White Admiral 94

White Admiral Newsletter 94

Summer 2016

Suffolk Naturalists’ Society

Contents Editorial

Ben Heather

1

Suffolk Butterfly Recording- 20112015 Distribution Maps

Bill Stone

2

First records for Barrel Jellyfish in Suffolk

Gen Broad

3

Kate Osborne

5

Colin Lucas

6

Caroline Markham

7

Kerry Stranix

10

Bee House Observations

Peter Etheridge

12

Suffolk’s Veteran Trees

Richard Stewart

13

The Return of the Polecat Mustela putorius to Suffolk

Martin Hancock

15

Jerry Bowdrey

20

Neil Mahler

21

Trevor Goodfellow

23

Gen Broad

26

Jenni Fincham

29

Rasik Bhadresa

32

Beach Bonkers Bee-ginners luck A New Excavation at Knettishall Heath Growing Up Wild

The Pogge, Hooknose or Armed Bullhead Rust Fungi and other Small Stuff Wildlife Diary (January to July) SNS AGM and Spring Members Evening The Starlet Sea Anemone The Dawn Chorus 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: Ichneumon Wasp by Ben Heather

Suffolk The

Naturalists’ Society

Newsletter 94 - Summer 2016 Welcome to the Summer issue of the White Admiral newsletter. A big thank you must go to all those who have contributed copy, on a wide range of topics, to this issue. Please start thinking about anything that you would like to contribute towards the Autumn issue - I can be contacted using the details below.

Please can I draw your attention to the advert in the centrefold of this newsletter. The new Suffolk Dragonfly Atlas is now available to buy both online from the SNS website and in person from Ipswich Museum. The book, edited by Adrian Parr and Nick Mason, serves as a timely update to the previous Suffolk atlas produced in 1992. It uses maps, photos and written accounts to reveal the changes in the distribution of Suffolk Odonata. The book costs £10 if collected from Ipswich Museum or £12 (including postage & packaging) if ordered online. For more information please see here: http://www.sns.org.uk/pages/Dragonflies.shtml.

In other news, if you haven’t heard already, the Suffolk Biological Records Centre has had a slight re-brand over the Spring and is now called the Suffolk Biodiversity Information Service (SBIS). The change of name reflects the absorbing of the Biodiversity Partnership and its officer into the record centre. To reflect the change SBIS has also updated and rebranded its website and url and can now be found at www.suffolkbis.org.uk. The updated pages also now feature a news and events feed that can be used to see what has happened recently and to highlight what events are coming up.

Editor: Ben Heather Suffolk Biodiversity Information Service, c/o Ipswich Museum, High Street, Ipswich, IP1 3QH ben.heather@suffolk.gov.uk White Admiral 94

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Suffolk Butterfly Recording - 2011-2015 Distribution Maps Distribution maps have been prepared for 34 species that have regularly occurred in Suffolk during the five year recording period 2011-2015. (Rarities have not been included, Chalkhill Blue has been excluded due to site sensitivities and more data is required for the introduced Brown Hairstreak in Central Ipswich).

The maps are based on records

received and represent 1025 Suffolk tetrads where butterflies have been recorded. An average of 14.6 species per tetrad was achieved. (NB. Suffolk has 1089 Tetrads in total). All these maps are now published online at the link below.

Bill Stone Recorder

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County

Butterfly

2011-2015 Distribution Map

View the species maps here: http://goo.gl/3b0P5r 2

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First records for Barrel Jellyfish in Suffolk Barrel jellyfish Rhizostoma pulmo were recorded twice off the Suffolk coast in January 2016. These are extremely interesting finds as the previous nearest records were from Yorkshire and Kent. This immense jellyfish is also known as the dustbin lid or frilly mouthed jellyfish and is a favourite food of the leatherback turtle.

Small barrel Jellyfish photographed by Jerry Bowdrey on Sizewell Beach January 2016.

On 12th January, an Aldeburgh fisherman (Alby Clements) pulled a barrel jellyfish in with his nets 2 miles directly east of Aldeburgh.

Then, later the same month, on 29th, the naturalist Jerry Bowdrey found the remains of 3 or 4 badly damaged barrel jellyfish on the beach near Sizewell power station.

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Most of the UK records on the National Biodiversity Network (NBN) database are from the west coasts of England, Wales and Scotland and the south coast of England. The closest records to Suffolk are from Scarborough to the north and Margate and Folkestone in Kent to the south.

The distribution of this species is the northeast Atlantic, the Adriatic and Mediterranean Seas and the southern Atlantic Ocean off South Africa.

The barrel jellyfish is the largest jellyfish found in British waters. It can grow to an enormous size, with a thick dome shaped bell up to 90 cm in diameter and weighing up to 35 kilos, although it is more commonly seen at half that size and weight.

