W h i t e A d m i r a l
Newsletter 90 Spring 2015
Suffolk Naturalists’ Society C o n ten t s
E di to r ia l Ben Heather 1 Logo Challenge Ben Heather 2 Spring Members Evening 2015 & AGM 3 W ha t’ s o n? 4 Chalcid wasps Martin Cooper 6 Some observations on Agromyzidae Martin Cooper 7 A Research Hole in the Red Crag Bob Markham 9 Return to Walberswick Patrick Armstrong 11 High Brown Fritillary at Landguard Nigel Odin 14 Saving a bird on the brink Samantha Lee 16 Updating the Flora of Suffolk Martin Sanford 19 Observation of a Water Shrew Adrian Knowles 22 Shield bug obsession? Trevor Goodfellow 23 Stoat in my Neighbour’s Garden Colin Hawes 26 New Bursary available 26 Late Red Admirals Richard Stewart 27 Split Gill fungus, in Suffolk C. J. B. Hitch & 28 L. Washington Three seasons of looking for leafhoppers Colin Lucas & Tricia 30 Ta y lo r Scarce (Yellow - legged) Tortoiseshell Bill Stone 32 The Breckland Bat Project Dr Stuart Newson & 34 James Parry
ISSN 0959-8537 Published by the Suffolk Naturalists’ Society c/o Ipswich Museum, High Street, Ipswich, Suffolk IP1 3QH Registered Charity No. 206084 © Suffolk Naturalists’ Society
Cover photo: Emerging Adder by Kevin Robson https://www.flickr.com/photos/khrimages/ SuffolkThe Naturalists’ Society
Newsletter 90 - Spring 2015
Welcome to the Spring issue of the White Admiral newsletter. I have been inundated with copy for this issue which is brilliant and I have had to put in four extra sides to accommodate it, please keep the copy coming in. It has also been excellent to get copy from some new contributors commenting on some pleasing subjects from Suffolk. One piece I would like to highlight is on page 16. This calls for sightings of Turtle Dove to be submitted via the Suffolk Biological Records Centre’s online recording pages. These online recording pages will allow users to use interactive recording forms to submit wildlife sightings. The system, which is built upon the same technology being applied by the likes of iRecord, is in its final stages of testing and will be formally launched very soon. However, parts of the site, including the Turtle Dove recording form, are fully operational and can be found here www.suffolkbrc.org.uk/turtledove. Please may I draw your attention to the list of bioblitz and recording events that SNS is getting involved in this year, these can be found on page 4. One of these events, the Holywells Park bioblitz, is being organised by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust and their new HLF funded ‘Closer to Nature’ Project. This project, by working with Ipswich teenagers, hopes to encourage the next generation of natural historians and they are also keen to work with Ipswich Museum and use its natural history collections. Finally, on a more sombre note, Darsham Common, adjacent to Darsham Marshes has been donated to SWT in the memory of Peter Lawson, SNS member and respected botanist who passed away last year.
Editor: Ben Heather Suffolk Biological Records Centre,
c/o Ipswich Museum, High Street, Ipswich, IP1 3 Q H [email protected]
White Admiral 90 1 Logo Challenge - Still Accepting Entries!
The logo challenge continues to accept entries so there is still a chance to send in a design or simply an idea that could form part of the new SNS logo.
Above are a few ideas received so far to get you thinking. Designs need to be graphic based and ideally contain no text. Designs will be digitised into a suite of logo layouts of which some will contain our letterhead. Please send your ideas and designs to the editor using the contact details on page 1. If sending images via email please do not send items over 10mb.
2 White Admiral 90 Spring Members Evening 2015 & AGM
Tuesday 14th April | 7.30pm Cedars Hotel, Needham Road, Stowmarket, IP14 2AJ
Speakers and Talks:
Agenda: Apologies for absence Minutes of the 85th Annual General Meeting Chairman’s Report – Martin Sanford Treasurers Report – Joan Hardingham Secretary’s Report – Gen Broad Election of members to the Council: Ordinary Members proposed: Howard Mottram, Kerry Stranix Any Other Business (The Chairman reserves the right to consider only items submitted in writing 2 weeks before the AGM.)
Following the conclusion of formal business and refreshments there will be a series of short presentations on natural history by members and projects funded by SNS.
Drinks available from the pay bar on arrival and half - time refreshment break provided (tea and coffee).
Contributions to White Admiral
Deadlines for copy are: 1st Feb (Spring issue), 1st June (Summer issue) and 1st Oct (Autumn issue) The opinions expressed in White Admiral are not necessarily those of the Editor or of the Suffolk Naturalists’ Society.
White Admiral 90 3 W hat’s o n?
Suffolk Bioblitz & Recording Events
The Suffolk Naturalists’ Society is going to be involved in the following bioblitz & recording events in Suffolk: Dunwich Heath Bioblitz with the National Trust - 24 hour bioblitz which is taking place from 12 noon on the 27th & 28th May. Holywells Park Bioblitz with the Suffolk Wildlife Trust’s ‘Closer to Nature’ Project - Taking place on Sun 7th June. Touching the Tide Surveying and Recording Day at Trimley Marshes - Taking place on Sat 18th July. Lackford Lakes Bioblitz with the Suffolk Wildlife Trust - 24 hour bioblitz which is taking place from 4:00 pm on Saturday 1st August (ending 4:00 pm Sunday 2nd). When more information is available this will be placed online at www.sns.org.uk
E ar s ham B i o bl i t z
River Waveney Trust Association Bioblitz at their Earsham Headquarters (The old Otter Trust). Taking place 18th and 19th July. More information will be available here http://groupspaces.com/ RiverWaveneyTrust/
The British Plant Gall Society
SNS members are welcome to a gall recording meeting to be held at RSPB Minsmere Nature Reserve on Saturday 10th October 2015, 10am - 4pm. Meet at the visitor centre (IP173BY). Leader Jerry Bowdrey (01728 603526) or [email protected]. Bring packed lunch or purchase from the centre. Ample parking and the usual facilities are available. The meeting is suitable for both enthusiasts and beginners alike.
4 White Admiral 90 Counting Butterflies
A Butterfly Transect Training Session run by the Suffolk Branch of Butterfly Conservation. - Saturday 2nd May An indoor presentation for novice & potential volunteer transect walkers, followed by field work on the Spring Lane Transect on Tayfen Meadows. Assemble at 09:50 in the Bury St Edmunds Library Conference Room. Time: 10:00 indoors, 12:00 short walk to site, Finish approx 14:30. The event is free, but places need to be booked in advance. Contact Rob Parker [email protected] for more details. Register: as soon as possible, as places are limited. The training is aimed at butterfly fanciers involved in existing butterfly transect walks, or novices prepared to volunteer to walk regular transects (26 weeks/year).
