Just in case anyone didn't pick up the details, or who missed the meeting and might be interested, the poster giving details is reproduced below.
New Forest Non-native invasive Plant Project
Last night (27 March) was our AGM, but that was done and dusted in about 10 minutes for it was more or less the warm-up act before an excellent talk by Joanne Gore on the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust's New Forest Non-native invasive Plant Project. Joanne wondered if anyone might like to volunteer to help pull up Himalayan Balsam along the Lymington River catchment area.
Walk report: 15 March 2018 Setthorns
On
a pleasant morning after heavy overnight rain, 13 members led by Pam started a
walk through Setthorns Inclosure. The name Setthorns is derived from the practice of sowing acorns with thorn
seed, to help prevent young plants being grazed. There was plenty of bird song,
and Angela pointed out the call of a
Bullfinch, which we then saw perched above us.
After
leaving the main track we picked our way down a very wet and muddy path, and
took the opportunity to refresh our identification of lichens, one short branch
had Parmelia caperata, Usnea, and Evernia prunastri (Oak Moss) growing on it. At the bottom of the
path we had a good view of two Siskins and a Dunnock, which were on the ground
around the puddles. Here the shoots of Bluebells were also showing.
We
then turned onto one of the main tracks
leading up to the turning for Hill Tops and Pine Top caravan site. Along
the way we saw 2 Buzzards soaring overhead, then a Jay, Marsh Tit, Coal Tit,
Song Thrush and more Siskin, hearing the cooing of a Stock Dove in the
background. As we walked through the extensive caravan park we came across a
small herd of Shetland ponies resting between the vans, along with several fat
Grey Squirrels scurrying around. A Great Spotted Woodpecker was drumming and
was also seen.
 |
| Yellow Brain |
 |
| Two Victorian bridges |
On
reaching the disused railway track known as Castleman’s Corkscrew, which
originally ran from Southampton to Dorchester via the New Forest, we turned
right to follow the track. Several Hart’s-tongue Ferns were growing at the base
of the steep tree lined embankments, also Hard Ferns were present. We then
passed under 2 fine Victorian brick built bridges before coming into the open
to look at a bright yellow orange fungus, Yellow Brain Tremella mesenterica, growing on gorse. Interestingly further on
Wall-rue, a small lime loving fern was growing on the lime mortar between the
old brick work.
 |
| Turkeytail |
 |
| Bracken Map |
Finally
we turned back into the inclosure taking a close look at wood stacks to find
the lichen Cladonia and noting the
many variations in the bracket fungus Turkeytail Trametes virsicolor growing beside Bitter Oysterling Panellus stipticus.
 |
| Bitter Oysterling |
Other Birds:- Magpie, Jackdaw, Robin, Chaffinch,
Great Tit, Blue Tit, Blackbird, Woodpigeon, Treecreeper, Long-tailed Tit,
Goldfinch and Carrion Crow.
Butterflies:- Brimstone.
Other fungi:- Bracken Map Rhopographus filicinus and Hairy Curtain Crust Stereum hirsutum (PP)
Photos © Richard Coomber
Spring!
Hopefully we have seen the end of the 'Beasts from the East' and as the days warm and lengthen the pace of Spring will increase.
During the cold spells several members had interesting birds in their gardens including Blackcap, Reed Buntings, Fieldfares and Redwings, but perhaps the best we have heard of so far was a Hawfinch in one lucky member's garden!
 |
| Juvenile Brents and an adult |
 | |
| Wheatear at Lower Pennington Lane |
In spite of the cold weather early summer migrants have started to appear with a scattering of
 |
| Brimstone butterfly |
We had a Brimstone butterfly on Pam Poole's Lym Nats walk in Setthorns last week and in three weeks or so it will be worth looking out for the Green-winged Orchids along Woodside Lane, Lymington.
 |
| Green-winged Orchid |
If you have any interesting sightings you would like to share, then please let us know and we'll try to add it to the blog as and when practical.
All
photos © Richard Coomber
Talk report: Tuesday 13 March 2018 Maurice Pugh gave us his illustrated talk "Looking at Nature"
The Society recently
enjoyed an impressive presentation by one of its’ own members, Maurice Pugh. Maurice
combines great photographic expertise with good in depth knowledge of natural
history. Although most of his images are gathered in the New Forest he began
with a sequence of the autumn Red Deer rut in Bushy Park London. Travelling up
early in the morning he finds it is possible to get reasonably close to the
stags, many of which adorn themselves with some bracken on their antlers,
without worrying them.
Back locally there were
some entertaining sequences of water birds: two Black-tailed Godwits fighting,
using their legs as weapons rather than their long beaks, presumably because
damage to the beak might well affect the ability to feed. A female Little Grebe
had caught a fish which she offered to her two young, who declined because it
was far too big for them to cope with. Suddenly all three dived and the reason
soon became clear - a large gull had flown over with an eye on the fish or even
the young. The danger passed and the three grebes came up once more but the
fish was not seen again. There were magnificent pictures of Kingfishers, some
on perches some in flight. Maurice explained that in camera clubs nowadays what
he described as pictures of “a bird on a stick” are not so popular - the bird
needs to be doing something.