The jellyfish is variable in colour from pale whitish or yellow to shades of green, blue pink or brown. The species is unlike other jellyfish as it has only the eight thick arms underneath and no trailing tentacles. The arms are covered in frilly tissue where they meet the body, hence the name ‘frilly mouthed jellyfish’. The frills are actually small dense 3

Barrel Jellyfish in action off Mudeford, Dorset.

Credit: Stephen Hodder

National Biodiversity Network map showing current records for the Barrel Jellyfish Rhizostoma pulmo mainly to the west and south of the British Isles

tentacles which are used to catch prey and pass them into the hundreds of small mouths which they surround. The species is identifiable from the large size, four pairs of very large oral arms on the under-surface and the lack of marginal tentacles.

Barrel jellyfish have usually made the news when they have stranded on Welsh or south west beaches, for example in the Daily Mail online in June 2015, with the headline “Alien Invaders Hit

British Beaches”! However, despite their dustbin lid size and appearance, they feed only on tiny plankton and their sting is extremely mild to humans. They usually drift in deep ocean waters, but sometimes come inshore to feed on plankton blooms.

The full grown living jellyfish looks magnificent swimming in the sea as can be seen from Stephen Hodder’s fantastic underwater photograph off the Dorset coast.

Gen Broad Recorder

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Marine

County

References: Sabatini, M. 2004. Rhizostoma pulmo Dustbin-lid jellyfish. In Tyler-Walters H. and Hiscock K. (eds) Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Reviews, [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. Available from: http://www.marlin.ac.uk/species/detail/2027

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Clockwise from top left: Bryozoan fossil and shell; Sponge and attached egg cases; hag stones, sea glass and flints; sea mat of bryozoan on seaweed; Brittle star and handful other bits from Felixstowe beachcomb; hornwrack.

Kate Osborne has launched Beach Bonkers to carry on the beachcombing work she started when working as Project Officer for the HLF project ‘Touching the Tide’. Throughout the 2016 summer holidays she will be leading beachcombing walks in Felixstowe and Southwold as well as taking the beach to summer carnivals and festivals. If you can’t get to the beach why not contact her and she’ll bring the beach to you! All events can be found at www.beachbonkers.org.uk White Admiral 94

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Bee-ginners luck On 16th June last year, I incidentally netted two bees at Captains Wood whilst setting out some bottle traps for beetles.

Previously, I had often found bees very difficult to identify but the new book by Steven Falk, “Field Guide to the Bees of Great Britain and Ireland�, has changed that.

Using the book the bees quickly keyed out to Lasioglossum sexnotatum and Andrena florea.

So far so good! However, checking the distribution of these species led to some doubts creeping in.

Lasioglossum is a seriously rare bee although it does appear to be present in south-east Suffolk. Andrena florea, whilst also a scarce species did not appear to be found north of the Thames estuary. Oh dear, obviously mis-identifications by an inexperienced observer.

I emailed the Suffolk aculeate recorder, Adrian Knowles, about the records and he replied saying that he had caught a specimen of A. florea on the 18th June 2015 from the Shotley peninsula. He also confirmed that the most northerly published record until last summer was just north of Southend.

I decided to take the bees to an identification workshop run by Steven Falk and was surprised to find the original identifications were instantly confirmed.

The Andrena specimen in particular caused a good deal of excitement amongst the bee aficionados.

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And rena florea ( female) - Steven Falk

So this is another species that appears to be moving northward over the last few years. The bee collects pollen exclusively from White Bryony Bryonia dioica which is plentiful in Suffolk so it is interesting to postulate where the bee may end up. Has it crossed the river Alde yet? Does it occur in Norfolk? If it turns out that a reasonable population of A. florea is becoming established in East Anglia it will be very exciting to track the colonization.

The fact that the bee seems to have escaped capture from the whole of the east coast of Essex suggests to me that there aren’t many observers there, as presumably any records would have been published. Perhaps the publication of excellent modern guides like

the Field Guide will lead to more enthusiasts starting to record bees as their mobility should lead to some more interesting discoveries – rather like dragonflies.

And as my two captures show you certainly don’t need to know what you are doing to find something interesting!

Steven Falk has a superb collection of photos at https://www.flickr.com/ photos/63075200@N07/collections/ The photo galleries can be used in conjunction with the book to aid identifications. He photographs a wide range of insects so the site is well worth a look even if hymenoptera are not your thing.

Colin Lucas

A New Excavation at Knettishall Heath 12.04.2016 The periglacial patterned ground at Knettishall Heath is some of the best and most extensive in Breckland and, with the help of Suffolk Wildlife Trust (SWT), GeoSuffolk has opened up a section across one of the vegetation stripes for public viewing. In 2013 we hand dug a small exploratory trench in one of the stripes, investigating the chalk and sand White Admiral 94

and the relationship between them.

It is written up in White Admiral no.86.

This had to be mainly backfilled, but in April 2016 the opportunity arose to create a larger trench using an excavator SWT had on site. At TL945804, just a few metres from the original dig, it is 8m long exposing a cross-section of one of the sandy troughs which run downhill towards the River 7

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Ouse here. Repeated across the slope, these alternate with chalky stripes, forming patterns expressed in the vegetation they support.

