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Contents
APRIL 2015
Bristol Naturalist News
Photo © David Davies
Discover Your Natural World
Bristol Naturalists’ Society
BULLETIN NO. 539 APRIL 2015
BULLETIN NO. 539 APRIL 2015
Bristol Naturalists’ Society
Discover Your Natural World
Registered Charity No: 235494
www.bristolnats.org.uk
HON. PRESIDENT : David Hill,
BSc (Sheff), DPhil (Oxon).
HON. CHAIRMAN: Roger Steer, Winpenny
Cottage, Bagstone, Wotton-u-Edge, GL12 8BD
[email protected] 01454 294371
HON. PROCEEDINGS EDITOR:
Mr. Richard Bland, 18a Knoll Hill, BS9 1RA
[email protected] 0117 9681061
HON. SEC.: Lesley Cox
07786 437 528
[email protected]
HON. M EM'SHIP SEC.: Mrs. Margaret Fay
81 Cumberland Rd., BS1 6UG. 0117 921 4280
[email protected]
HON. TREASURER: Mr Stephen Fay,
81 Cumberland Rd., BS1 6UG. 0117 921 4280
[email protected]
CONTENTS
3
Diary of Events
In praise of Richard Bland
4
Society Walk
Brian Frost at 80
5
Chairman’s Notes
Phenology
6
ORNITHOLOGY SECTION
Fieldwork, Recent News,
Pigeons and street lamp (re-)design
8
LIBRARY
Reading Group
BULLETIN DISTRIBUTION
Hand deliveries save about £800 a year, so help
is much appreciated. Offers please to:
HON. CIRCULATION SEC.: Brian Frost, 60 Purdy
Court, New Station Rd, Fishponds, Bristol, BS16
3RT. 0117 9651242. [email protected] He will
be pleased to supply further details. Also
contact him about problems with (non-)delivery.
BULLETIN COPY DEADLINE: 7th of month before
publication to the editor: David B Davies,
9
INVERTEBRATE SECTION
Notes for April
10 BOTANY SECTION
Botanical notes: Arnos Vale – report &
next mtg; Edwin Wheeler;
Margaret Webster’s buttercup;
Records & ‘Wanted’; Oliver Rackham
Provisional future meetings
The Summer House, 51a Dial Hill Rd., Clevedon, BS21
7EW. 01275 873167 [email protected]
13 GEOLOGY SECTION
Grants: The society can make grants of up to
Future meetings
£500 for projects that meet the Society’s
charitable aims of promoting research and
education in natural history & its conservation in
the Bristol region. Grant information and an
application form can be downloaded from:
http://bns.myspecies.info/search/site/Grants
Completed applications can be emailed but only
to: [email protected]
Postal applications to: BNS Grant Applications,
20 Harcourt Hill, Redland, Bristol BS6 7RB.
Health & Safety on walks: Members
participate at their own risk. They are
responsible for being properly clothed and shod.
Dogs may only be brought on a walk with prior
agreement of the leader.
14 MAMMAL SECTION
Presidential vacancy
14 MISCELLANY
Avon Gorge & Downs Wildlife Project
Botanic Garden
BNHC needs expert volunteers
16 Society SUBSCRIPTIONS
Cover picture: 4th March, on a garden
fence.
Mark Pajak writes: Nursery Web Spider
Bristol Naturalists’
Society
(Pisaura mirabilis). These spiders make a nest
out of web in World
long grass and protect it until
Discover Your Natural
their young emerge.
Registered Charity No: 235494
www.bristolnats.org.uk
2
Diary of events
Back to contents
Council usually meets on the first Wednesday of each month. Any member can attend, but
must give advance notice if wishing to speak.
Visitors & guests are very welcome at any of our meetings. If contact details are given,
please contact the leader beforehand, and make yourself known on arrival. We hope that
you will enjoy the meeting, and consider joining the Society. To find out how to join, visit
http://bns.myspecies.info and click on membership.
APRIL 2015
Thu 2
Walk: Ham and Berkeley
Sat 11 Walk: Blaise Woods
Wed 29 Walk: Leigh Woods
Sun 19 Dockside Spider Survey
Sun 26 150th Anniversary Trip to Leigh Woods
Sun 26 Prior’s Wood, Portbury
Society
Ornithology
Ornithology
Invertebrate
Invertebrate
Botany
OTHER EVENTS OF INTEREST
Wed 1 Apr. Family animal sing-along (Family event)
Fri-Mon 3-6 Apr. Easter Sculpture Festival
Sun 19 Apr. Early birds and bacon butties
Fri/Sat 24/25 Apr. Birdsong on the Downs (Course)
25 Apr-6 May Tour of Sicily
Sun 26 Apr. Brilliant birds family walk
Gorge & Downs 14:00 page 14
Botanic Garden
page 15
Gorge & Downs 06:00 page 14
Gorge & Downs
page 14
Botanic Garden
page 15
Gorge & Downs 08:00 page 14
10:00
10:00
18:30
13:00
14:00
11:00
page 4
page 6
page 6
page 9
page 9
page 10
RICHARDTHE LION-HEARTED
O
ur good friend Wikipedia (whatever happened to the Encyclopædia Britannica?) tells us
that the Germanic first, or given, name Richard derives from German, French and
English and translates as “powerful leader”.
