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Bristol Naturalist News Contents / Diary of events MARCH 2020 Bristol Naturalist News © Martyn Pratt Discover Your Natural World Bristol Naturalists’ Society BULLETIN NO. 588 MARCH 2020 BULLETIN NO. 588 MARCH 2020 Bristol Naturalists’ Society Discover Your Natural World Registered Charity No: 235494 www.bristolnats.org.uk CONTENTS HON. PRESIDENT: Andrew Radford, Professor 3 DIARY of Events of Behavioural Ecology, Bristol University Welcome new members HON. CHAIRMAN: Ray Barnett 4 SOCIETY ITEMS [email protected] Society talk; AGM HON. PROCEEDINGS RECEIVING EDITOR: 5 Subscriptions; Nature in Avon Dee Holladay, [email protected] A Notable Observation 6 Bristol Weather ON EC H . S .: Lesley Cox 07786 437 528 [email protected] 7 NATTY NEWS : Bristol Eco Crisis Bumblebees; Marine changes HON. MEMBERSHIP SEC: Mrs. Margaret Fay 8 Photosynthesis; Sea Eagles 81 Cumberland Rd., BS1 6UG. 0117 921 4280 Australia’s platypus extinction? [email protected] 9 BOTANY SECTION Future Field Meetings (up to Sept.) HON. TREASURER: Mary Jane Steer Botanical notes; Meeting reports 01454 294371 [email protected] 13 GEOLOGY SECTION BULLETIN COPY DEADLINE: 7th of month before Future events publication to the editor: David B Davies, 14 INVERTEBRATE SECTION 51a Dial Hill Rd., Clevedon, BS21 7EW. AGM; Notes for March 01275 873167 [email protected] Wildlife Photographer of the Year . 15 LIBRARY BNS Publications; Free ABRs; Library history; Status of Women Health & Safety on walks: Members Ed Drewitt’s Ferry Boat trips participate at their own risk. They are 17 ORNITHOLOGY SECTION responsible for being properly clothed and shod. Dogs may only be brought on a walk with prior BBS; Rookery Survey; Meeting report agreement of the leader. 19 MISCELLANY Botanic Garden; Gorge & Downs Wildlife Project A Newt in the Loo 20 Newt, Lichen and Bumble bee Cover picture: Bearded tit, with thanks to Martyn Pratt Bristol Naturalists’ Society Discover Your Natural World 2 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 have any matters you wish to be discussed by Council, please contact the Hon. Sec. at least a week in advance. Visitors & guests are welcome, free, at our lectures and field 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 sections. FEBRUARY Wed 26 Talk: ‘Trains and Trilobites’ Geology 19.30 page 13 MARCH Weekly: Wednesday and Saturday – BNS Library open page 15 Wed 11 Local Moorhen research Ornithology 19.30 page 17 Sun 15 Conham: Bristol-Bath River Path Ornithology 09.00 page 17 Wed 18 Invertebrate Section AGM (before Society AGM) Invertebrates 18.45 page 14 Wed 18 Film Dragons & Damsels + AGM of the Society Society 19.30 page 4 Wed 25 Talk: ‘St Vincent’s Spring’ Geology 19.30 page 13 Wed 25 Talk: The Year of Limestone Grassland Botany 19.30 page 9 Sun 29 Training for BBS Ornithology page 17 APRIL Weekly: Wednesday and Saturday – BNS Library open page 15 Sat 18 “Bristol Rocks” Geology page 13 Sun 26 Ashton Court Botany 14.30? page 9 OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST Until 4 May Wildlife photographer of the year 2019 MShed page 14 Mon 2 Mar.-6 Apr. 6wk Veg growing course Botanic Garden page 19 Tue 10 Mar. Britain’s Ancient Forest – Legacy & Lore Gorge & Downs 19.00 page 19 Sat 14 Mar. Spring Herbs for Spring Cleanser Botanic Garden 09.30 page 19 Thu 19 Mar. Friends’ AGM + ‘Plant DNA’ Botanic Garden page 19 Sat 21 Mar. Photography workshop Botanic Garden page 19 Sun 22 Mar. Birdwatching boat trips with Ed Drewitt Bristol Ferries 07.00 page 16 WE WELCOME NEW MEMBERS: Mr. Chris Buxton & Ms. Lily Buxton (Interests: General, Invertebrates, Mammals, Ornithology); Mrs Julia Clarke & Ms Emily Clarke (General, Botany, Invertebrates, Mammals, Ornithology); Mr Tom Osborne; Ms. Helen Barrett 3 SOCIETY ITEMS Contents / Diary SOCIETY AGM Followed by the British Première of a film showcasing dragonflies presented by Steve Nicholls DRAGONS AND DAMSELS A film by Steve Nicholls, narrated by David Attenborough More beautiful than butterflies, better fliers than hummingbirds and with behaviour as intriguing and complex as either mammals or birds, dragonflies and damselfies are the ultimate insects. They’ve been around for hundreds of millions of years, dodging the earliest dinosaurs before we mammals were even a twinkle in the eye of evolution but, because of their age, they’re almost always described as primitive, which is entirely the wrong perspective. To survive that long, you have to be pretty special – and this film, largely shot within a 30-mile radius of Bristol, will show just how special they are. 7.30pm, Wednesday, 18th March at Westbury-on-Trym Methodist Church, Westbury Hill BS9 3AA The Society AGM will be preceded at 6.45 by the Invertebrate