Bristol Naturalist News

Contents

NOVEMBER 2020

Photo © Charles Kinsey

Discover Your Natural World

Bristol Naturalists’ Society BULLETIN NO. 595 NOVEMBER 2020

BULLETIN NO. 595 NOVEMBER 2020

Bristol Naturalists’ Society Discover Your Natural World

Registered Charity No: 235494

www.bristolnats.org.uk

CONTENTS

HON. PRESIDENT: Ray Barnett

[email protected] 3 SOCIETY ITEMS

Wed. 18 Nov. Society Talk HON. CHAIRMAN: Giles Morris 01275 373917 Subscriptions for 2021

[email protected] 4 Bristol Weather Nature in Avon:; Missing Number!

HON. PROCEEDINGS RECEIVING EDITOR: 5 NATTY NEWS : Major climate issues; Dee Holladay, [email protected] 6 Good news; Arctic News; “SBS”; Bristol One City

HON. SEC.: Lesley Cox 07786 437 528 7 BOTANY SECTION [email protected] Sun. 22 Nov. Bryophytes – Gully & Downs; Meeting Report;

HON. MEMBERSHIP SEC: Mrs. Margaret Fay 9 Botanical notes; 81 Cumberland Rd., BS1 6UG. 0117 921 4280 14 “Bindwood & Lovestone”=Ivy! [email protected] (Simon Carpenter writes)

HON. TREASURER: Mary Jane Steer 15 INVERTEBRATE SECTION 01454 294371 [email protected] Notes for November; 16 Dragonflies fly late

HON. PUBLICITY SECRETARY: Alex Morss 16 GEOLOGY SECTION

Sat. 7-Sun. 8 November,

Geology Festival

BULLETIN COPY DEADLINE: 7th of month before publication to the editor: David B Davies, 14 LIBRARY Re-opening plan; Books – Orchid & Fern Field Guides

51a Dial Hill Rd., Clevedon, BS21 7EW. 01275 873167 [email protected] 19 ORNITHOLOGY SECTION . Sat. 7 November, CLEVEDON; Sat. 21 November, PILNING; 20 Wed. 11 Nov., Talk: REBIRDING

21 Bird Notes for September

Health & Safety on walks: Members 22 MISCELLANY Botanic Garden; participate at their own risk. They are

Bristol Shark free? No! responsible for being properly clothed and shod.

24 Wildlife in Lockdown

Dogs may only be brought on a walk with prior

agreement of the leader.

Cover picture: Charles Kinsey took this

Hornet (Vespa crabro) picture during

lockdown exploration of his ‘home patch’ described on page 24.

Bristol Naturalists’ Society Discover Your Natural World

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

Contents SOCIETY TALK THE WORK OF THE VINCENT WILDLIFE TRUST: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

Speaker: Dr Lucy Rogers Wednesday, 18th November at 19:30 Some members may remember Dr. Lucy Rogers who served as Conservation Director for the AWT for many years. In 2018, Lucy moved to Shropshire to become the new CEO of the Vincent Wildlife Trust. Her talk will touch on the many highlights of VWTs long history of mammal conservation in the UK, Ireland and continental Europe; from the early days of acquiring bat reserves to its latest ventures in pine marten translocation and Pine Marten at the British Wildlife Centre. promises some exciting previews of plans © Courtesy of SurreyJohn: Own work. for the next 10 years.

N.B. We shall deliver this talk via Zoom to keep members safe from the dreaded virus and because any meeting over six people would be illegal. If you have not already done so, please download the free Zoom app from Apple or Google to participate. We look forward to seeing you all at the meeting. Please register your interest in the talk via [email protected] and we will send you the link.

SUBSCRIPTION RENEWAL 2021 Subscriptions are due on 1 January Rates: Single Membership £25 ‘Household’ £35 Student £10 Payment options: • By cheque to ‘Bristol Naturalists’ Society’ (posted to Membership Secretary) • Bank Transfer/Standing Order to: • Lloyds TSB: A/c no: 00697372: Sort code: 30-92-13. Please quote your name as reference otherwise there is no way to link the payment with your membership. • N.B: If you don’t wish to renew your membership, please let me know. This helps to reduce the administrative costs involved in reminders. Many thanks for your continuing support. Margaret Fay, Membership Secretary, 81 Cumberland Road, Bristol BS1 6UG Email: [email protected]

Bristol Weather Contents September 2020

fter a particularly wet August, September saw a much drier month with slightly above average temperatures, less wind than usual and a very sunny month. The total rainfall A of 23.0 mm was only 33% of the 30-year average for the month. It was the driest September since only 10.8 mm was recorded in 2014. The average temperature of 15.9°C made it the warmest September since 17.1°C in 2016. 2020 was 0.6°C above the 30 year average. The average maximum temperature was 1.2°C above average whilst the average minimum temperature was -0.1°C.

It was 3rd sunniest September with regard to the average solar radiation and at 48.6% of the maximum sunshine it was equal 2nd sunniest with data starting in 2005.

With an average wind speed of 3.7 mph for the whole month it was the calmest since 2015 when the average wind speed was 3.3 mph.

The lowest daily minimum temperature of 4.2°C on the 28th is the same as the previous two Septembers and the lowest since 3.7°C recorded on 24th September 2003. The highest daily maximum temperature of 29.2°C on the 14th was the 2nd highest since records began in 1937. The highest was 31.8°C for a September which occurred in 2004 but there is some doubt about this record so in fact the 29.2°C could be the highest September temperature so far recorded for Bristol since this data began.

Barry Horton

Nature in Avon / Proceedings of the Society Contents Contributions are invited for the next Nature in Avon 2020. Many people have found themselves noticing natural history on their home patch through lockdown in glorious weather. All articles of whatever length will be welcome for consideration. Hopefully we will be able to reflect on an extraordinary year. The deadline is 31 March 2021. Please send to Dee Holladay, [email protected]

THE MISSING NUMBER! Does anyone have a spare copy of Nature in Avon Volume 65, that they can spare, please? It is for 2005, but has 2004 (erroneously) on the spine, I am told. The volume in question has a picture of ‘Red Admiral on Hemp Agrimony’ on the cover. Please contact Roger Steer 01454 294371 [email protected]

NATTY NEWS Contents The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has recently released its report stating that the world has lost 68% of its biodiversity since 1970. They write, ‘The global Living Planet Index (LPI) continues to decline. It shows an average 68% decrease in population sizes of mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fish between 1970 and 2016. A 94% decline for the tropical sub-regions of the Americas is the largest fall observed in any part of the world. [This] matters because biodiversity is fundamental to life on earth and the evidence is unequivocal – it is being destroyed by us at a rate unprecedented in history. Since the industrial revolution, human activities have increasingly destroyed and degraded forests, grasslands, wetlands and other important ecosystems. Seventy-five per cent of the Earth’s ice-free land surface has already been significantly altered, most of the oceans are polluted and more than 85% of the area of wetlands has been lost. Species population trends are important because they are a measure of overall ecosystem health. Measuring biodiversity, the variety of all living things, is complex, and there is no single measure that can capture all of the changes in this web of life. Nevertheless, the vast majority of indicators show net declines over recent decades. That’s because in the last 50 years our world has been transformed by an explosion in global trade, consumption and human population growth, as well as an enormous move toward urbanisation. Until 1970, humanity’s Ecological Footprint was smaller than the Earth’s rate of regeneration. To feed and fuel our 21st century lifestyles, we are overusing the Earth’s biocapacity by at least 56%. These underlying trends are driving the unrelenting destruction of nature, with only a handful of countries retaining most of the last remaining wilderness areas. Our natural world is transforming more rapidly than ever before and climate change is further accelerating the change.’ Read more in The Living Planet Report 2020.

