Contents

DECEMBER 2020 – JANUARY 2021

Bristol Naturalist News

Photo © David Hawkins Discover Your Natural World

Bristol Naturalists’ Society BULLETIN NO. 596 DEC. 2020 – JAN. 2021

BULLETIN NO. 596 DECEMBER 2020 – JANUARY 2021

Bristol Naturalists’ Society Discover Your Natural World

Registered Charity No: 235494

www.bristolnats.org.uk

CONTENTS

HON. PRESIDENT: Ray Barnett

[email protected] 3 SOCIETY ITEMS

Wed. 16 Dec. Society Talk, Darwin HON. CHAIRMAN: Giles Morris 01275 373917 Wed. 20 Jan. Soc. Talk, Cotswolds

[email protected] 4 Bristol Weather; Subscriptions for 2021; Nature in Avon

HON. PROCEEDINGS RECEIVING EDITOR: 5 NATTY NEWS : Climate & Narwhals; House Martins; Ancient Ecosystems; Dee Holladay, [email protected] Covid; Gentoos,, spiders & Gamebirds

HON. SEC.: Lesley Cox 07786 437 528 7 BOTANY SECTION Meeting Reports; [email protected] 9 Botanical notes;

13 GEOLOGY SECTION Fossil Fish; HON. MEMBERSHIP SEC: Mrs. Margaret Fay Review: Introducing Hydrogeology

81 Cumberland Rd., BS1 6UG. 0117 921 4280 [email protected] 15 INVERTEBRATE SECTION Notes for Dec.-Jan.; ‘Wasps in our Loft’ HON. TREASURER: Mary Jane Steer Thu. 10 Dec. Museum Winter Lecture: Wildlife in the Warzone 01454 294371 [email protected]

17 LIBRARY News from the Library; HON. PUBLICITY SECRETARY: Alex Morss Books: History of Lower Woods NR

19 ORNITHOLOGY SECTION 7.30pm Sun. 9 Dec., Talk: BULLETIN COPY DEADLINE: 7th of month before publication to the editor: David B Davies, Chew Lake 10am, Sun. 13 Dec. 51a Dial Hill Rd., Clevedon, BS21 7EW. 01275 873167 [email protected] Oldbury Power Station. . 7.30pm Wed. 13 Jan. Talk: “Orchard Song” (+AGM?) 10am, Sat. 23 Jan, Chew Lake

Field Mtg. Report; Bird Notes

Health & Safety on walks: Members 22 MISCELLANY Avon Organic Group; participate at their own risk. They are New book: Paintings by Annie Morris

responsible for being properly clothed and shod.

23 Portishead Marina;

Dogs may only be brought on a walk with prior

Squirrels & Pine Martens 24 agreement of the leader.

Cover picture: Ashton Court waxcaps –

see pp.10-11.

Bristol Naturalists’ Society Discover Your Natural World

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Registered Charity No: 235494 www.bristolnats.org.uk SOCIETY ITEMS Contents SOCIETY TALKS 7.30pm, Wednesday, 16th December The Bristol Naturalists’ Society invites you to a fascinating Zoom talk on the subject of:

Charles Darwin and the Voyage of the Beagle

Speaker: Dr James Taylor, FRSA, former curator at National Maritime Museum, Greenwich

2020 marks the 200th anniversary of the launch of HMS Beagle at Woolwich, a ship that has shaped all our lives. This talk reveals fascinating aspects of the family and influences upon Charles Darwin and Captain Robert FitzRoy, the ship’s commander and their participation in the celebrated voyage of 1831 to 1836 which enabled Darwin to collect vital evidence for his ground-breaking publication On the Origin of Species. It also highlights the importance of the Beagle’s first voyage to South America from 1828 to 1830. FitzRoy paid for two artists, Augustus Earle and Conrad Martens, to paint people and places encountered; these images underpin the seafaring stories.

To register for the talk contact Lesley, via [email protected]

7.30pm, Wednesday, 20th January THE MANAGEMENT OF THE COTSWOLDS, AONB Speaker: Mark Connelly, Land Management Lead

Designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in 1966 the Cotswolds covers an area of 787 square miles. Imagine the complexity of managing the habitat of the slopes, woodlands and grasslands of the Jurassic limestone hills to suit the birds, mammals, reptiles and invertebrates to be found there. Mark Connelly is the Land Management Lead of the Cotswolds Conservation Board and he will highlight the way in which this delicate balance is achieved in this fully illustrated talk.

To register for the talk, contact Lesley via [email protected] 3

Bristol Weather Contents October 2020 In contrast to September, October 2020 saw a much wetter month with some significant rainfall amounts. In total there was 163.1 mm of rainfall. This represents 164.7% of the 30- year average (1981-2010). On the 3rd of October, in the middle of a very wet spell, the 24- hour rainfall (09:00-09:00 hours GMT) total was 37.1 mm. This was the highest 24-hour rainfall for the month since 41.5mm was recorded on 19th October 2001. It was also a striking month with regard to the lack of sunshine compared with the average. Obviously with a large amount of rainfall one would expect sunshine to be a premium and this was indeed the case in Bristol during October. In 2020 October was the 2nd dullest since this data started in 2005 with only 29.6% of the maximum sunshine actually being recorded. The only previously duller October was 2011 when only 28.3% of the maximum sunshine was noted. The maximum hourly surface energy of 9.74 MJ/m2 on the 6th of October was the lowest daily maximum since this data started in 2005. Temperatures for the month were close to the 30-year average with a mean of 11.8°C but the average maximum temperature was -0.4°C below average while the average minimum temperature was 0.5°C above the average. The highest daily maximum temperature of 17.5°C on the 20th was the lowest for October since 16.8°C was the maximum on 1st October 1998. The highest daily mean temperature of 14.7°C on 31st was the lowest since October 2nd 2000. There were a few low or ‘frost’ temperatures during the month and again this is in keeping with the increased cloudiness and wetness of the month. Finally, pressure too was low with the average pressure at 09:00 GMT of 1007mb. This was the joint lowest for October (with 2004) since records began in 1995. Now with season moving firmly into winter we shall see what weather is to come our way. One thing I feel for sure is that we will not all be able to predict it all correctly. Barry Horton

SUBSCRIPTION RENEWAL 2021 Subscriptions are due on 1 January Rates: Single Membership £25 ‘Household’ £35 Student £10 Payment options: • By cheque to ‘Bristol Naturalists’ Society’ (posted to Membership Secretary) • Bank Transfer/Standing Order to: • Lloyds TSB: A/c no: 00697372: Sort code: 30-92-13. Please quote your name as reference otherwise there is no way to link the payment with your membership. • N.B: If you don’t wish to renew your membership, please let me know. This helps to reduce the administrative costs involved in reminders. Many thanks for your continuing support. Margaret Fay, Membership Secretary, 81 Cumberland Road, Bristol BS1 6UG Email: [email protected]

Nature in Avon / Proceedings of the Society Contents Contributions are invited for the next Nature in Avon 2020. Many people have found themselves noticing natural history on their home patch through lockdown in glorious weather. All articles of whatever length will be welcome for consideration. Hopefully we will be able to reflect on an extraordinary year. The deadline is 31 March 2021. Please send to Dee Holladay, [email protected]

