Bristol Naturalist News

Contents / Diary of events

JUNE 2018

Photo © C M Lovatt

Discover Your Natural World

Bristol Naturalists’ Society BULLETIN NO. 571 JUNE 2018

BULLETIN NO. 571 JUNE 2018 Bristol Naturalists’ Society Discover Your Natural World

Registered Charity No: 235494 www.bristolnats.org.uk

ON RESIDENT H . P : Andrew Radford, Professor

CONTENTS

of Behavioural Ecology, Bristol University

3 Diary of Events

HON. CHAIRMAN: Ray Barnett

Wanted: Birds of Africa;

[email protected]

Editor’s Email change

HON. PROCEEDINGS RECEIVING EDITOR:

Dee Holladay, 15 Lower Linden Rd., Clevedon, 4 Society Midweek walk; Phenology ; BS21 7SU [email protected] Festival of Nature needs your support; HON. SEC.: Lesley Cox 07786 437 528 Flora 2020 also needs you!

[email protected] 5 BNS/Univ. programme; Meeting report HON. MEMBERSHIP SEC: Mrs. Margaret Fay 81 Cumberland Rd., BS1 6UG. 0117 921 4280 [email protected] 6 Natty News: Mobile eyes; Perceptions of HON. TREASURER: Mary Jane Steer Animal Status; Pollinators; Whale shark 01454 294371 [email protected] Migration; Horse perception of human attitude; Seasons’ effect on breeding success

BULLETIN DISTRIBUTION 8 BOTANY SECTION Hand deliveries save about £800 a year, so help is much appreciated. Offers please to: 9 Botanical notes

HON. CIRCULATION SEC.: Brian Frost, 60 Purdy Court, New Station Rd, Fishponds, Bristol, BS16 12 GEOLOGY SECTION

3RT. 0117 9651242. [email protected] He will be pleased to supply further details. Also 13 INVERTEBRATE SECTION contact him about problems with (non-)delivery. Notes for May; Meeting report

BULLETIN COPY DEADLINE: 7th of month before 14 LIBRARY “An Hour in the Library”

publication to the editor: David B Davies, 51a Dial Hill Rd., Clevedon, BS21 7EW. 16 ORNITHOLOGY SECTION 01275 873167 [email protected] Seabird photo opportunity repeated; . Meeting reports; Recent News

Health & Safety on walks: Members participate at their own risk. They are 18 MISCELLANY Botanic Garden responsible for being properly clothed and shod. Dogs may only be brought on a walk with prior 19 Gorge & Downs Wildlife Project

agreement of the leader.

20 Photos this month

Cover picture: Thanks to Clive Lovatt for this picture of Fritillaries in Shirehampton.

See his report on page 11.

Bristol Naturalists’ Society Discover Your Natural World

Registered Charity No: 235494 www.bristolnats.org.uk Diary of events Back to contents

Council usually meets on the first Wednesday of each month. If you plan to attend please check date & time with the Hon. Sec. (from whom minutes are available to members). Any member can attend, but must give advance notice if wishing to speak.

Visitors & guests are welcome at any of our meetings. If contact details are given, please contact the leader beforehand, and make yourself known on arrival. We hope you will enjoy the meeting, and consider joining the Society. To join, visit https://bristolnats.org.uk and click on membership. Members are members of ALL the sections.

JUNE 2018 Sun 3 Portbury Wharf Ornithology 09:00 page 16 Sun 3 Insect Netting & ID BNS/Univ 14:00 page 5 Thu 7 Midweek walk: Collard Hill Society 10:30 page 4 Sat 9 Felton Common Botany 14:30 page 8 Sun 17 Sand Bay Invertebrates 13:00 page 13 Wed 20 Providence Plantation BNS/Univ 18:00 page 5 Fri 22 Geology of Tyntesfield Geology 10:30 page 12 Sat 23 Forest of Dean Ornithology 18:30 page 16 Sun 24 Pollinators BNS/Univ 14:00 page 5 JULY 2018 Tue 3 St George’s Flower Bank Botany 18:30 page 8 Sat 21 Walton Common Botany 14:30 page 8

OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST Fri 1 Jun Seabird Photography page 17 Sun 3 Jun Gorge-ous plants with Libby Houston Gorge & Downs 10:00 page 19 Sat-Sun 9-10 June: Festival of Nature. Help needed on BNS display page 5 Tue 12 Jun Cleeve Common, Cheltenham GlosNats 11:00 page 8 14th-16th June - National Moth Night 2018. Bristol Moth Group will be light trapping near Wickwar on the 15th. Contact Ray Barnett (Hon. Chairman) for details. Sun 17 Camera Skills Botanic Garden 10:00 page 19 Thu 21 Jun Westbury on Severn GlosNats 11:00 page 8 Sat 23 Avebury Bath Geol. Soc. Page 12 Tue 26 Jun Berrow Dunes SRPG 19:00 page 9 Thu 28 Jun Seaton Jurassic Visitor Centre WEGA page 12 Sat 30 Guided tour: Exotic Vegetables Botanic Garden 10:00 page 19 Sun 8 July Awres Glow GlosNats 11:00 page 9 Sat 21 July Ravensgate Hill GlosNats 11:00 page 9

WANTED - BIRDS OF AFRICA VOLUME VII: SPARROWS TO BUNTINGS to complete my collection. Will pay up to £130, depending on condition. I will also donate 10% of the agreed sale price to BNS. Will collect (Bristol area) or pay for postage. Please contact Lyndon Roberts. Email: [email protected]

Editor’s email change

The editor’s provider, which.net, will shortly cease to exist. His new (and only) email is:

[email protected]

SOCIETY ITEMS

SOCIETY MID-WEEK WALK Contents / Diary 10:30am, Thursday, 7th June COLLARD HILL, near Street, Somerset Leader: Clive Burton The meeting point will be the Street YHA (Ivythorn Hill) car park ST480345 / BA16 0TZ. We will walk through flower-rich meadows, well known for the varieties of orchids, and cross the busy B3151 to reach Collard Hill. This is an established site for the Large Blue butterfly, which will hopefully be emerging now. Many other butterflies may also be seen in this area. Collard Hill is fairly steep but there is a well-marked circular path giving good access to the site. After the visit we hope to visit the Castlebrook Inn at Compton Dundon.