There is no question that our own Richard Bland had to be a very powerful and, more
importantly, an intelligent, able, steadfast and skilled leader to prepare, deliver and oversee our
Celebration of Nature Day and make it the outstanding success that it undoubtedly was. As
Organiser, he had to withstand the pressures of differing organisations’ requirements, the
varying efficiency of those with whom he dealt and survive the ’help’ he received from us!
Through it all, he negotiated, encouraged, organised and occasionally even ignored as
necessary, in order to arrive at the desired goal in a way that only someone with his brilliance,
experience and skill could.
We owe Richard an enormous vote of thanks for the huge amount of work that he put into
the project to make it a remarkable success: - for those of us who were involved in the
preparation in some miniscule way, for those of us on duty on the day, for those of us who came
to visit and for those of us who learnt something along the way.
All together now, THREE CHEERS FOR RLB, hip, hip ……
Thanks Richard. The benefits emanating from the Celebration of Nature will soon be
manifest and will extend well into the future, bringing significant and important nuances into
focus. We hope you enjoyed the event as much as we all did. Your hard work was definitely
worth it for us; we hope it was for you, too.
Lnc.
3
SOCIETY ITEMS
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Society Mid-week Walk
Thursday 2nd April 2015.
The Salutation Inn, Ham, Berkeley, Glos. About 3.5 miles.
This pub won a 2014 CAMRA Pub of the Year Award and was a Food & Farming Awards finalist.
Meet at 10am at the Salutation Inn, GL13 9QH / ST680984. This whitewashed Pub in
the middle of a small village is surprisingly difficult to notice. Once you realise that it is
in the middle of the village, stands at right angles to the road and has a car park by
the side, it appears as if by magic. The first part of the walk is along the Little Avon
River and then we climb Whitcliff Park to the Deer Park where we will see a shy and
retiring herd of Fallow Deer and even one White Hart. On the skyline are stormshattered trees and some recumbent giants.
The area is on the Severn flood-plain and the amount of water is unpredictable but
regular walkers will know that the leader carries out a full inspection of the route
shortly beforehand so difficulties can be overcome by planning. It is advisable to bring
‘wellies’ with you but almost certainly ordinary good footwear should be adequate.
We expect to return to the venue by 1pm and find a warm welcome, a log fire and
good refreshments waiting for us.
Tony Smith, telephone: 0117 965 6566
mobile 07941 366 071
email [email protected]
(Next walk: Thursday 7th May)
Brian Frost at 80
th
The colour cover of the March Bulletin was contributed by Brian, who celebrated his 80
birthday on the 3rd of the month; what your editor failed to mention was that he not only
contributed the pictures but paid himself the considerable cost of having the cover in
colour. Apologies (and thanks!) to him, and thanks to Richard Bland for the following note:
I don’t think many people realised that Brian Frost had paid for the colour cover of the last
bulletin to celebrate his 80th birthday. He can’t get about much these days, and many
people won’t know him well, but he has been central to the BNS for the past sixty years, a
record which is unlikely ever to be broken. He organises the monthly distribution of the
bulletins, a job that combines being very tedious with being absolutely essential, and he
does it with a meticulous accuracy that I couldn’t begin to achieve. People like him
probably cannot comprehend how slipshod individuals such as I am can cope with their
lives, but he is very long suffering, and forgiving, and it is valuable to know that he will
usually have the answer to the most obscure detail. We are all immensely grateful to his
contribution over such a long period.
4
Back to contents / Back to Diary
CHAIRMAN’S NOTES
I am writing this the day after our ‘Celebration’. I hope that those who attended, enjoyed
it. I also hope that you thought, as I did, that we had made a ‘suitable’ contribution to the
“Bristol, Green Capital” events. For those who were unable to come along, let me explain
that we had stands from the RSPB, National Trust, and many local wildlife groups, both
small and large like the AWT. In my view, the extra benefit was that these groups could
meet each other, and they certainly did. Conversations went on all over the room. Ideas
were exchanged and new alliances forged. This sort of exchange is impossible in the
melee of the Festival of Nature, so we were pleased to provide this venue. I’d like to take
this opportunity to thank all of those (and there were many) who made a contribution.
