White Admiral 91

White Admiral Newsletter 91

Summer 2015

Suffolk Naturalists’ Society

Contents Editorial

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What’s on? & Bioblitz Events

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Save our Suffolk Swifts

Kerry Strannix & Ben Heather

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Simone Bullion

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Caroline Markham

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Nightingales Near Ipswich

Richard Stewart

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Bee Friendly

Anne-Marie & Richard Stewart

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Nick Mayo

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The Natural History of Waveney Forest

Tim Gardiner

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John Walshe to Joan Hardingham Correspondence - 07/06/2015

John Walshe

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Trevor Goodfellow

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John Baker

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Colin Lucas & Tricia Taylor

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Suffolk Hedgehog Survey continues!

Ramsgate Earthquake

Wildlife at the Farm Park

Frogs Adders, Photography and Disturbance Starting with Sawflies An appeal for Emails

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Silk-covered lampposts Harbour Porpoise Phocoena phocoena at Landguard & Orfordness

Alan Thornhill

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Nigel Odin & Mike Marsh

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Ben Heather

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Suffolk Biological Recording Online Nature Day at Braintree District Museum in Honour of John Ray ISSN 0959-8537

Published by the Suffolk Naturalists’ Society c/o Ipswich Museum, High Street, Ipswich, Suffolk IP1 3QH Registered Charity No. 206084 © Suffolk Naturalists’ Society

Cover Photo: Nightingale by Neil Rolph

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Suffolk The

Naturalists’ Society

Newsletter 91 - Summer 2015 Welcome to the Summer issue of the White Admiral and thank you to all who have provided me with copy.

At a recent council meeting we made great progress with the planning of our next SNS conference which is scheduled for 20th February 2016.

Please save the date! As it will be 25 years since the first SNS conference in 1991 ‘Water Wilderness’ - we have decided to celebrate this by revisiting the freshwater theme. The conference will therefore be called “Freshwater Revival, 25 years of freshwater conservation and beyond”. The conference will be held again at Wherstead Park, near Ipswich and we have already started to make good progress with enlisting some speakers. More information will be released in the next White Admiral as we get further through planning the day, we hope many will be able to join us.

This year, for us at the Suffolk Biological Records Centre, has been the year of the bioblitz. We have already been involved in 5 this year with more coming up in the second part of summer (see events page). These events, which involve recording as many species as possible for a site within a given time, are a great opportunity to get out with fellow experts and enthusiasts and get involved in some real natural history (with some biological recording thrown in). They have also enabled us to make use our new online recording system (Suffolk Biological Recording Online) which you can read about on page 26 and update a lot of our species lists for sites such as Dunwich Heath and Holywells Park, Ipswich. We are hoping to get involved with more of these events in the future.

Editor: Ben Heather Suffolk Biological Records Centre, c/o Ipswich Museum, High Street, Ipswich, IP1 3QH ben.heather@suffolk.gov.uk

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What’s on?

Suffolk Wildlife Trust Events: 

Grasshoppers & Bushcrickets – Sat 22 August at Snape Village Hall & Blaxhall Common

http://www.suffolkwildlifetrust.org/events/2015/08/22/grasshoppers bushcrickets-sat-22-august?instance=0 

Autumn Bird ID – Sun 4 October at Lackford Lakes

http://www.suffolkwildlifetrust.org/events/2015/10/04/autumn -bird-idsunday-4-october?instance=0 

Fungus ID & Foray – Fri 23 October at Bradfield Woods

http://www.suffolkwildlifetrust.org/events/2015/10/23/fungus-id-and-forayfriday-23-october?instance=0 

Autumn Macro Masterclass & Fungi ID – Sat 24 October at Lound Lakes

http://www.suffolkwildlifetrust.org/events/2015/10/24/autumn -macromasterclass-fungi-id-saturday-24-october?instance=0

Bioblitz Events: 

FSC Flatford Mill 14 hour Bioblitz survey - Saturday 15th August, 8am till 10pm. Experts and non-experts welcome. Light refreshments will be provided throughout the day and we will have an allocated base for collating records from each element of the survey. Contact FSC on 01206 297110



Africa Alive’s Bioblitz is back for a second year! - Saturday 12th September & Sunday 13th September. Help the experts with the wildlife count and get hands-on with our British wildlife activities. http://www.africa-alive.co.uk/

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Save our Suffolk Swifts

Photo: Neil Rolph

By the time you read this, they’ll be gone. The swifts that is.

Synonymous with long summer evenings, their screaming calls fill the sky in our towns and villages from May to late August. Last year, along with the Suffolk Ornithologists’ Group, Suffolk Wildlife Trust launched a campaign to raise awareness of the plight of this fast declining species.

