Our perceptions and understanding of dinosaurs have altered significantly since the first fossils were found and they continue to change as new discoveries are made..
Source: BBC Radio 4 – Natural Histories, Dinosaurs – 10 things we got wrong about dinosaurs
Natural History Museum Rockpooling research
The Big Seaweed Search gathers data for research into the effects of sea temperature rise, ocean acidification and the spread of non-native species on UK shores. We need more data points to robustly address our research questions.
If you’re heading to the coast this summer, please download a survey guide or request a hardcopy by emailing your name and address to seaweeds@nhm.ac.uk.
Researchers talk of ‘biological annihilation’ as study reveals billions of populations of animals have been lost in recent decades
Source: Earth’s sixth mass extinction event under way, scientists warn | Environment | The Guardian
Long Tailed Tit by Peter Hassett, College Lake 18 June 2017
Julie Lane has provided details of a local Long-tailed tit retrap record.
I have just had news from my friend Del Gruar that a female long-tailed tit that he ringed at Potton, Cambridgeshire last April was retrapped by Kenny Cramer at the Wildlife Day at Howe Park Wood on 1st July this year. A real coincidence as Del was the ringer at our first Howe Park Day in 2016. What goes around comes around!!
These are the details supplied by the British Trust for Ornithology:
Here are the details of a recovery of one of your birds.
Species: Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus) Scheme: GBT Ring no: HRX352
Ringing details
Age: 4 Sex: F Sex meth: B P.ringed: 0 P.alive: 0 Condition: U
Colour marks added: – Metal marks added: N Act1: U Act2: U
Ringing date: 16-Apr-2016 14:20:00
Reg code: – Place code: POTTON Site name: Potton, near Sandy, Bedfordshire, UK
County code: GBBED Grid ref: TL2248 Accuracy 0 Co-ords: 52deg 6min N 0deg -13min W Accuracy 0
Hab1: F2 Hab2: —
Biometrics: Wing: 60.0 mm. Weight: 9.5 g. Time: 14:20:00hrs
Remarks: –
Ringer: D J Gruar, 4538
________________________________________
Finding details
Ring not Verified Age: 4 Sex: F Sex meth: B
Colour marks added: – Metal marks added: – Act1: U Act2: U
Finding date: 01-Jul-2017 (0) 15:10:00
Reg code: – Place code: HWPKWD Site name: Howe Park Wood, Milton Keynes, UK
County code: GBMKE Grid ref: SP8334 Accuracy 0 Co-ords: 51deg 59min N 0deg -47min W Accuracy 0
Hab1: A1 Hab2: —
Biometrics: Wing: 61.0 mm. Weight: 8.3 g. Time: 15:10:00hrs
Finding condition: 8:20 Movement: 9
Subsequent Capture by Ringer Intentionally Taken
Remarks: –
Duration: 441 days Distance: 41 km Direction: 252deg (WSW)
Finder: Northants Ringing Group, 9187
Many animal species suffer reduced reproductive success in urban habitats, despite wide-spread supplementation of breeding and feeding opportunities. In some years, the breeding success of city birds is devastatingly low.
Biologists have now shown conclusively that in urban blue tits, reduced breeding success is linked to poor nestling diet and in particular to scarcity of caterpillars, their preferred nestling food.
Silphid beetles (also known as Carrion beetles) display fascinating behaviours and are also very important recyclers.
They are a small family of beetles which makes them an ideal group for beginners. The workshop will be led by Ashleigh Whiffin (National Museums Scotland) and Matthew Esh (Edge Hill University) who set up the Silphidae Recording Scheme in 2016, along with Richard Wright.
The scheme aims to address the lack of research into the distributions and habitats of these beetles. You can be involved in this scheme by getting out and creating records, come along to learn how!This practical workshop will help you learn how to find, identify and record Silphid beetles. Ashleigh and Matt will be sharing their knowledge of Silphid life histories, showing you how to identify them using keys, how to set baited traps to attract them and how to submit your records to the scheme.
You will need to bring a notebook and suitable outdoor clothing. Specimens will be provided for identification, but if you have any of you own feel free to bring them along.Accommodation is not included but if required it is available within the local area, some suggestions can be found on our ‘local accommodation’ page – please arrange this yourself. Refreshments are provided on the day but not lunches. There is a well stocked local village shop within the village itself called ‘Ashbury’s Village Shop’.Toilet and classroom all easily accessible from the car park *Please bring a packed lunch*.Attendees must be over 11, under 16s must be accompanied by an adult.
Source: Silphidae Beetle Recording workshop 9th-10th September 10am-4pm
Discover Wildlife have published some great photos of puffins:
Meet the puffins of Skomer Island, which have been photographed by the award-winning young wildlife photographer, Becky Bunce.
Click on the link to view the photos: A passion for puffins | Discover Wildlife
Painted Lady by Harry Appleyard, Tattenhoe Park 5 June 2016
In case you missed it, this 90 minute documentary is available on the iPlayer until 19 AUgust 2017
The migration of the painted lady has long fascinated scientists, artists and nature lovers alike. The longest butterfly migration on earth, it sees millions of these delicate creatures travel from the desert fringes of north Africa, across thousands of miles of land and sea, before settling in the UK.