Embedded in the Celebration, we held our AGM. I am pleased to say that this
arrangement, despite misgivings, worked well. We elected a new Council but, sadly, with a
few vacancies still unfilled.
Proceedings Editor – Richard Bland has stood down from this post, and we seek a
person to take on the running of our major publication. Richard has offered to provide
information, and guidance as needed.
Publicity Secretary – The lack of this officer was keenly felt during the run-up to the
Celebration. We need someone with some knowledge and experience in this area, who
could help us promote the Society over the varied media that exist today.
Mammal Section Representative – Two stalwarts of this group now find themselves
unable to give the time that they did to this section, so we seek two, preferably three,
people who could take it forward.
We need all of these NOW. And besides them …
Treasurer - Steve Fay has earlier indicated, and now announced at the AGM, that he
intends to stand down as Treasurer in the Summer of 2016. He has offered to help anyone
willing to take on this post, and to be there as support during account preparation. The
earlier we can find a new Treasurer, the longer the handover and more painless it can be.
Roger Steer
PHENOLOGY
February was the coldest February since 1990, and almost four degrees colder than last
year. It was well below the recent ten, twenty and thirty year averages, and below the long
term average since 1853. There were ten frost nights, eight of them cold enough to cover
ponds with ice. The whole winter however was totally average in both temperature and
rainfall, because a warm December was balanced by a cold February. As a result Hazel
catkins and Snowdrops appeared spot on the average date for the past fifteen years, and
then everything was put on hold, and Celandine and Frogspawn were two weeks late, and
there are as I write at the end of February about eleven events which have normally
happened by now, but are still to come this year. So spring is starting late - but of course
can very easily catch up if the weather is right.
Richard Bland
5
ORNITHOLOGY SECTION
PRESIDENT:- Mike Johnson 0117 953 2545 [email protected]
HON SEC.:- Lesley Cox 07786 437528 [email protected]
Back to contents / Back to Diary
FIELD MEETINGS
Field meetings are open to non-members; just turn up at the start point and make the leader aware of
your presence so that he/she may ensure that you enjoy the meeting to its fullest.
A WALK THROUGH BLAISE WOODS
Leader: Richard Bland
Saturday 11 April
10.00am
Meet at 10.00 at the Combe Bridge carpark in Combe Dingle at ST 5575 7729. (I gave an
8 figure grid ref because if you google Get a grid and type this number in, it brings up a
map with the exact position shown to within ten metres). The walk will last two hours, and
is uphill on a good path until we turn around and come back. We will look and listen to the
birds, admire the trees, and if we are wise bring the wonderful article in the 2011 Nature in
Avon describing the geology of the walk, which starts 360 million years ago. Suitable for
newcomers to bird watching.
A WALK THROUGH LEIGH WOODS
Leader: Richard Bland
Wednesday 29 April
6.30pm
Meet at the North Road entrance at ST5551 7300 at 6.30 for a two hour walk through the
National Trust Reserve. Bird song is close to its maximum at this point in the year, and
most migrants should be in. We might find the Marsh Tit which is well established there.
The track is rugged in parts, and can be muddy. We will walk out to the tip of Leigh Camp,
overlooking the Avon and apart from the birds we should see Green hellebore, ancient
veteran Oaks and small-leaved lime, and admire the impact that grazing by a small herd
has made in the past few years
FIELDWORK
Garden bird watch records.
These should be sent to me, preferably electronically as soon as possible after the end of
March so that I can get a report out rapidly.
Richard Bland
18a Knoll Hill, BS9 1RA
[email protected]
RECENT BIRD NEWS
February
Most of the notable birds in February were long staying winter visitors such as Chew's
Great Northern Diver, Great White Egret, Scaup and the 2 (male and female but separate)
Red-breasted Mergansers. One of the last, the drake, is invariably paired with a female
Goosander and on the rare occasions he has been seen near the female he studiously
ignores her. The two species breed along the same rivers in some parts of their range so
might this drake merganser have been mixed up with a Goosander brood and imprinted on
the wrong species? The female merganser seems to consort with small groups of
Goosander in other parts of the lake.
6
Green-winged Teals featured again with the Aust bird reported again on 21st and
another on the Axe Estuary on 15th. Blagdon's Black-necked Grebe began to show signs
of spring finery by the end of the month. More signs of spring were provided by the
Mediterranean Gull passage at Chew where a record 14 were in the roost on 13th. We still
don't do anything like as well for this species as some nearby areas where three figure
counts are now routine. Ferrybridge/Portland Harbour recently topped a thousand! A
Whimbrel reported at Sand Point on 28th would be too early for a long distance migrant but
tiny numbers do winter around some of our coast so a wintering bird on the move is more
plausible. Bramblings have been very scarce this winter - there was one at Abbots Leigh
on 10th but I don't know of any others. Finally there were two reports of large flocks (4050) of Mistle Thrushes in fields - much more Fieldfare-like behaviour, especially in winter. It
would be useful if the observers could provide some kind of evidence to back up these
claims, as in their way they are as unusual as last month's wintering Reed Warbler!