Titled, for obvious reasons, Save our Suffolk Swifts, the campaign aims to spread the word far and wide about what could be done to help swifts in Suffolk. Actions range from putting up nest boxes to playing their calls over loudspeakers to attract new nesting pairs. To illustrate how successful these actions can be we held events across Suffolk where people came to hear from experts and see swifts in action. We also teamed up with Suffolk Biological White Admiral 91

Records Centre to create an online survey to record both screaming parties and known nest sites. This information will be crucial as we learn more about the species in Suffolk in the coming years. The final event of this year is to be held in Ipswich on 5 November, where Dick Newell of Action for Swifts will be speaking about the latest developments in swift conservation. Details of this and more information about how you can help swifts can be found following the links below.

There is still time to log your sightings of both screaming parties and nest sites with the Suffolk Biological Records Centre. As you can see (next page) we have had a good response so far but there are still many gaps to fill. Records do not have to be current sightings and in fact we would welcome your observations from the whole summer.

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White Admiral 91 Š Cr own c op yr ight and datab ase rights 2015 Ordna nce Sur ve y 100023395 .

Map showing what has been recorded online so far this year

The recording forms have made use of the Suffolk Biological Recording Online service (see later article) and can be accessed by going to the following webpage www.suffolkbrc.org.uk/swift.

Alternatively sightings containing a grid reference or post code, recorder name, date, record type (screaming party or nest site), plus any additional information can be emailed or sent to the editor at ben.heather@suffolk.gov.uk or using the address at the bottom of page 1.

Kerry Strannix - Suffolk Wildlife Trust & Ben Heather - Suffolk Biological Records Centre

Photo: Neil Rolph

http://www.suffolkbrc.org.uk/swift http://www.suffolkwildlifetrust.org/swifts http://www.sogonline.org.uk/ http://www.swift-conservation.org/ #SOSswifts White Admiral 91

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Suffolk Hedgehog Survey continues!

Please record your hedgehog sightings in 2015 Suffolk Wildlife Trusts’ campaign in 2014 was one of the largest localised hedgehog surveys in the country with more than 8000 records submitted. Although we were delighted by the response, there is still every indication that hedgehogs are in decline and we need more data. So once again, we are asking people to record sightings of hedgehogs across the county, both living and dead.

Of particular importance is information gathered about the numbers of hedgehogs recorded dead on roads. Last year we recorded more than 1300 road kills in Suffolk which seems a very high number. Without knowing the size of the hedgehog population, it is impossible to know what impact this is having, but as there is a relationship between the number of road-kills and the size of the population, this could mean that there are still good numbers of hedgehogs in our county. All the locations and dates of these road deaths have been sent to a PhD student at the University of Reading for more detailed analysis.

By continuing to collect more information on read deaths in 2015 we can begin to see if there are hot 6

spots for road deaths, both in terms of the time of year and location. We are also hoping to start to look at whether high road kill numbers represent higher populations in these locations.

We also want to find out about live sightings of hedgehogs. If you have a hedgehog regularly visiting your garden then you do not need to record every sighting. Let us know when you first saw it along with a summary of its activity. We are also still very keen to hear from people who used to see hedgehogs in their gardens, but no longer do so, or have never seen a hedgehog ever at that location. Similarly, as for dead hedgehogs, when you are out and about keep a look out for live animals as well and do let us know.

You can log your sightings on our website as before, but we have made some small changes. Now you can record finding droppings as an alternative to a seeing hedgehog and guidance is also provided on how to be sure of what you are looking at.

Simone Bullion - Senior Conservation Adviser (SWT) & County Mammal Recorder White Admiral 91

Ramsgate Earthquake At 2.52am on 22nd May movement along a fault 13km below Ramsgate resulted in a magnitude 4.2 earthquake. It was felt over most of Kent (though not in neighbouring Sussex), along the Thames valley and across the Thames estuary on the Essex coast and northwards through Ipswich and Norwich. Along with many others, it woke me in the small hours of Friday morning. The bang which saw me sitting up in bed didn’t frighten me as we live in Ipswich town centre with its variety of man made noises at most times of night and day. It sounded as though one of our young neighbours in the block of flats had dropped a large piece of furniture on the ceiling, except that the so und came fro m be ne ath me…….However, the rhythmic swaying of the building which followed was unfamiliar and frightening even though it only lasted a couple of seconds.

In the morning I logged on to the British Geological Survey website to report my experience and investigate its cause. The questionnaire asked things I expected such as - how many floors up? (5); Type of building? (Steel frame) and some that I didn’t – did

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it wake you? (Yes); were you frightened? (YES!). Then I was asked to describe the noise, which for me was definitely explosive (gosh, did I actually hear the fault move?) and the movement – only horizontal swaying, no vertical component. If you go into the BGS website you can see that this is what most others experienced too.

Reporting such events is important, they augment information from seismological records. If you heard/felt this earthquake, do fill in the questionnaire at: http://www.bgs.ac.uk/.

