Sbp newsletter summer 2014

Suffolk Biodiversity Partnership Newsletter Summer2014 In this issue: Partners News

Page No.

Open day at the Pliocene Forest Ancient woodland restoration Springwatch moves in Beachwatch in Suffolk—the results are in!

Giving nature a home for cyclists Stour Valley volunteers help keep County Wildlife Sites species rich Log your hog A new home for nature at Hollesley Species Records - making a difference Unexpected visitors from the East A booming success Launch of Broadlands Rivers Catchment Plan

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Suffolk Biodiversity Partnership News SBP information

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To find out what this BAP species is, go to last page

Open Day at the Pliocene Forest Caroline Markham, GeoSuffolk Suffolk’s Coralline Crag is a Pliocene limestone packed with fossils – molluscs and other invertebrates abound, plus vertebrate remains and pollen. Dating at about 4 million years old, it is our oldest deposit to have some extant species (plus many extinct forms) and so records the beginning of our modern flora and fauna. It shows a ‘Paradise Lost’ of varied and exotic animals and plants, most of which were lost to Britain during the great Pleistocene glacials.

Five years ago, with a grant from the Geologists’ Association Curry Fund, GeoSuffolk embarked on an ambitious project to bring the Pliocene flora back to Britain, thus creating our ‘Pliocene Forest’. It is based on work done by Professor Richard West who recorded the pollen profile of the Coralline Crag from a borehole at Orford, Suffolk in the 1960s. The fossil pollen is only specific to genera, so GeoSuffolk’s tree specialist, Barry Hall, in consultation with Professor West, has sourced a variety of species from many parts of the world to represent the Coralline Crag genera.

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Five years on we have 180+ trees, shrubs – Metasequoia, Tsuga, Sciadopitys, Pterocarya and many more - sponsored by geologists, friends and visitors. They have thrived in this last mild wet winter and spring – some are 2m+ tall and starting to ‘paint the sky’, many have fruiting bodies for the first time.

The ‘Pliocene Forest’ is on part of the Rockhall Wood SSSI which is privately owned and GeoSuffolk has shown many visiting geological groups the Coralline and Red Crag exposures at this site and of course the forest.

However we have always wanted the opportunity to welcome the public in to see it and our chance arose this year on June 15th when Sutton (the parish in which the SSSI lies) opened its gardens to the public and welcomed us as part of their event.

So with the landowner’s permission we showed about 40 people our ‘Pliocene Forest’ along with the nearest Coralline Crag exposure. There were many from Sutton itself, plus a large group from the Lowestoft area, some from Cambridgeshire and VIPs - Professor Richard West, and Susan Brown from the GA Curry Fund. Sales of Barry Hall’s booklet ‘Pliocene Plant Profiles’, created especially for the event were brisk, two more trees were sponsored and we made some new friends.

At the ‘Pliocene Forest’ Open Day, from the left - Professor Richard West, Pinus radiata, Barry Hall, Dr Roger Dixon, Pinus coulteri, with Cryptomeria japonica in the foreground.

Photo: Anita Blyth

We intend to take the forest to the GA Festival of Geology in November, but if you can’t wait until then go to www.geosuffolk.co.uk to see GeoSuffolk’s two interpretive panels at Rockhall Wood – and we can post the booklet to you (£4 by post) just email info@geosuffolk.co.uk.

Ancient Woodland Restoration Ellie Henderson, Woodland Trust The Woodland Trust has secured funding from the Heritage Lottery fund and private donors for an ambitious new project. We are offering free advice and guidance to help private landowners around the country bring these woodlands back towards a more natural state, through a gradual process of restoration. This can also provide a valuable timber crop and other wood products.

If you would like more information on this exciting new project, or you know anyone that owns some plantation on ancient woodland, and you think they would like some advice on how to restore it, please contact Martin Hugi at The Woodland Trust.

Email: martinhugi@woodlandtrust.org.uk Tel: 0843 770 5431.

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Springwatch Moves In RSPB Minsmere RSPB Minsmere nature reserve was brought to a whole new audience this year as the BBC Springwatch team moved into their new home.

