HIGH BATTS Annual Report 2015 Published by High Batts Nature Reserve 2017 © High Batts Nature Reserve 2017 c/o Chair of the Trustees: Colin E Slator, Broadacres, Kirby Hill, Boroughbridge, North Yorkshire, YO51 9DH This publication is copyright. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of the Publisher. The editorial team thanks Peter Hills for providing the maps of the Reserve and Recording Area on the inside covers. Title page: Hazel and Alder at High Batts, John Drewett Published by High Batts Nature Reserve Charity No. 1151676 Compiled and edited by John Drewett Printed by North Yorkshire Document Management Centre 2 Contents Guest Editorial 4 Trustees, Officers and Recorders 7 Contact information 8 Chairman’s Report 9 Reserve Management Report 12 Fungi 16 Ferns and Flowering Plants 20 Butterflies 22 Moths 27 Damselflies and Dragonflies 29 Other Insects and Invertebrates 31 A Checklist of the Beetles of High Batts and its environs 37 Lampreys, Fish, Amphibians, Reptiles & Crustacea 40 Birds 41 Bird Ringing Report 58 Bellflask Lakes and Quarry 62 Mammals 66 General Information about the Reserve 71 Maps of Reserve and Recording Area Inside covers 3 Guest Editorial Arthur Kinnear conserVation Nature reserves come in all shapes and sizes – national and county, public and private. In the UK the big players in the business of operating reserves are the National Nature Reserves, the Wildlife Trusts, the National Trusts, and the RSPB with its extensive country-wide network of reserves, large and small. They are there because it seems that within our national psyche there appears to be an innate need to experience ‘nature’ and our society is generally disposed to support this as socially A Good Thing – it makes us all Feel Better. To this end, the RSPB’s current headline objective is To Give Nature A Home. (This always reminds me of the old cowboy song “Home on the Range”!) The largest reserve in England is the Wash (NNR) at 8800 hectares, so that at High Batts with its 12.5 hectares we must realise we are down among the small fry, and unlike the majority of reserves in our own County of Yorkshire, which are managed by the RSPB and the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, as a private nature reserve we are very much on our own and we have to find our own resources. Nature reserves, whatever size or shape, need to be effectively managed if they are to fulfil their purpose of harbouring and conserving that “nature” which apparently we all wish to experience and enjoy – and this management process is usually very far removed from the simplistic notion of ring-fencing areas of primeval wilderness. There is not much of that about in Yorkshire these days – perhaps the RSPB’s Bempton Cliffs Reserve for seabirds might just about qualify – but it is interesting to reflect that in that case the main management investment is in controlling the visitors rather than the wildlife! Reserve management require resources – principally money and manpower. The larger organisations operate on big budgets, they employ professional staff and depend on income from subscriptions from large memberships. However, it is interesting to note that many of them run their own volunteer groups – I suspect not so much as a matter of economy, but rather to foster the “feel good“ factor referred to above. But- to High Batts……, In the beginning was Colin Slator and a few friends, doing their own thing with minimal resources, under the aegis of tolerant estate landowners. Matters became rather more structured with the advent of the Ripon Ranger Scheme in 1992, in 4 which a part-time manager was funded by the local authority, who also made available items of tools and equipment such as power-driven mowers, chain-saws, etc. Grants were made available in due course, such as the Wildlife Enhancement Scheme provided by the then English Nature, followed by the High Level Stewardship Scheme which was in effect an agricultural subsidy – at that period I believe our worthy Chairman was regarded as a farmer within the meaning of the Act! Thus funding became available for tools and materials. But - where were the hewers of wood and drawers of water? – it being obvious that professional labour and skills could be employed only in limited circumstances. The main effort came from volunteers - those of our membership who were prepared to get their hands grubby and their boots dirty in furtherance of the Reserve Management Plan. The Thursday Work Party came into being, and rapidly became an established institution whose culture seemed to develop around the wood- burning stove in the Barn. It operates under the general guidance of our Voluntary Warden. The range of skills which the team have demonstrated over the years is impressive. Mowing and coppicing in season, scrub-clearing, “balsam bashing” and so on. Major projects such as the erection of the Mound Viewing Platform, the