Click here to view on the iPlayer: BBC iPlayer – The Great Butterfly Adventure: Africa to Britain with the Painted Lady
You can find details of the Buckinghamshire Fungus Group’s walks and meetings by clicking on this link Bucks Fungus Group
Orphaned hand reared Dormice ©Paul Manchester 25 January 15
Britain’s population of hazel dormice, famed for their sleepy lifestyle, has declined by more than 70% in just over two decades, new research from the University of Exeter has shown.
Female Peregrine in the MK Stadium
The Buckinghamshire Bird Club have published a very interesting article on the Peregrine Falcons at Stadium MK.
Click here to read the article.
Norfolk Wildlife Trust has reported the uprooting and theft of five milk parsley plants from its nature reserve at Hickling Broad. Most if not all of the milk parsley plants had rare swallowtail butterfly caterpillars feeding on them and the plants were deliberately removed from the site to acquire the caterpillars.
Click here to read the rest of the article.: 2017-07-18 Theft of the food plant and ca – Norfolk Wildlife Trust
Over a 5-year period, 1300 seabirds of four species (Shag, Kittiwake, Razorbill and Guillemot) were tracked to see where they went when foraging from their breeding colonies. These data were then applied to all breeding colonies around the UK to produce predictive maps of marine use by these four species. these predictive maps could be used by industry and government to ensure that important seabird feeding areas are not harmed by over-fishing, mineral extraction, pollution or developments such as windfarms and oil or gas extraction.
Click on link for the rest of the article: Important new seabird data from 5-year GPS study – Mark AveryMark Avery
Here are 12 longhorn beetles to look out for when they are searching for places to meet partners and lay their eggs.
Source: How to identify longhorn beetles | Discover Wildlife
Highlights
- Restoration attempts often fail, but may benefit from utilising ecosystem engineers.
- Impacts of beaver released onto drained pasture were studied for 12 years.
- Beaver increased habitat heterogeneity and plant richness at plot and site scales.
- Ecosystem engineers can contribute significantly to meeting common restoration goals.
Source: Using ecosystem engineers as tools in habitat restoration and rewilding: beaver and wetlands
An ecological introduction to the grasslands, ponds and streams of Bushy Park. The grasslands at Bushy are vast for their urban setting. We will get to know a range of the plant and butterfly species of some of the acid and neutral grasslands. The other focus of the day will be on the ponds and streams, doing some dipping for pondlife and taking in the wetland plants as well.
Click on the link for more information: Ecological Introduction to Bushy Park – 66172 – FSC
Brimstone nectaring on Sanfoin, Pitstone Quarry, 28 May 2017
Butterflies are beautiful and fascinating creatures, and good indicators of the health of the environment. Around 30 species are resident in London, with others turning up as occasional migrants. This course provides an introduction to butterfly natural history, identification and conservation, using a mix of indoor activities and presentations, plus fieldwork observing butterflies in the varied habitats at Bushy Park. The course will help you understand how butterflies use their habitats, and how you can find and identify them. We will also look at the opportunities for conserving butterflies in gardens and parks, and how to get involved with recording and monitoring them. Butterflies are an approachable and popular group, and anyone can play a role in studying and conserving them – this course will help you develop the skills and knowledge needed to enjoy watching and recording butterflies.
Click on the link for more information: Introduction to Butterflies – 66151 – FSC
The hobby’s are busy feeding and looking after their two chicks, which (we think) hatched on Monday
We have now set up a trail to the marked view point where you can safely watch them and we have organised some initial dates when RSPB volunteers will be on hand to show the birds through the telescope….
Hobby watch with the volunteers;
Current dates and times;
Thursday 13 11-2
Saturday 15 11-2
Sunday 16 1-4
Of course you can come at any time to see the birds, but only view up to the roped fence please.
White Admiral ©Paul Young, Bucknell Wood 8 July 2017
The Upper Thames Branch of Butterfly Conservation are holding a butterfly walk on the North Bucks Way & Oakhill Wood, Milton Keynes, Bucks
A walk of 2.5 miles approximately along the North Bucks Way to look for White Admiral, Hairstreaks and other summer species of butterfly.
The Purple Emperor was also seen here last year.
Meet at Shenley Wood car park SP824356.
Leader and Contact Martin Kincaid 01908 235632 Mob:07768 146232.
This event is taking place during Big Butterfly Count, the largest insect citizen science project in the world. Why not download an ID chart and take part in a 15-minute count during the event, which runs from 14 July – 6 August? The results help us see how butterflies are faring across the UK.
Two students from Somerset have won this year’s award with a pioneering investigation into birds’ perception of colour – the results could have important practical applications
Open Sunday at Linford Lakes NR
16 July 2017 10:00-16:00hrs.
Lots of butterflies and wildflowers on site now.
Bring friends and family to enjoy the reserve.
Bird seed, crafts and second-hand books on sale.
Home-made cakes and refreshments available.
On the 1st July 2017 the Society took part in the third Family Fun Day at Howe Park Wood as part of the MK50 celebrations.