PHENOLOGY Contents / Diary The daily maximum temperature in April swung between a minimum of 9ºC on 1st and 11th and a maximum of 25º on 21st. By the end of March some spring events were running three weeks or more late, but the four-day hot spell between April 18th and 21st saw a surge of trees coming into leaf, and plants coming into flower so that by the end of the month spring dates were almost normal, though the miserably cold last weekend may well set May events back a bit. Overall April’s average temperature of 14.3ºC was colder than last year, but still almost a degree above the 30-year average. Unlike last year, when no rain fell in April, this year’s rainfall was 25% above the average, and brought the twelve- month rainfall figure almost back to the average of 900 mm for the first time since December 2016. The month was however gloomy, for the second month running with a third fewer hours of sunshine than normal, causing plant growth to be held back, and creating problems for sheep farmers. Richard Bland Festival of Nature, June 9th and 10th in the Millennium Square We will be sharing a tent with three other organisations. The theme is as yet undecided, but we are thinking of stressing the work of the BNS in monitoring and recording change and perhaps a “Spot the Difference competition”. Anyone willing to help man the stall, and/or with positive suggestions about possible displays should contact [email protected] / 0117 968 1061

Flora 2020 There are around fifty monads (one-kilometre squares) that need surveying for the new Flora and for the BSBI Atlas. Many are in urban squares in East Bristol, which present an interesting challenge even if they are not immediately attractive. It is fascinating to monitor the way the natural world adapts to change, and the way that species jump over garden walls. The process of both loss and gain of plant species living in the wild is constant, and nostalgia is not always a good guide to action. I have a simple tick list of the 200 commonest species in the region, and surveying the number present in a monad is itself a fascinating exercise. Anyone interested in helping should contact Richard Bland on [email protected] or 0117968 1061

JOINT BNS / UNIVERSITY BIODIVERSITY PROGRAMME This programme seeks to showcase the range of species that can be found within the extensive and varied University grounds and estates, most of which are not open to the public, and seeks to improve and extend identification skills. Events are led by Bristol Naturalists’ Society specialists and are aimed at University staff, students, alumni and interested members of the public with some free places reserved for BNS members. Each meeting has a theme but all items of interest to the naturalist will be identified and discussed. Meetings offer an excellent opportunity for beginners and experts alike. Contents / Diary The University limits the number within each group whilst visiting its Estates and therefore booking is essential and details of the venue and meeting point will be given at that time. Contact: [email protected]

INSECT NETTING & IDENTIFICATION (Stoke Bishop) 2:00pm, Sunday, 3rd June Join us as we walk through varied habitat on an attractive, historic estate, where we have found a nationally notable species in the past, and learn to recognise and identify a range of insects, large and small, including, dragonflies, butterflies, hoverflies, bees, bugs and beetles with a first class specialist. Contact [email protected] if you would like to attend

PROVIDENCE PLANTATION (Near Bristol) 6:00pm, Wednesday, 20th June This will be a summer stroll through an interesting woodland site looking at the importance of all the flora and fauna to be found there and if time allows comparing it with adjoining woodland that has been managed differently.

POLLINATORS (Stoke Bishop) 2:00pm, Sunday, 24th June This offers another fantastic opportunity to have the benefit of a different top-flight entomologist who will be identifying and discussing the role of a range of pollinators to be found on the site along with the flora they serve and the plants the larvae rely on.

FIELD MEETING REPORT Early Morning Birdsong on Saturday 5th May. Clear blue skies and gentle warmth awaited the twenty plus people who had booked to enjoy the early morning birdsong on this lovely May morning but perhaps the weather was too good for some, as a group of only eleven BNS members, students and the general public actually turned up at 7:30 a.m.to start the walk on this expansive, historic site, which this year was dominated by the Robin and the Wren. As we strolled through the woodland with resplendent examples of Oak and Beech, only snatches of the Blackcap’s bubbling song, which has featured very strongly in previous years, were heard; more frequently it was the scolding ‘chat, chat, chat’ of its alarm call. Great tits also outnumbered Blue tits in contrast to previous years; a situation that I find reflected in my own garden leading to speculation that the repeated cold blasts of the past winter may have taken their toll. No Ravens or Goldcrest were here either this year with only a fleeting glimpse of the Jay and even the Magpie seemed to be fewer in number but plenty of Crows were heard and a single Nuthatch’s call split the air contrasting with the sweet songs, of the Dunnock and Goldfinch and the gentle five note cooing of the Wood Pigeon.

