Many years ago, this society organised overseas wildlife trips for its members and these were enjoyed by many. The last couple of years Nature Trek, a company I have travelled with for nearly twenty years, have been organizing wildlife trips for R.S.P.B. groups and Natural History Societies. In fact, I understand that the local R.S.P.B. group’s latest trip to Poland was arranged through Nature Trek.

I contacted Naturetrek and they advised me that if at least eight members of our Society were interested in a particular country they can create a trip to cater for the interests of the participants.

I looked at over 20 eight-day holidays to Europe with a general interest in a variety of wildlife, and during a telephone conversation with Naturetrek an unusual destination, Bulgaria, was suggested. I obtained the 2017 tour report and found during that eight-day trip 88 species of birds were recorded, 87 species of butterfly, 60 species of moth,11 amphibians and reptiles, 23 dragonflies/damselflies, many other insects, and 9 pages of plants listed.

If less than 8 members are interested the cost is £1,495 and the official dates in 2019 are July 18^th to July 25th.             

However, for 8 or more, maximum 14, they could arrange a separate trip before or after the advertised one with a possible discount or a donation to our Society. There is no commitment yet, but if you may be interested contact either myself. Tony Wood, or Colin Docketty at the weekly meetings, or at my e-mail address woodmice@tiscali.co.uk.

Details of the trip can be found on the Naturetrek website

Tony Wood

I rose in a bit of a rush as my son had arranged  a tour of Chelsea’s football Ground, Stamford Bridge, for my 70^thbirthday and was due at 0900hrs.  I had set my Robinson moth trap in the garden as usual and was on my way to check it when I spied a large grey moth on the side of the garden shed.  I hurried to the garage to collect a Johnson’s Cotton Bud container as I reckoned it would be large enough to house the moth and the back to the shed only to find that the moth was not there.  Disappointed, I looked down to the ground and there it was.  It had dropped off the shed and on the ground where it was showing not only the upper wings but also the under wings and there was the blue.

It was a Clifden Nonpareil.  There have been sightings south and west of here recently and this is believed to be the first for the north of the County.  The moth was first described in this country by Benjamin Wilkes as the Cleifden Nonpareil in his book “British Butterflies and Moths” (1749).  It states that the moth was found on an Ash tree, near Cleifden in Buckinghamshire in the month of July.  Sadly, the year is not given.  Cleifden or Clifden is the modern Cliveden, an estate on the edge of the Thames near Maidenhead and now owned by the National Trust.

A great start to the day in which blue was certainly the colour as it is Chelsea’s colour too.

Text and photo kindly supplied by Gordon Redford

Père David’s deer (Elaphurus davidianus) by Bob Phillips, Woburn Abbey 28 August 2018

Sika deer (Cervus nippon) by Bob Phillips, Woburn Abbey 28 August 2018

We  met at Woburn Church car park at 7 pm on a warm late summer evening, dry with some sunshine.  30 members on the 2.5 mile walk to see deer, trees and water fowl.

We carefully kept to nominated foot paths, passing the sign showing deer casualties from traffic going through the park (2017 12 deaths, 2018 12 deaths so far with 4 months to go).  There were signs warning of ticks and consequent Lyme disease on entry to park (Colin wore long red socks to prevent this).

The first part of the walk was through an arboretum with Lime, Oak, Cedar, Hornbeam, Scots Pine and Redwoods. The height of tall Lime tree near the path was estimated at 87 foot, and Redwood at 134 foot using triangulation and measured paces method.

The second part of the walk was at the entrance to the grassland area of the grounds where we were able to see 10 Red Deer stags (antlers up to 15 points), 30 Pere David Deer, 100 Sika Deer, 30 Fallow Deer, 3 Chinese Water Deer and 1 Muntjac.  The small long pond had a mallard and one Garganey female (also seen on 27^thAug).

Other birds seen included Heron, Sparrowhawk and Buzzard.  Returned to car park via circular walk to and through the village of Woburn.

Steven Cousins

Thanks to Janice Robinson and Mike LeRoy for their input. The most likely option seems to be:
It could be a male. Males don’t have pollen baskets, have a seventh abdominal segment (females have six), they have a more blunt tip to the abdomen with no sting, their antennae have an extra segment and curve away from the face. Perhaps a closer look at the original photo might show some of these features? The possibilities then are:

1. The male of the Red-tailed bumblebee Bombus lapidarius, which has some yellow on the face, a band of yellow on the front of the thorax and a narrow one at the rear of the thorax, as well as the red tail. Males have visibly longer hair; the hair of the photographed bumble looks rather punky. Males of this species emerge from June.

2. The male of the Red-tailed cuckoo-bee Bombus rupestris, which has two faded yellow bands on front and back of the thorax, but also narrow pale straw-coloured bands on the abdomen, and the red tail. Males emerge July and August.

The Bilberry bumblebee Bombus monticola tends to be in mountains, uplands and moorlands. The only place I have seen it is amongst heather close to the Kerry Ridgeway in Shropshire, close to the Welsh border.

Original Post:Julie would like help to identify a Fuzzy Bumble (no it’s not something you do after a night at the pub).

In Julie words

Not a great photo but the only bee I can see that resembles it in any way is the bilberry bumblebee, bombus monticola which is not meant to be in this part of the country.

Send your answers to webmaster@mknhs.org.uk

The Willow Emerald was first found in Buckinghamshire by a member of the Society, Harry Appleyard. You can read more about Harry’s discovery here.

I have been reading a fascinating book Dragonfly by David Chandler and Steve Cham where they describe a stage in the dragonfly life cycle that is new to me:

What comes out of the egg?