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NATTY NEWS Contents Climate Change: The fate of the Narwhal (Monodon monoceros) was the subject of an article published in Science in December 2017. Until recent declines in Arctic sea ice levels, Narwhals have lived in relative isolation from human perturbation. Their resulting naivety has made this cryptic, deep diving cetacean highly susceptible to disturbance, although quantifiable evidence has been lacking. A University of California (Santa Cruz) team led by Dr. Terrie Williams found alarming, paradoxical results when they deployed submersible animal-borne electrocardiograph- accelerometer-depth recorders to monitor physiological and behavioural responses of East Green- land Narwhals after release from net entanglement and stranding. The usual ‘fight, flight or freeze’ responses (each of which require different physiological responses) were not recorded. Instead, escaping Narwhals displayed a paradoxical cardiovascular pattern of extreme bradycardia (low resting heart rate) with a heart rate of 25 strokes per minute and energy costs three to six times the resting rate of energy expenditure. This rapidly depleted onboard oxygen stores. In simple terms, Narwhals effectively freeze when frightened or running away from a perceived threat, which challenges physiological homeostasis (the state of steady internal, physical and chemical conditions maintained in living systems). The Trump administration gave controversial permission for oil and gas exploration in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge but it was judged to be unlawful without a law being passed by Congress. However, pressure from oil and gas companies might turn the tide as far as Congress is concerned and the fate of the Narwhal might be sealed. Read more in, Williams, et al., Paradoxical escape responses by Narwhals (Monodon monoceros). Vol 358, Issue 6368 pp1328-31 Contents House Martins: A study in IBIS (The International Journal of Avian Science) published 26th October online by the BTO entitled, Using Citizen Science to Assess Drivers of Common House Martin (Delichon urbicum) Breeding Performance by Kettel, et al., reports that, as we already know, ‘Many hirundine species (…) are declining throughout their ranges. The Common House Martin … is a migratory hirundine that breeds throughout Europe but has shown recent declines in some parts of the UK particularly in the south. We conducted a […] study to assess how the breeding Nest Sites Surveyed performance of House Martins, measured by the number of attempted broods and nest success, is influenced by nest specific, landscape and weather factors. Pairs in eastern parts of the UK started breeding earlier than in the west and breeding performance was higher in [the east]. There was no effect of latitude on either aspect of breeding performance, so our measures of breeding performance alone do not help to explain differences in population trends across the UK. The probability of attempting multiple broods and producing successful nests was higher in previously used nests than in newly built nests and in artificial nests than in natural nests [which saved the birds’ energy]. Nests built on plastics soffits of buildings were less likely to be multi-brooded and less likely to be successful compared with other materials. Suggested conservation measures therefore include discouraging the removal of old nests and encouraging the installation of artificial nests, particularly on buildings with plastic soffits. […] Although our findings do not show conclusively that breeding performance is the sole driver of population trends, they go some way to explain the declines in House Martins and ultimately provide information which may help conserve this species. The main factor governing 5 decline of the species is insect loss. In my area, House Martins prefer white, rendered buildings from which, unfortunately, the owners remove nests when externally painted. Contents Watch: More on Bird Brains. https://youtu.be/H59GcPgXXv4 Watch: Lloyd & Rose Buck helping UoB Aerospace Engineers with Flight Patterns. https://youtu.be/aFXwI4-NRz8 Ancient Ecosystems: In ‘Deep drilling reveals massive shifts in evolutionary dynamics after formation of ancient ecosystem’ published in Science Advances, 30 Sept. 2020, Wilke et al. write, One of the fundamental questions in biology is what determines species diversity. Macroevolutionary theory defines diversification as the interplay between speciation and extinction. For isolated ecosystems, conceptual models assume that this interplay and the accumulation of in situ species diversity over time typically lead to a flattening of the accumulation curve and a (dynamic) equilibrium diversity (e.g., the general dynamic model of island bio-geography, the concept of ecological opportunity and the concept of equilibrium speciation dynamics. In summary, they write: The scarcity of high-resolution empirical data directly tracking diversity over time limits our understanding of speciation and extinction dynamics and the drivers of rate changes. Here we analyse a continuous species-level fossil record of endemic diatoms[single cell algae] from ancient Lake Ohrid, along with environmental and climate indicator time series, since lake formation 1.36 million years ago. [...] As the lake deepens, we also see a switch in the macroevolutionary trade-off, resulting in a transition from a volatile assemblage of short-lived endemic species to a stable community of long-lived species. Our results emphasize the importance of interplay between environmental/climate change, ecosystem stability, and environmental limits to diversity for diversification processes. The study also provides a new understanding of evolutionary dynamics in long-lived ecosystems. SARS-Cov-2: In May 2020 Natty News, possible routes of transmission were identified as bats to (possibly) pangolins to humans in the wet markets of Wuhan. The role ACE2 played as receptors in that transmission was also identified. Bristol University has now identified a key factor that might lead to amelioration of the disease. Watch: https://youtu.be/9JxnRJINn-o Meanwhile, Denmark plans to kill 17,000,000 mink on its fur farms because of a mutation in the virus which has been passed to humans. Species News: 1) Research from the Milner Centre for Evolution reports that DNA shows Gentoo penguins to be four species rather than one. Dr. Jane Younger, who led the study, said, For the first time we’ve shown that these penguins are not only genetically distinct but … physically different too. Gentoos tend to stick close to their home colonies and over hundreds of thousands of years they have become geographically isolated from each other to the point where they don’t interbreed …, even though they could easily swim the distance that separates them. Read more in, Morphometric and genetic evidence for four species of gentoo penguin, in Ecology and Evolution, 5th November 2020. 2) A spider thought extinct since 1993 has been found on MOD land in Surrey by Surrey Wildlife Trust. The Great Fox Spider (Alopecosa fabrilisis) is a critically endangered, large member of the Wolf spider family. Nocturnal, it captures prey by chasing it down over sandy soil, rocks, etc., before pouncing. It also has excellent eyesight with eight eyes. Watch: https://youtu.be/ncqNSpvYgBw 3) Pheasant and Partridge are to be classified alongside Japanese Knotweed and Grey squirrels as species that imperil UK wildlife. In future those who like to shoot them will need a licence to release these non-natives near nature reserves. A legal challenge was brought by Wild Justice. From 2021 Defra will require shoots to gain a licence to release these birds within 500 metres of any protected area. Shooting groups have reacted with anger over the restrictions but Mark Avery remarked, This is a good first step in bringing the unregulated shooting industry under control. Lesley Cox, 7th November 2020.

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BOTANY SECTION PRESIDENT:- Clive Lovatt [email protected] Contents

HON. SEC:- David Hawkins [email protected]

MEETINGS At the time of writing here in England we are now in lockdown 2.0 until after 2 December 2020, so that the ‘rule of six’ has been replaced by something more like ‘two if you must’. This means that the meeting we had planned for Sunday 22 November, Bryophytes of the Gully, Avon Gorge, to be led by David Hawkins, unfortunately cannot now take place. Early applicants for places have been advised accordingly. At the time of writing, we have no meetings planned for December and January. The BSBI New Year Plant Hunt is expected to take place from Friday 1 January 2021 to Monday 4 January. As usual records will be made of plants in flower over a period of three hours on any day selected. This can be done alone or with limited company according to the regulations in place at the time. Do send me any photos of plants from the Gloucestershire half of the BNS area in flower during those four days which you can’t quite name. Hopefully, it will be possible to hold David’s third bryophyte meeting on another occasion, and perhaps we can have another winter walk in Leigh Woods in February or March if we can have small meetings by then. We would like to go to Trooper’s Hill in Spring.

