Wildlife in North Lancashire 2010 29th Annual Newsletter of the North Lancashire Naturalists Group Price £1.50 North Lancashire Naturalists Group Contents page Chairman’s Report 3 The Group is a local group of the Wildlife Trust for Lancashire (WTL), primarily for WTL Editorial 3 members living in the Lancaster City Council District and immediately adjacent areas of Lancashire, South Cumbria and North York- Conservation and planning 4 shire. Reserves Reports 5 Meetings are open to all members of WTL. If Recorders list and Reports 13 you are not already a member, come along to a few meetings and, if you like what we do, Field Meetings 35 join us. Miscellany 44 The Committee coordinates all the work of the Group and, in particular, arranges meet- ings, field outings, recording sessions, working parties on local reserves and the production of the annual Newsletter. The Recorders receive and collate records to help conserve interest- ing sites, to monitor changing numbers and distribution of species and to contribute to national recording schemes. For further information contact the Chairman, Mike Moon, e-mail [email protected] or 27, The Row, Silverdale, LA5 0UG, tel. 01524 701163. NLNG Committee 2010 Chairman Mike Moon Secretary Stefan Hobbs Programme Sec. Jennifer Newton Treasurer Chris Workman Minutes Secretary Cis Brook Librarian Tony Ball Newsletter Editor Barbara Crooks Members Linda Renshaw Ruth Pollock Martin Sherlock Webmaster Nigel Hanford 2 Chairman’s Report the qualities to help us in running the group? Once again, we need volunteers to fill This has been another sad year for NLN, as committee spaces, help with the newsletter we lost two great stalwarts of the group. and think of programme activities. We only have about four meetings a year, so it is not an Pat Livermore has not been very active since onerous task. I have to admit they are quite about 2004 but will be well remembered for fun, and you learn a lot! her involvement in the early days of NLN, and for leading a number of very enjoyable fungus This year we had our first garden safari which forays. My daughters still remember those was quite successful. I must admit in having a days with fondness. Our library contains a vested interest, as it was my garden. I now number of booklets written by Pat and Len, so know of things in my garden that I did not their memory will live on. know were there before! We hope to repeat the event again this year, but in a different Joyce Birchall was a committee member and garden. treasurer for many years but, again, not active of late as the years took their toll. She will be Please make use of our web site remembered for her enthusiasm and dry sense www.nlng.co.uk and tell others about it. of humour. People of such quality are difficult to replace. Let us hope that 2011 will be a good year for us all and, at least, not as wet! But we have to move on; such is the nature of this earthly life. So perhaps you feel you have Mike Moon Editorial and lots more. I hope there will be something to interest everyone. Bio-diversity has been the key theme in 2010, and this edition of the Newsletter certainly My sincere thanks must go to all the Recorders contains a great variety of articles reflecting for their time and diligence in providing the the richness of the flora and fauna in North reports – please continue to send in your Lancashire. observations to them (or your queries). Also, many thanks go to those members who so There has also been great diversity in the kindly agreed to write about our Field Trips weather, with some dramatic changes from this year – perhaps more of you will take up previous years. The first six months of the the pen (or key board) – there really is plenty year were the driest on record, despite all the of help from other members. Not least, I snow and frosts at the start. June was the thank everyone who sent in their own articles sunniest since 1976, but then we experienced or photographs. a more usual, cooler and wet summer, followed by an unsettled autumn. It remains I am very grateful to Laura Sivell who has again to be seen what effect the ‘arctic weather’ of done the typesetting; to Jennifer Newton for the last few weeks of the year will have on the her advice and support; to the staff at wildlife in 2011! Heysham Power Station (2) who undertake the task of photocopying and to Pete Marsh This edition contains news from both our old and Reuben Neville for facilitating this. and recently acquired reserves, with plans for 2011. There is also a local research study, an Barbara Crooks article on the complexities of identifying species, new finds by our dedicated Recorders 3 Conservation and Planning 2010 if you are a Facebook user, search for ‘Shaping a Better Future for Lancaster District’. As