Scientists are warning that the permafrost is melting. Watch Contents https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-54195656

Copernicus is the European weather service for climate change. According to their scientists September was the hottest on record globally; they report that it was 0.05ºC - 0.63ºC hotter than last September. They conclude that it is a clear indication that the Earth’s temperature is being driven up by emissions from human activity, that the warmth in the Siberian Arctic continues to be way above average and it also confirms that Arctic sea ice is at its second lowest extent since satellite records began. This year is also projected to become the warmest on record for Europe, even if temperatures cool somewhat from now on. These elevated heat levels contributed to the wildfires in California, Australia and Siberia, which released even more greenhouse gases, and to the increasing storm activity. The UK is not immune. It enjoyed its sunniest Spring on record; a record number of days overtopping 34ºC; and the town of Reading has just endured its wettest ever 48-hour period. The west Country also saw flooding in places and flash floods in France and Italy were caused by the recent storm Alex. Meanwhile, hurricanes batter the American coast as the sea warms. Watch https://www.bbc.com/weather/features/54453287

Sir David Attenborough and the Duke of Cambridge have launched ‘The Earthshot Prize’ to save the planet from tipping over into disaster. They are looking for projects that will ‘Restore and Protect Nature, Clean our Air, Revive our Oceans, Tackle Waste and Fix our Climate’. With £50 million available over a decade, they say that the search is on for 50 solutions to the world’s gravest environmental problems by 2030. The Duke called for ‘amazing people’ to create ‘brilliant innovative’ projects. Here at the BNS, we suggest that they listen to Ben MacDonald’s forthcoming talk on the 11th November. Watch: https://earthshotprize.org 5

Some Good News: Recycling Technologies Ltd., a firm in Swindon has announced that it has found a way to recycle plastic and polystyrene on a grand scale. These products are often put into landfill. Contents Arctic pollution and the effect it has on trees: A team of researchers at Cambridge have been looking into Arctic pollution and trees. Kirdyanov et al. write, ‘Although the effect of pollution on forest health and decline received much attention in the 1980s, it has not been considered to explain the ‘Divergence Problem’ in dendroclimatology, i.e., a decoupling of tree growth from rising air temperatures since the 1970s. Here we use physical and biogeochemical measurements of hundreds of living and dead conifers to reconstruct the impact of heavy industrialisation around Norilsk in northern Siberia. Moreover, we develop a forward model to quantify long‐distance effects of anthropogenic emissions on the functioning and productivity of Siberia’s taiga. Downwind from the world’s most polluted Arctic region, tree mortality rates of up to 100% have destroyed 24,000 km2 [of] boreal forest since the 1960s, coincident with dramatic increases in atmospheric sulphur, copper, and nickel concentrations. In addition to regional ecosystem devastation, we demonstrate how ‘Arctic Dimming’ (caused by air particulates) can explain the circumpolar ‘Divergence Problem’, and discuss implications on the terrestrial carbon cycle. Read more in, Ecological and Conceptual Consequences of Arctic Pollution, in Ecology Letters, 25th September, on-line.

Shifting Baseline Syndrome (SBS) Research done by Royal Holloway University, the ZSL and the BTO suggest that humans’ ability to degrade our planet will not be helped by what they call SBS, which describes a persistent downgrading of perceived ‘normal’ environmental conditions with every sequential generation. Jones, et al. write, (This leads) ….’to an under-estimation of the true magnitude of long‐term environmental change on a global scale. Here we provide evidence of SBS, and the first empirical investigation of the impacts of SBS on public perceptions of conservation need. Large‐scale online questionnaires were used to collect public perceptions of long‐term biological change regarding 10 UK bird species, as well as demographic information and measures of knowledge and experience of the local environment... A paired data approach compared social perceptions to a large‐scale longitudinal biological dataset. Using information theoretic and model selection techniques, we estimate the relative importance of multiple demographic, social and psychological predictors of SBS. We provide a framework for investigating evidence of SBS and its impacts on perceptions of conservation need for species in decline. Evidence of generational amnesia was found as an age‐related difference in perceptions of past ecological conditions. The perceptions of older participants had significantly higher agreement with biological data than the perceptions of younger participants. Our results therefore support the expectation that younger, less experienced people are less aware of historical ecological conditions and show greater evidence of SBS. We also present evidence of a negative impact of SBS on future conservation, as older people were more likely than younger people to perceive a greater need for conservation action for three declining species. Our research supports the need to encourage greater intergenerational communication and increase experience of local nature. Discovering evidence of SBS in public perceptions of species experienced within everyday life demonstrates SBS as a pervasive social issue with the potential to impact public perceptions of local nature. Read more in, Investigating the Implications of Shifting Baseline Syndrome on Conservation published on-line in the British Ecological Journal, published on 20th August 2020. Contents

Bristol was the first city to declare an ecological emergency using structured data supplied by the BNS through the working group upon which the Society was represented. The CEO of Avon Wildlife Trust referenced the BNS in his speech to Bristol City Council when the decision was made but unfortunately only the ‘official’ organisations are recognised in the report now issued. St George’s Flower Bank gets a mention though. https://www.bristolonecity.com/wp- content/uploads/2020/09/One-City-Ecological-Emergency-Strategy.pdf Lesley Cox, 8th September

BOTANY SECTION PRESIDENT:- Clive Lovatt [email protected] Contents

HON. SEC:- David Hawkins [email protected]

FIELD MEETINGS At the time of writing here in southern England we can still spend time outdoors in groups of up to six people from different households, following social distancing regulations and guidelines. Council has approved a limited resumption of field meetings from September on a members only, booked-in-advance basis. Any or all of these meetings may have to be cancelled or varied if local or England-wide restrictions are re-introduced in the meantime. Indoor meetings are likely to present difficulties for some time and a virtual Society meeting has been advertised for Wednesday 21 October. The Botany Section have opted to continue outdoor meetings instead. Our provisional programme for field meetings in Autumn 2020 is given below. All meetings will be on the 22nd of the month, and at different times to ensure no-one with regular commitments elsewhere is barred. • September: Lower Woods, Wickwar. Leader Clive Lovatt. (Report below.) • October: Lamplighter’s Marsh, Shirehampton. Leader Clive Lovatt. (Fully booked.) • November: Bryophytes of the Gully, Avon Gorge. Leader David Hawkins. (See below) As the Bulletin is posted online ahead of posting out paper copies, enquiries or bookings should be made to the meeting leader (preferably by email) ONLY ON OR AFTER the first day of the relevant month. In all cases participants should be free of symptoms and not in quarantine. They should attend at their own risk and should not lift-share with members outside their household or social bubble. Bring face coverings, hand sanitiser, and your own ‘tools of the trade’ as we should not share binoculars, hand lenses, and your own ID guides. Un-booked members will not be allowed to join a group which already has six participants.