FIELD MEETING REPORTS Contents Lamplighters Marsh, Shirehampton, Thursday 22 October 2020 (Clive Lovatt) We had a full group of six for this second Covid-limited field botanical meeting, with one member on the waiting list. Jean and Lois who have joined me on occasional walks reported in these pages came and it was good to see and chat with three other friends I had not seen in person for absolutely ages. Let no-one imagine that the sole purpose of a botany meeting is to look at plants! We started at the Lamplighters Inn. We soon dispelled any thoughts of these strange times as we walked past the slipway onto the sea bank. We could see the greyish perennial Sea Purslane, Atriplex portulacoides, atop a muddy slope, and five of us dropped down to examine another Atriplex, a yellow sprawling Orache. ‘Look at the big bracteoles’ Clive intoned, trying to explain what bracteoles are and how big (10mm) they have to be to be interesting. They are a sort of paired green succulent wrapping around the seed and are usually up to about 5mm in length. ‘There should be some with stalks’ he continued. And so there were, less than 5mm so this was, as expected, the hybrid of the infrequent A. longipes, Long-stalked Orache, and the common A. prostrata, Spear-leaved Orache, which is called Atriplex x gustafssoniana. Similar plants with no stalked large bracteoles were found there as well. Margaret was so intrigued that the next day she went to one of her favourite spots, Sand Bay, and found the Long-stalked Orache below the Promontory close to the car park, where both this species and/or its hybrid are recognised and recorded from time to time. Jenny, who lives nearby, had warned me that the encroaching scrub in the Local Nature Reserve had been cut back recently, a good thing really because it opens up vistas and allows the herbaceous plants space. We therefore looked hopefully for narrow-leaved Docks (Rumex maritimus and R. palustris were here some years back) re-appearing in the area by the storm water outlet in case they had been disturbed from their sleep, but we found none … yet. Within the reserve we had a look at the Michaelmas-daisies. They are generally regarded as too difficult to name but we had no trouble deciding there were certainly two different sorts (Plate 1). Margaret took some home and determined the pale- 7 flowered one with broader upper leaves to be Symphotrichum (formerly Aster) x versicolor, Late Michaelmas-daisy. The darker-flowered one Clive thought would probably turn out to be S. novi-belgii, Confused Michaelmas-daisy or its rather similar hybrid S. x salignum, Common Michaelmas-daisy. The English names are telling. Further along, the opportunity was taken to look at three local specialities of the reserve, a grass (Calamagrostis epigejos, Wood small-reed), a sedge (Carex extensa, Long-bracted Sedge, which has been here for about 20 years) and a rush (Juncus gerardii, Saltmarsh Rush). In the stony ground at the north end of the reserve we found Plate 1. Flower-heads of two sorts many plants of the delicate and attractive blue-flowered of Michaelmas-daisy from Lamp- Linaria repens, Pale Toadflax, which I had not seen there lighters Marsh Local Nature before (it might have come in from the nearby railway), and a Reserve, 22 October 2020. See the bonus casual Thlaspi arvense, Field Penny-cress, which is text for their names. Photo © Margaret Webster always interesting to see. We needed to have a close look at the mayweeds here. They are not scented and are therefore in the genus Tripleurospermum. They seemed to be perennial (as in the Sea Mayweed, Tripleurospermum maritimum rather than annual and to a degree, larger rather than small flowered (as in the weedy Scentless Mayweed, Tripleurospermum inodorum). The telling feature is the shape of the ‘green eyes’ (glands) on one side (the inside surface) of the achene. In the Scentless Mayweed, the eyes are round and in the Sea Mayweed they are distinctly elongated by a factor of 2-3. The group found the ‘eyes’ difficult to find and see, and the shape hard to resolve, but with the x20 lens that I use it was clear: they are only slightly elongated or not at all. The species interbreed (to produce hybrids) and back-cross (producing introgressants) so given that we are near the coast, where unchallengeable T. maritimum can be found, I would say that these Lamplighters mayweeds are probably derived from introgression, thus T. inodorum with some genes of T. maritimum. I've seen similar plants about Avonmouth and Portishead. Jenny showed some of us the sign boards. One has her name on it as the artist responsible for the map and plant portraits. The other describes the current flood protection works at the mouth of the Avon and northwards up the Severn. Here the banks will run close to the river just north of the M5 bridge, then come inland and follow the line of the railway, thus leaving the reserve on the river side of the new banks. I for one, look forward to seeing what plants turn up after the works have been completed. After all, in 1884, JW White when writing up the Flora of the Avon Bed in our Proceedings about the plants that grew on river dredgings deposited in Black Rock Quarry (under Sea Walls) when it was finally closed, suggested, ‘By and by…another motley throng of curious weeds will arise…to claim attention from a botanical chronicler.’ V

Between the Bridges: or from Old Passage to New Passage, Contents Monday 26 October 2020 (Clive Lovatt) Anxious to get in another social botany walk before the advancing net closed in around us, three BNS members (Jean, Lois and late as usual, Clive) met close to the site of the old Aust Ferry to have a look at some of the unseasonably flowering hedgerow shrubs that Lois had seen there and at New Passage. Clive suggested this could be combined with a walk on the marshes with the photographically illustrated Salicornia (Glasswort or Samphire) key in the latest Wild Flower Society Magazine and participation in their last 8 week of October one-day hunt for plants in flower. It proved to be a successful and dry day out, even if all the Salicornia seemed to be S. ramosissima, the common Purple Glasswort. We recorded about 60 plants in flower, a similar number to what I used to get at New Year around Shirehampton, padded out with garden escapes. Our list included Hawthorn (Plate 2) and Blackthorn at Old Passage, and Cherry Plum at New Passage, Spartina anglica, Common Cord-grass, was in flower on the marshes, Sagina maritima, Sea Pearlwort, in cracks in concrete and the uncommon non-native creeping deep blue- flowered Symphytum caucasicum, Caucasian Comfrey, is persistent at Old Passage. Plate 2. Hawthorn, Crataegus monogyna, flowering and On the marshes, Clive taught fruiting, near Cake Pill Gout, 26 October 2020 © CM Lovatt Lois and Jean to recognise x Elyhordeum langei (the hybrid – apparently signposted in Plate 3 – of Common Couch-grass and Meadow Barley) in the only place in the world where it occurs in more than just occasional patches, and hence is easily found. Looking at ergot (Claviceps purpurea var. spartinae) that was affecting some of the Cord-grass, Spartina, Jean found a salmon-orange fungal Plate 3. A sign connected with the growth which she later identified as Gibberella gordonii footpath diversion due to the new tidal defence works south of Aust, (formerly Fusarium heterosporum). Jean tells me it isn't often ‘take care when crossing the recorded, but on 6 November she also saw some more of it road’; to botanists it appears to on the Spartina ergot on the give warning that rare hybrid marshes at Portbury (Plate 4). grasses are to be found beyond. 26 October 2020, © CM Lovatt. The NBN online map in fact has only five records and none for Somerset or Gloucestershire. It is well-known that ergots are dangerously toxic, but apparently, so is the Gibberella. Thus (after Swift’s famous poem about fleas – actually more a dig against another sort of back-biter, literary critics): Our naturalists observe a mould Plate 4. The salmon-orange With smaller mould that on it grows Gibberella gordonii growing on ergot (Claviceps purpurea var. And this no doubt has smaller yet spartinae) growing on Spartina at And on and on, to infinite Portbury, 6 November 2020 © Jean Oliver. BOTANICAL NOTES Except where otherwise stated, all notes are by Clive Lovatt with the assistance of the named contributors of the records and images. Contents Still more waterlily aphids, Rhopalosiphum nymphaeae, this time in West Gloucestershire Whilst I was looking through some old BNS Bulletins, I spotted the cover of the September 2019 edition, showing a Small Red-eyed Damselfly at the University of Bristol Botanic Garden’ on the occasion of a BNS entomological section meeting. On what was obviously the surface of a waterlily leaf, there was a familiar-looking scattering of many waterlily aphids, as described in the last two appearances of this column. David Hawkins has confirmed my tentative identification. The NBN website has only two records, one in a Bishopsworth (VC6) garden pond in August 2017.

