Wildlife April 2018

The magazine of the Sussex Wildlife Trust

Issue 182

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Spring/Summer 2018

Membership

Meet the team…

Debbie Chalmers

I joined the Trust three years ago having worked in fundraising for over twenty years. I am delighted to have met so many of our members at our Friday Woods Mill Wanders and look forward to expanding our range of membership events in the future.

Jamie Warren

I moved into the charity sector 12 years ago after many years of working in retail and it has proved one of the most rewarding decisions I have ever made.

I joined the Trust in 2015 as Membership Services and Database Coordinator. In my spare time I play bass in an Elvis tribute band.

Helen Graham

When I joined the team four years ago I discovered just how passionate local people are about wildlife and the natural environment.

I am now a Membership Officer, which is fantastic because I get to talk to our members which I love doing.

Gill Fletcher

Having been connected with the Trust since 1989, when I held the post of Office Manager, I am very pleased to now be continuing in my new role of Events and Engagement Officer, organising the ‘member only’ events. I have lived in Sussex all my life and enjoy daily walks in our beautiful countryside.

You can contact our membership department on 01273 497532 or email: membership@sussexwt.org.uk

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Dr Tony Whitbread, Chief Executive Officer of the Sussex Wildlife Trust, has announced his retirement.

He joined the Sussex Wildlife Trust in 1991 as Head of Conservation and took on the role of CEO twelve years ago. During this time, Dr Whitbread has played a huge role in seeing the Trust’s membership double to 30,000. Members have seen him as a conservation advocate, battling against road building, urban development, the potential expansion of Gatwick Airport and other countryside loss.

He was at the forefront in promoting the need for the establishment of the South Downs National Park – a designation realised in 2011. He also played a leading role in establishing the Sussex Biodiversity Record Centre, which holds almost seven million species records – information used to inform planning decisions. This led to the highly popular Sussex Biological Recorders’ Seminar and Local Wildlife Site surveys.

Alongside his role as CEO for Sussex Wildlife Trust, Dr Whitbread is the national spokesman for woodland issues for The Wildlife Trusts and is remembered by many for his insight into The Great Storm of 1987, when he presented the positive ecological stories for this memorable event.

He said ‘In 1997, our Vision for the Wildlife of Sussex was published – a document I instigated to drive positive nature

conservation action for the coming 20 years. This was replaced recently with our Vision for Nature and Wellbeing in Sussex, which re-energises our commitment to deliver a living landscape and living seas, ensuring people are inspired by, connected to and value nature.

‘During my years at Sussex Wildlife Trust, I have had the opportunity to work with some of the most dedicated and talented staff as well as our fantastic Trustees and volunteers, who give their time freely to ensure our continuing success in all aspects of our work.’

Mrs Carole Nicholson, Chairman of Trustees at the Sussex Wildlife Trust said, ‘Tony has been instrumental in developing the Sussex Wildlife Trust to be one of the UK’s leading conservation and wildlife organisations and he leaves a strong legacy for the Trust's future success.'

Wildlife magazine is published twice a year, in April and October.

In between issues you can keep up to date with news and events on our website sussexwildlife.org.uk where you can also sign up for our monthly e-newsletter.

Wildlife magazine is now available in a digital format, which you can choose to receive as well as, or instead of, the printed edition. If you'd like to read Wildlife online in the future please contact the membership team to let us know your preferences.

We will e-mail you each time it is published, so we will also need your e-mail address.

Our promise

We are committed to keeping the personal details of our members and supporters safe.

We store your details securely and use them to manage your membership, including sending this magazine. Sussex Wildlife Trust does not sell, trade or rent your personal information to others. We sometimes use the services of third parties such as mailing houses to issue communications on our behalf, and require them to protect your personal information to the same degree that we do. If you provide your telephone number and email address we may contact you by these methods.

We sometimes send information about other aspects of our work such as conservation news, events, fundraising appeals and volunteer opportunities. Should you prefer not to receive this information you can opt-out of mail, telephone or email contact by notifying us on membership@sussexwt.org.uk or telephoning 01273 497532.

Our full Privacy Notice explaining how and why we use your personal data can be found online at sussexwildlifetrust.org.uk/privacy. Printed copies are available from the Membership team.

From the Chief Executive

As many members will know, I have been working for Sussex Wildlife Trust for a considerable Xme – some 27 years in all, the last 12 as your Chief ExecuXve. The Xme is now right to pass the responsibility on to someone new and so I am announcing my reXrement.

When I joined the Trust as Head of ConservaXon in 1991, I covered general nature conservaXon and we had one other person looking a"er our nature reserves – just two people covering all aspects of nature conservaXon (other than community work and educaXon). We’ve grown a bit since then!

Since I started, I have had a hand in seYng up the Biological Recorders’ Seminar, Local Wildlife Site surveys and the Sussex Biodiversity Record Centre. I have helped with ba0les against roads, urban development and countryside loss, and argued for a South Downs NaXonal Park, achieved in 2011. Our 1997 Vision for the Wildlife of Sussex helped drive posiXve nature conservaXon acXon for 20 years and we are now reinvigoraXng this in our new Vision for Nature and Wellbeing in Sussex.

Over 20 years ago, concepts like ‘natural capital’ (the natural systems that underpin our very existence) were almost lunaXc ideas, yet today these are mainstreamed in Defra’s new 25 year environment plan. Whilst far from perfect, this plan does show how far the thinking has moved on. A new land management scheme rewarding farmers for the public benefits they provide by restoring nature is something we have been pushing throughout my 27 year tenure at the Trust.

I have no doubt that the reputaXon of the Sussex Wildlife Trust, the support of its members, the loyalty and dedicaXon of its volunteers, staff and Trustees, will mean we will have no trouble a0racXng, enthusing and inspiring a new leader to take forward our Vision. I look forward to welcoming them.

Inside this issue…

REGULARS

4

Wildlife News

We say goodbye to President David Streeter and look to the future with the Rye Harbour Discovery Project.

12

Membership

21

Reserves Round-up

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6

How to make the most of your membership.

News and views from our Land Management team, and an invitation to attend our Open Day at West Dean Woods.

Investing in Nature

Louise Collins explains how Work for Wildlife days are becoming popular with local businesses arranging team building events for their staff.

Living Seas

Sarah Ward talks us through the new vision for our marine environment postBrexit and highlights the ‘problem with plastic’. common skate

© Paul Kay/NHPA/Photoshot

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10

16

Island Life

Henri Brocklebank, Director of Policy and Evidence, discusses the impact of Brexit on the wildlife of Sussex.

Landscape Conservation

Senior Ecologist Graeme Lyons visits our Graffham Common nature reserve.

A walk around Filsham Reedbed

Join Reserves Manager Alice Parfitt to discover the diversity of wildlife to be found on one of only a handful of reedbeds in Sussex.

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34

WildCall

Charlotte Owen explains why it is important to keep your dog on a lead during nesting season when walking on heathlands.

Sussex Life carries a regular monthly section featuring Sussex Wildlife Trust.

Copies are available from your local newsagent or by annual subscription.

Contact Sussex Life tel: 01858 438832

The aim of the Sussex Wildlife Trust is to conserve the Sussex landscape, wildlife and its habitats, and to use its knowledge and expertise to help the people of Sussex to enjoy, understand and take action to this end.

For membership details please telephone 01273 497532

50th Anniversary of Woods Mill

In June, we celebrate 50 years since Woods Mill formally opened.

lapwing © Toby Houlton

Front cover: goldcrest © Andy Sands/naturepl.com

Dr Tony Whitbread

FEATURES

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Picture Perfect

Twelve fabulous images to enjoy with an invitation to view them at a special display organised by the Booth Museum of Natural History in Brighton.

Wildlife is produced and published by: The Sussex Wildlife Trust, Woods Mill, Henfield, West Sussex BN5 9SD. Tel: 01273 492630 Email: enquiries@sussexwt.org.uk Website: sussexwildlifetrust.org.uk Editor: Amanda Reeves

Design: Barry Sharman Design Tel: 07801 659094 Email: barry@barrysharman.com

Advertising: Amanda Reeves Woods Mill, Henfield, West Sussex, BN5 9SD Email: amandareeves@sussexwt.org.uk

The Sussex Wildlife Trust is a company limited by guarantee.

Registered Company No: 698851 Registered Charity No: 207005 Chairman of Council: Carole Nicholson Chief Executive: Dr. Tony Whitbread

CBP000121190303155716

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WildlifeNews

David Streeter retires

David Streeter, founding member of the Council of the Trust in 1961, retired at our November 2017 AGM. He served as Hon. Scientific Officer from 1961 until 1981 when he became Deputy President and remained in this role until he was elected President in 2004.

He was thanked for his long and loyal service to Sussex Wildlife Trust by Chairman Carole Nicholson.

His retirement party at Woods Mill in December was attended by many colleagues and friends including Stephanie Hilborne, CE0 of The Wildlife Trusts.

David Streeter © Sam Roberts

Carole Nicholson read a message from Sir David Attenborough:

is to recognise and celebrate the outstanding contributions made to biological recording by adults and young people, helping to improve our understanding of the UK’s wildlife.

stag beetle © Hugh Clark FRPS

BEETLE AWARD

The Sussex County Recorder for Beetles, Peter Hodge, from Ringmer, was announced as the winner of the Gilbert White Adult Award for recording terrestrial and freshwater wildlife at the UK Awards for Biological Recording and Information Sharing last November.

These awards have been developed by the National Biodiversity Network, the National Forum for Biological Recording and the Biological Records Centre. Their intention 4 Wildlife

“I remember David well from our times together working for this wonderful movement, whether it was opening the Woods Mill classroom back in 1981 or discussing the meaning of conservation whilst I was President of The Wildlife Trusts. It is to David’s great credit that he brought such scientific rigour to conservation and also recognised the vital need to influence public opinion both directly and through the members of the charity. His service to Sussex Wildlife Trust, to the wider Trust movement, and to our shared cause has been exceptional and I wish him every best wish on his retirement.”

Clare Blencowe, manager of Sussex Biodiversity Record Centre (SxBRC), said, “We are absolutely delighted that Peter’s work and impact on UK biological recording has been recognised with this award. His longstanding commitment to information sharing sets a great example to others in the biological recording community.”

Peter was influential in the formation of the record centre, based at Sussex Wildlife Trust’s Woods Mill office, and has continued to provide unwavering support ever since. By sharing his records with the record centre, Peter ensures that the information can be used to inform decision-making locally. As County Recorder, Peter has added value to countless other people’s records, through his thorough

scrutiny and verification of the county dataset. He was also influential in the development of the Sussex Rare Species Inventory, which highlights rare and notable species in SxBRC’s reporting so that these can be taken into account in planning and development, and targeting conservation action.

If you’d like to learn more about biological recording in Sussex, please visit: sxbrc.org.uk

Entertainers at the Charity Ball 2017 © Graham Franks

CHARITY BALL

Our annual Charity Ball, the Wilderness Wonder, held in September each year, was once again a great success, focussing on raising awareness of engaging children with nature from a young age.