John Martin
Back to contents / Back to Diary
Unusual behaviour by Pigeons leads to redesign of street lamps.
t has been reported in the journal, ‘Electrical Equipment Design and Nature’, 2014, part
7, that a new and 75% more efficient design of street lamp with a minimal light pollution
glare factor from a well-known electrical manufacturers in Lancashire had to be slightly
but significantly altered when it failed to respond as required at dusk and dawn. People
complained in the trial areas, Preston, Blackburn, Burnley, Bury, Rochdale and Wigan that
the lamps often would not come on at dusk but would light up soon after dawn. Mr John
Tremble, 42, the head of the design team initially admitted in November 2013 that although
the tests carried out on all the components of the automatic system proved them 100%
reliable, when installed by local authorities in streets and lanes around the backs of
peoples’ properties they lost control. Mr Oswald Blenkinsop a resident in one of the trial
areas was most vociferous in his condemnation of the waste of local authority ratepayers’
Council Tax said, ‘It was like the birds were switching off the lights when going to rest.
They don’t read in bed like us humans do!’
It was thought that wildlife might have something to do with the problem and birds were
cited but it wasn’t until local unmarried mother of seven and keen bird-watcher, Sue-Mary
Strickland, 47, trained her binoculars from the top back bedroom window of her council
house on Mavis Street, Ince-in-Markerfield, Wigan, on the nearest new street lamp that she
noticed that individual pigeons settled down on the flat top surface and covered the
projecting hemispherical photometer at quite erratic times during the day. Her report,
recorded in the journal, ‘West Lancashire Nature’, Summer, 2014, prompted thousands of
other enthusiasts to focus their cameras and binoculars on this behaviour. It remained a
mystery for only another few days after the publication of the article, when local GP Dr
Reginald Ormerod, 97, stated on twitter that the hemispherical design, mottled off-white
colour, exact dimensions and central disposition of the photometer on the top of the lamp
were acting as a trigger to both male and female pigeon-pairs to brood the object as an
egg, so darkening the photometer in daylight and causing its mechanism to switch on the
light.
At a stroke the problem was identified and a simple rectilinear redesign of the shape of
the transparent photometer cover solved the problem.
Tony Smith
I
7
LIBRARY
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HON. LIBRARIAN: Jim Webster [email protected].
BNS Library at Bristol City Museum & Art Gallery, BS8 1RL.
Open: Wed. 1.15pm-2.15pm, Sat. 10.15am-12.15pm.
Committee member on duty: 0117 922 3651 (library opening hours).
FROM THE ARCHIVES
BNS Proceedings becoming available online
Some months ago Council signed an agreement with the Biodiversity Heritage Library that
their participating organisations could scan copies of our Proceedings as held by them and
make them freely available to the public (including BNS members). There are only three
restrictions.



BNS retains commercial rights; and
Any user should acknowledge the source of the material; and
There is a moratorium on digitisation until two years after publication.
Direct access to the Society’s digitised Proceedings through an index of parts is available
at http://biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/98898#/summary (or Google Biodiversity
Heritage Library and use the website search). At the time of writing the digitisation is still
progressing but most parts from 1866 to 1995 are already available. These can (for
instance) be downloaded as searchable PDF files or even read out to you online in the
voice of an American lady.
As a result, the Library can now follow the policy agreed by Council that no more than 10
copies need be retained of any part of the Proceedings. It is quite a surprise that we have
so many spare copies of Proceedings issued as far back as the late 1860’s when the
format was rather like the Bulletin is today. On the other hand some years have been out
of print for a long time. The 1905 volume with the photographs and overlays of the
geological sequence exposed in the Avon Gorge is one.
We can still make up substantial sets of the printed volumes for members who apply, and
may be able to fill gaps in members’ collections. Anyone with a reasonable need to draw
on the Society’s stock of back copies of the Proceedings should apply to the Library
Committee through the Secretary (Clive Lovatt) or the Librarian (Jim Webster) or Chair
(Richard Bland).
Clive Lovatt, 8 March 2015
READING GROUP / BOOK CLUB
The Reading Group welcomes new members
Contact: Frances Thompson 0117 930 9974 [email protected]
The reading group welcomes new members so please contact as above to find out
about the book(s) we are currently reading and the date and place for the next
evening meetings.