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White‐colour disease of Creeping Thistle in West Gloucestershire and North Somerset Contents Jean Oliver and I spotted white-topped creeping thistles on different Gloucestershire commons at almost the same time, and we don’t recall seeing any before. My first thought as I drove across Inglestone Common on 11 September, when I saw it in two places, was ‘They must have been spraying weedkiller on the creeping thistles (Cirsium arvense); it will be good if they manage to get rid of it’. My second thought was ‘Should they be using weedkiller there?’ and the third was ‘there must be a better explanation’. Before I had told anyone about this curiosity, Jean emailed me and told me of her like find on 12 September on Sodbury Plate 5. Creeping thistle affected by white-colour Common, and she provided the explanation (see below), in a disease on the Severn report from 2009 on the Llanelli Naturalists website at estuary south of Burnham, http://www.llanellinaturalists.org.uk/index.php/March-2009/the- 18 September 2020. © CM Lovatt. mystery-of-the-qwhiteq-thistles.html. On 18 September I saw further diseased plants in N Somerset on the Severn estuary south of the Brue near Highbridge and Burnham (Plate 5). Apparently, white‐colour disease of creeping thistle (as the disease is known) was found for the first time in Britain only in 2002, near Canterbury. It seems to have been already known in Canada and the USA, where the host is known as Canada thistle. How the disease reached Britain is not clear, but we have evidence here that it can be spread on the blades of freshly infected shears. By 2009 it seemed to be predominantly coastal and absent from agricultural land and was known in several counties in Wales (Anglesey, Carmarthenshire, Glamorgan, and Pembrokeshire) and a few in England (Isle of Wight and West Sussex). I have not been able to find any mention in 21st Century County Floras or an up-to-date overview or distribution map showing the incidence of the disease. There are records on the internet from Berkshire (2020), Dorset (2020) and Hampshire (2016) but it is far from apparent that this distinctive and literally remarkable disease of a well-known noxious weed is either widespread in Britain, or more than patchy in the places where it is found. The cause of the disease is a pathological strain (pathovariety tagetis) of the bacterium Pseudomonas syringae (sometimes written as syringiae). Unsurprisingly perhaps, the relevant strain was quickly patented as a potential biological control agent. The causative chemical, tagetitoxin seems to be relatively non-specific, even bleaching wheat seedlings, but this bacterial strain itself (there is another strain which infects peas, for instance) can infect many members of the daisy family including sunflowers, marigolds, sow-thistles, and dandelions. Has anyone else seen thistles or other plants affected in this way? [There is a 2013 record of Pseudomonas (of which there are many species) at Stoke Park, Bristol on the NBN website but the basis of this BRERC record is not stated.]

The Waxcap fungi of Ashton Court Meadows (by David Hawkins) Botany never really goes to sleep in wintertime, especially not in our mild south-western climate plumped by the Gulf Stream and climate change. There is always much to do, both in terms of seeing what's still about as well as in vegetative study and pondering the books, swotting up and trying to memorize all those jumbles of Latinate syllables that make up the scientific names. But nonetheless, it's easy for the hibernal eye of the botanist to be drawn to other things. A recent trip to the reliably interesting Ashton Court Meadows, which I

10 celebrated in these pages back in the spring for their famous colony of Green-winged Orchids, provided a stunning reminder of this. Contents The diversity of brightly coloured and curious fungi on show in these neutral grasslands in late autumn is quite amazing. Most striking are the waxcaps, the quintessential grassland fungi, in all their range of hues. It was pretty easy to find Parrot (Gliophorus psittacinus), Meadow (Cuphophyllus pratensis), Crimson (Hygrocybe punicea), Oily (H. quieta), Snowy (H. virgineus), Golden (H. chlorophana) and Scarlet (H. coccinea) Waxcaps - almost a whole rainbow (Plate 6)! Several other species have been recorded on the site and for instance I was lucky to see Fibrous Waxcap (H. intermedia) in July. Some species only put up mushrooms from their subterranean mycelial networks when the conditions have been favourable, so there can be fallow years. Not so 2020, remarkable for so many things, but not least as offering a November where it Plate 6. Clockwise from left: Snowy, Golden, Oily and Crimson Waxcaps looked like someone had emptied a jar of boiled sweets from Ashton Court Meadows. across the meadows. 7 November 2020. © David Hawkins.

Copse Bindweed, Fallopia dumetorum, still at Nailsea As described in the Bulletin for October 2016, Liz McDonnell and I found the England Red List Vulnerable, Copse Bindweed, in a new site, on a bracken covered slope on the edge of Nailsea. It had only been found in one place in Somerset before and had long been extinct. We went back on 7 October 2020 and found it was still there (Plate 7), setting loads of good seed, and we saw some more scrambling shoots 30m away. Being an annual, that makes it five consecutive years it has been seen there. Long may it remain! Plate 7. Copse Bindweed, Fallopia dumetorum, growing into a hazel bush, Nailsea, 7 October 2020, © CM Lovatt

Senecio inaequidens, Narrow-leaved Ragwort on the M5 in Gloucestershire This is an increasing plant, first noticed in Gloucestershire in 2003, which we have noticed mostly in small quantities on waste ground or on roadsides and junctions, and in more quantity on the railway just north of Temple Meads. There was one on the Portway under the Suspension Bridge for a while a few years ago and Graham Balfry tells me there is a lot in the vicinity of Ashton Gate. I had been expecting to spot it on the Gloucestershire motorways, and suspected I had seen it for several years in the central reservation close to Highnam Woods on the dual carriageway over the Severn near Gloucester, but driving alone, I could never be sure until this year, when I ‘got my eye in’ during October. Jacobaea vulgaris (formerly Senecio jacobaea), Common Ragwort, must be common along the motorway and its inflorescence is more or less flat-topped; its outline below is

11 narrow. Senecio squalidus, Oxford Ragwort, is more scattered, and is a smaller more bushy plant with rather bright flowers, and a dense mid-stem growth of leaves, and gives the impression of being more plentiful in the vicinity of junctions. Senecio inaequidens, Narrow-leaved Ragwort, is a much larger ‘bush’ (it can be a short-lived perennial), up to or above the central barriers, and the narrow leaves can be inferred from the obviously less dense leafage. The flowers are much more spread over the plant and the stem branches wave in the breeze. Knowing all this, it can safely be recorded. I've seen it this year in about a dozen places on the Gloucestershire M5, north and southbound, from the lower slopes of the Avonmouth Bridge, to a few miles north of the Gloucester Services, perhaps more usually in the central reservation than on the verges. I didn’t notice any during less- frequent passes last month along the M5 in Somerset as far south as Junction 22, or on the M4 and M48 between Almondsbury and Aust, and I haven’t recently driven along the M4 east of Almondsbury or the M5 north of Gloucester Junction 11a and the A417.