Dancing to 70s sensation Hot Chocolate went on into the early hours and guests enjoyed wildlife displays as they arrived, a three-course meal incorporating locally sourced food, and a silent auction.

Community Officer Louise Collins said, ‘The Wilderness Wonder Ball very much embodies our work and ethos, connecting people with nature and raising funds and awareness for the work of the Trust, for both wildlife and people.’

This year we are holding the Ball in Brighton at The Grand Hotel.

Tickets are already on sale so don’t delay in reserving your place.

sussexwildlifetrust.org.uk/ wildernesswonder

SAVE THE DATE

The Wilderness Wonder Charity Ball Saturday 15 September 2018 at The Grand Hotel, Brighton To reserve your place now Email: louisecollins@sussexwt.org.uk Tel: 01273 497522

THE RYE HARBOUR DISCOVERY PROJECT Update from Dr Tony Whitbread, Chief Executive Rye Harbour Nature Reserve is one of the best places in the country to tell the story of coastal change.

l/r Carole Nicholson and Peta Foxhall © Sam Roberts

Congratulations to Peta Foxall who was elected chair of The Wildlife Trusts in November 2017. She succeeds René Olivieri.

She will be joined on The Wildlife Trusts’ Council by Sussex Wildlife Trust Chairman Carole Nicholson as Chairman of Audit.

A shoreline that is constantly in a state of flux, the ever-changing movement and erosion caused by wave and weather creates a fascinating mosaic of shingle, salt marsh, reed beds, ditches, lagoons and other special habitats, making Rye Harbour a reserve of truly international importance for wildlife.

Artist's impression of proposed Discovery Centre

The Rye Harbour Discovery Project aims to tell this story. At its hub will be a new Discovery Centre – a high-quality building, appropriate to its location, making best use of its position to interpret this unique landscape.

Rother District Council have now considered the design and unanimously given it their approval. With planning permission in place, work is now accelerating as we step up our fundraising activities to turn this plan into a reality.

The Discovery Centre has been the subject of extensive discussion over the past couple of years as we endeavoured to take on views and produce a design that is both sustainable and adds value to the area.

We are delighted to report that

The next stage will be to appoint building contractors and commence work, hopefully, by June this year. Throughout, we will keep disturbance to the area to a minimum and, if all goes well, we hope to see the new centre open by summer 2019.

little egret © Mike Read

sea kale © Barry Yates

This is our first major visitor centre and the largest project the Trust has ever entered into – but we need your help. If you would like to know more about the Project or would like to contribute to our vitally important fundraising programme please visit our web pages: sussexwildlifetrust.org.uk/ get-involved/rye-harbourdiscovery-centre We’ve made a fantastic start toward achieving our target, but every penny counts. I know we can count on your support.

Online photography competition winning image Foxes in Snow.

Turn to page 32 for our gallery of winners.

HEDGEHOG APPEAL

Hedgehogs were once a familiar sight in our gardens and countryside, but in recent years they’ve been in dramatic decline.

In November last year we launched a special hedgehog appeal to raise funds for our work to protect this threatened species.

We provide advice to landowners on how to improve habitats for wildlife and work with school children teaching

the next generation why they need to care for gardens to encourage hedgehogs to return. We also have our wildlife information phone line WildCall to offer advice to anyone in the county concerned about hedgehogs and to find out what they can do to help.

bearded tit © Hugh Clark FRPS

Visit: sussexwildlifetrust.org.uk/ helphedgehogs or telephone our membership team on 01273 497532.

hedgehog

© Andrew Parkinson /naturepl.com

As Wildlife magazine went to press our appeal has raised over £23,000. It’s not too late if you would like to support our work in this area.

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MarineMatters

The way back to hermit crab © Alex Mustard/naturepl.com

by Sarah Ward Living Seas Officer

In October, The Wildlife Trusts published a new report setting a vision for our marine environment post-Brexit.

The underlying message of the report is that we want a healthy, wildlife-rich future for our marine environment, as not only is this of huge value in its own right; it is also of fundamental importance for human health and wellbeing as well as our economy.

Currently, many of the protective measures for our marine environment come from regulation set out by the European Union; the UK Government will need to ensure these laws are safeguarded, as promised in the Withdrawal Bill. In addition to this, the UK’s departure from the EU offers an opportunity to build on – and improve – these existing protective measures and management approaches.

The key ask of the report is for the UK Government to create Regional Sea Plans which meet the needs of both people and nature. These plans should involve people, restore nature, meet targets, minimise harm, remain sustainable and have a longterm strategy. With this in mind, five key challenges have been identified.

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strawberry anemone © Sue Daly/naturepl.com

Securing protected areas at sea

In Sussex, we have six Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) which are protected under the Marine and Coastal Access Act (2009).

However, in order to achieve an ecologically coherent network of Marine Protected Areas, we would like to see at least a further four MCZs to be designated in our Sussex seas. A third tranche of designations has been promised by the Government; a public consultation on this will be running this year.

Making fishing sustainable

Whilst significant efforts have been made to recover fish stocks in UK waters, there are still many commercial species in decline. For example, did you know that the common skate, so called because it was once widespread and abundant, has now all but disappeared from the English Channel and has been classified as ‘Critically Endangered’? The species is now only occasionally seen in Sussex waters.

Ensuring development is sustainable

The English Channel is an incredibly busy stretch of water, with the Strait of Dover being the busiest shipping lane in the world. Other uses include fishing, windfarms, gravel extraction and recreational use, all of which compete for use of the sea.

Local planning is imperative to ensure there is space for wildlife to recover as well as providing certainty to marine industries.

Eliminating pollution

Marine pollution takes on many forms, from large, visible debris defacing our coastline, to invisible chemicals and contaminants which eventually make their way into the sea from further inshore.

Not only are these directly damaging to wildlife, they can also have adverse effects on human health – long-term effects of many pollutants on human health is simply unknown. Education and awareness is important at a local level, but legislation and enforcement will be fundamental to tackling this multi-faceted issue.

Inspiring and Connecting People

Sadly, there is a disconnection between everyday human activities and the longterm impacts of our actions. At Sussex Wildlife Trust, we are working to increase understanding of the importance of marine ecosystems and the natural services the sea provides for us. In Sussex, we’re incredibly lucky to have a long stretch of coastline; we want local residents and visitors to understand and value a healthy and wildlife-rich sea.

The new report by The Wildlife Trusts, The way back to Living Seas, was published in October 2017 and presented to the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Dr Thérèse Coffey MP. A full copy of the report can be downloaded from The Wildlife Trusts’ website wildlifetrusts.org/living-seas

Living Seas blue or common skate © Paul Kay/NHPA/Photoshot

An ecologically coherent network of marine protected areas should look like this:

Worthing Beach Clean © Miles Davies

The problem with plastic

By Sarah Ward

The problem with plastic is largely associated with products manufactured to be used once and then disposed of – and the vast quantities in which these kinds of products are now being produced. This includes things like drinks bottles, carrier bags and a wide range of packaging.

Plastic is made to be durable, so never really goes away – it simply breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces until it’s microscopic.

Plastic becomes pollution if it moves to a place where it shouldn’t be. Unfortunately, a lot of plastic pollution ends up in the sea, having been washed down waterways, dropped along the coast, or lost at sea. This can have devastating effects on wildlife if an animal gets entangled or mistakes it for food; it is also becoming more and more apparent that plastic is in the fish and shellfish we eat.

There are a few small changes you can make to your daily life which can help to reduce your plastic consumption:

Think reusable. There is often a reusable alternative to single-use plastic products: invest in reusable items such as water bottles, shopping bags and food containers.

Shop smart. Avoid products with

excessive packaging and look out for products which may have a plastic-free alternative – plastic vs. paper cotton buds is a good example of this.

Dispose sensibly. Think about

what you’re throwing away and where you’re putting it. Can it be recycled? Should it be flushed down the loo?

Join a beach clean. A beach

clean-up is good fun and feels great; Sussex Wildlife Trust organises beach cleans across our county so why not join us? sussexwildlifetrust.org.uk/whatson

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Island Life

The impact of Brexit on the wildlife of Sussex

Old Lodge nature reserve has European designations © Deirdre Huston

by Henri Brocklebank Director of Policy & Evidence

The environment sector has generally maintained a strong, joint, upbeat position around Brexit. A vast array of environmental legislation comes from Europe, so the stakes have never been higher for the UK’s wildlife. Some say that Brexit gives us an unprecedented opportunity to improve the protection we give to our natural environment but there are immense hurdles to leap to unlock these.

Every day we are closer to the current 29th March 2019 departure. What are the key issues facing wildlife and its protection?

Reassuringly, the need to protect the UK’s environment has galvanised the major national players more than ever before.

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The Wildlife Trusts, RSPB, the Woodland Trust and others (13 in all, supported by a further 28 national organisations) all come together under the umbrella of Greener UK – a dynamic coalition tracking Brexit to ensure that environmental protections are not weakened or lost. They are asking MPs to commit to a greener UK pledge, so that when they have the opportunity to vote or ask questions in the House they are well informed. To date 184 MPs (out of 650) are signed up. Similarly, Greener UK is in direct contact with the ministers and politicians that are shaping our Brexit policies.

Marine Conservation

The network of Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) around the Sussex coast is already enshrined in UK law. The risk posed by Brexit sits not with these sites but with the European Marine Sites (EMSs) which currently cover over 12% of UK seas. Losing their protection would be catastrophic for our marine conservation

EUROPEA

N D E S IG N AT

IO N S

network. Through the Withdrawal Bill this protection should remain intact, but there is risk. One possibility is that EMSs would all be changed into UK sites (MCZs). Given the weaker protections for MCZs, The Wildlife Trusts would be strongly opposed to this approach. On the contrary, The Wildlife Trusts are recommending to Ministers that once the UK leaves the EU, we not only keep EMSs as protected areas under UK law but also enhance the current legal protections for MCZs. Unravelling the Common Fisheries Policy into UK law is complex and the health of our marine environment very much depends on a sustainable approach to the harvesting of seafood by both British and foreign fleets. We need to see effective fisheries management from ‘Day 1’ and the Withdrawal Bill as it stands leaves some glaring gaps. Some primary concerns are around the fixing of ‘Total Allowable Catches’ and quotas and access to UK waters.

PROTEC

E C IE TED SP

S

great crested newt © Derek Middleton

PROTEC

The mainstay of our landscape, site and species protections rest in EU law so the effective transposing of EU law into the Withdrawal Bill is critical.

The mainstay of our landscape, site and species protections rest in EU law so the effective transposing of EU law into the Withdrawal Bill is critical. As it stands, a simple transposing significantly weakens our protections as the scrutiny put on a member state is not replicated by UKbased systems. Currently, for example, if The Wildlife Trust movement feel we need to make a complaint about the UK Government’s compliance to EU nature conservation law, we can go to the European Court of Justice and go through a process that could entail significant fines for a Member State. This process has been used successfully in reducing pollution and stopping damaging

development (i.e. upholding nature conservation) across the UK. In response to this concern there have been worthy and welcomed pledges by Mr Gove on the need for an independent scrutiny body, but we need to see this implemented before we can feel reassurance that the UK law is fully protecting our wildlife.

