RECORD Newsletter Issue 4 Autumn 2017 by RECORD LRC

Issue 1 Winter 2016

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

Issue 4

Scarlet waxcap (Hygrocybe coccinea)

Autumn 2017

1 ÂŠLeanna Dixon

RECORD Newsletter. Issue 4: Autumn 2017 Contents RECORD Round up

3-6

Count Me in Graduates by Sue Budd

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

8-10

Species Spotlight: Ivy bee by Leanna Dixon

What to look out for in the coming months

12-14

Wildlife on your doorstep by Lisa Reeves

14-15

Upcoming events in Cheshire

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A note from the editor… Welcome to the Autumn issue of the RECORD newsletter. It has been very busy here over the summer with lots of events and surveys going on, take a look in the ‘RECORD Round Up’ section to find out what we have been up to. Autumn has well and truly set in now with winter just around the corner but there is still time to explore all the season has to offer such as the weird and wonderful world of fungi.

A huge thank you to everyone who has contributed to this issue. We are looking for more articles for the next newsletter, so if you would like to share any wildlife recording tales, write a book/equipment review or have other ideas for future issues then please do get in touch. Leanna Dixon (Data Services Officer, leanna@record-lrc.co.uk)

RECORD Round Up

Back in July, RECORD staff and volunteers assisted with a recording session on a central Chester roundabout with children from Bluecoat Primary School. The roundabout, next to the Chester bus interchange, will be part of a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Super Tree Roundaboutâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; project that will see the area improved

for both wildlife and the general public (Pictured left: Elina Doss, Steve Ryder and Leanna Dixon surveying the roundabout).

Pictured right: RECORD attended the Head, Heart and Hands event at Grosvenor Park run by Chester Voluntary Action. We promoted the importance of engaging with nature and the outdoors for mental health and wellbeing. To celebrate National Moth week we assisted with moth trapping and identification sessions at Chester Zoo. We caught and recorded many moths including the Ruby tiger (Phragmatobia fuliginosa), Poplar hawk (Laothoe populi), Blood vein (Timandra comae) and Buff tip moth (Phalera bucephala) (pictured below, clockwise from top left).

As part of the Saltscape project we ran a wildlife recording day at Weaver Valley Park-

way (pictured top left). The Parent bug (Elasmucha grisea) was spotted and photographed (pictured above). This shield bug gets its name from the behaviour of the female, unlike other shield bugs she will sit protectively over the eggs until they hatch.

Pictured above: Throughout the spring and summer we have been carrying out monthly surveys at Ness Gardens. Pictured right: A Meadow brown butterfly (Maniola jurtina) recorded at Ness Gardens.

We attended the Port Sunlight River Park birthday event in August (pictured right) where members of the public took part in our quiz and we helped with wildlife identification queries. A good spot of the day was the Migrant hawker dragonfly (Aeshna mixta) (pictured above). 4

In August we ran a Saltscape recording day at Marbury Country Park (pictured top left). Despite the wet weather we got a good number of rec-

ords including several insects such as the beautiful Common blue butterfly (Polyommatus Icarus) (pictured top right) and the Brown hawker dragonfly (Aeshna grandis) (pictured left). At the end of the season we held our annual Summer Gathering (pictured below) to say thank you to the RECORD volunteers for their valuable support.

Our last Saltscape event ‘Inverts, plants and experts’ led by ecologists Jeff Clarke and Jack Swan was held at Dutton Locks at the end of August (pictured above and right).