The BGS has summarised that the movement was on a NW/SE aligned fault consistent with compression from the south due to ongoing Alpine mountain-building episodes. Africa is steadily moving north towards Europe and earthquakes caused by this phenomenon are not uncommon in SE England. Another which was felt in Suffolk occurred near Colchester on April 22nd 1884. The East Anglian Daily Times reported – “A very distinct shock was felt all over Ipswich at about 9.18 on Tuesday morning. Mr T N Fonnereau, of Christchurch Park, estimated that the shock lasted

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about ten seconds. The walls of the mansion perceptibly shook, and the bells rang violently. In several parts of the town the vibration caused pedestrians to stagger, and on Henley Road a servant was thrown down. At the Custom House the shock was felt to an alarming extent. The whole

building vibrated, and in one office a large press, standing about eight feet high, swayed backwards and forwards, so much so that some of the officials rushed out of the building.”

Caroline Markham - Geo Suffolk

Nightingales Near Ipswich

Photo: Neil Rolph

Nightingales are a declining species in this country but Suffolk remains one of their best breeding counties. A few years ago I resolved to see or hear twenty different birds close to Ipswich and this was achieved relatively easily, admittedly with a ‘flying’ start of eight during a dawn chorus at Foxhall Heath, right on the town boundary. The rest came mainly 8

from the Fynn valley and Alton reservoir.

In 2014 I was delighted to find nightingales had returned to two sites which they had left after habitat destruction. The first was at the Playford end of alder carr woodland close to the railway line, in the Fynn valley. Walking through the wood I could distantly hear one or more males near the White Admiral 91

final bend in the wood. A quiet approach often led to sightings.

Part of the path was muddy, no problem if you had the right footwear, but an all weather path was put down and surrounding vegetation cut back. This was dumped right on top of the nightingale breeding area. In 2014 the vegetation had returned sufficiently for the birds to return but then more work was carried out nearby, with potential negative effects. I contacted the relevant people at Suffolk Coastal District Council and now have a written assurance that anyone working nearby will be made aware of the situation. The second was within the town boundary. There have always been birds nesting in

suitable scrub within the town, including waste areas near the Princes Street river bridge. This was at Heath Road, close to the hospital but on the other side of the road, next to concrete blocks.

Here in 2007 a nightingale was heard in a small copse but this vegetation was subsequently cut back. However, nature fought back and a bird was singing again, its beautiful song audible despite the nearby heavy and continuous traffic just a few yards away.

This is proof yet again that wildlife, given the chance, can be flexible and adapt successfully to new or improved conditions.

Richard Stewart

Bee Friendly As a follow up to our article about leaf cutter bees in White Admiral November 2014, we noticed that Sainsbury’s have a large display board, approximately 5x6.5 feet, facing customers at the tills. It features the work of solitary bees, with a central black and blue diamond shape showing bamboo

canes superimposed onto a photo of a wall with bees. The caption reads: ‘Solitary bees help pollinate our home-grown produce-which is why we have over 100 bee hotels in our stores’.

Anne-Marie and Richard Stewart

For Sale:  Simpson’s Flora of Suffolk, £20  Ten successive copies of Suffolk Birds 2004 -2013, £10 Contact Richard Stewart, tel: 01473 216518.

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Wildlife at the Farm Park On 25 May, I was at Easton Farm Park and took the opportunity to walk quietly by the River Deben, away from the main farm area where most of the people were.

I became aware of a lot of quite noisy splashing in the river and discovered a stoat swimming over to the side where I was. It climbed out and started hunting in a pile of logs before seeing me and hastily slipping back into the river and swimming away to the other side.

What I found interesting was that the stoat moved very fast across the water; presumably being very light it almost ran across the

surface but it was a noisy process for such a small creature. I have seen foxes and hares swim, but they appeared to be more immersed than the stoat, which looked remarkably dry when it climbed out.

I also observed a very fine buzzard cruising about, and picked up a beautiful tawny owl feather, both of which would indicate a healthy wildlife population there.

And the farm animals? They were very fine too.

Nick Mayo

The Natural History of Waveney Forest by Tim Gardiner A new book documents the wildlife of Waveney Forest in east Norfolk near Great Yarmouth. The Forest is a large area of coniferous woodland, interspersed with remnant heathland and bog. The Forest has been the subject of much interest recently due to proposals for large-scale gravel extraction. The threat of quarrying has attracted a huge amount of opposition and renewed efforts to document the wildlife found in the Forest. Survey work has revealed t h a t t h e F o r e s t an d t h e 10

surrounding marshland and reedbed provide habitat for many legally protected species such as the Norfolk Hawker dragonfly and Water Vole. The open heathland is a rare habitat in east Norfolk, as is the birch carr and Sphagnum bog.

Due to its value being widely recognised it appears that the Forest is safe from quarrying, although future climate change and unmanaged scrub encroachment are serious issues for the remaining heathland and bog.

Recent felling of a large area of White Admiral 91

conifers has given insects and plants of open areas a new lease of life after several decades surviving under the dense shade of the planted pines. Nightjars nest in the felled areas and Turtle Doves were heard in 2014.

The book (ISBN-13: 9780956469250), published by Forrest Text, is available from the Natural History Bookstore http:// www.nhbs.com/title/204056/thenatural-history-of-waveney-forest price £19.99, or from Amazon.