8
INVERTEBRATE SECTION
PRESIDENT: Mark Pajak [email protected]
SECRETARY: Tony Smith 0117 965 6566 [email protected]
Back to contents / Back to Diary
FIELD MEETINGS
DOCKSIDE SPIDER SURVEY
Leader: Mark Pajak
Sunday 19th April
1pm
Meet at MShed at 1pm. We will be examining the Bristol Harbourside from the M Shed to
Hotwells for signs of synanthropic* and water loving spider life. This will involve trialling
mobile technology to log data on web types and position in an effort to develop new
methods in mobile recording (bring a 3G phone if you have one!). We may also stop off for
refreshments as we take the circular route around the harbourside.
*synanthropic: Synanthropes are animals, often (but not necessarily) considered pests, which are
not domesticated but live near and benefit from humans and their dwellings.
ANNIVERSARY TRIP TO LEIGH WOODS
Leaders: Ray Barnett and Mark Pajak
Sunday 26th April
2pm
Meet at 2pm North Road entrance to Leigh Woods. 150 years after the very first
Entomological Section field meeting took place (April 24 1865), We will be following in our
predecessors’ footsteps for a trip to Leigh Woods.
INVERTEBRATE NOTES FOR APRIL 2015
T
he day of the BNS ‘Celebration’ event (7 March) neatly coincided with one of the sunniest
and warmest days of the year so far and hence bumble and honey bees and hoverflies
were all on the wing heralding the arrival of spring in this European Green Capital year.
Sadly news on the condition of our native insect fauna has not been so sunny recently. In
February, Natural England (in collaboration with Buglife) published two reports from their
‘Species Status Project’, one on the current status of leaf beetles and the other on stoneflies.
Leaf beetles (the family Chrysomelidae) are well represented in our area especially on
calcareous grassland where you can often find in summer the highly metallic and reflective
species such as the bright green Cryptocephalus aureolus. However this report in summary
states: of the 283 species in the UK, 3 have become extinct in Britain in the last 100 years, 7 are
classified as critically endangered and possibly already extinct in Britain (as they have not been
seen since 1950) and 35 are placed on the new red list and considered either ‘critically
endangered’, ‘endangered’ or ‘vulnerable’, and under threat of becoming extinct in Britain in the
near future.
With stoneflies (Order Plecoptera) of the 34 British species, one is now extinct, one is
vulnerable to extinction, and another now joins the red list as a critically endangered species.
You may have come across stoneflies whenever near water courses (of which of course our
region is well served) as they have aquatic larvae, but even if you recognised them for what they
are did you realise there are so many species in this country? Plecoptera is one of those insect
groups which has never been particularly popular with amateur (and even professional)
entomologists so why not choose to study them in the Bristol region and help us discover how
many species we have? Their identification and mapping can also be extremely useful in
monitoring water borne pollution as the larvae are very sensitive to the water quality.
Ray Barnett 07/03/15
9
BOTANY SECTION
PRESIDENT:- Vacant
HON. SEC:- Clive Lovatt 07 851 433 920 ([email protected])
Back to contents / Back to Diary
FIELD MEETINGS – Discovering the wild plants of the Bristol Region
Field meetings are mainly held from April to September, at various times and days of the
week. In many cases we will be recording the plants towards the Botanical Society of
Britain and Ireland’s planned “Atlas 2020”. At the same time, inspired by Bristol becoming
the Green capital of Europe for 2015, we will be visiting a number of Bristol’s green
spaces. All meetings will afford an opportunity for extending health, friendship and
recreation (as the author of the Flora of Bristol put it a century ago). Following the motto
above, there will be plenty of opportunity for learning plants. A number of meetings will be
jointly held with the Somerset Rare Plants Group and other local groups.
Send me an email with BNS Botany in the subject line if you would like to be on a mailing
list about BNS Botany meetings (advance notices, reports etc).
PRIOR’S WOOD, PORTBURY
Clive Lovatt and Liz McDonnell
Sunday 26 April
11.00am
Meet at 11am at Portbury below Prior’s Wood on Caswell Lane where the footpaths climb
up to the woods. There is limited parking at the meeting place at ST497751 but plenty of
roadside parking in Portbury. It will be an ‘explore and record’ meeting.
Prior’s Wood is owned and managed by Avon Wildlife Trust. The ground flora and
woodland structure look quite varied as a result of past management. Bluebells carpet the
woods in places and it should be a spectacular sight at the time of our visit. There is even
a 20 minute video of a walk in season on YouTube! Herb Paris and Small-leaved Lime
occur.
The woods have some muddy pathways and slopes so good footwear is essential. If you
wish to stay for the afternoon, please bring a packed lunch.
For those that will, there may be an opportunity after the meeting to see Small-flowered
Buttercup Ranunculus parviflorus and any remaining Early Meadow-grass Poa infirma, at
Gordano Services.