replacement of the footbridge over the Stream, the new Riverside Hide and the current reconstruction of the original “Hotel”, have all involved skills in carpentry, minor engineering, and building work. A feature of High Batts which is much appreciated by all visitors, is the winter bird-feeding programme. This involves inter alia, the procurement and storage of large quantities of bird food, the construction and maintenance of feeders – and the need to maintain regular replenishment. What may be less obvious to the visitor to the Reserve comfortably ensconced with binoculars in one of the hides are the activities of the Board of Trustees (once known as the Management Committee until the new charities legislation changed all that). What has not changed is that all of our Trustees give of their time and expertise on a purely voluntary basis. This expertise comprises a very wide spectrum of skills, many of them highly professional. It includes planning, accounting, membership recruitment and maintenance, producing and editing newsletters and annual reports, liaison with outside bodies, organising Open Days and Winter Lecture programmes, and operating a sales-to-members service for bird food. A key function is to ensure that the flora and fauna of the reserve is effectively recorded on an on-going basis. It is a salutary exercise to reflect upon the implications of this volunteer expertise in terms of the skills, time and effort expended. High Batts as we know it would just not have happened were it not for our volunteers. More please! 5 O’Donnell & Son Volunteers 3rd Feb 2001 6 Trustees, Officers and Recorders (as at December 2015) Trustees Robert Adams David Beeken Kath Beeken Treasurer Brian Darbyshire Peter Hills Membership Secretary Alwin Knowles Secretary Pat Rumbold Minutes Secretary/Lectures Organiser Colin Slator Chairman Roy Waite Stephen Worwood Ex-officio Officers: Robert Adams (Warden), Brian Darbyshire (Assistant Warden), Launa Woodruff (Record Collection and Distribution). Honorary Life Members: Richy Graham, Colin Slator. Recorders: Robert Adams (Ferns and Flowering Plants), Will Rich (Butterflies & Mosses & Liverworts), Jim Jobe (Insects other than Lepidoptera and Odonata & Plant Galls), Vacant (Mammals), Barry Slaymaker (Fish, Amphibians and Reptiles), Jill Warwick (Moths), Stephen Worwood (Odonata), Adrian Bennett (Fungi), Vacant (Birds). 7 Chairman’s Report for 2015 Colin Slator This report covers my second year as Chair of High Batts Board of Trustees. This small body of people is responsible for the efficient management of the organisation and for meeting the requirements of our charitable status and all work tremendously hard for the Reserve often taking on other roles in addition to their trusteeship. I was delighted that all the Trustees agreed to continue to serve, and at the AGM on 2nd June 2015 three trustees, David Beeken, Alwin Knowles and Patricia Rumbold were re-elected for a further three year term of office as required under the Constitution. No further nominations were received, leaving two vacant Trustee places and ten serving Trustees. Alwin Knowles continued in the role of Secretary and Kathryn Beeken continued as Treasurer. The Trustees held five meetings during the year. In addition there was a Trustees’ planning morning held in October to allow more time for discussion and debate about future strategy. Much work goes on outside Trustee meetings of course, involving detailed reviews of legal issues, health and safety policies, financial control, planning work programmes and all the complex issues to be faced by active voluntary organisations. Two major issues dominated the work of the Trustees during the year. The Reserve occupies land held by two estates with both leases now expired. The major area of land is owned by the Graham family and during the year it was confirmed that the anticipated realignment of the estate had been completed with ownership of High Batts transferring to Sir James Graham of Norton Conyers Estate. As a result discussions began with the agent for Sir James in respect of a new lease. The adjacent land which is used by the Reserve for access, car parking and work area belongs to the Staveley family, and discussions began with them during 2015 to agree a further term of 20 years. This was delayed, again because of changes of ownership of parcels of land within the Staveley family. The issue of renewal of leases was further complicated by the on-going planning application for the extraction of sand and gravel on land adjacent to the Reserve. During the year Hanson Aggregates, the planning applicant, submitted further documents to the Planning Authority, and held two consultation meetings with High Batts Trustees. In October 2015 the Trustees decided to appoint Dr Philip Fermor of Middlemarch Environmental as Advisor because of the complexity and technical detail under discussion.