2017 - Adding New Species to my List

I like to record the wild plants and insects that I encounter using tools such as iRecord.  This year I recorded approximately 350 species of which nearly 100 were new to my lists.  This compares well with last year's 290 (with about 80 new).  This post is going to focus on the species that are new to my lists this year.  I have seen some of these before but this is the first time I've recorded them.

Some of the new entries are the result of me working in Leatherhead where I explored a new riverside habitat but many were much closer to home. Two species that I saw in both Leatherhead and Uckfield were the Beautiful Demoiselle (Calopteryx virgo) and Banded Demoiselle (Calopteryx splendens).

Female Beautiful Demoiselle - near Lime Tree Avenue - May

Uckfield's Banded Demoiselles were rather camera shy but I did get some photos of the Leatherhead ones. The two males below were part of a group (over 16) that roosted overnight in a clump of strappy leaves near the river. There must be similar roosts near the Uck. Has anyone seen one?

Male Banded Demoiselles - Leatherhead - June

My recorded year started with more humble species. I did the BSBI's New Year Plant Hunt, which meant that I needed to hunt out any wild or naturalised plant that was in flower. The plants that are most likely to be blooming are the hardy, versatile weeds that grow in supermarket car parks, industrial estates etc. A new one for me was Annual Mercury (Mercurialis annua).

Annual Mercury - Bellbrook Industrial Estate - January

This year, I paid a number of visits to Holy Cross churchyard to identify the plants there for the Sussex Botanical Recording Society churchyard survey.  While I was investigating the plants I found a number of species of both plants and insects that I had not encountered before.  The Girdled Mining bee (Andrena labiata) is "scarce" and relies on "unimproved" grassland - i.e. grassland that has not been fertilised etc. Our old churchyards often have this type of ancient grass.

Girdled Mining Bee - Holy Cross Churchyard - April 2017

Cockspur (Echinochloa crus-galli) - Holy Cross Churchyard - August 2017

In early June, I did a Bioblitz of our garden. This means finding as many different species of wild plants and animals as possible. I found over a dozen that were new to me including:

Cantharis livida - No-mow zone - June 

Rhopalus subrufus - Flower bed - June

Selimus vittatus with her egg case - Oak tree - June

One of the highlights of the year was joining the Uckfield Local Nature Reserves Supporters Group. We went on a number of bird song/bug walks and a fungi hunt. I also did a little exploring of my own.  I am fairly familiar with Hempstead Meadows Local Nature Reserve (LNR) and found a few new bugs and beasties including:

Devil's Coach Horse (Ocypus olens) - Hempstead Meadows LNR - August

Notostira elongata - Hempstead Meadows LNR - August

West Park LNR is less familiar and enjoyed exploring it with the group. In November, we went on a fungi hunt and found a good variety of fungi. Beware that I got in a bit of a muddle trying to identify them and it will be a while before they are verified. They included:

Blushing Bracket (Daedaleopsis confragosa) - West Park LNR - November

Witches' Butter (Exidia glandulosa) - West Park LNR - November

It's not all about surveys and special expeditions. I saw the Beautiful Demoiselle on the way to the town. Mum showed me this dear little 10-spot ladybird (Adalia decempunctata) that she found while gardening.

10-spot ladybird - Found in our own garden.

This Large Garden bumblebee (Bombus ruderatus) bumbled into a patch of garden I was sorting out, sending me scurrying into the house for my camera.

Large Garden Bumblebee - my gardening is constantly interrupted by bees!

In Uckfield, we are lucky that we have plenty of green spaces and paths that we can follow as we go about our daily lives. I've been amazed at just how many creatures and wildflowers I see by looking out while going about my day-to-day shopping trips etc. If you ever see a woman in a red beret peering into her phone, it could be me recording wildlife on the run.

New Year Plant Hunt 2018 - Uckfield

For a number of years, the Botanical Society of the British and Ireland have been running a New Year Plant Hunt. The idea is to go out on the weekend of the New Year and spend a maximum of 3 hours hunting for wild flowers in bloom. If you are reading this on or before the New Year bank holiday, you can still take part. I have now done the plant hunt for:

• 2015 - 21 species of which 2 were naturalised garden plants that had 'jumped the fence'
• 2016 - 34 species of which 4 were naturalised
• 2017 - 23 species of which 2 were naturalised
• 2018 - 28 species of which 3 were naturalised

So how did I do this year? We've had some awful weather with a hard frost following and being followed by heavy rain. When I did my survey on the 30th of December, I feared that all my wild flowers would be mush. The day was dull but warm and dry. There was even a little sunshine just before noon.

I started with a straggle of Gorse in our own hedge.

Starting the New Year Plant Hunt with Gorse  - Manor Park, Uckfield

Just before crossing Browns Lane, I checked one of the clumps of bushes at the top of the Dene. No flowers but two bright little Robins flitting amongst the stems.