Coming up in May (provisional)
Troopers Hill. Monday 4 May 2pm
Arnos Vale – follow-up from indoor meeting. Possibly Sunday 17 May afternoon.
Kings Weston and Penpole Point. Date and time to be confirmed.
Leigh Woods – plants of acid soils. Thursday 28 May 7pm
10
Back to contents / Back to Diary
BOTANICAL NOTES
Indoor meeting report – Monday 23 February 2015 – ARNOS VALE CEMETERY – An
Urban Nature Reserve
We had a good audience of two dozen for Mary Wood’s charming presentation which as
well as illustrating the efforts made in rejuvenating the site, placed it in the cultural
landscape. Was it not inevitable that a version of Dracula was partly filmed there should
be credited to Highgate Cemetery? Mary described the variety of gravestones and
monuments and how the floral motifs on the stones often mirrored the plants to be found,
planted or wild, on the site.
See the May Bulletin for details of a follow-up evening field meeting.
Edwin Wheeler (1831-1909)
In the last Bulletin there was a query from David Clarke for further details of a deceased
BNS member who had resided in Clifton, Edwin Wheeler, and hopefully a photograph.
Clarke’s interest in Wheeler grew from his discovery of an album of fungi in Carlisle
Museum. I was able to provide him with some information, but not a likeness. White gives
a brief account of him as part of his History of Bristol Botany – Wheeler was well respected
as a modest and unselfish naturalist and collector and illustrator in water-colour, and he
used to make presents of albums of drawings. There are apparently some 2,500 of his
paintings of fungi in the Natural History Museum and more (specifically from Somerset) at
Kew. His vascular plant herbarium ended up at Kew as well.
A homeopathic chemist on the Triangle, close to Bristol Museum, the professional motto on
his letterhead was “Wheeler’s invaluable remedies should be in every household”. As
White said, “The story of Mr Wheeler’s life, should it be written in detail...would certainly
prove to be deeply interesting and suggestive”.
Margaret Webster’s six year old annual buttercup
In a short note in the January 2015 edition of BSBI News illustrated by six of her
photographs, Margaret Webster, one of our Botanical Committee, describes how in 2008,
finding seedlings of an unknown buttercup on bare ground on a mound in an amenity area
immediately south of Pill, she grew it on to find what it might be. When it flowered, it
proved to be Hairy Buttercup, Ranunculus sardous, something with just three records in
the Flora of the Bristol Region and none between 1987 and publication (2000). The
flowering plant is photographed and its flowers, petals and sepals are compared with those
of the superficially similar Bulbous Buttercup.
Although said to be an annual, Margaret found that the plant survived and flowered and
indeed continues to do so. She hasn’t been able to propagate it by seed – perhaps it is
out-breeding and needs to be pollinated by another individual. Furthermore, in the autumn,
shoots develop in the axils of the flowering stems and will develop roots rather in the
manner of a creeping buttercup. Margaret has asked the BSBI botanists for comment. We
shall wait and see, but I have been unable to trace any reference to it as other than annual.
Reading White’s Flora, one sees even a hundred years ago, records of it as a casual (as
here; the open ground became covered and it is no longer to be found on the mound) but
also as a native at the back of salt marshes. Interestingly it was first found in Somerset by
Dillenius in 1726 and therefore on the same excursion when he collected Somerset Hair
11
Grass, Koeleria vallesiana. The semi-perennial creeping habit may have fitted the
buttercup to this brackish water habitat. Being known at Portishead and Ashton Fields
(opposite the Cumberland Basin) could it have been a native in the sense of coming from
locally buried seed half a mile away by the river?
Look out for...
I’m still looking out for Knotted Hedge-parsley, Torilis nodosa. I haven't found any more
near Bristol despite driving around quite a bit. Twice though when I got out the car south of
the Mendips, there it was! In April, look at the ephemeral communities of plants of verges
and dry banks as the plants begin to flower and turn to seed. The plants are sometimes
look-alikes – plants that are not quite what they seem at first glance to be. That smallleaved shy-flowering patch-forming chickweed may be the Lesser Chickweed, Stellaria
pallida. The Whitlow-grass might not be the common one, Erophila verna.
Plant records
If you've found some interesting plants in the Bristol area, let me know. At the BNS
‘Celebration’ meeting yesterday I learnt of small managed sites near Bristol with Yellow
Vetchling, Lathyrus aphaca, and Black Poplars with burred and less than upright trunks.
Oliver Rackham RIP
Oliver Rackham OBE died on 12 February 2015 at the age of 75. His name is almost
synonymous with Ancient Woodlands, which through a combination of field work and
scholarly research and a series of books he brought to the attention of naturalists and
those with an interest in the countryside. Undoubtedly as a result, our stock of ancient
woodlands is better understood and protected than would otherwise have been the case.
His New Naturalist book, Woodlands, (2006), is in our lending Library.