Agricultural Policy

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dormouse © Hugh Clark FRPS

Amberley Wildbrooks has European designations © Deirdre Huston

Landscape, species and site protection

E C IE TED SP

Many of the key wildlife sites in Sussex are farmed, e.g. grazing on our Sussex chalk grassland and heathlands. The way that farmers manage land is influenced by the subsidies that they receive from the EU through the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Brexit will see the UK uncoupled

EUROPEA

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from CAP and opportunities for new mechanisms for supporting farmers and managing the natural environment to be developed. The recently published 25 year plan for the natural environment supports the concept of an agricultural payment system supporting environmental outcomes and public benefits, and the discussions over the coming months will see how the government plans to implement its own challenge of setting a gold standard (internationally) in taking the Natural Capital Approach.

In conclusion we have heard some great assurances from our Minister, and we are ready to see fine words put into practice.

I am full of admiration for our national Wildlife Trust colleagues who are embedded deeply into Government discussions on our behalf and confident that they will continue their efforts to influence future policy that will support the work of all the Wildlife Trusts.

greeneruk.org

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EcologyZone with Graeme Lyons, Senior Ecologist

Graffham Common: landscape woodlark at nest © Derek Middleton

by Graeme Lyons Senior Ecologist Sussex Wildlife Trust

Graffham Common is one of our newest reserves, it was acquired in 2009 and 2010. At this point it was mostly Scots pine plantation with some small areas of heathland and bog.

It was known as one of the few sites in Sussex for marsh club-moss and also had populations of sundews and hare’s-tail cotton-grass. Monitoring was set up soon after this and pitfall traps showed a site rich in invertebrates, especially those associated with pines, heather and deadwood.

This informed a slightly different 10 Wildlife

Pictures by Graeme Lyons unless credited

approach when we came to fell the pines.

Rather than remove all but a few song perches, only around 70% of the trees were removed. The density left behind ranged from a heavy thin to large open clearings.

Some areas were scraped back to the mineral soils giving heathland and bog vegetation the best chance to re-establish. This took place over three years starting in the winter of 2012/13 and ended in 2014/15. In the last few summers, we have also been grazing with our cattle too.

A breeding bird survey there showed some rapid changes with woodlark, tree pipit and nightjar all breeding in the summer of 2014 or earlier. Since then we have had singing redstart and even a couple of Dartford warblers passing through. Little grebe can now be heard ‘whinnying’ on the pond.

The plants have responded too with both round-leaved and oblong-leaved sundews appearing on the eastern side after scraping and hare’s-tail cotton-grass has greatly increased in extent. Other

plants that appeared in 2017 include royal fern and the parasitic dodder.

However, the invertebrates have perhaps been the most exciting. Within eight years of acquiring the first parcel of land we have recorded 1193 species in total at the site, with over 750 of these being invertebrates. During a survey in summer 2017 it was clear that Graffham Common was proving to be an exceptional place for spiders. In fact, it’s now our third best site for spiders (after Iping & Stedham Commons and Rye Harbour). This is all the more remarkable when you think the site is only partly designated as a Local Wildlife Site while the other sites are long established and heavily designated nature reserves.

A total of 142 spiders have been recorded there already, a large proportion of these, some 17%, have conservation status. In fourth place it’s Old Lodge with 139 species of spider, another heathland SSSI that we’ve managed for decades.

Three of the spiders are nationally rare and have not been recorded on any Trust

pearl-bordered fritillary being eaten by sundews

British White cattle at Graffham Common © Jane Willmott

conservation at its best Xysticus luctuosus

Uloborus walckenaerius

reserve before and are known from very few sites in Sussex. These are Uloborus wackenaerius, Philodromus margaritatus and Xysticus luctuosus (this last is not known from anywhere else in the county!).

Uloborus is known from Ambersham Common to the west, while Philodromus margaritatus is known only from Lavington Common to the east. Graffham Common sits right in between the two and now supports populations of these rare spiders. This is a great example of landscape scale conservation for invertebrates.

Yet it’s not just the spiders that have done well there. Some incredibly scarce moths have been found too. The sundew plume is a tiny plume moth whose larvae feed only on the leaves of sundews. This is no mean feat as the leaves themselves are covered in tiny sticky droplets for ensnaring invertebrates and using their nutrients as sustenance in this nutrient-poor environment. Not this species though. It was known only from Ambersham Common but had not been recorded for 20 years!

The purple form of the dune chafer

But the sundews got their revenge, back in 2014 we found a pearl-bordered fritillary dead in a sundew, the first record of one of these now incredibly rare butterflies on a Trust reserve in 15 years. Sadly this was just likely to be a wanderer, it’s a shame the plants on our nature reserve weren’t as friendly as they are on most sites!

Another little micro moth the bilberry bell was found in a small area of bilberry that’s only a few metres in size, in fact there were hundreds there. This moth has never been recorded in Sussex before, being mainly a north-western species, its addition to our county’s fauna is a welcome surprise. The fact that it has survived here in such large numbers in such a small area is even more surprising.

The deadwood invertebrates are also quite special with over 50 species of deadwood beetle having been recorded there already. It remains the only site in Sussex for the nationally scarce pine feeding longhorn beetle Pogonocherus fasciculatus.

In fact more beetles have been recorded at

marsh club-moss

Graffham Common than plants!

What will Graffham Common surprise us with next? It seems every time we go there new species are turning up such as the bee-wolf or the dune chafer. Why not go and have a look yourself and submit any sightings to us via iRecord?

We were grateful to recently receive a special donation of £100 from the Amateur Entomologists’ Society in memory of Mrs Patricia May, who was a longstanding supporter of a number of natural history and animal charities.

This gift will be used to buy new nets, net-bags and glass containers to aid our entomological surveys.

In a typical year our ecologist Graeme Lyons makes around 10,000 records and this donation will greatly benefit our knowledge of invertebrates on our nature reserves.

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Membership

Keep Sussex special

Legacy gifts are an increasingly important source of income for the Trust and we are hugely grateful to those members who have remembered Sussex Wildlife Trust with a gift in their Will. Legacies recently received include shares in the estates of Joyce Pope of Slinfold, and of longstanding member Barbara Mortlock of Haywards Heath. Other members who left gifts to Sussex Wildlife Trust include Donald Ferrier of Brighton and Dr Peter Gay of Henfield, who with his wife Joyce wrote the 1996 Atlas of Sussex Butterflies. We are also grateful for bequests from Patricia Taylor of Woodmancote, Gertrude King of Rustington, Patricia Bathurst of Sherborne, Anthony Barnes of Woodingdean and Vera Green of Shoreham-by-Sea.

If you have already remembered us in your Will and would like to let us know please contact Mark Barkaway at our Woods Mill address, e-mail markbarkaway@sussexwt.org.uk or telephone 01273 497520. If you are interested in learning more about how your legacy could help protect Sussex’s wildlife and wild places for future generations, we would be delighted to send you our free booklet; please contact Mark to request a copy or visit sussexwildlifetrust.org.uk/legacy

MEMBERSHIP RATES

New membership rates for Sussex Wildlife Trust take effect from 1 April 2018. In order to help us continue our vital work of safeguarding local wildlife and landscapes there will be a small increase of 25p per month to the minimum rate on our annual membership categories.

Members affected by these changes will be contacted by letter. More than half of our members give at a level above our minimum rates and will therefore be unaffected by the changes. Membership subscriptions are the single largest source of income for Sussex Wildlife Trust and we are extremely grateful to all our members for your continued support of our vital work.

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BECOME A BENEFACTOR

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the opening of Woods Mill Nature Reserve and to recognise those members who support Sussex Wildlife Trust at a higher level, we are introducing a new category of membership this year. Benefactor membership is offered to members who are able to give £15 a month or more for their membership, whether individually, jointly or as a family. As a small token of our thanks, Benefactors will receive a specially commissioned lapel badge plus our exclusive tote bag, designed by local artist Mark Greco. You will also have the opportunity to take a closer look at our work, with an invitation to a special Benefactors event each year. For more details, or to upgrade to Benefactor membership, please contact the membership department.

DATA PROTECTION

You may have heard that new Data Protection legislation will come into force in May 2018. GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) is a new piece of legislation, which builds on existing Data Protection laws and introduces new requirements for how organisations process personal data.

What you need to know as a member:

• We will continue to send you Wildlife magazine by post twice a year as this is part of your membership package. If you would rather not receive the magazine you can let us know by e-mail membership@sussexwt.org.uk or by phone on 01273 497532.

• Unless you have already expressed a preference about how you want to hear from us, we will continue to send you information by post that we think will be of interest to you. This will include marketing and fundraising material, such as inviting you to attend an event or support a fundraising appeal. If you'd rather not receive such communications you can opt-out, or select which communication methods you prefer by contacting the Membership team.

• We have updated the Sussex Wildlife Trust Privacy Notice, which details why and how we collect personal data and how we keep it safe. You can find this online at sussexwildlifetrust.org.uk/privacy, and printed copies are available on request from the Membership team.

COTSWOLD OUTDOOR OFFER

Cotswold Outdoor has continued its discount offer for Wildlife Trust supporters, who can enjoy 15% off the full retail value of current season’s product ranges both in-store and online. The offer also applies to the company’s other brands: Snow and Rock, Cycle Surgery and Runners Need.

Please quote the code AF-WILDLIFE-M5 online and quote this code and show your membership card when buying in store.

The offer expires on 31 December 2018.

PASS IT ON

When you have finished reading this copy of Wildlife why not pass it on to a friend, or to your local doctor’s surgery for their waiting room? We want as many people as possible in Sussex to know about our work, and to support their local wildlife charity, and anything you can do to spread the word would be very much appreciated.

CONTACTING THE MEMBERSHIP TEAM

If you have any queries about your membership, please contact the Membership team by phone on 01273 497532 or e-mail membership@sussexwt.org.uk

It helps us if you have your membership number handy; this can be found on your membership card.

LILLI-MAI FUNDRAISING

We don’t have an award for young fundraiser of the year, but if we did then Wildlife Watch member Lilli-Mai Citrone would certainly be in the running! When her family joined Sussex Wildlife Trust last spring Lilli-Mai decided to raise funds for the Trust and promptly set up a stall at her school, St Peter’s in Henfield.

By selling cupcakes and Wildlife Trust stickers, Lilli-Mai raised an impressive £59.43 for Trust funds. Thank you Lilli-Mai!

NOT YET A MEMBER?

Sussex Wildlife Trust is the only charity working throughout the whole of Sussex to stop the decline of wildlife and restore a living landscape.

