BBAASSIINNGGSSTTOOKKEE LLOOCCAALL GGRROOUUPP NOVEMBER 2016 NEWSLETTER http://www.rspb.org.uk/groups/basingstoke Contents: From The Group Leader Notices What’s Happening? November’s Outdoor Meeting December’s Outdoor Meeting October’s Outdoor Meeting Sri Lanka: Makandawa Forest Reserve Local Wildlife News Quiz ‘Page’ And Finally! Charity registered in England and Wales no. 207076 From The Group Leader Welcome to the November Newsletter and, dare I say it, winter. Although Bonfire Night is now past and pets are once again settled after dark the fireworks are yet to stop! Perhaps not as explosive but just as dazzling are the Waxwing that have appeared locally since the last Newsletter, albeit all arrivals to date seem to have been about as long lasting as a firework! With increasing numbers continuing to move south it’s only a matter of time before some linger. If you are lucky enough to find any, no matter where or when, do please let us know – there are several Members of the Group that have yet to come across these and so it would be good to rectify this in the coming weeks / months. Even though winter birds such as the Waxwing, Fieldfare and Redwing are now evident there are still ‘summery’ visitors airborne, the butterflies. With this in mind, Red Admiral still being on the wing as I type this, please do take a look at the new publication from Butterfly Conservation that features in ‘Notices’. With regard to conservation, many of us are now keenly aware of the links between different orders of wildlife and the need to ensure that conservation is not order-blinkered, but takes in to account all that is or could be present, or could return with the appropriate management / conservation. The RSPB is now seen to be much more wildlife focussed, rather than the ‘old’ view of birds, birds and ……. birds! The next time you visit one of the societies’ reserves watch out for non-avian interpretive materials, both within the Information Centres and out on the reserve – are they there? Of course they are! As is all the other wildlife that makes the reserves and Britain so very special for nature – let’s try to keep it that way! Again with regard to conservation, the Group Leader’s currently discussing the possibility of Naturetrek running a wildlife tour for the Group, hence the question put to those at the October Indoor Meeting. You may think that this has little to do with conservation, but Naturetrek has pledged a donation to the Group for every Member participating in the ‘tour’. Further details of this will be available very soon, but if you’d be interested in coming along with others of the Group, please do seem me ASAP. Otherwise, I look forward to seeing you at Titchfield Haven NNR this Sunday, or the Christmas ‘do’ in mid-December; both events not to be missed! Peter E. Hutchins PS what’s wrong with the Waxwing image above? Notices Christmas Social Evening An Evening of fun and frolics! This will take place on the 16th, will be, as usual, free to attend and will give all those present the opportunity to mingle with the Committee and other Group Members during a very sociable evening. Festive music, a raffle, quizzes and slide presentations will all be part of the evening, as will the ‘buffet’. For those that have not attended previously the latter is a bring something along, share and swap-type feast, with the few remnants available at the end to be taken away by those still in need of sustenance. If you’ve some slides you’d like to show the Group please make the Committee aware of this so that a provisional running order can be worked upon. We look forward to seeing you there! Winter Birding Weekend The 2017 winter birding weekend for the Local Group will be in Devon, based, as before, at the Passage House Hotel on the banks of the Teign Estuary. This will be made up of a two night stay, arriving Friday 10th February and leaving on Sunday12th February 2017. In addition to visiting a selection of the various birding sites and reserves (Topsham, Exminster Marshes, Dawlish Warren, Berry Head, Labrador Bay, Broadsands, Brixham Harbour etc.) a birding cruise on the Exe estuary will be organised on the Friday or Saturday for those who wish to join it. Full details will be available at the Indoor Meetings. If you cannot attend the meeting and wish to at go on the weekend please contact me on 01189 700859 or 07779 026915 or [email protected] and I will forward full details. Gerry Gardner 16 have now been confirmed for the weekend, there however still accommodation available to allow more to join this group, though all places are now filled on the boat. Intertidal Habitats A few words with regard to the Group’s donation earlier this year. The intertidal