Often a Dragonfly’s life cycle is simplified as egg—larva—adult—egg. This misses out one vital if short—lived stage — the prolarva.

The prolarva is what comes out of the egg. It can leap and squirm, and its job is to get to water, which is often where it finds itself on hatching anyway. But that isn’t always the case. The Willow Emerald Lester Lestes viridis damselfly is unusual among its near relatives in that it lays its eggs in twigs and branches over water. When things go well, its prolarvae simply fall into the water. When things don’t go well, however, the prolarvae find themselves on the ground and have to make their way to water. Prolarvae are not able to walk or swim, but they can have remarkable jumping abilities — one leap from the prolarva of the Japanese Relict Dragonfly Epiophlebia superstes can take it about 100 times further than its own length.

When it gets to water, a prolarva’s job is done. It moults and a very small true larva takes to the water. The prolarva may have survived for just seconds or perhaps an hour or two. Those of Aeschnophlebia longistigma, an Asian species, can make it to 14 hours.

Peter

Top 10 countries viewing website 18 July 2018

Today we achieved 100,000 page views. That’s right, people have now viewed the website 100,000 times since it was launched on 17 March 2015.

Although we mainly publish articles about wildlife in the United Kingdom, our website has been accessed by over 100 different countries. Our top 10 countries are shown on the right

If you have any comments on the website,  wildlife related article or local wildlife events that you would like to be published, please let me know at webmaster@mknhs.org.uk

If you enjoy reading the website, have you considered joining the Society? See our membership page for more information.

Thank you for your support

Peter

Times up!

Thank you to everyone who sent in suggestions. The plant is called Devils Claw (physoplexis comosa) and was photographed by Julie Lane in the , Julian Alps, Slovenia on 26 June 2016

Group picture ©Harry Appleyard

The Society held its second weekend meet of the summer at the Forestry Commission’s Bucknell Wood near Silverstone on Saturday 30^th June 2018. The heatwave of the past week showed no signs of abating and by the time we started at 10.30am it was already hot and humid. Leader Martin Kincaid welcomed everyone to the wood, hoping that it would live up to the success of the 2017 visit at least in terms of butterflies.

A walk along the first wide forest track from the car park was immediately rewarded with sightings of many butterflies including the common whites and browns as well as White Admiral and Silver-washed Fritillary. The woods around Silverstone are known for the rare silver-green colour form of the latter, known as Valezina. Last year we saw a number of these lovely insects but we were content to get good views of a single Valezinathis time as she visited bramble flowers. One of the target species was Wood White butterfly, which has been on the wing in Northants since the beginning of May. We could not be entirely sure if the butterflies we were seeing were the last of the spring brood or the first of the summer emergence although most of them looked rather fresh. Paul Lund’s outstanding photo of a wood white in flight last year has won him several photography awards – and he claims to have bettered it on this visit!

Purple Emperor ©Harry Appleyard

Butterflies and other insects were everywhere but with the intense heat they were very active and tended not to settle very often. Half way along the main track the cry of ‘Emperor’ went up. Eyes were raised to the oak canopy and indeed one – and then two – Purple Emperors were soaring. Our group of 17 stood stock still and before long a spectacular male Purple Emperor flew around us in tight circles. Martin tried the ancient art of emperor baiting – leaving some smelly anchovies at the edge of the track! Although these were not successful in tempting His Majesty down (at least while we were there) Joe Clinch was treated to an audience when the butterfly settled on his shirt and spent about a minute there. What an honour for Joe! Over the next two hours we must have seen at least 10 emperors, including one female, soaring overhead and landing on the tracks. However, although we caught glimpses of the purple sheen we didn’t get the classic view – much to the photographer’s frustration.

White-letter Hairstreak ©Harry Appleyard

On the return leg to the car park, heat and thirst were beginning to affect us! However, most of us obtained good views of Purple Hairstreaks flying around oaks, more purple emperors and a wonderful display as six male fritillaries chased an unmated female. Julian found an immaculate White-letter Hairstreak on the ground and several more were seen flying around elm trees. Among the other insects seen were a Six-belted Clearwing moth (although they did not come to the pheromone lures as hoped), Scarlet Tigermoth, Brown Hawker, Southern Hawker and Emperor dragonflies and the long-horn beetle Rutpela maculata. We also saw the increasingly common Beautiful Demoiselle in shady areas of the wood. Birds seen or heard included Marsh Tit, Chiffchaff, Raven, Red Kite, Buzzard and a Spotted Flycatcher in an area of Spruce. Mary Sarre was listing the plants and among the highlights were Broad-leaved Helleborine and Zig-zag Clover. The jury is still out on False Fox Sedge.

We were all ready for a cold drink and a bit to eat by the time we finished at 1.40pm. But what a wood this is.

Text supplied by Martin Kincaid

Walking around the reserve ©Julian Lambley

Meadow Farm reserve is part of the Upper Ray Meadows, a network of wet meadows south of Bicester, and is only open to groups booked in advance. It was acquired by BBOWT four years ago, as it had been recognised as a prime example of unimproved, flood-plain grassland which had not been ‘cultivated’ in living memory.  The river Ray runs through the site, currently reduced to a small trickle, but source of regular winter flooding to the extent that a bird survey this spring had to be abandoned as the water was too deep to wade through. This was hard to imagine on such a gloriously dry, hot, sunny evening!