Relics of a colder climate some tens of thousands of years ago, they indicate a preserved ancient land surface.

The excavation is 1.2m deep with brecciated white Chalk exposed in its base and a biscuit-coloured chalky diamicton in places. The trough is filled with mediumgrained orange sand containing some shattered flints. The structure of the trough closely resembles the one near Grimes Graves, 17km to the north west (this is now quite degraded, but was illustrated by R B Williams* when freshly exposed in 1964 and is also featured in our leaflet ‘In Breckland with GeoSuffolk’). Its base is about 1m below the surface with several lobes extending down into the Chalk. These have been interpreted as ‘drop’ structures initiated in the supersaturated mobile layer above permafrost –

the sand has ‘sunk’ down into the brecciated Chalk/diamicton beneath. These showed as rounded features in the horizontal base of the trench and, tested with a stick, most extended down a further 0.25m. However, one was a further 1.15m deep, possibly more. Could this be a secondary solution pipe in the Chalk, initiated by water pooling in the base of the trough?

The trench has been left open and is arguably the best patterned ground exposure in East Anglia at present - the contrasting orange sand and white Chalk create a stunning display with the relationship between the two clearly discernible. The SWT reserve has open access here (but don’t wander too far into the adjacent area where skylarks nest) so please do pay it a visit.

With thanks to Peter Allen for discussion of these features on the day.

Caroline Markham

* Williams RGD 1964. ‘Fossil Patterned Ground in Eastern England’, Biul.

Periglacjalny, 14, 337-49.

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.

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Growing Up Wild Suffolk Wildlife Trust has launched a campaign called ‘Growing Up Wild’, asking people to send their memories of growing up in the Suffolk countryside.

With backing from the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Trust is trying to create a unique memory bank of

But it is evident from the Trust’s experience with volunteers, staff and close work with communities that there is a wealth of untapped stories in the region; whether it is swimming lessons in rivers, climbing trees or just running wild until tea time. These tales and images will clearly demonstrate how children in the county have always grown up with a largely outdoor life.

The campaign will also paint a vivid picture of the lost Suffolk that the Trust is striving to restore; a Living Landscape of flower-rich meado ws, furzy

people’s childhood experiences of nature that can then be used to inspire families to spend more time in the county’s wild spaces. In all, the Trust is aiming to collect at least 100 people’s stories of Suffolk’s summers and wintersgone-by, which will then be published and shared on their website.

While changes in the physical landscape, or declines in species, have been well documented, the oral history of people’s lived experiences of wildlife and wild places remains largely anecdotal.

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Jill, Linda and Susan Harris (Jane Eade’s mum)1950s

Sally and Jenny Hardwick, 1960s

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Geoff Kennett

commons and expansive wetlands.

It hopes the memories captured during ‘Growing Up Wild’ will allow people to see how the Suffolk countryside used to be and illustrate the changes that have taken place since World War II. Hopefully not only will this inspire people to get outside, but it will encourage them to take action for wildlife where they live.

The timing of the campaign, which will see stories being shared by BBC Suffolk and on the Trust’s reserves is also important. Recent research has suggested that the last 40 years has seen children become increasingly separated from nature.

A national YouGov poll, commissioned by The Wildlife Trusts in 2015, revealed that 57% of parents thought their children spend less time outdoors than they did, while 37% of children had reportedly not played outside by themselves in the past six months.

Evidence suggests that contact with nature is good for children, it makes them happier, healthier and more creative. ‘Growing Up Wild’ is designed to present a wild childhood in a new way to increase young people’s contact with the natural world. Stories can be submitted at suffolkwildlifetrust.org Kerry Stranix

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Bee House Observations

A couple of years ago I made the bee nest house above. This was put in position late winter and in spring was beginning to be occupied, mainly by mason bees, with one leaf cutter bee. I think the leaf cutter bee was predated as I couldn’t find it this spring.

As soon as the weather warmed up this year, I noticed a lot of flight activity around the box and initially thought that it was all about the bees using the soft wood of the logs for nest material.

However, I later found that in addition, they all appeared to be male bees, and whilst several were digging out the soft wood, which they appeared to be doing by using 12

their back legs with a lot of wing fluttering, some of them were entering recently opened holes, whilst others sat with their heads at the entrance.

As I watched, what appeared to be a freshly hatched bee moved up to the entrance of a hole and was immediately seized by the waiting male. They both fell together to a bench underneath where they immediately mated.

I am certain the female had recently hatched as whilst watching I hadn’t seen any females flying around.

Peter Etheridge

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Suffolk’s Veteran Trees Until I took part in a parish survey of Suffolk veteran trees I didn’t realise just how many there were. I selected three parishes close to where I live, namely Westerfield, Playford and Rushmere.

