A QUARTERLY JOURNAL OL NATURAL HISTORY LOR THE NORTH OL ENGLAND

QH

i

M2853

NH

William Casson of Thorne — Martin Limbert

Lichen flora of the West Yorkshire conurbation: Supplement IV
(1984-90) — M. R. D. Seaward and A. Henderson

A further study of the moss mites of the Lake District (Acari:
Oribatida) — Edmund L. Seyd and Matthew J. Colloff

A review of the smelt ( Osmerus eperlanus L.) in the Humber and
Tees estuaries, their tidal tributaries and the tidal waters of
Lincolnshire — C. A. Howes and B. R. Kirk

Historical records of the burbot Lota lota (Linnaeus 1758) in the
River Hull, North Humberside — Barry R. Kirk

Editor M. R. D. Seaward, MSc, PhD, DSc, FLS, The University, Bradford BD7 1DP

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Editor M. R. D. Seaward, MSc, PhD, DSc, fls
The University, Bradford BD7 1DP

Volume 116
1991

Published by the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union

3

WILLIAM CASSON OF THORNE

MARTIN LIMBERT

Museum & Art Gallery, Doncaster, DN1 2AE

Introduction

William Casson, an inhabitant of Thorne in Yorkshire for virtually his entire life, is usually
recalled as the first resident chronicler of the town and its rural hinterland. The three editions
of his book The History and Antiquities of Thorne, with some account of the drainage of
Hatfield Chase 1 are his most lasting memorial, remaining a standard local reference even
today, over 160 years beyond their first appearance. He is also remembered in other, minor,
ways, for example as the discoverer of Fen Buckler-fern Dryopteris cristata in Yorkshire, and
as the author of a published address to the Thorne Literary & Scientific Association.2 A
much more spectacular legacy, which even now partially survives, existed some way out of
the town, on the edge of Thorne Moors. Here, William established a garden, and with his
brother John was later involved with commercial plant raising. Today, rhododendrons
Rhododendron, Sheep-laurel Kalmia angustifolia and Springbeauty Montia perfoliata all
attest to former interest in and activity on the peat moorland’s south western flank. There
are no physical clues of responsibility for this alien floral element, yet the written evidence
links it undeniably with William and his brother. In so doing, it also reveals a much more
significant horticultural enterprise than was hitherto appreciated.

William Casson’s Life

William was born at Thorne on 23 October 1796, son of Quaker parents, Mordecai and Mary
Casson. He remained a bachelor throughout his life, but had two brothers and one sister. One
of these brothers, also named Mordecai, emigrated to North America, residing during at least
his later years in Tuscarora, to the east of Shenandoah in the ‘Quaker State’ of
Pennsylvania.3 His other brother, John Calvert, lived at Thorne, and died there in 1878, 4 as
did their sister Sarah in the following year.5 William himself attained the age of 89, although
his health was not always good. He also had an accident to his hip, which caused a slight
lameness and disease of the foot. He subsequently suffered from it a good deal at times, and
ultimately died of erysipelas on 22 January 1886. Despite extreme old age, he remained in
possession of almost all his faculties, only the loss of an eye, again in an accident,6 causing
him impairment.

William had only a rudimentary education, at the vicarage school under the Rev. Eric
Rudd. He was subsequently apprenticed to a firm of grocers, also perhaps within the Casson
family, at Gainsborough in Lincolnshire. He later succeeded to a grocery business in Thorne,
established in 1793 by his paternal grandfather, Mordecai Hord Casson. Population census
returns, trade directories7 and an advertisement in The Gardeners ’ Year-book and
Almanack, 1874% chart the commercial progress of William and John, who formed what
became a successful and respected firm, based on the family’s interests. Their business, which
encompassed a variety of activities, included tallow-chandling, tea dealing, grocery, drapery,
malting, seed dealing, horticulture, farming, even brick-making in the mid- 1850s. William
was generally described in population census returns as a draper and grocer, although as a
‘Grocer Seedsman & Farmer jointly with John C. Casson’ in 1871 . John was usually entered
as a farmer and-from 1861 -seed merchant. At the 1871 census, the partners employed six
men and three boys. They owned family property east of Thorne at Clap Gate Farm (96 acres)
and also rented a further 39 acres of local farmland. At the time of John’s death in 1878,
he was then the ‘active partner in the firm of W. and J. C. Casson, seedsmen, grocers,
and farmers’.9 The 1881 census data record William as a draper and grocer ‘retired
from business’.