Chapters from the History of Bristol Botany Contents I've been writing short essays on the History of Bristol Botany for 15 years, almost entirely in this monthly Bulletin. It may seem strange that the most prolific period was when I was working overseas, up to mid-2011. At the moment few of these essays are accessible online, and so cannot be googled by modern researchers. In Shakespeare’s words, they have ‘fallen into the sere, the yellow leaf’: until the March 2012 edition they actually were on yellow paper and the Bulletin was nicknamed accordingly.

I've tabulated the titles and locations of these essays in an excel file. There seem to be well over 100 of them and I'm considering ways to make the material accessible as a single narrative. In the meantime, I’d be pleased to let anyone have a copy of the spreadsheet index. I have PDF copies of all of the Bulletins from 2006 (the editor has most of them going back to April 2003, in Word or Publisher – easily made available in pdf format) and also have many of the essays in the original Word and image files. I think the Society’s Library has three paper sets.

Plant records Thanks to all the plant recorders who have provided material for this report. If you’ve found any interesting plants growing wild, please let me know or send an image of the plant and its habitat. Please include the location, date, and Ordnance Survey grid reference, and any useful notes about where you found it or its abundance. Keep well, everyone.

Clive Lovatt, Stroud, 7 November 2020

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GEOLOGY SECTION PRESIDENT: Richard Arthur [email protected] Contents HON. SEC: Richard Ashley, [email protected] Tel: 01934 838850

Normally at this time of year Naturalists’ News would include notice of the Section Annual General Meeting and Members’ Evening but as you will all be aware these are not normal times. There seems to be little point in having a specially arranged ‘Zoom’ meeting for the normally small amount of formal business to be conducted so when a suitable opportunity arises the election of officers for 2021 will be attached to an online talk or incorporated into the main Society AGM. I would like to take this opportunity to send to all BNS members my good wishes for Christmas and the New Year with the fervent hope that the present Covid pandemic will subside to levels where we may once again be able to meet face to face and enjoy the fellowship that is such an enjoyable part of the study of Geology. Meanwhile we still have the opportunity to get out in the field and study the world around us. Set out below is a contribution by Richard Arthur, the Geology Section President that I am sure you will find extremely interesting. Richard Ashley

FISH FOSSILS Contents I am delighted that my fellow geology section member Richard Ashley has picked up on my view that Bristol Nats should give more coverage to fish and mayflies, and has written about Bristol Sharks. To continue this aquatic theme I am delighted to say that I have managed to persuade Sam Giles to put on a Zoom lecture in the new year (date to be announced). This is aimed at the geology section but It is hoped that this topic will encourage the wider membership to become interested in geology and begin to realise that geology underpins and controls all of nature past present and future. Dr Giles is an eminent palaeo-biologist at the University of Birmingham. Her research combines modern imaging with fossils to understand the evolution of life to rewrite the vertebrate family tree. It is only from the study of fossils, and fish in particular, that we are able to follow our own origins as vertebrates – from the most primitive creatures without backbones - the chordates which arose in the Cambrian period, (and unbelievably are still represented by some living creatures like Amphioxus); which evolved into, early jawless fish which arose in the Silurian period (similar to lampreys) and then into fish with a jaw bone in the Devonian Period and finally bony fish. From there it was another step to the first animals– which made the tremendous leap from living purely in water to crawling out onto land as lobe finned fish in the Carboniferous (similar to lungfish) and then on to – the amphibians and reptiles in the Permian; which then evolved into those terrible lizards, otherwise known as dinosaurs, which dominated life in the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. Finally the first mammals which miraculously survived the end Mesozoic extinction become our direct ancestors in the Tertiary period, the rest as they say is history. This is how evolution was seen back in the day my day and although it holds true today Dr Giles will put a slightly different slant on the finer detail. Of course we have our own fossil fish in the Bristol area, which are very occasionally found in local Jurassic, Carboniferous and Devonian rocks. I well remember the then just plain David Attenborough presenting ‘Life on Earth’, he split open a rock on the Portishead 13

foreshore and revealed a perfectly preserved Devonian fish, so we do indeed have fish in the Bristol area both living and ancient, although all you are likely to find today is the odd fish scale, and if we do not do something to stop overfishing it won’t be long before finding only scales will refer to fish that used to be alive in living memory and not just those which swam around 400 million years ago!! Some may ask why as Geology President I am promoting fish but although I am principally a geologist I am equally a naturalist with an interest in all living things – Why fish and rocks well I like the effort, deduction and imagination needed to visualise in 4D Fossil found on our 2017 USA eclipse trip It was dug from Fossil Butte which I split below the surface. And it is this curiosity is what we open in the field. © Richard Arthur should be instilling in the young. I know fish are not everyone’s cup of tea but perhaps this will help you see why naturalists really ought to give fish as much thought as more ‘cuddly’ fluffy forms of life. Richard Arthur

INTRODUCING HYDROGEOLOGY: Author: Nicholas Robins Contents Price: £14.99 Dunedin Academic Press ISBN 978-1-78046-078-9 For most amateur geologists, like myself, the behaviour of water underground is out of sight and out of mind. It is an area that we are for the most part content to leave to professionals who are in a position to put down boreholes and study aquifers over a wide area. Yet the presence or absence of underground water and its quality are vital to the existence of almost everyone on the planet. The fresh component of the ground-water store amounts to an incredible 99% of the global freshwater resource, while lakes, rivers, ice caps and atmospheric water comprise the remaining 1%. Therefore as scientifically literate people we need to have at least a basic knowledge of the science of hydrogeology. This is what this book provides. As the preface states it is not intended as a textbook on the subject but rather an introduction to the science of hydrogeology. In addition to explaining the basics such as the nature and types of aquifers, recharge, groundwater flow and discharge it covers many important topical issues such as climate change impact, water scarcity, pollution and its prevention, fracking and storage of nuclear waste. I found it a very interesting book to read and it certainly filled in gaps in my geological knowledge. The book is well laid out with clear diagrams and photographs and like all Dunedin books in this series has a vey useful Glossary at the back. The book is very modestly priced and I have no hesitation in recommending it to Naturalists generally or to anyone who has a concern for the future of human life on this planet.

