RECORD Newsletter Issue 5 Spring 2018

Issue 1 Winter 2016

The Local Environmental Records Centre serving Cheshire, Halton, Warrington and Wirral

Issue 5

Colletes cunicularius ŠLeanna Dixon

Spring 2018

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RECORD Newsletter. Issue 5: Spring 2018 Contents RECORD Round up

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Count Me in Graduates

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Wildlife on your doorstep by Lisa Reeves

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Community Nature Hub

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Chester Zoo’s Nature Reserve News by Andy Jennings-Giles

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Species Spotlight: Bee Fly by Leanna Dixon

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Moth population changes in an Elton Garden 1991-2017 by Steve Holmes

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Upcoming events in Cheshire

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A note from the editor‌ Welcome to the Spring issue of the RECORD newsletter. Thank you to everyone who has contributed. In the past several months there have been lots of new and exciting things happening at RECORD. Take a look in the Round Up section to find out what we have been up to. We also

have great articles about mothing in Cheshire, our new Community Nature Hub project, an update on the development of Chester Zoo nature reserve plus much more.

Please get in touch if you would like to contribute to our Autumn 2018 issue.

Leanna Dixon (Data Services Officer, leanna@record-lrc.co.uk)

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RECORD Round Up

Community Nature Hub - Reptile Identification Workshop

RECORD, Tanyptera Trust & Chester Zoo Drop-in Sessions

Wildlife Exchange Session talk ‘Shrinkwrapped world’ by Jeff Clarke

In collaboration with Chester Zoo we have been running monthly Wildlife Exchange Sessions, these evenings provide an opportunity for people with an interest in local wildlife to get together and find out about our natural environment and how it is changing. They also allow sharing of ideas, knowledge, experience and views on Cheshire’s natural history and how we can monitor and conserve it. We have an exciting line up of speakers for upcoming sessions so keep an eye on our website and social media for booking information. Working with the Tanyptera Trust we have also set up evening

‘Drop in Sessions’ on the second Wednesday of every month. These sessions provide an opportunity for recorders to get help with species identification queries (including photos), learn new surveying techniques, practice using keys and microscopes in a supportive environment or to simply meet up, have a cup of tea and discuss recording. We are also able to provide specimens from Liverpool World Museum for study, please let us know if there is any group that you are keen to look at.

We recently ran the first successful wildlife identification workshop from our Community Nature

Hub project funded by the People’s Postcode Lottery. The reptile workshop, run by local ecologist Jeff Clarke, taught participants how to identify, survey for and record Cheshire’s reptiles. See page 7 for more information about our new Community Nature Hub project.

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Count Me In Graduates (CMIG) by Sue Budd Sunday 15th April 2018 Gatewarth Nature Reserve.

The site of the old Gatewarth waste disposal ground near Warrington has been made into a nature reserve which now runs from one of the highest sites in Penketh down to the banks of the River Mersey. Thanks to Anita and Paul for arranging this day recording with local ecology specialist Jeff Clarke. We all benefitted from some helpful directions to find this lesser known reserve - although the huge bulk of Fiddlers Ferry cooling towers did ensure it was difficult to get lost!

View of Fiddlers Ferry taken from Gatewarth ©Jon Whitton is licensed under CC BY 2.0

The late spring and recent weather, still cool and grey, was not ideal for bird observation but Jeff assured us that we could expect to see at least three dozen species and we actually recorded over 50, many visual but also a good number auditory. These included Yellowhammer, Kestrel, Chiff chaff, Goldcrest, Reed warbler (first record for the area this year), Reed bunting, Oystercatcher, Blackcap, Swallow, Bullfinch and Long tailed tit. A song thrush serenaded us beautifully Cetti’s Warbler (Cettia cetti) ©Steve Childs is licensed under CC BY 2.0

from a nearby tree and at last we heard the Cetti’s warblers which were being very elusive in the cool weather. Along the estuary mud banks we saw Stock dove, Tufted duck, Gad-

Did you know?

wall, Teal and Shelduck.