Pictured above: We attended the Wildlife Connections Festival at Chester Zoo in midSeptember. Visitors took part in our quiz and recorded the wild-

life they spotted on a large map of the zoo’s nature reserve. Pictured left: A Bank vole (Myodes glareolus) and Wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus) caught and recorded during the Small mammal trapping workshop as part of the Chester Zoo Nature Reserve Club. 6

Count Me In Graduates (CMIG) by Sue Budd Sunday 3rd September 2017 Hockenhull Platts and Walk Mill. Hockenhull Platts Nature Reserve is managed by the Cheshire Wildlife Trust by agreement with the Grosvenor Estates. It is home to several habitats including a poplar plantation, reedbed and species-rich wet meadows, the reserve has received a boost of new pools and wetlands for the benefit of water voles amongst other creatures. The poplar plantation is sparse and its wet nature has created an unusual stand of Common reed at the ground layer. The reserve is also rich in bird life, with over 64 species recorded, including summer-visiting warblers such as the Sedge warbler, Grasshopper warbler and Reed warbler. Otters have been recorded along the banks of the bordering River Gowy. Walk Mill, a short distance away, is a restored water mill alongside the River Gowy. It stands within an area of attractive countryside and also features a lake. It provides a wide variety of habitats for wildlife from water voles to dragonflies. Hockenhull Platts Reserve can, on a good weather day, provide a rich variety of species. However on the particular September day that we visited the weather was wet and cool - not particularly inviting for the normally abundant flying insects! We recorded only Meadow brown, Green veined white and Speckled wood butterflies and just one Southern hawker dragonfly. We were

more successful with bird life and recorded 25 bird varieties including Buzzard and Sparrowhawk, with a cormorant enjoying the recently created lake on the land adjoining the nature reserve. Pete heard the buzzing of a grasshopper warbler but no

Green-veined white butterfly (Pieris napi) ©Leanna Dixon

sighting was confirmed. Plant life was more abundant and Jack was pleased to recDid you know?

ord a rare example for Cheshire of Mare’s-tail (Hippuris vul-

Parrot’s feather is an invasive non-

garis). Not so welcoming was the sight of Parrot’s feather

native species and can cause

(Myriophyllum aquaticum) spreading across the small pond

flooding by blocking watercourses

by the first of the three sandstone bridges (these bridges

and drainage channels.

misleadingly referred to as the ‘Roman Bridges’ are actually part of a former medieval route to London).

We moved on to the second site at Walk Mill where we enjoyed our packed lunches and then a welcome cup of warming coffee in the cafe. We walked over the bridge by the waterwheel before tracking alongside the Gowy until we reached the reed edged lake and followed the path around it admiring the fringed water lilies and recording yet more wildlife, mostly plants. In all, Steve recorded nearly one hundred vascular plants from the two sites. Total records numbered 192 with 147 species. 7

Serge Wich©

Chester Zoo Nature Reserve News November 2017: Roots and Shoots by Andy Jennings-Giles A lot has been happening at the nature reserve over the summer and we’re very happy that after a slow start many of the wildflowers have finally made an appearance! We’ve successfully recorded all of the species that were sown in the seed mix, apart from Betony (Stachys officinalis), but this can be slow to germinate so we’ll keep an eye out! The Bird’s foot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus), Oxeye daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare), Lady’s bedstraw (Galium verum) and Common knapweed (Centaurea nigra) have all done particularly well. It’s unpredictable creating a meadow from scratch and the conditions are unique at every site, so it can be very exciting to see what develops over the first few years. The amount of bare ground has meant that many early colonisers have appeared from the local seedbank such as Redshank (Persicaria maculosa), Bristly oxtongue (Helminthotheca echioides), Fat hen (Chenopodium album), Sow thistles (Sonchus spp.) and many others; in fact Jack Swan found over 70 species of vascular plant on a recent survey of the new meadow! It’s very interesting that you can see far more vigorous growth on the piles of earth that were made up of the topsoil we stripped off. These have become covered in docks, ‘improved’ grasses, thistles, and willow herbs, which can all be important for many species in their own right, but are often negative indicator species for lowland meadows. Although you would usually avoid herbicides on nature reserves, in this particular instance we are planning to spray these off and then sow an ‘edge-mix’ to add further diversity to the wildflower assemblage.

Some of the first wildflowers to appear in the new meadow (Oxeye daisy, Cornflower, Common poppy and Bird’s foot trefoil). 8

Mowing Kipper’s meadow.