THE GULLY, CLIFTON & DURDHAM DOWNS (Bryophytes) Contents David Hawkins 1.30 pm, Sunday 22 November A third post-lockdown meeting limited to the leader and five BNS members as described above. Advance bookings are required. Email the leader David Hawkins at [email protected] on or after Sunday 1 November. Please be prepared for steep slopes and slippery, uneven ground. This is also the third in a series of meetings aimed at delivering an introduction to the field identification of bryophytes (mosses and liverworts), following on from the meetings in Leigh Woods last year and on Dundry slopes earlier this year. ‘Tools of the trade’ are a good hand lens (ideally x 20 achromatic, about £30) and the excellent Mosses and Liverworts of Britain and Ireland – A Field Guide, published by the British Bryological Society in 2010. Try Summerfield Books of Penrith for both. A chance to see some of the beautiful mosses and liverworts (bryophytes) growing right on the doorstep of Bristol. The Gully has remarkable diversity for such a small site, featuring many specialists of the limestone as well as woodland species and some nationally important rarities. Learn to tell your Comb-moss (Ctenidium molluscum) from your Yellow Feather-moss (Homalothecium lutescens) and your Crisped Neckera (Neckera crispa) from your Greater Featherwort (Plagiochila asplenioides). Convene on the flat grassy area at the top of the Gully (through the gate) at ST56337464, nearest postcode BS9 1NE. 7

FIELD MEETING REPORT Contents A walk round Lower Woods, Wickwar, Tuesday 22 September 2020 (Clive Lovatt) Jean Oliver and I turned out to be the only takers for this our first advertised field meeting of the year. Jean knows her fungi and pointed out and named several. We like Lower Woods. It is large enough to lose yourself in for a while, not a bad thing at the present time. I was taught that the right way to approach (so to speak) an ancient wood is to walk round its margins and boundaries. The word ‘round’ turned out to be pertinent as you will see. Walking southwards from the Lodge car park, we came Plate 1. A felled trunk in Lower across a felled trunk, an oak Woods. © CM Lovatt presumably, and looking for all the world like a massive gear wheel, but not really round enough (Plate 1). ‘I never did get to count the rings on the old Monkey-Puzzle tree opposite the Clifton Zoo’, I reflected, and I didn’t count these either. Further south, Jean picked up a branch with green staining caused by Chlorociboria aeruginascens, the Green Wood-cup (Plate 2). Apparently, the fruiting bodies (the cups) are rarely seen. The wood has been used in decorative woodworking such as Tunbridge ware. The trick, Jean explained, was to catch it before the wood had Plate 2. A small branch, infected with the rotting fungus Green Wood-cup, Lower Woods rotted. © CM Lovatt We found a number of apple trees in the woods, all with small fruits (Plate 3). Often you could smell the ripening fruit before finding the tree, and usually the trees were on or near boundary banks, or marking a ride boundary or river crossing, or where the footpath left the wood, and therefore Plate 3. Crab-apples in planted at some time. It has been Lower Woods (probably).©CM Lovatt demonstrated that cultivated apples originated in Asia and are genetically rather distinct from the true crab apple. However, the extent of hybridisation is unclear, and it is thought that the difficulty of distinguishing them in the field may be less due to hybridisation and more the overlapping forms that the two species present – they are partially cryptic species. Using some of the generally accepted criteria, I tried to find crabs by their hairless leaves (look below near the petiole), with a rounded rather than attenuate base, and the leaf margins with rounded rather that serrate teeth, thorny twigs (both normal Plate 4. The thorny question. The trunk of a probable Crab-apple, Lower branches and shoots from the trunks (Plate 4), and sour or Woods. © CM Lovatt astringent fruit, around 2.5cm. One, on a woodbank at the south of the wood, seemed to meet these criteria but half a dozen or so of the other small- fruited trees did not. It was perfectly possible to have sharp fruit and slightly hairy leaves, and thorns present or not. The published reserve checklist only has crabs. Reaching the edge of the wood, where a footpath exits, we wondered why there wasn’t one of those round footpath markers. We sat down for lunch on a convenient log 20 yards 8 away. It was a particularly round log, so the last one down (at the distant end) had to be careful not to roll the sitting botanist off. It had a footpath sign on it, so must have originally been a fence post. After lunch Clive insisted on walking across a couple of improved fields on the footpath. ‘Been meaning to do this for ages’ he said. There happened to have been a record in 1984 in this monad square (ST7386) for the VC34 rare species (one locality currently known) Carex lepidocarpa, Long- stalked Yellow-sedge. Where the path crossed the stream there was no water, no rushes and no sedges, and the probability of this plant of calcareous flushes being there now seems small. So we returned to the woods, skirting the edge, and crossing the rather floristically dull Hawkesbury Common. Part way across a field we spotted some giant puff balls in a near semi-circle, like stones marking the remains of some prehistoric henge (Plate 5). ‘The whole inside of the white skin is a spore-mass’, Jean said, poking it for Plate 5. Giant puff-balls in a partial ring, good measure. And with that, two exercised botanists made field close to Lower Woods. © CM Lovatt their way back to their parked cars, and home.

BOTANICAL NOTES Contents Unless otherwise stated, notes are by Clive Lovatt with the assistance of the named contributors of the records and images.

Zostera-less at Severn Beach (David Hawkins) The tides around the middle of September were some of the biggest of the year. Following Helena Crouch's recent discovery of large amounts of Eelgrass (Zostera - both UK species, Z. marina and Z. noltei, as it turned out) washed up in Sand Bay, I decided Plate 6. Severn midstream. © David Hawkins to take advantage of this lunar window opening on Sunday 19th September and walked out into the estuary, much farther than I ever have before, on the Eelgrass quest (Plate 6). Eelgrasses are the only fully marine flowering plants in the British flora. They are outlying angiosperms in the algal realm of the seaweeds. On shallow (there must be enough light for photosynthesis) sandy seabeds, Eelgrasses can form extensive underwater meadows - ideal habitat for seahorses and pipefish. There is known to be a small population of Eelgrass at Aust, so I thought it would be worthwhile looking a couple of miles south of there, off Severn Beach*. After some failed attempts to traverse the deep mud around the high-tide mark, I spotted a big long iron pipe stretching diagonally off across the saltmarsh and mudflats. By balancing on this rusting lifeline and then treading on its pilings it was easy to get through the mud and onto firmer ground. After about sixty metres the going was easy, the substrate now rock, pebbles, or very shallow mud. I scoured the exposed estuary bed and shallow pools for anything that looked green and grassy: momentary excitement faded every time I realised that I was looking at another piece of flotsam Spartina Cord-grass carried on the tide. As I proceeded farther and farther from the shore, I could feel a tension between the curiosity of this new, untrammelled world and an instinctual fear of the returning tide; between the search for the 9

Zostera and an umbilical pull back to home on the beach. An occasional redshank peeled low off the mud, shrilling its sentinel alarm call before dissolving again into the horizon. It was like walking on the surface of the moon. But everything growing was decidedly seaweedy: various brown wracks massing over the rock as usual and the odd membranous iodine shade of Purple Laver (Porphyra purpurea). I did encounter a few more strands of something green: Flax Brick Weed (Chaetomorpha linum), certainly intriguing with its large single cells joined together in a string (Plate 7). Contents Plate 7. Flax Brick Weed, the green Once I'd gone out about six hundred metres (naively alga Chaetomorpha linum, Severn Estuary. © David Hawkins assuming this to be further than anyone had ever got before), I saw a figure in the distance. Was it a mirage? No, a real person, someone fishing - as I could now make out through my binoculars. I made my way towards them. As I approached, I could see that it was a man casting off what was effectively a small cliff, into a deep fissure in the riverbed about a kilometre out from the shore. He was somewhat surprised when I hailed him, clearly not used to having human companions in this place so rarely exposed to the air, but he became quite friendly after I described my mission. Disappointingly, he claimed never to have seen anything matching the description of Zostera. Meanwhile, around his feet were nine conger eels, occasionally thrashing about and each weighing seven or eight pounds - he was 'after a ten-pounder'. He told me a great deal about the history of fishing in the area, especially the former salmon fishery centred on the English Lake (which you can easily see on the OS map), which packed up more than twenty-five years ago. With a warning about the alarming speed of the incoming tide he said that he would wade back; I opted not to wait for him. So, no Eelgrass this time but some big eels. *Footnote by Clive Lovatt. See the April 2019 edition of BSBI News 141: 23-26 for an account of the ‘Intertidal Adventure’ of five of the members of the Somerset Rare Plants Group where they re- found and surveyed Zostera marina off Stolford in Bridgwater Bay, West Somerset, VC5. Our most recent record of Zostera in Gloucestershire is in 2011, Clare and Mark Kitchen, a patch of Z. marina, 2m x 2m, on Aust Rock less than 100m from the shore and about 120m south of where the old Severn Bridge overhangs the estuary. An 8-figure grid reference is in the BSBI database.