During the three weeks of broadcast, some amazing wildlife encounters were beamed live onto TV screens across the country. A few of the highlights were:  The bittern chicks that first ate their

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younger sibling, then as they “semifledged” (a new term coined by Michaela Strachan) they even took a couple of selfies.

Reed warbler eggs hatching live on air.

An adder predating the goldfinch nest, with BBC’s Springwatch team moves into their new home at RSPB the final chick somehow surviving.

Minsmere Green woodpeckers and jackdaws sharing the same nesting tree.

Grub the tawny owl chick covered in slug slime.

The tree-climbing, swimming and egg-eating antics of the badgers.

With such amazing pictures and stories on TV every day (even at weekends via the red button), it’s not surprising that visitor numbers increased considerably too, with many people visiting an RSPB reserve for the first time. Visitor numbers at Minsmere are up 50% on last year, but thanks to careful planning everyone has had a great time. Overflow car parking, additional catering and many new volunteers were laid on, with several guides at key locations around the reserve helping visitors spot the amazing wildlife.

Springwatch local media launch at RSPB Minsmere Photo: Adam Murray

Many viewers think this year’s series has been the best ever, and can’t wait for the Springwatch team to return in May and June 2015 and 2016.

Behind the scenes how those wonderful images are brought to your TV screens!

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Beachwatch in Suffolk 2013—the results are in!

Lynn Allen The Suffolk Coast & Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) has released the results of the Marine Conservation Society’s (MCS) Beachwatch surveys carried out in 2013 by volunteers in Suffolk. This report illustrates the amount of rubbish on our beaches and also demonstrates the fantastic efforts of the volunteers in Suffolk who help tackle the problem.

Lynn Allen, Countryside Officer at the Suffolk Coast & Heaths AONB, coordinates the Beachwatch events in Suffolk. She is passionate about the scheme and says that the dedicated volunteers who participate “play a crucial part in protecting and conserving Suffolk’s beautiful coast and estuaries, but they make it a really fun and sociable event too. Whilst it’s disappointing to find so much rubbish discarded and washed-up on our beaches, it’s really heartwarming to know that there are so many people out there who are passionate about looking after their local environment”.

An incredible 736 volunteers carried out 83 surveys collecting more than 855kg of litter from Suffolk’s beaches in 2013 - all of these figures are significant increases on the 2012 data. You can view the full report and analysis of the items collected on the Beachwatch page on the Suffolk Coast & Heaths website, or you can contact the AONB team to request a hard copy of the report.

Visit the ‘Get Involved’ pages to find out more about the AONB volunteering scheme if you would like to join those already working hard to conserve this beautiful coastline.

Giving Nature a Home for Cyclists RSPB Minsmere

Visitors planning to arrive at RSPB Minsmere by two wheels instead of four can now leave their bicycles in the dry following the installation of a green roof bike shelter.

This specially made shelter comes complete with insects homes around the side of a green roof, and a secret bird nestbox in the wall. It has been designed to attract a variety of insects, and once the rooftop vegetation grows it will provide a perfect example of a multi-purpose shelter for wildlife and people.

This green roof shelter has been installed as the latest phase of the Minsmere Discover Nature Project, with funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund and Natura People, part financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the INTERREG IV A 2 Mers Seas Zeeën Crossborder Programme 2007-2013.

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Stour Valley Volunteers help keep County Wildlife Sites Species Rich Dedham Vale and Stour Valley AONB

The Stour Valley Volunteers manage five Suffolk County Council grassland County Wildlife Sites. They cut and rake the risings off in the late summer / early autumn to maintain and increase the rare wildflowers that thrive at these sites and remove any encroaching scrub. These work days are not only great for the waistline( with all that raking) but also herald the beginning of Autumn as the hedges are full of fruit and nuts and the soft autumnal summer sunshine seems to shine as the volunteers beaver away.

The sites that the volunteers help manage are: Buntry Lane in Kedington forms part of a network of footpaths and green lanes. This lane supports valuable remnants of unimproved grassland on its chalky boulder clay soil. The species rich vegetation includes bird’s foot trefoil, cowslip, dwarf thistle, agrimony and the nationally scarce sulphur clover.

Long Melford Green with its backdrop of Long Melford church and Melford Hall has a small damp flush which supports a large population of southern marsh and early marsh orchids along with ragged robin and other wet grassland species.