The Cetti’s Warbler is named after the

We were also very pleased to have Jack Swan with us and

18th Century Zoologist Francesco

with his expertise managed to identify and record approxi-

Cetti. Their non-descript colouring

mately 70 species of plants and trees.

makes them very difficult to spot and they usually make their presence

We had lunch at the nearby Ferry Tavern which is noted for

known with loud bursts of song.

its tasty fish and chips which many of us sampled and they were indeed excellent. In the afternoon we walked alongside the now very overgrown Sankey canal under the shad-

ow of Fiddlers Ferry. Altogether fourteen of us experienced a great day observing and recording wildlife in an area of contrasting landscapes which included wetlands, meadows, shrub and woodland bordering this stretch of the River Mersey and the Sankey Canal. What was once a massive landfill site is now a haven for an increasing variety of wildlife. We recorded over 130 different species in total!.

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© Lisa Reeves

Wildlife on your doorstep

by Lisa Reeves

©Lisa Reeves

Life in the garden was slow to wake up this year as winter seemed to go on for far too long. As the cold weather continued snowdrops carpeted the ground, closely followed by the large pastel helebore flowers, attracting queen bees to their rich nectar.

Now the snowdrops have faded, making way for drifts of sunny daffodils that light up the garden with their promise that warm days will be returning soon. Suddenly the whole garden starts bursting into life with primroses, violas and hyacinths. It’s so important to have early spring flowers (even dandelions) in the garden for the pollinators that wake up from their winter slumber early.

Celandines surround the pond like a little carpet of golden stars attracting bees and insects. Sitting by the pond, I watch newts come to the surface and then dive down again splashing the water with their tails, whilst frogs sit and watch them from the shade of the waters edge.

The smell of ransom (wild garlic) wafts through my nostrils

Lesser celandine (Ficaria verna ) ©Lisa Reeves

while early blossom delicately cascades to the floor like confetti.

Hoverflies land on leaves cleaning themselves in the warmth of the sun whilst queen bees buzz about the edges of the lawn looking for places to nest. There are plenty of places in the garden for her to choose and she may even choose an empty mouse hole as her home. Butterflies flutter from flower to flower gathering as much nectar as they can and ladybirds sit on leaves waiting for unsuspecting aphids to eat.

The hedges are alive with activity at the moment with loud chattering of birds as they get ready to raise their young. I always put nesting maPeacock butterfly (Aglais io) ©Lisa Reeves

terial such as pet hair and dried moss out each year for them in early spring and it’s soon used up.

I hear rustling from the compost heap as a male and female blackbird scrat in the soil and dead leaves looking for food, before flying back to their nests with beaks full of wiggly worms. It won’t be too long untill there will be fluffy fledglings hopping about the lawn chirping loudly to be fed.

Looking up I see two ducks flying low in the sky ready to land in one of the nearby ponds and a buzzard 5

that circles low in the sky is mobbed by two jackdaws.

As I walk around the garden I spot little paths through the long grass where the hedgehog has been walking. They have awoken from their winter sleep now and are on a quest for food. There is always a dish of food and water for them which they share with the fox family and the occasional wood mouse. It won’t be long untill the males start looking for a mate again and they search for a maternity nest site to rear their young.

Foxes are very active at night at the moment, prowling around the garden looking for food. It’s always exciting when they start bringing their cubs into the garden and it’s great to see them playing together.

Everything is finally budding into life and the sun shines higher in the sky lifting our spirits. Soon the ground will be covered in a carpet of bluebells as days get longer and the weather gets warmer, and more

pollinators will start to emerge in the garden.

If you are out and about in your area remember to stop and look for frogs and newts in a pond, or just sit and listen to the beautiful chorus of bird song. Perhaps you could even sow some wildflowers in a pot in your garden or maybe plant some lavender for the bees, or honeysuckle for the moths. Whatever you do, enjoy the nature to be found on your doorstep.

