Bulletin 2004
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
BROOK MEADOW CONSERVATION GROUP 2004 Summary of the week’s news and wildlife observations from Brook Meadow Web Site . http://www.hants.org.uk/brook-meadow/ WEEK 53: Dec 27 2004 – Jan 2, 2005 WILDLIFE NEWS Spring is coming! Christmas is over and bird activity is starting to pick up as spring approaches. I saw a pair of Mallard copulating on Peter Pond this week. Meanwhile, I and my neighbours are woken up every morning by the strident singing of a Song Thrush, “Wake up, wake up wake up” it sings. This loud song contrasts with the bitter sweet song of the Robin and the pleasant chortling of Starlings, which are also common sounds around the town. Gatherings of House Sparrows chatter merrily amongst themselves in bushes and hedgerows. Wrens are not so vocal as they have been, but Blue and Great Tits are now singing regularly. Occasional bursts of song can be heard from Dunnock, Goldfinch, Collared Dove and Woodpigeon. Blackbirds alert us to their presence with their constant “chinking” at dusk, but I have not heard their sub song for a couple of weeks. Chaffinch and Greenfinch are not likely to be heard for a few weeks yet. The list of birds seen on and around Brook Meadow now stands at 63, with 48 of them recorded in 2004, which is slightly up on 2003 and 2002. Birds on the millponds On the millponds of Emsworth, Tufted Duck numbers were up to 23 on the Town Millpond, while both the Town Millpond and Slipper Millpond had visits from a pair of Red-breasted Mergansers this week, the male is handsome black and white, the female is brown and both have crests on their heads. I have mentioned the Little Deeps on the western side of Thorney Island before, but they are well worth a visit for excellent close views of Bearded Tits on the reeds near the path. Mary and Jim Colbourne got some nice photos a couple of weeks ago and this week I watched the acrobatics of two of them clinging tenaciously to the reed stems as the strong wind swirled them around. Plants of the week At the end of the year, flowering plants are very hard to find, with the exception of Winter Heliotrope and Gorse which are still going strong. The Winter Heliotrope is best on the south west corner of Peter Pond. The only other plants I could find with any sign of flowers on Brook Meadow this week were Common Nettle, Common Ragwort, Cow Parsley, Feverfew, Groundsel, Guernsey Fleabane, Lesser Stitchwort, Petty Spurge, Wavy Bitter-cress, White Dead-nettle, Winter Heliotrope, Yarrow, Common Gorse and Ivy, plus 4 grasses, Annual Meadow-grass, Cocksfoot, False Oat-grass and Wall Barley, giving a grand total of 18. Off the site Shepherd's Purse is flowering well on many local road verges. More Cow Parsley in flower On New Year's Day, Roger Mills sent me photos he had taken of a Cow Parsley plant in full flower on the raised path alongside the Ems about 100 yards south of the north bridge. This is very early, but not a record since there has been one in flower since mid-November on the Lumley Path just off Lumley Road and Ralph Hollins has also seen several in flower in Havant. Another sign of global warming? Roger also saw a House Sparrow having a wonderful bath in the river at the same time. A photo I took of the Cow Parsley the following day can be seen on the web site at http://www.hants.org.uk/brook-meadow/bm-photos-wildlife.html Hazel catkins Ralph Hollins found the first Hazel Catkins open for business on Christmas Day, on the bush that hangs over the bus stop at the end of Mill Lane at Langstone. On Brook Meadow, the pale lemon-yellow male catkins are certainly in bud on the Hazel bushes in the north east plantation, but are not open as yet. I expect them to start opening in the next week or so, to be followed by the bright red styles of the tiny female flowers, both before the leaves come. Annual Review of Plants of Brook Meadow I have been compiling a list of plants on Brook Meadow since 2000 with the help of several local naturalists, notably, Ralph Hollins, Gwynne Johnson and Pete Selby (the latter two persons sadly deceased). Two earlier botanical surveys were conducted by the Hampshire Wildlife Trust in 1991 and 1998. The total number of different plants (excluding bryophytes) recorded on Brook Meadow now stands at 264 species, comprising 172 herbs, 42 trees and shrubs, 30 grasses, 13 sedges, 5 rushes and 1 horsetail. In addition, 23 mosses and liverworts were found by Rod Stern. The complete list can be seen on the group web site at http://www.hants.org.uk/brook-meadow/bm-list-plants.html