Final Wimbledon and Putney Commons ECOLOGICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING REPORT 2019 Photograph courtesy of Alan Wood Final CONTENTS Page THE YEAR IN FOCUS 1 A. SYSTEMATIC RECORDING 7 Results 10 Sward Height 10 Public Use of The Plain – Disturbance Factors 12 Flora 15 Birds 19 Butterflies 25 Dragonflies and Damselflies 27 Moths 28 Other Insects 30 Other Fauna 31 Fungi 34 Putney Lower Common 35 Beverley Brook 37 Environmental Data 39 Reflections and Recommendations 41 B. BIOBLITZ 43 Reflections and Recommendations 49 C. REFERENCES 50 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1 The Location of The Plain and the Newly Restored Section of Beverley Brook on 5 Wimbledon and Putney Commons Figure 2 Short Sward and Heather on the Dry Plain, Mid-May 2019 11 Figure 3 Common Vetch Amidst the Sward, The Plain - Mid-May 2019 11 Figure 4 The Plain in Spring 2019 – Showing How Definition of the Mown Paths Develops as the 14 Season Progresses Figure 5 Adder’s-tongue on The Plain - April 209 16 Figure 6 Tormentil on The Plain - June 2019 17 Figure 7 Michaelmas Daisy Encroaching at Bluegate Gravel Pit Pond - 18 Figure 8 A Dog Enjoying a New Pool at Bluegate Gravel Pit Pond – Early October2019 18 Figure 9 Blackcap - a Characteristic Species of the Commons in 2019 20 Figure 10 The Four Standard Bird Walks at Wimbledon Common (after Dawson 2009) 22 Figure 11 Blue Tit - the Most Frequently Observed Bird Species on the Standard Walks 24 Figure 12 Painted Lady 27 Figure 13 Beautiful Demoiselle 27 Figure 14 Red Sword-grass 28 Figure 15 Dark Crimson Underwing 29 Figure 16 Clifden Nonpareil 29 Figure 17 Some BioBlitz Moths a. Blotched Emerald and b. Poplar Hawk-moth 30 Figure 18 Newly Installed Loggeries - Potential Stag Beetle Habitats near Beverly Brook on 31 Wimbledon Common Figure 19 Frog Spawn at Hookhamslade Pond - 7th March 2019 32 Figure 20 Inspecting a Wood Mouse Found at the Hogweed Patch at BioBlitz Time 33 Figure 21 Ink Caps on The Plain – June 2019 35 Figure 22 Remote Camera Used in Hedgehog Survey 36 Figure 23 Public Information Boards Beside the Beverley Brook on Wimbledon Common 38 Final Figure 24 A Modified Section of Beverley Brook on Wimbledon Common Showing the Newly 39 Exposed Gravel bed Figure 25 A Well Camouflaged Heron Waits in a Tree Beside Beverley Brook 39 Figure 26 Exploring Some Very Mini Beasts with Quekett Microscopical Club Members 43 Figure 27 Emptying a Small Mammal Trap – 6.38am on Sunday Morning near Hookhamslade 44 Pond Figure 28 The BioBlitz General Nature Walk Route 45 Figure 29 Plant and Insect Interactions a. a. Small Tortoiseshell butterfly (Aglais urticae) amidst Yellow Rattle, Red Clover, 45 Ribwort Plantain and Lesser Stitchwort (Stellaria graminea) b. Peacock Butterfly caterpillars feeding on Nettles 46 c. Robin’s Pincushion Gall on Dog Rose. 46 LIST OF TABLES Table 1 Mowing Dates for the Conservation Zone of the Plain 2008-2019 6 Table 2 Summary of Systematic Recording in 2019 and Recent Years 9 Table 3 Observations of Disturbance on The Plain, March-May 2019 12 Table 4 Recording Effort and Overall Plant Species counts on The Plain 2014-19 17 Table 5 The Number of Bird Species Reported Each Year by Amateur Enthusiasts, 2014-19. 20 Table 6 A Summary of Bird Sightings for The Plain – Extracted From the Bi-Monthly Reports of 21 Amateur Observers Used to Compile the Annual Bird Report Table 7 Bird Standard Walk Data – The Most Frequently Observed Species and some Target 23 Species of Special Conservation Interest for WPCC Table 8a Re-established Long-term Transect (After Gay Carr and Now Including Plateau Sites 26 Including The Plain) Table 8b New Transect Wimbledon Common SW and Fishponds Wood 26 Table 9 Summary of Common Lizard Sightings Reported in 2019 31 Table 10 Mammals Sighted or Evident from Other Signs -Wimbledon and Putney Commons 2019 34 Table 11 Fish Records for the Wimbledon Section of Beverley Brook 38 Table 12 Winter (January-March) and Integrated Summer Rainfall (April - September) at Raynes 40 Park (SW20) Table 13 2018 and 2019 Winter, Spring and Summer Rainfall Totals Compared with the Wettest 40 and Driest Years Recorded at Raynes Park Table 14 Summary of BioBlitz Sightings 2019 48 LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix 1 The Wildlife and Conservation Forum and Volunteer Recorders 52 Appendix 2 Wildlife and Conservation Events at Wimbledon and Putney Commons 53 Appendix 3a Floral Records for The Plain-2019, Wimbledon and Putney Commons, 2019 54 Appendix 3b BioBlitz Plant Communities- The Habitat Patches - 2019 59 Appendix 3c Recent Floral Records for Wimbledon Common and Putney Heath from Surrey 65 Botanical Society. Appendix 4a Bird Standard Walk Data for Route A 83 Appendix 