Butterfly Conservation Field Programme
The Suffolk Branch of Butterfly Conservation have released their 2015 field programme see www.suffolkbutterflies.org.uk/events.html. Up and coming events include: Butterflies - Illustrated talk by Suffolk Butterfly Recorder Bill Stone with Shotley Peninsula Wildlife Group. Thursday 23rd April, 7.30pm to 10.00pm, Tattingstone Village Hall. New Members and Novice Recorders Day - An indoor training session, followed by practical butterfly watching on an excellent site. Sat 25th April, 10:00am, Barnham Village Hall, Enrol in advance - Rob Parker 01284 705475 Dingy Skipper surveys in the King’s Forest - Assemble at access track to John O’Groats cottages, on west side of B1106. First count at King’s Archery Site. Please enquire in advance to notify availability and whether you can assist with other locations. Surveys continue until end of May. Wednesday 13th May and Wednesday 20th May, 10:30am, Leader is Bill Stone 07906 888603
White Admiral 90 5 Chalcid wasps
J ew el -like inhabitants of Suffolk gardens and countryside
Chalcid Wasps are tiny, beautiful and often overlooked insects. I became aware of them by chance. In October 2014 I found a small green wasp resting on a parsley plant in my garden near Christchurch Park in Ipswich. At the time I thought it was a fly! However, under the microscope I saw it was worth photographing because of its striking colour and the interesting sculptured texture of its surface. I posted the photos on the Facebook Hymenopterists Page where the family was quickly identified as Pteromalidae. A key to the European Pteromalid species indicated that it was a male Halticoptera flavicornis, a parasite of flies. Hannes Baur, an expert on these wasps based at the Natural History Museum at Berne in Switzerland, subsequently confirmed
the identification. Pteromalus cf. albipennis
Halticoptera flavicornis
6 White Admiral 90 Having become interested in these cf. albipennis. These wasps are tiny insects, I remembered a parasitoids of fruit flies specimen I had collected near the (Tephritidae) developing in flower Martlesham Recreation Ground in heads of Asteraceae, for example July. I photographed it and the Banded Burdock flies (Terellia consulted Hannes Baur once again. tussilaginis) of which there is a He identified it as a species close large colony on the Burdock plants to Pteromalus albipennis. The (Arctium) near to where I found it. taxonomy and nomencla- I have now sent the wasp to ture of Chalcids is com- Switzerland to be added to Hannes plicated and for now Baur’s collection. this one has to be labelled Pteromalus Martin Cooper
Some observations on Agromyzidae
This note records two in the street near my house. The species of agromyzids whitish blotch mine extended along reared from mined the mid-rib with offshoots into the leaves found near my leaf blade. home in Ipswich, East I kept the leaf in a plastic bag Suffolk, TM166450. until, on 26th June, a fly emerged. On 16th June 2014 I A yellow/brown puparium was collected a mined Nipplewort found in the bag afterwards. The (Lapsana communis) leaf, which small black fly was compared with was growing at the base of a wall the key by K.A. Spencer (1972.
Fig . 1 . . 1 . Fig
iomyi un ta at t nc cu ia y m o hi p O
Hndel 920). 0 2 19 l, e d (Hen
White Admiral 90 7
The inset close-up in the photograph (Fig. 1) shows the orbital setulae of the specimen, which are a very good match to the figure given by K.A. Spencer Phytomyza petoei (1976). The Agromyzidae (Diptera) of Fennoscandia and Denmark. Fauna entomologica scandinavica Vol 5. Part 1. Scandinavian Science Press Ltd.), which he described as “unique to Ophiomyia cunctata”. Spencer (1972) reported a single
Lateral view of head of previous Suffolk observation of this species from Newmarket (J.E. Collin). I suspect that this is a case of under - reporting. Diptera Agromyzidae. Handbooks Nipplewort is a very common weed for the identification of British and, around here at least, many of Insects Vol. 10 Part 5g. Royal the leaves have been mined. Entomological Society of London) The apple mint ( Men tha and identified as Ophiomyia suaveolens) in my back garden was cunctata (Hendel, 1920). The also mined extensively this identification was confirmed by summer. I took a few leaves on 5th
Miloš Cerny.
Hering, 1924
Phytomyza petoei M in e of
8 White Admiral 90 July and kept them to see what petoei Hering, 1924. emerged. On 11th July I found 8 This identification was confirmed small brown puparia on one of the by Miloš Cerny. Spencer (1972) leaves. These hatched into small gave the distribution of this species black flies on 19th July, only 1 of as “Probably not uncommon in which was obviously male. I south”. There were so many mines photographed the leaf, the puparia on the leaves of my mint that it and the male adult fly. To my great was quite hard to find enough frustration I lost the abdomen unspoilt leaves to make the mint when I was detaching it to get a sauce. better look at the genitalia! Using I am grateful to Laurence Clemons, the keys in Spencer (1972, 1976) John Coldwell, Tony Irwin, David and information provided by Henshaw and Miloš Cerny for www.ukflymines.co.uk, assistance with identification and www.leafmines.co.uk other information. and www.bladmineerders.nl, I identified the fly as Phytomyza Martin Cooper
This article first appeared in the Dipterists Digest published by the Society for the study of flies (Diptera).
A Research Hole in the Red Crag at the Great Pit,
New bo ur ne
‘We have a digging machine on when we had this! A spot was site, clearing wildlife ponds and chosen in the base of the Great refreshing the crag face for sand Pit - how deep was the crag here? martins, come along tomorrow Certainly no one had done this and we will dig your research before. Within centimetres we hit hole.’ The message came from a hard band of clay-ironstone, Andrew Excell of the Suffolk greenish in colour and with a Wildlife Trust who kindly gentle dip towards the north. For facilitated the project. We arrived 1.75 metres we dug through pale excitedly the next day, November yellow crag similar to that seen in 5th 2014, to meet Barry Day and the lower part of the face in the his giant caterpillar-tracked pit. And then we hit a layer of digger – who needed fireworks large bivalve shells of Glycimeris.