Richard Ashley

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INVERTEBRATE SECTION PRESIDENT: Mike Hutchinson [email protected] Contents Hon. SECRETARY: Moth Broyles [email protected] 07809 281421

INVERTEBRATE NOTES FOR DECEMBER 2020/JANUARY 2021 As I write this, England prepares to enter Covid lockdown again from tomorrow. However, this time round people will not be sitting in their gardens enjoying warm sunshine and so may not be taking such a close interest in their gardens (should they have one). But there is still plenty to interest the entomologist in the winter months. One simple way of sampling some of the invertebrate life in your garden is to create a pitfall trap. All it takes is a receptacle with steep slippery sides (eg a plastic cup) sunk in a hole so the top is level with the soil surface. Place something over the top to keep the rain off but still leaving a small gap so that beetles walking over the soil at night will fall in. Check the next day to see what nocturnal creatures are still active in the winter. Although there can be barren nights, running a light trap in the winter can also reveal winter specialists, from December Moths to Winter and Early Moths. In addition, you may find hibernating species tempted out on mild nights such as the Common Plume and Twenty Plume Moths. The winter months (and lockdown months) can also be a good time to collate those sightings or photographs of invertebrates from across the last year. It is easy to think that sending in sightings of common species is not worth the effort, but actually every record can make a real difference. The records of all plants and animals submitted to the Society passed on to the Bristol Regional Environmental Records Centre (BRERC) https://www.brerc.org.uk/ are then sent on to the National Biodiversity Network Atlas https://nbnatlas.org/ and then on to the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) https://www.gbif.org/ . In this way your sighting helps build up the global status of a species – quite an achievement for relatively little effort. So please do send in any records of sightings to me at [email protected] so they can be used in this way as well as potentially being referenced in the next volume of the Society’s annual Nature in Avon publication. Finally, keep looking not only for those winter specialists suggested above but for the unusual appearances of species out of season. In recent years these types of occurrences have been increasing as our climate changes. Such observations can be important and revealing as to how our fauna is and will be changing in years to come. Ray Barnett 04/11/20

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WASPS IN OUR LOFT Contents

We often have a wasp nest in our loft - by now activity has ceased and the wasps have all died -The following spring Queens hatch out from the grubs that had overwintered. This spring I noticed more queens than normal perhaps a dozen. However, this winter the nest is still active but the most remarkable thing is that it is producing literally hundreds of queens. Here is a sample of a few weeks’ worth and they are still coming! In the spring I also noticed a few very small wasps in our bedroom - it took ages to find that they were coming from a tiny 10mm perfectly circular hole in the plasterboard above the window. I am afraid I had to spray the nest as they do not make good sleeping partners - especially as this year I have had a rude awakening at 5 am by being stung by a full sized wasp in bed while asleep - and being retired I have no need of an alarm clock! I taped over the hole but a few weeks later they chewed through again and a new hole appeared. I have had an allergic reaction to being stung by 7 wasp stings before more spray was, I regret to say administered with the desired result. Fortunately Piriton quickly swallowed seemed to do the trick - or perhaps hopefully I am becoming immune. R Arthur

WILDLIFE IN THE WARZONE Contents Museum Winter Lecture: Thur. 10 Dec., free, on Zoom Speaker: Dan O’Neill, independent wildlife filmmaker, presenter, and conservationist. 80% of the world’s armed conflicts in the past 50 years have been in areas of extraordinarily high biodiversity. Join wildlife filmmaker and biologist Dan O’Neill on a global journey to see how wildlife has been impacted and survived in some of most war- torn places on Earth. Dan will explore the Soviet Union’s historical connection to snow leopard poaching, extreme biodiversity loss caused by the Vietnam War, the wild refuge of the DMZ between North and South Korea, guerrilla warfare’s role in protecting the Colombian Amazon, and more. Register well in advance, to get your email Zoom invite. https://www.bristolmuseums.org.uk/bristol-museum-and-art-gallery/whats-on/winter- lecture-wildlife-in-the-warzone/

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LIBRARY BNS Library at Bristol City Museum & Art Gallery, BS8 1RL. Contents LIBRARY COMMITTEE CHAIR: - Clive Lovatt [email protected] HON. LIBRARIAN:- Jim Webster [email protected] The Library is open: Wednesdays 1.15pm-2.15pm, Saturdays 10.15am-12.15pm. Tel. (opening hours only): 0117 922 3651. CLOSED on Saturdays connected with Bank Holiday Mondays, and New Year, Christmas and Easter.

NEWS FROM THE LIBRARY As a result of the second phase lockdown in England for four weeks from 5 November to 2 December inclusive access to the Library is not now allowable, and at the time of writing it is impossible to know what restrictions will necessarily apply over the winter months. We are therefore still unable to make a firm commitment when the Library can re-open. We will provide a further update in the February 2021 Bulletin, and should limited opening become possible in the meantime, we will post a notice on the Society’s website. If you have a particular interest in visiting the library for research or book borrowing in the early stages of re-opening, please e-mail the undersigned.

In October, one of the committee visited the library to collect the old computer and he is working on the transfer of the computer program and files to the new computer. Book publishing has continued during the year and the Committee are considering which new books should be purchased for the collection. Any member with suggestions other than new books from the New Naturalists, British Wildlife Collection and the WILDGuides series, please let the undersigned know. Clive Lovatt

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Contents A History of Lower Woods Nature Reserve (Part II: The Timeline) by Mike & Jill Martin The Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust has given us a copy of this difficult to obtain work which was published on behalf of the authors by the Hawkesbury Local History Society in 2014 (Plate 1). It is in A4 paperback full-colour format with 335 numbered pages and contains a host of illustrations including documents, maps, the lodge and archaeological artefacts, and photographs of the woods, woodsmen, and landowners, and visiting scientists, naturalists, and dignitaries. It is a work of great scholarship and interest which so far as I am aware, has not been noticed before in this Society’s Bulletin.

In the Hawkesbury Parish News for August 2012, the second author described the (then) expected contents as follows. ‘Utilising material from over 15 years research, the book will include all aspects of history and management of the woods: from Acts of Parliament to Assarts; Badminton to Bark (oak); Commons to Coppices; Domesday to Drowning (yes, the threat of!); Pershore to Paston; Romans to Royal Forests; Woodwards to Woodbanks, to mention but a few. The story of ownership of Lower Woods will include a detailed history of Horton, woodland life before the Dissolution, transfer of the woods to the Duke of Beaufort (which has resulted in the survival of an invaluable archive of management records) and the acquisition of the woods for a nature reserve by Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust in 1996. We have learned a lot about the activities in Lower Woods during WWII (not to mention the devastation caused by removal of huge amounts of timber for the war-effort) and have had the pleasure of meeting local people who worked in the woods during that time and later.’

The Library lacks a copy of Part I: The Names (2008) and the Lower Woods Nature Reserve Guide and Species List (2004, Plate 2, from my copy). If any member has a copy of either that they could give to the Library, please let me know.

Plate 1. A History of Lower Plate 2. Wanted (with Part I of the Woods Nature Reserve. Part II History): Lower Woods Nature :The Timeline Reserve Guide and Species List by Mike & Jill Martin (2014). edited by Mike Martin (2004).