4b Bird Standard Walk Data for Route B 85 Appendix 4c Bird Standard Walk Data for Route C 87 Appendix 4d Bird Standard Walk Data for Route D 89 Appendix 4e Bird Standard Walks 2019 - Comparative Data Summary 91 Appendix 5a Butterflies of Wimbledon Common – The Re-established Long-Term Transect 92 Appendix 5b Butterflies of Wimbledon Common SW and Fishponds Wood 2019 93 Appendix 6 Moths Recorded in The Moth trap Wimbledon Common and Putney Heath 94 Appendix 7 Small Mammal Capture - Release Survey Data 111 Appendix 8 Putney Lower Common Wildlife Sightings – January -December 2019 113 Appendix 9 Beverley Brook Species List to End June 2019 and Riverfly Data 116 Appendix 10 Rainfall Figures for SW20 8DX 2005 to the Present 121 Appendix 11 BioBlitz Flyer 2019 122 Appendix 12 BioBlitz Fauna and Overall Totals for the Main Faunal Groups 2019 124 Final Dennis Fullwood It is with sadness we must report the death of Dennis Fullwood, of the Quekett Microscopical Club, in May 2020. As well as coordinating the Quekett’s contribution to our Commons Open Day for over 20 years, Dennis was a keen supporter of many of our other events, particularly the walks and talks. Dennis and his Quekett colleagues also played a big part in our BioBlitz Weekend of Nature event, linking their work to the wider events by collecting samples from around the nature walk route, and opening up a fascinating new dimension on the Commons’ flora and fauna to our visitors. We will always be grateful for his support and friendship and he will be missed. Thanks are due to everyone who has contributed records 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 the report. Final Wimbledon and Putney Commons ECOLOGICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AT WIMBLEDON AND PUTNEY COMMONS 2019 THE YEAR IN FOCUS 2019 was another year with climate challenges. Low rainfall characterised late winter, spring and early summer continuing the dry conditions of 2018 (National Climate information Centre, 2019a). There was no significant period of winter replenishment of the ground water table and by early summer many of the Commons’ ponds had low water levels with exposed muddy perimeters. Bluegate pond became completely dry. At their July outdoor meeting, which included visits to four other ponds on the Commons, Wildlife and Conservation Forum (W&C Forum) members saw clearly the extensive retreat of the pond margins at Kingsmere and Scio pond and the shallow Curling pond was virtually dry throughout. Heavy rainfall in early June and a damp July made little impact on these areas. Both months also experienced very warm weather with, in July, a new record maximum temperature for the UK recorded at the Cambridge Botanic garden (38.7°C) and more locally temperatures at Heathrow Airport reaching a maximum of 37.9°C (National Climate information Centre, 2019b). Nights were also very warm; London City airport recording 27°C at 01.20 hours on 26th July. Globally July was the warmest month ever recorded (Walker, 2019; NoAA, 2019). August too was warm (Heathrow Airport maximum 33.4°C) with below average rainfall such that despite the high rainfall totals of June it remained possible to walk dry shod across Bluegate pond well into the autumn. However, starting with rain showers in September, the weather patterns shifted to give slightly above average totals throughout September to November and more markedly above average in December. Across Britain, flooding became characteristic of winter 2019-2020 and the Commons have seen a substantive rise in the water table. By February 2020 almost forgotten springs and small channels were flowing from the high plateau areas; drainage ditches were full; and the Beverley Brook had been in spate. This current situation is good news for the ponds and remnant mires. It should especially help with ecological restoration at Farm Bog where Commons’ maintenance staff are working in collaboration with volunteers from the Merton Branch of the London Wildlife Trust (LWT). With direction from the Conservation and Engagement Officer (C&EO), the maintenance team are building new dams which will complement efforts by volunteers to maintain small pool areas and control invasive scrub and grasses especially Purple Moor-grass (Molinia caerulea) and Bracken (Pteridium aquilinum). Contrasting with the autumn and winter damp, the prolonged dry period in early 2019 following the hot dry summer of 2018 saw a marked shift in the vegetation structure of The Plain. Small tussocks of tall grass persisted along former drainage channels and in some isolated clumps but more generally the grassy sward height was reduced across wide-spread areas. The low-growing herbaceous mosaic was spectacularly revealed.