The book can also be purchased at a reduced rate from the author by sending a cheque (made payable to Mr T.A. Gardiner) for £15 (p&p included) to 45 Maltings Wharf, Manningtree, Essex, CO11 1XE. Any queries please email Tim at timgardiner134@btinternet.com Tim Gardiner

John Walshe to Joan Hardingham Correspondence – 07/06/2015 Joan Hardingham, who lives in the Mid-Suffolk district near to Needham Market, sent me this correspondence from John Walshe, who surveys and rings birds on

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land adjacent to where she lives.

He writes up his discoveries and keeps nearby interested parties posted on developments. Below is a sample of one of his digests:

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There were some real red list glitterati on site this morning - 2 Cuckoos singing again early on, only heard simultaneously once but clearly different sounding Cuckoos.

From about 06:30am to 10:10am a Turtle Dove (presumed to be a female) was nest building in a Hawthorn at the bottom of the Wildwood site not far off the main riverside path.

a distance with bins or a scope so I can monitor it ok. It’s the 1st time I have recorded them on site this year. They have nested before, once right by the river path in Blackthorn, but nothing ever came of it. And there have been a couple of late second brood nests in Hawthorns that again seem to have come to nothing.

But the site is becoming ideal for them as the hawthorns mature.

She was collecting material from Alder Carr Farm’s Causeway Meadow about 50m away, single twigs at a time, every few minutes or less. The male only sang a few times from the Chalk Pit, the Causeway Meadow alders and once right by the nest but appeared to take no part in the nest building. When they’re building them, Turtle Dove nests must be one of the easiest nests to find. However, it’s still a matter of being in the right place at the right time, as once they have knocked up their simple platform nests they become more secretive in their comings and goings. This nest is in an inaccessible spot behind a big area of bramble, not that high up, only about 4ft, just level with the top of the adjacent bramble behind where it’s spreading into hawthorn. She’s just about visible on the nest from

The Chalk Pit female Nightingale was again caught at 05:00am in the same net, by the North East corner of the pit, as last time two weeks ago. I thought at first they might be finally feeding young as they were alarm calling more frequently early on but they soon fell silent until late in the morning. After taking the nets down I sat about 20 metres from where I thought the nest was and listened to the pair anxiety calling at my presence. I caught little glimpses of them coming and going, I presumed feeding young, not in the thickest part of the bramble, but in deep shade on its edge amongst the nettles under some leggy blackthorn. The nest, that was visible, actually still contained eggs. It was right on the ground in fairly open nettles without any bramble element; it was well camouflaged rather than

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well hidden. The eggs must be very near hatching, presuming they were not duds as she was caught in the same area two weeks ago. But it must be a second attempt as this same female was first trapped on April 29th when building on the other side of the pit. This male didn’t sing at all this morning but the other male still sang occasionally from the river path beside the sewage works. I am not sure what this pair were up to but the fact he was still singing and they’d moved implied they too had failed once and were trying again.

A female Linnet I trapped a few times on the last visit trying to get back to her fresh clutch of five

eggs in the bramble beside the net lane (causing me to take the net down early to let her back), happily hadn’t deserted as the young had all hatched when checked it this morning.

Only a single Pyramidal Orchid noted flowering this morning, normally there are 1000’s out by now. A nice patch of Southern Marsh Orchids coming into flower off the North East corner of the sewage works. Also some Fairy Flax Linum catharticum out in flower today.

John Walshe

Contributions to White Admiral Deadlines for copy are: 1st Feb (Spring issue), 1st June (Summer issue) and 1st Oct (Autumn issue) The opinions expressed in White Admiral are not necessarily those of the Editor or of the Suffolk Naturalists’ Society.

Frogs One night last year I watched the frogs and toads rise from hibernation and make their way to the pond for spawning. I spotted three large frogs of very different

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colouration: yellow, brown and green. The largest was brownish red and I thought it looked familiar. Ok that sounds weird, but this frog was not only an unusual

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Frogs and Toad (bottom right) by Trevor Goodfellow

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colour but also had sparse but distinct markings. It has to be said that these skin colours fade or disappear when they are in water but the markings remain.

possible that this is their first year of sexual maturity. A problem for recording is that the females (e.g.

Freda) are mostly obscured by males, to put it politely.

I looked into my photo archives back to 2012 and hey presto ‘Freddy’ a large reddish adult with the same few black marks. This was my test subject, although when I spotted ‘him’ in 2013 and again in 2014, it became obvious that Freddy was a Freda.

This year has been a good year with thirty clumps of spawn compared with a normal twenty or so. Last year was exceptional when the total climbed to fifty over several days so maybe the figure will increase after I write this.

I deduced that their markings are likely to be unique and they don’t change with time. Bearing in mind that a frog will take two to three years to mature, it surprised me to discover that she was at least five years old.

This year I have photographed many frogs to try to compare with previous years but it has been difficult. Despite several of them having a very individual layout of spots or even none at all, I could not match them to previous years.