Grasshopper on Great Burnet ©Julian Lambley

The diversity of key wet meadow species was immediately obvious when we started our walk around the meadows. At first glance, we were met with a sea of Great Burnet, but a few steps in and many other species were to be seen, such as Fine-leaved and Tubular Water-Dropwort, Pepper Saxifrage, Yellow Rattle, Meadow Vetchling, Knapweed and Tufted Vetch, plus grasses such as Crested Dogstail and Meadow Foxtail. A patch of the rare True Fox Sedge was the botanical highlight of the evening!  As we walked through the meadows, the contrast between the diversity on the ridges and smaller range of plants in the furrows became more obvious. The ridge and furrow system here is thought to date back to the 1600s.

True fox sedge ©Julian Lambley

Our BBOWT guides for the evening, Marcus and Graham, pointed out the plants and explained how small an area of wet meadows now remain in the UK and the significance of the Upper Ray complex. They also explained the management of the Meadows to maintain this diversity of flora and highlighted the contrast with a couple of fields acquired from a neighbouring farmer more recently where the diversity was low and the dominant plants were thistle and docks. They explained how they were attempting to remove the thistles and increase the diversity, but this was likely to take more than 10 years. Four days of thistle pulling by up to 12 volunteers a day had removed 16 one ton sacks of thistle, but made such a small impression that they were going to have to resort to selective herbicide in future!

Marbled White on Knapweed ©Julian Lambley

We couldn’t have anticipated the heatwave when the evening was planned, but it meant that there were far more butterflies and other insects flying than is often the case on our Tuesday evening walks, even after 9pm. The hedges around the meadows are being managed for Black and Brown Hairstreaks, both of which have been found here. We searched hard for any lingering Black Hairstreaks without success, but the numbers of Meadow Browns, Ringlets, Marbled Whites and Skippers was impressive. We rounded off a very enjoyable evening with refreshments at the farmhouse which now serves as a BBOWT base for the area watching the full moon rising in one direction and a beautiful sunset in the other!.

Trip report by Linda Murphy

This month (June 2018), a stretch of grassland along Grafton Street (V6) between Bradville and New Bradwell is a riot of colour. In previous years, these grass verges have been mown in early June but following concerns raised by local residents, The Parks Trust has reviewed the management regime for this area and the grass is not cut until later in the summer.

The early results of this change in practice are spectacular. I visited the area last week and was amazed to see hundreds of bee orchids – many of which seem taller than is usual – on the grass banks between Wheelers Lane, Bradville and the New Bradwell aqueduct (on the east side of the V6). Carol Allen, Helen Wilson and myself paid a visit on 10^thJune and as well as bee orchids, noted the following species:

Bird’s Foot Trefoil Lotus corniculatus
Common Vetch Vicia sativa
Black Medick Medicago lupulina
Self-heal Prunella vulgaris
Red Clover Trifolium pratense
White Clover Trifolium repens
Meadow Buttercup Ranunculus acris
Ox-eye Daisy Leucanthemum vulgare
Yarrow Achillea millefolium
Sorrel Rumex acetosa

These flowers we noted in a quick, 15 minute visit and there are sure to be many more species to be found by the discerning botanist! Also seen were meadow brown, common blue and brown argus butterflies and burnet companion moths. Plenty of bumblebees too.

To witness this lovely display I would suggest parking in either Wheelers Lane or Nightingale Crescent, Bradville and then walking along the redway parallel to the V6 for 200 yards or so. But don’t leave it too long – it will be past its best in early July.

Martin Kincaid

About ten of us made the rather long trek down to Aston Clinton on a lovely sunny but cold evening. The Ragpits are a tiny reserve full of interesting butterflies and flowers but as it was a cold evening the butterflies were not in evidence. However the orchids were putting on a a lovely show especially the fragrant orchids which looked gorgeous in the evening sunlight. There were also common spotted, butterfly and pyramidal orchids and many twayblades in flower.

Cross between a Common Spotted and Southern Marsh orchids © Julian Lambley, Clinton Ragpits 12June 2018

Orchid identification ©Julie Lane Clinton Ragpits 12 June 2018

Fragrant Orchid ©Julie Lane, Clinton Ragpits 12 June 2018

Amongst the other floral delights was squinancywort, fairy flax, yellowort and white milkweeds. The quacking grass also looked lovely in the low sunlight. A blackcap was singing and kites were flying overhead.

Just as we were leaving Jenny found an orchid which nobody could identify on site which looks a bit like a southern marsh orchid to me – any ideas? (It has now been identified at a cross between a Common Spotted and Southern Marsh orchids).

Julie Lane

Leader: Matt Andrews

We all agreed this reserve was a star visit for botanists in the MKNHS calendar (but not for hay fever sufferers).

Joe and I compiled a list of outstanding flora, and others contributed observations on fauna.

We met at the ‘Live and Let Live’ pub in Pegsdon, just off the road to Hitchin, Bedfordshire, where we were treated to a rapid passing of a Merlin. We then set off with Matt who had arranged for us to walk up the private farm track along which we had sightings of several farmland birds, including skylarks, partridge, whitethroat, and yellow hammer.

Then we headed up into the chalk hills and immediately found displays of the chalk fragrant orchid (Gymnadenia conopsea) and impressive spreads of Dropwort (Filipendula vulgaris), and Hounds-tongue (Cynoglossum officinale), a member of the Borage family. The tight grassland sward showed the many characteristic plants of this habitat: fairy flax, milkwort, salad burnet, rock rose, Sainfoin, etc.

Burnt-tip orchid ©Mary Sarre, Knocking Hoe NR 9 June 2018

One of our target species, the Burnt tip orchid, (Orchis ustulata) was also abundant,  as well as the Pyramidal orchid and a few Bee orchids.