We couldn’t do it without our members, whose support helps us care for more than 30 nature reserves, ensuring that they remain havens for wildlife and people; allows us to improve conditions for rare and threatened wildlife such as the otter, the Adonis blue butterfly, and the black poplar tree; and enables us to educate and inspire thousands of local people and visitors about the wildlife of Sussex.

chalkhill blue butterfly © Gary K. Smith

If you are not already a member of Sussex Wildlife Trust, please join today. As a member you will receive this magazine twice a year, a membership handbook introducing our nature reserves, and discounts on hundreds of courses and events. You can join online at sussexwildlifetrust.org.uk/join or tel 01273 497532.

Wildlife 13

Time out bluebell wood © Sam Roberts

by Ronnie Reed

Everyone needs time out, an opportunity to press the pause button. There are lots of ways to do this; you can join a yoga class, take off on your bike and disappear along a muddy track, hide out in your allotment shed, catch up on ‘Game of Thrones’, find a quiet corner in a pub and enjoy a pint of beer or you could go for a walk in a wood.

14 Wildlife

Any wood will do; a tiny copse of silver birch on the edge of a park with ghost-grey trunks catching the early morning sun, leaves lifting softly to the wind, or a sprawling forest where grassy tracks endlessly cross beneath heavy overhanging trees. It can be green native woodland or dense, dark fir plantation.

Go at any time of the year; in the spring when the air is full of the smell of bluebells and wild garlic, or in the heat of summer when the shade beneath the trees is still and cool, or in the autumn on a dank misty morning as the leaves turn to gold and red

great spotted woodpecker © Hugh Clark FRPS

and yellow, or venture out in the winter when the ground is soft and muddy and stark outstretched limbs are silhouetted against a dark grey sky.

Go at anytime of the day; at dawn as the first bird breaks the sound of silence, at mid-day when the wood is alive with insects, or in the evening as the shadows in the corners lengthen and pheasants call on the edge of wood, or at night when you can stand in total darkness and look up through the black canopy at tiny specks of stars and listen to the sound of tawny owls calling through the trees.

Find somewhere to sit, sheltered from the wind; a fallen log or a patch of moss at the base of a trunk. Close your eyes, and listen to the whisper of the trees around you. Breathe in the smell of leaves and earth. Trace the bark of the tree. Watch the pools of insects hovering in the windless air below the leaves. Look up into the canopy; watch the leaves dance in the sunlight. Pick up a handful of leaf litter and let it drift through your fingers. Look for

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woodlice and spiders. Use your peripheral vision; that is where you will catch a glimpse of a deer disappearing into the undergrowth beneath the trees, see a squirrel tight-rope walk along a branch, or spot a woodpecker feeding half way up the trunk of a tree. Slow down and simply enjoy.

Everyone needs a special piece of woodland. Mine is a stretch of woodland tucked at the base of the north escarpment of the Downs. In winter the frost lies here all day because the sun never quite reaches above the rim of the hills. It is wet underfoot much of the year with heavy ‘claggy’ soil and water lays where it has seeped out of the hillside in dark brown puddles along the footpaths.

There is magic amongst these trees; in the flowers that coat the woods in spring, in the catkins hanging from the hazel, in the sound of woodpeckers drumming, the call of pheasants in the evening, the cry of foxes at night and the presence of those who have walked this way before you.

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NatureReserves

Filsham Reedbed © Nigel Symington

Filsham Reedbed A walk around…

with Alice Parfitt, Reserve Manager

Tucked away in the green space between Bexhill and Hastings is a wonderful nature reserve, Filsham Reedbed. Reedbeds are not that common, especially in Sussex, and this makes it an interesting area to explore. It’s an area of reed, open water, botanically diverse reed-fen, and scrub.

The nature reserve is owned by Hastings Borough Council and has been managed

by Sussex Wildlife Trust since the 1970s.

To reach the nature reserve you can park in the Bulverhythe playing field car park, just off the A259 and follow the footpath up the Combe Haven river. After about 16 Wildlife

800m there is a bridge crossing the river, a good place to stop and wait quietly to see if you can spot the flash of blue of a kingfisher, or in the height of summer watch the dragonflies and damselflies patrolling the riverbank or basking on the vegetation. Crossing the bridge takes you into the nature reserve and onto a boardwalk, but you can also continue up the valley towards Crowhurst for a longer walk.

At the start of the year you might hear a water rail call (often described as sounding like a squealing pig) from the reeds, or a loud burst of song from a Cetti’s warbler.

These are soon joined by the chatter of

reed and sedge warblers, both species migrate from Africa to nest in the reedbeds.

Reed warblers sing from within the reedbed rather than from a perch so they can be hard to spot, but with a bit of patience on a calm day they should pop to the top of the reeds. Sedge warblers often like to sing from a bush or clump of bramble, so tend to be easier to see. Cuckoos are often thought to herald the start of spring and can be heard around the reserve at this time. They lay their egg in the reed warbler’s nest, leaving the unsuspecting reed warbler to feed and raise their chick.

The boardwalk takes you into the heart

beautiful china-mark moth © Graeme Lyons

beautiful demoiselle © Roger Wilmshurst

kingfisher © Lisa Geoghegan

water rail © Lisa Geoghegan

of the reserve where you can look out over a pond. Mute swans and mallard ducks often nest here, and in late spring hobbies perform their acrobatic displays while hunting for insects. In summer the birds go quiet and the insects take over, providing colour and interest. Drinker moth caterpillars and butterflies such as the red admiral and small tortoiseshell use the boardwalk to bask on. This is the best time to see a range of dragonflies and damselflies. Beautiful demoiselles can be seen resting in the vegetation near the river, while the large emperor dragonfly patrols over the ponds and ditches.

Around the paths, plants such as hempagrimony, meadowsweet and purple loosestrife attract butterflies such as peacocks and in the meadow, common blue, large skipper, meadow brown and small copper butterflies can all be seen.

The nature reserve is also a fantastic place for moths. Many of the rarer moths pupate in the reeds so are very dependent on this rare habitat.

While most moths fly at night, some can be seen during the day.

Look out for some of the china-mark family around the ditches. Their larvae are aquatic, so eggs are laid into floating vegetation and the larvae then feed on duckweed and frogbit.

As the seasons turn to autumn and winter, there’s still plenty to see, though conditions underfoot can get quite wet.

Migrant hawker dragonflies fly late into the year and bearded tits often gather to feed on the reed seeds, though they are notoriously difficult to spot. If you are lucky you might be able to spot a bittern in the winter on the edge of the pond, and snipe

can also be seen in areas where the reed has been cut. The pond also attracts more ducks at this time of the year, with teal often seen amongst the mallards and coots.

For more information visit: sussexwildlifetrust.org.uk/visit

THE BOARDWALK AT FILSHAM REEDBED IS CLOSED UNTIL LATE SPRING FOR ESSENTIAL REPAIR WORK.

cuckoo © Lisa Geoghegan

Wildlife 17

GoldenAnniversary

In the beginning…

by David Streeter, founding member of the Council of the Trust in 1961

Woods Mill nature reserve was formally opened on 8 June 1968 by James Fisher, the well-known ornithologist and broadcaster who at the time was deputychairman of the Countryside Commission.

The Mill had been leased to the Trust in 1966 by the family of Dr C.N.D. Smith, who since 1950 had managed the estate as a small private nature reserve. Coincidentally, James Sutcliffe, the Professor of Plant Physiology at the University of Sussex, who lived at nearby Woodmancote, happened to be a long-term colleague and friend of Christopher and Jeremy Smith, Dr Smith’s sons. They approached us in November 1965 to discover whether we would be interested in taking over Woods Mill, exactly the kind of property that the Trust had been looking for to develop as a headquarters and educational centre.

The property was leased to us in May 1966 for a period of three years. Providing that we had demonstrated during this period that we had successfully developed it into a vigorous enterprise and were financially capable of sustaining it, we would be granted the freehold on the termination of the lease.

18 Wildlife

These were exciting times but also very challenging. In order to secure this wonderful opportunity we had to demonstrate we were able to develop the Mill as a going concern. During 1966 and the early part of 1967 we converted the first floor of the house into a self-contained warden’s flat and the ground floor into meetings rooms, and warden’s and Trust offices.

The grounds continued to be managed as a nature reserve and I remember that the first task that we undertook was to plant the alder wood in the area immediately adjacent to the north side of Hoe Wood. Each sapling was carefully planted using co-ordinates of random numbers in order to achieve as natural an outcome as possible.

One feature of the nature trails was that the most obvious plants were labelled along the paths and this led to an unexpected incident. I received one morning a message from the then warden that the Mill had been

One feature of the nature trails was that the most obvious plants were labelled along the paths and this led to an unexpected incident…

visited by the police, demanding to inspect the grounds but declining to offer an explanation. It transpired that a visitor had spotted a clump of helpfully labelled hemp agrimony and had duly reported to the police that we were growing cannabis!

Educational nature trails were laid out through the reserve, lovingly maintained

by Charlie and Dorothy Coleman after they arrived in 1970, together with a programme of regular day courses.

Woods Mill celebrates 50 years Woods Mill – something for everyone Carole Nicholson, Chairman, Sussex Wildlife Trust

It was planned to convert the mill into an information centre and a small educational museum illustrating the natural history of Sussex and the Trust’s reserves and conservation work. The fabric of the mill would be treated as a museum feature in its own right with the possibility of restoring some of the machinery. The Area Museums Service for South-East England agreed to prepare the exhibits and the whole display was designed and mounted

by Claus Henning and his staff. We were particularly fortunate in that the distinguished wildlife artists Ian Willis and Mary Grierson agreed to prepare the colour paintings. The whole of the north wall of the main display was taken by a large geological map of the county on which were marked our nature reserves.

The original displays survived until the major redevelopment of the Mill by Robin Wade Design Associates, unveiled by David Attenborough in 1981.

Woods Mill remains the headquarters of Sussex Wildlife Trust and an environmental education centre. Visitors can walk past the ponds and lake, through the ancient woodland, alongside the streams and waterways into the unimproved meadows with their wild hedgerows – habitats all contained within its 47 acres.

At the start of the 21st century, the Trust acquired land behind the original reserve, meaning that visitors can walk out beyond the woodland and enjoy a view over the restored river meanders and up to the South Downs. The seat looking out across this view is one of my favourites for quiet reflection. The variety of habitat attracts an impressive number of species and, although we definitely don’t grow cannabis as was once suggested, we do have a vast range of mammals, insects, amphibians and birds,

Pictures © Miles Davies

meaning that Woods Mill is a place that has something for everyone.

We now have a classroom for both adult and children’s courses. However, this is only the meeting point. The most important educational aspect is getting people out on the reserve. There are walks throughout the year led by our experienced staff, and children can enjoy pond-dipping on the brand-new platform overlooking the newly restored lake, or go on treasure hunts, build dens or take part in woodland craft activities – nearly always ending with eating marshmallows toasted on a fire!

And, how we have grown. Our membership is nearly 30,000, we have over 60 full-time-equivalent staff and over 350 volunteers giving us the ability to reach out to more people than ever before. The Trust’s Vision for Nature and Wellbeing in Sussex is as strong now as it was fifty years ago.