Learn more about garden wildlife by visiting Lisa’s Blog Ljay Nature

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In December 2017 RECORD was very kindly awarded funding by the Postcode Local Trust, a grantgiving charity funded entirely by players of People’s Postcode Lottery, to run the Community Nature Hub project. This exciting project aims to develop wildlife identification and recording skills in the local community, subsequently generating more

©Chester Zoo

wildlife records that are essential to conserving Cheshire’s wildlife.

The Community Nature Hub project will deliver events across Cheshire, Halton, Warrington and Wirral which will be open to anyone with an interest in wildlife and wildlife recording. The events will include 11 FREE species identification workshops including terrestrial molluscs (slugs and snails), lichens, grasshoppers, woodlice and shield bugs to name a few. We are lucky to be joined by a number of specialists who will be on hand to provide a detailed look at their particular species group, covering how to identify them as well as when and where to look.

In addition, there will be opportunities to practice skills picked up on the workshops at our group record-

ing days. The aim of the these days is to record a wide range of species at under recorded sites whilst offering valuable opportunities to build identifications skills, learn new surveying techniques and visit new and interesting sites. There will be recorders at all skill levels at the recording events so attendees can learn from experts or key out new species with peers.

The project grant will also enable us to build up a library of books, equipment and resources that can be used by the local community. We are developing wildlife recording packs for raising awareness of recording and inspiring the public to get involved, giving advice and pointers on when and where to record and how to submit records. Look for us at forthcoming community events if you’d like to pick one up.

Our first batch of workshops are currently being advertised with more to be announced shortly. Check

out the project webpages for more details. Click here to sign up to the project mailing list.

©Andy Jennings-Giles Common lizard (Zootoca vivipara)

©Steve J McWilliam Common shiny woodlouse

©Helen Lacey Green shield bug (Palomena prasina)

(Oniscus asellus) 7

Serge Wich©

Chester Zoo Nature Reserve News April 2018: Butterflies, Blossom and Bird-song by Andy Jennings-Giles It’s been a busy winter over at the reserve and we’ve certainly got a lot done despite the many ‘beasts from the east!’ One of the bigger jobs was to plant another 450 shrubs and small trees, which was much easier with the help of corporate volunteers from Bank of America. Most of the shrubs were planted around the edges of the site, on the north-facing sides of the mounds, so as not to shade out the south facing banks which are often used by basking inverts. We had already planted some Dog rose, Hawthorn, Guelder rose and Hazel so we wanted to add more diversity by including Dogwood, Spindle, Alder buckthorn, Elder and Wayfaring trees. Alder buckthorn is one of the larval food plants for the Brimstone butterfly so hopefully this will improve the number of adults seen in future years. An exciting new addition to the tree species list is the Wild service tree (Sorbus torminalis), since there are only a handful of known locations in Cheshire where this grows. This tree has leaves that are similar in shape to a maple and the oval fruits, often known as chequers, are popular with birds in the autumn.

Creating the dead hedge

Wild service tree in flower

RECORD staff and more Bank of America volunteers came to lend a hand with the dead-hedging around one of the new ponds. The idea was to create a barrier that would look rustic and could provide shelter for nesting birds and overwintering amphibians. The wood was left-over from the giraffes and okapi in the zoo, which enjoyed munching the bark, but left the hard woody parts of the branches. Many of the branches were sourced from thinning works at nature reserves around Cheshire, so this is a great example of recycling! We created the structure by artfully weaving the branches in the same direction and packing it down as we went along. This is something that anyone can do in their own garden or park, but be careful if you use willow cuttings as they tend to start sprouting!