Clare Fisheries between Clare and Stoke by Clare consists of several ponds used for fishing and low lying water logged areas colonised by tall fen vegetation and willow scrub. There is a population of over two thousand early marsh orchids. Due to the destruction of wetland habitats this species only occurs in less than 15 sites in Suffolk and is considered to be a particularly threatened species.

Harpers Hill in Nayland is a small site just off the main road surrounded by dense hedges and bramble. It supports 95 species of flowering plants such as wild carrot, agrimony, common centaury and a small colony of bee orchids.

Ann Suckling’s Lane is a footpath /bridleway which runs from Haverhill to Great Wratting. The wide grassy verges support a species –rich flora including wild carrot, spiny restharrow and sulphur clover. Of particular importance is a small population of crested cow wheat. The old hedges either side of the path create an attractive routeway and corridor for wildlife in an otherwise intensively farmed landscape.

Since the Stour Valley Volunteers have been managing these sites the number of orchids has risen substantially so much so that the area that needs to managed has increased at several of these sites. Last year as a thank you for all the hard work the volunteers put in to managing these sites Sue Hooton, Senior Ecologist for Suffolk County Council ran a wildflower day for the SVVs. It was wonderful to see the volunteers with ID books in hand learning from Sue, who pointed out the wildflowers and explained how to identify them which was incredibly useful, especially as the volunteers tend to only visit these sites when the flowers have set seed.

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Log Your Hog Suffolk Wildlife Trust

A county wide hedgehog survey was launched by the Trust in early 2014. At the time of writing (August) we have received more than 6000 sightings. There has been an absolutely phenomenal response from people who have logged on to the website or called the Trust to report hedgehog sightings – or lack of them. The campaign was launched in response to the alarming figures that seem to suggest numbers of hedgehogs have declined by as much as 30% in the last ten years alone. We believe there are many reasons why this is happening, including loss of habitat and shortage of or competition for food.

The Trust sees this survey as the first step in a long term plan to help turn around their fortunes in Suffolk. The data collected will form the basis of our actions for them in the coming years.

You may remember that we are asking people to record information for a number of different eventualities. We are of course recording current sightings – both live and dead, but we are also asking for historical records - instances where people used to see hedgehogs but no longer do – and indeed for negative records too.

And this is the area we are particularly focusing on as we go in to the winter season. Early analysis of the data tells us we that about 75% of the records received are for alive animals – with the majority of the 25% of dead records, as expected, road causalities. It also tells us that there are good populations in our urban centres. Bury, Ipswich and Stowmarket all showing good numbers.

To get a clearer picture of the level of decline we really need more negative and historical records logged. This will tell us if the decline is as dramatic as feared, or if, particularly in our urban centres, they are holding on in good numbers.

To add your sighting please visit www.suffolkwildlifetrust.org/hedgehogs - survey results will be made available to all participants that wish to receive them and published in Suffolk Wildlife Trust’s membership magazine Suffolk Wildlife.

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A New Home for Nature at Hollesley RSPB Minsmere It’s been a good breeding season at RSPB Hollesley Marshes, where a new wader scrape was created last winter with funding from WREN. Where there were once dry fields, with just a handful of nesting lapwings and redshanks, the new wetland is proving attractive a wide variety of wading birds.

Spring migration saw 21 species of wader recorded in May and June, including four different Temminck’s stints and up to 50 tundra-race ringed plovers. But it’s the breeding season that really stands out, with excellent productivity among the nesting waders. Breeding figures this year included: 10 pairs of redshanks fledging 30 young 24 pairs of lapwings fledging 60 young Three pairs of ringed plovers fledging 10 young 40 pairs of avocets fledging 75 young Breeding shelducks, black-headed gulls and yellow wagtails.

It’s been a good year on nearby RSPB Havergate Island too, despite last winter’s devastating surge tide. Record numbers of gulls nested this year (2070 pairs of lesser black-backed and 552 pairs of herring gulls) as well as 60 pairs of common terns. Even more encouraging was the sighting of two or three leverets; early indicators that the island’s famous brown hare population may be able to recover having been reduced to as few as ten animals.

Top and bottom: RSPB Hollesley Marshes.