Wildlife 19

GoldenAnniversary

Mike Russell remembers…

Fifty years; half a century, that’s a long time to think back about Woods Mill.

For thirty-one of those years my life was intrinsically entwined with Woods Mill and it has been a privilege to see it grow, develop, change but maintain itself as the beating heart of the Sussex Wildlife Trust.

Having lived at Woods Mill with my family for the first seven years as warden I can’t help but take it into my heart. It wasn’t always easy living on site though, the odd visitor would wander into the garden, ducking under the washing and tripping over the children’s garden toys, while on one occasion we found someone sitting in our living room, thinking it was the Visitor Centre!

Four threads led to the enjoyment of being involved in those first seven years.

Living and working on such a wonderful reserve was in itself a real treat, such a great variety of wildlife in such a small area allowed me to gain so much knowledge in that time. Then the three other threads all involve people; in all my years of working for the Trust, it has been such a great privilege to work with so many brilliant people, their expertise, their passion and their sheer hard work has helped so much to make the Trust the organisation it is today and still makes Woods Mill such a great place to work.

20 Wildlife

Then there were the volunteers. As warden, it amazed me that there were so many people who wanted to do my job and do it for nothing! Woods Mill would have never become the centre that it has without that volunteer input from hundreds of people over the years. Finally, there were the visitors. One of the things over the years that has given me so much pleasure is to show people wonderful wildlife, be it the barn owls and kestrels that regularly breed, the dragonflies that haunt the lakes and streams or the white admiral butterflies dancing in the woodland glades.

water vole © Derek Middleton

Join our celebrations

Woods Mill’s 50th anniversary is such a grand event that we’re not going to restrict the celebrations to just one day – we're going to celebrate for a whole year running a series of special Woods Mill 50th events on the reserve. Check out the ‘What’s On’ page of our website and look for the Woods Mill 50th logo.

kestrels in box at Woods Mill © Neil Fletcher

We are grateful to the ScottishPower Foundation who has made a very generous grant to support our 50th anniversary celebrations.

Seven years after our arrival my job changed, so we moved out and my role expanded in various guises right across Sussex, but Woods Mill remained the centre of my working life. Nightingales have also been central to my time there, ever since hearing my first one on April 7th 1985 while lying in bed and I’m still running my Nightingale Evenings this year.

Also, seeing what we have lost and gained in that time has been interesting if somewhat depressing. It’s tragic to see that we have lost water vole, tree sparrow, lesser spotted woodpecker, willow warbler and marsh tit as breeding species, but have gained buzzard, little grebe, Cetti’s warbler and willow emerald damselfly, but on the

white admiral butterfly © Derek Middleton

whole, wildlife and people that love wildlife, continue to thrive at Woods Mill.

So, Happy 50th Birthday Woods Mill and thank you for letting me be part of your long and successful life.

Mike Russell teaches adult courses and leads bird safaris for the Sussex Wildlife Trust. Outside of this he leads a number of birdwatching days to neighbouring counties as well as longer trips away to some of the wildlife hotspots in the UK. He also leads holidays abroad for Wildlife Travel, a company that each year distributes any profits to The Wildlife Trusts, including Sussex.

He continues to promote interest in the birds of Henfield through chairing Henfield Birdwatch.

For further information on any of these trips in Britain or abroad, please email mikerussell51@yahoo.co.uk

barn owl © Dennis Hunt

ReservesRoundup

David Saunders is our newly appointed Director of Land Management working from the Trust’s base at Southerham Farm in Lewes.

His background is in woodland conservaXon management.

OPEN DAY AT WEST DEAN WOODS

A public open day will be held at this woodland reserve on Saturday 2nd June. This is your chance to see the result of woodland management over many decades which has created a habitat rich in invertebrates, birds and wild flowers.

Cleo Alper and Alex Smith © Sam Roberts

STAFF CHANGES

I would like to welcome two new trainees who joined the Trust in January. Their posts are supported by the Leysdown Trust and they will begin a programme of training to equip them for a career in conservation management. Alex Smith will be supporting the Reserve Management team and Cleo Alper will work with the Learning and Engagement team.

green tiger beetle © Graeme Lyons

FLATROPERS WOOD

A new volunteer group has been set up for this reserve and will be working with Alice Parfitt, the Reserves Manager, to extend the area of open ground to encourage invertebrates. Tools and safety equipment have been supplied through a generous grant from Sussex Lund Fund.

Interested in joining our volunteer group? Please email: lizfrancis@sussexwt.org.uk

IPING COMMON

Work has started on boundary fencing to enable grazing to start at Iping and Trotton Commons.

Up to 30 of our own British White cattle will be introduced in the spring to help manage the heathland, and to encourage niches for specialist invertebrates. The cattle are particularly good at breaking up large tussocks of grasses to allow greater floral diversity and sandy patches for burrowing insects such as field crickets – a species recently lost from this site due to a historic lack of grazing. In wet parts of the heath, the cattle “poach” the ground exposing patches of bare peat which is the perfect habitat for the rare insectivorous sundews and even rarer marsh clubmoss. Marsh clubmoss returned to Stedham Common after ten years of grazing and we hope that it will also return to Iping. When livestock are on site public access for walkers and riders will be maintained through gates at all entrance points.

Bridle gates will be locked open when the animals are not there.

field cricket © Neil Hume

Parking will only be available at West Dean College and transport will be provided to the nature reserve in our Land Rovers. There will be a number of guided walks throughout the day and lots of opportunities to learn about the wildlife on site and also the work of the volunteers who manage the reserve by coppicing the hazel every year.

For more information contact Reserves Manager Mark Monk-Terry by email: markmonk-terry@sussexwt.org.uk

firecrest © Martin Casemore

Birthday wishes

Peter Dawson has been a volunteer at West Dean Woods nature reserve for ten years.

He recently celebrated his 90th birthday at the woods with a lamb roast, joined by 20 past and present volunteers. Peter helps every Monday and Thursday morning by coppicing hazel in the winter months and taking on a variety of maintenance jobs during the summer.

Become a woodland owner in Sussex

Wildlife 21

Investing in Nature

Louise Collins, Corporate and Community Fundraising Officer

Louise Collins has joined the team at Sussex Wildlife Trust as the Corporate and Community Fundraising Officer. She has worked for the past ten years as a community fundraiser for a Sussex children’s hospice and in her spare time is a Scout leader. She said, ‘I love the outdoors and connecting people with nature so the Sussex Wildlife Trust is the perfect fit for me.

I look forward to working with all our current business members and community supporters, as well as welcoming new supporters to the Trust.’

To find out how your group or business could benefit from working more closely with the largest nature conservation charity in Sussex, please email: louisecollins@sussexwt.org.uk or telephone 01273 497522.

BUSINESS MEMBERSHIP

No matter what your business focus or the size of the team, there is a membership option to suit you and your budget.

FUNDRAISING EVENTS

Another great way to support the Trust is to organise a fundraising event such as a quiz night, sponsored challenge or dress-up day.

Events can be a great way to engage your employees with their company and the work of the Trust. You could also consider matching any donations your employees make.

TEAM BUILDING DAYS

Sussex Wildlife Trust holds team building days on our beautiful nature reserves, with indoor meeting room facilities at Woods Mill.

We provide highly trained officers to lead the group through practical conservation tasks while the team enjoys the ideal environment to learn and grow together.

22 Wildlife

Bat boxes noctule bat © Hugh Clark FRPS

Our business partner Infinity Foods has recently given funding towards a bat box project in the city, led by Sussex Wildlife Trust’s Huw Morgan and Ryan Greaves in collaboration with Brighton & Hove City Council, Sussex Bat Group and local parks’ Friends groups.

Bats are one of the main predators of flying insects, playing a vital role in the food chain, and are a key indicator of habitat health.

There are 18 species of bats in the UK, all of which have been recorded in Sussex.

Brighton is home to some of our most iconic bat species, and the bat box project will see roosting sites installed across five of the city’s parks, all of whom have recorded bats before.

One of the parks that will have new bat boxes installed is St Ann’s Well Gardens, in Hove. A bat survey conducted in the park recently confirmed two bat species. The

WELCOME

Welcome to new business members Lady Penelope Gardens Ltd, a company founded in 2008 by Angela Palmerton to provide a bespoke country garden maintenance service for private garden owners in and around the South Downs National Park. Over the past ten years the business has developed in three specialist areas: estates and gardens, conservation and restoration and design and landscaping.

In-house services include horticulture, restoration and management of historic parks and gardens, design and landscaping, tree surgery,

first of these is the Daubenton’s bat, which volunteers identified not only by its call, but by its distinctive foraging style low over water. The second recorded species was the small but acrobatic common pipistrelle.

Surveys in the other parks around Brighton have also recorded the serotine, the noctule and the charming brown longeared bat. Among the challenges faced by bats in urban areas are loss or disturbance of suitable roosting sites, due to the treatment of roof timbers with toxic chemicals, insulation of cavity walls, building renovation and the obstruction of roost access, as well as lack of consultation before construction work begins. Also a lack of insect abundance and habitat connectivity limits their foraging opportunities.

The bat box project will further ensure that additional, suitable roosting spaces are provided to support the bat population across five chosen parks.

groundsmanship, including the management of grassland sward and natural meadow habitats and also ponds. They are currently in a period of expansion, particularly in areas of conservation and restoration, and in the maintenance of country estates and historic parks.

They implement conservation management plans, historic landscape surveys and ecological surveys – an approach that enables them to undertake or assist with regular condition monitoring and population surveys, where required.

SEASIDE LEARNING

Sussex Wildlife Trust hosted a five-week Wild Beach course at a Brighton school last year thanks to a £1,000 donation from organic skin and haircare brand Green People.

Team building day at Southerham Farm

WORK FOR WILDLIFE

Environmental teambuilding experiences 2018 Many companies enjoy getting involved with our work by volunteering. Feedback from our corporate partners reveals it’s a fantastic teambuilding and staff development opportunity, whilst also supporting your company's CSR and environmental impact.

Why not put your company in touch with me to take part in important conservation work that supports the local wildlife and wellbeing of the community.

Whether it is an informal teambuilding day or simply the chance to get together and put something back into the community, we always welcome extra pairs of hands.

Sussex Wildlife Trust looks after over 30 nature reserves.

These sites cover over 1800 hectares (4500 acres) and are some of the best places to see wildlife in our county.

On our Work for Wildlife days, activities include coppicing, tree planting, bramble cutting and scrub clearance. Physical conservation work is the main part of the day whilst learning about the habitat, and the wildlife within it.

We also organise days at the beach. Litter is not only unsightly but can cause major problems for wildlife in the sea. Marine wildlife gets entangled in litter and plastic can easily be mistaken for food which can ultimately lead to blockages resulting in starvation.

You and your colleagues can help to protect local marine wildlife by joining our Living Seas Officer for a beach clean, collecting rubbish, sorting recyclables, and taking note of the different pieces of litter found for a national survey.

Wildlife Trusts research shows that contact with the natural environment can provide multiple benefits for health and wellbeing including improvements to physical health and psychological and social wellbeing. Being in nature and participation in nature-based activities helps reduce stress and anxiety, and increases positive mood, self-esteem and resilience.

