Newsletter No 246 July 2017
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Published by RUGBY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY www.rugbynaturalhistory.org.uk PRESIDENT – Mr F Pearson Newsletter No 246 July 2017 Contents this edition ~News of members ~Possible September coach trip ~June coach trip report ~Remaining field visits ~ Winter indoor meetings programme ~Reports from summer field visits (some supported by species lists in appendices) ~2018 calendar ~Data protection notice ~Current committee members (with contact information) Appendices included ~Brandon Marsh species list ~Birchley Hayes Wood Extension species list ~ Bubbenhall Wood and Meadow nature reserve species list ~ Goldicote Cutting species list ~ Stockton Cutting and Tasker’s Meadow species list Attached separately ~ Winter indoor meetings programme Birmingham tropical butterfly photographs © Lyn Classey 1 News of members George Garside With sadness we report that one of our very long-standing members, George Garside, passed away on 8 July 2017. In the early days of the society, before the present security era, George was a long-time committee member and was the society’s key holder for the science block - he cycled from Long Lawford for every meeting to open up. George made a point of going and talking to any new member and to those who knew and remember him, he was a very good countryman naturalist. In the last few years he and Elsie lived in France with their son David. Ted Pearson Paul Hodges On behalf of the society, I’d like to congratulate Paul on gaining the professional qualification “Chartered Ecologist” through the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM). To quote CIEEM, “... the advice and practice of a chartered ecologist is based on a fundamental understanding of ecology and the critical evaluation of scientific evidence; they work in accordance with high standards of professional conduct; and they can communicate complex ecological concepts and ideas confidently and effectively to a wide range of audiences.”. Paul has been generous in sharing his knowledge and skills with other members of the society through wide-ranging talks, fungus forays and other field visits, as well as showing us how to read the tracks and signs of many species, so we are greatly indebted and more than grateful to him. Very well done, Paul. FH Possible coach trip One of our remaining field trips this year is a visit to Rutland Water (Thursday 14 September). We could consider making this a coach or minibus trip if enough people would take this option. If you’re interested, please let David Knapp know as soon as possible: telephone 01788 817346 or email [email protected] . Dave’s report below on the June coach trip might help you decide or trigger other ideas. June coach trip – report Having had to cancel the previous two planned trips, to London’s Natural History Museum and to Bempton Cliffs in Yorkshire, it was great to see 35 members and guests ready, and eager, to board the coach to Birmingham on Thursday 16 June. Our first port of call was the Birmingham Botanical Gardens in Edgbaston, an oasis of calm and tranquillity, just a short walk from the city centre. The gardens have been in existence for over 175 years and are one of the very few independent self-sustaining botanical gardens in the world, run as an educational charity. Four glasshouses filled with exotic plants ranging from tropical rainforest to arid desert, fifteen acres of landscaped gardens, an aviary, butterfly house and the all-important tearoom and shop kept members fully engaged well into the afternoon. Then it was time to dive in to an amazing underwater world at the National Sea Life Centre, located right at the heart of Birmingham’s canal network in Brindley Place. In a building designed by Sir Norman Foster, the National Sea Life Centre has over 60 displays of freshwater 2 and marine life. Its one million litre ocean tank is home to giant green sea turtles, blacktip reef sharks and tropical reef fish. It also has the UK’s only fully transparent 360° underwater tunnel. Operating as a charitable trust, the centre works hard towards fulfilling its ‘Breed, Rescue and Protect’ conservation objectives. It has enjoyed particular success with its seahorse breeding programme and its thriving colony of gentoo penguins. Such was the enthusiasm and enjoyment expressed by those who took part in the Birmingham day’s activities, it would be good to build on the success of this trip by organising something similar in the near future. If you have any thoughts, ideas or suggestions as to possible venues, please let me know. DK Remaining field visits Day & Date Time Site Map Reference Possible Sightings Post Code Saturday 12th 10:00 *Graham Robson's 140; SP 402676 Flora, Birds, Butterflies and August Farm, Tithe Barn, CV23 9RS Dragonflies Fields Farm Lane, Marton Village