I deduce therefore that it is

Toad count is only 250 which is far from the 600 record. The cold nights have delayed and drawn out the wake-up time which I have noted affects numbers. Rats seem to be the main predator but crows and moorhen are also to blame. I have even seen a magpie mimic (not very well) a croak, wait for a reply then peck it, just to eat its insides.

No sign of Freda yet this year.

Trevor Goodfellow

Adders, Photography and Disturbance This year’s Springwatch broadcast from RSPB’s Minsmere Reserve featured radio-tracking adders, using ‘cutting edge technology’.

Prior to this I had an interesting meeting with the BBC and Nick

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Burfield, a volunteer at Minsmere, to discuss adders with a view to featuring them in this year’s programmes.

Nick and I approached the issue of adders and public outreach from

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different directions. Nick stressed the value of public education and p articularly the imp act o f introducing people to live animals.

Guided walks raised awareness of adders and portrayed them in a p o si tiv e manne r. Wh il st I understand that communication is a key part of wildlife conservation, I had doubts as to the value of guided walks. I brought to the meeting the growing concerns of a group of naturalists who have been watching adders and their sites for some time and who are very worried about the impact of rapidly increasing disturbance. The issue has been driven by technology – the ubiquity of digital cameras and the growth in popularity of photography compounded by the Internet, which allows people to ‘post’ photographs for the world to see. For wildlife this is doubleedged sword. On the one hand photography can stimulate and develop an interest in wildlife – but at its worst it can lead to disturbance of animals for no real gain and sometimes the animals themselves become secondary to the pursuit of a particular photograph.

Although guided walks are intended to raise awareness and hence indirectly benefit the animals in question, I have come to the conclusion that many walks and White Admiral 91

training courses covering reptiles (and amphibians) fail to achieve this. They chiefly benefit people who like courses – those who like attending them and those who like leading them. In general there is nothing wrong with that, but it may be creating problems for adders when guided walks to hibernation sites reveal location information that gets passed on and, thanks to the Internet, can become ‘publicised’, attracting exponential numbers of visitors, especially those looking for their adder photographs. The effects of disturbance on adders (or any other reptile) are poorly understood but there are reasons to be cautious.

Male adders, in particular, need to bask for long periods in the spring in preparation for breeding. This makes them easy photographic subjects. But at sites known to photographers disturbance can be prolonged which raises the question of whether the animals are being denied sufficient basking opportunities. There may also be an indirect impact created by trampling vegetation. Vegetation structure is important to reptiles, providing a mixture of open basking areas adjacent to cover from predators. Subtleties in this structure can be key to providing just the right sort of warm microhabitat that reptiles require.

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Without prompting he told us that he was pleased that the adders had been roped off because of the situation the previous year when people were trampling over the area and pushing cameras at adders to get close -up photographs. As a serious photographer he had a long lens and was able to photograph the animals from a distance.

Herpetologist Darryn Nash, presenter Martin Hughes-Games and one of the adders radiotracked during Springwatch (Kerry Holmes).

Nick showed me the ‘Adder Trail’ at Minsmere, where an adder hibernation site has been roped off keeping visitors to the path and preventing them from actually walking over an area where adders can be seen basking after emergence in the spring. When we arrived the cordon was in action, two photographers had spotted an adder and were taking photographs from the footpath. I got chatting to one of them, asking, ‘What have you seen?’. He was happy to talk about his adder photography explaining that he had visited the site before to photograph the snakes and he showed us some fantastic images he had shot. Was he perhaps a potential adder botherer? No. 18

I felt that the photographer would have made an excellent interview subject for Springwatch, but in the end it was decided that radio-tracking would be the way to follow adders during the 2015 series. Radio-transmitters were attached to five adders and their locations subsequently tracked by Suffolk Amphibian and Reptile Group and RSPB volunteers. This coverage barely touched the pressing conservation issues relevant to adders but it is perhaps more suited to the Springwatch format. Hopefully the focus on adders will do the job of portraying the animals in a p o s i t i v e l i g h t , an d w i de n appreciation of this controversial component of our native fauna.

Certainly I found my meeting with Nick and the BBC instructive. The ‘Adder Walk’ at Minsmere shows how visitor access to an adder site White Admiral 91

can be managed and it appears to be working well. This approach cannot be applied to open access sites but perhaps by promoting locations such as Minsmere, then disturbance may be reduced elsewhere.

Disturbance by photographers is surely not an issue confined to adders. Increased photographic interest in wildlife is likely to continue and creates challenges, but also, opportunities. I suspect

that there are more people interested in photographing wildlife than in biological recording. Linking the pursuit of photography with the habit of biological recording surely has a part to play in the future of natural history societies.