Our first event at Howe Park, in conjunction with The Parks Trust and The Wildlife Trust, was held in memory of one of our founder members Bernard Frewin.
MKNHS display boards at Howe Park Wood. Photo courtesy of The Parks Trust
It was such a success that it was repeated the following year. However this year the event also marked the start of the ‘Milton Keynes Festival of Nature’ a week of events to promote and celebrate our local wildlife and beautiful landscape around the city.
The day was a great success with many attractions to draw in the crowds such as pond dipping, wildlife walks, bird ringing and our very own Gordon the Moth Man and many more. We also had a table in the woods with activities based around feathers and a scavenge hunt.
Howe Park Family Wildlife Fun Day held in memory of Bernard Frewin by Julie Lane
Our new display boards were on show for the first time on the MKNHS stand and looked very smart alongside a table of different tree leaves that Roy had brought along for people to identify.
Thank you very much for all of you who came out to help manned the display and activities and lead walks etc. We are lucky to have so many active members.
Julie Lane
Traditional orchards are a cultural feature in the local landscape and a fascinating wildlife habitat. There are thousands of apple varieties; many considered local to particular areas. How can you design and create a community orchard or one in a garden? Why are rootstocks important, and how can one encourage the trees during the first few years.Based in Greenwich Park.
Click on the link for more information: Traditional Orchards, Wildlife Orchards and Garden Orchards – 66161 – FSC
False Click Beetle Eucnemis capucina by Udo Schmidt (CC BY-SA 2.0)
This year, Mark Telfer, one of the UK’s leading coleopterists, has been surveying Howe Park, Kingsmead and Shenley Woods on behalf of The Parks Trust. Mark has been looking for invertebrates associated with dead and decaying wood. A similar survey, focusing on beetles, was carried out by Colin Plant in 1996 so this is the first survey of its kind in MK for twenty years.
Although the survey is ongoing, Mark says that he is “staggered” by the diversity of saproxylic beetles he has found, and in particular a number of Red Data Book and nationally rare species. One of the most impressive of these if the false click beetle Eucnemis capucina (pictured) which he found in Kingsmead Wood. This incredibly rare beetle is considered a flagship species of ancient woodland. It is known only from the New Forest, Windsor Great Park and Bredon Hill in Worcestershire, so its discovery in Milton Keynes is little short of miraculous.
Atomaria pulchra by Mark Teller
In Shenley Wood, Mark has discovered several beetles new to him – itself very unusual. One of these is a tiny beetle called Atomaria pulchra . Mark shared this information with fellow coleopterist Tony Allen who has the largest beetle list in the UK. Tony has since made two visits to Shenley Wood from Dorset, as he had never before recorded this species. Tony Allen not only saw A.pulchra but also found another Atomaria beetle which may be new to the UK! This specimen has been taken to the Natural History Museum in London to be identified later this summer.
Parks Trust Biodiversity Officer Martin Kincaid said, “The early findings of this survey far exceed our expectations and it’s exciting that Mark has already found so many rare and scarce species. This really highlights the importance of standing dead wood as a habitat and shows that even where there is relatively little dead wood, important populations of invertebrates can survive. The creation of more standing dead wood in our woodlands will help these and other species to expand”.
The full results of this survey will be available in late 2017 and we will provide a further update then.
Author: Martin Kincaid
Caring for God’s Acre have produced a short (5 minute) video on mananging churchyards for nature.
Click on the play button to watch the video
Just down the road from Gatwick, the neatly hedged English countryside gives way to an exuberant, utterly alien-looking landscape. Arable fields are obliterated by dense thickets of sallow. Eight metre-wide blackthorn hedges spill into flowery meadows. Wild pigs and red deer run rampant through ragwort, thistles and other weeds. The air is alive with birdsong rarely heard in Britain today – spectacular bursts of nightingale and the purring of turtle doves.
A team of researchers from Austria and Sweden has found that ravens are able to remember people who trick them for at least two months. In their paper published in the journal Animal Behaviour, the group describes experiments they conducted with the birds and offer some suggestions regarding how the behaviour they observed might be useful to the birds in the wild.
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: Ravens remember people who tricked them, #ornithology news via @RareBirdAlertUK
Ladybirds are instantly recognisable, but what about their larvae? BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine helps you identify these useful garden predators.
The biggest reintroduction of water voles in the UK began this week, with 325 voles released into Kielder Forest in Northumberland, and 350 more to follow later in the summer.
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: Ratty returns: hundreds of water voles released in UK’s biggest reintroduction | Environment | The Guardian
First Place. Bee by Paul Lund. Taken in Paul’s garden using two flash guns to freeze motion.
The world’s largest ever field trial demonstrates widely used insecticides harm both honeybees and wild bees, increasing calls for a ban
Source: Pesticides damage survival of bee colonies, landmark study shows | Environment | The Guardian
Five leaved Herb Paris by Peter Hassett, Linford Wood 2 May 2017
The use of environmental and botanical data in forensic science has a long history dating to at least the early 20th century. It comes as a surprise to many that vegetation can be used to help understand how a crime was committed. Please note, some aspects of this course may be challenging to some participants as it will be necessary to discuss scenarios involving human decay processes. Based in Bushy Park.