White Admiral 90 9 From here downwards digging was Henslow. With excavation over we below the water table for another were able to see the driving energy 1.9 metres until we reached the of the nearby springs (the sides of London Clay. This lowest crag was the hole stood vertical in the deeply ferruginous, the rich red coherent crag) as water poured in colour which gives this crag its with spectacular unstoppable force name, with noticeable Neptunea until it reached its underground contraria whelks and with rest level. With samples and phosphatic nodules (‘coprolites’) photographs taken it was time to but not in a defined basement bed. fill in this special hole and go to This all suggests that the site was lunch, happy and satisfied with never a coprolite pit, indeed it was new knowledge. This was excellent already a working pit in the 1830s, geology! a decade before ‘coprolites’ were discovered by John Stevens Bob Markham
10 White Admiral 90 Return to Walberswick
I first visited the East Suffolk continued process. coastal village of Walberswick on a After examining old maps, land rather cold spring day in 1947 – records and leases I understood when I was five. Then, for the that in the Medieval period, and better part of a decade my family indeed well into the nineteenth used to spend part of the summer century, the heathlands were camping or caravanning at Manor maintained as open, virtually Farm - the land has long since treeless, plant communities, as the been built over. Once or twice we result of being intimately linked to borrowed a cottage or stayed with the other land uses around them. friends, and spent time there at Sheep grazed part of the year on other times of the year. It was in the heathlands of the Suffolk and around Walberswick and Sandlings, part of the year on the amongst the heaths, woods and drained marshland pastures close marshes of the Sandlings region to the sea, and on farmland that I learnt about natural history stubble after harvest. Sometimes a – about how to identify and record root-crop, such as the turnip, was plants, insects, birds and other included in the cycle. It was even creatures, and how the different more complicated than this: some parts of nature fitted together. areas of the Sandlings heaths were When I first visited the Suffolk managed as rabbit warrens: sheep coast the heather heathland, and rabbits sometimes grazed on broken occasionally by patches of the same areas. It was said that bracken, extended from the ‘there was a certain something outskirts of the village of that the sheep ate, and a certain Walberswick almost all the way to something that the rabbits ate’ Blythburgh. Within a year or two, when they grazed together on the when the agricultural economics East Anglian heaths. Under the and subsidy structures encouraged terms of several eighteenth it, and when the solution of certain century leases of Westwood Lodge fertiliser and trace-element Farm the tenant was bound to problems allowed it, substantial keep a certain number of sheep, acreages were being ploughed for grazing them on the ‘sheepwalks’ arable. Later I discovered that this for part of the year, fertilising the was just an incident in a long- arable land with their dung when
White Admiral 90 11 they fed on stubble during the These species are now much rarer autumn and winter. Rabbit in the Sandlings heathland belt. warrening had obviously also been One possible reason for the decline an important economic activity for is the reduction in the total area of centuries: an early sixteenth heath, and the invasion by scrub century lease ‘for all that woreyne (often birch, oak and holly) of the of coneys in Blyburgh belonging to fragments that remain, in the the manor of Westwood’ was worth absence of heavy grazing pressure. 14s a year – then a goodly sum. As children my brother and I This tightly knit ecological and wandered across the heaths, along economic system helped to maintain the river and across the marshes the open Calluna/Erica heaths. As largely unsupervised. Many parents the late nineteenth and twentieth would regard this as unthinkable centuries wore on, the number of now. sheep in the area decreased, and Into the 1950s the pine trees along the vital links between the different the estuary near Blythburgh were land uses withered away. Another noisy in spring and summer with important factor was the arrival of breeding herons. I believe the name myxomatosis, first reported in East ‘Heronry’ is still sometimes used Suffolk in early December 1953. By but the old pine trees have been the late summer of 1954 the virus silent for several decades. was widespread in the region. Many Since moving to Australia in the areas of heathland literally stank 1970s, opportunities for bird- because of the abundance of rabbit watching and rambling in Suffolk carcasses: in the years following the have been few and far between. level of grazing by rabbits was Occasionally a few brief hours have much reduced: although there has been snatched during periods of been some recovery, total grazing study-leave, but for a few days in pressures have not built up to the July 2014 my wife and I took a earlier level. room at The Bell, and explored In my childhood heathland bird some of the familiar haunts. species such as red-backed shrikes Certain things were much as I were to be found in many parishes recalled. The general appearance of along the coast. Nightjars churred the Green was as it was, although on several heaths near Walberswick some of the houses and shops and I recall once seeing a flock 15 surrounding it had been tarted up: stone curlew near Westwood. some were now ‘boutiques’. In the Yellowhammers were common. 1940s and 1950s the crumbling
12 White Admiral 90 wood-built Gannon Room was reed warblers were much in rather sad: it has been replaced by evidence. Some of the paths across a more permanent-looking new the marshes had been improved, village hall. but others had been gated or There is now very little entirely blocked. Piles of carefully stacked open ground. Former heathland reeds showed the traditional craft inland from the village is now scrub of reed-cutting for thatching was – almost low woodland: still practiced. successional pine and birch has Along the shore some of the hideous invaded. For example, it appeared concrete blocks that were strewn almost as though Hoist Covert had along the coast in the early 1940s increased in area. However, as protection against Hitler’s although heathland bird species Operation Sealion were still there. seemed to have declined, the (Couldn’t a now prosperous and butterfly species I remembered on united Germany be requested to the heaths in earlier times were pay for their removal?). The shore present: we noted grayling, meadow pools between Walberswick and brown, hedge brown, small heath Dunwich are diminished, and the and large skipper flitting amongst glorious spreads of sea lavender I the wildflowers just as they did knew as a child are not what they several decades ago. I didn’t see any were. Nevertheless some of the earth star fungi on the lanes interesting wading birds, such as around the village that I used to the odd ringed plover, were to be find there, although I came upon a observed. The avocet and egret charm of goldfinches more than were rare species when I first came once. A stoat scuttled across to Suffolk, but form a striking Palmers Lane. Turtle doves that component of the avifauna now. formerly nested in the hedgerows When I walked along the Blyth as a close to the village seemed to be young lad, herring gulls greatly absent. Their place in the outnumbered black-headed: the ecosystem and in the soundscape position seemed to be reversed this has been taken by the collared last summer. dove. Active conservation frameworks are In the marshes there seem to have now much more in evidence than in been fewer changes. Although the the days just after the war when all area of open water pools appeared seemed to be able to wander at will to be less that I recall from the though the countryside. The 1940s and 1950s, bearded tits and heaths and marshes are now part of
White Admiral 90 13 a National Nature Reserve, a look back nostalgically to the Shorebirds Special Protection Area Suffolk of over 65 years ago. I has been designated, and the wondered, as I threaded my way establishment of the Suffolk Coast through a group of children and Heaths Area of Outstanding crabbing on one of the bridges over Natural Beauty implies some a tidal creek near the village conservation and planning whether they would think back with protection. similar affection to the Walberswick So as is ever the case, some things of their childhood in the 2070s? I had changed, some things had hoped so. remained the same; some things had improved, some deteriorated. I Patrick Armstrong
Patrick is an Adjunct Professor of Geography at both the University of Western Australia and Edith Cowan University. He wrote his doctoral thesis on the heaths of the Suffolk Sandlings over 40 years ago and has been a member of the Suffolk Naturalists’ Society for nearly 50 years. He now lives in Nedlands, Western Australia.