Essentially the technique was to measure the girth of each tree at human chest height and if it measured 4.2 metres or more it was a veteran tree. My equipment was a notched piece of board, thick string marked at the 4.2 distance and a big lump of Blutac to stick one end to the trunk. This procedure wasn’t as easy as it sounds; some trees were at road level but down in a steep ditch on the other side, others couldn’t be accurately circled because of thick growths and thankfully I detected a nest of wild bees before I got too close to a large oak at Playford.

Early Sunlight in Christchurch Park

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Many other details were requested, related to the tree’s condition and surrounding habitat. From the three parishes I recorded a high total of 92 veterans. All those in Westerfield were oaks but the other two parishes included poplar, lime, elm, beech, Scots pine and an enormous garden Wellingtonia at Rushmere.

What I also discovered was how little effective protection these amazing specimens have, even if covered by a Tree Preservation Order (TPO). It will be interesting to see how many of the processional old oaks stretching from Westerfield to the edge of Ipswich survive the Northern Fringe housing development. I have had verbal assurances from a council officer but he wasn’t prepared to put these in writing. In other European countries trees of particular cultural and/or historic significance are protected by what we would define as Ancient Monument status.

In national terms the three most celebrated concentrations of ancient trees are at Windsor Park, Richmond Park and the ‘grey, gnarled, low-browed, long-armed, deformed’ oaks of Moccas Park, as Francis Kilvert described them. In Suffolk, I am particularly familiar 13

Veteran Oaks in Staverton Thicks

with three areas. The first is on the edge of Foxhall and Ipswich, along a path accessed from Foxhall road, opposite the Nuffield hospital.

Here there is a fine row of tall and stately oaks. The second is just a few hundred yards from where the ‘White Admiral’ is produced. In Christchurch Park, Ipswich, there are many veteran oaks and chestnuts, supporting a wide variety of wildlife from the drumming of great spotted woodpeckers in early spring to the summer shimmering of purple hairstreak butterflies high in the oak’s canopy. Even older is a yew tree, close to the Fonnereau road entrance. Many Suffolk churchyards have old yews, a magical tree dating back to pagan beliefs and often predating the Christian settlement.

The third is definitely the most atmospheric and of national importance - Staverton Thicks near Butley. I was one of many 14

privileged to be escorted around the Thicks, on a FWAG walk, by the late Oliver Rackham, that great expert on veteran trees.

Many of these oaks are hollow, forming a cylinder structure that proved surprisingly resilient in the 1987 hurricane. Only a few on the periphery were toppled. Some incredibly tall hollies add to the richness of this site and there is a footpath passing through the main area of old trees. However I prefer to sit for a long time with my back against the wide trunk of an ancient oak, letting stress and troubles go, slowly relaxing and trying to become assimilated into the place. Then imagination can start to take over, perhaps going back to the old hunting ground mentioned in the Domesday Book, or forward a few hundred years to a time when these surviving trees were in their infancy.

Richard Stewart White Admiral 94

The Return of the Polecat Mustela putorius to Suffolk The Polecat became extinct in England over 100 years ago due to relentless persecution. It has been said that the Polecat was the most hated mammal ever. Their liking for poultry and their pungent stink when trapped did not do their PR much good. The last survivors retreated to key strongholds in Wales and remote parts of Scotland where lower human populations and game intensity gave them some respite. Surveys conducted by the Vincent Wildlife Trust (VWT) over the last 23 years however have noted the gradual return of the Polecat to its former ranges and the latest survey for 2014/15 shows a relatively strong presence in Suffolk.

Whilst the latest VWT survey has now concluded, the Suffolk Mammal Group is keen to continue monitoring Polecat distribution in Suffolk. As Polecats have spread, interbreeding with ferrets has produced hybrids (Polecat-ferrets), and a major challenge of

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monitoring is the ability to be able to distinguish ‘true’ Polecats from hybrids. The chart on the next page illustrates some of the key differentiators.

The blackest ‘true’ Polecats will probably survive better in the wild and therefore the lighter ‘blonde’ Polecat-ferrets might be expected to gradually disappear as more ‘true’ Polecats spread eastwards.

Mustela putorius distribution map

Key

  

Red = 1986-1996 Orange = 1997-2006 Yellow = 2007-2016

For the current list of data sources used for this map see here: https://data.nbn.org.uk/Taxa/NBNSYS0000005129

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Suffolk

Dragonflies

Edited by Nick Mason and Adrian Parr Photo: Broad-bodied Chaser Mark Robinson - Wildlife Trusts Images

Back in 1992, the SNS published Howard Mendel’s book “Suffolk Dragonflies”. This excellent publication did a lot to advance our understanding of the county’s Odonata, and also helped cement Suffolk’s role as a key player in the British arena. While changes to the UK’s dragonfly fauna had been relatively gradual up until that point, a very great deal has, however, happened since then.

Changes in land usage and in water quality have taken place, and the emergence of climate change as a major ecological factor has also had a dramatic impact. The time was thus right for a new look at the state of the county’s dragonflies. After a period of intensive fieldwork over 2008-2014 the results are in, and a new book on Suffolk dragonflies is now available.