Naturalist 116 (1991)

4

William Casson of Thorne

William was a lifelong Quaker, although the number of Friends at Thorne was relatively
small, with many of them belonging to the Casson family. Until c. 1846, William’s interest
was a formal and traditional one, occasioned by familial custom, but from then on he became
an ‘eager glad disciple’,10 intent on spreading a similar joy in his faith. He was closely in-
volved with Thorne Preparative Meeting, and was a member of Balby Monthly Meeting. He
became a minister in March 1870, 11 and visited other meetings at times, including those in
the Yorkshire Dales, often in the company of a Scarborough Quaker minister, Henry
Hopkins, himself once a grocer.12 William was sometimes requested to speak at Wesleyan
class meetings in the Thorne neighbourhood, and when occasionally visiting hydropathic
establishments to help restore his health, he was not infrequently asked to conduct family
worship there. He also carried on a considerable correspondence in a similar vein.

Upon his death, William was interred at the Friends’ burial ground off Church Lane in
Thorne. His long and benevolent connection with the town, coupled with his high moral and
social character, caused him to be heeded with popularity and esteem. His death occasioned
several appreciative notices,13 although one Quaker obituarist14 commented with an
unintentional edge that William ‘was not endowed with large natural abilities, but he showed
how valuable a man may be without possessing any great gifts’. The high regard which
William drew to himself partially arose from his obvious interest in the welfare of the
district’s poor; he exhibited a particular concern for the inmates of the Thorne Union
workhouse. Here, he was a regular visitor and benefactor, and for some years held a religious
service on Sunday afternoons. Indeed, during these years the workhouse management felt
it unnecessary to have the expense of a paid chaplain. William was also fond of children; he

FIGURE 1

The foundation stone of Thorne Town Hall, laid in 1883. The building is now demolished,
though the stone is preserved in Thorne Memorial Park.

liked to invite parties of young people to his house in Silver Street for tea, with a ‘ramble on
the moors afterwards in search of wild flowers, which he loved to gather and to cultivate’.15

William was a staunch liberal, and during his long lifetime ‘occupied several parish offices
with great ability and presided at most of the public and parish meetings for a long series of
years’.16 He was, for example, from 1845-60 surveyor of highways, as his father had been.
Unti1 only a year or so before his death, William was one of the waywardens, a position he
only relinquished due to failing health, possibly arising from his hip injury. As surveyor of
highways he was appointed annually, and worked assiduously, although there was no salary
attached. His last public act was the laying of the foundation stone of Thorne Town Hall on

William Casson of Thorne

5

3 October 1883. He mounted the stone to give his address in which, as the town’s oldest
inhabitant, he outlined the principal events that had taken place there since the beginning of
the century, his recollections extending back to c. 1803. 17

William’s other activities were similarly locally directed and of long duration. He held a
practical interest in the reclamation of Thorne Moors where, with John, he owned 50 acres
of ‘unproductive moor’ beyond Clap Gate Farm. He was a trustee to the Thorne Moors
Owners, and an original director of the Thorne Moor Improvement Co. of 1861. 18 He was
for many years the chairman of the Thorne Gas-Light & Coke Co., formed in 1836. William
was one of the first promoters of the Thorne Agricultural Show (established 1853), and was
an active member of the Thorne Agricultural Association for many years. The decorative
grottoes and floral displays at the shows owed much to his inventive artistry. The latter was
not, however, entirely altruistic, as recalled in 1886:19

In years gone by long ago, the very first man we used to encounter on Thorne Show ground
... was Mr. Casson, busy with his grottoes ... Mr. Casson was a Quaker, and had an eye
to business ... and in some nook or corner of those charming little retreats was certain to
lurk a sufficiently suggestive reminder that Mr. Casson was a seed merchant, and that those
who wanted giant wurzels and abnormal turnips might do worse than consult him or his
partner on the subject.

Despite his limited formal education, William displayed intellectual ability when, at the age
of 33, he completed his History and Antiquities of Thorne. It is somewhat ironic that William
should be remembered as the writer of the book and its subsequent imprints, as each actually
appeared anonymously. Nevertheless, the evidence of authorship is conclusive.20 It is
regretted that no appraisal has been located which evaluates William as a local historian, or
judges the significance of his part in an understanding of the region’s history.