The meadows were sporting a generous crop of dandelions and buttercups whilst the field and woodland margins sparked conversations comparing Allium and Alliaria and why the Jack-By-The-Hedge was a crucifer as we moved away from the Bluebells and Cowslips. A freshly emerged Speckled Wood Butterfly danced in the sun as we neared the end of our walk, which had been accompanied throughout by acrobatic hoverflies and the intermittent, glorious song of the Blackbird about whom the latest research Photo: Early Morning Birdsong Meeting: was shared. Crossing the Meadow (Lnc) It was a great morning spent with enthusiastic people who shared their individual knowledge as we progressed and although this report only offers a flavour of the meeting perhaps the best thing to note was how interesting the attendees reported the meeting had been before going away repeating the rhythms of their newly learnt birdsongs. (Lnc)

NATTY NEWS Contents / Diary Mobile Eyes: New research, led by biologists from the University of Bristol, has uncovered fresh findings about the most mobile eyes in the animal kingdom - the eyes of the mantis shrimp. Mantis shrimp vision is extraordinary, both in terms of their colour vision and their ability to see the polarisation of light. Each eye is capable of independent rotation in all three degrees of rotational freedom; pitch (up-down), yaw (side-to-side) and roll (twisting about the eye-stalk) and both eyes can move independently of each other. The Bristol-led team of researchers based at the University’s Ecology of Vision Laboratory, wanted to test the limits of this incredible mobility to discover at what point mantis shrimp have to steady their gaze. The findings of Daly, et al, are published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: 2nd May 2018. However, Perceptions of Animal Status regarding the world's most charismatic animal species, i.e., those that attract the largest interest and deepest empathy from the public - are at high risk of extinction, in part, because many people believe their iconic stature guarantees their survival according to investigations by Courchamp, et al. The new international study, ‘The paradoxical extinction of the most charismatic animals’ published on 12th April in PLOS Biology suggests that the popularity of tigers, lions, polar bears and others may actually be contributing to the species' downfall. Many of these animals are so frequently depicted in pop culture and marketing materials that they may constitute a deceptive "virtual population" that is doing better in the media than in nature, suggests lead author Franck Courchamp of the University of Paris whilst co-author William Ripple, a distinguished Professor of Forest Ecology at Oregon State University notes the stark contradiction that, in most cases, the greatest threat to these iconic species specifically comes from hunting by humans. Meanwhile, Pollinators and specifically hoverflies have been the focus of Welsh scientists at the University of Swansea and the National Botanic Garden of Wales who have been piecing together elements within the pollination network and a new article, published in the British Ecological Society journal adds to our understanding of the role hoverflies play in the process. The hoverfly is an under-rated, under appreciated and frequently misidentified 6 player in the complex system of pollination that Andrew Lucas has spent the past seven years studying and by analysing the pollen carried on their bodies, identification of the plants visited using DNA barcoding techniques developed by the Botanic Garden's science team in Wales, was achieved leading to a new understanding. The Saving Pollinators programme associated with the Botanic Garden focuses on wild pollinators and honeybees. Hoverflies in the group (or 'genus') Eristalis -- also known as 'drone flies’ were studied and the investigation focused on identifying which plants hoverflies were carrying pollen from in early summer (June) and late summer (August) in plant-species-rich Welsh Rhôs pastures, an endangered habitat of conservation importance throughout Europe. He discovered that, while they mostly visited the same 65 different types of plant, individual hoverflies had their particular favourites and brambles show up as a key plant. The research will help to provide advice to landowners and farmers that species rich grasslands are important and so are brambly edges. Read more at Lucas, et al, Generalisation and specialisation in hoverfly (Syrphidae) grassland pollen transport networks revealed by DNA metabarcoding. Journal of Animal Ecology, April 2018. Overseas, The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute have revealed that a whale shark named Anne swam all the way across the Pacific from Coiba National Park in Panama to the Marianas Trench, setting a record as the longest-recorded migration. Comparatively little is known about the gentle giant that is the world’s largest fish and why they migrate. Learn more at: Guzman, et al, Longest recorded trans-Pacific migration of a whale shark (Rhincodon typus) in Marine Biodiversity Records, 26/4/2018. Back in the UK, Sussex University researchers have revealed that horses can read and remember the emotional expressions of people enabling them to use this information to identify people who could pose a potential threat. Read more at Proops, et al, ‘Animals Remember Previous Facial Expressions that Specific Humans Have Exhibited’ in Current Biology, 2018, April 26th.). Meanwhile, research undertaken by Exeter and Edinburgh Universities in association with the RSPB and other universities has investigated the mismatch feared as warmer springs lead to hungry chicks which hatch too late to feast on the caterpillars upon which they depend. Using data largely collected by citizen scientists, the spring emergence of oak tree leaves and their caterpillars and the timing of nesting blue tits, great tits and pied flycatchers was studied. The study found that, unsurprisingly, the earlier the spring, the less able birds were to cope, with the biggest mismatch occurring amongst pied flycatchers. As migratory birds, this species was not present to respond to earlier spring weather. Read more in Burgess, et al, ‘Tritrophic phenological match–mismatch in space and time’ in Nature Ecology & Evolution, 23rd April 2018. It is somewhat ironic that our recent experience of winter and spring posed a slightly different problem though, perhaps, with the same result!

Lesley Cox, Hon. Sec. Contents / Diary

BOTANY SECTION PRESIDENT:- Clive Lovatt 07 851 433 920 ([email protected]) Contents / Diary

HON. SEC:- David Hawkins [email protected]

FIELD MEETINGS The BNS Botany Section will organise at least one field meeting a month in or relatively close to Bristol. The programme will be advertised in the BNS Bulletin as soon as details are available. More extensive programmes throughout botanical vice-counties 6 and 34 (North Somerset and West Gloucestershire respectively) are organised by the Somerset Rare Plants Group (SRPG) and the Plant Group of the Gloucestershire Naturalists’ Society (GNS). A few of these meetings will be joint meetings or will be advertised as open to BNS members by invitation.

FELTON COMMON Saturday 9 June Clive Lovatt and Margaret Webster 2.30 pm Many of us driving past Bristol Airport on the A38 will have seen the large expanse of open common and wondered what botanical wonders it contains. Come and find out with Clive and Margaret. Meet at the churchyard (where we will start), ST51506564, parking for users of the common at the entrance gate to the churchyard. Satnav BS40 9UT.