Pupils at Middle Street Primary School spent time learning outside of the classroom, experiencing different wildlife, geographical features and natural environments.

The funding celebrated Green People’s 20th year of driving positive change in the beauty world.

The national campaign – ‘Change the World in 20 Ways’ – invited individuals and groups across the UK to apply for £1,000 to put towards projects to make a difference in their local communities.

Katie Eberstein, who co-ordinated the Trust project said, ‘Being awarded the money from Green People has already made a difference to Year 4 students who were able to explore and discover their local green space which, in this case, was the beach

in front of their school.

All sessions were really practical and hands-on. The children measured tides, went on scavenger hunts, created beach art, made kites, beach cleaned and had fun, whilst learning and building a connection with a space they saw regularly, but perhaps knew little about. The highlight was a bike ride along the coast to the rock pools, reinforcing many key messages about sustainable lifestyles and the wonder of their local environment.’

For any further information or queries, please contact Louise Collins on 01273 497522 or louisecollins@sussexwt.org.uk

Welcome to Bramley & Teal Holiday Cottages, Holiday Cottages.co.uk and Kent and Sussex Holiday Cottages who have all joined the Trust as business members to support our work in nature conservation.

Thank you to Dale Hill Golf Club and Lady Captain Lesley Chipperfield who supported the Trust by making us their Captain’s charity of the year in 2017. They donated over £4,000 to support our work.

Wildlife 23

Connecting children with nature

by Sue Curnock Sue Curnock coordinates the Nature Tots groups throughout Sussex as well as leading sessions at Woods Mill. She has nothing but praise for the volunteers who are so integral to the success of all the Nature Tots groups. She explained...

Our groups couldn’t run without volunteer help and at Sussex Wildlife Trust we are lucky to have such a wonderful team of dedicated, talented and experienced people with a variety of skills and boundless enthusiasm who all want to connect children and their parents with nature and wildlife.

Being allowed to get their hands dirty is a new experience for some children, and taking risks is an essential part of growing up.

I always get a kick watching the new recruits at my Nature Tots group getting to grips with the unfamiliar feeling of muddy hands and, horror of horrors, dirty clothes.

One of my stand-out moments was a child shouting “Yessss!” as she hit our tree trunk target with her mud bomb – could this be

24 Wildlife

© Sue Curnock

the same little girl who had joined us a few months earlier; very shy and a bit unsure about the whole thing. This was a turning point for her and for the way the other children saw her. Aged 4 years old, she became one of the ‘leaders’ in her group encouraging younger Tots to try new activities and sharing the benefit of her newfound experience.

When I started working with the Nature Tots at Woods Mill nature reserve four years ago, I was completely caught up in the idea of connecting children with nature, in the hope they would grow up to care for their local wildlife and help to protect it. But now I’ve also seen the other side of the coin: while the Tots are learning to love nature, Forest School is working its magic on their physical development, confidence and social skills. It is definitely a two-way street – nature needs people and people need nature.

It’s all about giving them fun and achievable hands-on challenges. Being allowed to get their hands dirty is a new experience for some children, and taking risks is an

© Miles Davies

essential part of growing up. There is mud to fall in, brambles to get scratched on, logs to clamber over and sticks to poke about with. There are also glorious autumn leaves to throw into the air, tractor wheels to be sawn, fire sparkies to strike into dragon sneezes, snowy paw prints to be made and adventures in the woods.

The chance of seeing that spark light up in a child’s eye, perhaps they saw their first toad, or managed to keep their balance across our Tot-made log bridge over the stream or just enjoyed getting wet and muddy without worrying about their clothes is a joy that never dims.

Nature Tots groups are held at Ardingly, Brighton, Eastbourne, Henfield, Horsham and Rye during school term time. If you are interested in volunteering or would like to bring a child along to our sessions, please visit: sussexwildlifetrust.org.uk/naturetots

Is volunteering for you?

Four Woods Mill Nature Tots volunteers explain why it is important to them to support the Trust through volunteering.

© Miles Davies

Gill Standing has been a volunteer for just over two years.

A former primary school head teacher, she trained in Forest School so she could introduce this innovative way of teaching as part of her school curriculum. Her level 3 Forest School training involved learning how to use tools safely within a woodland environment and, now she has retired, she puts these skills to good use as a regular Nature Tots and Wildlife Watch volunteer.

She said, ‘I realised that children who may not normally succeed academically found they had the practical skills and special awareness to succeed in tasks such as den building or using tools. Those who found classroom learning challenging excelled outside and could show other children how to do things, giving them a chance to feel good about themselves.

© Sam Roberts

Sara Peach started volunteering at Woods Mill five years ago and loves working as part of a team. It is a natural progression from being a reception class teacher to helping children enjoy nature.

Children have opportunities to be creative, such as making a collage from fallen leaves on the bare earth of the wood.

I enjoy reading wildlife stories to the children in our storytelling circle.

Turn to page 35 to read all about The Wonder Tails by Nickhola-Susanne La Brooy - a collection of stories for 5-9 year olds about British wild animals.

© Miles Davies

Rob Thorpe has worked in conservation since the 1980s and was the Countryside Ranger for East Sussex County Council for 25 years. He used to volunteer with the education team at Woods Mill and the team at Seven Sisters on his days off. He now volunteers with Nature Tots every Wednesday between March and December – and has done so for the past four years.

He said, ‘People say this is the lost generation – children have forgotten how to play in the woods. At Nature Tots we encourage the under-fives to get muddy and have fun outdoors – reconnecting with nature. With these very young children we engage with the parents as well who are often surprised at how well their child can manage a bow saw or move safely around a campfire.’

© Miles Davies

Beatrice von Preussen works in Brighton as an artist running workshops with children exploring the world in a creative way. Previously she was Artist in Residence at Battersea Park Zoo where she first discovered the rewards of working with children and nature. She has been volunteering with the Trust for two years.

She said, ‘Even very young children can engage with artwork. I am fascinated with the way children see the natural world and how they engage and relate to nature and the environment by doing creative things. I love the spontaneity of Nature Tots – if a three year old wants to spend half an hour poking about in the mud with a stick – that’s ok’.

Wildlife 25

SupportingWildlife VOLUNTEERING AT FLATROPERS WOOD

We were delighted to receive a grant of £9,349 from Sussex Lund, a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin, which is administered by the High Weald AONB Partnership. The grant has enabled us to deliver a volunteering and habitat restoration project at Flatropers Wood Nature Reserve near Rye.

© Sam Roberts

Heart-felt thanks

Thanks to two generous donations, vital life-saving equipment is now on board Sussex Wildlife Trust vehicles taking volunteers to remote nature reserves in the county.

The Sussex Heart Charity supplied a mobile Automated External Defibrillator (AED) and provided training in its use and the George Bairstow Charitable Trust (GBCT) gave a grant to purchase a second AED.

Sussex Wildlife Trust has hundreds of volunteers and many of them carry out important nature conservation tasks on our reserves, including helping with livestock, bridge building, fencing, scrub clearance and more. By their very nature, many of our reserves are in remote locations which often have poor mobile phone reception and cannot be rapidly accessed by the emergency services should the need arise. By taking AEDs with us on volunteer work parties, we are reducing the risk of death or serious disability as a result of sudden cardiac arrest in a remote location.

26 Wildlife

Flatropers Wood is one of our most species-rich nature reserves, despite having no conservation designations, and is particularly important for invertebrates. Over 615 species can be found here, including the rare oak-mining bee Andrena ferox. There are good populations of red wood ants and the invertebrates associated with them, including the scarce seven-spot ladybird.

Thanks to the funding, we have been able to improve habitat for invertebrates by creating more open areas through coppicing and scalloping along paths and clearing scrub. A significant part of the project has been the creation of a dedicated volunteer group who assist with habitat conservation, learning practical skills from our reserve officers.

HABITAT RESTORATION

We’ve been carrying out important conservation work over the past 18 months at Filsham Reedbed Nature Reserve to help rare and threatened species flourish, thanks to a grant from Biffa Award of over £27,000. This project was also supported by the Sussex Ornithological Society who kindly donated £2,785 to help unlock the grant.

Reedbeds are not common in Sussex, and Filsham is one of the largest, supporting a range of specialist wildlife such as reed warbler, Cetti’s warbler and bearded tit; moths such as reed dagger and plants such as blunt-flowered rush. Work has included cutting back invading willow scrub that if left unchecked would spread over the wetland.

Areas of reed have also been winter cut on rotation as this helps maintain young pliable reed suitable for nest building by reed warblers.

Conservation work at Filsham Reedbed © Miles Davies

Volunteers at Flatropers Wood

The funding has also been good news for plants such as water violet and the insectivorous bladderwort that thrive in open areas of high quality water when ditches have been cleared of reed.

Dragonflies such as the hairy dragonfly and other invertebrates will also benefit from the open water. We’re really grateful to our volunteers who have given hours of support cutting back reeds and also repairing the boardwalk so everyone can enjoy the site.

Join us for A Walk around Filsham Reedbed on page 16.

reed warbler © Derek Middleton

Wild Flower Lawns & Meadows

Mayor signing lease with Sussex Wildlife Trust

SEAFORD COMMUNITY WILDLIFE PROJECT

We are excited to be awarded a Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) Our Heritage grant for £97,500 over two years to deliver the Seaford Community Wildlife Project.

The Trust recently took on a 25 year lease to manage Seaford Head Nature Reserve for Seaford Town Council and this project will provide a firm link between the town and its nature reserve with a host of opportunities for the community to learn skills, volunteer and experience nature.

Seaford Head Nature Reserve enjoys spectacular views of the Seven Sisters and Cuckmere Valley and is home to many nationally rare and significant

species of plants, birds and insects including moon carrot and the potter flower bee.

Nikki Hills, Seaford Community Wildlife Project Officer, is delivering this project which will enable us to undertake conservation work on the nature reserve, make improvements to local greenspaces in the town and provide new interpretation and information about the wealth of natural heritage to be found in Seaford. We will work with schools delivering Wild Beach sessions, create ranger groups for young people to engage in nature conservation and provide opportunities for local groups and the wider community to volunteer and take part in walks, talks and wildlife activities.

We are grateful to Seaford Town Council, Seaford Head Local Nature Reserve Management Committee, Seaford Natural History Society and Sussex Wildlife Trust volunteers who have helped get this project off the ground.

Nikki Hills © Miles Davies

For more information or to find out how to get involved visit: sussexwildlifetrust.org.uk/ seafordproject

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Wildlife 27

WHAT’S ON 2018

For details of all Sussex Wildlife Trust events and courses please visit:

sussexwildlifetrust.org.uk /whatson

If you are unable to access a computer and would like a copy of our courses and events leaflet please tel: 01273 497561.

The Trust has local groups based in Eastbourne in East Sussex and Chichester and Selsey in West Sussex.

They hold local events for members and non-members.