Click on the link for more information: Forensic Ecology – 66170 – FSC
Last year, I was surprised to find my female mandarin duck was turning into a male. Even as a zoology graduate and someone who has kept birds in an aviary since I was 10 years old, I had absolutely no idea this could happen, so I started investigating, and it turns out that the way birds express their sex is a fiendishly complex affair.
Staggeringly, over 97% of our meadows have been eradicated since the 1930s – that’s an area one-and-a-half times the size of Wales. As a result, many iconic meadow flowers such as ragged robin, harebell and field scabious are now hurtling towards becoming threatened in England.
Yesterday a group of tall and very willing volunteers turned up to help us mount the society’s photographic exhibition.
Paul Lund, who used to work as a photographer at the Natural History Museum, has done a magnificent job compiling a selection of photographs taken by our talented members into a truly stunning 6m by 2m poster which is now mounted in pride of place on the first floor of MK library.
This exhibition is part of the MK50 celebrations and will remain in place in the library for the whole month of July. It really is worth a visit as the work and detail in this beautiful poster has to be seen first hand.
A big thank you to Paul for all his efforts and to all of you who contributed photos in the first place.
Click on any of the pictures for a larger image.
The RSPB North Bucks Local Group are leading a field trip to Salcey Forest on 5 July 2017:
A return to this large forest site, led by Chris Coppock. He is sure to give us an all-round naturalist’s walk with butterflies and other insects, as well as plants and birds.
See the RSPB North Bucks Local Group website for more information
Snipe by Tony Woods at Willen Lake, 4 February 2017
Climate change is increasingly altering the composition of ecological communities, in combination with other environmental pressures such as high-intensity land use. Pressures are expected to interact in their effects, but the extent to which intensive human land use constrains community responses to climate change is currently unclear.
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: Large extents of intensive land use limit community reorganization during climate warming – Oliver – 2017 – Global Change Biology – Wiley Online Library
Explore the Ecological Status of Great Britain’s 10km squares.
Ecological Status is a biodiversity index developed by the Biological Records Centre from national plant and animal observations. It is calculated for each 10km square of Great Britain and is relative to the Environmental Zone that that square occurs in. An Environmental Zone is a region of broadly similar environmental characteristics and is used here to control for non-biological factors that affect biodiversity (e.g. geology and climate).
Linford Lakes NR BioBlitz by David Easton. 24 June 2016
We have been contacted by June Laban-Mitchell who is the Green Gym Officer at intu MK. They are looking for an expert or enthusiast who knows a bit about entomology who could offer a couple of hours of their time during the holidays to help with a bioblitz day for the children of the community. Someone who could inform the children about what is living in the intu area (MK shopping centre) and help upload the results/survey to the relevant website.
Shelduck by Peter Hassett, Rainham Marsh 15 May 2017
The 35th BTO/JNCC/RSPB WeBS annual report Waterbirds in the UK 2015/16 provides an invaluable resource for anyone with an interest in waterbirds in the UK and beyond. The latest report features the results of the 2015/16 Non-Estuarine Waterbird Survey (NEWS III) as well as the latest trends and data from WeBS
Source: The Wetland Bird Survey (WeBS) | BTO – British Trust for Ornithology
National Meadows Day is a growing event which celebrates wildflower grasslands, providing an opportunity for you to showcase the amazing wildflowers and species you have on your sites and in your communities. Feedback from last year showed that many people attending events were surprised by the diversity of the flora and sheer number of insects and reptiles found in the meadows they visited. This really reinforced the importance of meadow preservation, and of the role of the National Meadows Day events in educating the public about this important habitat that is fast disappearing.
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: National Meadows Day | Magnificent Meadows
Soldier Beetle by Peter Hassett at Grangelands NR. 23May15
Mark Gurney has produced a guide to Soldier Beetles
Click on the link to download the guide.
The magnificent stag beetle needs your help. This endangered species has become extinct in many parts of the UK, but together we can protect those that remain, before it is too late. Please take part in our stag beetle survey below to help us build a national picture.
Source: Stag beetle survey- take part in the national ‘Great Stag Hunt’
Photographic Event
Practical Macro Photography.
Wednesday 28th June
Start 19:30 hrs
‘How We Do Macro Photography’
by Simon Bunker and Peter Garner.
To include a practical outdoor session,
(Weather allowing)
Please bring your camera and lenses.
You may like this short video clip shot in my garden on 13th June 2017.
There is a large bird bath on the left and the small bowl for hedgehogs by the hedgehog feeder on the right!
Click on the play button to watch the video (30 seconds)
Surveys in German nature reserves point to a dramatic decline in insect biomass
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: Where have all the insects gone? | Science | AAAS
This important historical parkland of Greenwich Park, much of it on steep slopes giving stunning views across the Thames estuary (in good weather), is also the setting for an array of veteran trees. We will survey their ecology and importance as a habitat and look at the development of the parkland within its landscape.