William Casson as a Naturalist

The History and Antiquities of Thorne also reveals its author’s interest in natural history.
This is especially evident in the chapter outlining Thorne Moors, William’s published
description of its surface being the first.21 A number of species are alluded to in the chapter,
particularly of flowering plants and birds, but also memorable taxa from other groups, like
snakes and the biting Nematocera. William was seemingly keenest on botany, and the avail-
able evidence largely restricts his natural history to Thorne Moors. However, his interests
probably also encompassed the larger region of Thorne parish and adjacent parts. He may
have had a similar outlook to Gilbert White, who died only three years before William’s birth .
The latter was aware of The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne, citing White22 in
discussing Yews Taxus baccata in churchyards. This view of William’s attitude is given
credence by noting his choice of verse, derived from Oliver Goldsmith’s ‘The Traveller’, on
the title-page of each edition of the History and Antiquities of Thorne. William seemed
satisfied with his geographical lot, which he clearly felt was worthy of investigation and
documentation. His published work reinforces this interpretation, indicating a sympathetic
rapport with Thorne and its region.

With his interests and outlook, it was natural that William should be involved with the
Thorne Literary & Scientific Association, which was formed in 1836. 23 He served on the
administering committee, and occasionally lectured on botanical subjects. On the
Association’s sixth anniversary, at its annual general meeting of 21 January 1842, 24 William
delivered an address to the assembled company, in verse, on the acutely irritating midges
Culicoides of Thorne Moors, referring to them as ‘colicoides punctata’. The subject was
prompted by memories of an earlier Association meeting at his moorland garden (q.v.). He
continued with poetic allusions to the botanical interest of Thorne Moors, and in closing,
offered his best wishes to ‘our little band’. The address was published for the Association,
in an augmented form, by Joseph Mason.25

C. W. Hatfield26 regarded William as an ‘intelligent and enthusiastic observer of nature’,
and some of the Thorne botanical records which the former included probably emanated

6

William Casson of Thorne

from William. An obituarist27 noted that he was:

. . . always known as a good botanist, and a successful cultivator of plants and flowers, and

his garden on the moors was often visited by naturalists and botanists from a distance.

William guided the Sheffield Field Naturalists’ Society on their excursion to Thorne Moors
on 21 June 1865. 28 This is the earliest known visit to the area by a society based beyond
Thorne,29 though there is no later evidence to link William with visits by any other organisa-
tions. He was firmly a naturalist of his time, associated with the earliest phase of botanical
interest on Thorne Moors, when the site was seen as a rich source of herbarium specimens
and of records of broad geographical significance.30 The increasingly sophisticated and
regulated attitude to Thorne Moors botany which appeared in the 1870s, mirroring wider
changes, was engendered from beyond Thorne. Although the third edition of William’s
History and Antiquities of Thorne appeared during that decade, the botanical data had not
been altered from that of the 1869 edition.

The botanist James Backhouse (1825-90) described William as ‘my now aged friend’ in
1884. 31 In examining natural history at Thorne, this is only one example of a significant
Quaker interest in the nineteenth century. In addition to William, and another Thorne
Quaker botanist, William Harrison,32 non-resident Quaker naturalists like Backhouse,
above, Thomas Le Gay Brewerton33 and John Heppenstall34 had links with Thorne
Quakers, and these would repay further study. Indeed, it is likely that William’s botanical
contacts were largely Quaker ones. As noted, an obituarist observed that the garden property
on the edge of Thorne Moors was often visited by naturalists. A little further into the moor
was ‘Scheuchzeria Well’, as mapped and named in the 1850s.35 This moorland pool was
probably the most accessible destination for seeking specimens of Thorne’s most celebrated
botanical native, Rannoch-rush Scheuchzeria palustris .36 This species was first found by
William Harrison, in 1831; it was known in the field to William Casson by 1841. 37 It is likely
that William’s visitors travelled to the garden, and were then guided over the moor to the
nearby Rannoch-rush station. It was comparatively easy to reach, and was presumably
the one their guide knew best. It is possible that William was one of very few botanists who
had local and consistent knowledge of Rannoch-rush on the accessible Thorne side of the
moorland. William Harrison emigrated to Indiana in North America sometime after his
discovery,38 and other known collectors were often neither local nor persistent. By the time
the ‘investigative’ botanists of the 1870s and later began to know the moor, the species had
all but succumbed to drainage; only Dr F. A. Lees found a single flowerless example, in
1870. 39 The press reports of the 1865 excursion by Sheffield naturalists do not refer to
Rannoch-rush, although the garden region was visited and commoner plants reported on.
Scheuchzeria Well would not have been missed had so renowned a ‘botanic lion’40 still
been growing there. Indeed, it only marginally survived into the following decade anywhere
on the moor. The unique place name ‘Scheuchzeria Well’ may have been coined by William,
becoming formalised when mapped. Who else but local landowners and their employees
could provide detailed place-names to the surveyors of the Ordnance Map Office, and who
but William would be so familiar with that botanical site?