John Baker - Amphibian Reptile County Recorder

and

Starting with Sawflies Whilst sweep-netting or vacuum sampling with a modified leafblower one invariably catches all sorts of insects. We usually identify all the leafhoppers and beetles that we collect. However the others that quickly fly off always look intriguing and leave a lingering “that looked interesting, I wonder what it was” feeling. Most of these are diptera but occasionally we catch a sawfly. When I have mentioned them to other people I usually get the response that nobody looks at them and they are very difficult to identify. A bit like leafhoppers!

Last year I decided to try and find a few more in the spring but had no luck and then got engrossed

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with my usual quarries. However over the winter I attended the sawfly workshop run by the British Entomological and Natural History Society (BENHS). As a group they are certainly under-recorded although it seems that they are becoming slightly more popular and indeed there is now a British Sawfly website, although it’s fair to say it is still very much a work in progress.

The keys to British species were produced by R. B. Benson in the early 1950s (original price: 10 shillings each). As with many RES handbooks they are now downloadable for free from http:// www.royensoc.co.uk/content/outprint-handbooks. There is also a

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more modern-styled key to genera published by the Field Studies Council in the AIDGAP series. As with other groups I suspect that if you start with the larger more distinctive species that identification becomes less daunting. Of course before you get to the id you have to find a sawfly to look at. I was told

So, off we headed on April 14th on a sunny day with a fail-proof plan to find a good patch of flowers and collect large numbers of sawflies.

Unfortunately not only were there no flowers, all of the vegetation seemed to have got off to a slow start and hardly got above shoe height. We drew a resounding

Dolerus pratensis

Athalia lineolata (photo by J. k.

Lindsey) showing football socks

that the greatest numbers occurred in damp meadows with a good floral diversity and that a lot of species appeared early so a start in late April would be fine. As to the lack of numbers we were told to do more sweeping. We would give all the local grasslands a damn good thrashing and a huge list of species would be ours. After all with 547 recorded British species how could we go wrong?

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blank. Undeterred, I eventually got my first sawfly on 24th April at Darsham Marsh. It was a common species Dolerus pratensis and I had broken our duck. A trip to North Cove in early May yielded another very common species White Admiral 91

Selandria serva. Wow, this is hard work. A return to Darsham on the 25th May produced 5 species. Not quite the 30 species I was told was a possible daily total from a good site but progress nonetheless.

The low success rate is more than made up for by the beauty of the specimens we have found. We have included some photos that hopefully show just how nice these insects are to look at. The identifications are provisional and we need a trip to a museum with a good collection of sawflies to verify our specimens.

told me that he has only found a handful this spring. This is some solace as it has proved to be hard going and there is always the feeling in the back of your mind that you are doing something wrong and that everyone else is finding loads. Hopefully as the mediocre weather improves we will find some more, as it is worrying that such wonderful creatures may struggling in the constant run of poor springs we are having.

Colin Lucas and Tricia Taylor

At the Dunwich Heath Bioblitz I met a very nice chap who records sawflies in Lincolnshire and he

An appeal for Emails

The Suffolk Naturalists’ Society would like, in future, to send out reminders and notifications to members with important dates and information. Although we put dates and information into our publications and onto our website we are aware that sometimes these notices are missed. This is especially important where dates, times or venues are changed last minute. To try and combat this we would like to set up an email mailing list for our members.

We currently have addresses for about 40% of our members, if you would like to be part of this mailing list and receive timely reminders please email your email address to the Secretary, Gen Broad at:

gen.broad@suffolk.gov.uk

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Silk-covered lampposts

Adult male bridge spider, Larinioides sclopetarius

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On an Internet spider-related forum in August of last year someone expressed concern about the number of large ‘huntsmentype’ spiders and the amount of silk on the lampposts along Bridges Walk in the centre of Thetford, where an old bridge straddles the Rivers Thet and Little Ouse. (The bridge connects the West Norfolk and West Suffolk vice counties as used for biological recording). On investigation, the lampposts were indeed profusely covered with silk and associated with it were some quite large spiders. However, they were bridge spiders, Larinioides sclopetarius, a native species usually found close to water. No other species were identified although most of the spiders were towards the tops of the lampposts and so could not be examined. Some lampposts had around 20 adult spiders on them, and several smaller ones.

The reason that the spiders took up residence on the lampposts can only be guessed at but the bridge is an old one with less room for water to pass underneath than other bridges nearby. A few days before the issue was aired on the Internet there had been heavy rain. So, perhaps the most likely explanation is that rain had caused the river level to rise to such an extent that water had backed up at White Admiral 91

the bridge, driving the spiders off it and on to the nearby lampposts.