Guizotia abyssinica, Niger, at Yate Guizotia abyssinica, is perhaps most familiar to those who know it, as a plant that flowers late in the year underneath garden bird feeders, or where bird seed (Niger) has been scattered or otherwise dispersed. Others of us come across it from time to time in waste places out in the wild. It has small yellow flowers of the Plate 8. Guizotia abyssinica, Niger © daisy family and has a rather bushy appearance and Jean Oliver leaves that join around the stem and can hold water, just as they do in teasels. It is then quite striking and looking rather other-worldly, I've had several photos sent to me over the years for identification. It is far from common but is regularly and probably reliably found around Chew Valley Lake. I remember seeing several plants in a gutter in urban Shirehampton a few years ago. Jean Oliver sent me several photos of a plant she found on a heap of dumped soil at the corner of a field near the footpath from Wapley Bushes nature reserve to Chescombe Farm (ST7180), one showing the flowers still in bud, is reproduced here (Plate 8). 10

More waterlily aphids, Rhopalosiphum nymphaeae, in North Somerset Contents In his note on Rootless Duckweed (Wolffia arrhiza) in last month’s Plant Notes, David Hawkins drew attention (rather as an aside) to the waterlily aphid Rhopalosiphum nymphaeae occurring all across the duckweed carpet on a dew pond in Ashton Court. Despite its name, it feeds on floaters of various kinds. David also pointed out that there are very few UK records of this species listed on the National Biodiversity Network database at present, one of the others being from south Bristol. ‘I think I've got that in one of my ponds too’, wrote one of our (botanical) members, Margaret Webster from Winford, near Bristol Airport (ST5464) on opening her copy of the Bulletin on 24 September. ‘In recent weeks, the waterlily plants in the larger of my two small ponds have been plagued with them. Before the rain I was hosing them off the leaves on a daily basis and hoping other pond critters would eat them! They are small brownish aphids that can be seen clearly with a hand lens and they walk about on the leaves. At the worst infestation when first noticed they were like a sea of little dots all over the leaves. I googled them and concluded that they were waterlily aphids. The pond was dug in 1985 and this is the first time they have appeared. No Plate 9. Aphids on waterlily leaf in garden new plant material has been introduced in recent years. pond, Winford. © Margaret Webster David Hawkins kindly confirmed the record from an image emailed to him, reproduced here (Plate 9, rather creepy to my botanical eye). Have any of our other members got some to report? A new estuarine locality for Allium oleraceum, Field Garlic at Sheperdine Field Garlic, Allium oleraceum, and Bulbous Foxtail, Alopecurus bulbosus, became rather iconic species around the 1980s, partly due to the national rare plant surveys carried out by our former section President and sometime restauranteur, Lady Rosemary FitzGerald (always ‘Ro’ to her many botanical friends, and still active in Somerset). To a degree this was due to under-recording of estuarine and coastal marshes. The Field Garlic also occurs on limestone, for instance on the Downs. Ultimately it was shown to occur in more than 100 of the 10km squares in the national grid, and therefore not to be nationally scarce at all. In mid-August Mike Ogden, a botanist from Chepstow, told me he had recently found a group of about 50 plants on the coastal path near Oldbury Power Station, near Sheperdine (ST6195). This is a Plate 10. Allium oleraceum, Field Garlic frequently visited place but there seem to have been © Mike Ogden no previous records for the vicinity or hectad (ST69). Clare and Mark Kitchen during their ‘lockdown resurvey’ of this their home hectad have subsequently found it to be more extensive and numerous and in an adjacent square as well (ST6095), suggesting that it has been in the area for a good time. Thanks to Mike for permission to use his excellent close-up image (Plate 10).

More Redland alien plants Contents Rupert Higgins has reported the escape from a nearby garden (ST5875) of an ornamental grass, provisionally Panicum virgatum, Switchgrass. It isn't in the latest edition of Stace’s Flora (2019), but there are seven records on the BSBI database, all by in the London area and recorded by Professor Mick Crawley, co-author with Clive Stace of the New Naturalist book, Alien Plants. Rupert adds that he has again seen Echinochloa esculenta. White Millet, and Lepidium virginicum, Least Pepperwort, in the vicinity recently. If I'm right in the case of the latter, I've only ever seen them once.

The origin of the Gloucestershire name for Wild Pears, Choke-pigs (Clive Lovatt) I sometimes think that for a retired auditor, I can be rather gullible, either when a friend straight-faced tells me a tall story, or when I fail to challenge my own conclusions. In last month’s article on the Thornbury wild pears, I looked up the origin of the place name Thornbury but made no attempt to consider the derivation of the local plant name, Choke- pigs, which Noel Sandwith mentioned on a 1936 gathering from near Rangeworthy and which later appeared in the Flora of Gloucestershire (1948). When he was at Oxford in the early 1920s as a University student, Sandwith used to meet and talk botany with Riddelsdell, the first editor, who never actually lived in Gloucestershire. I’ll therefore assume it was a name picked up by the Sandwiths in the field. I had assumed that pigs feeding on these hard vegetable ‘gob-stoppers’ found they got stuck in their porcine throats. ‘Much treasure may sometimes be found hidden under a rough expression or name’. Save for this quotation, nothing useful turned up in my books on English names of plants, or folklore, or in some of our local floras. However, Withering’s Arrangement of British Plants (in 7 editions from 1773 to 1830), can be relied upon for comments on whether domestic animals liked or avoided various wild plants. For the pear, the 1830 edition, edited by William Withering the younger, adds that [the fruit of the wild or iron pear] is so austere [unpleasant] as to be relished only, like other crudities, by hedge-hogs and swine, but when cultivated it is highly grateful [pleasing to the taste, sweet]’. Gerard’s Herbal (1597) is more helpful. There are illustrated chapters on cultivated (‘manured’) Plate 11. Wild pears, including the small Choke peare, Pyrum strangulatorium minus, from and wild (‘wilde’) pears and he writes that wild Gerard’s Herbal (1633). pears grew in hedgerows, woods and at roadsides. Six sorts of wild pear are illustrated of which five are shown in Plate 11 (re-drawn for the 1633 edition). Number 4 corresponds to ours, the ‘wilde Crab peare tree’, ‘Pyrus sylvestris minima’. Two of the Gerard’s six wild pears are described as ‘Choke Peares’ and, as if by way of emphasis, are given the Latin name Pyrum strangulatorium. According to Gerard, Dioscorides, the ancient Greek writer, described the potentially toxic effect of overuse of the purgative preparation of Colchicum autumnale, Autumn crocus, giving rise to the herbalists’ name Colchicum strangulatorium: ‘the roots [are] very hurtful to the stomach … [and they] kill by choking as mushrooms do’. (The derivative colchicine interferes with DNA replication.) There is no suggestion that the choking arose from internal throttling. As to the flavour of wild pears, Gerard wrote, ‘they differ … some are sharp, sour and of an austere taste; some more pleasant, others harsh and bitter; and some of such a