Painted lady on knapweed at the meadow.

Mini-baler in operation.

Members of the zoo team and volunteers spreading the hay at the zoo nature reserve.

We decided to supplement the seed we had sown on the new meadow by arranging to transport some green-hay from another species rich hay meadow. As it happens we found out that the Coronation Meadow for Flintshire, Kipper’s field, was in need of cutting so this was the perfect opportunity to get some hay for our reserve. We worked with a local wildlife contractor Ecological Land Management to cut the hay using a pedestrian mower and then bale it using a special mini-baler. We wanted to use lightweight machinery so that we didn’t churn up or compress the soil at the meadow, and it was a very steep site which might have been tricky with a big tractor! The meadow was absolutely alive with flowering Devil’s bit scabious (Succisa pratensis), Field scabious (Knautia arvensis) and Knapweed along with a large number of Painted lady (Vanessa cardui) and Red admiral (Vanessa atalanta) butterflies. The owner of the meadow, Kipper Davies, keeps a few bee hives at the base of the site, so we made sure we left some of the flowering plants along the edge of the site and we only cut the Local botanist Jack Swan with BSBI county lower half of the meadow. In all we transported around 100 mini recorder Graeme Kay studying the yellow dodder. -bales that were then unrolled by zoo staff and volunteers at our meadow, and spread evenly with rakes to release the seed. It was crucial to get the fresh hay to the new meadow as soon as possible since the newly cut grass soon starts to heat up in the bales, which can lessen the viability of the seed. I wish you could bottle the smell of newly cut wildflower hay! In other news, Jack Swan made a first record for Cheshire when he discovered Yellow dodder (Cuscuta campestris) on the margins of the newly created pond in the wet meadow. This plant is native to North and South America and can quite often arrive through plants in the horticultural trade. Graeme Kay, the county BSBI plant recorder also came down to take a look for his rec-

Yellow dodder (Cuscuta campestris)

ords. We haven’t planted anything down in that area, so we’re at a loss as to how it might have got there, but we’ll certainly keep an eye on it. This might be the only year we see it as we don’t know if the seed will be viable. We recently carried out a pond dip as part of the Wildlife Connections festival and found a large number of Smooth newt (Lissotriton vulgaris) larvae, this being the first year that they have been recorded in the Phase-1 pond. We also found a good variety of aquatic invertebrates including water beetles such as Hydaticus seminiger in the weedy margins, with its distinctive pale lateral margins on the elytra, and Great diving beetle (Dytiscus marginalis), one of our largest aquatic beetles . The ponds have also seen a good number of dragonflies and damselflies this summer, some of which are already using the ponds we dug out in January. Some species such as the Black tailed skimmer (Orthetrum cancellatum) clearly like the bare mud around the main-meadow pond for basking, and I had an excellent view of a Brown hawker (Aeshna grandis) female ovipositing in the new wet meadow pond, but alas I didn’t have my camera with me!

©Leanna Dixon Female Great diving beetle (Dytiscus marginalis)

Smooth newt larvae (Lissotriton vulgaris)

The grasses we’ve sown on the meadow pathway are growing fantastically well now that we’ve had a bit more rain and we hope that some of the less common meadow grasses spread out into the wider meadow over time. The contents of the malaise trap have been emptied regularly over the summer and we will soon be working on sorting the contents out into families before sending these off to various local experts for species level identification. Improvements have now been made to the wildlife hide; adding more willow screens as you approach so that the birds aren’t scared away and we’ve also added rails to the bridges for safety. We’re now working on the interpretation scheme to help people learn about the diverse habitats, landscape character and diversity of species found at the reserve. The opening is set for early May and we are hoping to have some wildlife activities and recording both on the day and the following weekend so RECORD will send out dates as soon as this is confirmed. We’re hoping that the wildflowers will really come to life next year and we’ll once again be monitoring a broad range of other species as the meadow and associated habitats develop. If you want to get involved in any recording or survey work next year then please drop me an e-mail as we really value any contribution you might be able to give. Andy Jennings-Giles a.jennings-giles@chesterzoo.org.