Source: Veteran Tree Survey and Ecological History – 66160 – FSC
The Wildlife Trusts interviewed 2,400 people living in cities and found 89 per cent felt nature was important to them.
However, only 20 per cent of the urban residents said they were spending enough time connecting with the natural world.
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: City-dwellers want to get closer to nature | Discover Wildlife
An informal, beginners guide to flowering plants in Bushy Park, one of London’s Royal Parks. During the day you will see a variety of species and learn more about how to identify them correctly. There will be time spent in our flower-rich meadows and on the grazed acid grassland. By the end of this course participants will have: – Discovered more about the wildflowers of Bushy Park. – Have an understanding about how to identify wildflowers. – Be aware of where to find further information.
Click on the link for more information: Introduction to Wild Flowers – 66155 – FSC
Peregrine by Harry Appleyard, Hazeley Wood, 29 May 2016
Despite extensive research on city-dwelling Peregrine Falcons Falco peregrinus in mainland Europe and other parts of the world, little has been undertaken and published in the UK. We analysed the diet of Peregrines in three cities in southwest England – Bristol, Bath and Exeter – between 1998 and 2007.
The wide range of prey species taken included many species associated with a variety of non-urban habitats. Some prey species appear to be hunted at night, while on migration.This paper summarises the diet of Peregrines in urban areas and reviews their night-time hunting behaviour.
New Hydrological Summary shows May 2017 was the second warmest in the UK since records began in 1910
Wild orchids, as seen here in the Peak District, Derbyshire, are among plants that are sensitive to increases in nitrogen levels. Photograph: Alamy Stock Photo
Measures to cut air pollution need to be extended beyond urban areas, say representatives of six wildlife organisations. Plus Dr Richard Carter warns that avoiding main roads won’t protect you from small particulates
Source: Air pollution is killing wildlife and people | Letters | Environment | The Guardian
See how we’ve created a new wildflower meadow in the Conwy Valley using natural seeding techniques as part of the Coronatrion Meadows project
Red-tailed Bumblebee by Harry Appleyard, Howe Park Wood 14 March 2017
A great many people are wary of bees because they fear being stung, but the truth is that bees are far more interested in going about their business foraging for pollen and nectar than they are in stinging human beings. Only in rare cases will a bee sting without being seriously provoked – and many species of bee don’t sting at all.
Source: Brigit Strawbridge: WHICH BEES ‘STING’ AND WHICH DON’T?
Spanish researchers have discovered that the wax worm, a caterpillar known for munching on the wax within beehives, is able to devour and biodegrade polyethylene plastic, converting it into a form…
This pic by @acorncarver @RSPBNorfolkLinc #TitchwellMarsh shows size difference between turtle dove & woodpigeon!
Turtle doves (Streptopelia turtur) are in trouble; they are vulnerable to global extinction (IUCN Red List of Endangered Species). They have suffered a 91% UK population decline since 1995 and a 78% decline across Europe since 1980. At this current rate of change if we don’t help this species scientists calculate that complete UK extinction as a breeding species will be a real possibility.
Click on the link for more information: Home – Operation Turtle Dove
A wedge-tailed eagle has attacked and badly damaged a drone as it flew over farm machinery in Western Australia.
Source: Wedge-tailed eagle takes down drone flying over West Australian wheat farm – ABC Rural – ABC News
Open Sunday at Linford Lakes NR 18 June 2017 10:00-16:00hrs.
Come along and spend Fathers-Day out and about the reserve,
Bring friends and family.
See if you can spot birds with young.
Also butterflies and dragonflies aplenty.
Refreshments, home-made cakes and facilities available
Crafts, second-hand books and bird seed for sale.
The RSPB North Bucks Local Group are leading a field trip to College Lake Nature Reserve on18 June 2017:
A return visit to this flooded former chalk pit, maintained by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust. A popular and easy walk around the lake, usually with an excellent bird list, and returning for optional refreshments at the Visitor Centre cafe. Leader Brian Lloyd
Recent sightings include Spotted Flycatcher, Oystercatcher (with 3 chicks), several broods of Lapwing chicks, Wood Sandpiper, Redshank & chicks, Yellow Wagtail & Little Ringed Plover.
Lots of Butterflies, Dragonflies and Damselflies too and at this time of year we should also see some orchids (white helleborine, common spotted, twayblade – maybe even some bee orchids) and the cornfield wildflowers will be in full bloom.
See the RSPB North Bucks Local Group website for more information
Certain insects, and perhaps some vertebrates, lack permanent microbial residents in their intestines.
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: The Curious Case of the Caterpillar’s Missing Microbes – Scientific American
Ladybugs’ wings are 4 times the size of their bodies. Scientists figured out how they fold them away.
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: Ladybugs Pack Wings and Engineering Secrets in Tidy Origami Packages – The New York Times
The largest pond at Elfield Park by Andrew Coupe. 14 July 2007
Elfield Nature Park, situated close to The National Bowl and Furzton, is a hidden gem. This site was adopted by The Parks Trust in 2006 and is used exclusively for environmental education sessions – for both children and adults – and wildlife conservation. Because the site has a history of motorcycle use, it is closed to the general public.