High Brown Fritillary at Landguard
Photo by Wendy Marshall
During the summer of 2014 an the alert for one turning up at this influx of Scarce Tortoishell Papilo site that is renowned for unusual xanthomelas butterflies into bird and moth species. During Northern Europe was being widely conversation with Chris Ryde, the reported on social media regularly Landguard Ranger, I informed him so Landguard observers were on that butterfly recorders were a bit
14 White Admiral 90 draconian when it came to the documented by Mendel & vetting of records of rare Piotrowski (1986). Suffolk’s butterflies and the best option if decline is just part of a range one was suspected was to get a contraction across the United photograph. Kingdom and Northern Europe. Chris, in the company of Wendy In Britain the species only now Marshall, was wardening on a survives in a few areas in the part of the nature reserve known west. amongst local birders as the “icky The habitat at Landguard is ridge” on Saturday 19th July 2014 completely wrong for High Brown when they saw an unusual Fritillary so it is speculated that butterfly on Buddleja with Wendy this individual was a migratory managing to get a couple of quick individual that arrived in off the photographs. When they returned sea during an onshore breeze from to the office at the cottage they the continent, fed briefly on looked up the butterfly and Buddleja, then moved quickly identified it as a Fritillary. Chris inland to find a more favorable e.mailed me the pictures and it location. Unfortunately pretty wasn’t long after this that many butterflies are bred and released of the Landguard Bird in this country for human observatory regulars descended entertainment but this is unlikely on the area where it had been to be the origin of the one at seen. After several hours Landguard so near the sea. This searching it became apparent that individual is just a freak the creature had moved on. occurrence but whether another Chris & Wendy did not realise the one will turn up in our lifetimes is significance of their sighting and not known. What I do know is were surprised to learn that it that the Buddleja it was seen on was the first Suffolk sighting of will be well scrutinised in future High Brown Fritillary Argynnis years just in case lightening adippe since 1959. Old Suffolk strikes twice. records and the species’ sad demise in the county are well Nigel Odin
Reference: Mendel, H. & Piotrowski, S.H. (1986) The Butterflies of Suffolk An Atlas & History. Suffolk Naturalists’ Society, Ipswich.
White Admiral 90 15 Saving a bird on the brink
Turtle Dove by Andy Hay
We have lost 96% of our turtle of small seeds. They have a song doves since 1970 and numbers are like no other species you’ll hear still in freefall. Their population during spring and summer and are decline is so dramatic that the easily identifiable to even the species could be lost as a breeding novice birder once you know what bird in our country within the next you’re listening for, a low ‘turr few decades. But all is not lost. turr’ (roll the ‘r’). Often, they will There is still time to save the be easily visible from dead tree gentle purr of singing males from branches or pylons and wires. disappearing from our country- Whilst they are similar to their side’s musical repertoire, but only if more common relatives (wood we act now. pigeons, collared doves and stock The turtle dove, Streptopelia turtur doves), they are significantly more is ecologically unique in Europe. It ‘exotic’ looking. Daintier in stature is our only long-distance migratory than their counterparts, they are dove, travelling over 3,000 miles the smallest dove species we get from their wintering grounds in here. With orange eyes, a black and West Africa to arrive here from late white striped neck patch, chestnut April to breed and raise their and black diamonds on their wings chicks before departing once more and a rosy-lilac coloured throat and late August – early September. chest you would think that they They are ‘obligate granivores’ would stand out a mile but often which means that they manage to you just spot the flash of the white do all this on a diet made up solely tail tips as they disappear from view.
16 White Admiral 90 They have long been an iconic in reproductive output across the farmland bird, the sound of breeding season is sufficient to summer to many and not that long explain the population decline. ago, been seen in flocks of several It is possible that the quality (as hundred birds either feeding well as quantity) of available food together or on migration. has deteriorated. The natural diet Culturally, they are included in of turtle doves are the small seeds texts and song and used as a of arable plants, including symbol of love and commitment fumitories, stitchworts, pansies because of their monogamous and knotgrasses. Many of these pairings. plants that were commonly found Reasons for their decline are in the diet of turtle doves are now complex and not completely absent or scarce themselves. It is understood, especially as turtle therefore possible that shortages doves are a migratory species in seed food may now be which means they face threats detrimental to turtle doves at right across their flyway critical stages of the breeding (migratory route). Research shows season. that the main driver of the current So what can be done? decline in turtle doves is that adult To meet the challenge of saving a birds are producing half the bird on the brink of extinction in amount of chicks that they were in the UK, Operation Turtle Dove, a the 1970s because of a reduction in partnership project between the nesting attempts. Turtle doves RSPB, Conservation Grade, once had up to four nesting Pensthorpe Conservation Trust attempts during a breeding season, and Natural England, was they are now having half this. A launched in May 2012 with the change in diet from mainly seeds of arable plants in the 1960s to mainly crops by the late 1990s has occurred concurrently with a reduction in breeding attempts. The resultant reduction
White Admiral 90 Turtle Doves by Tony Morris 17 aim to reverse the species declines. ‘Fair to Nature’. Products with the To do this, project partners are ‘Fair to Nature’ logo mean they leading on research into turtle have been produced from farms dove ecology on breeding grounds that have created at least 10% of in England and into factors wildlife habitat on their land, we operating during their migration need to tell our suppliers and and wintering areas. Dedicated retailers that this is important to advisers are working with us and that we are prepared to put landowners and farmers to our money where our mouth is, establish foraging habitat across which hopefully over time will their core breeding range and mean that ‘Fair to Nature’ maintain suitable nesting habitat. products will be as common to With the new agri-environment come by as Fair Trade. scheme opening in 2016, advisers Last but not least, the easiest and will play a critical role in most enjoyable way to help support supporting farmers applying for turtle doves is to report your the new scheme and including sightings. Your accurate records of turtle dove habitat management as sightings help us to focus our part of their applications. conservation work and ensure that Suffolk supports almost 17% of we have the most up-to-date breeding turtle doves in the UK species distribution data. (data provided by BTO), therefore Operation Turtle Dove has been establishing suitable habitat here working with the Suffolk Biological will be crucial to securing the Records Centre to create a Suffolk future of turtle doves. But don’t sit Turtle Dove Survey where records back thinking that all the work is can be uploaded online. This page down to our farmers, they are can be accessed at the following doing great stuff and many have link: voluntarily created habitat for www.suffolkbrc.org.uk/turtledove turtle doves, but they need our and is live now! support too. Every one of us can support this species by shopping Samantha Lee
For more information visit www.operationturtledove.org and follow @SaveTurtleDoves To find out more about Fair to Nature visit www.conservationgrade.org For habitat advice contact your local advisor, Samantha Lee on: [email protected] or 07894 802267.
18 White Admiral 90 Updating the Flora of Suffolk (and Great Britain)
The next Atlas of British Flora is county. Each list is split into five planned for 2020 with the ‘recent’ worksheets named: date class covering the period 2000 All – an alphabetic list of all -2020. For details of the national species ever recorded in that project being run by the Botanical square Society of Britain & Ireland (BSBI) Post 2000 – an alphabetic list of all see http://www.bsbi.org.uk/ species recorded in that square atlas_2020.html. The data will not since 2000 only provide new distribution maps Not recorded post 2000 – an for all native and introduced taxa, alphabetic list of species not but will also enable further recorded in that square since 2000 analysis of change when compared Records needing updating – a table to datasets collected for the showing all records of the species previous two Atlases (1962 & not recorded in that square since 2002). 2000. This is the most useful In Suffolk, with the production of worksheet. The species have been the Flora in 2010, we already have sorted by their frequency in plenty of records in the post-2000 Suffolk; Column A ‘Total of taxon date class for most 10-km squares. group’ has a figure (1–58) showing However, the analysis below, done how many 10km squares the at the end of 2014, shows that species has been recorded from in there are still many areas where the county. This should mean the more than a third of the species species you are most likely to re- recorded in a square have not been find will be at the top of the sheet. seen (recorded) since 2000. We Rare garden escapes and ancient have five years to gather new records from the 18th and 19th records and I would like to set a centuries will be found towards the target of all Suffolk 10-km squares bottom of the sheet – these are with at least 85% of taxa recorded probably not worth the effort of post-2000. chasing up unless you think there The challenge is to target is still suitable habitat present. surveying to improve post-2000 If you want to see everything from coverage without having to re- a particular site you can set a filter survey the whole area. With this in on column D ‘sample location’ mind I have produced a series of untick the ‘select all’ box in the Excel spreadsheets with the data filter dropdown and then tick just for each 10-km square in the the site you’re interested in.