The Pasqueflower was largely over (photo at top of page of the one last) but its presence was clear from the many fluffy seed-heads, mostly on the southern side of the hill. The Field fleawort and Moon-carrot were also spotted here.

The spires of Wild Mignonette, Reseda lutea and Weld, Reseda luteola were noticeable rising from the longer grasses as we walked along the ridge towards the Beech woodland on the top. Here we saw a few White Helleborines, and Sanicle, common in woodland on chalk and limestone.

Returning down by the field paths, we were intrigued by a field of red poppies, perhaps a crop for poppyseed, with fumitory, candytuft and Field madder on the edge. A Brown argus, brimstone and Common blue were seen here.

We were then ready for a very welcome sit-down and refreshment at the pub. Many thanks to Matt for his expert local knowledge and direction.

Article supplied by Mary Sarre
Photo of Pasqueflower ©Phil Sarre

Last week (22 May 2018) on our walk around Stony Stratford Nature Reserve we saw lots of mayflies pulsating up and down above the river and settled in the foliage on the banks. On coming home I then read a very interesting article on mayflies by Nick baker in the BBC wildlife magazine and thought I would pass on some of the interesting facts here.

Green Drake mayfly, (Ephemera danica) by Frupus (CC BY-NC 2.0)

The mayfly we saw is I think the green drake or Ephemera danica which is the biggest of the British species, some of the other 51 species being absolutely tiny.

These mayflies, commonly copied by anglers for their lures, dance above the water in a mating frenzy with the females emitting an intoxicating perfume that attracts the males before she scatters her clutch of up to 8000 eggs into the waters to pass on her genes to the next generation. These eggs sink to the bottom and turn into nymphs which spend the next 1-3years developing in the sediment at the bottom of the river. Meanwhile their parents dancing above last but a day or two before they die (having no mouthparts they rely on the fat reserves laid down as a nymph to power them through this stage).

The nymphs carry on their lives in the river moulting up to 50 times before they are finally ready to return to the surface. At this stage they blow up like little air filled balloons and bob to the surface. Almost immediately on hitting the surface they unzip in a matter of seconds and emerge as adults with fully functioning wings. You might think this was their final moult but no they are unique in the insect world in having a second moult from one rather dull winged form to another, this time the sparkling beauty we saw last week. Why they do this no-one really knows.

Then the dancing begins and the whole lifecycle starts all over again.

One final fact – mayflies are the most primitive insects alive today and have been around since before the dinosaurs.

What an amazing insect!

Article kindly supplied by Julie Lane

Two cranes arrived at Gallows Bridge BBOWT reserve on Wednesday 16 May 2018.  They remain there to date (21 May 2018) so it is a possibility they will remain.  They are unringed which gives some clues as to where they came from – or rather where they did not come from.  Educated guesses say they may have come from Otmoor.  Some display behaviour has been observed.

Text and photo by Sue and Andrew Hetherington

Buckinghamshire Bird Club have published a  blog posting on the cranes which you can view here.

My daughter and her partner live in Cumbria and have starlings and swifts nesting in the eves of their house. Last year the starlings nested first and then the swifts moved in once the starlings had fledged. This year as normal the starlings are busy bringing up their babies in the usual place.

However last Saturday 12th May Susies partner heard a cacophony outside the house and saw a starling and swift tumbling together down onto the lawn followed by a tussle where the starling clearly had the upper hand and the swift’s life was at risk. He rescued the swift and after a rest launched it from an upstairs window. However after a while he saw the swift attempt to enter the nesting cavity and again the tussle ensued followed by another rescue and relaunch. Now a stalemate is in place where the swifts regularly fly by but the starlings are on high alert and drive them off.

This year they have erected two more swift boxes hoping to establish a small colony but it seems like this won’t be given a chance to happen until the starling family have fledged and moved out. But it leaves you with questions – does this competition happen regularly and do the swifts loose out. Or was it just because the weather was unseasonably hot that the swifts decided to try and get a move on early an start nesting?

Article by Julie Lane

And now an interesting response from Sue Hetherington:

Starling by Harry Appleyard, 20 April 2016

I was interested to read Julie’s article about the nesting territories under dispute by starlings and swifts. I can’t offer any advice about the eaves of the house. However, Andrew and I have had similar worries about the possibilities of uninvited guests grabbing boxes intended for swifts.

Before our box was used, we found evidence that it had been used for roosting by some bird over the winter and realised a problem could arise. What we then did as autumn turned to winter, we cleaned the box out (which we no longer do, it’s not necessary) and we blocked the entry hole with a bathroom (or car washing) sponge.

We reckoned our swifts came back like clockwork on 3rd – 5th May so about half way through April, we removed the sponge. We always meant to attach a bit of cord to the sponge so it could be pulled out with having to start going up ladders, but of course we always forgot. It always appeared to us that the starlings wanted an earlier slot than the swifts so our sponge method always seemed to work.

I have heard of swifts having savage territorial disputes amongst themselves but hadn’t realised that a swift/startling fight could be so vicious. This competition for nesting sites sounds like yet another problem swifts are struggling against.

Sue Hetherington

Westbury Arts Centre – Westbury Farm

30 members of the Society met at Westbury Arts Centre on Tuesday 8th May. In an introduction to the site, wildlife artist Kate Wyatt, and Martin Kincaid explained that the centre had gained funding last year for a project to research the history and natural history of Westbury farm.

The Society  was invited to carry out surveys in the surrounding grounds to document the wildlife as part of this project. Mammals, birds, moths, and trees had been surveyed and this evening, members continued recording.