Photos: David Fairhurst

Species Records - Making a difference Gen Broad, Suffolk Naturalists’ Society Marsh harrier, Wall butterfly, Great Silver Diving Beetle, Water Soldier and the Fen Raft Spider were amongst the more unusual plants and animals recorded on 29th July at the Surveying and Recording Suffolk Species event at SWT’s Carlton Marshes Nature Reserve.

Over 40 people signed up to learn about identifying and recording species; and why this is so important. The day was packed with practical, hands-on experience identifying plants, water beetles, dragonflies, birds and other groups as well as submitting records to a national database. After spending an exciting day with Suffolk County Recorders and other experts on the floodplain grazing marshes and dykes of this beautiful north Suffolk landscape, several people contacted us to say what an inspirational day it was and how much they had enjoyed it.

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The aim was to demonstrate how important it is to record the nature around us and to show that it really is fun! Today’s common species may well be rare in the future, so recording what we see today provides valuable data on population trends over years. This is vital biodiversity information required to make planning decisions, for example for housing developments. Collecting and submitting wildlife records to a local or national database can really make a difference by contributing to the pool of nature conservation information.

Gen Broad (Suffolk Biodiversity Officer) and Aquatic invertebrate County Recorder Adrian Chalkley talks to Martin Sanford (Manager of Suffolk Biological the group about the animals living in ditches and dykes.

Records Centre) gave demonstrations of how to use iRecord, a site for managing and sharing wildlife records. iRecord aims to make it easier for wildlife sightings to be collated, checked by experts and made available to support research and decision-making at local and national levels. The site is available through SBRC > Nature conservation is dependent on having accurate and up to date records of species - the Where, What and When of wildlife. With the rapid advances in technology, people are increasingly able to download ‘Apps’ to help with identification or take pin sharp photos on Smart phones to find out what they are later. All this makes ‘Citizen Science’ a very useful way of collecting wildlife records.

All of the event leaders have enormous enthusiasm and vast knowledge of their topics - it’s impossible not to be inspired by their generous sharing of knowledge, often gained over many years.

Martin Sanford, Flora County Recorder explains how to identify

Each participant was able to choose one morning the marshland plants. workshop and one afternoon workshop from a choice of six: plants, coastal plants & animals, freshwater invertebrates, dragonflies, butterflies and birds.

Martin Sanford, Flora County Recorder, Chair of Suffolk Naturalists’ Society and Manager of Suffolk Biological Records Centre enthused his group with his common-sense approach to identification of plants and his determination that “Recording species has to be fun first and foremost”.

Toby Abrehart took groups to nearby Pakefield Beach to look at the plants and animals on the rare habitat of vegetated shingle and along the strandline. Their discoveries included sea pea, sea holly, sea sandwort and yellow horned poppy.

Water Soldier, abundant in the dykes at Carlton Marshes and home for the Fen Raft Spider 8

Adrian Chalkley led the aquatic invertebrate group, showing them how to identify some of the inhabitants of the freshwater ditches and dykes. Adrian used a semicircular glass tank just a few centimetres wide which he made himself many years ago. This showed off the star of the aquatic invertebrates day - a Great Silver Diving Beetle - to great effect. Other species found included saucerbugs and water stick insects.

Adrian’s unique glass tank for aquatic invertebrates was invaluable for clear viewing of many species

Peter Maddison took his butterfly group along the footpath at the edge of the marsh. He was delighted to find Clouded Yellows as well as Wall Brown - a Priority or BAP Species rapidly declining in Suffolk. The name comes from the species’ characteristic behaviour of resting with wings two-thirds open on any bare surface, such as walls.

We saw them resting on the footpath, flying up when disturbed and then settling again a few metres further on.

Phil Brown and Giovanni Grieco from Suffolk Ornithologists Group led the bird workshop, based at the new scrape for much of the time. This has been very successful, attracting many kinds of waterfowl, including Little Egrets. Highlights for the group included garganey and grasshopper warbler.

The new scrape at Carlton Marshes, a great attraction for waterfowl.

Steve Piotrowski led the dragonfly workshops who were delighted to record 12 dragonfly and damselflies species during the day.

Peter Maddison explains what to look for in identifying the commoner butterflies.