12 choking taste [my emphasis], that they are not to be eaten of [by] hogs and wild beasts, much less of [by] men’. It seems that a perry pear from the village of Anguisse in France of the Middle Ages was ‘so harsh and crabbed of taste that one can only with difficulty swallow it’ – and indeed that this might be the origin of the word ‘anguish’ (Wikipedia). There are choke cherries and choke plums as well and a supposed (but probably bogus) mediaeval torture device sometimes called a choke pear (Wikipedia). Contents But what of the pigs? Robert Fisher’s English Names of our Commonest Wild Flowers (1932-1934) gathered together much information on his subject. Just as it is with Dog- plants such as Dog Violet or Dog Rose, with a couple of exceptions, a Pig-plant is something vaguely similar: a poor alternative to the named plant, or something distasteful, or found where pigs forage: thus Pig-lilies (Lords and Ladies, Arum maculatum), Pig’s Ears (Biting Stonecrop, Sedum acre) and Pig’s-grass (knotweeds and goosefoots). Pignut (Conopodium majus), on the other hand is said to be something pigs are fond of nosing for. Pig, Pigsy, or Pixie Pears and Pig’s-hails, -ailes or -haws are all Hawthorns. Piggles is paigle, the cowslip. So did the pear become the pig through this sort of word slippage, or was it because the fruits were used as food for pigs? Or just that by their names, ‘bad’ plants naturally gravitated to the devil, and ‘less good’ forms to the dog or the pig? Or was it all of these things as over 300 years or more, the vernacular name reached a fitting evolutionary stable state, only to be threatened with extinction, as the way of life changed, and the Choke-pig became as scarce as those who were familiar enough with it to address it by its given name?

Trees of Stonehouse Contents Courtesy of the Arboricultural Association and the Stonehouse History Group, a recent Zoom presentation by John Parker of the Association on the history and importance of trees in Stonehouse (close to Stroud) can be seen online on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93_W6LOk0-k . Well worth watching in lieu of an indoor meeting and particularly for the emphasis on community engagement with the subject – in Victorian times and nowadays. Aside from a number of ancient Oaks and the changing aspect of the High Street, you will see how the remains of an old stately home avenue of trees was rediscovered whilst the lecture was being prepared.

Plant records Thanks to all the plant recorders who have provided material for this report. If you’ve found any interesting plants growing wild, please let me know or send an image of the plant and its habitat. Please include the location, date, and Ordnance Survey grid reference, and any useful notes about where you found it or its abundance. Keep well, everyone.

Clive Lovatt, Stroud, 6 October 2020

BINDWOOD AND LOVESTONE Contents In late summer and early autumn, common ivy Hedera helix comes into flower. The nectar- rich greenish-yellow umbels (umbels describe a number of short flower stalks which spread from a common point - they are a common feature of many flowering plants) are an important and welcome source of food for bees and other insects late in the year. The flowers tend to develop on mature growth and once these have finished, they develop into purple-black, fleshy berries containing a small number of seeds. In winter, these berries are devoured by birds especially blackbirds and pigeons (although I’ve noticed many other birds eating them including blackcaps). I have encouraged the ivy to grow up the front of the house although it needs to be kept pruned occasionally as it grows quickly and can easily race towards the gutter and the eaves. It is very satisfying to see so many insects covering the ivy at this time of year, particularly in view of the alarming decline in insects generally. As well as bees, hoverflies, wasps, flies and ants, Red Admiral butterflies are also regular visitors to drink the plentiful nectar, stocking up before they hibernate over the winter months. Ivy is also a food plant for the caterpillar of the Holly Blue butterfly Celastrina argiolus and many moths such as Angle Shades, Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow underwing, Scalloped Hazel, Swallow-tailed Moth and Willow Beauty. One moth, the Small Dusty Wave Idaea inquinata feeds exclusively on ivy and the ivy bee Colletes hederae is completely dependent on ivy flowers, adjusting its entire life cycle to fit in with ivy flowering. As well as providing an important feeding station, ivy provides habitat for nesting and roosting birds. It also provides a shelter for many invertebrates and is thought to support at least 50 species of wildlife. Sadly, some people see it as a pest and are keen to remove it from walls because they worry about it loosening the mortar. I’ve not been aware of any damage to the house and the only inconvenience each year is climbing a ladder to keep it under control. Another concern is the ability of ivy to climb high into the crowns of trees where it can add substantial and additional weight. If trees are large and mature, then this isn’t normally a problem. Where suitable surfaces allow, ivy can reach heights of 20–30m (66–98 ft). Its climbing ability is down to aerial roots with matted pads, which cling strongly to surfaces.

Ivy was once called ‘Bindwood’ or ‘Lovestone’ for its A bee, wasp and ant share the ability to cling and cover rock surfaces and buildings – nectar-rich ivy umbels. these old regional names are no longer used. Photo © Simon Carpenter

Simon Carpenter, September 2020

INVERTEBRATE SECTION PRESIDENT: Mike Hutchinson [email protected] Contents Hon. SECRETARY: Moth Broyles [email protected] 07809 281421

INVERTEBRATE NOTES FOR NOVEMBER 2020 his year I have heard several people comment on what a good year it has been for butterflies, especially during the very good weather of spring and early summer. By T contrast Butterfly Conservation recently published their report following the annual Big Butterfly Count held between 17 July and 9 August. Its headline was ‘…lowest numbers of butterflies recorded in 11 years.’ So why the discrepancy? One factor is probably that many of us under lockdown spent much more time in our gardens or out taking daily exercise and not sitting in an office all day, compared to normal years. Consequently, people had more time to see butterflies and were less distracted and more focussed on what was happening in their gardens or local patch. Another possibility is that the very early good weather brought forward the season for some species compared to an average year, so that by late July some species which would normally have been present in numbers were already over for the year. Furthermore, it was not a good year for large scale immigration of species such as the Painted Lady. I have to confess I think the former explanation is the most likely – those thinking it was a good year have been too cocooned themselves in previous years and so had a low expectation of butterfly numbers to begin with. One very positive note on butterflies though is the report of Purple Emperor from a woodland in South Gloucestershire. This site has had occasional sightings in the past so excellent to know it is present at the moment. The global and local decline in our biodiversity, dramatically demonstrated by the low numbers of insects for those who look closely, is sometimes masked by the excitement of colonisation by new ‘exotic’, usually European, species. In September I mentioned the appearance of a Light Crimson Underwing at a moth trap in Henleaze. In September, Bob Fleetwood’s moth trap in Clevedon revealed a Dark Crimson Underwing and in the same week Radford’s Flame Shoulder – both very rare immigrants. Meanwhile the amazing colonisation by the spectacular Clifden Nonpareil moth has meant it has been reported from all across our region this summer/autumn and could almost be described as common this year. Do not be fooled though, the decline in abundance of insects is real and significant and not being adequately compensated for by the arrival of new colonists. One other confusing aspect of new species being reported is that some are the result of accidental introduction especially when associated with the horticultural trade and so not related necessarily to climate. This explains the first record of Tuponia brevirostris for example, a small green bug associated with tamarisk and found on such a plant on the Redland/Bishopston border of north Bristol on 25 September. David Hawkins has also been finding new bug species locally with Globiceps flavomaculatus near the River Avon at Conham in east Bristol on 7 July and Liorhyssus hyalinus on Brean Down on 30 August. Bristol City Council and Avon Wildlife Trust are leading efforts to try to reverse the decline in our wildlife with ambitious aims of restoring a wildlife rich city over the next few decades. We have to hope these aims succeed and, be reassured, that the observations made by Bristol Naturalists’ Society members contribute significantly to understanding of what is actually taking place (and indeed have been used as evidence leading to the declaration of an Ecological Crisis in the city). It would be gratifying to see Butterfly

Bushes (Buddleia davidii) which grow so readily throughout the city, covered by butterflies again at some point in the future, unlike now. Ray Barnett 08/10/20

DRAGONFLIES: Things to look out for in autumn Contents Members might not be aware that some species of Odonata fly quite late into the year. Both the Southern Hawker (Aeshna cyanea) and the Migrant Hawker (Aeshna mixta), for example, are on the wing until November.