Species Spotlight Ivy bee (Colletes hederae) by Leanna Dixon Description The Ivy bee (Colletes hederae) is similar in appearance to the honeybee but has distinct orange banding on the abdomen, although this can fade in older specimens. Any large colletes species found foraging on ivy around October or November are likely to be the Ivy bee. They are often seen in large numbers

and carry pollen on the hairs on their legs rather than in pollen sacs like the honeybee. Ecology

Ivy bee (Colletes hederae) ÂŠSteven Falk

As their name suggests, the Ivy bee forages almost exclusively on ivy pollen and are important ivy pollinators. They are the last solitary bee to emerge each year and can be seen from September to MidNovember. They nest in loose, often sandy soil, on sparsely vegetated south facing slopes and can be found on grassy slopes, coastal cliffs, roadside verges and even gardens. Nesting aggregations have been known to exceed tens of thousands. Females will mate and then dig a burrow in the ground, she will lay several eggs in the underground chambers which she will supply with pollen as food for the grubs when

they hatch. The grubs will pupate and become adults, and will remain underground until they emerge in the Autumn. Males emerge first and they will wait by the entrance to other burrows waiting for the females to emerge. Several males will often attempt to mate with one female, forming frenzied mating balls. Distribution The Ivy bee was described as new to science in 1993 from specimens found in Southern Europe. It is a relatively new coloniser of the UK and was first recorded in Britain in 2001 by Ian Cross in Dorset. Since then it has spread across much of Southern England and South Wales and is moving northwards. It was recorded for the first time in Cheshire in November last year by Carl Clee in Wirral Country Park.

How can you help? Allow ivy to flower during the autumnal months and keep areas of lawns and south facing banks/slope mown to keep the vegetation short. The Bees, Wasps and Ants Recording Society (BWARS) have been mapping the spread of the Ivy bee since its initial discovery in Britain. They are continuing a long term mapping project to plot and monitor the spread of this bee. Visit the BWARS website for further information and to submit records. You can also send your sightings to us here at RECORD info@record-lrc.co.uk. 11

What to look out for in the coming months Autumn is upon us and has spread its colours through the hedgerows and woodlands, with the Hazel (Corylus avellana) being one of the earliest native species to turn brown. Horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum) leaves have taken on their seasonal hues and look shabby, but also are the first to create a wonderful bronze spectacle in the bright autumn sunshine. Other trees such as Ash (Fraxinus excelsior) are much more subtle in their colour change, turning light green then yellow. The Field maple (Acer campestre), which is native and common in hedgerows, has small lobed leaves which turn a wonderfully vibrant yellow.

Riverside vegetation is still lush and full. Many of the Common reed (Phragmites australis), Common reedmace (Typha latifolia) and Branched bur-reed (Sparganium erectum) type species that fringe the river will be bearing their seed heads and some Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria) flowers can still be seen. When the season turns damp then we may find many wonderful fungal fruiting bodies. Woodlands, both deciduous and coniferous, and old pastures are the best places to find fungi. However they are everywhere and can be found on rotting wood and healthy trees, and in parks, gardens and on lawns. One noticeable formation is the Fairy ring, formed by Marasmius oreades. As the years pass the fungus spreads out further and further from the centre of the circle, and hence some examples can be proved to be decades old. In the woodlands the ground is covered in fallen leaves but look out for the widespread Sulphur-tuft fungus (Hypholoma fasciculare) growing on rotting wood.