The book confirms that major changes have indeed taken place since 1992, with most species fairing well. A number have, indeed, shown some quite spectacular increases in range and abundance.

No less than eight new species have also been recorded from the county since the time of Mendel, with three of these now breeding (two in fact being recent colonists to Britain). In contrast to these increases, just a few species seem to be doing less well.

The new book is strongly recommended to all of those with an interest in the county’s dragonflies, and to those curious as to how Britain’s wildlife is responding to recent ecological shifts.

Now Available! 

Order Online £12 (inc p&p) www.sns.org.uk



In Person from Ipswich Museum £10

R eproduce d b y k ind perm ission of The V ince nt W ildlife Trust

DNA analysis is further adding to our understanding of the purity of the Polecats genetic makeup.

If you do see a polecat please take picture of the head, paws and full body (if possible) and please be very careful on busy roads if you are recording a Road Traffic Accident (RTA).

A few basic facts about the Polecat: it is a member of the mustelid group of mammals. It is nocturnal.

There is no delayed implantation and March is the main mating month. The gestation period is 42 days and litters range from 5 to 10.

Life expectancy in prey rich areas is 4 to 5 years.

Unfortunately many Polecats are found as RTAs. It is not that they have no real road sense, but rather they are opportunistic foragers and roadside kills provide a ready larder – ‘Tarmac Tapas’ as Johnny Birks calls it.

Hopefully we will be more tolerant of Polecats in the future. It is afforded some protection as it is listed on Schedule 6 of the 1981 Wildlife and Countryside Act. As predators they have a key role to play in regulating modern

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A ll photos by Martin Hancock

ecosystems and with their main prey being rabbits (85%), they are welcome on my smallholding anytime. Preventative measures such as the use of electric fencing can assist in preventing predation on domestic fowl.

The return of the Polecat is a remarkable conservation success story. Welcome back to Suffolk!

Martin Hancock

Key References:



The Polecat by Johnny Birks, Whittet Books, ISBN 978 1 873580 98 1



The Distribution and Status of the Polecat (Mustela putorius) in Britain 20142015, Elizabeth Croose, The Vincent Wildlife Trust http://goo.gl/4emv8v

You can now log polecat records on Suffolk Biological Recording Online (SuffolkBRO). The Suffolk Biodiversity Information Service has created a bespoke public recording form for the Suffolk Polecat Survey where you can log your sightings, making use of the helpful online recording tools available to users of SuffolkBRO. The survey homepage can be found at the link below.

Ben Heather - SBIS

http://www.suffolkbis.org.uk/polecatsurvey White Admiral 94

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Agonus cataphractus L.1758 - The Pogge, Hooknose or Armed Bullhead

Le ng th c. 9cm - P hotos b y Je rry Bowdre y

On the morning of March 30th 2016, a walk along the strandline from Sizewell northwards, revealed the remains of a large number of marine organisms along the strandline.

Amongst the usual starfish (Asterias rubens), Sea mouse ( Aphrodita aculeata ), mollusc shells, cuttle bones (Sepia officinalis) etc., was an unfamiliar fish.

The body was completely covered by keeled bony plates, the underside of the head bearing short bristles with two small horns on the snout, these characters combining to give it an almost dragon-like appearance.

immature individual, the average adult measuring 12-15cm in length.

This species inhabits shallow seas from 5 to 200m deep and spawns between February and April. The eggs are unusual in that they take from 10-11 months to hatch.

Reference to the MarLIN website www.MarLIN.ac.uk/species/ detail/1992 (accessed 7.vi.2016) shows that the Pogge is widely distributed around the British coastline including the North Sea. Jerry Bowdrey

Reference to Muus and Dahlstrøm (Collins guide to the sea fishes of

Britain and North-Western Europe, Collins, 1977) showed that this was a young Pogge, also known as a Hooknose or Armed Bullhead, a member of the bony fish family Agonidae. Its length of c.9cm suggested that this was an 20

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Rust Fungi and other Small Stuff Probably not since Arthur Mayfield and the Ellis’s have we seen much about the micro fungi in Suffolk, so I guess it is time I did these rather complicated fungi some justice.

I am prompted by an email sent to me recently from Rob Parker (Ex County Butterfly Recorder) containing some photographs taken with his mobile phone of something strange growing on,

what turned out to be, a Juniper shrub ( Juniperus communis ) growing in his garden at Bury St Edmunds.

The quality of the photos were not ‘top notch’ so I couldn’t enlarge them to fit the whole screen.

Therefore, I struggled to come up with an answer - I could not be certain that it was even fungal.

Thankfully, Jonathan Revett remembered seeing a photo similar to this in an old issue of ‘The Mycologist’ magazine, produced by the British Mycological Society (BMS), and it was a rust fungus going by the striking name of ‘Tongues of Fire’ or ‘Burning B u s h e s ’ ( G y m n o sp o r a n g i u m clavariiforme).