Clive Lovatt, Stroud, 7 November 2020

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ORNITHOLOGY SECTION PRESIDENT:- Giles Morris, 01275 373917 [email protected]

HON SEC.:- Lesley Cox 07786 437528 [email protected] Contents

Please note: We hope that our members are well and virus free. Our Section wants to deliver as much pleasure from our talks as usual so our ornithological talks will be delivered via Zoom during the winter months to keep members safe. Please register your interests with the Section Sec. and download the free Zoom app (from Apple or Google). It is a secure device through which to enjoy all the benefits of our Section Programme. We look forward to welcoming all of our loyal members once more.

FIELD MEETINGS The Government has ordered a second national lockdown in the face of rising Covid-19 cases. The end of the lockdown is scheduled for 2nd December so we hope that we can resume after that date but there is a possibility the lockdown will be extended.

OLDBURY POWER STATION Sunday, 13th December Leader: Alastair Fraser: ([email protected]) 10am Meet for 10am in the car park of Oldbury Power Station (Grid Ref: ST608 943, Satnav: 51.6462554, -2.5683443). We shall be looking for winter migrants along the coast of the Severn. If lockdown has ended, we assume that the rules (see below) will return to those of pre- lockdown but check with the leader in case of changes. 1. The meeting is limited to 5 members plus the leader, so you must book your place with the leader. E-mail: ([email protected]) 2. Places will be allocated on a strict first come, first served basis. 3. You are responsible for your own safe transport. We cannot offer car shares. 4. Please bring a mask for use in any location where needed, e.g., toilets and a clean polythene/plastic bag to keep it in when not. 5. Safe social distancing of 2 metres must be observed at all times. 6. Bring your own binoculars (and scope if you have one). Sharing of equipment is not permitted. 7. Bring your own hand sanitiser. 8. Please check for any updates that might apply.

CHEW VALLEY LAKE Saturday, 23rd January Leader: Mike Johnson. (07530 981 106 / [email protected]) 10am We shall visit a number of sites around the Lake. If the office is open to buy our permits, we will visit the hides but, if not, we shall be staying within the public areas. Once again, there should be a good selection of ducks, gulls, waders, passerines and possibly the occasional raptor, wherever we visit. Meet for a 10:00 a.m. start at Bristol Water’s Woodford Lodge (Grid Ref: ST565607), which is located off the B3114 road between Chew Stoke and West Harptree on the left- hand side of the road just after leaving Chew Stoke. Please contact Mike Johnson via (07530981106) or [email protected] if you plan to attend. Many thanks.

If the lockdown has been lifted, we hope that the usual rules will apply, i.e., 1. The meeting is limited to 5 members plus the leader, so you must book your place with the leader. E-mail: [email protected]

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2. Places will be allocated on a strict first come, first served basis. Contents 3. You are responsible for your own safe transport. We cannot offer car shares. 4. Please bring a mask for use in any location where needed, e.g., toilets, and a clean polythene/plastic bag to keep it in when not. 5. Safe social distancing of 2 metres must be observed at all times. 6. Bring your own binoculars (and scope if you have one). Sharing of equipment is not permitted. 7. Bring your own hand sanitiser. 8. Please check for any updates that might apply.

LECTURE MEETINGS THE BIRDS OF CHEW VALLEY LAKE Wednesday, 9th December Speaker: John Rossetti John will be highlighting the birds and ecology of this wonderful site of major importance through his magnum opus based on the observations of the highly respected ornithologist, Keith Vinicombe. The site supports a plethora of flora and fauna which are too many to mention. John writes, I would like to thank the Bristol Naturalists’ Society for supporting this book and I certainly hope that you will not be disappointed with the result. The book The Birds of Chew Valley Lake will be available to pre-order at a 20% discount which comes to £19.95 through this link https://tinyurl.com/ChewBirds However, in the light of lockdown we have had to add £5 P&P for this superb 450-page book to be shipped and tracked to your address. Please share this link with friends, relatives and on social media. The book will be sent to the printers at the end of November and we expect the book to be sent out at the start December. The book is aimed mainly at birders but it is suitable for anyone interested in nature, ecology and history.

ORCHARD SONG (and possibly AGM) Wednesday, 13th January Speaker: Ben Macdonald Ben is back to highlight British orchards and their wildlife. Our orchards have been a traditional component of the British landscape for many centuries. However, subsidies have led to the destruction of older, traditional orchards to make way for more intensive farming and now only a fraction remain. The value of these orchards for wildlife has long been underestimated. Ben spent six years visiting a traditional orchard across all seasons observing its imperilled and overlooked abundance of life.

FIELD MEETING REPORT Contents WWT Steart, 19/09/20 This was our first attempt at a Covid-restricted field meeting but, apart from the small numbers attending (five) and everyone arriving in separate cars, it all felt refreshingly normal. Masks were needed in the hides, but the hides at Steart have excellent viewing screens outside, so little time was spent masked up. Steart Marshes WWT reserve is the product of a massive coastal re-alignment project, with both freshwater marshes and a huge area of salt-marsh created by landscaping and a controlled breach of the sea wall. The reserve has enjoyed the successful breeding of a pair of Black-winged Stilts this summer, but the last of the fledged birds had flown south about a week before our visit. 20

The trip was timed to coincide with the top of a big tide and I decided to start at Wall Common to look for roosting waders. Sadly I had misjudged this and the paths here were under water so we couldn’t reach the shingle bank where the birds were roosting. We returned to the Mendip Hide having had only a tantalisingly distant view of the roost. The main salt-marsh held a mix of ducks and just one circling flock of Dunlin, with a single Great White for comparison with the more numerous Little Egrets. Contents The Quantock Hide overlooks the freshwater Otterhampton Marsh and here we were able to get better views of some waders, with Dunlin, Ringed Plover and Grey Plover showing well and a single Greenshank flew in later to join them. Recent works to instal a sluice here had perhaps kept the number and variety of birds on the marsh lower than usual and also meant that the two visiting Spoonbills were tucked in the furthest SW corner of the marsh, well away from the hide. They also remained resolutely tucked up and asleep while we were around – most inconsiderate of them! Other species of note during our walk around included Marsh Harrier, Buzzard and Kestrel, a pair of Ravens, a distant Wheatear and a singing Cetti’s Warbler. We finished with a walk up to Steart Point, where the tide was now well out and the acres of exposed mud were speckled with Curlew and Shelduck. Walking through the village it was pleasing to see the telegraph wires well loaded with gathering swallows. I have heard many reports of a poor season for nesting swallows in the Bristol area, but the number of young birds there suggested that in that part of Somerset they have not done too badly. Thank you to the select group for their company and my apologies for not starting the morning at Steart Point for the top of the tide. Bob Buck knows best! Giles Morris