All three groups offer varied programmes with wildlife themes including illustrated talks, seasonal walks to search for fungi, butterflies or wild flowers and visits to nature reserves.

If you would like to find out more about your local group contact details are below.

Eastbourne

Janet Nott, Secretary Tel: 01424 777291 or 07946 753135

Email: secretary-swteastbourne @hotmail.co.uk

sussexwildlifetrust.org.uk/ eastbourne

Chichester

Maria Wildman, Secretary 12 Harbour View Road Pagham PO21 4RG Tel: 01243 262833

AGM Success Making birdfeeders at the AGM © Miles Davies

Our 55th Annual Members Meeting was again a great success with over 200 members attending. When the business of the AGM was concluded, author, columnist and natural history writer for The Guardian, Patrick Barkham, gave a talk entitled Islanders and then the children who had attended the WildPlay session while their parents were at the AGM, came into the hall to show the bird feeders they had made. Bird seed for the feeders (with plenty to take home) was provided by Vine House Farm who has donated over £50,000 to Sussex Wildlife Trust over the past ten years.

SAVE THE DATE 10 November 2018

You will find your invitation to attend our 2018 AGM in the next edition of Wildlife (Autumn/Winter)

Our venue is The Shoreham Centre, Pond Road, Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex.

The winning images in our online photographic competition were on show at the AGM thanks to the kind help of Trust supporter Dennis Hunt who loaned us his display boards and arranged the printing and mounting of the winning images. Turn to page 32 to enjoy these fabulous pictures – all of which are now on display at the Booth Museum, Brighton until September (details page 33).

Email: wildthings2@waitrose.com

sussexwildlifetrust.org.uk/ chichester

Selsey

Contact details as Chichester

28 Wildlife

Karen Diton with her winning image © Miles Davies

Patrick Barkham signing books for members at the AGM © Miles Davies

© Damian Waters

GROUP EVENTS

Fill your head with wildlife

At Sussex Wildlife Trust we’re very proud of our course programme and from your responses it seems you’re impressed with it too!

Almost all our 2017 courses sold out (some very quickly) and hundreds of people learnt about, experienced and enjoyed everything from slugs to badgers, willow weaving to navigation and fungi to wild flowers.

Our education courses typically consist of an indoor willow warbler © Lisa Geoghegan

teaching session followed by a chance to get out ‘in the field’ with an expert and experience some amazing wildlife. There are courses to suit everybody from beginners to amateur naturalists.

Join us and listen to nightingales singing on a summer’s evening or the dawn chorus at sunrise.

How about a walk on the South Downs at night looking for the lights of the incredible glow-worm, be mesmerised by the churring of the nightjar on a warm heath or sit in a Sussex woodland watching badgers emerge from their setts at dusk.

Our popular courses on raptors, butterflies,

Harvest mouse

By Charlo"e Owen

Hidden amongst the tall grass a foot or two above ground, there is a carefully-woven grassy nest; an almost perfect sphere about the size of an orange and tightly anchored to the surrounding stilt-like stems.

It lacks an obvious entrance but a tiny whiskered nose pushes through to nudge open a tiny doorway. A harvest mouse, Micromys minutus; the ‘smallest tiny mouse’. Tucked up inside on a bed of thistledown, completely out of view, are some smaller, tinier mice. Adults are the length of your thumb and the weight of a 20p coin, and newborns are truly minute.

They are older now and their mother is venturing out to forage. She is well-suited to high rise living with a prehensile tail that can grip stems like a fifth limb, aiding balance and providing a lifeline in case of lost footing. She climbs nimbly through the stalk zone in search of insects and grass seeds including cultivated cereals like wheat and barley.

It was the pioneering naturalist Gilbert White who first associated the species with the harvest and the name stuck.

During his time they were a

common sight in the late summer hayricks but today there are far fewer meadows, so far fewer mice. They still cling on in agricultural fields, grassy hedgerows, bramble patches and reedbeds but seeing one in the wild is like looking for a needle in a haystack and the harvest mouse is now listed as a Priority Species of Conservation Concern.

Apart from being scare, harvest mice are deliberately elusive. They must avoid a host of predators from foxes to pheasants, all keen for a bite-sized snack and rely on supersensitive hearing to detect the slightest rustle from up to seven metres away – equivalent to a human hearing a twig snap from 200 paces. In response, they will freeze or drop to the ground and disappear. The only traces left behind are the used nests, revealed as the grasses die down in autumn, each one with a tiny exit hole to mark the emergence of the next generation.

Introduction to Harvest Mouse Ecology and Survey with Laurie Jackson 22 September 2018. £32.00 Sussex Wildlife Trust members/£45 non-members For details and to book: sussexwildlifetrust.org.uk/whatson

birdsong, warblers, small mammals, bats, bees, dragonflies, dormice, grasses, moths, owls, fungi and harvest mice are all available again this year.

For creative folk there are courses on botanical illustration or join international wildlife photographer David Plummer and hone your nature photography skills. Alastair Duncan will be teaching us about Mindfulness in Nature, Kym Murden explores Herbal Medicine or learn the art of scything from Mark Allery.

Martin Harvey will be teaching us about the amazing world of flies and Ralph Hobbs will be exploring the meadows of the Seven Sisters Country Park looking for grasshoppers and crickets,

while our senior ecologist, Graeme Lyons, will be looking at the invertebrates of chalk grassland as well as teaching us about the spiders of Sussex.

Don’t delay – book today! sussexwildlifetrust.org.uk/ whatson

harvest mouse © Mike Read

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Weekly let throughout the year from £220 to £250. Sorry No dogs.

Please phone Judy Whitehead 01243 572215 for more details.

Wildlife 29

All About Wildlife With Michael Blencowe and Charlotte Owen OYSTERCATCHER

by Charlo"e Owen

There’s no mistaking the oystercatcher, one of the largest, noisiest and arguably best dressed of our shorebirds.

Its smart black-and-white dinner suit is offset by a day-glow orange bill, bright red eyes and pinkish legs in a stylish ensemble that hints at an expensive taste for fine dining.

The oystercatcher is probably the only wading bird capable of cracking open an oyster, thanks to the incredible strength of that orange bill, but oysters are not often on the menu here in the UK. Instead, oystercatchers feed on a wide range of other shelled prey from cockles to crabs, mussels, limpets and whelks, and will also probe the sand and mud in search of worms. Individuals will usually specialise in either crunchy or softbodied prey, and their beaks adapt accordingly.

Oystercatchers that focus on shellfish will either prise them open or smash them apart, and young birds seem to learn their trade from their parents during an apprenticeship that can last up to six months.

Their chosen method helps to hone their bill into the perfect tool for the job: a chisel-shaped bill-tip for prising, or a blunt-ended bill to hammer a shell until it cracks. In contrast, birds that specialise in probing for worms have pointed, tweezerlike bill-tips for grasping slippery, softbodied prey and their apprenticeship is far shorter, since it’s a much easier technique to master.

oystercatcher © Roger Wilmshurst

Some enterprising individuals choose an alternative option and become professional pirates. The oystercatcher’s heavy bill makes a formidable weapon, perfect for a spot of swashbuckling with unsuspecting neighbours and successful bandits manage to obtain about 60% of their food by attacking other waders and stealing their lunch.

30 Wildlife

The return of the otter otter © Lisa Geoghegan

by Michael Blencowe

Sleek, muscular physique. Dynamic, aquatic killer. Mysterious, enigmatic loner. You can see why otters shared the cinema box office with James Bond in the Sixties and Seventies. Otters are cool. The Sean Connery of British mammals (with a slightly hairier chest).

I remember two otter-based films from my childhood. I caught ‘Tarka the Otter’ on the big screen at the local Odeon and the superior ‘Ring of Bright Water’ always won over ‘Goldfinger’ on the TV at Christmas. From the opening man-meets-otter sequence (both the greatest and silliest scene in any British film) through to Val Doonican’s closing credits crooning – it’s a classic!

But behind the otter’s silver-screen celebrity status lies a darker, sadder tale.

Wild otters in Britain were in trouble.

Throughout most of the last century our rivers and wetland habitats were in a

Throughout most of the last century our rivers and wetland habitats were in a shocking state – polluted, drained and destroyed. Otters were forced into exile in the far flung corners of Britain.

shocking state – polluted, drained and destroyed. Otters were forced into exile in the far flung corners of Britain. The last Sussex otters hung on until the 1960s.

And with our heroes out of the picture the bad guys muscled in. American mink, which escaped or were ‘liberated’ from fur farms, rose to the top of the food chain and terrorised our waterways. These voracious predators attacked our native wetland wildlife, wiping out entire populations of water voles across Sussex.

But this screenplay has a happy ending.

Over the past decades we’ve cleaned up our act and a lot of work has been undertaken to improve rivers and wetlands in Sussex.

Otters are territorial animals – each otter needs a lot of river to make its home – but landscape-scale projects undertaken by the Sussex Wildlife Trust with the Environment Agency, the Ouse and Adur Rivers Trust and local landowners are providing these connected, wetland habitats.

Slowly and tentatively the otter is returning to Sussex. Footprints, droppings and fleeting glimpses are proof that they are here. And what is good for the otter is good for us too. By undertaking wetland habitat improvements for wildlife – such as planting floodplain woodland or creating water meadows – our countryside regains its powers as water purifier, erosion controller and flood regulator. The story of otters in Sussex hasn't ended yet; I’m just waiting for the sequel.

THE BEAUTIFUL DEMOISELLE

by Charlo"e Owen

Easily mistaken at first glance for a fluttering butterfly, the beautiful demoiselle is on the wing in June. blackcap © Roger Wilmshurst

You’ll know when you have seen one because it is the only damselfly species with completely coloured wings – the closest contender being the banded demoiselle.

dunnock © Lisa Geoghegan

The male beautiful demoiselle is metallic blue-green with strikingly dark wings that appear almost black until the light catches them and reveals an iridescent blue sheen.

Their flight is languid and twirling and their broad wings are easily buffeted by a breeze so they prefer the shelter of wellvegetated riverbanks. chaffinch © Neil Fletcher

GREATEST HITS

robin © Lisa Geoghegan

by Michael Blencowe

Imagine if we had to do it. Imagine that first thing every morning we had to stake a claim to our property by pulling on our dressing gowns, marching out onto our front lawns, taking a deep breath and … singing a song.

All over the country there would be a cappella cacophony of show tunes, power ballads and rock anthems pouring from porches and patios, backyards and balconies. And if you weren’t out there, patrolling your property with a raspy rendition of Hey Jude, your neighbours would assume you’d gone and they’d muscle in. If you overslept you’d wake to find Jeanette from two doors down screeching I Dreamed a Dream on your front doorstep and you’d have to see her off with your version of River Deep, Mountain High.

Throughout March male birds are aggressively establishing their breeding territories.

In the absence of bricks and barbed wire, their songs denote their domain. By watching an individual bird tour his favourite local songposts you can calculate his kingdom.

It’s vital they sing every morning. After a day dodging cats, cars, windowpanes and sparrowhawks their defiant song (think I will Survive meets My Way) tells their neighbours that they’re still alive. Still King of the Hill, Top of the Heap.