We have also put up a number of new bird boxes including a large open fronted kestrel box, some oblong boxes for woodpeckers and wedge shaped boxes for tree-creepers that mimic the spaces behind loose bark. Over at the viewing-platform we’ve got a new bird feeding station and we’ve already seen the Reed bunting making use of it, so it’s only a matter of time before the Bullfinches and Nuthatches come and investigate. Last week I had a privileged view of a bank-vole who has set up home under the feeders and was feasting on the spilt grain, so it’s worth being very quiet as you approach the hide.

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Nature Reserve Phase 2 opening ©Chester Zoo

On the 26th April we officially opened the new part of the nature reserve with guest speakers Trevor Dines, a meadow specialist from Plantlife, and Councillor Samantha Dixon, leader of Cheshire west and Cheshire Council.

The opening breakfast event included staff, conservation partners, local experts and a number of volunteers who had helped with the creation of the reserve. Trevor gave an impassioned speech about the importance and cultural significance of hay-meadows and surprised us by handing over our very own Coronation Meadows plaque! It turns out that we are officially the 91st new meadow created through the scheme. We are very grateful to Kipper and Amanda Davies for allowing us to transport green hay from Kipper’s meadow, which is the Coronation Meadow for Flintshire. The ‘VIP’s’ cut a green ribbon from the existing part of the reserve into the new area and then planted a native Black poplar tree. As part of the event we had a number of activity stations that were run by RECORD and the Zoo Rangers to highlight the local wildlife and science that goes on at the reserve. We had a live pond invertebrate display in glass tanks, a mammal monitoring and camera trap display, a bird watching station, a bug hunting and wildlife recording station and an activity showing people how to record wildflowers using a quadrat. Later in the morning we were joined by some local primary schools that really enjoyed bug hunting, learning about native trees and recording their wildlife sightings as they walked around the new grass pathways.

We carried out our first moth trapping session in early April using a new Actinic heath trap down by the meadow pond. This trap is portable and runs off a car battery so it’s useful for areas without a mains supply. Although there wasn’t a great deal on the wing, the highlight was a handful of strikingly pattered Oak beauty moths (Biston strataria). Despite the name the caterpillars of this species feed on a range of deciduous trees and the adult is only on the wing in March and April. We are hoping to continue the moth trapping sessions on a monthly basis throughout the year.

The warmer weather has triggered a carpet of Cuckoo flowers down in the wet-meadow which has in turn attracted good numbers of Orange-tip and Green-veined white butterflies. The male Orange tips are instantly recognisable but the upper side of females is plain white with black-wing tips and a black spot on each side. The easiest way to distinguish a female Orange-tip from other white butterflies is by looking at the underside which has the same camouflaged green flecks as the male.

Breeding bird surveys are well underway and many of our summer migrants have started to arrive and claim territories. Chiffchaffs started calling in Mid-March and the first sedge warbler was heard in the first week of April, with Swallows first seen flying over the reserve on the 11th. One morning I was very surprised to find a Little egret sitting patiently beside one of our new ponds which is a first for the reserve, and hopefully many more will follow! We’ve seen good numbers of Tawny and Ashy mining bees that are clearly making use of the bare ground in the meadow and I’ve just noticed that the first Betony flowers have started to germinate, a full year after they were sown. The Oxeye daisy, Bird’s foot trefoil and Lady’s bedstraw are really doing well so we’re really looking forward to seeing the riot of colour as summer approaches!

Oak beauty moth (Biston strataria) ©Andy Jennings-GIles

Orange-tip butterfly male (Anthocharis cardamines) ©Andy Jennings-GIles 9

Species Spotlight Dark-edged bee fly (Bombylius major) by Leanna Dixon Description Bee flies are attractive fluffy flies that are often mistaken for bumblebees. There are 4 species of bee fly in the UK but only 1 in the Cheshire region - the Dark-edged bee fly.

