Towcester Local Group News Future meetings All indoor meetings start at 7:30 at the Saracens Head Hotel, Towcester, NN12 6BX Monday 17th May 2010 Mark Tyrell, the recorder for the Northamptonshire Branch of the British Dragonfly society, will be giving an illustrated presentation on dragonflies, basic identification and the work of the society There will be no indoor meetings during June, July and August. The next indoor meeting will take place on 20th September Future activities Monday 3rd May – Mayday fair The society will have a stall at the Mayday fair on the recreation ground. Saturday 20th June – Guided Walk with Buckingham Canal Society A guided walk by the Buckingham Canal Society will take place on Sunday 20th June. The walk will take us to a section of the disused Buckingham Canal and then to the Hyde Lane Lakes Nature Reserve. Animals that can be found on the reserve include Long Eared Bats, Great Crested Grebes and Muntjac deer. Otters have been seen near the River Ouse which will also be part of the visit. For those interested in coming meet at the entrance to the site at 10am (see directions below). The gate is normally kept locked, so our guides will open it to allow us to park. We will be asking for a £2 donation from each visitor to give to the Canal Society for their efforts on our behalf. The visit should last 2 hours or less. The guides will let people in provided they arrive on time. Arrangements can be made for anyone who may need to leave early. There is plenty of parking on site. Toilets can be found in Buckingham if required. The grid reference to the site is: SP721350. For more information on the group visit www.buckinghamcanal.org.uk Directions from Towcester: 1. Take the A5 towards Milton Keynes. 2. At the first roundabout take the A422 towards Buckingham. 3. After about 5 miles you will see a sign for the village of Foscote, a little beyond it on your right is a pylon and a brown sign for Winslow Auctions. 4. We meet our guides at the farm gate on the left, OPPOSITE this sign. Towcester Wildlife Trust 1 Issue 2 – Spring 2010 Saturday 17th July - Guided walk around Hanson Environmental Centre This centre is near to Linford Lakes on the northern edge of Milton Keynes and was formerly a working gravel pit providing building materials for the construction of the nearby M1 motorway and later for the development of Milton Keynes. In 1971 a research project was started on the site to examine ways of maximising the potential of old gravel pits for wildlife and conservation. The centre continues as a place for studying the environment and is a successful educational field centre. The visit will comprise of a short Power Point introduction to the reserve and its species with an emphasis on birds, followed by a guided walk and visits to the bird watching hides with an expert bird watcher. The meeting starts at 10.30am at the centre and will last for about two hours. There is parking for about 30 cars. There is a charge of £3 per person for this visit. The address of the centre is Hanson Environmental Study Centre Wolverton Road Great Linford Milton Keynes MK14 5AH Local Updates The Shires A group of 11 Wildlife Trust volunteers took part in a clean-up of the grass land areas by the Shires estate on Saturday 17th April, as part of the CPRE 'Stop the Drop' national campaign. During a 2 hour period we managed to fill about 25 bags full of litter. We also removed other items which included an old bicycle, a newish child's scooter, a car battery, and the obligatory traffic cone! It was a very satisfying event on a beautiful day, with a number of passing people thanking us for our efforts in attempting to tidy up a very neglected area. Towcester Wildlife Trust 2 Issue 2 – Spring 2010 Belle Baulk The return of the frogs Nick Holder (Towcester Branch secretary and Belle Baulk resident) Each year in early spring, large numbers of frogs and toads migrate back to the Balance Lake in Belle Baulk Park to spawn. The frogs, all Common Frogs, group together in the pond weed and, with a lot of 'activity', they produce great clumps of frog spawn. Well over 100 frogs can be seen in the pond during this time, causing the water to look as if it is boiling as they scrambled about. They are followed soon after by a number of toads breeding in the lake, ensuring that there should be plenty of offspring to keep the area alive with amphibian wildlife. One problem the frogs and toads have in their migration to the lake is the hazard of the Belle Baulk estate, especially the road! Despite the impromptu attempts by some residents to help them cross safely a few casualties are usually sustained. However, enough make it to the lake to ensure it is a successful breading season. Water Meadows The Water Meadows were officially opened on Monday 12th April by the Duke of Gloucester. The Towcester Wildlife Trust received an invitation to the event and was allocated an area within the main tent to publicise our group. We set up information about the group and provided activities for the children in the form of colouring pictures for the younger children and a quiz for the older children, requiring them to identify a number of items on display. Dave Reed represented the society for the meeting with the Duke. Sexton Beetle Chris Emary A Sexton Beetle found when visiting the Water Meadows Towcester last June is termed as one of the undertakers of the Insect World. There are some six/seven species of this type of beetle in the United Kingdom. These beetles, such as the Saxton beetle shown in the picture, are basically scavenger/burying insects feeding on carrion. They look for small, dead rodents, birds etc., to feed on, sometimes burrowing under the creature and then pushing the dead corpse into the hole and covering it over. They will then digest the remains over a period of time. They will also use the carcass as a food source on which to raise their young. Towcester Wildlife Trust 3 Issue 2 – Spring 2010 River Tove Dragonflies and Damselflies Chris Emary The River Tove, for the majority of its length, is an extremely important feature of the South Northamptonshire landscape. Because it is fast flowing in some sections, it attracts good, breeding numbers of the Beautiful Demoiselle Calopteryx virgo, which is listed as an endangered species in the County Red Data Book In Towcester, along one 100m stretch, over 150 individuals have been found during a single recording visit. Most of these would appear to be maturing individuals that move along the river to fasting flowing sections to breed. Some of the other species that can be found on the River Tove are the Banded Demoiselle Calopteryx splendens; White legged Damselfly Platycnemis pennipes; Large Red Damselfly Pyrrhosoma nymphula and Brown Hawker Aeshna grandis to name but a few. In 2013 the British Dragonfly Society intends to publish a national atlas for the dragonflies and damselflies of the United Kingdom. The work undertaken locally and throughout the County is therefore ongoing. To date some 27 different species have been recorded in Northamptonshire, with nineteen being seen locally. Dragonfly Reference book In 2006 a book entitled “The Dragonflies of Northamptonshire”, was published by Mark Tyrrell, the County Recorder for the British Dragonfly Society. This was the first, published study of the Dragonflies and Damselflies in Northamptonshire. The publication shows full colour photographs and distribution maps for individual species. Dragonfly habitats throughout the county are discussed, along with dragonfly recording and conservation issues. This work was sponsored by a number of organisations including the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire and Peterborough. Copies of “The Dragonflies of Northamptonshire” are still available for purchase. Anyone interested in purchasing this book can contact Chris Emary at [email protected]. Contact Details Website: http://towcesterwildlife.wordpress.com Email: [email protected] Towcester Wildlife Trust 4 Issue 2 – Spring 2010.