Green Carpet ©JGordon Redford, 08 May 15

They were also able to look round inside the house, and to visit Kate’s studio as well as enjoying refreshments in the kitchen. A mothing session was held later in the evening and a trap was left overnight. Unfortunately temperatures dropped and a wind got up, so moth numbers were low.  The final list was: Lime Hawk-moth, Brimstone (X3), Green Carpet (X3), Flame Shoulder (X2), Common Carpet, V Pug

For more about Westbury Arts Centre: Westbury Arts Centre

Location: Stadium MK
Date: during first half of MK Dons v Scunthorpe Sat 28/4/18
Message: Just a record shot but it may be of interest to anyone unaware of the existence of a pair of breeding peregrine falcons at Stadium MK.  They are using (for the first time) a platform provided for their use. As will be seen, it is high up, just before the transparent part of the roof, between aisles 10 and 11.  Shortly after the photo taken, an adult peregrine flew from the platform and perched at the opposite end of the stadium.  Andrew and I appeared to be the only people who noticed it.  Having never been to stadium MK before, I had to ask many stewards for information before I discovered the platform location.  One was particularly surprised and exclaimed “I’ve never been asked that before!!!”

Article and photograph kingly supplied by Sue Hetherington

29 April 2017
An update from Mike Wallen of the Buckinghamshire Bird Club

StadiumMK
Great news here, the single egg has hatched today and there’s currently a little ball of white fluff in the middle of the platform with Mum looking proudly on.

14May 2018
An update from Mike Wallen of the Buckinghamshire Bird Club

Sad and tragic news that the single chick died yesterday, the female carried it away from the platform in the evening.

You can read the previous update on the Stadium MK peregrines here.

Sue has also provided details of the Derbyshire Peregrine website: ^{For anyone who would like to watch peregrines online, the Derby site is a really good one.  It can be found here http://derbyperegrines.blogspot.co.uk/ Apart from detailed news about happenings at Derby, there is a page that lists all the known peregrine projects.}

About a dozen MKNHS members and others assembled at Linford Wood at 2.15pm on Sunday afternoon 15^th April 2018 at Breckland, by the north-west entrance to the wood. The weather was warm but cloudy and rain arrived shortly before the walk finished. There had been a rush of plants coming into flower over the preceding week of warmer weather and the first migrant birds had arrived not many days before.

In 2017, the MKNHS visit to Linford Wood had been on a Tuesday evening more than three weeks later (5th May) so this daytime visit, earlier in the season, provided a very different view of the wood and its flora. Mike LeRoy gave a brief introduction which was set out more fully in three handouts: 1) a map of the whole wood and its compartments; 2) a background note about the history, ecology and management of the wood; and 3) a note of ‘What to look and listen for’.

Five leaved Herb Paris by Peter Hassett, Linford Wood 2 May 2017

The group walked together on an anti-clockwise route along the western and southern sides of the wood, past compartments 13 and 7a which have been extensively coppiced and thinned during the past winter. At the south-east corner, we headed back towards the centre of the wood and diverted briefly onto the western woodchip path to find Herb Paris Paris quadrifolia before heading back to Breckland along the main horse-riding path as a shower started.

The main questions the group focused on were:
1. What plant species are flowering?
2. Where do you see Dog-violets or other Violets?
3. What bird species can you hear calling?
4. What woodpecker sounds do you hear?
5. Which Bumblebee species do you see?
6. What Bee-fly species do you see hovering?
7. Which of the ponds can you see?

Wood Anemone

Wood Anemone Anemone nemorosa had been in flower for a couple of weeks and there must have been tens of thousands to see, scattered throughout most of the wood. Although it was the most dominant plant in flower, there were also considerable numbers of Dog’s Mercury Mercurialis nemorosa still in flower alongside the paths. There were also still plenty of clumps of Primrose Primula vulgaris in flower in and among the trees and along the edges of the ditches. The delicate leaves of Pignut

Pignut ©Peter Hassett, Pilch Field 8 May 2011

Conopodium majus were seen in a few locations on ditch and path edges. Only a few Bluebell Hyacinthoides non-scripta were beginning to show. Lesser Celandine Ranunculus ficaria were still in flower, but Greater Stitchwort Stellaria holostea had yet to emerge and no flowering Yellow Archangel Lamiastrum galeobdolon were seen. The first few Herb Paris Paris quadrifolia were just emerging into leaf, but had not quite flowered. The group found a few clumps of Strawberry which turned out to be Barren Strawberry Potentilla sterilis (identified by Mary Sarre).

Violet sp. ©Peter Hassett Stanton Wood, 12 May 2010

With the undergrowth yet to burst into full growth, Dog-violets and other Violets Viola spp. were more evident and found in small numbers through much of the wood. Most of the trees were barely into leaf so there were clear views well into the wood.

Although tree species were not a main focus of what we looked for, Mary Sarre noted at the edge of the wood near Breckland some Norway Maple Acer platanoides which flower with bright yellow-green flowers before they leaf and have been widely planted in Milton Keynes. Mike LeRoy mentioned Ash Fraxinus excelsior trees close to Breckland with their brief display of purplish-brown male flowers.

Aside from the permanent ponds, there were many areas of the wood with water lying on the surface. At one pond on the western side Martin Kincaid found Pond-skaters Gerris spp.

