Wimbledon and Putney Commons ECOLOGICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING REPORT 2020 BILL BUDD It is with great sadness that we must report the death of Bull Budd in autumn 2020. Bill was our much respected, dragonfly and damselfly recorder and a member of the Wildlife and Conservation Forum. As well as recording on the Commons, Bill also worked as a volunteer at the London Natural History Museum for many years and was the Surrey Vice County Dragonfly Recorder. Bill supported our BioBlitz activities and, with others from the Forum, led dedicated walks raising public awareness of the dragonfly and damselfly populations on the Commons. In September 2020 in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the recording and conservation of Odonata, a newly identified dragonfly species found in the Bornean rainforest* was named Megalogomphus buddi. His contributions will be very much missed. * For further information see: https://british-dragonflies.org.uk/dragonfly-named-after-bds-county-dragonfly-recorder-bill-budd/ Dow, R.A. and Price, B.W. (2020) A review of Megalogomphus sumatranus (Krüger, 1899) and its allies in Sundaland with a description of a new species from Borneo (Odonata: Anisoptera: Gomphidae). Zootaxa 4845 (4): 487–508. https://www.mapress.com/j/zt/article/view/zootaxa.4845.4.2 Accessed 24.02.2021 Thanks are due to everyone who has contributed records and photographs for this report; to the willing volunteers; for the support of Wildlife and Conservation Forum members; and for the reciprocal enthusiasm of Wimbledon and Putney Commons’ staff. A special thank you goes to Angela Evans-Hill for her help with proof reading, chasing missing data and assistance with the final formatting, compilation and printing of this report. It has been a challenging year, but we can all look forward to renewal in 2021. Wildlife has such amazing resilience especially when we nurture it. CONTENTS Page THE YEAR IN FOCUS 1 A. MONITORING OVERVIEW 7 Results 12 Sward Height 12 Public Use of The Plain – Disturbance Factors 13 Flora 17 Birds 19 Butterflies 24 Dragonflies and Damselflies 27 Moths 30 Other Insects 32 Other Fauna 33 Fungi 36 Putney Lower Common 36 Beverley Brook 38 Environmental Data 40 Reflections and Recommendations 43 B. Garden Monitoring at Gravel Pit Cottage, Putney Heath 46 C. REFERENCES 52 LIST OF TABLES Table 1 Mowing dates for the Conservation Zone of The Plain 9 Table 2 Summary of Systematic Recording in 2020 and Recent Years 11 Table 3 Recording Effort and overall Plant Species Counts on The Plain 2014-20 17 Table 4 The Number of Bird Species Reported each Year by Amateur Enthusiasts, 20 2014-20 Table 5 A Summary of Bird Sightings for The Plain 2020 - Extracted from the B- 21 Monthly Reports of Amateur Observers Used to Compile the Annual Bird Report Table 6 Table 6 Bird Standard Walk Data 2020 - The Most Frequently Observed 23 Species and Some Target Species of Special Conservation Interest for WPCC Table 7a Comparison of the Most Abundant Butterfly Species Recorded, 2015- 25/26 2020 Re-established Long-term Transect (After Gay Carr and Now Including Plateau Sites Including The Plain) Table 7b New Transect Wimbledon Common SW and Fishponds Wood 26 Table 8 Dragonflies and Damselflies - Spot Records 2020 29 Table 9 Mammals Sighted or Evident from Other Signs - Wimbledon and Putney 35 Commons 2020 Table 10 Planting in Beverley Brook 38 Table 11 Riverfly Monitoring Results for Beverley Brook Restored Section on 39/40 Wimbledon Common 2020 Table 12 Winter (January-March) and Integrated Summer Rainfall (April- 42 September) at Raynes Park (SW20) Table 13 Recent Over Winter Rainfall Totals and Recent October and Autumn 42 Rainfall Totals Compared with the Wettest and Driest Years Recorded at Raynes Park (SW20) LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1a Making New Dams at Farm Bog 3 Figure 1b Signing the Memorandum of Understanding 3 Figure 2 A Great Spotted Woodpecker Busy in Woodland Near Warren Farm 4 Figure 3 The Location of The Plain, the New Mowing Sites in the Countryside 8 Stewardship Scheme, the Potential Sites and the Newly Restored Section of Beverly Brook on Wimbledon Common Figure 4a Footpath erosion 13 Figure 4b High Visitor Pressure on The Commons during the First Lockdown - 14 Rushmere Figure 5a Managing Litter - Rushmere 14 Figure 5b Fly tipping Beside an Overflowing Litter Bin Putney Lower Common 15 Figure 6 Fire on Putney Heath – Good Friday 2020 16 Figure 7 Yarrow in Bloom on The Plain 18 Figure 8 Pond Recession at Bluegate Gravel Pit 19 Figure 9 Kingfisher – a Frequently Sighted Visitor to the Restored Section of 20 Beverley Brook Figure 10 The Four Standard Bird Walks at Wimbledon Common (after Dawson 22 2009) Figure 11 Great Tit - the Second Most Frequently Observed Bird Species on the 24 Standard Walks Figure 12 a. Brimstone and b. Orange-tip - Characteristic early season species of the 27 woodland edge. Figure 13 Common Emerald Damselfly 28 