James Backhouse made his comment of friendship in 1884 in a published note attributing
the discovery of Fen Buckler-fern in Y orkshire to a Thorne Moors gathering made by William
in 1856. The latter had actually published it as a Thorne species in 1869.41 This record, and
indeed William himself, were initially unknown to Dr F A Lees, who however subsequently
included the record, and attributed it, in the Naturalist and in his West Yorkshire Flora.42
This is the only known occasion when any of William’s data recognizably found their way
into one of the county or infra-county floras. Not surprisingly, nothing written by William
is included in the bibliography given by Lees.43. He was however, quoted by Rev. E. A.
Woodruffe-Peacock,44 although the exact data derived cannot be determined. There is no
evidence of an herbarium at Thorne, although William did on occasion collect notable
specimens,45 both for identification by experts and as herbarium gifts for others. The latter
was particularly true of Rannoch-rush.

William Casson of Thorne

7

The Moorland Venture

The land extending from Thorne towards Thorne Moors was divided into a multitude of thin
strips, known locally as cables, each identically aligned and bounded by dykes. These were
the result of the plots of land to the east of Thorne being gradually extended over many
decades,46 thrusting eastwards in ever lengthening ribbons as the peat was removed and the
ground beneath cultivated. Thus the edge of the moorland was continually, though fitfully,
receding from the town. The digging of Thorne Waste Drain in 1815 along the south-western
edge of the surviving peat unwittingly created a barrier to further reclamation along the
cables, with the peat and any reclaimed plots to the west rendered relatively inaccessible. The
excavation of the drain was first suggested by William’s father,47 when he worked the family
property of Clap Gate Farm, its cable of land extending from Clap Gate Road eastwards to
the peat. At the apportionment of rent charges in lieu of tithes in 1 840, this was the only cable
extending east of Thorne Waste Drain which incurred a charge on its exclave. The latter was
described as comprising ‘Grass’, and amounted to 4 acres 1 rood 16 perches.48 Three further
reclaimed plots beyond Thorne Waste Drain, lying immediately south of the Casson cable,
did not attract a rent charge in 1840, suggesting that they were not then in cultivation. Quite
when these three also came into the possession of the Casson family is not exactly known.

Despite its designation as ‘Grass’, the original cable exclave was actually utilised, as
inferred, in an imaginative and novel way, as the site for an ‘experimental Garden’49 created
by William.50 It was perhaps inevitable that, should this trial be successful, it was likely to
be eventually extended southwards in some way. The actual origins of the garden are obscure.
There is no indication of it on any traced map from the 1820s, including the large scale 1825
Enclosure Award map,51 although the reclaimed Casson piece beyond Thorne Waste Drain
is shown. Also, there is no allusion in the first (1829) edition of William’s History and
Antiquities of Thorne. Nevertheless, the garden was certainly in evidence in July 1840, 52
suggesting its likely origin sometime in the 1830s.

The first substantial reference to the garden is that contained in the ‘Explanatory Notes’
accompanying the published version of William’s 1842 address to the Thorne Literary &
Scientific Association. The partially reclaimed eastern extremities of the cables could not be
farmed so well as the other parts, and their utilization was sometimes solved by the creation
of plantations of larch Larix, oak Quercus and other trees. William, in writing for the 1842
booklet, observed:

At the edge of the morass ... is a small plantation of Larch, and immediately adjoining it
is an experimental Garden, which a year or two ago was kept in very neat order, and
attracted a good deal of attention, not only from the novelty of its situation, but also for
the beauty and vividness of colouring in the flowers it produced, amongst which may be
mentioned those of the Rose; the Rhododendrum [sic] ; Fuchsias; Deutzias; Salvias, scarlet
[,] purple, and patans [sic]; Rhodanthe Manglesii; Nymphillas; and many other choice
plants for which a peat soil is favourable.

William added that on the bank of cut peat demarcating the northern boundary of the garden,
a moss collage of mostly exotic mammals, glass-eyed and almost life-sized, had been created.
In one corner of the garden a small rill issued from the peat, above which the word
‘Temperance’ had been inserted into the peat in white moss. When William was writing in
1842, all these adornments had already been destroyed by a severe frost. Under the shade of
the trees in the garden, an arbour of Heather Calluna vulgaris had been formed, and rustic
seats53 were provided for visitors:

Here, in the summer season parties have frequently been assembled to take tea. The neat
tea services used on those occasions were purchased by subscription a year or two ago, and
generously presented by the Ladies of Thorne.