I had the pleasure of taking him around the National Trust part of Leigh Woods in 1980,
when he remarked on the ‘Giraffe Pollards’ north of Stokeleigh Camp and the scarcity of
old trees in Nightingale Valley, save for Oak pollards and some relict Small-leaved limes on
the cliffs below North Road. This visit led to Rackham writing a short paper on Leigh
Woods in 1982 and including a couple of pages on it in his History of the Countryside
(1986). It was from his own studies that he was able to describe the Avon Gorge as “the
best parallel in England to the Gorges of Crete”. The Economist, when reviewing this
book, wrote that “it is full of answers to questions that others have not had the wit to ask”.
Quite so, for looking at the enlarged first edition Ordnance Survey map of 1830 whilst
drafting my own paper on the Historical Ecology of Leigh Woods (our Proceedings for
1987), I saw the woods were mapped with an angular southern boundary. Upon reaching
the spot close to the Forestry Commission car park, there lay the ditch-bank boundary of
the ancient coppice wood of the northern parish, which so far as I am aware, no-one had
previously remarked upon.
Clive Lovatt, Shirehampton, 8 March 2015
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GEOLOGY SECTION
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PRESIDENT: Roger Steer [email protected] 01454 294371
HON. SEC.: Richard Ashley [email protected] 01934 838850
JOINT FIELD TRIPS 2015
Due to their particular plans for the coming year, Bath Geological Society have informed us
that they do not intend to take part in the joint field trips scheme of that BNS, WEGA and
the Bath GS have run for the last few years.
Elizabeth Devon has said that BNS members will still be welcome to take part in BGS trips.
Meetings planned by Bath GS include:
13 June, William Smith Day, from Tucking Mill along Somerset Coal Canal
4 July, Black Mountain (western, Mynydd Du) traverse north of Swansea. Leader Dr
Geraint Owen, Swansea University.
12 September, Aust Cliff. Leader Simon Carpenter
For further details and booking please see Bath Geological Society website
BNS Geology Field Meetings 2015
10 May 2015 (Sunday) (Date, time and meeting place to be confirmed in May Naturalists’
News and on geology.winpenny.org.uk) Coastal Section between Ogmore and
Southerndown, Vale of Glamorgan. Leader: Stephen Howe.
This meeting will examine the Carboniferous / Mesozoic unconformity and the Littoral
Triassic and Liassic facies. Please contact Section Secretary if interested.
15 August, Coastal Section at Portishead (Section Walk)
26 September, Wiltshire Soils, Leader Jeremy Hollis
17 October, West Somerset Coast.
Headland near Newquay, West Wales showing spectacular fold structures. The rock sequence of
Pembrokeshire in South Wales is a classical one of British geology, with its varied Lower Palaeozoic
sedimentary and volcanic rocks of Ordovician age. Taken by John Macrae while dolphin spotting.
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MAMMAL SECTION
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PRESIDENT : VACANT
SECRETARY: Hannah Broughton [email protected]
M AMMAL RECORDER: Roger Symes [email protected]
Google Group. Please join the group by emailing a request to Hannah, or by emailing the group
address: [email protected], or apply for membership to be approved via:
http://groups.google.com/group/bristolmammalgroup. In order to be a
Group member you need a 'Google Account'. This is easy to create; you
just need to register a password.
The Google Group has a discussion forum; members post useful
information or anything relevant they want to share. We hope all BNS
members interested in mammals will become members of the Group and
this will generate ideas for outings, talks and other initiatives. It would be
Image ©Philippa Foster useful for members to share information on any skills they have which
they would be willing to share with other members.
MISCELLANY
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Avon Gorge & Downs Wildlife Project
For further information contact Mandy Leivers on 0117 903 0609 or e-mail
[email protected]. Pre-booking essential for all events. Details of
meeting points are given on booking.
Wed 1 April. Family animal sing-along. For families with children aged 5–11. Musical family
adventure on the Downs. Celebrate animals like bats, squirrels, foxes, and maybe a few exotic
ones too. Poco Drom’s original songs for children and their adults will have you squeaking,
hopping, wiggling, ROARING and laughing along! 2 – 3pm. £4 per child.
Sun. 19 April. Early birds and bacon butties (with a veggie option). Join us for an
early morning walk with bird expert Michael Johnson. After learning how to identify birds
on the Downs, it’s back to the Zoo for a spot of breakfast. 6– 8.30am. Note the early start
time! £10.50 (Includes a bacon bap or egg butty plus tea or coffee.)
Fri. 24 and Sat. 25 April. Birdsong on the Downs (Course) Learn to identify birds from
song with Ed Drewitt. Friday evening: multimedia introduction to birds you’re likely to see &
hear. Next morning, Ed will lead you on a walk to identify birds ‘in the field’. Fri 7–9pm
(Talk) and Sat 8–10am (Walk). £20.