As usual, I found a good selection of flowers around Tesco Express and the other shops. These included many humble little "weeds" such as Shepherd's Purse, Annual Meadow Grass, Groundsel, Chickweed, Ivy-leaved Toadflax and Petty Spurge. Often they don't look like much but they provide seeds for hungry birds and nectar and pollen for insects.

Next I threaded through some of the Manor Park Estate's twittens, which yielded a Narrow-Leaved Hawks'-beard. In the shelter of the magnificent old Lime Trees of Lime Tree Avenue, I found a dear little Cow Parsley.

Cow Parsley - Lime Tree Avenue

In Southview Drive, I made straight for the big clump of Ivy on the corner of Beeches Close. As I approached, a group of cheeky House Sparrows flew out. There were several Ivy flowers in full bloom.

Ivy Flowers - Manor Park

When I got to the top of the town, I was in for a delightful surprise. I had seen buttercups in bloom just after Christmas Day but I was surprised to find them still flowering.  Also they turned out to be the charming Meadow Buttercup rather than the thuggish creeping one.  

Meadow Buttercup - top of the town

Thank you for the help with identification by:

• BSBI Botany: Is the flower stalk groovy? Creeping and Bulbous are but flower stalk in Meadow B. should be ungrooved." I checked and it was smooth.
• Brian Laney: With that tall flower spike and that lobeing to the upper stem leaves your id for meadow buttercup is spot on!

I also found Red Clover and Common Ragwort.  On the other side of the road, the old walls yielded the usual Wall Bellflower and Yellow Corydalis.

Surprisingly Holy Cross churchyard didn't yield much but there was a fine spread of fungi and a cheeky female blackbird dogging my footsteps. 

Fungi in Holy Cross Churchyard

At the foot of a hedge between the car park and Belmont Road, I found a Smooth Sow Thistle and a plant I had never seen before.

Ramping Fumitory in the feet of a hedge.

As I walked along Bellmont Road, I paused to watch a Wren feeding. We were both startled by a fat Grey Squirrel running along the fence.

Hazel Catkins near the Doctors' Surgery

I followed the little path that connects Belmont Road with the Doctors' Surgery and was amazed to see a lone hazel bush covered in catkins. There were none on those nearby. I was surprised because knew that there were none on the bushes by the river, which are usually the first to blossom.  As I was photographing it, Sandra, from the local nature reserves group, passed by and told me that the ones in the West Park Local Nature Reserve, a little further along the path were blooming too.  As I checked the rest of the path, a man asked me what I was doing. I explained about the flower hunt and we chatted about the spring bulbs that we were looking forward to seeing in our gardens.

Next, Bellbrook Industial Estate. Last year, this was one of my best sites. There wasn't so much this year but I did manage to add Common Mouse-ear and Red Dead Nettle to my list.  Then it was time to stop the clock for a break in the Station Pub. This gave me a chance to check my lists and see what was missing.  That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!

A welcome break at The Station.

I also dropped into the supermarket to pick up some shopping - they had a fine display of flowers.

Supermarket Flowers

I just had to ask ...

WendyTagg: These don"t count  right? #NewYearPlantHunt

BSBIBotany: No they don't count, nor do the grapes that went into your glass of wine, nice try though ;-) #NewYearPlantHunt

I realised that I hadn't checked the hedge by the allotments - in 2016 I found Hawthorn in blossom and I wanted to see if had come out again. It hadn't but tiny blue Speedwell flowers were peeping out from the foot of the hedge.

Common Field Speedwell - under the allotment hedge.

Time was running short, so I walked home as quickly as I could, picking up a few stragglers along the way.  My own garden gave me a lovely surprise. The sun had warmed tightly closed buds, which had made little suns of their own.

Lesser Celendine - garden.

The Science Bit

Where?

Location: Uckfield, East Sussex.  Start point: TQ478219

What was missing?

Primroses, Violets and Hawthorn. It seems that fewer spring flowers have been tempted into bloom early.

25 Wild Plants Flowering on 30 December 2017

Scientific name	Common name	New in 2018?
Anthriscus sylvestris	Cow Parsley
Bellis perennis	Daisy
Capsella bursa-pastoris	Shepherd's Purse
Cardamine hirsuta	Hairy Bittercress
Cerastium fontanum	Common Mouseear
Corylus avellana	Hazel
Crepis tectorum	Narrow-leaved Hawk's-beard	New in 2018
Cymbalaria Muralis	Ivy-leaved Toadflax
Erigeron canadensis	Canadian Fleabane	New in 2018
Euphorbia peplus	Petty Spurge
Fumaria muralis	Ramping Fumitory	New in 2018
Hedera helix	Ivy
Lamium purpureum	Red Dead-nettle
Poa annua	Annual Meadow Grass
Ranunculus acris	Meadow buttercup	New in 2018
Ranunculus ficaria	Lesser Celendine
Senecio jacobaea	Common Ragwort	New in 2018
Senecio vulgaris	Groundsel
Sonchus oleraceus	Smooth Sow-thistle
Stellaria media	Common Chickweed
Taraxacum officinale	Dandelion
Trifolium pratense	Red Clover	New in 2018
Ulex europaeus	Gorse
Urtica dioica	Common nettle
Veronica persica	Common Field Speedwell