Thursday 24th 10:00 Draycote Reservoir 140; SP 467693 Birds, Wildfowl, Waders, August CV23 8AB Gulls, Wagtails, Pipits, Finches & Buntings. Dragonflies. Saturday 2nd 10:00 Ashlawn Cutting 140 SP 516732 Flora, Birds, Fungi. September Local Nature CV22 5JX Willow Warbler, Chiff Chaff. Reserve Thursday 14th 11:00 Rutland Water 141; SK 878075 - Birds, Flora, Fungi, September Nature Reserve at LE15 8BT Dragonflies & Damselflies, Egleton, located Butterflies. just off the A6003 South East of Oakham Saturday 7th 10:00 Coombe Abbey 140; SP 403790 Fungi Foray - As part of October Country Park CV3 2AB International Fungi Day *Please note that this is open to RNHS members only, on the date organised. Members should gather 10 minutes early at the site so that the field visit can start promptly. 3 Winter indoor meetings programme 2017-18 The dates for this autumn and winter are shown in a separate “read-only” file, which is attached to the email carrying this newsletter. Two events remain to be confirmed, but do put the dates into your diary now. Remember that any member can write about a meeting for the newsletter. Have a look at the programme attached and let Jan Tolley-Hodges know which you would like to write up. Then simply email your notes to Fern Hodges by the deadline for the next edition. Photographic competition The proposed date for this is Thursday 7 December. Your photographs will have to be with Joan Sherratt by Thursday 16 November, so if you haven’t started working on your entries yet, now’s the time. As last year, the categories will be vertebrates, invertebrates, and flora or fungi. Entry forms will be attached to the next edition of the newsletter. Reports from summer field visits As with the winter meetings, these reports are often written by members of the committee, but they don’t have to be! Anyone who attends a field visit could send in some notes on the trip for the newsletter. (We can always have this as well as a full species list, so don’t imagine you have to match Paul’s erudition!) You could report on a site that particularly interests you or that you’re familiar with and tell us your favourite aspects of it. You could choose one that you’ve never been to before and tell us what was most surprising. Just let Paul or another committee member know at the start of the visit that you’re undertaking a piece for the newsletter. Current contributors’ styles are varied – adopt whatever style would suit you. Thanks to David Knapp, Biddy Allen, Wendy Classey and Paul Hodges for reports in this edition, especially for the extensive species lists which are needed for the recorders and other institutional experts who receive copies of this newsletter. Brandon Marsh Twelve members attended this visit (Saturday 8 April) to look at the ornithological and spring floral interest of this site of special scientific interest (SSSI). A full list of what they saw is in Appendix 1. It includes eight kinds of wader, six different warblers, displaying great crested grebe, two types of heron, nine ducks, geese and rails, three hirundines, three gulls, six buntings and finches and nine others – a grand total of forty-seven species of bird. Also spotted were twenty-one flora species and six butterflies (including the couple in the photo below). PH 4 Green-veined whites at Brandon Marsh. Photograph © Lyn Classey Birchley Hayes Wood Extension, Corley Moor This is a site of importance for nature conservation (SINC), a designation used by local authorities in England for sites of substantive local nature conservation. Paul’s report of what the members saw (Thursday 20 April) is at Appendix 2. Beetles were identified by coleopterist Tim Newton (who identifies for the Natural History Museum); our thanks to him. Bubbenhall Wood & Meadow The visit to this nature reserve (Thursday 11 May) was especially well supported, perhaps because of its recent acquisition by Warwickshire Wildlife Trust. A very extensive species list compiled by Paul is at Appendix 3. I learned when reading this that pugmarks are footprints, slots and fewmits are hoof prints and droppings, and that not only birds but also butterflies have leks (where males and females gather to select mates). Apologies to all who were ahead of me and knew these technical terms already. Coombe Abbey Country Park Key contributions to the bioblitz (Saturday 13 May) were made by Mr Tim Newton (coleopterist- beetles), his friend Lisa from Northamptonshire Wildlife Trust and Mrs Janice Tolley-Hodges, who all added several new species to the sites species list. Clare Sidderway contributed flora. We were also aided by Warwickshire Mammal Group who undertook small mammal trapping with Longworth live traps (catches included wood mice). Debbie Wright put out several hedgehog tunnels. She got a positive result of tracks on the paper from a hedgehog taking food from under a hedge in the formal gardens area.