The Southern Hawker prefers non-acidic water and breeds in water line vegetation in well-vegetated, small ponds (often garden ponds) but hunts well away from water, for example, in woodland rides, and can be found well into the evening. It’s about 7cm long and the female is pictured here ovipositing.

The Migrant Hawker breeds in standing water but may also be found well away from water and likes to hawk for insects along hedgerows or woodland edges frequently resting low down in vegetation. The Migrant Hawker is a little smaller than the Southern Hawker at 6.3 cm. In both species the males have more blue on their bodies. Female Migrant Hawker © H. Pring@BNS

Lesley Cox 7th October 2020

GEOLOGY SECTION PRESIDENT: Richard Arthur [email protected] Contents HON. SEC: Richard Ashley, [email protected] Tel: 01934 838850

All the fun of the Festival of Geology Sat. 7 November Festival of Geology

From the comfort Festival Field trips of your own sofa Sun. 8 November

Join in (FREE) at festivalofgeology.org.uk. Saturday 7th Activities: Virtual Discovery Room – live workshops & talks, stalls, exhibits, experiments, downloads; Sunday 8th Activities: Real or Virtual Festival Field Trip Since its formation in 1858, the GA has promoted the study of geology to all those interested in the past, present & future of the natural world.

LIBRARY BNS Library at Bristol City Museum & Art Gallery, BS8 1RL. Contents LIBRARY COMMITTEE CHAIR: - Clive Lovatt [email protected] HON. LIBRARIAN:- Jim Webster [email protected] The Library is open: Wednesdays 1.15pm-2.15pm, Saturdays 10.15am-12.15pm. Tel. (opening hours only): 0117 922 3651. CLOSED on Saturdays connected with Bank Holiday Mondays, and New Year, Christmas and Easter.

OUTLINE PLAN FOR GRADUAL RE-OPENING OF LIBRARY The Bristol Museum and Art Gallery re-opened on Tuesday 15 September. Entrance is by advance booking only, with half-hourly booking slots made available on a Monday two weeks in advance. See https://www.bristolmuseums.org.uk/bristol-museum-and-art-gallery/ for full details. Two members of the Library Committee are expecting to visit the library in October after access arrangements have been finalised with the Museum. Ultimately a parallel booking system will be required to allow members (one at a time) to access the library again, adopting whatever health and safety measures the Museum requires. We are still unable to make a firm commitment when we can re-open. We will provide a further update in the December-January Bulletin. To help us anticipate demand, please e- mail the undersigned at [email protected] if you have a particular interest in visiting the library for research or book borrowing in the early stages of re-opening. In the meantime, following Council’s approval of a proposal from the Library Committee, we have purchased a new computer, used for running the accessioning and lending system, and for occasional printing and photocopying. The old one (ten years or so and computers seem to age like dogs) had developed an annoying hardware glitch and having lost track of time, became unable to date loans correctly. Unfortunately, repair could not be guaranteed at an economic price. The Hon Librarian and I would like to thank Ray Gooding for taking on the technical leadership of this project.

Britain’s Orchids, Britain’s Ferns: two new field guides Contents he library already has several of the titles in the WILDGuides Britain’s Wildlife Series and like most of the New Naturalists they have quickly become ‘must-haves’ when T the Library Committee meet to consider new acquisitions. These two guides, both published in 2020, and available from Summerfield Books at £14.95 plus postage (recommended price £20), will doubtless be added to our shelves in due course. ‘Why do we need yet another book on orchids?’, one of my sedge-loving friends would ask, and our former President, the late Ron Payne (I have the copy of the long-time standard guide, Welsh Ferns, which he and his father used) might have said the same about fern books. Well, they are up-to date and the names follow the 2019 edition of Stace’s New Flora of the British Isles, except where the authors disagree (rarely) or deal with the extensive variation in the species. Then they are wholly printed in colour, with photos of habitats, plants, and enlarged details, with an emphasis on all-year-round visual identification. For instance we have images of orchid leaf-rosettes where, for instance, the similarity of Common Twayblade to a beech seedling is illustrated. Those ‘come back next year’ sights of withered flowers or seed pods are included to save the plant recorder the trouble. The 17 fern book gives you sections of the stems of horse-tails (Equisetum species) – and how to cut them – and both books helpfully line up photographs with hybrids between their parents. Contents Jargon is avoided, but to the extent necessary both books include a glossary, charts or tables showing the seasonal phenology of their subjects, and threat status and distribution maps. In both books the ‘supplementary’ material is of particular interest: in the orchid book orchid taxonomy, hybrids, and extinct and adventive species; and in the fern book juvenile and urban ferns, variation, and non-native and ‘nuisance’ ferns. Don’t expect much white space: the books are filled to the brim with illustrations and information, largely in standard (but not quite identical) double-page spread format. In the fern book the plates are usefully numbered and referenced in the text, whereas in the orchid book most of the main photos being somewhat self-explanatory in the context, are uncaptioned. The short indexes on the rear cover flap of these ‘stiff-bound’ ‘nearly ‘lie-flat’ books are supplemental to an internal full index. The ferns (but none of the orchids) have multiple page references. This is because they are ‘keyed out’ first to groups (including atypical ferns), then to species using illustrated annotated tables, and then there is a guide to families (here more or less synonymous with genera), and finally come the species accounts. All this, despite the cross-referencing, leads to dispersal and some duplication of material. The orchid book requires a visual scanning of illustrations, in leaf, bud or flower (‘form and colour’), the last two using specially commissioned illustrations. Being cursed with a proof-reader’s eye I soon spotted that the scientific name of the hybrid of the bee and fly orchids which should be Ophrys x pietzschii has consistently lost its ‘z’. One of our members will be both amused and irritated to read the note that ‘the name may not be valid’, having co-authored a paper a few years ago which settled the matter. If you have even a passing interest in wanting to get better at identifying these two groups of plants, at risk of becoming an outright orchidophile or pteridomaniac, these are the books you’ve been waiting for. Buy and enjoy!

Clive Lovatt, Stroud, 6 October 2020

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

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

Please note: We hope that our members are well and virus free. Our Section wants to deliver as much pleasure from our talks as is usually the case so our ornithological talks will be delivered via Zoom during the winter months to keep members safe from Covid-19. Please register your interests with the Section Sec. and download the free Zoom app (from Apple or Google). It is a secure device through which to enjoy all the benefits of our Section Programme. We look forward to welcoming all of our loyal members once more.