3 Naturalised Plants Flowering on 30 December 2017

Scientific name	common name	New in 2018?
Bergenia cordifolia	Elephants ears
Campanula portenschlagiana	Wall Bellflower
Corydalis lutea	Yellow Corydalis

Planting Hedges at Uckfield's Sussex Horse Rescue Trust

On Friday the 22nd of December, I helped to create a hedge at the Sussex Horse Rescue Trust in Uckfield.  This was organised by the Sussex Flow Initiative (SFI).  Their web site explains:

SFI works with landowners, local people and others to investigate, promote and create natural features designed to slow and store water in the landscape and to help reduce flood peaks. 

The organiser, Matt, explained that the hedges would also help to link two areas of ancient woodland:

• The Woodland Trust's Views (Williams) Wood, between Manor Park Estate and Buxted Park.
• Hempstead Wood, the opposite side of the railway line to the Horse Rescue.

The hedges will provide a Wildlife Corridor across the grazing.

This will help provide a "Wildlife Corridor" that enables birds, insects and other creatures to move between the two areas of woodland and other wildlife-friendly areas.  Other wildlife corridors nearby are:

• The railway, which has plenty of vegetation on the linesides - including trees, primroses and ferns in the cutting near the new hedges
• The river Uck
• Hempstead Lane, whose shaggy hedges provide great habitats and at the feet of which I have found glow worms.

The information provided by the Horse Rescue people explains:

Hedging provides food in the form of berries and foliage for birds, small mammals and insects, and offers wind protection, which cuts down wind speed across the land, and helps prevent erosion. Hedgerows support invertebrates that control pests and pollinate crops. They also store carbon, help produce oxygen and capture harmful particulates.

"My" bit of hedge.

I planted a total of about 40 hedge plants covering 8 metres and comprising:

• hawthorn
• dogwood
• hazel
• wild rose.

We were using a "Slot Planting" method in which we used the shovel to prise open a slot. Then we inserted the bare roots, taking care to ensure that the roots are sitting naturally - not curling up, and then pushed the soil back. We added bamboo canes and plastic deer guards. The latter are a necessary precaution as a herd of Fallow Deer frequent the area. I saw deer slots on the way up and they have visited our garden on the nearby Manor Park estate.

Donkeys with the Buxted Park Hotel beyond.

The resident donkeys seemed curious about the comings and goings. When I walked past their field on the way home, they came to see me. The info from the Horse Rescue people explained:

Planting hedgerows directly benefits the horses too - a mixed native hedge can provide a good source of forage for horses, offering variety in their diet. Throughout the summer months, trees and hedges provide a welcome respite from the sun, offering shade and relief from flies, whilst during the winters months, hedging provides invaluable shelter for horses to protect themselves from wind and rain.

Hedges a good in bad weather too. I remember one time, when travelling home by train in lashing rain, horses and ponies were sheltering nose-first in the hedge.

So there are several good reasons for adding a hedge to the grazing fields - and planting this one was a very enjoyable experience.

Hempstead Meadows Local Nature Reserve - Species

Every time that I visit Hempstead Meadows Local Nature Reserve (run by Uckfield Town Council) I try to record a few of the species that I see. This isn't a proper survey, but it does give me a idea of what is there.  I record in a website/app called iRecord and here are my results for Hempstead Meadows.  Because it works with map squares some of the following records are from areas just outside the reserve - including the Station, which is a surprisingly good spot for birdwatching.

 Amphibians

Common Frog - as tadpoles.

Birds

One of my favourite sightings from this year was a Chiffchaff, seen amongst the brambles in April.

Chiff Chaff

Common name	Species
Mallard	Anas platyrhynchos
Swift	Apus apus
Grey Heron	Ardea cinerea
Goldfinch	Carduelis carduelis
Blue Tit	Cyanistes caeruleus
Robin	Erithacus rubecula
Chaffinch	Fringilla coelebs
Moorhen	Gallinula chloropus
Grey Wagtail	Motacilla cinerea
Chiffchaff	Phylloscopus collybita
Dunnock	Prunella modularis
Nuthatch	Sitta europaea
Wren	Troglodytes troglodytes
Blackbird	Turdus merula

 Fish

I've seen sticklebacks several times in the little stream that runs through the reserve. In 2015 I saw a lovely red-bellied male guarding his nest.  I've also heard that eels sometimes move through the reserve.