The Dark-edged bee fly has a solid dark band along the front edge of the wings, is orange-brown in colour and approximately

6-12mm in size. All 4 species have a long proboscis and are often seen hovering above flowers feeding on nectar in a hummingbird -like fashion. They hover with a wing-beat rate of 200 beats per second therefore it can be very difficult to see the dark markings on the wing though you may be lucky enough to see it settle for a

Dark edged bee fly (Bombylius major) ©Leanna Dixon

moment or two.

Ecology The Dark-edged bee fly can be found between March and June but it is most frequently encountered during April and May. They are found in various habitat types including gardens, grasslands, woodlands and

coasts.

Bee flies have a very interesting and rather gruesome life cycle. The adult females lay their eggs in the nests of solitary mining bees. They collect dust or sand on the tip of their abdomen which they use to coat their eggs, this is thought to provide camouflage and add weight to them. Next, she will hover over the solitary bee nest burrows and flick her eggs into them. Once the bee fly larva hatches it will wait for the bee’s own larva to grow to almost full size, it will then attach itself and start to suck out its body fluids. This isn’t great news for the bee larva as it will eventually die but there is no evidence to suggest that bee flies adversely affect solitary bee populations.

Distribution Most common in Southern England, the Midlands and the Welsh lowlands but has also been expanding northwards in recent years and is now found in Northern Scotland.

How can you help?

We have far fewer records in Cheshire than would be expected from this bee fly’s nationwide distribution, so your sightings would be very welcome. You can send your sightings to us here at RECORD info@record-lrc.co.uk For further information on Bee flies visit the Soldierflies and Allies Recording Scheme website.

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Moth population changes in an Elton Garden 1991-2017

by Steve Holmes

We’ve been running a Robinson-type moth trap in our Elton garden since 1991, usually trapping every other night (weather permitting) between mid-March and the end of October, either side of which we almost never catch anything at all, hence the break.

On average, that results in 69 trapping sessions per year. Over the period there have been some startling changes, as can be seen

from the two charts below. Both numbers of individuals per year and average individuals trapped per session are clearly trending Robinson moth trap ©Ben Sale is licensed

downwards.

under CC BY 2.0

Some species have faired better than others but the overall reduction is virtually across the board. If we take Heart & Dart, in the early years (1991-97) they were trapped in extraordinary numbers (up to 4,500 a year). In contrast, the last seven years has seen the highest year score of just 562 and the all-time low came in 2016,

when just 71 were trapped all year.

To further demonstrate the numbers reduction, Heart & Dart numbers in both 1992 and 1996 were higher than those for ALL moths of ALL species in both 2016 and 2017…and in 1996 we only trapped 46 times.

Heart & Dart Moth (Agrotis exclamationis) ©Nikk is licensed under CC BY 2.0

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Top 20 moth species in 1992

Top 20 moth species in 2017

Space precludes me from going into too much additional detail but two further graphics above show the ‘Top 20’ species by numbers of individuals from 1992 (left) and 2017.

Numbers for species present in the 1992 table but not the 2017 table were: Flounced rustic: 16 (all time low), Bright-line brown-eye: 14, Lunar underwing: 2, Mottled rustic: 11, The rustic: 8, Shuttle-shaped dart: 25, The flame: 64, The nutmeg: 2 (all time low), Dot moth: 4, Burnished brass: 1 (all time low), Silver Y: 28 and Cabbage moth: 5.

Finally, one of our most spectacular garden moths which has suffered as much if not more than many

others is Garden Tiger. Its fall has taken place primarily over the last decade in truth and its appearances are now very rare, no longer even annual.

Garden tiger moth (Arctia caja) ©Steve Holmes

Thanks in part at least to warmer climates our species diversity continues to increase practically year on year as more species previously considered ‘southern’ make their way north. Whilst this is interesting and exciting, it does nothing to deter our attentions from the shocking reductions in numbers of moths coming into the garden.

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Upcoming events in Cheshire You can now view upcoming events in our new online RECORD Calendar. The calendar allows you to view RECORD and other external events in one place and copy details to your own google calendar.

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