Horse Chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum) ©Callum Black is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Sulphur tuft (Hypholoma fasciculare) ©Robert Schroeder is licensed under CC BY 2.0

At the start of November, bonfires will be built and the nights will now begin to feel cold. Bonfires can be attractive refuges for hibernating Hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus), and therefore should always be checked before they are lit, especially if you have used fallen leaves. The oak now puts on its best Autumn show of colour, having only made a tentative start in October. At this time of year the Black Bryony (Tamus communis) stems thread through the hedgerows, supporting their clusters of fat, poisonous red berries. The last of the leaves on the deciduous trees will have now fallen to the ground. The only exception may be the Beech (Fagus sylvatica) which may hang on to its coppery hues. The acorns fall this month, often relying on Jays (Garrulus glandarius) and Grey squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) to disperse them. There are two main types of British oak: the Sessile (Quercus petraea) and the Pedunculate oak (Quercus robur). In the former, the acorns are borne in cups, with almost no stalk attaching them to the stem. In the latter, however,

Hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) ©Shane Farrell

Pendunculate oak acorn (Quercus robur) ©Peter O’Connor is licensed under CC BY 2.0

the acorn cups are attached with shared long stalks.

At this time of year, and through to the beginning of spring, winter thrushes Redwings (Turdus iliacus) and Fieldfares (Turdus pilaris) can also be abundant but are easily disturbed if you approach. The last of the summer bird migrants leave but now the trees are bare it is easier to spot the residents and winter migrants. Amongst the most likely birds to be seen in the gardens, woodlands and fields are flocks of roaming tits and finches such as Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs) and Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla). These are often joined by the occasional Tree Creeper (Certhia familiaris) and Nuthatch (Sitta europaea). With every year that passes there are more reports of Blackcaps (Sylvia atricapilla) and even Chiffchaffs (Phylloscopus collybita) over wintering. November also marks the start of one of the season’s highlights - namely the amassing of huge flocks, called murmurations, of Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris), which is an amazing spectacle to watch. Other birds such as Pied Wagtails (Motacilla alba) also show this behaviour.

Fieldfare (Turdus pilaris) ©Brendan Ryan is licensed under CC BY 2.0

At this time bats enter a state of torpor in their hibernacula. This is not a full hibernation as bats will emerge on warm days, but is a state of reduced metabolism and body temperature. In this state less energy is required. Only Dormice (Muscardinus avellanarius) and Hedgehogs hibernate in the UK. Some other mammals reduce winter activity, such as the Badger (Meles meles), but will have fattened themselves up for the lean months ahead. December, of course, is dominated by the run up to Christmas and evergreens such as Holly (Ilex aquifolium), with its rosy berries (only on the female plants) are used in wreaths, along with Ivy (Hedera helix) and fir cones. Euopean mistletoe (Viscum album) ©GrrlScientist is

Mistletoe (Viscum album) has a special role, growing in fruit trees such as apple. This semi-parasitic plant is best seen in winter. Although it feeds off its host tree it does also possess chlorophyll, and hence is able to create its own food through photosynthesis. The plant is associated with the Mistle thrush (Turdus viscivorus) which is supposed to love the sticky white berries. The bird spreads the plant from tree to tree by wiping the excess seeds and berries from its beak onto a twig of another tree. Robins (Erithacus rubecula) are one of the few birds that can be heard singing during winter, as both the males and females maintain territories for feeding during this period, which may be their breeding territories later. In woodlands at night, Taw-

licensed under CC BY 2.0

ny owls (Strix aluco) may be heard staking out territory. Estuaries and inland lakes are filling up with more waders and wild fowl. Wigeon (Anas Penelope), Teal (Anas crecca), Tufted duck (Aythya fuligula), Pintail (Anas acuta) and Shovelers (Anas clypeata) are particularly abundant ducks. Teasel stems (Dipsacus fullonum) stand in clusters on road verges, where the ground has been disturbed and they have gained a foothold. Their seed heads provide a favourite source of food for Goldfinches (Carduelis carduelis), who descend in 'charms', and twitter and fuss. Only small birds such as these, with specialised beaks, can reach the seeds within the teasel head.