White Admiral 90 19 Total pre- No. Common 10 km post- 2000+ as % of plant 2000 species Square 2000 total taxa only missing
TG40 825 362 463 79 56 TG50 781 420 361 126 46 TL64 578 183 395 66 68 TL65 385 132 253 132 66 TL66 616 194 422 71 69 TL67 690 207 483 51 70 TL68 572 144 428 86 75 TL74 660 138 522 29 79 TL75 705 172 533 24 76 TL76 862 313 549 27 64 TL77 1089 366 723 10 66 TL78 1018 301 717 22 70 TL83 614 207 407 62 66 TL84 981 237 744 5 76 TL85 668 132 536 16 80 TL86 1048 329 719 1 69 TL87 964 300 664 17 69 TL88 823 264 559 41 68 TL93 847 219 628 7 74 TL94 872 204 668 8 77 TL95 823 225 598 13 73 TL96 936 207 729 2 78 TL97 946 244 702 6 74 TL98 660 321 339 123 51 TM03 815 309 506 31 62 TM04 865 302 563 14 65 TM05 922 318 604 13 66 TM06 735 421 314 107 43 TM07 987 258 729 12 74 TM13 962 560 402 78 42 TM14 1199 625 574 24 48 TM15 901 327 574 11 64 TM16 835 175 660 9 79 TM17 837 234 603 4 72
20 White Admiral 90 TM23 1082 357 725 12 67 TM24 1151 461 690 13 60 TM25 979 543 436 77 45 TM26 764 167 597 21 78 TM27 724 144 580 11 80 TM28 652 234 418 53 64 TM33 857 271 586 29 68 TM34 972 294 678 26 70 TM35 1100 353 747 6 68 TM36 939 262 677 6 72 TM37 877 108 769 2 88 TM38 931 307 624 17 67 TM39 716 321 395 77 55 TM44 557 243 314 154 56 TM45 1019 323 696 22 68 TM46 1189 335 854 3 72 TM47 1313 242 1071 1 82 TM48 1038 239 799 5 77 TM49 1062 265 797 11 75 TM57 855 480 375 173 44 TM58 950 197 753 19 79 TM59 1158 300 858 5 74 Average 858 277 580 36 67
Using this data you can quickly be able to find most, but probably identify a few sites in your 10-km not all, of these species in any 10- square that contain good numbers km square. of records that need updating. If you are able to use Excel Many of the records will have 6- spreadsheets and would like to see figure grid refs which should make the data for a particular square (or re-finding the plants a bit easier. squares) please e-mail your request Common species not in TXXX pst to me. 2000 – this sheet uses the same 10km frequency data to list Martin Sanford particularly common plants (found email: in 40+ 10km squares in Suffolk) [email protected] that have not been recorded recently in that square. You should
White Admiral 90 21 Observation of a Water Shrew ( Neomys fodiens ) in Capel St Mary
- a cautionary tale of too much haste and disbelief
During 2014 I have had the My assumption that Water Shrews unwelcome attention of a large are strictly tied to water is, of number of Wood Mice and Bank course, unfounded. In ‘The Voles in my greenhouse, Mammals of Suffolk’, Simone notes strawberry patch and even the that Water Shrews do sometimes cupboard under my stairs (mice occur a long way from water in only). This resulted in the ‘last d e c i d u o u s w o o d l a n d , straw’ deployment of a ‘break back’ hedgerows and rough trap in my greenhouse (actually grassland. Larger wooded more of a lean-to with a plastic roof gardens and rough at the end of my house). This trap grassland lies only a short was baited with peanut butter and distance away, but I’m still was left out all winter. wondering if its arrival in our On 4th February 2015 I had my island of houses was ‘cat first catch for some months, which assisted’ – a prize brought home I hastily dismissed as a curious alive by our neighbour’s pet. record of a rather dark Common Fortunately, I have the habit of Shrew. However, after mentioning giving any such captures a decent this catch to Simone Bullion, our burial, so I managed to exhume the Mammal Recorder, she ventured to body and look more closely for the question whether it might have tell-tale been a Water Shrew. Despite the dark fur, which should have alerted my suspicion, this potential identification just did not occur to me on account of the location of the beast. Mine is one of five houses in a triangular formation, surrounded by busy roads on all three sides, on the old A12 (London Road), so I have a rather isolated and distinctly suburban garden, a long way from water. Shrew foot detail
22 White Admiral 90 signs of a Water Shrew. on the underside of its tail and a Other than the dark fur colour, it short fringe of hairs under its feet has a distinct keel of long bristles – both adaptations for more efficient swimming (see pictures). It was most likely a juvenile, so falling into the general body size of Common Shrews (5-8cm) rather than the larger adult body size of the Water Shrew (6.5-9.5cm). So, the moral of the story is: don’t jump to conclusions and don’t dismiss a provisional identification on the basis of habitat and location!
Adrian Knowles shrew tail detail
Shield bug obsession?
Since I was a child, if I had two of help of books, internet and of anything, it started a collection. So course the resident SNS experts, I after seeing a few different shield identified most of them. bugs, I started looking a little They appear on all sorts of plants harder for more and to identify and most are especially easy to these unusual insects. spot on leaves of their host plants The main challenge to begin and bushes in the full sun, with was understanding although I also often find one or ‘instars’ (stages of growth) two rogue ones in my moth trap in as these canny bugs have the summer. I have found that various stages of growth hawthorn, yew, privet, dock are which often do not resemble the most likely plants to see them the adult at all. on, although early instars can be I collected many photos of shield small and often elusive. On bugs as time passed and with the occasions I have spotted them
White Admiral 90 23 Clockwise from top left: Troilus luridus 2nd instar; Green Shield bug pair; hawthorn shield bug; bronze shield bug; dock bug; green shield bug summer; forest bug; dock bug - Cor eus mar g ina tus mid instar; box bug late instar; juniper shield bug; red legged shield bug pair; woundwort shield bug; Pied shield bug; hairy shield bug
24 White Admiral 90 sucking the ‘juice’ from small I would recommend that you check caterpillars and grubs with their out these interesting bugs and extended mouthparts. marvel at their diversity and Dock, box, and forest bugs along intriguing life cycle. with green, bronze, hairy, red- legged, pied, wound -wort, Trevor Goodfellow hawthorn, birch and juniper shield bugs have all been recorded at home in Thurston.
