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Curracah Newsletter Janaury 2014

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Curracah Newsletter Janaury 2014 CurracagNewsletter:January2014 Contents ChairmansUpdate 2 BiologicalRecording 9 NewCountyBirdRecorder 3 Truffles 10 SightingsbyLeeThicket 4 InvasiveSpecies 11 Barnacles 5 MeettheScientistEvents 13 HouseSparrowUpdate 6 2013PhotographicCompetition 14 AntUpdate 8 Introducingyournewnewslettereditor. AsChristinementionedinthelastnewsletter(Spring/Summer2013)thepositionofnewslettereditorwas becomingvacantinordertoenableChristinetodevotemoretimetoOHBR.I’vebeenaCurracagmember foracoupleofyearsnowandhavealwayslookedforwardtoreceivingmycopyofthenewsletter-whenI readthepositionofeditorwasbecomingvacantIthereforewastedlittletimetoletChristineknowofmy interesttotakeontherole,andshewastedequallyaslittletimetowelcomemeaboard! Alittleaboutmyself-I'velivedinNottinghamshireforallmylifeandhavehadastronginterestinNatural Historyeversincebeingliftedupasayoungboytopeerintothenestsofthebirdsthatusedtocallour garden-hedgetheirhome,thatandpesteringmymotheralmostweeklytotakemetoourlocalmuseum eachtimewewentintotownshopping,ourmuseuminthosedayswasaclassicVictorianaffairwithlotsof fascinatingdeadthingsinlovelywoodencasestohealthilyfeedanenthusiasticboyscuriosity. BirdsaremymainareaofinterestalthoughIcertainlywouldn’tconsidermyselftobeanexpertinany respect.IamaBritishTrustforOrnithologynestrecorderandatraineeringerwiththeBirklandsRinging GroupbasedintheSherwoodForestarea.I'makeenphotographerandsomeofmyphotographshave beenincludedintheBTO'srecentfieldguideonmonitoringbirdsnests.I'vebeenluckyenoughtotravel abroadinrecentyearsinsearchofbreedingbirdstofarflungplaces,fromthebattlefieldsoftheFalkland IslandstothedesertsofNorthAfricaandWesternSaharaandupintothetundraoftheArcticCircle.I've beenvisitingScotlandatleastonceayearnowforthepast8orsoyears,mostofmytripsbeingtothe Inner/OuterHebrides&outlyingislands,theHebridesalwaysdrawmebackandthereisnowhereI'd ratherbe. Ishalllookforwardtobeingyournewslettereditor andIwillwelcomeanynews,sightingsorarticles, bigorsmall,thatyouwouldliketosharewithyour fellowmembers. AshleyJacksonFLS [email protected] 1 Chair'supdate Tomymindtheweathercouldhavehadbetterthissummer,butafterthelongcoldspringwewere deliveredagoodbalanceofsunandraingivingperfectgrowingconditionsandmanyfolkhavesaidthatthe wildflowerswerethebestthey'veseen,somaybeitwasn'tthatbadafterall. Nonetheless,itfeelsasthoughwe'vemadethemostof2013,withthenewlyconstitutedLewis&Harris grouplayingonanexcellentprogrammeofeventsinthespringandfollowingonhereinUistwithagood MattTopsfield numberofCurracagandOHBReventsthroughoutthesummerandonintotheautumn/wintermonthsas andwhentheweatherhaspermitted(andwe'restilllookingforwardto themuchanticipatedandmuch rainedoffbryophytesevent). WewerealsoabletoruntheCurracagPhotographicCompetitionagainin2013andwereveryimpressed withtheentriesreceived.Seeinsidethisnewsletterforaselectionofthesubmittedimages. Lookingforwardto2014,theCurracagAnnualGeneralMeeting isalmostuponus.Thiswillbeheldatthe DarkIslandHotel,BenbeculaonThursday27February2014 at 7pm . WewillreviewtheactivitiesoftheSocietyoverthelastyear,lookforwardtothecomingyearandelect