Section AGM – see p16 Election of Officers Officers of the Society and Members are required to stand for re-election annually. Section Representatives are elected at individual Section AGMs. The Presidential Term of Office also comes to an end this year. Consequently, the current President, Professor Andy Radford, will be stepping down from the role. The Society would like to thank Andy for his support and welcome the new President elect, Ray Barnett. Nominations are: Members Ray Barnett: Member Tim Corner Lesley Cox: Hon. Secretary Robert Muston Mary-Jane Steer: Hon. Treasurer Steve Nicholls Margaret Fay: Hon. Membership Secretary David Davies: Hon Bulletin Editor Section Representatives Jim Webster: Hon. Librarian Botany: Vacant Dee Holladay: Hon. Proceedings Receiving Editor Geology: Richard Ashley Clive Lovatt: Hon Archivist Invertebrates: Mike Hutchinson Alex Morss: Hon Publicity Secretary Ornithology: Giles Morris Mammals: Vacant Any member of the Society who would like to stand or wishes to nominate a fellow member for election should inform the Hon. Secretary as soon as possible. Many thanks. Lesley Cox 4 Subscription Renewal 2020 FINAL REMINDER Contents / Diary Subscriptions were due on 1st January. The current rates are:- Single Membership £25-00 ‘Household’ £35-00 Student £10-00 Payment options: • By bank transfer to: Lloyds TSB, Account number 00697372, Sort code 30-92-13 • By cheque to: The Membership Secretary, 81 Cumberland Road, Bristol BS1 6UG If you do pay by transfer please quote your name as a reference, otherwise there is no way of linking the payment with your membership. Please note: Members not renewing this month will no longer receive BNS publications Nature in Avon (Proceedings of the Society) Please submit papers as soon as possible for inclusion in the 2019 issue. Articles on all Natural History and Geology topics are welcome, please send to [email protected] Deadline March 31 A NOTABLE OBSERVATION wo of our dedicated members, David and Anne Jewell, were out for a walk when they spotted an unusual plant. They believed it to be a lichen but could not be sure. T At the Ornithology meeting they mentioned their find to the Section Secretary who forwarded the photograph to our esteemed lichen specialist, ex-President Dr. David Hill. By return, he identified the plant as Peltigera horizontalis and complimented David and Anne for recognising the specimen as a lichen, which many observers do not. (Larger picture page 24) Dr. Hill writes: The brown fruiting bodies (like fingers on the ends of the lobes) which are usually flat and relatively circular (as in photo) in P. horizontalis are mostly more upright and saddle-like (i.e., sides folded back) in P. praetextata - To confirm the difference, it is best to look underneath; the thallus lobes - the veins and rhizinae are different. Peltigera horizontalis Well done to the finders for recognizing it as a lichen - © D & A Jewell not everyone spots this! 5 BRISTOL WEATHER Contents / Diary January 2020 ithout any prolonged winds from an easterly or a northerly direction January 2020 was a particularly warm month with regard to the records for Bristol going back W into the 19th century. The predominant direction of the winds was from the S to SW direction and this led to the mild temperatures for January and also led to a moist airstream covering the local area. With an average temperature of 7.4°C it was the warmest since 7.7°C was recorded in 2008. The 7.4°C average temperature makes this January the 8th equal warmest (with 1993), since continuous records began in 1891. It was a similar picture with the maximum and minimum average temperatures as one might expect: with the average maximum temperature being the equal 7th highest and the minimum temperature being the 8th highest in over 100 years of data for Bristol. With January’s higher than average rainfall of 104.0 mm it has been the 6th consecutive month of above average rainfall. This is relatively rare as the variation in rainfall often balances out over a shorter time span. The 30-year average rainfall in Bristol for August through to January inclusive is 522.4 mm. In the last six months we have seen 704.2 mm which represents almost 135% of the average. The month also saw the highest pressure this site in Bristol has observed since records began in 1994. At a high of 1049 mb this was higher than the previous record of 1044 mb recorded in January 2019. Individual days also saw extremes of temperatures. The lowest daily maximum of 6.1°C on the 28th was the 3rd highest since data started in 1960. The highest daily maximum temperature of 14.2°C on 14th was the highest since 14.4°C was recorded on 24th January 2016.
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