Sun. 26 April. Brilliant birds family walk. For families with children aged 5 - 11.
Bird spotting walk on the Downs with Ed Drewitt. Find out about the birds that make this
area their home, including the super speedy peregrine falcons (fastest birds in the world!)
which nest in the Avon Gorge. 8-9.30am £4 per child
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UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL BOTANIC GARDEN
The Holmes, Stoke Park Rd, Stoke Bishop, BS9 1JG.
Booking: 0117 331 4906. www.bristol.ac.uk/botanic-garden
REQUEST - Plants for Easter Weekend Sale. Chris Purvis is running a plant sale over
Easter weekend and will be grateful for donations. Unusual varieties particularly welcome,
also vegetable plants from allotmenteers. Plants need to be of decent size, labelled with
name or colour at least. If you put your name on the label they can be returned if they don’t
sell. For more details or offers of help please call Chris on 0117 924 5656 or email
[email protected] with the title ‘Plant sale’
Fri. 3–Mon. 6 April, 10am–5pm. EASTER ART & SCULPTURE FESTIVAL Celtic
giants, Flanders poppies, Mozart’s ‘Magic Flute’, bronzed Greek heroes, exotic tropical
flowers and an original metal plant sculpture being created over the weekend …
25 April – 6 May 2015. Join the Curator on a Garden & Landscape Tour of Sicily
This year’s study tour gives an introduction to the gardens, architecture and landscapes of
Sicily. Spring flowers will be abundant and the temperature warm. We have been given
access to some beautiful private gardens. Some garden tours will be hosted by the owner.
AVON GARDENS TRUST The AGT programme for 2015 includes:
Thu. 21 May. Coach tour to Hellens Manor and The Laskett Gardens, Herefordshire. The
gardens at Hellens Manor are being developed along Tudor
and Jacobean lines. The Laskett Gardens were created by Sir
Roy Strong and his late wife, Julia Trevelyan Oman.
Sat. 1 Aug. AGM and guided tour at Newton Park, Newton St
Loe, Bath. 2015 is the tercentenary of the birth of Lancelot
‘Capability’ Brown who created the dramatic chain of lakes
and cascades. The grounds were further improved by
Apple Blossom – oil on board by
Humphry Repton. http://www.avongardenstrust.org.uk/
Sheena Vallely
Bristol Natural History Consortium invites BNS members to
participate in the Festival of Nature Outreach Programme
In so doing we will support the outreach goals, which include involvement of people and
communities who are largely unaware of the nature and the environmental issues on their
doorsteps.
Apart from the Festival (13-14 June), events are planned to be spread between May and
October, targeting groups whose focus of interest may be vague or quite specific. Funding
and dates should be confirmed in March.
BNS Members can get involved as leaders, leader’s support, mentor, walk guide, recorder
etc. To find out more and to discover if this could be your scene call Lucy or Matt on 0117
317 8751 or email us [email protected] or [email protected]
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SUBSCRIPTIONS
n 2014 the Society’s expenditure (excluding grants awarded) exceeded income by just
over £1,000 and there is no reason to assume that the picture will be any different in
2015. This is after having managed to keep the figures in balance for quite a few years
and is now mainly due to publication and distribution costs increasing, although there has
been a slight fall in membership income.
I
The committee of the Society’s Council considered the matter at a recent meeting and
discussed possible strategies:



To simply continue as before and fund a few year’s deficits from accumulated reserves.
This was rejected for various reasons – one consideration being that our reserves
result from donations and legacies which should properly be dispensed as grants.
To attempt to reduce costs. This was again rejected as it was considered that any
diminution in the quality of benefits available to the membership would not be in the
interests of the Society.
This left the preferred option of increasing the membership subscriptions – which have
remained the same for 5 years now. This was agreed in principle, subject to being put
before the recent AGM where it was given general support.
WITH EFFECT FROM 1ST OF JANUARY 2016 THE FOLLOWING REVISED
ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION RATES WILL APPLY;
SINGLE MEMBERSHIP
£25
‘HOUSEHOLD’ (MEMBERS AT THE SAME ADDRESS)
£35
The rates for students (£10) and the few ‘Corresponding’ members will remain
unchanged.
IMPORTANT
The majority of the members kindly pay by Standing Order. This is of great
administrative assistance but does mean that any changes have to be made by you
yourselves contacting your bank. Can I please ask (and if you have a picture here of
your Hon Treasurer on bended knees, you have an accurate picture) that you to make the
necessary change before the end of the year? I will be putting out further reminders, but if
you have any queries please contact me (details on the first page)
I thank you in advance for your co-operation and hope you will continue to support the
Society.
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