FIELD MEETINGS WAIN’S HILL Saturday, 7th November, 09:30. Leader: Giles Morris (Contact as above) Meet at 09:30 hrs at the entrance to the graveyard of St Andrew’s Church, Old Church Road, Clevedon. (Grid Ref: ST 394707; BS21 7UF) This stretch of coastline has regularly turned up interesting birds and a good number of waders. We will walk around Wain’s Hill and then down past the mouth of the Blind Yeo and on along the seawall towards Dowlais Farm and the mouth of the Kenn looking for the high tide roosts of the wintering waders. There should be ducks on the sea and saltmarsh and winter passerines in the farmland and hedgerows. This stretch of the coast is exposed, so wear appropriate clothing. The walk will be mostly over level ground although we may go over some muddy ground as well. The meeting will end about 13:00 p.m.

NB. The following conditions will apply, to comply with current Government guidelines. 1. The meeting is limited to 5 members plus the leader, so you must book your place with the leader. E-mail: [email protected] 2. Places will be allocated on a strict first come, first served basis. 3. You are responsible for your own safe transport. We cannot offer car shares. 4. Please bring a mask for use in any location where needed, e.g., toilets, and a clean polythene/plastic bag to keep it in when not. 5. Safe social distancing of 2 metres must be observed at all times. 6. Bring your own binoculars (and scope if you have one). Sharing of equipment is not permitted. 7. Bring your own hand sanitiser.

PILNING Saturday, 21st November. 9-30 - 13:00 Leader: Mel Parker (E-mail: [email protected]) This is a re-arranged meeting from October when the weather was awful. We shall meet at 9:30 at Beach Road, Severn Beach (Grid Ref: ST 539852). This is the northern part of Beach Road next to the park below the Sea Wall and we will walk north along the Severn Way towards New Passage and Pilning Wetlands. As usual how far we travel will depend on the time spent looking at the fauna along the route. The date and time have been selected to maximize views of waders and wildfowl on the saltings. A good variety of passerines are always visible especially in the early stages of the walk. We shall also check out the Pilning Wetlands, which has been turning up a good variety of interesting species, such as Red-throated Pipit and Twite. Short-eared owls can often also be seen here and if we are exceptionally lucky maybe a late summer Yellow Wagtail before it leaves for Africa. Anyone with a telescope will find it useful. 19

The path is flat but could well be muddy especially beyond New Passage and is also exposed if the weather is inclement; appropriate footwear and clothing is advised. The meeting will end around 13:00. Contents

NB. The following conditions will apply, to comply with current Government guidelines. 1. The meeting is limited to 5 members plus the leader, so you must book your place with the leader. E-mail [email protected] Places will be allocated on a strict first come, first served basis. 2. You are responsible for your own safe transport. We cannot offer car shares. 3. Please bring a mask for use in the hide and for any other location where needed, e.g., toilets and a clean polythene/plastic bag to keep it in when not. 4. Safe social distancing of 2 metres must be observed at all times. 5. Bring your own binoculars (and scope if you have one). Sharing of equipment is not permitted. 6. Bring your own hand sanitiser.

LECTURE MEETING RE-BIRDING: Re-Wilding Britain and Its Birds Wed., 11th November Speaker: Ben MacDonald 19:30 Winner of the 2020 Wainwright Prize for Writing on Global Conservation. In December last year, the Society was privileged to host Ben, a brilliant, young, author, cameraman, filmmaker and extremely knowledgeable, naturalist. His ideas for saving our declining bird population are refreshing and innovative. His filming is exquisite, his writing superb. Despite a brilliant talk, some technical issues pertained so Ben readily agreed to return to us to recap and extend the themes explored in his book which many of you may want to purchase. His return also allows us to extend our invitation to our friends in the BOC. Please contact Lesley (Section Sec.) via [email protected] to register for the talk.

Things to Look Out for This Autumn The Mistle Thrush (Turdus viscivorus) is Red Listed in the UK, which means that it has suffered a severe drop in its population but it is also widespread across England and, in autumn, the species tends to be drawn to heavily berried trees and bushes in parks and gardens which they will defend against all other bird species. You may hear its ‘football rattle’ defence call as it sees other species off and folk lore suggests that it will give warning of a coming storm, hence its alternative name of ‘storm cock’ which derives from The Mistle Thrush. © H. Pring the habit of singing through the stormy days of winter. The song is a prolonged series of short fluty notes of varying pitch and considerable carrying power, usually delivered from the topmost swaying branches of a tall tree. Its favourite berry is the mystical Mistletoe but Holly and Yew will do and Hawthorn and

Rowan and other berries will also suffice. Its usual diet is slugs, worms and invertebrates.

Bird Notes September 2020 Contents he highlight of many birdwatchers’ autumns is the opportunity to see migrant waders: there is something very alluring about these long distance travellers, which may only T be with us a few weeks in every year as they pause to refuel on journeys of jaw- dropping length and complexity. The beauty and elegance of many species adds to the appeal, as does the chance of finding a rarity freshly arrived from the tundra of Siberia or North America. The numbers of many species recorded locally varies enormously from year to year; many factors are involved, one of the most interesting being breeding productivity in the far north. This can be gauged, far more readily than the remote tundra can be surveyed, by recording the numbers of juveniles of various species each year. These are usually readily distinguished from the adults because their freshly acquired feathers are far neater, and particularly have clearer pale fringes, than the more worn plumage of the older birds. One species appearing as a juvenile this year in better numbers than usual has been Curlew Sandpiper, which breeds in Arctic Siberia. Most of the birds we see probably winter in South Africa but other individuals make the epic journey to the southern shores of Australia. Around thirty have visited the reservoirs and various sites along the Severn Estuary so far this year, compared to approximately twelve last year and only five in 2018. Although this sounds encouraging numbers at Chew Valley Lake have declined by approximately half since the early 1990s. Similar declines are shown by Little Stint and Spotted Redshank, which also breed in Siberia. Some reasons for these declines can be easily guessed at, climate change affecting the breeding grounds being uppermost, exacerbated by habitat loss in passage and wintering areas. There are some less obvious factors at play as well. The most significant of these is the population cycle of Norway Lemming. This rodent doesn’t interact directly with wading birds but when its populations are high it is the favoured prey of skuas, Arctic fox and other predators, which consequently leave the waders largely alone. In years when the lemming population crashes predation pressure on nesting birds is high, and far fewer wader chicks fledge. Pressures on some north American waders are even more severe. Several species are reliant on horseshoe crab eggs as a food source during migration. The crabs are under pressure from excessive harvesting of their blood, which is used in the testing of vaccines and medicines. Most of the crabs are not killed, but they are released in a weakened state that reduces their ability to breed. On the tundra, breeding populations of several waders are threatened by an explosion in the Snow Goose population, whose grazing has changed vegetation structure over large areas, removing the tussocks that shelter nesting waders. It is sobering to consider the challenges that these birds, which bring us such pleasure, face in distant parts of the world. Rupert Higgins Your sightings are welcome at: [email protected]

MISCELLANY

UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL BOTANIC GARDEN Contents The Holmes, Stoke Park Rd, Stoke Bishop, BS9 1JG. Tel. 0117 428 2041 https://botanic-garden.bristol.ac.uk. Email: [email protected]

THE REOPENING OF THE GARDEN We are delighted to announce that the Botanic Garden is reopening to the Friends, university staff and students on Sept 18th. Week commencing 12 October, we will be open to the general public. Pre- booking essential. Monday-Friday only. Closed at weekends.

We are also taking Bookings for: • Fri. 6 Nov. 10-4.30 Introduction to Bryophytes with Dr. Paul L Smith

Curator Tours: Dates to be confirmed: Please see the website for details.