memberstothecommittee.ThereareanumberofcommitteepositionsavailableincludingVice-Chairand EventsCoordinatorwhicharecurrentlyvacant.ThereisalsoanopportunitytotakeontheroleofTreasurer, whichcomeswiththeofferoftrainingandsupportfromourcurrentpostholder.Ifyouareinterestedin anyoftheserolespleasecontacttheChairforaninformaldiscussion(MatthewTopsfield,12Griminish,Isle ofBenbeculaHS75QA,[email protected] ). CopiesoftheAccountsandTreasurer'sReportwillbeavailablefromtheTreasurer(IanThompson, “Suthainn”,Askernish,SouthUistHS85SY,[email protected] )orviatheMembershippagesofthe Curracagwebsite(www.curracag.org.uk/membership.html ). MemberswishingtoraisebusinessattheAGMcannotifytheChairinwritingpriortothemeeting(contact detailsasabove). OuterHebridesBirdReport2008-2010 AtlonglasttheOuterHebridesBirdReportcovering3yearshas beenpublished.With184pagesand8pagesofcolourplates thereportcoversnewspecies-StiltSandpiper,Yellow-billed Cuckoo,Bee-eater,BrownShrike,IberianChiffchaff,Pallas's GrasshopperWarbler,twoHermitThrushes,PechoraPipit, TrumpeterFinchandBlackburnianWarbler.Alsotherewerefirst recordsforHudsonianWhimbrelandSiberianStonechatanda BlackTernoftheNorthAmericanrace. Availablefrom:BrianRabbits,6Carinish,IsleofNorthUistHS6 [email protected]. Price:£8or£10ifposted 2 NewOuterHebridesCountyBirdRecorder Asyoumayalreadyknow,BrianRabbittshasdecidedtostepdownasthecountybirdrecorderforthe OuterHebridesafterholdingthepostfor9yearsandwe(YvonneBentingandIanThompson)willjointlybe takingontheroleasfromthe1stJanuary2014. Duringhistimeasrecorder,Brianservedthisrecordingareafaithfullyandwithdignity.Wewouldliketo takethisopportunitytothankBrianforallhispastendeavoursandsincerelyhopethathewillcontinueto beinvolvedintherecordingofouravifauna. Aswetakeuptheresponsibilityofcountybirdrecorder,wealreadyknowourthreemainchallenges:man power,financesandthesubmissionofrecords. Mostcountyrecordersareassociatedwithalocalornithologicalsocietywhichwouldresource,organise, supportandfinancetherole.Traditionallythecountyrecorderherehasbeencloselyassociatedwith YvonneBenting&IanThompson Curracag,thelocalNaturalHistorySociety.AlthoughCurracaghasmanyactivemembers,theirdisciplines arewithinthewidernaturalworldandnotalwaysfocusedonbirds.Itisalsoasmallsocietyintermsof membershipandhaslimitedresources. Oneareathatwewillexploreistheuseofinnovativesoftwareandweb-basedfacilities,notonlyinthe collectionandcorrelationofsubmittedrecords,butinminimisingthecostsassociatedwiththeproduction andprintingoffuturebirdreports. Withthisinmind,ouremphasiswillbetoencourageasmanypeopleaspossibletoutiliseBirdTrackto submittheirrecords.Inaddition,wehaverecentlyestablishedanewwebsitetobefoundat http://www.outerhebridesbirds.org.ukThesiteisstillinitsinfancy,butalreadycontainsdetailed informationaboutbirdrecordingintheOuterHebridesandincludesanon-linerecordsubmissionformand adownloadablespreadsheetforthosewhoareunfamiliarwithBirdTrack.Thewebsitealsocontainsan arrayofotherinformationincludingagazetteerofplacenamesandraritydescriptionformswhichcanbe downloaded. Forthosewhostillpreferthemorepersonalapproach,wewouldwelcomeallrecordsviaemail,textor telephone.Ouremailcontactdetailsareasfollows:[email protected] Foradditionalcontactdetails,seeourwebsitehttp://www.outerhebridesbirds.org.uk