ST GEORGE’S FLOWER BANK Tuesday 3 July Helena Crouch with Bob Buck 6.30 pm A further visit to this outstanding roadside Local Nature Reserve to complete the site recording we started in a visit two years ago. Parking will be possible on the old road running parallel to the busy A369 from J19 M5 to Abbots Leigh. Take the turn-off to Pill closest to the motorway (St George’s Hill) and make an immediate left turn. Hi-Vis jackets will be provided.

WALTON COMMON Saturday 21 July Jenny Greenwood and David Hawkins 2.30 pm A repeat visit to this Avon Wildlife Trust limestone grassland reserve we last visited in June 2014 to look at the variety of roses. Since then, AWT have undertaken significant management, including the re-introduction of grazing as further described at http://www.avonwildlifetrust.org.uk/news/2016/01/13/walton-common. Meeting place and parking arrangements will be given in the July/August Bulletin.

Other botanical group meetings – June & July CLEEVE COMMON, CHELTENHAM, Clare and Mark Kitchen 11.00am Tuesday 12 June A recording/plant hunting meeting with the Plant Group of the Gloucestershire Naturalists’ Society. Meeting details from Clive Lovatt. Plant Group meeting list from Clare and Mark Kitchen [email protected]. Hopefully we will see Botrychium lunaria, Moonwort, and chase up old records for Dactylorhiza maculata, Heath Spotted-orchid and the almost mythical, Antennaria dioica, Mountain Everlasting. WESTBURY ON SEVERN, Clive Lovatt 11.00 am Thursday 21 June A Plant Group of the Gloucestershire Naturalists’ Society Pot Luck meeting. BNS Members welcome, please contact the leader in advance. We will start with a visit to the National Trust’s Westbury Court Gardens (entrance fee or NT membership required). This is a unique and delightful restored Dutch Water Garden. From there we will walk to the 8 riverside, and if there is time, move on to less well-recorded places in the afternoon. Meet at the pay-entrance to the gardens. Parking in the NT car park adjacent or in the A48 layby in front of the gardens (Satnav GL14 1PD, SO718139). Bring lunch and suitable footwear. Contents / Diary BERROW DUNES, Bob Corns & Helena Crouch 7.00 pm Tuesday 26 June A meeting for SRPG members. An evening walk with Bob Corns of Natural England, hoping to see Lizard Orchids (Himantoglossum hircinum) and Sea Bindweed (Calystegia soldanella) which grow nowhere else in Somerset. We should see many other coastal plants. BNS Members please contact Liz McDonnell [email protected] about membership/invitations. AWRES GLOW, Forest of Dean, Clare and Mark Kitchen 11.00 am Sunday 8 July A meeting of the Plant Group of the Gloucestershire Naturalists’ Society. Meeting details from Clive Lovatt. There will be an emphasis on learning – rushes and other acid-loving plants. RAVENSGATE HILL, Seven Springs, Cheltenham 11.00 am Saturday 14 July. A Plant Group of the Gloucestershire Naturalists’ Society Pot Luck recording meeting of an under-recorded area close to Lineover Wood, with open access calcareous grassland with views over Cheltenham. Meeting details from Clive Lovatt.

BOTANICAL NOTES Contents / Diary

Field meeting report STOCKWOOD OPEN SPACE Report by meeting leader, Helena Crouch, Saturday 21 April

Eight members turned up on a glorious sunny afternoon to explore Stockwood Open Space, a Local Nature Reserve belonging to Bristol City Council. We began the walk looking at a vast patch of the spreading alien Three-cornered Leek (Allium triquetrum). Entering the woodland, we were pleased to find a varied native ground flora, including Dog’s Mercury (Mercurialis perennis), Celandine (Ficaria verna), Bluebells (Hyacinthoides non-scripta), Wood Speedwell (Veronica montana), Wood Sedge (Carex sylvatica), Male Fern (Dryopteris filix-mas), Broad Buckler- fern (D. dilatata) and Soft Shield-fern (Polystichum setiferum). The star plant in the woodland was a small population of Spiked Star-of-Bethlehem (Ornithogalum pyrenaicum), locally known as Bath Asparagus. Emerging into the open, we were greeted by a glorious carpet of Cowslips (Primula veris) in species-rich grassland. Here we found Glaucous Sedge (Carex flacca), Sweet Vernal-grass (Anthoxanthum odoratum) and Field Woodrush (Luzula sylvatica) all in flower and tiny seedlings of Yellow-rattle

(Rhinanthus m inor). Vegetative identification skills were tested: we identified Rough Hawkbit (Leontodon hispidus), Upright Brome (Bromopsis erecta), Red Botanists with cowslips Clover (Trifolium pratense), Bugle (Ajuga Stockwood Open Space, April 2018. © L Houston 9 reptans) and Wild Carrot (Daucus carota subsp. carota). In longer grassland we found Burnet Saxifrage (Pimpinella saxifraga), Lady’s Bedstraw (Galium verum), Woolly Thistle (Cirsium eriophorum) and Agrimony (Agrimonia procera). The views towards Bristol were dominated by Cowslips in the foreground and a froth of Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa) in flower. In a lower glade we found a group of Twayblades (Neottia ovata) in bud, the leaves of Creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia), and Meadow Foxtail (Alopecurus pratensis) in flower. Contents / Diary

A visit to the pond was not particularly productive, although we found Water Mint (Mentha aquatica) and Hemlock water-dropwort (Oenanthe crocata). Returning along the cycle path, Clive showed us how to recognise the frequently planted introduced subspecies of Dogwood (Cornus sanguineus subsp. australis), with neat medifixed appressed hairs on the undersides of leaves. A huge old Pear (Pyrus communis) was in full flower. Finally, we returned through the woodland, finding Wood Anemones (Anemone nemorosa) and a large patch of hybrid Bluebells (Hyacinthoides x massartiana). Although the walk began and ended with alien bulbs (admittedly with pretty flowers), Stockwood Open Space presents a surprisingly diverse array of native species and habitats.