We normally think of Rust fungi as growing on leaves or small fledgling plants and looking just like rust. However, in this case the fungus was growing on wood and at a stage called the spore horns which look like a series of little orange coloured ‘tongues’.

Burning Bushes Fungus by Rob Parker

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Earlier, I mentioned Rust fungi are rather complicated, and that is because they can have up to five different types of spore in the life cycle of any one Rust species and they all have alternative hosts - in the case of G.clavariiforme the 21

Pseu dopithyella minuscula by Neil Mahler

alternative host (Crataegus spp.)

is

Hawthorn

There are 157 records on the Fungal Records Database for Britain and Ireland and Ellis recorded three sites in Suffolk (two at Bury St Edmunds and one site at Mendlesham).

Mention should also be made of David Strauss who has been diligently recording ‘small stuff’ in the tetrad near his home at Brundish, near Framlingham.

Recently, David had found Puccinia caricina var. magurii which would appear to be a new Rust for Suffolk. He has also found two small Ascomycete fungi going by the scientific names of Aporhytisma urticae and

Hymenopsis typhae - the latter being classed as a ‘Fungi Imperfecti’ and again, both seemingly new to Suffolk.

My flat and finances will not allow me to have details of every fungus known in the UK so David is sending dried samples off to Kew for confirmation.

Not to be outdone, I too have been busy and a few months ago I found a tiny discomycete fungus growing on decomposed Leyland Cypress (x Cupressocyparis leylandii) litter in a garden at Aldeburgh called Pseudopithyella minuscula - new to the UK. Neil Mahler Recorder

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County

Fungi

Reference: Orange ‘Tongues of Fire’ on Juniperus communis by Tom Preece. Mycologist, Vol.9, Part 2, May 1995.

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Trevor Goodfellow’s Wildlife Diary (January to July) In January, I had a tip-off that short eared owls were often seen at Adventurer’s fen, Burwell, so I popped in to have a look but no sign of any. Not to be defeated, I returned to the adjacent Wicken fen and walked through to Burwell fen, again no owls but a stonechat which I had not seen before. I had another tip-off about a pair of raven at National Trust’s Ickworth Park but I missed out on them too.

The ranger said, ‘you should have been here yesterday’, I am fed up with hearing that line.

Red Kite

In April I responded to another tipoff (you thought I would have learnt by now): stone curlew and wheatear at Cavenham heath. I thought, ‘I know where that is, we used to swim in the river as kids’ but the passage of time had taken its toll, the bridge over the river had long gone and I was restricted to carry on by foot, but how far? I decided to retreat along

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the extremely bumpy track to Icklingham and drive all the way around to the heath from Cavenham village. The day was hot and the heath was creating a massive heat haze which distorted the inevitable long range photos but I did at least see a stone curlew, wheatear and stonechat.

Oh how I longed for summer, as I am an insect lover, with only birding to pass the time so by May I was ready to scout around. Eager to improve on my green hairstreak butterfly photograph, I set out to find one. This should have been easier, I went to the King’s forest four times and various other supposed sites for them, but no luck.

May was expedition time to Welney (Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust). After a good time there last December I felt that a different season could give varied interest.

Cuckoo, Cetti’s, reed and sedge warbler, great white egret and avocet all photographed well. On the way home – well ok a little detour to Stilton near Peterborough where I had seen red kites in the past. This did not disappoint, as ten kites circled and posed for the camera.

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Glossy Ib is (le ft) & Common Liza rd (rig ht)

Silver-washed Fritillary (opposite)

In June, I photographed Glossy ibis at Suffolk Wildlife Trust’s (SWT) Micklemere, Cetti’s warbler at SWT Lackford lakes, Nightingale at Ramparts heath and confirmed the orange conch micro moth Commophila aeneana was still at SWT Black Bourn Valley Reserve (formally Grove Farm).

Next stop was to RSPB Strumpshaw to see the swallowtail butterflies which was a success, spotting around twenty of them, with sightings of marsh harrier, eyed hawk moth and sounds of grasshopper warbler, Cetti’s warbler and bittern. On the way home I called in to Redgrave & Lopham fen which came up trumps with lizards, marsh harrier, hobby, and sounds of water rail. Later on I went back to Ramparts heath and found: forester moths, large and small skippers and lots of small heaths.

July is when I think summer started. I called in at Devil’s dyke 24

and spotted around twenty or so m a r b l e d w h i t e bu t t e r f l i e s .

Pakenham woods near home deserved a visit but I recorded only two silver-washed fritillaries – I just hope that the extensive logging mission is not going to harm their life cycle or that of the white admirals here.