Several organisations worked together to make this day a huge success: Suffolk Naturalists’ Society, Suffolk Ornithologists Group, Suffolk Wildlife Trust, SWT Carlton Marshes Nature Reserve staff and the event was generously funded by Touching the Tide.

John Grant featured the event in the East Anglian Daily Times Environment Supplement 2 August.

Steve Piotrowski’s dragonfly workshop

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Unexpected visitors from the East RSPB Minsmere Mid morning on Monday 14 July, RSPB Senior Site Manager for the North Suffolk Coast, Adam Rowlands, spotted an unusual butterfly in his garden at RSPB Minsmere. His first thought was that it was a large tortoiseshell, a rare migrant to the UK that would have been a first Minsmere record.

Several Minsmere staff quickly headed over to see this lovely butterfly which spent the day feeding on buddleias with hundreds of other butterflies or resting on the roof of the bungalow. Unfortunately, due to its location, it wasn’t possible to arrange public viewing.

However, through the powers of Twitter and Google, overnight RSPB staff became aware of a large influx of the very similar yellow-legged (or scarce) tortoiseshell into Holland. More than 30 had arrived in the previous couple of days, having never before been seen in the country. Photos were carefully checked and the identification of Minsmere’s butterfly was confirmed as the UK’s second yellow-legged tortoiseshell, no fewer than 61 years after the last.

The butterfly was still present on Tuesday morning, and access was arranged, but sadly it disappeared soon afterwards. Amazingly, several other yellow-legged tortoiseshells were seen in Norfolk, Lincolnshire and Kent over the next couple of days. They are usually found from Hungary east to Japan, and have begun to colonise Scandinavia recently, so perhaps another influx is possible in the future.

Other unusual insects were also spotted at Minsmere during the summer, with several sightings of both hummingbird and broad-bordered bee hawkmoths, silver-washed fritillary and clouded yellow butterflies, and the first reserve record of a large click beetle called Elater ferruginous. This is a rare RDB1 species with few previous Suffolk records.

July also saw the addition of another moth to the Minsmere list, the first UK record since of 1993 of the rare migrant Evergestis limbata. This takes the Minsmere Lepidoptera list to a remarkable 1110 species.

Not to be outdone, July was also an excellent month for waders at Minsmere. At least 25 species were seen on the Scrape, including the first collared pratincole since 1996, several wood, green and curlew sandpipers, good numbers of sanderlings, and some lovely summer plumaged spotted redshanks, ruffs and knots.

A Booming Success RSPB Minsmere Not only were bitterns the stars of the BBC Springwatch series, but they seemed to be thriving on the publicity as 2014 was probably the most successful breeding season ever at Minsmere. A record equalling 11 booming males were heard booming from Minsmere’s reedbeds in the spring – equivalent to the UK population in the mid 1990s. They were obviously in good voice too, as they attracted no fewer than 12 nesting females – another record.

The indications are that it was a successful season too. Although some nests inevitably failed, at least 14 chicks were seen as they semi-fledged – the term Michaela Strachan used for when young birds begin to wander from the nest whilst still dependent on their parents. This is an unusually high number of chicks to be seen and bodes well for the continued population recovery of these secretive herons.

With a camera on the bittern nest for much of the spring RSPB volunteers were able to gain a useful insight into the breeding behaviour of these rare herons. It was interesting to note a delay of several minutes from the female landing near the nest to actually appearing on camera. By landing nearby and walking in the female will reduce the likelihood of the nest being detected.

Another species to have a very successful breeding season at Minsmere was the sand martin, with more than 200 active burrows and at least two broods fledged from most.

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Launch of Broadland Rivers Catchment Plan Natural England The Broadland Rivers Catchment Plan will bring together communities, businesses and individuals to tackle the issues of water quality, flooding and wildlife habitat. The goal is to create healthy river systems and wetlands in an area 10 times the size of the Broads. The catchment includes the areas of the rivers Bure, Waveney, Wensum and Yare and their estuaries at Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft.