Those days were remembered by the Doncaster historian John Tomlinson. Although born
at Epworth in 1824, Tomlinson’s early years were spent at Thorne. He moved to Doncaster
at about the age of 30,54 and it is thus likely that his published memories of the garden55

8

William Casson of Thorne

predate c. 1854. He recalled ‘fuchsias, dahlias, rhododendrons and various other flowering
shrubs which delight to suck nutriment from a turfy soil’. The only visual representation of
the garden at this time is that of the 6" O.S. map of 1853. The garden is shown as mostly
surrounded by planted conifers, and with a ‘Summer House’ at its south eastern corner:
perhaps an essential refuge from the midges. There was no representation at that time of a
flanking horticultural scheme.

From the 1860s, references to the garden become subsumed in generalisations about the
subsequent horticultural enterprise of W. & J. C. Casson on at least the three cable heads to
the south. The garden itself almost certainly ceased to exist separately, becoming
incorporated with the other plots. The name ‘Casson’s Garden/Gardens’ became
confusingly transferred to the whole of the four cultivated units east of Thorne Waste Drain.
Although the venture was jointly owned, it seems that John was the most active partner.
Much less is known of him than of his more renowned brother. However, he played his part
in Thorne life,56 and died in 1878 at the age of 71:

As an owner, along with his brother, Mr. William Casson, of a somewhat considerable
extent of land, as a practical agriculturist, and as one of the steady-going improvers of the
Thorne [Moor], the deceased gentleman occupied a prominent position.57
The first positive data on the horticultural undertaking are gained from the 1869 edition of
the History and Antiquities of Thorne :

Some peat is annually sent off from the moor to nurserymen or gentlemen at a distance,
either by rail or vessel, as American plants,58 azalias [sic], kalmias, andromedas, rhodo-
dendrons, and heaths flourish splendidly in a peaty soil. Thousands of rhododendrons are
raised from seed on Thorne Moor by W. and J. C. Casson, for sale.

By the 1870s, the business was undoubtedly well-established, with its scale revealed by a
stock list issued in 1872. 59 In it, following a hand-coloured engraving of Lawson Cypress
Chamaecyparis lamoniana cv. Erecta Viridis, a descriptive list of the plants available was
presented. These featured 197 named hybrid rhododendrons (‘Aclandianum’ to ‘Zampa’);
also 10 ‘Azalias’ and ‘Rhodora canadense’, all now included under Rhododendron (s.l.).
Many of these rhododendron taxa, derived from leading British and European growers, are
now lost to commerce.60 Interestingly, the catalogue noted that:

W. and J. C. CASSON have, in addition, a large stock of Hybrid Rhododendrons, named,
of their own raising, which can be recommended as fine Plants, with good foliage, and the
flowers in bold trusses, of good colours, well marked or spotted.

Unfortunately, none of these rhododendrons seem to have survived as named hybrids, as
evidenced by their failure to feature in the International Rhododendron Register. Also listed
for sale, under ‘Shrubs and Plants’, were examples from at least the following genera: Abies,
Andromeda, Araucaria, Berberis, Bryanthus, Cedrus, Chamaecyparis, Cortaderia,
Cotoneaster, Crataegus, Cupressus, Deutzia, Erica, Euonymus, Garrya, Ilex, Juniperus,
Kalmia, Ledum, Leiophyllum, Magnolia, Mahonia, Mentziesia, Myrica, Myrtus, Pernettya,
Pieris, Prunus, Raphiolepis, Retinospora, Ribes, Sequoia, Skimmia, Thuja, Thujopsis,
Vinca, Yucca and Zenobia. It was also noted that three or four specimen rhododendrons were
growing on ground occupied by W. & J. C. Casson well away from the moorland,
immediately next to Thorne South railway station. They were intended as a more visible and
accessible advertisement to the people of Thorne, and to others travelling on the railway.

Copies of the 1872 list which were issued in (at least) 1874 had an extra sheet stuck in,
observing that attention was drawn to rare and new additions to the ‘collection on the Moors’
— though there is no hint of what these were — as well as to the extra showground alongside
the railway. This land, it was noted, had been purchased from the Manchester, Sheffield &
Lincolnshire Railway Co. Having been partly filled with peat from Thorne Moors, it was
planted early in 1 874 with ‘RHODODENDRONS, AUCUBI AS, and SKIMMIA OBLATA’ .
In The Gardeners’ Year-book and Almanack, 1874, 61 W. & J. C. Casson advertised their

William Casson of Thorne

9

hardy rhododendrons and other shrubs and trees: ‘A List and Description sent on
application, and a supply of Peat if required’. On John’s death in 1878, it was retrospectively
remarked:62

He took an especial interest in gardening, and the Moors, from the taste and skill displayed
in the garden under his superintendence, have been a source of attraction, not only to
residents, but to visitors as well. The rhododendrons and azaleas grown in this garden have
obtained for Mr. [John] Casson a celebrity not confined to this country, large
consignments having been sent to America,63 where they have been considered very
notable specimens of their class.

