Notes and Observations 13 Part 2

NOTES AND

OBSERVATIONS

COMMON SEAL (Phoca vitulina).

The population on the Scroby Sands remains fairly static around the 200 mark, although the Winter herds are definitely larger, up to 350. The largest number I saw on Scroby in 1964 was on lOth June, when the number was well up to 200, most of these were resting on the north-east corner of the island. There were quite a number in the sea which, of course, makes it extremely difficult to get a correct estimate of the numbers. We did not land that evening but cruised slowly round the island.

Owing to adverse weather, it was 25th June, before we were able to land on Scroby and that evening we found nine Common beal pups, five of which were only a day or so old. Five newly born pups were found on the sands on 2nd July and two equallv young pups were seen there on 16th July.

Once again, it appears that there was a high rate of mortality amongst these Common Seal pups. Three dead pups were found on Z5th June, four on 2nd July, and three on 16th July.

R. H . HARRISON, G t . Y a r m o u t h .

GREY SEAL (Halichoerus grypus).

There is little to report on this rather elusive animal. A number were seen swimming off the island on lOth June and a small isolated herd of seventeen was resting on an outlying sandbank off the east side of the sands on 16th July.

One or two attempts were made to get out to Scroby during December to observe the Grey Seal colony but weather prevented , ^ , G r e y Seal pUp was b o r n 1964, but did not survive.

on the

Gorleston Beach, December

R. H . HARRISON, G t . Y a r m o u t h .

SHREWS AND WATER VOLES AT EYE. Shrews have been unusually numerous here during the past year and this seems to have attracted more owls than usual. There was also, in the late summer, a sudden arrival of a number of black water-voles—black as distinct from brown—in a Stretch of water opposite my house.

1 was a little alarmed as they were doing considerable damage undermining the banks, by digging holes from the edge, three teet in to seek vegetarian diet of small roots. Tarne and friendly creatures in their way, I am sorry and yet glad that they have disappeared. I am certain the owls could teil the end of the story.

RONALD N .

CREASY,

Cranley Manor.

104 Transactions of the Suffolk Naturalists',

Vol. 13, Part 2

W I N T E R OCCUPANTS OF NEST-BOXES. On the nights of the 20th, 25th, and 28th January, 1965, I inspected one-hundred nest boxes which I have erected in Great Finborough Park to find what birds and mammals were using them for their winter quarters.

Thirty-four boxes in all were being used, twenty-three by birds and ten by mammals, as under :—10 boxes each contained one blue tit.

7 ,, ,, ,, one great tit.

2 „ ,, „ two tree sparrows 2 ,, ,, ,, two starlings.

2 ,, ,, ,, one starling.

1 ,, „ ,, one great spotted woodpecker.

8 ,, ,, ,, one pair long-tailed field mice.

2 ,, ,, ,, one pair red squirrels.

Species of trees and the height of the boxes from the ground which the long-tailed field mice were occupying was :— Tree Height Lime ; ft.

Elm ft. ft.

Horse-Chestnut Ash 10 ft.

Plane 6 ft.

Spruce ft.

Oak ft.

Ash ft.

One of the above mice, after deing disturbed, climbed to a height of approximately 40 ft.

R. J. COPPING,

Stowmarket.

THE STILT. Miss I. E. Tollemache writes that she has seen the pair of Black-Winged Stilts on the Stretch of water to which we directed her at Felixstowe. She does appreciate her good fortune in having a close up study of them. They were most interesting to watch and quite unperturbed by traffic or occasional lights. They walked very stilt-like in the mud-flats sinking right down to their bodies, but they had no difficulty in withdrawing their long legs as they reached the pool to fulfil their insatiable needs, they never ceased dipping their beaks and sometimes even their heads were immersed. They were so occupied it was easy to see the different colouring of the two birds—though Mr. Curtis had said it should be possible to approach within twenty-five yards she did not risk going nearer as it would have been a pity to put them to flight.

[Although a local newspaper " splashed " the news that this was the first occurrence of the Black-Winged Stilt in Suffolk for sixty years, this was far from being the case. In fact Stilts have now visited the county on at least seven occasions since 1945. EDITOR.]

NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS

105

A N IMMIGRATION OF LARGE W H I T E S AND OBSERVATIONS ON OTHER BUTTERFLIES AT ALDEBURGH. N. G. Wykes who is a master at

Eton College, teils me he spent most of his summer holidays at Aldeburgh, staying there from 25th July tili 25th August, during which period the weather was mostly very fine and warm.

Apparently on Ist August there began a steady immigration of the Large White (Pieris brassicae, Linn.) which lasted a fĂźll week.

They could be seen Coming in over the sea at intervals and the females soon made the local nasturtium beds their first sites for egg-laying. By the end of the month the larvae were devouring all the leaves of this plant which is not the usual pabulum of this butterfly in England, though it is the food plant for its very striking specialised form Cheiranthi in the Canary Islands.

Mr. Wykes also mentions that the Peacock (Vanessa to, Linn.) and the Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae, Linn.) were very plentiful on the sea holly and sea lavender. They all seemed to be fresh specimens and had bred on the s p o t / But the Red Admiral (Pyrameis atalanta, Linn.) and the Painted Lady (P. cardui, Linn.), so abundant in other parts of the Country, were relatively scarce. However the Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus, Rott.) was swarming along the shore at Thorpeness, mainly on the sea holly, while the Small Copper (Heodes phlaeas, Linn.) was also quite numerous, but a surprising absentee was the Clouded Yellow (Colias croceus, Fourc.) from the local clover and lucerne fields ; as this well-known migrant was fairly widespread in the southern counties most of the summer.

BARON DE W O R M S .

M I T E S from Water Vole (Arvicola terrestris) caught at Great Glemham, 2nd September, 1964, have been identified by Mr. K. H. Hyatt as $ $ Laelaps muris, Ljungh, fam. Laelaptidae. " Common on small mammals, especially Arvicola ".

CRANBROOK, G t . G l e m h a m .

A CORRECTION. I must apologise most humbly to Mr. A. L. Bull for mis-quoting him through lapse of memory over the years and for neglecting to refer to my records. It was not Himantoglossum hircinum the Lizard Orchis at Tattingstone, but Coeloglossum viride, the Frog Orchis, that he reported in 1960 as having been extinct for the last ten years at Hitcham.

J. C. N . WILLIS, Ipswich.