A couple of Melick-grasses new to the Bristol Adventive flora Many of us will know Wood Melick (Melica uniflora) from its floppy bright green leaves in dry woodland and shady hedge-banks on limestone. Two related species have turned up recently. Mountain Melick (Melica nutans) is mostly a plant of NW Britain but has outliers on both sides of the Wye Valley and in Lineover Wood near Cheltenham. It has been grown for some years in the garden strip around part of the car park at Westbury-on-Trym adjacent to the Methodist church hall where we have our indoor meetings. It has rather nice nodding (hence the name nutans) purple-wrapped bulbous spikelets. Rupert Higgins (first) and then I independently found it self-sown on the opposite side of the car park about 20m south of its source. We have also recently had Melica altissima (Siberian Melick) confirmed from photos taken by David Hawkins of an unfamiliar garden grass escaped onto a wall in Purton Road, Cotham, near the Gloucester Road Arches – the same area where Rupert Higgins found Four-leaved Allseed (Polycarpon tetraphyllum) new to Bristol in 2016. This Melick has longer and narrower spikelets. There are only a handful of British records – one from Buckingham Palace Gardens. Melica altissima Cotham, Bristol, July 2017 © David Hawkins

Fritillaries in the Bristol Region Contents / Diary The Fritillary or Snake’s-head Lily (Fritillaria meleagris) is one of the most attractive plants there is, though the poet and gardener Vita Sackville-West described it (in a poem) as sullen and foreign-looking. It is a supposed native of flood-meadows beside the Thames and its tributaries, though I hear that recent DNA testing suggests otherwise. I was surprised recently to find about 200 flowering stems of it (most chequered, some creamy-white) in an area of uncut grass on the Kings Weston Estate side of Shirehampton Road. They looked naturalised, so they must have been planted some years ago. White’s Flora of Bristol (1912) has it in 12 places, and he thought it native (first record 1829), though it was scattered and confined to various meadows or fields. As he described, it was frequently gathered, and local farmers would get annoyed by the trespass and dig up the bulbs or plough the land it grew on. The sole record in the Flora of the Bristol Region (2000), Stub Riding, Chipping Sodbury, 1990, by Fritillaries in Shirehampton then secondary woodland, seems to match one of April 2018. © C M Lovatt the sites in White’s Flora (1909) and another (Barrow Gurney) was (last?) seen by the Sandwiths in 1917. There are half a dozen sites on BSBI’s database over the last 30 years, one an overt mass planting (residential lawn in Burwalls area, 2010) and another a singleton on Westerleigh Common, Yate, 2017).

PLANT RECORDS If you’ve found any interesting plants, please let me know.

Clive Lovatt, Shirehampton, 4 May 2018

Contents / Diary

GEOLOGY SECTION

PRESIDENT: David Clegg [email protected] Contents / diary HON. SEC.: Richard Ashley, [email protected] Tel: 01934 838850

THE GEOLOGY OF THE TYNTESFIELD ESTATE, Wraxall, North Somerset. Leader: Richard Kefford 10.30 a.m., Friday 22nd June The purpose of this Field meeting is to examine the rocks of the Pembroke Limestone Group (Carboniferous Limestone) and the Mercia Mudstone Marginal Facies (Dolomitic Conglomerate) Brechia exposed in various small quarries on the wider Tyntesfield Estate. Meet 10.30am in the top North West corner of the car park ST 499 716. The entrance road to the estate is signposted on the south side of the B3128 about a mile past Failand. Members of National Trust please bring membership cards for car park and entry to the grounds. There are charges payable by non-NT Members. The route will be outside in the grounds, no access sought to the house. The meeting concludes in time for lunch, which may be had at the NT restaurant. Please let the Secretary know if you wish to attend.

WEGA's trip to SEATON Thursday 28th June John McLellan, the recently appointed WEGA Field Secretary, writes:- This is a visit to Seaton Jurassic Visitor Centre. The event starts at Seaton Jurassic (parking adjacent) at 10.15 (2 hour drive from Bristol) with a guided tour of the exhibit. After an hour or so, we will have coffee/tea in their meeting room and be joined by Jurassic Coast Ambassador Mike Green. He & I will give a talk on geology of the Jurassic Coast. At c.12.30, we can walk ½mile onto the sea front promenade and cliff-top gardens. There is a geology trail here and a good viewpoint – and a place to have a packed lunch. There are also places to buy ice-creams. Then we walk along the prom’ a bit more, look at some greensand fossiliferous boulders on the beach (maybe) via Triassic red cliffs up some steps (a faultline) alongside the Cretaceous and then a gently rising path towards Beer. We can either descend to Beer and/or turn back. But Beer is worth the effort to see the massive chalk cliffs. The whole round trip is 3-4 miles. We will aim to be back at the car park for a 4pm departure. The guided tour and coffee/biscuits will be £10 per head. BNS members will be welcome to attend this field meeting under our reciprocal arrangement. If interested please contact John McLellan. [email protected]

FYFIELD DOWN AND AVEBURY Saturday, 23rd June Leader: Isobel Geddes, Wiltshire Geology Group Bath Geological Society Field Meeting. This trip will examine the sarsen stones and landscape in the region of Fyfield Down. Meet 10am in the walkers’ car park up the lane on the north side of the A4 (signed 'Manton' or 'Manton House') just west of Marlborough: Grid ref. 159 700. We will do a three-hour circular walk of about 5 miles around Fyfield Down looking at sarsen stones, including Clatford Bottom and the Stone Age axe-polishing stone known as 'the polissoir'. After a lunch break we will meet in Avebury outside the Red Lion Inn at 2:30pm and spend an hour or two looking around Avebury and its building stones. The estimated finish time is 4pm. There is a National trust car park in Avebury (pay & display for non-members) and as well as the pub there is a café by the tithe barn, so plenty of choice for refreshments.