The plan was developed by the Broads Catchment Partnership (BCP) and launched on the 19th June at the River Waveney Trust’s Study Centre to wide media attention. BCP was formed in 2012, and involves over 30 statutory, charitable, academic, industry and voluntary group stakeholders. The Partnership includes a range of interested parties such as Natural England, the water companies, the Environment Agency, the Wildlife Trusts and the National Farmers Union which are co-hosted by the Broads Authority and the Norfolk Rivers Trust.

The partners are working together on a shared vision for 2027 – including sustainable agriculture and water treatment, the natural functioning of rivers and the support of a range of habitats and native species.

Neil Punchard, Broadland Catchment Partnership officer, said: ““The plan summarises the work that is already going on, outlines what still needs to be done, and includes realistic actions that everyone can take to improve water, wetlands and wildlife and even save time and money in doing so.”

The plan could be used to secure funding for projects such as improving outdated flood defences and removing fish barriers.

Download the Broadland Rivers Catchment Plan > Eastern Daily Press article >

The launch of the Broadland Rivers Catchment Plan at the River Waveney Study Centre 11

SUFFOLK BIODIVERSITY PARTNERSHIP NEWS Find out more about BAP habitats and their associated species!

(NB. Priority Species and Habitats are the same as Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) Species and Habitats) SBP will launch new website pages in September 2014 which list all the BAP Habitats in Suffolk. Each habitat has a separate dedicated page which lists the BAP species to watch out for in that habitat , together with a link to species photos. Visit SBRC Pinterest board to see photos > Our aim is to provide guidance for public bodies which have a statutory duty to have regard to the conservation of biodiversity, as set out in the Natural Environment and Rural Communities (NERC) Act 2006. Suffolk’s Biodiversity Action Plan (a list of Priority Species and Habitats in the county) is embedded in our local planning policies and these Species and Habitats are material considerations in the planning process. We hope that this new information will be useful to Planners and others who need to work with BAP Species and Habitats.

Screen shot of new page with links to all the Priority Habitats found in Suffolk

Screen shot of new dedicated page for Hedges (BAP Habitat). Associated BAP Species are listed under Birds, Mammals, Bees and Wasps, Reptiles and Amphibians etc. with links to relevant photos on the SBRC Pinterest board.

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Suffolk Planning and Biodiversity Seminar This year’s annual Planning and Biodiversity Seminar will be held on 25th November at West Suffolk House in Bury St Edmunds. Topics include Delivering Green Infrastructure, the Dorset Protocol, Impact Zones for SSSIs, Suffolk Nature Strategy and more…. The seminar is by invitation to those who work with the planning system.

Looking for funding?

Check out the SBP web page to see if any of these funds can benefit your conservation or community wildlife project. Please visit SBP News / Funding > What’s On has been moved to our website under News / events > Local / National News - please note the Update will be circulated in September Suffolk Biodiversity Partnership - Moving Forward To find out about our new services, what’s happened to the UK and Suffolk BAPs and how we can help you, please visit our website at www.suffolkbiodiversity.org/

If you’d like to share information on how your organisation is benefiting biodiversity in Suffolk, please send your article to Gen Broad, Suffolk Biodiversity Officer (tel: 01473 264308, Mobile: 078948 85337, email: gen.broad@suffolk.gov.uk ).

Publication dates The newsletter and updates are published in Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter.

Deadline for Autumn 2014 newsletter articles: Friday 24th October 2014.

Thank you to our readers for supporting this newsletter, all feedback is welcome!

SBP INFORMATION SBP is a partnership comprised of conservation organisations, statutory bodies, local authorities, businesses, not-for-profit organisations and community groups working together throughout Suffolk to protect biodiversity. To find out more about the Suffolk Biodiversity Action Plan visit www.suffolkbiodiversity.org

Suffolk Biodiversity Partnership Babergh District Council, Center Parcs–Elveden, Environment Agency, Suffolk FWAG, Essex & Suffolk Water, Forestry Commission, Forest Heath District Council, Ipswich Borough Council, Mid Suffolk District Council, National Trust, Natural England, RSPB, St. Edmundsbury Borough Council, Suffolk Biological Records Centre, Suffolk Naturalists’ Society, Suffolk Wildlife Trust, Suffolk Coastal District Council, Suffolk County Council, Waveney District Council.

Front page—5-Banded Tailed Digger Wasp Cerceris quinquefasciata Photo: Nick Owens

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