Aswemoveintoanewera,wewouldliketoremindpeoplethatbirdrecordingisnotallaboutrarities. Whileitisexcitingtofindrarebirds,wearejustasinterestedinwhat'shappeninginyourbackgarden- yourrecordscount!Yourrecordsareimportant tous,sonomatterhowyouwishtosubmitthem,please ensurethattheyreachus.Thisisespeciallyimportantifyouareinvolvedinresearchorsurveyworkwithin theOuterHebrides. Ifyouhaveanyqueriespleasedon'thesitatetocontactus. Allbestwishesandgoodbirdingin2014! YourSightingsCount!Posthereorvisithttp://www.outerhebridesbirds.org.uk/formoreinformation. Email:[email protected] 3 SeaSlugAegirespunctilucensatGearaidhGaal,NorthUist:AnUpdate WevisitedthepromontoryofSgeirRuadhatGearaidhGaalonSunday8th September2013tosearchforthe seaslugAegirespunctilucens .Theoccurrenceof A.punctilucens atthissitehasbeenreportedhere previously.Howeverunlikeallpreviousvisitstothesite,whichtookplaceinJuly,thisonewassignificantly laterintheyear.Wehadnoideawhetherwewouldfindanyatthistime. LeeThicket Weneednothaveworriedaswefound5individuals,withaconsiderablevariationinsize.Afollow-upvisit thefollowingday,tocheckadifferentbutnearbysuiteofrockpoolsfoundzero,althoughwedidfind3very colourfulexamplesoftherelativelycommonArchidorispseudoargus . Thephotographshowsan individualbrieflycapturedfor identificationandphotography purposes.Allsuchanimalsshould bereturnedswiftlytothe substratefromwhichtheywere removed. BogOrchidsnearthehillBurabhal,NorthUist:AnUpdate OnourfirstvisittoNorthUistinSeptember(weusuallyvisitinJuly)ourfirstprioritywastovisitthe BurabhalBogOrchidsitestofindoutifthewerestillinflower. OnTuesday3rd September2013wedutifullyvisitedthreeofthesitesandbeganoursearches.Attwoofthe siteswecounted33and17spikesrespectively.Ofthe50spikes,about18werestillinflower,oneofthem LeeThicket quitefreshly,theotherswithrather ‘second-hand’ lookingflowers.Theremainderhadflowerpartsmoreor lessshrivelled.Theplantsaresosmallhoweverthatfromonlyashortdistanceawayeventhespikeswith quiteshrivelledflowerpartscouldgivetheimpressionthattheywerestillinbloom. SomebooksindicatethatBogOrchidscanfloweraslateasSeptemberandourvisitverifiedthatthiscan indeedoccuronNorthUist. SightingofSnowyInkcaponNorthUist OnWednesday11th September2013wesetofffromthecarparkatHostatowalknorthwardsalongthe coastinthedirectionofScolpaig.Thecoasthereisrivenandfoldedinamostfascinatingway,surelya delightforanygeologist. NotfarintoourwalkatNF717732weencounteredapairofInkcapsthatattracteduswiththeirgraceful LeeThicket shapeandsnowywhiteness. Thelargestonehadacapthatwasstuddedwithcoarsegranulesononeside,whiletheoppositesidewas almostdevoidofthese,thedetachedgranules(whichwerefallingoffaswewatched)wereaccumulating 4 aroundthecolumnbelow.Itwasnotedthatthecapshiveredwitheverybreathofwind,whereasthe columnremainedassteadyasarock.WerevisitedthefungiduringourreturntoHostaandexpectedto seethatmanymoreofthegranuleshadbeendetached,butactuallythefungilookedunchangedfromour firstvisit4hoursearlier.PhotographssubmittedtoChristineJohnsonwereidentifiedasSnowyInkcap Coprinopsisnivea. Thehabitathereistypicalcoastalturf,withrelativelyshortgrassandotherplantsduetoexposuretothe wind.Inthesummer,shortstemmedFrogOrchidscanbefoundhere.Theareaisgrazedbycattleandmost
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