Flowering Plants

There are all sorts of pretty and interesting flowering plants but one of the most unusual is the Greater Tussock Sedge and one of my favourites, the Meadow Cranesbill.

Greater Tussock Sedge, 14 April 2017



Meadow Cranesbill, photographed in September 2015 but flowers year-after-year.

Common name	Species
Ramsons	Allium ursinum
Hairy Bitter-cress	Cardamine hirsuta
Cuckooflower	Cardamine pratensis
Greater Tussock-sedge	Carex paniculata
Meadowsweet	Filipendula ulmaria
Common Hemp-nettle	Galeopsis tetrahit
Meadow Crane's-bill	Geranium pratense
Indian Balsam	Impatiens glandulifera
Yellow Iris	Iris pseudacorus
White Dead-nettle	Lamium album
Gypsywort	Lycopus europaeus
Yellow Loosestrife	Lysimachia vulgaris
Water Mint	Mentha aquatica
Water-Dropwort	Oenanthe
Tansy	Tanacetum vulgare

Insects

There are, of course, many different types of insect in the reserve.  One of my favourites was this bug.

Notostira elongate - True Bug - 26 August 2017



Common Pond Skater - Another True Bug - 6 June 2015

Common name	Species	Taxon group
7-spot Ladybird	Coccinella septempunctata	insect - beetle (Coleoptera)
	Gyrinus substriatus	insect - beetle (Coleoptera)
Devil's Coach-horse	Ocypus (Ocypus) olens	insect - beetle (Coleoptera)
Common Red Soldier Beetle	Rhagonycha fulva	insect - beetle (Coleoptera)
Speckled Wood	Pararge aegeria	insect - butterfly
Comma	Polygonia c-album	insect - butterfly
Common Blue	Polyommatus icarus	insect - butterfly
Banded Demoiselle	Calopteryx splendens	insect - dragonfly (Odonata)
Hairy Footed Flower Bee	Anthophora (Anthophora) plumipes	insect - hymenopteran
Common Carder Bee	Bombus (Thoracobombus) pascuorum	insect - hymenopteran
Long-winged Cone-head	Conocephalus fuscus	insect - orthopteran
Dock Bug	Coreus marginatus	insect - true bug (Hemiptera)
Tortoise Bug	Eurygaster testudinaria	insect - true bug (Hemiptera)
Common Pondskater	Gerris (Gerris) lacustris	insect - true bug (Hemiptera)
	Notostira elongata	insect - true bug (Hemiptera)
Dark-edged Bee-fly	Bombylius major	insect - true fly (Diptera)

Common Blues on Birds-Foot-Trefoil - Big Butterfly Count 2017

As well as recording in iRecord, I did a count in Hempstead Meadows for the Big Butterfly Count. I saw Common Blues, Gatekeeper, Large White, Meadow Browns, Red Admiral, Ringlet, Small Copper and Speckled Wood.

Molluscs

Marsh Snail - 25 July 2015.

Finally, a Marsh Snail, which I found when pulling up Balsam in 2015.

Scientific Names - All that Glistens is not Gold

While exploring local nature reserves and beauty spots, I like to identify and record the plants and creatures that I find. To do this properly, I need to understand more about the scientific names. As the golden autumn afternoons fade into winter, I've decided that gold is a good place to start.



Scientific name	Origin	English meaning
aur- (root word)	latin	gold
chrys- (root word)	greek	gold
aurum	latin	gold
aurata	latin	gilded
aurantiaca	latin	orange-coloured
auricollis	latin	golden-collared
auricomus	latin	golden-haired
chrysanthemum	greek	gold flower

 

I wish I could include an example of Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) but you don't get many of those in Uckfield. Instead, my first example is a tiny moth that, during the summer, I often find in the garden. Some people call it Small Gold and Purple and other, Mint Moth. This type of confusion is one of the reasons that recorders use scientific names.

 

Small Purple and Gold (Pyrausta aurata), garden

The next one isn't gold at all but I think that the name is referring to its shiny wing-cases.

 

Rose Beetle (Cetonia aurata), garden

Now turning to the plant word, the scientific name of Goldilocks buttercup is auricomus, which means golden-haired.

 

Goldilocks (Ranunculus auricomus), Boothland Wood.

Aurantiaca means orange-coloured. In autumn, I sometimes find light orange False Chanterelle fungi in Views (Williams) wood near Manor Park.

 

False Chanterelle (Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca) in View (Williams) Wood.

 Finally, auricollis means golden collared. The little pollinator in the photo below is a hoverfly. It doesn't sting but the gold and black rings deters predators by mimicking a bee or a wasp.

Meliscaeva auricollis, garden.

So, from now on, if I see aur in a scientific name, there is a reasonable chance that I have struck gold.

Refs:

• Greek and Latin roots
• Latin dictionary.