FIGURE 2

The cover of the W. & J. C. Casson horticultural stock list issued in 1872.

10

William Casson of Thorne

FIGURE 3

Sheep-laurel near Casson’s Garden, 1989. Photo G. Davidson

Information from beyond the 1870s is regrettably sparse, but John’s death probably
genuinely marked the beginning of the end. When William died, in 1886, John’s son Francis
succeeded to the family’s interests and responsibilities in the Thorne area.64 He was a grocer
and seed dealer,65 but had wider concerns,66 including a knowledge of Thorne Moors. Here,
he acted as guide for the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union in 1881 and Ackworth School Natural
History Society in 1888. 67 His unexpected death on the last day of 1888 ended the family
name in Thorne: he was 37 and unmarried. The grocery and seed business was acquired by
A. T. Baker, who was issuing price-lists in his own name by 1891 It is known that Francis
had entertained the local workhouse children ‘at picnics at his gardens on the Moors’.69 This
included 1885, when after ‘a ramble on the moors, the children and a few friends were
entertained by Mr. F. Casson to a substantial tea, spread in pic nic fashion on the grass near

William Casson of Thorne

11

the rhododendron plantation’.70 It is, however, likely that Francis eventually gave up
horticulture, and disposed of the saleable stock; shortly before he died he attended a ‘sale
of rhododendrons on the Moors’.71 In August 1890, the ‘plantations, gardens, shrubberies,
peat waste land, &c.’ were sold.72 For six years, nothing further has been detected, but in
1896 a fire swept through the area; its effects were described in the Doncaster Gazette :73

The old rhododendron garden, known and visited throughout a long period when owned
by the Casson family, was practically destroyed, and the trees and shrubs in the plantations
near at hand were in many cases reduced to blackened and charred stumps.

The surviving plants gradually became generally forgotten, remaining known only to those
who cut peat in the vicinity, or otherwise knew the moor. A. A. Dallman’s published note
on Labrador-tea Ledum palustre on Thorne Moors74 presumably indicates the continuance

FIGURE 4

Rhododendron at Casson ’s Garden, 1988. The flowers were very pale mauve.
Photo G. Davidson

of a species into the 1930s which was first known from the 1872 stock list. In the mid 1940s,
J. F. Verhees, a local naturalist then living in a cottage on the edge of Thorne Moors, first
came to know the four reclaimed cable heads. They were not cultivated, and were largely
dominated by rough herbage, although there were still signs of former glory. Three white
flowered rhododendrons, three or more with red flowers, and a mass with purple, pink and
even occasionally mauve-lilac blooms, were still all present. These latter particularly
dominated the northern cable head — the original garden site — but also extended a little way
southwards at the eastern end of the adjoining cable. Other plants were found which were
similarly out of place: a specimen of Chile-pine Araucaria araucana, a ‘flowering cherry’
Prunus and ‘double flowered’ snowdrops Galanthus. On the moor beyond the
rhododendrons, a patch of Sheep-laurel thrived. These remained until the early 1960s, when
all the abandoned area of reclaimed land was turned over to potato growing. Only those
species which had spread on to the adjacent peat, or perhaps had been introduced there,

12

William Casson of Thorne

managed to persist, to be rediscovered and documented by naturalists in the post-war years
and beyond.75

Today, rhododendrons still overshadow this peripheral area of the moorland.76 In one
spot, the Sheep-laurel is very locally co-dominant with rhododendrons and Heather, but is
threatened by peat winning. A single specimen growing elsewhere on the moors has now been
destroyed. Along the drain demarcating the edge of the peat from the adjoining fields, a
rediscovery of the 1980s — Springbeauty — still endures. It was not, however, planted
deliberately, having originally been accidentally introduced with rhododendrons.77 These
latter are always superficially characterised as being R. ponticum , which many of them either
are or resemble. However, in the nineteenth century, hybrid scions were often grafted on to
stock of the species, which then gradually took over, so that many existing thickets of
R. ponticum actually originated as hybrid plantings. This was at least partially true at
Thorne, though an examination of the flowering rhododendron plants in 1989/90
demonstrated obvious diversity. Although the distinctly red and white bushes were cleared
in preparation for potatoes many years ago, the peatland survivors still collectively exhibit
a relatively long flowering season, and include specimens whose racemes are as variant as pale
pink and deep purple. They display a similar medley of more general morphological
characters, a number of the plants having particularly deeply and narrowly lobed corollas.
Self-sowing will have widened the range of variation, and it may no longer be possible to
match the Thorne examples with any extant hardy hybrids originating from the last century.