zone, also known as the littoral zone, in marine aquatic environments is the area of the foreshore and seabed that is exposed to the air at low tide and submerged at high tide, i.e. the area between tide marks. In the intertidal zone the most common organisms are small and most are relatively uncomplicated organisms. This is for a variety of reasons; firstly the supply of water which marine organisms require to survive is intermittent. Secondly, the wave action around the shore can wash away or dislodge poorly suited or adapted organisms. Thirdly, because of the intertidal zone's high exposure to the sun the temperature range can be extreme from very hot to near freezing in frigid climates (with cold seas). Lastly, the salinity is much higher in the intertidal zone because salt water trapped in rock pools evaporates leaving behind salt deposits. These four factors make the intertidal zone an extreme environment in which to live. A typical rocky shore can be divided into a spray zone (also known as the Supratidal Zone, which is above the spring high-tide line and is covered by water only during storms, and an intertidal zone, which lies between the high and low tidal extremes. Along most shores, the intertidal zone can be clearly separated into the following subzones: high tide zone, middle tide zone, and low tide zone. High tide zone (upper mid-littoral) Purple Barnacles Blue-Green Shoreline Seaweed Crab The high tide zone is flooded during high tide only, and is a highly saline environment. The abundancy of water is not high enough to sustain large amounts of vegetation, although some do survive in the high tide zone. The predominant organisms in this subregion are anemones, barnacles, brittle stars, chitons, crabs, green algae, isopods, limpets, mussels, sea stars, snails, whelks and some marine vegetation. The high tide zone can also contain rock pools inhabited by small fish and larger seaweeds. Another organism found here is the hermit crab, which because of its portable home in the form of a shell does extremely well as it is sheltered from the high temperature range to an extent and can also carry water with it in its shell. Consequently there is generally a higher population of hermit crabs to common crabs in the high tide zone. Life is much more abundant here than in the spray. Middle tide zone (lower mid-littoral) Mussel Bed Sea Urchin Snail Sea Stars and Anemones The middle tide zone is submerged and flooded for approximately equal periods of time per tide cycle. Consequently temperatures are less extreme due to shorter direct exposure to the sun, and therefore salinity is only marginally higher than ocean levels. However wave action is generally more extreme than the high tide and spray zones. The middle tide zone also has much higher population of marine vegetation, specifically seaweeds. Organisms are also more complex and often larger in size than those found in the high tide and splash zones. Organisms in this area include anemones, barnacles, chitons, crabs, green algae, isopods, limpets, mussels, sea lettuce, sea palms, sea stars, snails, sponges, and whelks. Again rock pools can also provide a habitat for small fish, shrimps, krill, sea urchins and zooplankton. Apart from being more populated, life in the middle tide zone is more diversified than the high tide and splash zones. Low tide zone (lower littoral) Anemones Red Algae Dungeness Sea Star and Kelp Crab Sea Urchins This subregion is mostly submerged - it is only exposed at the point of low tide and for a longer period of time during extremely low tides. This area is teeming with life; the most notable difference with this subregion to the other three is that there is much more marine vegetation, especially seaweeds. There is also a great biodiversity. Organisms in this zone generally are not well adapted to periods of dryness and temperature extremes. Some of the organisms in this area are abalone, anemones, brown seaweed, chitons, crabs, green algae, hydroids, isopods, limpets, mussels, nudibranchs, sculpin, sea cucumber, sea lettuce, sea palms, sea stars, sea urchins, shrimp, snails, sponges, surf grass, tube worms, and whelks. Creatures in this area can grow to larger sizes because there is more energy in the localised ecosystem and because marine vegetation can grow to much greater sizes than in the other three intertidal subregions due to the better water coverage: the water is shallow enough to allow plenty of light to reach the vegetation to allow substantial photosynthetic activity, and the salinity is at almost normal levels. This area is also protected from large predators such as large fish because of the wave action and the water still being relatively shallow.