Alan Thornhill

Lamppost covered with silk 23

Harbour Porpoise Phocoena phocoena at Landguard & Orfordness Landguard Records of Harbour Porpoise at Landguard over the past 25 years were analysed to show a considerable increase from its

rarity status last century becoming almost expected recent years.

to in

Landguard Porpoise Annual Totals 1989 to 2014

1989

Harbour Porpoise Landguard Point May 2012 (Allan King)

24

2014 Data gleaned from the internet is obviously out of date as the species is noted on various web sites as being non-existent in south-east England. An even greater rise in Harbour Porpoise sightings has been noted at Dungeness, Kent over a similar time period although the increase began earlier at this location (Walker 2014). Records at Landguard have been noted in all months with a distinct peak in April and May. White Admiral 91

Landguard Porpoise Monthly Totals 1989 to 2014

The maximum number seen at any one time has been five on 10th February 2014 and five on 17th and 18th May 2013. Females with a calf in tow have been noted on several occasions. The same individuals may be involved in

sightings on different days but this simple review of the data shows a remarkable shift in the recent fortunes of the species. The species is now almost expected on flat calm days in the summer if the effort is put in to find them.

Orfordness At Orfordness, looking at ten years of records going back to 2006, the Harbour Porpoise appears to have become a bit scarcer in recent years although this might be due to a reduction in the amount of time spent sea-watching. Sightings here are rare in the winter months, but like at Landguard, there is a distinct peak in April/May. Most records are of one or two but counts White Admiral 91

of five or more have been confirmed on four dates with ten on 7th May 2006, six on 25th April 2011 and five on both 2nd May 2010 and 7th June 2014. The counts are of the minimum number of individuals seen at any one time, and due to the difficulty in observing this species and its highly mobile nature, the numbers are undoubtedly under-recorded. The 25

record count of ten on 2nd May 2006 was offshore from the lighthouse and included at least two calves. This was a calm sunny day with the sea like a millpond, and it is interesting to note that some of the porpoises were very

inactive, laying just beneath the surface with the tops of their back and dorsal fin exposed, almost like they were sunbathing!

Nigel Odin & Mike Marsh Landguard Bird Observatory

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Reference: Walker, D. 2014 The Harbour Porpoise Phocoena phocoena at Dungeness, Dungeness Bird Observatory 2013 Report p83 – 84.

Suffolk Biological Recording Online Suffolk Biological Recording Online or Suffolk BRO for short is the name of the new online recording section of the Suffolk Biological Records Centre’s (SBRC) website.

This system is in effect an upgrade from the online recording page we previously hosted, courtesy of iRecord, which I wrote about in White Admiral 85. Rather than just hosting a simple recording form we now have a complete recording system built into our website that anyone can use to make records of Suffolk wildlife.

The system makes use of the same code (INDICIA) that was used to create national systems like iRecord and features some of the same tools to help standardise online inputting and also make it user friendly. Features include interactive calendars for capturing 26

dates, built in species dictionaries for inputting species names and a google maps interface for capturing grid references by simply clicking on a map.

Apart from simplifying the process of record inputting the system also features many reporting tools to allow registered users to explore what else has been recorded online by other users. Registered users also have the ability to join or create recording groups centred around a place or particular species group of interest and allows them to quickly see what others in their group have recorded.

However, the real power of having our own complete recording system is that we can edit the code behind the website and create our own bespoke species surveys and recording forms. This means that White Admiral 91

we can design recording forms that ask specific questions for specific species and design more effective surveys. By doing this we have managed to create some public surveys for several species including Turtle Doves, Stag Beetles and Rosemary Leaf Beetles. We have also been able to design a recording page for the Suffolk Save Our Swifts (SWT & SOG) survey as detailed earlier in this issue.

Using our website we have also been able to help people running recording events such as bioblitz surveys by providing them with a platform to submit and explore records from the event. Dedicated species and recording event surveys are an area in which we hope to expand our website in the future by working with conservation organisations who want to run a wildlife survey but may not have the tools to do this themselves.

You can find the online recording pages at the following web address h t t p : // w w w . su ffo l k b rc. o rg .u k / suffolkbro or by going to the SBRC website homepage and clicking on the menu link to ‘recording’. Once you have navigated to the recording homepage you can either select from a number of public surveys to take part in or you can register to create an account. Once you’ve registered and your account White Admiral 91

has been approved by one of the staff at the SBRC you will be sent an email saying that your account has been activated. You can now log in to the recording homepage to unlock all the features of the website. You will now be able to use all of the recording forms, look at previously submitted records and join recording groups.

The recording pages have been live now since late Spring and already over 3,300 records have been submitted which includes 1,199 different species.

This is by no means a replacement of traditional recording methods and we will always accept records in what ever format they come in (as long as we have a who, what, w here and w hen). Suffolk Biological Recording Online is designed to offer people an alternative way of recording and to accommodate a new generation of natural historians who like to do everything online and very quickly.

Even if you do not wish to create an account I would invite you, at least, to take part in the public surveys that we are creating, that are open to all to use.

Ben Heather - Biological Records Officer, Suffolk Biological Records Centre.

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Nature Day at Braintree District Museum in Honour of John Ray On Saturday 28th November 2015 Braintree District Museum is holding an exciting nature day to mark the anniversary of the birth of local nature hero John Ray. The day includes a range of talks, workshops and stands, with something for all ages and for nature novices through to wildlife experts. Braintree District Museum are pleased to be hosting two prominent speakers – Roger Tabor, TV wildlife and nature presenter, and Dr Roos of Lincoln University - who will be giving us insights into Ray’s life, work and scientific travels.