Acknowledgements

I am grateful to Dr A. C. Leslie, registration officer, Royal Horticultural Society Garden,
Wisley, for reading through and commenting on a draft of this paper. G. W. Thompson
generously allowed me access to the printed ephemera, spanning many decades, held at his
Thorne printing works. Ms T. Driver, Assistant Librarian at the Library of the Religious
Society of Friends, helpfully provided a number of references, and gave bibliographic
assistance. For the provision of photographic and/or specific information, I wish to thank
Mrs J. W. French and Messrs G. Davidson and F. Horsman. P. Tuffrey kindly drew Figure
1, from a photograph especially taken by G. Davidson.

References and Notes

1. The three editions appeared in 1829, 1869 and 1874. All were printed and published in
Thorne, the first by S. Whaley, the later ones by J. Mason.

2. Casson, W., An address read at a tea party met in the Long Room [of the Red Lion
Hotel] , on the sixth anniversary and general meeting of the Thorne Literary and Scientific
Association, January 21st, 1842. Thorne, 1842.

3. See William Casson’s will, dated 12 January 1880, proved at Wakefield on 17 February
1886. The copy seen is held in the Registry of Deeds Building, West Yorkshire Archive
Service, Wakefield.

4. Doncaster, Nottingham & Lincoln Gazette, Doncaster Chronicle, Goole & Marshland
Weekly Times, 18 January 1878.

5. Doncaster, Nottingham & Lincoln Gazette, 17 October 1879; Doncaster Chronicle,
Goole Weekly Times, 24 October 1879.

6. The loss of an eye is only referred to in the 1871 population census return.

7. White, W., History, Gazetteer, and Directory, of the West-Riding of Yorkshire. Vol. 1.
Sheffield, 1837; Slater's Royal National Commercial Directory of the Northern Counties.
Vol. 1. Durham, Northumberland and Yorkshire. Manchester and London, 1854-55;
[Kelly’s] Post Office Directory of the West Riding of Yorkshire, with the City of York.
London, 1861; White, W., Directory of the Boroughs of Hull, Grimsby, Beverley, Don-
caster and Hedon; ... Sixth edition. Sheffield, 1867; [Kelly’s] The Post Office Directory
of the West Riding of Yorkshire. London, 1877.

8. Hogg, R., The Gardeners Year-book and Almanack, 1874. London, 1874.

9. Doncaster Chronicle, 18 January 1878.

William Casson of Thorne

13

10. The Annual monitor for 1887, or obituary of the members of the Society of Friends in
Great Britain and Ireland, for the year 1886, 45 (new ser.): 47-56.

11. Friends’ House Library List of Recorded Ministers 1861-1924. Unpubl.

12. Extracts from the minutes and proceedings of the yearly meeting of Friends ... 1886:
vii-ix.

13. Doncaster Gazette, Doncaster Chronicle, Goole Weekly Times, 29 January 1886; Annual
monitor for 1887 ..., 45 (new ser.): 47-56. Extracts from the minutes and proceedings of
the yearly meeting of Friends ... 1886: vii-ix.

14. Annual monitor for 1887 ... 45 (new ser.): 47-56.

15. Annual monitor for 1887 ... 45 (new ser.): 47-56.

16. Doncaster Chronicle, 29 January 1886.

17. Doncaster Gazette, Doncaster Chronicle, Goole Weekly Times , 5 October 1883.

18. An Act to make further Provision for the Draining, Warpings and Improvement of
Thorne Moor in the West Riding of Yorkshire. [24 + 25 Victoria. 1861].

19. Doncaster Chronicle, 29 January 1886.

20. Hatfield, C. W., Historical Notices of Doncaster. Vol. 1. Doncaster, 1866; Doncaster
Gazette , 29 January 1886; Kirk, G. E., Catalogue of the Printed Books and Pamphlets
in the Library of the Yorkshire Archaeological Society. Part 1, A-L. Wakefield, 1935.