INVERTEBRATE SECTION PRESIDENT: Robert Muston 0117 924 3352 Contents / Diary Hon. SECRETARY: Moth Broyles [email protected] 07809 281421

FIELD MEETING SAND BAY, Weston-super-Mare 13:00, Sunday 17th June Leaders: Robert Muston and Bob Fleetwood A chance to look for both terrestrial and strand-line invertebrates, Meet at the Sand Point National Trust car park ST330659 (nearest postcode BS22 9UD).

INVERTEBRATE NOTES FOR MAY 2018 After such a cold long spring, the warm weather was exceptional over the May Day Bank Holiday weekend - one extreme to another. The warmth at the start of May did however mean invertebrates were making up for lost time, although numbers did not seem particularly strong for any species. The City Nature Challenge had been held on the weekend before when the weather was cold and damp. Light trapping at Goblin Combe that Saturday evening did produce 13 species of moth despite the temperature hovering near just 3 degrees C. Large Red Damselflies are usually seen in April each year but my first was on 5 May this year which is probably typical of many species – pushed back by about a fortnight by the cold spring. It will be interesting to see how insect populations fare later in the year. Facebook groups (including that for the Bristol Naturalists) seem to be very popular now as forums for posting insect photographs for identification or for confirmation of identification. These forums cover local and national advice on many groups and can be very helpful in pointing recorders in the right direction, recognising that only a percentage of insects can be identified from photographs anyway. These groups seem to have taken over to some degree from iSpot as a quick way to get help in identification. Whether they will stay popular for long before replaced by some other technology remains to be seen.

Ray Barnett 07/05/18 FIELD MEETING REPORT

Stoke Park Monday 7th May, Leaders: Moth Broyles & Jon Mortin A disappointing turnout for a well- publicised meeting with only 3 in attendance (including the two leaders!). It was a very hot bank holiday Monday and so we kept cool by heading straight for Hermitage Wood: a magnificent ancient woodland carpeted in Bluebells and Ramsons. Here we found the Ramsons Hoverfly (Portevinia maculata), the Nationally Notable Brown Ant (Lasius brunneus), the rarely recorded Flatbug Aradus depressus, several Pill Millipedes (Glomeris marginata) and the Red- headed Cardinal Beetle (Pyrochroa serraticornis). Many other species were recorded or await identification.

Jon Mortin

LIBRARY BNS Library at Bristol City Museum & Art Gallery, BS8 1RL. HON. LIBRARIAN: Jim Webster [email protected]. Committee member on duty: 0117 922 3651 (library opening hours). Open: Wed. 1.15pm-2.15pm, Sat. 10.15am-12.15pm. Contents / Diary IMPORTANT NOTICE: The library will in future be closed on Saturdays connected with all Bank Holiday Mondays, in addition to New Year, Christmas and Easter.

Access to the Society’s Proceedings and Nature in Avon online We are grateful to the Biodiversity Heritage Library and its participating institutions (Harvard and the Natural History Museum in particular) for digitising our Proceedings and Nature in Avon without charge and making them publicly available. To access them you can google “Biodiversity Heritage Library” and use the search facilities, or you can go direct to our own index pages at: http://biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/98898#/summary (for the Proceedings, i.e. up to 1993); and http://biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/99328#/summary (for Nature in Avon, from 1994 to date) Pam Gooding

An Hour in the Library “What should I write for the Library column in the BNS Bulletin this month?” I thought as I made my way down through the locked door, down the stairs and opened up the BNS Library in the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery basement for its weekly Wednesday lunchtime hour. As I looked around, the idea of documenting one duty librarian’s hour in the library came to mind.

Firstly the admin. Wedge the door open and swing back the shutters and let some natural light in. Sign in, check the humidity reading and the dehumidifier tank, and see if there has been any post that needs attending to. We’ve had the humidifier in operation most of two years. Initially it drew off a tank-full in a week but now there are mere dribbles. This is much better for the books than it used to be. Photo © Clive Lovatt In the February 2018 Bulletin Roger Symes wrote that our copy of the rare and rather valuable New Naturalist “Ladybirds” had disappeared from our shelves. Within the month Tony Smith (who entirely coincidentally at the 2018 AGM in March was elected an Honorary Member of the Society) had generously filled the gap by a donation from his own collection. The copy on our shelves is inscribed accordingly as a good number of our books are. We don’t have a full set of New Naturalists by far, and sometimes the volume may be shelved with a Section’s books rather than with the set (or both, as with “Lichens”). We have Nos 1-38 complete, but only half of those in the range 70-90.

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In this column in the November 2017 Bulletin I wrote about one of the books given by a former Hon. Librarian (and first lady President), Miss Ida Roper (1865 –1935) and the motto on her bookplate, “A hunt in such a forest never wearies”. Her library had been dispersed – not all of it came to the BNS. Last weekend I saw another one of her books with this bookplate, in the private library of a botanical friend in Cornwall. The most unusual bookplate of the Bristol Microscopical Society which I described and displayed in the Bulletin for April 2012, (its motto makes a joke on lawyers and microscopists both taking pleasure in minutiae) so far as we know, appears in none of the books they passed on to the BNS when they disbanded around the start of the last century. Very odd.