Red-Tailed Bumblebee by Harry Appleyard, Tattenhoe 11 April 2016

As we walked, we noticed numerous Bumblebees hunting low down within the vegetation rather than searching for nectar. Species seen included: Red-tailed Bumblebee Bombus lapidarius and Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris. Another insect present in many places was the Dark-edged Bee-fly Bombylius major. Less common was the Hairy-footed Flower-bee Anthophora plumipes. In several places we found 7-spot Ladybird Coccinella septempunctata.

Male Blackcap by Harry Appleyard, Tattenhoe, 17 April 2016

Sue & Andrew Hetherington led the recording of birds, almost entirely by calls and songs. In all they noted 17 species: Blue Tit, Great Tit, Coal Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Wren, Robin, Chaffinch, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Nuthatch, Blackbird, Great-spotted Woodpecker, Green Woodpecker, Jay and Magpie. Other species known to be sometimes present, but not seen or heard on this occasion, are: Marsh Tit, Bullfinch, Treecreeper, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, Buzzard, Pied Wagtail and Stock Dove.

Postscript

Early-purple Orchid by Peter Hassett, Linford Wood 2 May 2017

A week after our visit the Bluebell Hyacinthoides non-scripta are out in profusion. The first Greater Stitchwort Stellaria holostea have emerged. A few stems of Yellow Archangel Lamiastrum galeobdolon have been found, but are not quite in flower. And the first of the Early-purple Orchid Orchis mascula are just emerging.

There are species of flower in Linford Wood worth looking for in mid-April and others that don’t tend to emerge until late April into May. The wood is worth visiting at both these times to see how the season is changing.

Mike LeRoy
22nd April 2018

At our recent joint meeting with the Milton Keynes Branch of the Inland Waterways Association, the talk by Richard Bennett from the Canal and Rivers Trust highlighted the enormous amount of work that goes into maintaining the canals and the wildlife they support. A couple of events were mentioned which are open to all who’d like to go along.

On Saturday 28 and Monday 30 April there will be a work party to re-paint the Wolverton Train Mural. For details contact Athina Beckett at athina.beckett@waterways.org.uk or 01908 661217.

On 25-27 May (possibly 28^th too), there will be fundraising event at Three Locks, Soulbury, with  demonstrations of how to work a boat through the locks  There will be activities for children, and the Buckingham Canal Society will have a book and bric-a-brac stall.

Other events are listed in the IWA events diary.

Snow dusted crocuses in February ©Harry Appleyard

Harry Appleyard, one of the great photographers within the Milton Keynes Natural History Society, contributes photos to the BBC’s Weather Watchers.

The BBC has published an article and a section of Harry’s beautiful photographs which you can view using this link: Article – BBC Weather Watchers

You can see more of Harry’s nature photos in the Members Photos section of the website.

Peregrine by Harry Appleyard, Hazeley Wood, 29 May 2016

Mike Wallen of Buckinghamshire Bird Club has kindly agreed to let us publish this update on our local peregrines:

The birds have finally decided that the purpose built platform put up for them is desirable after all and the female is on it, sitting on at least 2 eggs. I was very happy to receive this news today. There is a camera ( plus other security) on this platform, no plans to stream the images to the public yet, but we’ll see how things develop in the coming weeks.

Good Birding
Mike

28 March 2018

Dear All

I am delighted to inform you that the appeal against the refusal of planning permission at Linford Lakes has failed and the appeal has been rejected.

I have copied the Planning Inspector’s summary below – but in short he has found that although MK Council have failed to demonstrate a 5 year housing supply, in this case the considerations of Landscape and Ecology (Biodiversity) outweigh the National Planning Policy Framework’s presumption in favour of development.

I believe this decision has been significantly influenced by the evidence and submissions of those who attended the enquiry and spoke against the appeal and all those who wrote in to oppose the appeal on grounds of ecology.

It is a tremendous validation of the power of persuasion by people who truly deeply care about our environment and local resources.

I congratulate all of you who took the time and effort to get involved.

Tony Bedford

Chair FoLLNR

Crows ©Julie Lane, Olney 28 March 2018

I have a large group of crows outside my room all cawing their heads off. Why would they be doing this? There are usually only two local crows but it seems they have all come together for a meeting and are making an awful racquet!

Photo and text by Julie Lane

The Society’s annual photos competition was held on Tuesday 23 January 2018.

Each member could enter a maximum of 2 prints in each of the following categories:-

1) Birds
2) All other animals, including mammals, fish, insects, etc.
3) Plants and fungi.
4) Habitats, geological, astronomical.

Sixty photos were entered. Each member present at the meeting was asked to select their first and second choice in each of the four categories giving us a shortlist of 8 photos.

In the second round of voting, members were asked to select their first second and third choice.

The winning photos were:

First place – Brimstone nectaring on Sanfoin by Peter Hassett

Second place – Laccaria amethystina by Peter Hassett

Third place – Wood White by Paul Lund

You can view the shortlisted photos in the photo gallery.

Sympherobius klapaleki Zeleny by Fogh Nielsen CC by 4.0

A rare lacewing, Sympherobius klapaleki Zeleny (Neuroptera: Hemerobiidae) has been found in Milton Keynes by the well known entomologist Mark G. Telfer who has kindly provided this article.

Sympherobius klapaleki is a brown lacewing in which the basal two segments of the antenna are yellow-brown, strongly contrasting with the remaining segments which are all blackish. The first British specimen was reared from a pupa found on dead oak twigs at Silwood Park, Berkshire, in April 1994 (Whittington, 1998). Three further British records are known to the author, from South Essex, Nottinghamshire and Hertfordshire (Colin Plant and David Gibbs, pers. comms) (Table 1). David Gibbs’ Nottinghamshire record was of a female swept from tree foliage in an area of coniferised woodland.