Figure 14 Jersey Mocha (Cyclophora ruficiliaria) 30 Figure 15 Emperor Moth (Saturnia pavonia) 30 Figure 16 Early Long-horn (Adela cuprella) 30 Figure 17 Red Underwing (Catocala nupta) 31 Figure 18 Common Heath (Ematurga atomaria) 31 Figure 19 Golden Bloomed Longhorn Beetle (Agapanthia villoviridescens) 32 Figure 20 Stag Beetle 33 Figure 21 Common Newt – Woodland Edge Near Bluegate Gravel Pit Pond 34 Figure 22 Common Lizard 34 Figure 23 A Terrapin in Beverley Brook at Putney Lower Common 37 Figure 24 SERT Volunteer Training Event on Beverley Brook 38 Figure 25 Entomologist at work – also showing the bare garden in early April 47 Figure 26 The same border as in Fig 25 but later in the year. 47 Figure 27 A pair of foxes caught on the night camera 48 Figure 28 Comma butterfly on Alkanet 48 Figure 29 Bumble bee on Alkanet 48 Figure 30 Male Emperor Moth 49 Figure 31 Small Copper Butterfly 49 Figure 32 Black-headed Cardinal Beetle 49 Figure 33 Large Skipper Butterfly 50 Figure 34 Black and yellow Longhorn Beetle 50 Figure 35 Summer Chafer 50 Figure 36 Ringlet Butterfly 51 Figure 37 Honey Bee on Privet hedge flower 51 LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix 1 Wildlife and Conservation Forum and Volunteer Recorders 54 Appendix 2 Wildlife and Conservation Forum Events at Wimbledon and Putney 55 Commons 2020 and associated W&C Forum and Volunteer Activities Appendix 3a Floral Records for The Plain, Wimbledon and Putney Commons 2020 57 Appendix 3b (BioBlitz Plant Communities) The Habitat Patches 2020 61 Appendix 4a Standard Bird Walk Transect A – Annual Overview 63 Appendix 4b Standard Bird Walk Transect B – Annual Overview 64 Appendix 4c Standard Bird Walk Transect C – Annual Overview 65 Appendix 4d Standard Bird Walk Transect D – Annual Overview 66 Appendix 4e Standard Bird Walk Transect D – Month by Month Observations Summary 67 Appendix 4f Standard Bird Walk Transects 2020 Summary 68 Appendix 5a Butterflies - Wimbledon Common (2015 route) 2020 Transect Summary 69 Appendix 5b Butterflies - Wimbledon Common& Fishponds Wood 2020 Transect 70 Summary Appendix 6 Moths 2020 Gravel Pit Cottage, Putney Heath 71 Appendix 7 Commons’ Wildlife Reports April to September 2020 86 Appendix 8 Wildlife Record for Putney Lower Common 89 Appendix 9 Riverfly – Trends at Beverley Brook, Wimbledon Common (SERT website) 93 Appendix 10 Rainfall Figures for SW20 8DX, 2005 to the Present 94 Appendix 11 Gravel Pit Cottage Bird Data 95 Appendix 12 Gravel Pit Cottage Butterfly Data 97 Appendix 13 Gravel Pit Cottage “Other” Insect Data 98 Wimbledon and Putney Commons ECOLOGICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AT WIMBLEDON AND PUTNEY COMMONS 2020 THE YEAR IN FOCUS 2020 is destined to be remembered as the year of the COVID-19 pandemic. From late March onwards the pandemic significantly impacted on recording activities. It led to the cancellation of walks, workshops and the annual BioBlitz; and meant that most Wildlife and Conservation Forum (W&C Forum) meetings became Zoom events. At the same time a major insurgence of visitors on the Commons was experienced as local people used these open spaces for their permitted daily exercise. With the people came some major challenges in terms of trampling pressure, footpath compaction and erosion, an upsurge in dog-walking on the Commons and diverse associated waste management issues. Perhaps inevitably there also came challenges of late-night, mainly youthful, gatherings at the more readily accessible locations, such as around Rushmere close to Wimbledon village, with further attendant litter and noise problems. Self-evidently wildlife disturbance occurred. Wildlife monitoring was impacted in various ways. For those living close to the Commons and obliged to work from home, but not in a vulnerable health category and required to shield or self-isolate, there were extra opportunities to visit and record. By contrast, those regular recorders living more distantly from the Commons were largely unable to visit. Government travel restrictions precluded long-distance travel and closure of the Commons car parks and toilet facilities during the first wave of the pandemic restricted even those with relatively short local journeys. Another concern for wildlife recorders was the on-site crowding. Several recorders in older age groups felt obliged to be cautious and stay close to home or, if able to visit, they wished to adhere firmly to social distancing guidelines. At times some areas of the Commons were so busy that social distancing could not be relied upon. Other recorders simply did not enjoy the busy Commons with the attendant lively dogs. As the Conservation and Engagement Officer (C&EO) noted in a news update on the Wimbledon and Putney Commons Conservators (WPCC) website in February 2021, there were increasing numbers of people visiting The Commons who were often accompanied by newly acquired energetic young dogs which posed extra challenges of dog and owner behaviour.