Butterflies and moths are
an area of particular interest and we were shown some rare butterflies including
the Marsh Fritillary, Brown Hairstreak also Purple Emperor, where one of
Maurice’s ambitions is to get a photograph showing the purple sheen on both
forewings: the creature needs to be in right position and in the right light
for this. The chalk downlands are home to a wealth of other butterflies
including Green Hairstreak, Grizzled and Dingy Skippers and several of the
blues.
Not all moths fly by
night, one day flyer found on the chalk downland is the Mother Shipton, so
named because the pattern on the wings is said to resemble the caricature of an
old woman. The female Emperor Moth, a heathland species is much larger than the
day flying males which she can attract in large numbers by pheromone emission. The
Clifden Nonpareil is a vast beautiful night flying moth with a pale blue band on
its underwing; a rare migrant it has been occurring more frequently locally in
the recent past. The Merveille du Jour moth displays brilliant camouflage. The
Goat Moth is a strange creature which occurs in the New Forest; the
caterpillars do smell of goats; the eggs are laid on certain varieties of
deciduous tree (often a specific tree will be chosen repeatedly by the moths
and becomes known as a goat moth tree) and the caterpillars spend up to four
years inside the tree eating it. The fully grown caterpillars frequently leave
the host tree in the autumn to find a more suitable site for pupating in the
ground. Goat Moth trees can be identified from the holes in the trunk. The
final moth pictured was an attractive Canary-shouldered Thorn which had its own
pet in the form of a very small spider attached to one of its hind wings. This
had caused some debate in his camera club: was it the excellence of the
photograph of the moth or of the spider which was being judged!
12 April - London Wetlands Centre
There are still THREE spaces left on our forthcoming coach trip to the London Wetlands Centre on 12 April, so if you still would like to book, or if you know a friend who would like to come along, then please get in touch with Adrian Butterworth. Details below:
LYMINGTON & DISTRICT NATURALISTS’ SOCIETY
WWT LONDON WETLAND CENTRE BARNES SW13 9WT
THURSDAY 12th APRIL
2018
The London Wetland Centre is a
beautiful wildlife reserve and international award winning visitor attraction
just 25 miles from central London. One
of nine centres run by the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) the London Wetland Centre is acclaimed as the
best urban site in Europe to watch wildlife.
It supports a wealth of wetland biodiversity, including Bitterns,
Kingfishers, a colony of endangered
Water Voles and migratory birds which arrive in large numbers from around the
globe. It is also a very user friendly
reserve. There are viewing hides, many
benches and the paths are flat. In addition to the restaurant there is a gift
shop and also a specialist binocular shop.
TIMETABLE
9.00.am Coach departs Town Hall Car Park, Avenue Road
Lymington.
11.15.am (approx)
Arrival WWT London Wetland Centre.
4.15.pm Coach departs.
6.15/6.30.pm Coach arrives Town Hall Car Park, Lymington.
We envisage a brief comfort stop at
Fleet Services on both journeys. Estimated times obviously depend upon traffic,
weather conditions on the day etc.
Refreshments. WWT say:- “You are welcome to bring picnics
and eat at any of the tables around the site apart from those inside and
directly in front of our restaurant.
Alternatively the restaurant serves hot and cold drinks and light
refreshments all day and hot meals
between Noon and 3pm.
So please make your own
arrangements. We have not made any form
of booking at the restaurant.
Ticket Cost:- Please check which
category you fall into. *
1. WWT Member £ 22.00. per
person
2. Non WWT
aged over 65 £ 30.00. per person
3. Non WWT
aged under 65
£ 32.00. per person
If you are a WWT member you must bring
your membership card with you on the day.
Tickets will be issued on a first come
first served basis on receipt of the completed application form below and a
cheque. We need your full details in the
unlikely event cancellation or other emergency.
Ticket price includes Cost of coach travel & entry to the WWT
London Wetland Centre.
It excludes any form of meal or
refreshment, or tip for the coach driver - for which we will make a collection
on the return journey.
Please note: Pricing is very tight and if you have to
cancel we will not be able to make a refund of the ticket cost, unless someone
can take your place.
For any further information please
ring Adrian Butterworth on 01590 622587
please detach————————————————————————————————————————
WWT LONDON WETLAND CENTRE
VISIT APPLICATION FORM
THURSDAY APRIL 12TH
2018
*I would like to apply for ( )
ticket/s at £ . each and enclose a cheque
for £ .
drawn in favour of Lymington &
District Naturalists’ Society.
Name……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Address…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Phone………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Please return to A. Butterworth. Half
Acre, Marden, Rhinefield Road, Brockenhurst, Hampshire. SO42 7SQ
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