The figures for the past 4 years are as follows: 2000 - 132, 2001 - 190, 2002 - 208, 2003 - 230 and 2004 - 227. In the two earlier surveys carried out by Hampshire Wildlife Trust, in 1991 16 plants were recorded and in 1998 56 were recorded. There were 6 new additions to the plant list in 2004, Black Nightshade on the edge of Palmer's Road Car Park, Holm Oak tree beside the south gate, Wild Cherry in Seagull Lane patch, Wild Privet along Lumley Road and three planted trees, a Yew, a Weeping Willow and 3 Black Poplars. I am still awaiting our first Southern Marsh Orchid. You live in hope. Not all plants on the list are found each year. Some, such as, Bush Vetch, Great Yellow-cress, Fennel, Reed Sweet-grass, Sea Arrowgrass and Saltmarsh Rush have not been seen since the HWT surveys in the 1990s and probably don’t exist on the site anymore. Others have not been seen since 2000, such as, Canadian Goldenrod (plentiful on the Interbridges Site), Black Bryony, Green Alkanet, Hollyhock, Indian Balsam and Mare’s Tail. These are also likely to be extinct. Others, which are probably still here, but which were not found in 2004, include several found by Ralph Hollins and Gwynne Johnson, such as, Marsh Arrowgrass, Meadow Vetchling, Rough Hawkbit, Water Starwort, Black Bent-grass, Creeping Bent-grass, Plicate Sweet-grass, Sweet Vernal Grass, Whorl-grass and Toad Rush. Workdays The next Group Workday is Thursday January 6th, meeting at the Lumley gate at 10am. GROUP NEWS FOR WEEK 52: Dec 20-26, 2004 Membership Membership is still increasing and is now at 341 which is only 9 short of our target of 350. And there are still 32 lapsed members!! Our fame is getting around the world! Frances had a telephone call from Gaynor Wells, one of our members, with a donation for £50 from her aunt in Australia. Gaynor has been sending her aunt information and photos of Brook Meadow because her aunt used to live in Gooseberry Cottage about 50-60 years ago. The aunt, Mrs Gregg, now lives in Sydney and misses Brook Meadow. Gaynor's father was Mr Haskins, who lived in Lumley Hall and owned the coal yard off Lumley Road. Frances is keen to collect historical information about Brook Meadow and has asked Gaynor for any recollections of Brook Meadow, either her own or her family's, and particularly her aunt's. Gaynor would also like to make her aunt a member of BMCG and asked if her aunt could be mentioned in the next newsletter. Perhaps the Mrs Gregg will be our 350th member!! Gwynne Johnson The funeral of Gwynne Johnson took place at Soberton Parish Church at 11am on Wednesday 22nd December. It was a nasty wet morning, but the church was packed with Gwynne’s relations, friends and colleagues to wish her a very fond farewell. Appreciations were given from colleagues outlining Gwynne’s work at Portsmouth University, where she taught Physics for over 30 years, and latterly her work as a naturalist for the Hampshire Wildlife Trust. Gwynne was a good friend of the Brook Meadow Conservation Group and we have made a donation of £50 to the Hampshire and IOW Wildlife Trust in her memory. WILDLIFE NEWS Plants I could only find 17 plants in flower this week, plus the usual 3 grasses, and most of those were looking pretty sad. The notable exceptions were the yellow flowers of Gorse and the highly aromatic flowers of Winter Heliotrope, which are looking resplendent. Lesser Stitchwort, Common Ragwort, Groundsel, Smooth Sow Thistle, Guernsey Fleabane and Red Dead-nettle are just about hanging on, but Hogweed and Wild Angelica appear to have given up the fight. Birds I counted 42 Shelduck in Emsworth Harbour at low water this week. Garden Bird Survey On Tuesday 21st December I took part in the BTO Garden BirdWatch Shortest Day Survey, being run in conjunction with the Today Programme on BBC Radio 4. The aim of this survey was to discover more about the arrival patterns of birds at garden feeding stations during the period after dawn. They suspect that different birds may arrive at different times, depending upon their roosting behaviour, energy requirements and just where they are in the country. Observers were asked to record the first 10 bird species arriving for food in their gardens, starting at dawn. More than 6,000 people across Britain and Ireland took part in the survey and sent in their results on line. Results showed that on average Blackbird was the earliest arrival, closely followed by Robin, Blue Tit and Song Thrush. They were followed by Dunnock, Wren, Magpie, Great Tit, House Sparrow and (very surprisingly) Pheasant.