My July Minsmere visit was a hot and dusty one. I arrived to see the sand martins busy and continued to walk the marsh route, quickly encountering pantaloon White Admiral 94

King fishe r (le ft) & Silve r -studd ed Blue (rig ht)

digger bees (so I was informed) being surveyed by a very enthusiastic ranger (the ‘adder lady’). As I approach the beach, it was evident that there were more than just a few other visitors which almost distracted me as a bittern flew past and a while later, just before a ‘coach party’ walked up, there was a family of bearded tits, wonderful! The next hides were busy but I managed to see blacktailed godwit, golden plover, little ringed plover, ruff and redshank. On the way home I called in to Westleton heath. A nice habitat I would have thought, although I had previously been and spotted nothing. A stonechat family showed and bless my soul a White Admiral 94

silver-studded blue, then another, then a grayling, then a mating pair of silver studded blues, fabulous!

‘TAXI!’ how could I beat that? I felt so ‘money supermarket’. Later that week I squeezed in a visit to Bradfield woods and spotted a white admiral. I was so pleased after just returning from a 2 hour walk through waist-high weeds just to not see a white letter hairstreak or much else other than lizards and a holly blue at Lineage wood near Lavenham.

Later on in July I tried out SWT Combs wood in the hope of a purple emperor sighting but although it was a pleasant walk and quite a few butterflies showing considering the windy weather, no luck so I will wait for the Butterfly Conservation trip to SWT Bonny wood on the 17th.

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SNS AGM and Spring Members Evening Around 30 people had the opportunity to enjoy a wide array of talks for the Spring Member’s Evening after the AGM on 14th April at the Cedars Hotel in Stowmarket.

Simone Bullion, County Mammal Recorder, gave a captivating talk d e sc r i bi ng h a ze l d o rm o u s e

Muscardinus

avellanarius

Adrian Parr is not only County Dragonfly Recorder, but is also active at national level, sitting on the British Dragonfly Society Odonata Records Committee for Migrant Dragonflies. He described the changing fortunes of some of the species to be covered in the new Dragonfly Atlas. This beautifully illustrated book by Adrian Parr and Nick Mason, updating Howard Mendel’s atlas published 25 years ago, was published in early July and costs

Slid e from Simone’s prese nta tion - Ha plotype d istribution

monitoring in Suffolk over the past 15 years. Suffolk lies on the northeastern edge of the range of the hazel dormouse in the UK and their distribution appears to have contracted during the last 100 years. The monitoring has focused on discovering the extent of the remaining populations. A new

study to test if nesting by Suffolk dormice is the same as SW England dormice made a fascinating discovery – that Suffolk dormice have a unique haplotype.

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White Admiral 94

Slid e from Ad ria n Pa rr’ s prese ntation - Sca rce C hase r P opula tion

only £10 (see page 16). There have been many population changes since then. For example, the Scarce Chaser population has done well; the Variable Dragonfly has moved its stronghold to the Waveney Valley; and a new species, the Willow Emerald, has become common since it was first seen in the UK at Felixstowe in 2007.

Adrian Chalkley, County Freshwater Invertebrates Recorder, gave a short talk about the freshwater species likely to be found at Tiger Hill Local Nature Reserve in advance of the 7th May Bioblitz.

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Adrian cited such tantalising names as Cat-eared Flatworm, Water Cricket, Welshman’s Button (a type of fly), the Green Drake Mayfly and finally moved on to one of his favourite groups - Daphnia.

Adrian is the national and Suffolk verifier for daphnia and illustrated how easy it is to identify Daphnia obtusa with its bulbous chin, large ‘nose’, combs and small antennae.

Rob Parker is Conservation Officer with the Suffolk branch of Butte rfly Co nserv ation. He described the 2014 invasion by the Scarce Tortoiseshell (or Yellow27

Slid es: Ab ove - D aphnia obtus e, Ad ria n C ha lkle y. Below - 201 5 Butte rfly Re cord ing Blackspots, Rob Pa rk e r.

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Bob Markham, from GeoSuffolk, gave a fascinating illustrated talk about the volute of Harwich – a marine gastropod from 8 million years ago. This was first mentioned in Occurrence of Voluta lambertini on the Suffolk Coast in the Magazine of Natural History

V olute image from Bob Ma rk ha m’s pre se nta tion

legged Tortoiseshell) from Europe.

Movement was first noticed in 2012 from the Ukraine to Sweden, then in the Netherlands and they were first sighted in the UK in 2014. They were recorded first in Norwich, then Minsmere, going on to around 19 sightings in 8 counties from Kent to North Yorkshire. The sightings continued until 2015. Rob encouraged more people to get involved with recording butterfly species – it can be done in your own garden and the records will be invaluable!

1837 (Edward Charlesworth): ‘Speaking of this volute, Parkinson says, “the most rare shell of this genus found in this island is the fossil volute of Harwich”….