On the Librarian’s “behind the counter” pending shelf I saw a box – “proposed donation (Mary Pearce) to be checked by botanically and ornithologically inclined duty librarians”. One of the items was an album of pressed plants from the Bath area in the early years of the First World War (a sample is pictured here). Once we have documented it the Library Committee will have to consider where it is best placed. BNS had several collections in the past (Stephens, Spicer, Dunn) which were transferred to the Bristol Museum at various times.

I was also pleased to welcome a new member who borrowed some bird books. He admired the Library for some time, declaring it far better stocked than is Green winged Orchid, the public library – and so it is. With that, I found I Lansdown, Bath, 1915 had spent a more-than-happy more-than-an-hour, and Photo © Clive Lovatt I departed for home.

Clive Lovatt, Shirehampton, 3 May 2018

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

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

Our field meetings this month will take us to a local coastal reserve and a contrasting forest location. These meetings offer superb opportunities for beginners and specialists alike to increase their knowledge and enjoyment of a range of species whilst also enabling the group to focus on specific, iconic species. In addition, we are truly fortunate to have a second opportunity to see our coastal birds ‘close up and personal’ as we join them on the water along the coast of North Devon and Somerset by boat. Wherever your individual bird watching or walking takes you during June, always be on the lookout for the unexpected sightings as well as the species that you were hoping to see or hear. Whether Barn Owl or Bonxie, Crossbill or Chough, Warbler or Whimbrel, in the countryside or at the coast keep your eyes and ears open for all species; I would be thrilled to hear to about the species you have seen in the long days of Photo: Bonxie © Dave R. summer that are now upon us. Lesley (Sec. Ornithology Section).

FIELD MEETINGS PORTBURY WHARF Sunday, 3rd June Leader: Giles Morris (01275 373917; 07712 398903) 09:00 This will be a morning walk to this important coastal reserve, now a North Somerset LNR. We will walk down Wharf Lane to the reserve and its hides. The area has a good warbler population and a good variety of wetland species. There is also a chance of seeing Barn Owl, Water Vole and, if the weather is kind, a selection of dragon- and damselflies. The paths are relatively flat, though underfoot conditions will depend on the weather! Barn Owl in Flight © Martyn Pratt We should finish at about noon. From the M5, take Junction 19 and follow the A369, Portishead Road. Just after the Motorway footbridge, turn right into Sheepway. Parking in Wharf Lane itself is very limited so please park and meet on Sheepway by the small industrial estate 300m after the turning off the A369 – Grid Ref: ST 494759. Postcode: BS20 7TF. Please notify the leader or the Section Secretary if you intend to join the walk.

FOREST OF DEAN Saturday, 23rd June Leaders: Mike Johnson (07530 981106) and Giles Morris. 18:30 Meet in the car park at New Fancy View (Grid Ref: SO 628 095, Post code: GL15 4HS) at 18:30 hours. Go through Parkend on the B4234 and turn right on to Fancy Road. Turn left after just under a mile and the New Fancy View car park is on the right after a quarter of a mile. We will have a short walk here and possibly at Cannop Ponds or Nagshead and then move on to Crabtree Hill near Speech House with a view to hopefully hearing and seeing Nightjar. You may wish to bring insect repellent! Please notify one of the leaders or Section Secretary if you intend to join the walk.

Sea Bird Photography Opportunity: Friday, 1st June The trips are to see and /or photograph the sea bird colonies along the Bristol Channel and there might be a spare seat left on the 1st June outing. Bookings offer a 7-hour meeting aboard a well-known 10-metre catamaran from Minehead to view the sea bird activity along the North Somerset and Devon coastline. The experienced skipper will be going in close to the cliffs to view the nesting colonies of guillemot, razorbills and several other species many of which may be feeding young. Feeding gulls close to the boat will also take place in the hope of seeing gannets diving alongside. The trips will cost just £40 each per day for a maximum of 6 with tea and coffee available all day. Fortunately the boat also hosts a loo, shelter and plenty of seating. Suitable clothing and a packed lunch will be all you need. Any members interested should contact: [email protected] in the first instance.

R. FIELD MEETING REPORTS Contents / Diary Leigh Woods, April 2 The forecast said it was going to rain steadily, and when I arrived I discovered that there was an Easter Egg Hunt planned by the National Trust and hundreds of wellington-clad children were splashing happily through the mud. Eight of us walked out to the point of Leigh Camp and back. We saw or heard ten species, a low but unsurprising total given both the weather and the range of human activity. The high point was perhaps the song of the Stock Dove, followed by sighting a pair. Nuthatches and one Great Spotted Woodpecker called. But we learnt a lot about woodland management, changes in Leigh Woods, and found the Green Hellebore in full flower, well worth the journey. Richard Bland

Walton Common on Saturday, 28th April 2018 The forecast had predicted rain and the temperature was more February than April, so I half expected to be on my own for this walk. However, the forecast was wrong and the three of us who ventured out had an excellent and dry morning’s exploration of this under- visited AWT reserve. Blackcap song greeted us as we parked and was a constant background throughout the morning and as we climbed the path from the road we were alerted to a Marsh Tit by its song and all had good views as it searched the bursting buds of an ash tree. The woodland provided a good selection of bird song for us to sort through and a scattering of Early Purple Orchids to brighten the morning. A typical selection of woodland bird species was heard, though not always seen, amongst the emerging leaves as we climbed to the far end of the reserve. Emerging onto the more open grassland of the Common we admired the many patches of Cowslips on the Iron-age earthworks. The Dexter cattle were taking a break from their scrub-clearing duties and were all lying down together in a sheltered spot. Clearly they had also been reading the wrong weather forecast! As we approached the quarry, a raptor swung over the trees pursued by two Carrion Crows. Its agile flight and longer wings immediately revealed it to be, not the expected Buzzard, but a Red Kite. It was one of a trickle (increasingly a stream) that seems to move northward through the Gordano valley every spring these days. How long before some of them stop and breed here? The poor temperatures had grounded the butterflies that we had hoped to see on this walk, but we all agreed that it had been an extremely relaxed and enjoyable morning. Never be put off by the weather forecast! Giles Morris