White Admiral 90 25 Short Note – Stoat in my Neighbour’s Garden
Stoat by Bob Mawkes
Bob Mawkes, took these photos of a small front garden (which is stoat (Mustela erminea) on his bird partially screened by a laurel table at his home in Bentley (TM hedge) and is close to the road. The 113373). It has probably visited the stoat is attracted by and feeds on bird table quite often but as yet the nuts and fat in a fat ‘cake’ has only been seen on three made by Bob. Some of the shots occasions: the first was 18/01/15 show the distinctive black fur at between 8 and 9 a.m.; the distal end of its tail. second 19/01/15 between 3 and 4 p.m.; and third 25/01/15 around Colin Hawes mid-day. The bird table is in his
New Bursary available
Thanks to the generosity of the late David Ridley Nash we are now able to offer another bursary to encourage the study of Suffolk’s Coleoptera (beetles). David very kindly left the Society £5000 in his will to set up the new bursary which will be run using the same criteria as the other SNS bursaries (see inside back cover).
26 White Admiral 90 Late Red Admirals
On 23rd December 2014 my wife hibernation and early immigration. Ann-Marie saw a red admiral This is expanded in the 2001 sunning itself on the wall of ‘Millennium Atlas of Butterflies in Christchurch Park’s Visitor Britain and Ireland’, Asher et al, Centre. Subsequent sightings which comments: There is no well- occurred on the 24th and 25th, defined overwintering strategy in both on sunlit bricks at the front of Britain and Ireland. The variable Christchurch Mansion. Further waves of adult migration patterns, searches in the next week post-winter and summer emer- produced no more sightings. These gences and autumn reverse migra- now add to the two red admirals tions make the interpretation of coming out of our garden pine on records complex. Thomas and 1st January 2000 and a red Lewington, 1991, in ‘The admiral rescued from a pavement Butterflies of Britain and Ireland’ outside Sainsbury’s in the middle point out that red admirals of Ipswich, on 20th December apparently ‘overwintered in quite 2008. When I was the Suffolk cold localities in Central Europe’ Butterfly Recorder such sightings adding that the red admiral ‘is a in the winter months between resident species mainly in the December and February were rare Pyrenees, where winters are every enough to be mentioned in the bit as cold as in Britain’. annual report. My own impression is that However, the status of these overwintering is on the increase winter red admirals is still unclear. and I wonder if this is connected to As far back as 1945, in Ford’s the series of warm years we have butterfly book, which was part of the ‘New Naturalist’ series, he was already commenting that a few red admirals survive our winter but most perish. In ‘The Butterflies of Great Britain and Ireland’, vol. 7 part 1, 1990, Maitland Emmett and Heath, the authors comment on the impossibility of differentiating between local Red Admiral 24.12.14
White Admiral 90 27 experienced in the last few finding red admirals in hibernation decades, with 2014 the warmest on quarters, something I have never record. However, that may not discovered in my many years of necessarily benefit hibernating studying butterflies. Has anyone species since obviously it increases else seen them actually the survival rates of parasites and hibernating? hunting birds or mammals. Richard Stewart. Perhaps the answer lies in actually
Schizophyllum co m m une - Split Gill fungus, in Suffolk
As part of the Bioblitz on August The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, 9th 2014, at Foxburrow Farm, where there is a strong contingent Melton, an SWT Reserve on the of mycologists, and Paul Cannon, Foxboro Hall estate, I (CJBH) was able to tell us what it was and accompanied by interested visitors also that it was not uncommon. It and Leonie Washington of SWT, turned out to be Schizophyllum who knows the site well, looked at commune. the lichens on various substrates Tapping into the Internet and around the education centre. consulting Wikipedia etc. we were During this first visit, it was felt able to learn a great many that a more detailed survey would fascinating facts be advantageous and again with about this Leonie’s help, this was arranged f u n g u s , for 30th October, when a greater such as number of habitats were looked at. At the end of the second day in the orchard area, our eyes were caught by a ring of thick slices, of a birch bole, approximately 15–18 inches diameter and 9–12 inches thick, set in a 12-15 foot circle and acting as seats around a campfire. Looking at these blocks of lignum closely, we saw that several were colonized by a wood rotting fungus. Material was collected and sent to
28 White Admiral 90 (i) having a worldwide distribution, Suffolk, to give him the details of on all continents except the our find and although he knew it, Antarctic due to a lack of a suitable see photo, he was very pleased, as substrate there; (ii) despite the he had not seen it in the county small size of our material, it is a himself. species where the caps grow can up The 4 following paragraphs are by to 4 cm diameter; (iii) it was Neil Mahler (pers. comm.) thought to be uneatable, but is in Brilliant! I have never recorded fact edible, though very tough, this in Suffolk. As soon as I saw which makes it a favourite in more the first photo, I knew it to be tropical countries where the caps S.commune and hoped the do not decay so fast; (iv) it has following text (an email) would say proved to be a species complex with it was found in Suffolk. It certainly over 28,000 sexes involved! (I will is not common in Suffolk (or leave the geneticists to appreciate Norfolk) and according to their the significance of that remark); (v) booklet on Suffolk Fungi, the it can be also pathogenic in man Ellis’s only have 3 records of it. and anybody with a weakened However, doing a spot of searching, immune system may be at risk - in I have now managed to find a total humans the fungus has of 4 records of S.commune from occasionally been shown to actually Suffolk - Assington Thicks, produce caps in the nasal cavity. Flatford (FSC), Bury, and I wrote to Neil Walberswick. Mahler, the It would also appear to be scarce in f u n g a l the UK generally, but there was an recorder apparent increase in sightings for after the storms of 1987 (it was always assumed this fungus was a wood saprotroph species), though by 2000, most of the sightings on storm damaged trees began to dry up - probably because all the cellulose and lignin had become depleted. From 1991 in Devon, came the first of many sightings on silage bales wrapped in black plastic where the Photo by Neil Mahler fungus could emerge through any
White Admiral 90 29 tears. Then a well known mycologist who was given the job mycologist recalled seeing similar of coming up with the new list of habitats being colonized in English common names for fungi, Scotland in 1988 and 1990 and a in an attempt to standardize survey in 2000 revealed 53% of things before they got out of hand. farms visited in Ireland had this The error with Split Gill was growing on silage bales. spotted too late though and “I guess if I were to stop my already on iSpot, people have motorcycle every time I see black written in identifying the fungus plastic wrapped silage bales as “Common Porecrust””. stacked in a muddy farmyard, I Naturally Split Gill fungus has may be able to increase the Suffolk gills, which are pale reddish or sightings 3 times over, but farmers grey and very narrow with a don’t take too kindly to strangers longitudinal split edge which acting in a strange way!” becomes in rolled when wetted by Neil has also pointed out, that rain. It is the only known fungus unfortunately a lot of new UK with split gills that is capable of publications give the wrong retracting by movement and the common name to this fungus and cap which is much more resilient, this extract from the BMS web site allows spores to be liberated over a explains how the error came about. long period of time. “Liz Holden is the Scottish C. J. B. Hitch & L. Washington