Tickets are £6.50 for adults and £3.50 for children and can be purchased in advance by calling 01376 328868. Places on each talk and workshop can also be booked in advance. Full details of the program can be found on the press release here http://www.sns.org.uk/files/pdfs/John%20Ray%20Day% 20Press%20Release-1.pdf .

John Ray founded natural history as a scientific, experiment-based and university-worthy subject in Britain. He rose from humble beginnings as the son of the village blacksmith to pursue a successful career at the University of Cambridge, and then an even more successful independent research career after leaving the university in 1662. He developed the first scientific definition of a species and used this to produce the first scientific classification of plants, animals, birds, fish, reptiles and insects. His threevolume History of Plants included over 15,000 species and covered much of the known world. His work helped pave the way for Linnaeus’ classification system and Darwin’s work on evolution. Ray invented the terms petal and pollen, and was the first scientist to study and record the complete life cycle of the butterfly. Discover more at our John Ray day, and don’t forget to explore our John Ray gallery as well. The Museum would like to thank the John Ray Trust for their support of this event.

Talks: 

10:30am Introduction to John Ray with Roger Tabor



11:30am John Ray’s European Travels with Francis Willughby and Martin Lister with Dr Anna Marie Roos



1:30pm A Year in the Wildlife of Bocking with Alexander Bass



2:30pm John Ray’s Legacy for the 21st Century with Malcolm Bryan

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Suffolk Naturalists’ Society Bursaries

The Suffolk Naturalists’ Society offers six bursaries, of up to £500 each, annually. Larger projects may be eligible for grants of over £500 – please contact SNS for further information.

Activities eligible for funding include: travel and subsistence for field work, visits to scientific institutions, scientific equipment, identification guide books or other items relevant to the study.

Morley Bursary - Studies involving insects (or other invertebrates) other than butterflies and moths.

Chipperfield Bursary - Studies involving butterflies or moths.

Cranbrook Bursary - Studies involving mammals or birds.

Rivis Bursary - Studies of the county's flora.

Simpson Bursary - In memory of Francis Simpson. The bursary will be awarded for a botanical study where possible.

Nash Bursary - Studies involving beetles.

Applications should be set in the context of a research question i.e. a clear statement of what the problem is and how the applicant plans to tackle it.

Criteria:

1. Projects should include a large element of original work and further knowledge of Suffolk’s flora, fauna or geology.

2. A written account of the project is required within 12 months of receipt of a bursary. This should be in a form suitable for publication in one of the Society's journals: Suffolk Natural History, Suffolk Birds or White Admiral.

3. Suffolk Naturalists' Society should be acknowledged in all publicity associated with the project and in any publications emanating from the project.

Applications may be made at any time. Please apply to SNS for an application form or visit our website for more details www.sns.org.uk/ pages/bursary.shtml.

Suffolk Naturalists’ Society The

w w w. s n s . o r g . u k Jumping Spider by Ben Heather

The Suffolk Naturalists’ Society, founded in 1929 by Claude Morley (1874 -1951), pioneered the study and recording of the County’s flora, fauna and geology. It is the seed bed from which have grown other important wildlife organisations in Suffolk, such as Suffolk Wildlife Trust (SWT) and Suffolk Ornithologists’ Group (SOG).

Recording the natural history of Suffolk is still the Society’s primary objective. Members’ observations go to specialist recorders and then on to the Suffolk Biological Records Centre at Ipswich Museum to provide a basis for detailed distribution maps and subsequent analysis with benefits to environmental protection.

Funds held by the Society allow it to offer substantial grants for wildlife studies.

Annually, SNS publishes its transactions Suffolk Natural History, containing studies on the County’s wildlife, and the County bird report, Suffolk Birds (compiled by SOG). The newsletter White Admiral, with comment and observations, appears three times a year.

SNS organises two members’ evenings a year and a conference every two years. Field meetings are held throughout the year often in conjunction with other specialist organisations.

Subscriptions: Individual members £15.00; Family membership £17.00; Student Membership £10.00; Corporate membership £17.00.

Members receive the three publications above.

Joint membership with the Suffolk Ornithologists’ Group: Individual members £28.00; Family membership £32.00. Joint members receive, in addition to the above, the SOG newsletter The Harrier.

As defined by the Constitution of this Society its objectives shall be: 2.1 To study and record the fauna, flora and geology of the County 2.2 To publish a Transactions and Proceedings and a Bird Report. These shall be free to members except those whose annual subscriptions are in arrears contact: 2.3 To liaise with other natural history societies and conservation bodies in the County 2.4 To promote interest in natural history and the activities of the Society.

For more details about the Suffolk Naturalists’ Society contact: Hon. Secretary, Suffolk Naturalists’ Society, c/o Ipswich Museum, High Street, Ipswich, IP1 3QH. Telephone 01473 400251 enquires@sns.org.uk