In recent years Martin Kincaid and other Parks Trust staff have opened up the site for summer visits by MKNHS and a number of members will have visited. Although small (4 hectares), Elfield Nature Park boasts a good variety of habitats with oak woodland, mature scrub, open grassland and a series of ponds connected by a drainage ditch. Since the site is quiet and usually undisturbed, it abounds with wildlife.
The Parks Trust is now offering exclusive visitor access to this site for MKNHS members who would like to record flora and fauna here. Relatively few ecological surveys have been undertaken so far, although we do have records of dragonflies, bees, butterflies, nesting birds and bats. The site is particularly rich in invertebrate life. Among the many species recorded thus far are Willow Emerald Damselfly, Purple Hairstreak, Water Stick Insect and the nationally scarce bee Lasioglossum pauxillum. However, as some of you know, the site also produces interesting plants, fungi, birds and mammals as well as being arguably the best amphibian site in Milton Keynes! It should be possible to leave kit on site here (e.g. trail cameras, pit fall traps) without fear of human disturbance. We would simply ask that all species records you make at Elfield Park are shared with The Parks Trust and Bucks and Milton Keynes Environmental Records Centre (BMERC).
As this is a secure nature reserve, anyone wishing to visit to watch and record wildlife will need two keys – one for the gates and another to open the security barrier off Watling Street. These keys, together with an info pack about the site, will be provided to Society members on receipt of a refundable £10 deposit. This sum will be refunded on return of the keys.
If you would like to apply for a set of keys, please contact Martin by email: m.kincaid@theparkstrust.com Alternatively, speak to Martin at one of our outdoor meetings over the summer.
A total of 885 British leaf, stem, twig, bark and samara miners are included in this account. A total of 1, 100 insects are discussed, although not all are miners as all agromyzids recorded in Britain and Ireland whether miner or not are included.
Click on the link to view the website: The leaf and stem mines of British flies and other insects – includes illustrated keys by host genus
Errors in botanical surveying are a common problem. The presence of a species is easily overlooked, leading to false-absences; while misidentifications and other mistakes lead to false-positive observations. While it is common knowledge that these errors occur, there are few data that can be used to quantify and describe these errors.
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: Characterisation of false-positive observations in botanical surveys [PeerJ]
The marsh fritillary is one of our most bright and beautiful butterflies, and was once widespread across Britain. However like many pollinators, the species suffered from years of habitat loss and degradation, and locally went extinct two decades ago.
Source: Marsh fritillary reintroduction | Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust
Bucks Bird Club will be hosting a field Trip to Chobham Common on 10 Jun 2017
Plantlife has launched the Great British Wildflower Hunt to:
Click on the link to find out more: Great British Wildflower Hunt
Male Orange Tip Butterfly by Harry Appleyard, Howe Park Wood 3 April 2017
…Here we use citizen-collected observation data to show that winter cold duration, in addition to spring temperature, can affect the spring emergence of butterflies.
Work Sunday at Linford Lakes NR 4 June 2017 10:00-13:00hrs.
Odd jobs this month tidying and cleaning.
All helpers welcomed.
Refreshments available.
The WIldlife Trusts are running their popular 30 Days Wild challenge again this year.
Red-tailed Bumblebee by Harry Appleyard, Howe Park Wood 14 March 2017
WIld About Gardens have produced a Bee Identification chart for some of the more common bees that you may encounter.
Hare Tattenhoe Park in January 2016 by Harry Appleyard
Non-native biomass crops, when planted on a small scale, provide a refuge for Britain’s declining brown hare population, which has lost much of its habitat to large scale farming.
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: Why brown hares could benefit from exotic crops | Discover Wildlife
Bucks Bird Club will be hosting a field Trip to Lakenheath RSPB on 4 June 2017 – 09:30 to 16:00
Whitethroat by Peter Hassett, Rainham Marsh, 14 May 2017
New research shows climate change is altering the delicate seasonal clock that North American migratory songbirds rely on to successfully mate and raise healthy offspring, setting in motion a domino effect that could threaten the survival of many familiar backyard bird species.
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: Migratory birds arriving late to breeding grounds
Herald moth by Martin Kincaid, Manor Farm cellar
Among drivers of environmental change, artificial light at night is relatively poorly understood, yet is increasing on a global scale.
The community-level effects of existing street lights on moths and their biotic interactions have not previously been studied.
Using a combination of sampling methods at matched-pairs of lit and unlit sites, we found significant effects of street lighting: moth abundance at ground level was halved at lit sites, species richness was >25% lower, and flight activity at the level of the light was 70% greater.
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: The dark side of street lighting: impacts on moths and evidence for the disruption of nocturnal pollen transport – Macgregor – 2016 – Global Change Biology – Wiley Online Library
Beginner’s guide to identifying British ichneumonids
What are ichneumonids?
Ichneumonids are wasps (order Hymenoptera, superfamily Ichneumonoidea) with a very narrow wasp waist between the middle (mesosoma, roughly equivalent to the thorax on other insects) and hind (metasoma, roughly equivalent to the abdomen on other insects) body parts. They have powerful chewing mandibles, two pairs of usually transparent membranous wings with complex venation and long antennae with 18 or more segments. They are invertebrates, so don’t have a backbone.