Three seasons of looking for leafhoppers
In the last 3 summers, we have entomologists started to visit the surveyed for leafhoppers across well-known sites. Since then Suffolk and this article sets out the several naturalists have outcomes of our work and outlines contributed relatively small the current distributions of numbers of records. In the last 3 leafhoppers in Suffolk. years, we have surveyed 49 sites We have collated records from the across the county. The area NBN gateway, Suffolk Biological bordering Essex in the south is Records Centre and the National noticeably under-recorded. The Leafhopper recording scheme. paucity of historical records does Apart from Claude Morley’s mean that all occurrences of incredible contribution, little common or scarcer species are a recording of leafhoppers took place cause of much excitement! until the 1980s when professional We have now recorded 153 species
30 White Admiral 90 of leafhoppers, of which 29 species appear to be new for the county. Of course, some of these may have been collected before and are sitting in someone’s notebook awaiting publication! 178 species have been recorded here in the last decade so we have a good account of the contemporary Acericerus vittifrons distribution of leafhoppers in the hope yet. county. There are currently 408 Last year, we were thrilled to find hoppers on the national list so we some stunning species. For now know that we have well over a example, Opsius stachtogalus, from third of the national fauna here in the Tamarisk below the Coastguard Suffolk. This total will hopefully Cottages at Dunwich Heath. We increase over the next few years as suspect it is found throughout the we target different areas to search. length of the coast wherever this Last summer, we tried to locate plant is present. some of the rarer species that we We also found the leafhopper suspected could be present or that Acericerus vittifrons on Sycamore have been found early in the last at Captains Wood. A common century, sadly without success. species which appears to be There are 7 BAP species of unrecorded in East Anglia. It is leafhopper in Britain but none have from the sub-family idiocerinae been recorded in Suffolk. The most which are relatively large and often likely candidate would be Doratura well-marked leafhoppers. impudica. It is present in Essex and For anyone thinking of looking at a Norfolk. Its foodplant is Sand new family of insects the Couch, Elytrigia juncea. This is leafhoppers are a nice group. There found at the front edge of sand are modern keys to all British dunes. Along our coast this plant species and a very good photo guide does not appear to be present in to accompany them. Many species sufficient quantity to support the do not need a microscope although leafhopper. We also tried to locate this is essential for the tricky the very beautiful Metalimnus species. Some common species are formosus which lives on Tufted yet to be discovered in Suffolk and Sedge, Carex acuta. This sedge is all records are gratefully received. present in many locations in Suffolk so we have not given up Colin Lucas and Tricia Taylor
White Admiral 90 31 Scarce (Yellow -legged) Tortoiseshell Nymphalis xanthomelas
The Scarce Tortoiseshell is a Countries. It, therefore, became species of butterfly, similar in size apparent that this butterfly species to the Peacock Inachis io which is could reach UK shores and in local and uncommon within its particular the south-east of range in eastern and central England. Europe. It is a species which However, at the time of Chris van favours damp woodlands and river Swaay’s post it appeared that the valleys especially those containing butterfly had already made it willows and sallows. The flight across the North Sea as during the period is normally from July evening of 14 July a number of through to September. The Scarce Tortoiseshell butterflies butterfly then goes into hibernation were being reported along coastal normally emerging again in April locations in East Anglia. and May. It is univoltine. The only Thankfully, Suffolk was lucky to previously accepted record was at share in this European butterfly Shipbourne, near Sevenoaks, Kent event and we have had two in July 1953. confirmed records. Both butterflies On 14 July, Chris van Swaay of the were observed nectaring on Dutch Butterfly Conservation buddleja and were identified as posted on the UK Butterflies Scarce Tortoiseshells from the website forum that good numbers of photographs and videos taken. One Scarce Tortoiseshell were being was found in the warden’s garden seen in the Netherlands. Other at RSPB Minsmere by Adam reports indicated that it was also Rowlands on 14 July 2014. It was appearing in Denmark, Sweden, also present again during 15 July. Germany and Belgium. This is a The second record was also found butterfly, which like the other on 14 July by Perry Fairman at tortoiseshell species shows a strong Marina Park, Burgh Castle. It was migratory tendency and it seemed also observed during the 15 July. that a particularly good emergence For those of us that were not across its home range had coincided fortunate to see this vagrant in with an unusual weather pattern. July then do not despair. There is a This had caused a strong flow of chance that others went undetected warm air from over Russia to push and that they may now be through central Europe and carry hibernating in the UK. Reports the butterflies north-west towards from Holland and Scandinavia in Scandinavia and the Low early August have revealed that
32 White Admiral 90 several Scarce Tortoiseshells have Scarce and Large Tortoiseshell been found hibernating alongside (Nymphalis polychlorus) are very Peacocks and Small Tortoiseshells. similar and it is feasible that Assuming they follow a similar xanthomelas has been overlooked in pattern to hibernation emergence the past. The following photographs times in central Europe then early have been annotated to highlight April 2015 may be a good time to key features. look for another Suffolk Scarce Tortoiseshell! Bill Stone
The key identification feature, as the species’ other name of “Yellow - legged Tortoiseshell” suggests, is the colour of the legs. On polychlorus they are dark brown/ blackish and here on xanthomelas they are light brown through to y ellow.
The ground colour of I n xanthomelas the shape of the black the upper wings is a marking in the hindwing is square and much brighter stands out as it is surrounded by the reddish r edd i sh- or an g e i n - orange ground colour. In polychloros th e xanthomelas, black mark is triangular and less obvious as polychlorus is a pa ler it sits in a diffusely dark area y ellowi sh- or a ng e
The black marginal borders on the upper wings of xanthomelas a re broader than those f ou n d on polychlorus.
