of us that were not fortunate to see this vagrant in July then do not despair. There is a chance that others went undetected and that they may now be hibernating in the UK. Reports from Holland and Scandinavia in early August have revealed that White Admiral 90
several Scarce Tortoiseshells have been found hibernating alongside Peacocks and Small Tortoiseshells. Assuming they follow a similar pattern to hibernation emergence times in central Europe then early April 2015 may be a good time to look for another Suffolk Scarce Tortoiseshell!
Scarce and Large Tortoiseshell (Nymphalis polychlorus) are very similar and it is feasible that xanthomelas has been overlooked in the past. The following photographs have been annotated to highlight key features. Bill Stone The key identification feature, as the species’ other name of “Yellow -legged Tortoiseshell” suggests, is the colour of the legs. On polychlorus they are dark brown/ blackish and here on xanthomelas they are light brown through to yellow.
In xanthomelas the shape of the black marking in the hindwing is square and stands out as it is surrounded by the reddish - orange ground colour. In polychloros the black mark is triangular and less obvious as it sits in a diffusely dark area
The ground colour of the upper wings is a much brighter reddish-orange in xanthomelas, polychlorus is a paler yellowish-orange
The black marginal borders on the upper wings of xanthomelas are broader than those found on polychlorus. xanthomelas shows a white spot near the apex on the upper side forewing whereas this apex mark is yellow on polychlorus Photos with kind permission of Perry Fairman White Admiral 90
33
The Breckland Bat Project Helping to fill gaps in our knowledge of Suffolk’s bats The Breckland Bat Project was inaugurated in April 2014 by the Breckland Society, a local history and conservation group established in 2003 (www.brecsoc.org.uk), in association with the Norfolk Bat Survey. Run by the British Trust for Ornithology from its headquarters in Thetford. The Norfolk Bat Survey (www.batsurvey.org) was set up in 2013 to enable anyone to have access to passive real-time bat detectors, which are left outside to automatically trigger and record every time a bat passes close by. This was done by collaborating with a range of other organisations and local libraries across Norfolk, to set up 21 “Bat Monitoring Centres� at existing public venues from which anyone could borrow the equipment for a few days (Newson et al. 2014). The aim of both projects is to complement existing work on bats by providing additional large-scale s t and ar di se d da t a o n b at distribution and activity, as well as encouraging greater public awareness of bats and their ecology. Resulting in a dataset of over half a million bat recordings over two seasons, the data collected 34
through these projects now provides one of the most extensive high quality datasets for bats. In return for collecting data, within a few days of taking part participants are sent a summary of the bat species they recorded. Using this method, members of the public are given an opportunity to participate in bat surveys and take advantage of bat recording technology that would not normally be available to them. Initial results from the Norfolk Bat Survey indicated that the Norfolk Brecks were likely to be a regional hotspot for several species of bat, but that greater recorder
coverage was required to help establish a more detailed picture of their distribution and status. Discussions with the Breckland White Admiral 90
Society, whose activities extend across both sides of the Norfolk/ Suffolk county line, led to the purchase by the Society of a passive detector kit and the creation of the three -year Breckland Bat Project. From mid-April until the end of September 2014, the bat detector was available for Society members to set up overnight at sites across the Brecks. It was used at 159 different locations across 64 x 1-km squares in the Norfolk and Suffolk Brecks during this period and a total of 44,945 individual bat recordings were collected and analysed, revealing evidence of at least 11 species. Because bats in the genus Myotis are particularly difficult to distinguish acoustically,
Serotine - photo by Charlotte Packman
only 21% of Myotis recordings were assigned to species/ species pair. See Table 1 for a White Admiral 90
summary of the results by species. Of the 64 1-km squares surveyed during 2014 across the Brecks, the majority (55, or 86% of total squares surveyed) were in Norfolk. End-of-season discussions concluded that greater effort was required in the Suffolk Brecks over the next two recording seasons of the project, not least to establish the relative importance of the Suffolk Brecks for species like the Serotine, which appears at the moment to have its stronghold on the Norfolk side (see Fig. 1). The Breckland Bat Project recording season for 2015 will start in April. To take part, you need to first reserve a 1-km square to record in. This can be done by f o llo w ing this link http:// blx1.bto.org/batmap/index.jsp? reg=Breckland. The Breckland Society has its own detector, which can be booked by emailing James Parry info@brecsoc.org.uk, but a detector can also be borrowed from any Norfolk Bat Survey “Bat Monitoring Centre” (see website). From this year the list of centres include s Suffo lk’s Brando n Country Park, which it is intended will form the focus of wider community engagement in the project. Discussions are also ongoing with the Suffolk Bat Group and the Suffolk Biological 35
Table 1. Bat recordings made by the Breckland Bat Project during the 2014 season. No. of recordings
% of total
Common pipistrelle
Species
18,855
42.0%
Soprano pipistrelle
15,867
35.3%
Serotine
515
1.5%
Brown long-eared
559
1.2%
Noctule
337
0.8%
Barbastelle
303
0.7%
Leisler’s
173
0.4%
Daubenton’s
132
0.3%
Nathusius’ pipistrelle
122
0.3%
Natterer’s
93
0.2%
Whiskered/Brandt’s
10
<0.1%
Unidentified bat species
3,981
8.9%
Pipistrelle species
2,176
4.8%
Myotis species
1,350
3.0%
472
1.1%
Noctule, Serotine and Leisler’s
Records Centre to encourage greater participation within the Suffolk Brecks, as well as the sharing of data to complement existing work by the SBG in the Brecks and to help produce a more complete and up-to-date picture of bats within that part of the county. This information will be reflected in the report and distribution maps that will be published at the conclusion of the Breckland Bat Project in late 2016.