Table 1: Previous British records of Sympherobius klapaleki in chronological order.

Figure 1: Aerial bottle trap outside a branch socket on the veteran oak at Kingsmead Spinney.

Two females of S. klapaleki were captured by an aerial bottle trap during 11 May to 2 June 2017 in Kingsmead Spinney, Milton Keynes (SP82433381; VC 24). The trap was suspended outside a decaying branch socket on the trunk of a hollow veteran oak Quercus on the southern boundary of the spinney (Figures 1, 2). Flight interception trapping in such a position is intended to capture saproxylic insects (especially beetles) which are either emerging from within the trunk, or are attracted towards access holes into tree trunks. This record of S. klapaleki is suggestive evidence for breeding in oaks but not conclusive; though the two females may have been flying out of or heading into the hollow trunk, it is also possible that they were captured incidentally.

Figure 2: The veteran oak on the southern boundary of Kingsmead Spinney.

The Kingsmead Spinney record appears to be the fifth British record and the first record for Buckinghamshire (VC 24), though the records to date are suggestive of a widespread and rather under-recorded species.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Martin Kincaid of The Parks Trust, Milton Keynes, for arranging the survey, and David Gibbs and Colin Plant for sharing records and information.

Reference

Whittington, A.E. (1998). Sympherobius klapaleki Zeleny (Neur.: Hemerobiidae) new to Britain. Entomologist’s record and journal of variation, 110, 288 – 289.

25th Birthday Celebration

2018 marks the 50^th anniversary of the founding of Milton Keynes Natural History Society. It began with an article in a local newspaper on 8 February 1968 inviting those interested in forming a natural history group to meet.  At this time development of the new city of Milton Keynes was just beginning and there was concern about the possible impact on local wildlife. From these beginnings, the Society has grown to around 100 members and developed interests and expertise in a very wide range of species, habitats and environmental concerns.

40th Birthday Celebration

Some of the original members are still very active in the Society today. You can find out more about the history of the Society by clicking here.

The Society meets every Tuesday. In the winter, talks are held in the City Discovery Centre at Bradwell Abbey. Between May and September, we explore local natural history sites. Have a look at our current programme for more information.

You can also find out what wildlife can be seen locally by visiting our Recent Sightings  and Wildlife Sites pages.

To celebrate this special occasion, the Society is delighted to welcome Patrick Barkham to talk on the subject of “Islanders”. Apart from being a natural history writer for The Guardian, Patrick Barkham is also the author of a number of excellent books including “The Butterfly Isles” and “Badgerlands”. Recently he has published “Islander:  a journey around our archipelago”, which is an exploration of eleven of the smaller islands of Britain, in search of their special magic. This latest project will be the focus of his talk which is on the evening of Tuesday 27^th March at the Chrysalis Theatre in Japonica Lane, Willen Park South, Milton Keynes, MK15 9JY.

Save the date and look out for further details!

If you missed our wonderful photographic exhibition at MK Library earlier this year, fear not – you have another chance to see it in all its glory! The fabulous banner, displaying beautiful photographs taken by many Society members, is now on display at The Parks Trust’s Howe Park Wood Visitor Centre.

The exhibition will be housed here until at least January 2018 and hopefully beyond. The Visitor Centre and café are open 9am-3pm on weekdays and from 9am-4pm on Saturdays and Sundays.

BBOWT 2017 AGM and conference

This Saturday 14th October I attended the BBOWT AGM and conference in Oxford. The AGM in the morning was, as is usual for these events, not particularly exciting but after an excellent lunch there was a very good debate about The Future of Food, Farming and Nature.

Prof Dieter Helm from Oxford chaired the debate, which included speakers from conventional (NFU deputy president) and conservation farming, a former civil servant who worked in Brussels and The Wildlife Trusts representative. It was an extremely interesting couple of hours which allowed for plenty of input from the audience. I won’t even try to summarise the discussion here, but I was very glad that I made the effort to go and would recommend the day to members in future years. You don’t have to be a member of BBOWT to attend the afternoon conference.

The following videos were played during the conference:

Our fantastic year 2016-2017
Highlights of the year 2016 – 2017

Julie Lane

I’m delighted to announce that our resident tree expert, Alan Birkett has published a Field Guide to The Trees of Britain and Europe.

The ISBN is 9781921517839. The book is available on-line from Waterstones or Amazon UK or from any bookseller quoting the ISBN above.

The ever-popular subject of trees is covered in this fantastic field guide which includes more than 150 species that are likely to be encountered in Britain and elsewhere in northern and central Europe. This includes native species such as Hawthorn, Wild Cherry, English Elm and Sessile Oak together with trees which have been widely introduced from other parts of the world. The book’s USP is its ingenious set of identification keys at the start of the guide, which cover broadleaf and conifer leaves, buds, cones, catkins, flowers, fruit and bark and cross reference with the tree species and families in the main sections of the book.

The guide is suitable for beginners and more knowledgeable readers and the text has been written in an easy-to understand style while there is a detailed glossary at the end of the book to explain any technical terms. Each species account covers a spread and includes a photo of the whole tree together with close-up detail of other features such as leaves, bark and so on while the accompanying text describes key characteristics for identification, including a useful ‘Quick ID’ section.

In short this is a wonderful new field guide. The author, who has also taken all of the images himself, has been working on the idea and format for many years and is confident that the title offers something new in this market and that the book will be among the very best available in its category.

Alan has also produced an app for the iPad “Tree Guide UK” which is available from the Apple app store in Standard and Premium editions.

Society Posts sidebar

We are keen to receive more articles on natural history.