You can download the guide here.
It was designed as an impregnable deep-freeze to protect the world’s most precious seeds from any global disaster and ensure humanity’s food supply forever. But the Global Seed Vault, buried in a mountain deep inside the Arctic circle, has been breached after global warming produced extraordinary temperatures over the winter, sending meltwater gushing into the entrance tunnel.
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: Arctic stronghold of world’s seeds flooded after permafrost melts | Environment | The Guardian
Entomologists have been assessing diversity and abundance across western Germany and have found that between 1989 and 2013 the biomass of invertebrates caught had fallen by nearly 80%
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: Where have all the insects gone? | Hugh Warwick | Opinion | The Guardian
Imagine that the way flies and butterflies drink nectar and other fluids can be imitated for use in medicine, potentially to deliver life-saving drugs to the body—and also how this method can save their own lives in times of drought.
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: Unraveling mysteries of mouthparts of butterflies
Taking photos of the bees you see is a really useful thing to do – in particular, it is a great way to confirm your sightings, especially with scarcer species that you are less familiar with.
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: Using photographs | Bumblebee Conservation Trust
The Large Blue Maculinea arion is the UKs rarest butterfly and is globally endangered.
The Polden Hills supports nearly 80% of the Large Blue populations in Britain. The aim of this landscape-scale project is to help secure the Large Blue butterfly in the Polden Hills network by increasing its population and distribution following a programme of habitat management.
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: Butterfly Conservation – Securing the Large Blue Landscape in the Polden Hills
Tree Bumblebee by Harry Appleyard, Tattenhoe 24 February 2017
Our bees are in trouble – can you help? Join Friends of the Earth’s Great British Bee Count from 19 May to 30 June 2017, and our free app will get you off to a flying start in identifying and recording different species.
Kimberley’s Bardi Jawi rangers record Australia’s first sightings of the extinct dodo’s closest living relative.
Click on the link for more information: Aboriginal rangers discover dodo relative in Kimberley
2016 Photo Competition 2nd Golden-ringed Dragonfly by Julie Lane
Female dragonflies use an extreme tactic to get rid of unwanted suitors: they drop out the sky and then pretend to be dead.
Source: Female dragonflies fake sudden death to avoid male advances | New Scientist
Bluebells by Alan Piggott taken in Kings Wood across the road from Stockgrove Park car park.
The United Nations has proclaimed May 22 The International Day for Biological Diversity (IDB) to increase understanding and awareness of biodiversity issues.
Click on the link for more information: International Day for Biological Diversity – 22 May
Wood Warbler by Peter Garner, Linford Lakes NR, 2 May 2016
Early Morning Warbler Walk.
07:30am start from Centre.
Friends and family welcome, £2:00 per adult.
Leader Andy Harding.
Followed by Open Sunday.
Nature-lovers are being urged to go to Loch Leven in Fife to see an unusually large swarm of midges that have emerged from the ground.
Experts said it was an “amazing” natural spectacle that would only last for a few days.
The non-biting midges or chironomids do not feed as adults and so are only mating while in the swarm.
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: Experts rush to huge midge swarm at Loch Leven – BBC News
A Mexican wolf born this month at a wildlife centre in suburban St. Louis is offering new hope for repopulating the endangered species through artificial insemination using frozen sperm.
Click on the link for more information: Mexican wolf born using frozen sperm offers new hope for endangered species
Study finds pigeons share this supposedly uniquely human trait
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: Think only humans can build on the knowledge of previous generations? Meet these pigeons | Science | AAAS
Roadsides are often littered with rubbish and weeds but they are havens for rare flowers.
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: Road verges ‘last refuge’ for plants – conservation charity – BBC News
The Briefing
Members assembled at Linford Wood on Tuesday 2nd May 2017 at 7.00pm off Breckland, by the north-west entrance to the wood. Mike LeRoy gave a brief description of the history and ecology of the Wood, which was set out more fully in a handout that also had a map of the whole wood. They then walked together to near the centre of the wood. From here, five groups dispersed to note sightings of different species which they could submit for environmental records. Areas covered were largely in the north, east and centre of the wood.
Jay
The birds group, led by Harry Appleyard, saw or heard 18 species: Great-spotted Woodpecker, Chiffchaff, Robin, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Jackdaw, Blackbird, Jay, Green Woodpecker, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Kestrel, Chaffinch, Song Thrush, Pied Wagtail, Wren and Stock Dove. These were submitted as sightings to the Buckinghamshire Bird Club website. They also heard Noctule bats in an Ash tree Fraxinus excelsior.
The mosses group, led by Frances Higgs, found nine bryophyte species, which she is submitting to the Buckinghamshire County Recorder for Bryophytes:
Liverworts
• Metzgeria furcata Forked Veilwort
• Radula complanata Even Scalewort.