Figure 1. Map of Serotine Eptesicus serotinus activity during 2014 recording season
Dr Stuart Newson & James Parry References: Newson, S.E., Ross-Smith, V., Evans, I., Harold, R., Miller, R. & Barlow, K. (2014). Batmonitoring: a novel approach. British Wildlife 25, 264-269. 36
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Suffolk Naturalists’ Society Bursaries
The Suffolk Naturalists’ Society offers six bursaries, of up to £500 each, annually. Larger projects may be eligible for grants of over £500 – please contact SNS for further information. Activities eligible for funding include: travel and subsistence for field work, visits to scientific institutions, scientific equipment, identification guide books or other items relevant to the study. Morley Bursary - Studies involving insects (or other invertebrates) other than butterflies and moths. Chipperfield Bursary - Studies involving butterflies or moths. Cranbrook Bursary - Studies involving mammals or birds. Rivis Bursary - Studies of the county's flora. Simpson Bursary - In memory of Francis Simpson. The bursary will be awarded for a botanical study where possible. Nash Bursary - Studies involving beetles. Applications should be set in the context of a research question i.e. a clear statement of what the problem is and how the applicant plans to tackle it. Criteria:
1. Projects should include a large element of original work and further knowledge of Suffolk’s flora, fauna or geology.
2. A written account of the project is required within 12 months of receipt of a bursary. This should be in a form suitable for publication in one of the Society's journals: Suffolk Natural History, Suffolk Birds or White Admiral.
3. Suffolk Naturalists' Society should be acknowledged in all publicity associated with the project and in any publications emanating from the project. Applications may be made at any time. Please apply to SNS for an application form or visit our website for more details www.sns.org.uk/ pages/bursary.shtml.
Suffolk The
Naturalists’ Society w w w. s n s . o r g . u k
Hazel Fl owe r by Ben Hea ther
The Suffolk Naturalists’ Society, founded in 1929 by Claude Morley (1874 -1951), pioneered the study and recording of the County’s flora, fauna and geology. It is the seed bed from which have grown other important wildlife organisations in Suffolk, such as Suffolk Wildlife Trust (SWT) and Suffolk Ornithologists’ Group (SOG). Recording the natural history of Suffolk is still the Society’s primary objective. Members’ observations go to specialist recorders and then on to the Suffolk Biological Records Centre at Ipswich Museum to provide a basis for detailed distribution maps and subsequent analysis with benefits to environmental protection. Funds held by the Society allow it to offer substantial grants for wildlife studies. Annually, SNS publishes its transactions Suffolk Natural History, containing studies on the County’s wildlife, and the County bird report, Suffolk Birds (compiled by SOG). The newsletter White Admiral, with comment and observations, appears three times a year. SNS organises two members’ evenings a year and a conference every two years. Field meetings are held throughout the year often in conjunction with other specialist organisations. Subscriptions: Individual members £15.00; Family membership £17.00; Student Membership £10.00; Corporate membership £17.00. Members receive the three publications above. Joint membership with the Suffolk Ornithologists’ Group: Individual members £28.00; Family membership £32.00. Joint members receive, in addition to the above, the SOG newsletter The Harrier. As defined by the Constitution of this Society its objectives shall be: 2.1 To study and record the fauna, flora and geology of the County 2.2 To publish a Transactions and Proceedings and a Bird Report. These shall be free to members except those whose annual subscriptions are in arrears contact: 2.3 To liaise with other natural history societies and conservation bodies in the County 2.4 To promote interest in natural history and the activities of the Society. For more details about the Suffolk Naturalists’ Society contact: Hon. Secretary, Suffolk Naturalists’ Society, c/o Ipswich Museum, High Street, Ipswich, IP1 3QH. Telephone 01473 400251 enquires@sns.org.uk