Edited by Rachel Cross from articles by Peter McSweeney on his website When to Watch Wildlife

Wildlife on your doorstep by Lisa Reeves

Autumn has finally arrived with shorter days, damp weather and the lazy warmth of summer feeling like a dream away. Yellows, browns and reds appear upon the trees, interesting fungi rise from the damp earth and conkers dangle from branches ready to be picked. Most of the summer flowers are fading but fuchsias, heathers and cyclamen are still looking vibrant and beautiful. The Hawthorn hedges and Rowan trees are absolutely laden with red berries, and fruit tree branches hang heavily with a large bounty of delicious apples and pears. The swallows have now gone but the garden is alive with the

loud chattering sound of Starlings and the screeching of Jays. Sparrows dip in and out of the hedges, Blackbirds scrat on top of the compost heap and a Robin sings merrily from the tree above the pond.

As I wander through the garden, wasps and butterflies fly low on the ground attracted by the intoxicating juice of the windfall fruit. Fine silk spider webs brush past my face and craneflies clumsily flitter about the long grass as I walk on by. As I look up I see a family of Buzzards circling low in the sky above me, whilst in the near distance I hear the laughing call of a Green woodpecker. 14

Looking around I see empty shells of acorns and cobnuts scattered upon the ground, eaten by Wood mice, voles and squirrels. It’s funny to watch the squirrels dart about the garden burying nuts only to be watched by the eagle eyed magpies that soon swoop down and try and steal them. This normally ends up in a lot of squabbling and chasing each other around the garden until the winner finally gets the nut. I love to go around the garden at this time of year, looking under plant pots, behind log piles and in crevices in search of little creatures, fantastic fungi, mosses and lichen. As I care-

fully step behind the pond I stumble across a beautiful Stag’s horn fungi hiding amongst some leaf litter and also find Turkey tail fungi upon a dead branch on the ground. I spot a harvestman sitting on a lichen covered branch above my head and see a frog hiding under an old broken pot.

As I reach the bottom of the garden I spot a large family of woodlice huddled up under a plant pot, a newt hides under an old roof tile and I capture a glimpse of a little Wood mouse scurrying off to the safety of the compost bin. Even at night the autumnal garden is full of activity. Foxes come prowling around the fruit trees looking for a tasty windfall apple to eat and Hedgehogs snuffle along the grass in search of juicy worms. A Field vole peeks out from the safety of the hedge to take a bite of a fallen crab apple and a Wood mouse gnaws at a fallen nut under the log pile. Even with all the wet weather we have been having in Cheshire this year, there are still lots of things to see in the garden, so get your wellies and raincoat on and have a peek outside. Learn more about garden wildlife by visiting Lisa’s Blog Ljay Nature

Upcoming events in Cheshire 19th November - RSPB Chester: Wirral Parks incl Arrowe Park and Port Sunlight - Full day Location: Meet at the Sainsbury's end of Caldy Valley church car park, Caldy Valley Road, Chester, CH3 5PR (Google map) A day trip for parkland, woodland and estuary birds, which will also include River Park and RSPB Burton Mere Wetland, if time permits. (HT 11.30) Please phone the trip leader, Ian Cameron, at least three days before the event, for more details and to book your place. Time: Check with trip leader. Price: Free. Booking essential. Telephone: 01829 770974 E-mail: rspbchester@googlegroups.com

9th December - RSPB Chester: Hoylake, Red Rocks and West Kirkby - full day Location: Meet at the Sainsbury end of Caldy Valley church car park, Caldy Valley Road, Chester, CH3 5PR (Google map) A day trip for winter waders, migrants and more. (HT 15.00) Please call the trip leader, John Chapman, at least three days before the event to book your place and double-check the details. Time: Check with trip leader. Price: Free. Booking essential. Telephone: 01244 316590. E-mail: rspbchester@googlegroups.com

10th December - Warrington Plant Group: Bryophyte meeting, Daresbury Meet at 10am at the Ring Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Bells pub (SJ579828) to explore Daresbury Firs and the Bridgewater canal in search of Tortula freibergii, a special moss which loves canal edges! Contact details: Gail Quartly-Bishop Email: gailqb@hotmail.com

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