Mosses
• Atrichum undulatum Common Smoothcap/Catherine’s Moss
• Thamnobryum alopecurum Fox-tail Feather Moss
• Hypnum cupressiforme Cypress-leaved Plait-moss
• Kindbergia praelonga Common Feather-moss
• Brachythecium rutabulum Rough-stalked Feather-moss
• Orthotrichum affine Wood Bristle-moss
• Orthotrichum diaphanum White-tipped Bristle-moss.
Another group, led by Martin Kincaid, counted the number of stems of Orchis mascula Early Purple Orchid, which they found in four sites across the north of the wood, with a total of 143 stems. A further site with an additional 25 stems was located later, giving a total of 168 stems observed within the wood. Their report with locations and numbers of stems will be submitted to the Buckinghamshire Vice-County Botanical Recorder as potential records to be held by the County Environmental Records Centre BMERC and will also be held by The Parks Trust, the owner of Linford Wood.
Five leaved Herb Paris
The ferns group, led by Mary Sarre, found: Dryopteris filix-mas Male Fern at five sites and Dryopteris carthusiana Narrow Buckler Fern at a single site. They also found Carex sylvatica Wood-sedge and areas of Paris quadrifolia Herb Paris which is in several clusters across the wood.
Other flora noted included:
• Lysimachia nummularia Creeping-Jenny
• Ranunculus ficaria Lesser Celandine
• Filipendula ulmaria Meadowsweet
• Dactylorhiza fuchsii Common Spotted-orchid
• Epilobium hirsutum Great Willowherb
• Cardamine pratensis Cuckooflower(Lady’s Smock)
• Circaea lutetiana Enchanter’s-nightshade
• Ajuga reptans Bugle
• Crataegus laevigata Midland Hawthorn
• Anthriscus sylvestris Cow Parsley
• Urtica dioica Common Nettle
• Heracleum sphondylium Hogweed
• Mercurialis perennis Dog’s Mercury
• Galium aparine Cleavers (Goosegrass)
• Fragaria vesca Wild Strawberry
• Orchis mascula Early-purple Orchid
• Ranunculus repens Creeping Buttercup
• Cirsium arvense Creeping Thistle
• Potentilla sp. Cinquefoil
• Hypericum tetrapterum Square-stalked St John’s Wort
• Vicia sepum Bush Vetch
• Deschampsia caespitosa Tufted Hair-grass
• Brachipodium sylvaticum False Brome
• Alopecurus pratensis Meadow Foxtail.
Early-purple Orchid
There were also many swathes of Hyacinthoides non-scripta Bluebell and Anemone nemorosa Wood Anemone, the latter nearing the end of flowering.
Mike LeRoy
8th May 2017
Photos by Peter Hassett
Bucks Bird Club will be hosting a field Trip to Ashridge 14 May 2017
We’ve been sifting through around half a million people’s Big Garden Birdwatch sightings – a total of over 8 million birds. And finally, the results are in.
The WILDside project covers Northamptonshire and runs until the end of 2018. The project will encourage new biological recorders, and support and train existing ones. This will take place through workshops and follow up sessions with the opportunity to survey local wildlife sites.
Click on this link to find out more about this project.
Grass-Carrying Wasp, Isodontia mexicana (de Saussure), is recorded as new to Britain. Morphological characters are given, and illustrated, to establish its identity and a key is provided to distinguish it from other British Sphecidae. Notes are provided on bionomics, the circumstances of its arrival and its status in Britain.
The black bee-fly, known scientifically as Anthrax anthrax, has been found and photographed for the first time in the UK near Cambridge by Buglife member Rob Mills.
This species of bee-fly is found in many parts of Europe, including France and Germany, and was thought to have been in the UK for some time. The photograph of the black bee-fly, on a bee hotel, is the first positive proof of its presence here.
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: Fly species found in UK for first time | Discover Wildlife
Male Orange Tip Butterfly by Harry Appleyard, Howe Park Wood 3 April 2017
Do you have difficulty telling the difference between those white butterflies? This handy guide by Butterfly Conservation will help.
Wood Warbler by Peter Garner, Linford Lakes NR, 2 May 2016
Evening Warbler Walk at Linford Lakes NR on Wednesday 10th May 2017.
Start 7pm from Centre.
Friends and family welcome, £2:00 per adult.
Leader Chris Coppock.
Soldier Beetle by Peter Hassett at Grangelands NR. 23May15
Martin Harvey has worked in biological recording for over 15 years, with the Open University’s iSpot project, the national Biological Records Centre, Wildlife Trusts, and local records centres.
He carries out entomological surveys, and as a volunteer runs two insect recording schemes. He is a qualified tutor, and has led many workshops on wildlife identification and recording for FSC and other organisations.
Click here to view courses that Martin will be leading.
There have been a number of scientific papers published in recent years discussing the possibility of building miniature flying robots to replace bees and pollinate crops. Clumsy prototypes have been tested, and seem to crudely work. If crops could be pollinated this way, farmers wouldn’t have to worry about harming bees with their insecticides. With wild bee populations in decline, perhaps these tiny robots are the answer?
Source: The blog of David Goulson : University of Sussex – SPLASH
Work Sunday at Linford Lakes NR7 May 2017 10:00-13:00hrs.
Refreshments available.