To our ears this war zone of warbles and whistles has always been a stirring celebration of the passing of winter and the arrival of spring and

it fills us with the promise of the summer to come. It’s Bernstein, Britten, Beethoven and Brian Wilson rolled into one. At the first hint of dawn, in the still, silent air, this free festival begins. And what a line-up! Local duo robin and blackbird open the show with their laidback, soulful crooning. Then, that little bird with the big attitude, the wren, cranks it up with his rockin’ rollin’ rattle. The symphony builds as the sun rises. We’re joined by a supergroup; CSD&G (chaffinch, song thrush, dunnock and great tit). For our headliners, international singing sensations The Warblers (ft. blackcap and chiffchaff) will be flying in from Africa to add their sweet voices to the avian opera.

Spring is a great time to get to grips with birdsong.

song thrush

© Lisa Geoghegan

beautiful demoiselle © Laurie Campbell/naturepl.com

Males tend to perch on a stem, wings held together along their body, lying in wait for a passing female. Her wings are a lustrous bronze and the metallic green of her body has a glimmering golden sheen. Females range up and down river in search of suitable egg-laying sites, so males position themselves in prime locations and wait.

As soon as a female enters a male’s territory he will court her with a fluttering dance and curl up his abdomen to display the bright underside of the last three segments known as the ‘lantern’.

Then he will take her for a tour of his chosen nursery site and if she is suitably impressed the pair will mate, locked in a vaguely heart-shaped embrace for up to five minutes. Afterwards, they’ll flutter back to the water and he’ll fend off rival males while she deposits her eggs on aquatic plants, happily submerging herself in the process.

The eggs take just two weeks to hatch but the stick-like larvae spend two years underwater before emerging into the light and transforming into glorious adults.

Wildlife 31

PhotoCompetition

Picture perfect WINNER: Foxes in snow by Karen Diton

Our photographic competition to find 12 stunning photographs capturing the best of the wildlife and landscapes of Sussex for our 2018 online calendar has once again revealed some awe-inspiring images. The theme was the joy of nature and in addition to featuring in our online calendar we displayed the winning images at our AGM. From the hundreds of images submitted, the final 12 were selected by our judges, international wildlife photographer David Plummer and Wildlife magazine editor Amanda Reeves.

After choosing the 12 finalists, the winner was selected by public vote.

Congratulations to Karen Diton from Newhaven, whose study Foxes in the snow was voted into first place with Jamie Fielding from Littlehampton runner-up with Dawn Fire – a dramatic landscape of lowland heath in peak flowering season.

32 Wildlife

RUNNER UP: Dawn fire – Lords Piece by Jamie Fielding

Singing stonechat by Chris Dawson

Green huntsman spider by Su Reed

Jay collecting acorns by Phil Winter

West Pier murmuration by Jess Squires

Raven by Tom S B Lee

Frog in watering can by Beverley Jones

Old Lodge Nature Reserve by Tom S B Lee

Rapidly retreating turnstones by Veryan Pollard

Bluebell wood by Tim Clifton An exhibition showcasing these 12 stunning photographs is taking place at the Booth Museum of Natural History until September. The photographs were all finalists in the Trust’s online photographic competition. Each one represents a different month of the year and can be downloaded as a screen saver direct from sussexwildlifetrust.org.uk/calendar Booth Museum of Natural History 194 Dyke Road, Brighton BN1 5AA

FREE ADMISSION

Opening times Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday & Saturday 10am-5pm (closed 12-1.15pm) Sunday 2-5pm. Closed Thursdays

Ringlet butterfly by Joshua Gray

Wildlife 33

WildCall by Charlo&e Owen

WildCall Officer Charlotte Owen runs our dedicated wildlife advice and information service.

If you would like to report an interesting wildlife sighting, find out more about the creatures that live in your garden, raise concerns over planning issues or have any wildlife related enquiry, then Charlotte is here to answer your questions or put you in touch with someone who can help.

Regular calls come from people who have discovered sick or injured wildlife. The Trust does not offer a rescue service or take in injured or sick creatures but Charlotte will be able to put you in touch with exactly the right person to help. If you would like more information on any of these topics contact Charlotte on 01273 494777 between 9am and 1pm or email wildcall@sussexwt.org.uk

I love walking my dogs in the summer months and especially enjoy visiting heathland sites – but I don't want to disturb any groundnesting birds. What can I do?

We tend to think of birds nesting high up in the branches of a tree or hedgerow but many species nest on the ground, from coastal seabirds to wetland waders and the more familiar ‘farmland’ birds like lapwing and skylark. This strategy does present some obvious risks and the nests tend to be well camouflaged to protect them from predators, so it’s always worth watching your step during the breeding season (March to September).

Heathlands in particular are home to a number of ground-nesting specialists, tucked away among the purple heather and coconutscented gorse. Patches of shorter grass and sandy soil under the dense vegetation provide ideal nesting sites for the scarce and secretive woodlark, slightly smaller than its cousin the skylark but gifted with an equally beautiful, warbling song. Nesting usually begins early in the year, with eggs sometimes laid before the end of March, and females can raise two or three broods each season.

Even trickier to see is the enigmatic nightjar, a nocturnal bird with such impressive camouflage that it is barely visible during the daytime. Nightjars migrate here from Africa and begin nesting in May, laying their eggs straight onto bare ground. The female’s plumage resembles tree bark and blends perfectly with her surroundings. If disturbed she’ll shut her eyes and flatten herself to the ground, trying to disappear, but if that doesn't work she’ll flutter along the ground feigning injury to draw potential predators away from the nest. It takes up to three weeks for a clutch of nightjar eggs to hatch, then another month for the chicks to fledge. The pair may go on to have a second brood – spending a significant period on the ground, where they are very vulnerable.

34 Wildlife

The friendliest of dogs can be perceived as a predator, even if they are just passing by.

Curious canines can inadvertently flush ground-nesting birds, leaving their delicate eggs or chicks exposed to the cold and vulnerable to predation, or they may accidentally run right through a nest and crush it. To minimise the risk of disturbance it's best to keep your dogs under close control at all times, especially during the nesting season, and this is worth bearing in mind whenever you are walking through an area that might be home to ground-nesting species.

Sometimes this will mean keeping your dog on the lead and it's always a good idea to stick to the paths, as it's easy for us humans to stumble across a nest as well.

Walking on heathland and grassland sites will often mean coming across sheep, cattle and ponies too. They provide vital conservation grazing and are the key to day-to-day management of many of our nature reserves.

We always put up signs to alert walkers to livestock presence and these may ask you to put your dog on a lead, particularly when walking among sheep.

As a responsible dog owner, we know you will always clean up after your dogs and hope that you enjoy plenty of wildlifefilled walks with your fourlegged friends. skylark © Markus Varesvuo/naturepl.com

Wildlife 34

BookReview MY WOOD

by Stephen Dalton Award-winning photographer Stephen Dalton owns a nine acre wood in Sussex and for the past 20 years has delighted in improving it, increasing its biodiversity and simply watching it develop naturally throughout the seasons and the years.

Using his pioneering high-speed photographic techniques, Stephen shows the reader the rich diversity of plants, trees, insects, birds and animals which live there.

He captures on film the developments his woodland and pond have undergone over two decades and shares his passion for the woods he loves.

This delightful, informative photographic celebration will appeal to all who regularly walk through the seasons in their local woods, those lucky enough to own a woodland themselves and all who dream of doing so one day.

My Wood is published by Merlin Unwin Books, Shropshire priced at £14.99.

Stephen Dalton has been a world class professional photographer since the 1960s. A Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society, he has the Kodak Award, the Nikon Award, the Sir Peter Kent Conservation Book Prize and has published 14 photographic books including those on insects, birds, animals and plants.

His work has featured regularly in National Geographic, Audubon, Country Life, Readers Digest and multiple publications all over the world. His work has been exhibited at the London Barbican, Tate Gallery, National Museum of Wales and the Royal Photographic Society Bath.

THE WONDER TAILS

by Nickhola-Susanne La Brooy Illustrated by Elisabeth Foulds

A collection of stories for 5-9 year olds about how certain beloved British wild animals came to look and behave the way they do. They have a flavour of Kipling’s Just So Stories, but rather than discovering How The Tiger got his Stripes you can find out Where the Starling got her Stars.

Sussex Wildlife Trust nature reserves feature among the locations in this book and a donation to the Trust will be made for each copy sold. Priced at £10.99, visit sussexwildlifetrust.org.uk/shop

FREE BOOK DRAW

We have two free draw offers this month.

To win a copy of My Wood and/or Wonder Tails send your name, address and telephone number to Amanda Reeves, Editor, Wildlife, Sussex Wildlife Trust, Woods Mill, Henfield, West Sussex, BN5 9SD by 8 May 2018. Alternatively, you can email (please include your postal address and title of the book) amandareeves@sussexwt.org.uk Please include the title of the book you would like to win. You may enter the draw for both titles which will be drawn separately.

The draw will take place on 9 May 2018 and the winner announced in the next edition of Wildlife.

If you do not wish your name and the town you live in to be published please indicate clearly on your entry.

Congratulations to Anthony Johnson from West Chiltington who won a copy of The Butterflies of Sussex and to Linda Jeal who won a copy of William the Hedgehog Boy in our Autumn/Winter 2017 draw.

Wildlife 35

Turn the tide appeal Plastic pollution

Water is the source of all life on earth and the jewel in the crown of our beautiful county is the sea. It’s a precious resource, on which we all depend, but our increasingly throwaway society is poisoning it with plastic pollution, and many underwater habitats have already been lost.

© Miles Davies

corkwing wrasse © Sally Sharrock

Thanks to Sir David Attenborough, President Emeritus of The Wildlife Trusts, and The Blue Planet documentary series, the previously unseen threats of plastic pollution have now been seen by millions of people in the UK.

Sussex has over 90 miles of coastline, and the sea has hugely diverse habitats under the waves. Beachy Head waters in the east are home to short-snouted seahorse, ross coral and sea sponges. In the west, beyond Selsey Bill, we have a limestone reef, visited by bottlenose dolphin and home to a fascinating array of sea squirts, tompot blenny and colourful wrasse.

Our seas are under pressure from resource extraction, over-fishing and, most noticeably, plastic pollution. We’ve all seen discarded plastic littering beaches across Sussex, and because it doesn’t break down, it’s having a devastating impact on our marine wildlife. A recent study suggested that around 10% of whales and dolphins in UK waters have ingested plastics. At Sussex Wildlife Trust we want to do everything we can to halt this decimation of our seas and marine life.

Plastics have entered the marine food chain too, leading ultimately to us. In fact plastic has been found in a third of UK-caught fish, including cod, mackerel and shellfish.

It is crucial we act now and tackle the issues before it’s too late. With your help we have the chance to turn the tide on the destruction of our seas. Please support our ‘turn the tide’ appeal.

For full details of the work we plan to carry out visit:

sussexwildifetrust.org.uk/turnthetide