Avon River Path on Monday 7th May 2018 Contents / Diary Eight of us gathered at the Conham car park on a glorious Bank Holiday Monday for a walk along the Avon River Path. After a little time sorting out the medley of birdsong audible from the cars, especially Blackcap, which was to be a constant background to our walk, we set off up stream. The river path was busy with bikes, dogs, joggers and even a horse and the river itself carried a wide variety of craft but this steep-sided valley is an oasis of wildlife running through the city. It has an industrial past, with copper smelting and stone quarrying leaving scars that are still visible but the woodland that has now taken over holds a rich diversity of species, despite the number of people using it for daily recreation. On the first bend someone spotted what was to prove one of the highlights of the morning. On top of a fifteen-foot tree stump was a lump that initially suggested a pigeon but once the binoculars focused in, it resolved itself into a large Tawny Owl chick, still fairly downy, but with visible primaries. Owl chicks are known to scramble out of the nest before fledging properly, a practice known as “branching” – this one was clearly “stumping”. We stopped to examine Red Campion, Garlic Mustard, Cuckoo Flower, Yellow Archangel, White Deadnettle amongst other flowers and were pleased to see many Orange-tip Butterflies as well as Holly Blue, Comma and Peacock. Passing Beese’s Tearooms we walked on to the heronry visible in the trees on the far bank. Despite the emerging leaves, at least 15 nests were visible and the site was busy with adult birds coming and going. A small flock of Jackdaws above the trees proved to be in pursuit of a Sparrow Hawk, with House Martin and (Gold?) finches joining in the mobbing group. Higher in the sky a Swift was visible, giving some of the group their first sighting of the year. Try as we might, we were unable to turn any of the many singing Blackcaps into a hoped-for Garden Warbler but the morning had provided us with an excellent mix of woodland birds and an invaluable chance to brush up our birdsong ID. This was not a site that most of us knew well but it is certainly one that deserves a return visit. Giles Morris

ORNITHOLOGY RECENT NEWS Contents / Diary April was generally cold and often wet, which wasn't very spring-like and didn't provide much of a welcome to those summer migrants that did make it through. Hardy Ring Ouzels included two at both Sand Point and Portbury on 2nd. Some species did arrive early including Common Tern at CVL on 3rd, a male Pied Flycatcher next day at Portbury and Reed Warbler at CVL on 5th. The 6th saw a splendid first-winter Iceland Gull at Cl-Y while next day the first Arctic Skua passed Severn Beach and an impressive 27 Bramblings were in a garden at Claverham. A trickle of the now expected Ospreys were as welcome as ever but tended to fire straight through as usual. Garganey and Spotted Redshanks were long stayers at Cl-Y, eventually settling down on the wetland at Dowlais Farm. A male Hen Harrier at CVL on 13th was an excellent record. 15th produced two excellent birds on Northwick Warth - a Stone-curlew that stayed all day and an elusive Yellow Wagtail that best fitted the Ashy-headed subspecies, a national rarity and new for the county if accepted. A Red-throated Diver off New Passage on 18th was a very unusual record. 22nd produced a brief White Stork over Northwick that was likely to be the bird later seen in Glos. 27th produced another off looking Yellow Wagtail at CVL that was close to Spanish Wagtail - another national rarity and another potential new bird for our area if accepted. Neither of these two potential firsts was entirely cooperative so we wonder if they were well documented enough to rule out other forms or intergrades. Time will tell. John Martin

MISCELLANY

Contents / Diary UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL BOTANIC GARDEN The Holmes, Stoke Park Rd, Stoke Bishop, BS9 1JG. Booking: 0117 331 4906. www.bristol.ac.uk/botanic-garden Email: [email protected]

Sun. 17 June, 10-4pm Digital camera skills: Intermediate You should have completed the Digital Camera Skills (Beginners) – Pt. 1 or at least be familiar with Aperture and Shutter priority modes and ISO. Any of these camera types will do: compact, bridge, csc (compact system camera) or dslr. The workshop will show manual focusing, Auto Focus and Metering modes, White balance, Bracketing, Histograms & Monochrome. Put it into practice in the Botanic Garden. £50 (including light lunch - drinks not included). Sat. 30 June, 2.30pm: Guided tour of exotic vegetables. No booking required. Admission: Adults £5.50 with gift aid, £5.00 without. Free to Friends, University staff & students, & children under 18. This event is part of Bristol’s ‘Get Growing’ Garden open days: 30 sites open on various June dates. ‘Trail Leaflet’ available at the garden, or visit http://www.bristolfoodnetwork.org/blog/get-growing-back-2018/get-growing-2018/

Avon Gorge & Downs Wildlife Project Contents / Diary Booking and further information: Contact the Project on 0117 903 0609 or e-mail [email protected] . Pre-booking essential for all events. Details of meeting points are given on booking.

Sun. 3 June, Gorge-ous summer plants (Walk). Join botanist Libby Houston for a mid- summer walk in the Avon Gorge. Discover some of the rare wildflowers and trees that make this one of the most important botanical sites in the UK. 10.30am - 12.30pm, £5.00. NB: There are very, very steep slopes, uneven ground and steps on this walk.

Thanks… … to Jon Mortin, Martyn Pratt and Dave R for permission to use their images this month. Contents / Diary