xanthomelas s h ow s a white spot near the apex on the upper side fore - wing whereas this apex mark is yellow on polychlorus Photos with kind permission of Perry Fairman
White Admiral 90 33 The Breckland Bat Project
Helping to fill gaps in our knowledge of Suffolk’s bats
The Breckland Bat Project was through these projects now provides inaugurated in April 2014 by the one of the most extensive high Breckland Society, a local history quality datasets for bats. In return and conservation group established for collecting data, within a few in 2003 (www.brecsoc.org.uk), in days of taking part participants are association with the Norfolk Bat sent a summary of the bat species Survey. Run by the British Trust t h e y recorded. Using this for Ornithology from its method, members of the public are headquarters in Thetford. given an opportunity to participate T h e Norfolk Bat Survey in bat surveys and take advantage (www.batsurvey.org) was set up in of bat recording technology that 2013 to enable anyone to have would not normally be available to access to passive real-time bat them. detectors, which are left outside to Initial results from the Norfolk Bat automatically trigger and record Survey indicated that the Norfolk every time a bat passes close by. Brecks were likely to be a regional This was done by collaborating hotspot for several species of bat, with a range of other organisations but that greater and local libraries across Norfolk, r e c o r d e r to set up 21 “Bat Monitoring Centres” at existing public venues from which anyone could borrow the equipment for a few days (Newson et al. 2014). The aim of both projects is to complement existing work on bats by providing additional large-scale standardised data on bat distribution and activity, as well as encouraging greater public coverage was awareness of bats and their required to help establish ecology. Resulting in a dataset of a more detailed picture of their over half a million bat recordings distribution and status. over two seasons, the data collected Discussions with the Breckland
34 White Admiral 90 Society, whose activities extend summary of the results by species. across both sides of the Norfolk/ Of the 64 1-km squares surveyed Suffolk county line, led to the during 2014 across the Brecks, the purchase by the Society of a majority (55, or 86% of total passive detector kit and the squares surveyed) were in Norfolk. creation of the three-year E n d - of- season discussions Breckland Bat Project. concluded that greater effort was From mid-April until the end of required in the Suffolk Brecks over September 2014, the bat detector the next two recording seasons of was available for Society members the project, not least to establish to set up overnight at sites across the relative importance of the the Brecks. It was used at 159 Suffolk Brecks for species like the different locations across 64 x 1-km Serotine, which appears at the squares in the Norfolk and Suffolk moment to have its stronghold on Brecks during this period and a the Norfolk side (see Fig. 1). total of 44,945 individual bat The Breckland Bat Project recordings were collected and recording season for 2015 will start analysed, revealing evidence of at in April. To take part, you need to least 11 species. Because bats in first reserve a 1-km square to the genus Myotis are particularly record in. This can be done by difficult to distinguish acoustically, following this link http:// blx1.bto.org/batmap/index.jsp? reg=Breckland. The Breckland Society has its own detector, which can be booked by emailing James Parry [email protected], but a detector can also be borrowed from any Norfolk Bat Survey “Bat Monitoring Centre” (see website). From this year the list of centres includes Suffolk’s Brandon Country Park, which it is intended S e r o t in e - photo by Charlotte Packman will form the focus of wider community engagement in the only 21% of Myotis recordings project. Discussions are also were assigned to species/ ongoing with the Suffolk Bat species pair. See Table 1 for a Group and the Suffolk Biological
White Admiral 90 35 Table 1. Bat recordings made by the Breckland Bat Project during the 2014 season.
Species No. of recordings % of total Common pipistrelle 18,855 42.0% Soprano pipistrelle 15,867 35.3% Serotine 515 1.5% Brown long-eared 559 1.2% Noctule 337 0.8% Barbastelle 303 0.7% Leisler’s 173 0.4% Daubenton’s 132 0.3% Nathusius’ pipistrelle 122 0.3% Natterer’s 93 0.2% Whiskered/Brandt’s 10 <0.1%
Unidentified bat species 3,981 8.9% Pipistrelle species 2,176 4.8% Myotis species 1,350 3.0% Noctule, Serotine and Leisler’s 472 1.1%
Figure 1. Map of Serotine Eptesicus serotinus ac t iv it y during 2014 recording season Records Centre to encourage greater participation within the Suffolk Brecks, as well as the sharing of data to complement existing work by the SBG in the Brecks and to help produce a more complete and up-to-date picture of bats within that part of the county. This information will be reflected in the report and distribution maps that will be published at the conclusion of the Breckland Bat Project in late 2016.
Dr Stuart Newson & James Parry
References: Newson, S.E., Ross-Smith, V., Evans, I., Harold, R., Miller, R. & Barlow, K. (2014). Bat- monitoring: a novel approach. British Wildlife 25, 264-269.
36 White Admiral 90 Suffolk Naturalists’ Society Bursaries
The Suffolk Naturalists’ Society offers six bursaries, of up to £500 each, annually. Larger projects may be eligible for grants of over £500 – please contact SNS for further information. Activities eligible for funding include: travel and subsistence for field work, visits to scientific institutions, scientific equipment, identification guide books or other items relevant to the study. Morley Bursary - Studies involving insects (or other invertebrates) other than butterflies and moths. Chipperfield Bursary - Studies involving butterflies or moths. Cranbrook Bursary - Studies involving mammals or birds. Rivis Bursary - Studies of the county's flora. Simpson Bursary - In memory of Francis Simpson. The bursary will be awarded for a botanical study where possible. Nash Bursary - Studies involving beetles. Applications should be set in the context of a research question i.e. a clear statement of what the problem is and how the applicant plans to tackle it. Criteria: 1. Projects should include a large element of original work and further knowledge of Suffolk’s flora, fauna or geology. 2. A written account of the project is required within 12 months of receipt of a bursary. This should be in a form suitable for publication in one of the Society's journals: Suffolk Natural History, Suffolk Birds or White Admiral. 3. Suffolk Naturalists' Society should be acknowledged in all publicity associated with the project and in any publications emanating from the project. Applications may be made at any time. Please apply to SNS for an application form or visit our website for more details www.sns.org.uk/ pages/bursary.shtml. SuffolkThe Naturalists’ Society www.sns.org.uk
Hazel Flower by Ben Heather
The Suffolk Naturalists’ Society, founded in 1929 by Claude Morley (1874 -1951), pioneered the study and recording of the County’s flora, fauna and geology. It is the seed bed from which have grown other important wildlife organisations in Suffolk, such as Suffolk Wildlife Trust (SWT) and Suffolk Ornithologists’ Group (SOG). Recording the natural history of Suffolk is still the Society’s primary objective. Members’ observations go to specialist recorders and then on to the Suffolk Biological Records Centre at Ipswich Museum to provide a basis for detailed distribution maps and subsequent analysis with benefits to environmental protection. Funds held by the Society allow it to offer substantial grants for wildlife studies. Annually, SNS publishes its transactions Suffolk Natural History, containing studies on the County’s wildlife, and the County bird report, Suffolk Birds (compiled by SOG). The newsletter White Admiral, with comment and observations, appears three times a year. SNS organises two members’ evenings a year and a conference every two years. Field meetings are held throughout the year often in conjunction with other specialist organisations. Subscriptions: Individual members £15.00; Family membership £17.00; Student Membership £10.00; Corporate membership £17.00. Members receive the three publications above. Joint membership with the Suffolk Ornithologists’ Group: Individual members £28.00; Family membership £32.00. Joint members receive, in addition to the above, the SOG newsletter The Harrier. As defined by the Constitution of this Society its objectives shall be: 2.1 To study and record the fauna, flora and geology of the County 2.2 To publish a Transactions and Proceedings and a Bird Report. These shall be free to members except those whose annual subscriptions are in arrears contact: 2.3 To liaise with other natural history societies and conservation bodies in the County 2.4 To promote interest in natural history and the activities of the Society. For more details about the Suffolk Naturalists’ Society contact: Hon. Secretary, Suffolk Naturalists’ Society, c/o Ipswich Museum, High Street, Ipswich, IP1 3QH. Telephone 01473 400251 [email protected]