We have made changes to the Milton Keynes Natural History website To place more emphasis on members’ contributions:

We have split news in the sidebar and new menu into:

• Society News, and
• Other News

We hope this will encourage you to send articles or links to items of interest to info@mknhs.org.uk

Society Posts menu

The latest issue of our society newsletter ‘The Magpie’ can be viewed in the Publications section of the website or by clicking here.

Below is the draft letter which Milton Keynes Natural History Society is sending to Milton Keynes Council in objection to the proposed housing development, adjacent to Linford Lakes Nature Reserve,  we need to encourage as many people as possible to fight this development and  to write to Paul Keen at MK Council. They can either email him at paul.keen@milton-keynes.gov.uk or send a letter to the Civic Offices. It is important that the Ref No. 17/01937OUT is quoted in all correspondence.

Please use as much info in this template as possible but please put things in your own words as much as you can. I have been advised that the deadline for comments is 15th August 2017

Dear Mr Keen 07.08.17

Ref: Planning Application 17/01937/OUT Land at Linford Lakes, Milton Keynes

We are writing to you with reference to this proposed development of up to 250 hours. We wish to express our deep concern about this proposal on behalf of the members of Milton Keynes Natural History Society, an action supported by our committee on 31/07/2017.

The land in question forms part of an Area of Attractive Landscape in the Milton Keynes Local Plan (2001-2011). The Society has commented with respect to Policy SD10 in the recent Draft Plan:MK Consultation that “the Society strongly endorses the policy statement relating to the Linford Lakes Area. It forms a key component of the Ouse Valley extended linear park and wildlife corridor as well as an ‘ecological resource’ in its own right. This is undoubtedly one of the most biodiverse areas in Milton Keynes and its importance cannot be overstated. Any development next to Linford Lakes is likely to have a detrimental effect on its biodiversity”.

The proposed development is immediately next to Linford Lakes Nature Reserve, owned and managed by The Parks Trust. This area of lakes, species-rich grassland, scrub and wet woodland is arguably the most important ecological site in Milton Keynes. Established as a wildfowl centre in the early 1970s, the site is now known to local bird-watchers and naturalists for its biodiversity. Among the many protected species which thrive here are otter, water vole, hedgehog, barn owl, cuckoo, great crested newt and at least eight species of bat. All of these are nationally rare and/or declining. No other single site in Milton Keynes can match this in terms of rare species. Twenty three species of butterfly and over 400 species of moth have been recorded in the past three years. A botanical survey in 2016 listed over 240 plant species.

Linford Lakes Nature Reserve and its Study Centre are open to the public on an annual permit basis. This means that everyone who visits the site has bought a permit and has a vested interest in the flora and fauna the site supports. It is one of the very few locations in Milton Keynes where cats and dogs do not visit and to some extent this explains the abundance of wildlife.

The site also has long been used as a centre for environmental education, originally by Milton Keynes Council and latterly by The Parks Trust who purchased the nature reserve in 2015. Generations of local school children have enjoyed education sessions here, learning about the natural environment and the variety of wildlife on their doorstep. Again, low visitor numbers and the absence of dogs make this site ideal for this purpose.

In my opinion, if this development goes ahead, there will be enormous and irreversible damage to this very important ecological site and the surrounding landscape. We can expect many of the vulnerable species to decline or disappear due to disturbance from humans and pets. Additionally, the site will lose its value as an education resource as visitor numbers increase and habitats are damaged. Fragmentation of landscape and habitats are a major cause of the decline in UK wildlife. Currently, the land in question is attractive to wildlife but the construction of houses here would leave many species isolated.

The Environmental Impact Assessment that the developer was obliged to carry out concluded that there would be a ‘significant negative effect on biodiversity at a county level’. The survey concludes that the zone of impact that the development would have could extend to 2km, which would of course include the nature reserve.
We can think of nowhere in Milton Keynes less suitable for housing than this site. If biodiversity has any future at all in our city it is vital that this development is not approved.

Yours sincerely

Julie Lane, Joint Chairman Linda Murphy, Joint Chairman

Martin Kincaid, Vice President

Milton Keynes Natural History Society

Field Vole ©Julian Lambley,

The farm was a former dairy farm now maintained for local people. To find out more about this site, please visit our Wildlife Sites page.

Today members met in the town car park and, before reaching the farm fields, swifts were in the eaves of the local chapel.

Viola led the walk and was not hopeful of seeing lots to interest us. Wrong! Before long, in the second field visited, a Purple Hairstreak butterfly was seen, captured, viewed by all and then released. Several oak tree surrounded the field. After a few minutes a Short-tailed (=Field) Vole was seen taking a stroll through the short grass. This, too, was captured, viewed and released. How lucky was that!

Birds that took our interest were House Martins, Swallows and a Kestrel. Plants in flower were few – like Nipplewort, Birds’-foot Trefoil and Shepherd’s Purse. Immature Grasshoppers and Shield Bugs were plentiful but not able to be identified to species level.

Further into the site a wet area (erstwhile a pond) was encountered with Lesser Spearwort (evidence of the acid conditions). Leaving the fields we continued the walk along the adjacent footpath. Here a few brave souls were encouraged to take a quick nibble of a small bit of a leaf of Water-pepper. Within a short time the strong flavour was evident – not to be forgotten.

Time then to return to our cars by following the footpath and pavements between the houses. At one point along the path was a memorial seat behind which was the “flower of the evening” – Elecampane – a rare plant in Bucks. Thanks Viola for a good evening .

Article kindly supplied by Roy Maycock