Gen Broad - SNS Secretary

The Starlet Sea Anemone The starlet sea anemone (Nematostella vectensis) is now a species of principal importance for the purpose of conservation of biodiversity under the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006, listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, and protected under Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. It is rarely surveyed for, on its own, but White Admiral 94

its coastal lagoon habitat is often surveyed in contribution to designated site monitoring of SACs and SSSIs. Some of the important attributes monitored in coastal lagoons are salinity, extent and biotopes – thus allowing me to draw on this knowledge and comment on some of the proposed actions for Suffolk made in the 2003 Saline lagoon BAP. 29

F ig .1 Sig hting s of N. vectens is on the Suffolk C oast

The monitoring, as mentioned, is ongoing and reported under Article 17 of the Habitats Directives. As this work follows NE protocols for marine monitoring many of the records are being submitted to Marine Recorder rather than the Suffolk BIS, and will make their way onto the NBN gateway as the results of ‘Natural England Marine Monitoring Surveys’.

N. vectensis was found in Benacre to Easton Bavents lagoons SAC and Orfordness to Shingle Street SAC (Bamber, 1997). The current range and habitat distribution can be in the figures, with sightings from 2012-2014 from Alde, Ore and Butley Estuaries SAC, Orfordness to Shingle Street SAC, Benacre to Easton Bavents lagoons SAC and Minsmere to Walberswick SPA (Figure 1 and 2). There appears to be some shifting of range within the sites but despite the threat of 30

reducing coastal habitats no large reduction in range can currently be seen. There has not been a focus on the monitoring of brackish ponds of the Stour Estuary as recommended. There has been progress made on the estuary and brackish ponds of the Alde-Ore, where N. vectensis has been found (Abrehart & Jackson, 2013).

Reintroduction studies carried out in Norfolk in 2010 by Natural England were inconclusive in assessing the possibilities of re intro ductio n due to the difficulties of including a control site and further work needed. More positively, N. vectensis has been seen in rivers, ditches and pool across coastal and estuarine sites in recent years. This wider habitat range combined with its mobility could provide some resilience to the loss of the coastal lagoon habitat shown in recent White Admiral 94

F ig .2 Sig htings of N. vectens is on the Suffolk C oast

monitoring. This may be due to the biology of the species which is known as an estuarine and coastal generalist elsewhere rather than the lagoonal specialist we believe it to be here (Tarrant, et al., 2015).

The managed realignment of coastal habitats is a hot topic and there may be more creation of these habitats in the future which could benefit N. vectensis. As far as I’m aware there is currently no species specific policy, other than its licensing.

the Suffolk saline lagoon BAP, regarding the starlet sea anemone; we have seen continued monitoring of this species through saline lagoon monitoring which goes some way to meeting the monitoring objectives of the BAP, recordings of many sightings will be made available through NE’s marine monitoring reporting, researching reintroduction would need further work and species specific policies and habitat creation is currently unexplored.

To conclude the brief update of the progress behind the suggestions in

Jenni Fincham

References: Tarrant, A. M. et al., 2015. Current directions and future perspectives from the third Nematostella research conference. Zoology, pp. 135-140.

Abrehart T.R. and Jackson R.L. 2013. An NVC of the Alde‐Ore Estuary SSSI, Suffolk. An ecological survey including floral and fauna observations undertaken for Natural England by Abrehart Ecology.

Bamber, R., 1997. Assessment of saline lagoons within special areas of conservation, s.l.: English Nature.

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The Dawn Chorus Despite the inclement weather we have had The hail, the sleet, the arctic spell And of a sudden an incidental Mediterranean bout One phenomenon has been constant Regularly early each morning as the light gathers The sound of the birds has been reaching a crescendo Songs of all kinds of birds merging together In amongst them one can decipher Calls of blue tits, great tits, green finches, blackbirds and The loud and clear distinctive song of the song thrush All it would appear delighting in the new day Amongst the chirps and chatters and twitters One hears the loud and mighty rising ‘teee’ and falling ‘cher’ Teee cher, teee cher, teee cher of the Great Tit Then amongst the chorus enters the sonorous and Boisterous and repeating high-pitched whistles of the Song Thrush And from somewhere on the top of a tree The slow richly melodic song of the garden Blackbird Joins the throng of vocalisations and from the right Enters the characteristic, one could make these out anywhere The energetic disjointed sequence of notes of the Chaffinch The identifying double note (an easy give away) Chiff-chaff, chiff-chaff, chiff-chaff, chiff-chaff enters the chorus And in the distance the Woodpigeon makes its mark Starting with a flat ‘cooh’ and a rising ‘coo’ Cooh-coo, cooh-coo, cooh coo, cooh The contemplative and melodic song of the robin is easily heard And from very nearby, a fast warble and trill of the wren As if not to be forgotten makes its presence felt All of them it would seem expressing the joy of the new day

By Rasik Bhadresa 32

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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.

Order your copy of the Dragonfly Atlas here: www.sns.org.uk/pages/Dragonflies.shtml

Suffolk The

Naturalists’ Society w w w. s n s . o r g . u k

Stoat taking kits by Hawk Honey at Lackford Lakes

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 £30.00; Family membership £35.00. 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 enquiry@sns.org.uk