predicted last year, wind farm developments have dominated my planning We continue to participate in Lancaster’s Local work. Across my geographic area, I receive, Sustainability Partnership. Its 3 priority on average, 4 applications per week – projects are as follows: Pass on Plastics, fortunately not all on the scale of Claughton! Sustainable Food/Incredible Edibles and the Reforestation of the Lune Valley. To find out We objected to the first (20 turbine) more, please visit www.lancaster.gov.uk and Claughton application, which was refused in search for Sustainability Partnership. March 2010. This will go to Public Inquiry in May 2011 and we have renewed our written Marine conservation awareness will receive a objection. The revised (13 turbine) application tremendous boost over the next 3 years from was recently submitted and we will certainly two new partnership projects with the object to this too. This is despite having Cumbria Wildlife Trust. From January, Emma worked with the developers, alongside other Garston will be delivering the Morecambe Bay conservation bodies, to spell out exactly what ‘Wealth of Wildlife’ Project, funded by the Big surveys were required during 2010. As I Lottery Fund’s Access to Nature Scheme. write, it is likely that the City Council will This aims to connect communities with their require the developer to submit the missing local coastal and marine environment from information and thus extend the consultation Fleetwood to Ulverston. Starting in March, a period. Marine Graduate Apprentice Scheme (funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund) will provide The Heysham peninsula seems to be another four placements per year for 3 years – two per Windfarm ‘Hotspot’ – with schemes planned County. Still on the Marine and partnership for Heysham Harbour, another close to working theme, Cheryl Nicholson has recently Heysham Moss and one south of the bypass. been appointed as the Marine Conservation With Trust colleagues, I have been developing Officer (Irish Sea). She comes to us from the the Trust’s Windfarm policy (both on and Durham Wildlife Trust and will be based with offshore) although this has been delayed, the Cumbria Wildlife Trust, whilst working also ironically enough, by the plethora of Windfarm for the Cheshire Wildlife Trust and ourselves. applications. Given intense, local interest in Windfarms, the Lancaster Sustainability Looking ahead, 2011 will be a momentous Partnership planned and held a public wind year for the Trust, with the long-awaited technology information event in Lancaster (late opening of Brockholes in spring. For the latest January 2011 – exact date to be confirmed). news, visit www.brockholes.org and I hope So keep an eye out for further details. you watched BBC1 Countryfile on 9th January. Locally, it is probably safe to say that Lancaster’s Local Development Framework Claughton Windfarm will remain a big issue, as (the replacement planning mechanism for the will the next stage in the Heysham-M6 link old-style Local Plans) continues to evolve. The saga, now known as HM6L for short! Trust took part in the Green Infrastructure Thematic Workshop recently, from which it is As ever, thank you so much for your support hoped that the key points raised will be of the Trust’s work through your membership. embedded into planning policy, and thus It provides our core income at a time when ensure that issues such as climate change many other income streams are being reduced adaptation and mitigation are required to be or cancelled. considered in all future development proposals. The City Council would like as Kim Wisdom many people as possible involved in policy Conservation Officer for North Lancashire development, so visit the Council’s website, or 4 Natural History Slides Pat Livermore has left a huge collection of high quality slides which cover a wide range of wildlife groups: plants, butterflies, moths, beetles, birds and landscapes, both here in the UK and abroad. If these may be of interest to anyone, please contact Jennifer Newton. RESERVES Heysham Nature Reserve and activities, with most of the species recording Mosses covered in more detail elsewhere in the report under the individual groups. It was not, For the first time in a number of years, we however, without some exciting new records, have started and finished the year with the and the highlight for me was the recording of a same compliment of staff based at our number of wax cap fungi on the grasslands. Heysham office, with Emma Garston running Although it wasn’t the first time they had been another year of community activities in North recorded here (with a number of records Lancashire and Steve Ryder assisting with existing from a survey undertaken by Pat and reserve management.