Natural History of the City of Bristol – We don’t know the half of it! Or: Why declaring Bristol a “shark free city” is neither feasible nor desirable Contents Two things prompt writing this piece; the first is remarks made at the BNS virtual AGM by my Geology Section colleague Richard Arthur that the Society should give more attention to the study of fish; the second is a grant application that came to the BNS Council in January. The applicant was seeking a grant of £500 to cut the Bristol chapter of a feature film Sharks in Deep Water showcasing Bristol’s transition to being the UK’s first shark-free city. The applicant claimed that the film and the standalone chapter would promote Bristol Green Capital’s sustainable objectives whilst setting a national precedent for other cities to save sharks. The objectives of the film are entirely laudable in that its aim is to expose the UK’s and the EU’s involvement in shark fishing and export including the supply of Asian markets and the sale of IUCN Red List threatened by extinction shark meat/fins domestically, including in our chip shops. The BNS Council felt that, although the cause was very worthwhile, it did not fit well with the remit of the Society. Other organisations would be better suited to support what was essentially felt to be a campaign. This put it outside the Society’s defined charitable aims and objectives to which Council members as the Society’s Trustees are legally bound to adhere. The request was therefore rejected. The problem with declaring Bristol a “shark-free city” is that it would simply not be true and hopefully never will be. Inspection of a map showing the boundaries of the City of Bristol will reveal that more than half of it is covered by salt water. The boundaries extend out from Avonmouth in a long strip down to the Holms where they at one point touch those of Cardiff.

Species of Elasmobranchs (Sharks and Rays) are found on a regular basis within the City Boundary. Listed as caught from Clevedon Pier, which takes a small bite into the Bristol Boundary are: Contents The Smooth Hound (Mustelus vulgaris) Nursehound (Scyliorhinus stellaris) Lesser Spotted Hound Shark or Dogfish Tope (Galeus canis (Scyllium canicula) Thornback Ray (Raja clavata) Spurdog or Piked Hound Shark or Dogfish Blonde Ray (Raja brackiura) (Squalas acanthius) Small Eyed Ray (Raja microocellata)

It is interesting to compare this list with the list of fishes produced by Matthews, L. H. 1934. The Sea Fish and Fisheries of the Bristol District. Proc. Bristol Nat. Soc., (4), VII, pp. 442-462. He lists three species as commonly found in the Bristol District: The Lesser Spotted Dogfish, Thornback Ray and Skate (Raja batis). The Piked Dogfish and the Tope are listed as occasionally found. Generally the number of different species of sharks and rays found in Bristol seems to have increased but missing is the Skate which Matthews describes as common. Unfortunately this is no longer so as the Skate population in the Irish Sea Area has collapsed, probably due to over fishing but climate change may have contributed and may be a factor in bringing in the previously unrecorded species. The Skate is only now found off the coast of Scotland. Twenty-eight different species of fish are recorded as being caught from Clevedon Pier and Matthews recorded thirty-seven in his list of species normally found in the Bristol District and thirty-three in his list of those occasionally found. It can be said with some confidence that fish species outnumber all the other species of non-avian vertebrates in Bristol yet we know so little about them. It has to be recognised that it would be almost impossible for amateur BNS members to undertake research in the opaque and very tidal waters of the Bristol Channel. In the past the BNS has had in its membership zoologists and marine biologists of some distinction. L. Harrison Matthews D.Sc., who prior to his Bristol University appointment studied whales and seals in South Georgia later became Scientific Director of the Zoological Society of London and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1954 Another member was Prof C. M. Yonge, D.Sc., O.B.E., F.R.S. author of the Collins Guide to the Sea Shore and the “New Naturalist” book on the same subject. In the 1937 BNS Proceedings he wrote a general introduction to a proposed series of papers ‘Studies on the Biology of the Bristol Channel’. He lamented that despite the obvious interest of the Severn Estuary and Bristol Channel practically no work had been done on it and stated that it was clearly one of the functions of the Department of Zoology in the University to remedy this state of affairs. He envisaged a fairly ambitious programme of research and wrote ‘The object aimed at is a full description of the fauna of the estuarine regions of the Channel and of the environment, linking the two with studies on the biology of the animals, including the morphological and physical adaptions which permit existence in regions exposed to this wide range of environmental variation.’. Regrettably the outbreak of War meant that these aims could not be fulfilled and although research into the marine biology of the Bristol Channel continued to be undertaken in the Zoology Department after the war it was never on the scale envisaged by Prof. Yonge. One of the post war researchers was Mr R. Bassindale who used to give talks to and lead field meetings for the BNS Junior Section in the 1950s and 60s. He is remembered with gratitude. Notwithstanding the research work that has been carried to date we are still in a situation where we don’t know how the inhabitants of the other half of the City of Bristol live. But we do know that it is not ‘shark free’.

Richard Ashley

WILDLIFE IN LOCKDOWN Contents

uring my lifelong interest in wildlife I have almost totally ignored places full of interest right on my doorstep – that all changed with Covid 19 this year. D From March through to September, I regularly explored The Downs to look for flora and fauna. In April, Bee flies were much in evidence using their long proboscis to extract nectar from the Dandelions and Celandine - they did not seem to mind me positioning my macro lens close to photograph them! By mid April, butterflies started appearing such as the Peacock and Orange tip. My one day record for butterflies on The Downs (including The Gully) was not reached until mid July when I clocked up ten species plus a wonderful Hummingbird Hawk Moth. In the Avon gorge, as well as peregrines there were also cormorants, gulls and ducks and occasional sightings of Buzzard and even, on one occasion, a Red kite. Of course, all over the Downs, Crows, Jackdaws and Magpies abounded with Blackbirds and Robins in the areas Jays – a picture chosen as ‘Picture with bushes and trees. In the areas of more dense woodland I of the Month’ for an RSPB blog in was particularly pleased to spot several Jays. I gradually September. © CKinsey ventured a bit further afield. There were various butterflies to be seen in Leigh Woods (including Silver washed Fritillary) and the orchids in Ashton Court Park were not to be missed in early May - yet how quickly they then disappeared! As the lockdown restrictions eased, I started visiting sites of the Avon and Somerset Wildlife Trusts. Highlights included observing Large Blue butterflies at Collard Hill, (the only site open to the public to see this species), Dark Green fritillaries at Ubley Warren, Slow worms at neighbouring Velvet Bottom and a good selection of dragonflies at Priddy Ponds. There was also the opportunity to watch badgers at Folly Farm. It was not all success however as a vigorous search for White Admiral butterflies at Ham Wall (RSPB) in mid June was not successful though total immersion in a swarm of Four spotted chaser dragonflies and sightings of Marsh harriers and Hobby made up for this. Back on The Downs, I was intrigued that some species appeared and disappeared very rapidly. Beautiful Yellow long horned beetles appeared for a few days and (much later - in September), lots of European hornets suddenly appeared flying at high speed above bramble bushes – presumably trying to catch flying insects. Also, I much enjoyed spending time watching a Wall Lizard © CKinsey semi-habituated family of foxes in the grounds of Bristol University during early June and then, a little later, it was fun following the progress of four young Kestrels - originating from a nest near the Suspension Bridge. Nearby, on St Vincent’s Rocks, I tracked down a few stunningly beautiful Wall lizards. I have now realised what a wealth of local wildlife we have here in and around Bristol. I am grateful to various friends and local naturalists who have given me advice about where to go and when. Charles Kinsey

Contents October 2020 24