Bird Notes Contents October is traditionally the best month of the year for vagrant birds in Britain and 2020 was no exception. Extreme rarities were found in the Outer Hebrides, Shetlands, Isles of Scilly and Norfolk, giving some insight into the commitment required by those intent on maximising their British list. The rare birds found in our area are not in the same league, but we have had our moments. One of the recurring questions when a rarity is in the news is: what happens to these individuals? It is the unfortunate truth that many must perish due to the after-effects of a long ocean crossing, or because they continue their errant journey into inhospitable regions. This is not, however, the case for all vagrants. There have been several local records this autumn of Yellow-browed Warbler and probably more to come. The status of this species has shifted in recent decades from national rarity to that of a scarce but regular migrant, which can be numerous at some coastal hotspots. Studies in Iberia have revealed a small and growing population wintering there instead of in south and south-east Asia. What has probably happened is that a very small proportion of birds carried a mutation that caused them to migrate in the wrong direction and that climate change has enabled these individuals to survive and enjoy a competitive edge due to the shorter distance they cover. This suggests that vagrancy might on occasion be a useful evolutionary strategy, particularly in a rapidly changing world. We have also enjoyed visits from two waders from across the Atlantic: Pectoral Sandpiper and Lesser Yellowlegs. The outlook for these individuals is probably reasonably good. Many vagrant water birds appear to reorientate to follow the same migratory routes as related species. Some then return to the same area year after year and this has led to 21

European breeding records of American species such as Spotted and Pectoral Sandpipers. Transatlantic vagrancy almost certainly accounts, amongst others, for the colonisation of the Americas by Cattle Egret and the recolonisation of Spain by Glossy Ibis. Other vagrants relocate to their continent of origin: at the very high latitudes these birds frequent in the summer this journey, like their original vagrancy, does not necessitate a long ocean crossing and some birds are known to have done so several times. Rupert Higgins Your sightings are welcome at: [email protected]

MISCELLANY

Contents

AVON ORGANIC GROUP www.groworganicbristol.org www.facebook.com/avonorganic We do not usually meet in December but will be starting our Programme on Thursday, 28th January, with Chris Collins, Head of Horticulture at Garden Organic with a talk online "Starting an Organic Allotment". Tickets via Eventbrite shortly, details on the website

ST GEORGE’S FLOWERS - NEWLY PUBLISHED over 50 pages of wildflowers from St. George’s Flower Bank A fabulous collection of paintings by the renowned local botanical artist ANNIE MORRIS £10 (+£3p&p) Cheques – St. George’s Flower Bank Available from:- Bob Buck [email protected] Pill Resource Centre, Baltic Place, Pill (Check opening times – 01275 375670) Annie Morris [email protected] / 2A Cross Lanes, Pill, BS20 0JQ All proceeds to St. George’s Flower Bank Local Nature Reserve http://flowerbank.org.uk/ The LNR runs alongside the A369 east of M5 Gordano services Contents

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PORTISHEAD MARINA Contents In the last two issues of the Bulletin Richard Arthur and Richard Ashley drew attention to an often neglected but doubtless important element of our natural history: the marine fauna of the Severn Estuary. The latter rightly described the difficulty of making observations in the “opaque and very tidal waters of the Bristol Channel” and this has prompted me to draw members’ attention to one site on our coast where the water is neither. Portishead Marina was constructed to service local industry, in particular two power stations and a phosphorous works, but is now used for leisure boating. The surrounds have been developed and footpaths run along both sides of the marina. The lock gates are closed at low tide, meaning that the water level is fairly stable and visibility is good, particularly on a still sunny day. In places there are railings to hang on to: binoculars are essential for observing the life below. In places the walls are coated with stands of mussels (presumably Mytilus edulis) and a fascinating mixture of algae, sponges, worms, bryozoans and sea-squirts. Naming these, particularly when limited to a distant view, is well beyond my expertise but species resembling the sponge Myxilla incrustans, the squirts Botryllus schlosseri and Ciona intestinalis are prominent. The various shrimps and prawns that dart in and out of crevices also remain un-named, but I can at least identify the shore crabs Carcinus maenas that prowl around. The most obvious animals in the open water are drifts of common jellyfish Aurelia aurita: I don’t know whether these come and go or whether they are trapped here. I have found the visibility of fish very variable between visits, for reasons that I’ve yet to work out but thick-lipped grey mullet Chelon labrosus, which is generally frequent in the upper estuary, can usually be seen in shoals of differently sized individuals. Also shoaling are various open water fish that are beyond my identification skills; anglers report that whiting Trisopterus luscus, pollack Pollachius pollachius and seabass Dicentrachus labrax are all frequently caught here. The best way to see flatfish is to watch surfacing cormorants, which frequently catch flounders Platichthys flesus and perhaps other species. Perhaps the most enjoyable species to watch are red mullet Mullus surmuletus and the similar red gurnard Chelidonichthys cuculus which both swim up and down the mat of encrusting species on the walls, gently probing the substrate with their barbels. They are often followed by small wrasse, which snap up prey that have been disturbed. Black goby Gobius niger, and probably several related species, occasionally emerge from crevices in the walls. The habitat here is very different to that of the open estuary and although all of these species must have arrived from the estuary, I imagine that the concentration of many is greater here than in more natural surroundings. There are doubtless many more species present than those I have mentioned: anglers have snagged their lines on cuttlefish Sepia sp eggs here and seahorses Hippocampus spp have been recorded in marinas elsewhere in England so surely worth looking out for here.

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An interesting triangular relationship Red Squirrels, Grey Squirrels and Pine Martens At one time in the past, it is estimated that there were some 3.5 million red squirrels across the UK but the introduction of grey squirrels from the USA in the 1870s has reduced the red population to just 250,000. These are mostly in Scotland but there are pockets in England and Wales such as Brownsea Island in Poole Harbour, Anglesey, the Isle of Wight and Northumberland. Grey squirrels carry a disease which does not affect them at all but kills red squirrels if they become infected. Greys also out-compete reds for food. Contents Pine Marten, Aigas, 2012. © C Kinsey Up until recently, there has been little evidence of Pine Martens existing outside Scotland due to historical persecution but recent reintroductions in Mid Wales have built up well established groups of martens and there are encouraging signs of success in reintroducing martens in The Forest of Dean. There is increasing evidence that in the presence of pine martens in woodlands which contain both grey and red squirrels, the reds are favoured over the greys. Research in Northern Ireland and by Aberdeen University in Scotland suggests that pine martens favour greys over reds as their prey as they are easier to catch. This may be because the reds have evolved alongside pine martens over millennia allowing them to coexist or putting it another way, greys are naïve to the risks of pine martens as a predator. A recent edition of BBC Autumnwatch showed evidence of a research project in which an area of woodland containing both squirrel species was exposed to the smell of pine martens – the reds then kept away from this area but it made no difference to the behaviour of the greys – showing that they did not know about the danger to themselves from the martens. This same programme showed video evidence of martens actually attacking and killing greys in the wild. It should be added that it is incorrect to suggest that pine martens do not eat red squirrels - dietary studies show that they do! There is also the theory that the reds, being smaller and lighter than greys, can, when chased by pine martens, work their way onto the very thinnest of tree branches which the martens cannot reach! If this is all true then we can hope that red squirrel populations will steadily expand as pine marten numbers increase in the UK but this will only happen very slowly without human intervention. If we do not aid this expansion of pine martens and continue to control the greys then we risk a situation where marten-savvy greys could re-colonise the wider landscape of forests in the future. Therefore it would be foolish to stop current control programmes on grey squirrels now. It is heartening to think that, at some point in the future, we may be able to see pine martens in our woodlands here in the West Country and our local Red Squirrel, Granton on sightings of squirrels may be of reds and not greys! Spey, 2020. © C Kinsey Charles Kinsey Contents 24