21. Naturalist 112: 117-124.

22. Casson (1829).

23. Data on the Association have been gathered from local newspaper allusions, Casson
(1842), and the organisation’s printed annual report sheets. Odd copies of these latter
are held by G. W. Thompson.

24. Doncaster Chronicle & Farmers’ Journal, 28 January 1842, and Hatfield (1866), both
erroneously give 22 January.

25. Casson (1842).

26. Hatfield (1866).

27. Doncaster Gazette, 29 January 1886.

28. Reports appeared in the Doncaster, Nottingham & Lincoln Gazette, 23 June 1865;
Sheffield & Rotherham Independent, Sheffield Daily Telegraph, 24 June 1865.

29. Naturalist 114: 21-22.

30. Naturalist 112: 117-124.

31. Naturalist 9: 137.

32. Minute book of Thorne Preparative Meeting 1814-25, held by Sheffield Archives,
Sheffield Libraries & Information Services, referenced QR 23; Hatfield (1866); Naturalist
112: 117-124.

33. The link is provided by an 1847 indenture, ref. QR 123, held by Sheffield Archives.

34. 1847 indenture, ref. QR 123, held by Sheffield Archives; Lapwing 19: 15-19.

35. Ordnance Survey 6" scale County Series Yorkshire sheet 266; surveyed 1849-52,
published 1853.

36. Background data on the discovery of Rannoch-rush can be gained from: Naturalist 112:
1 17-124; Limbert, M., (1990) The Drainage of Thorne Waste in the Nineteenth Century.
Thorne & District Local History Association Occ. Paper No. 5.

37. Casson (1842).

38. Hatfield (1866).

39. Lees, F. A., (1888) The Flora of West Yorkshire. Bot. Ser. Trans Y.N.U., Vol. 2. The
specimen still exists, in the Lees herbarium, Cartwright Memorial Hall Museum,
Bradford.

40. Casson (1842).

41. Casson (1869).

42. Naturalist 9: 164-166; Bot. Ser. Trans Y.N.U., Vol. 2.

43. Bot. Ser. Trans Y.N.U., Vol. 2.

44. Naturalist 45: 301-304, 353-356, 381-384; 46: 21-25.

45. Casson (1842); Naturalist 9: 137.

14

William Casson of Thorne

46. Limbert, M., Some Notes on the Landscape History of Thorne Moors, in Thorne Moors
Papers (ed. Limbert, M.); Doncaster, 1987.

47. Casson (1869).

48. The Archives Dept, Doncaster Library & Information Services, has a volume (referenced
D Y. WALL 3) entitled Apportionment of the Rent Charge in lieu of Tithes in the parish of
Thorne in the West Riding of the County of York. It is a copy of an original dated August
1840. The accompanying map (DY. WALL 1), showing the numbered parcels of charged
land in the parish, is also a copy. These documents note that the Clap Gate farm and cable
comprised parcel numbers 1370 (the section east of Thorne Waste Drain) to 1380 (Clap
Gate Farm itself). The Casson ownership of 50 acres of ‘unproductive moor’ presumably
comprised the extrapolation of the cable width across the peat to the parish boundary.
All ‘cable’ owners maintained the right to extend their strip holdings across the moorland
to the edge of Thorne parish.

49. Casson (1842).

50. Tomlinson, J., The Level of Hatfield Chace and Parts Adjacent, Doncaster, 1882. Here
it was observed: ‘On Thorne Moors there was a garden belonging to a clever and genial
Quaker. As a rule Quakers have not the character of being genial; but so William Casson
was, in the best sense of the term . . . That Thorne people might delight themselves in beauty,
he planted a garden on the edge of these moors’.

51. Archives Dept, Doncaster Library & Information Services; ref. PR. FISH 1/5/6.

52. Naturalist 20: 159-171.

53. Any rustic furniture was probably crafted by William himself. His obituary in the
Annual monitor for 1887 ... 45 (new ser.): 47-56, noted that: ‘when tired of reading or of
writing he would turn “for rest’’, as he said, to his little workshop, where he made wonder-
ful little brackets and frames, stools and tables, on which he painted leaves and flowers.
He made stools and frames for the children in a neighbouring Orphan’s Home; and little
mementoes of his skill are now treasured in many homes up and down the country’.

54. Ballinger, J., John Tomlinson, J. P., Antiquary, in Old Yorkshire {ed. Smith, W.). Vol.
3, new ser. London, 1891.

55. Tomlinson (1882).

56. Doncaster, Nottingham & Lincoln Gazette, Doncaster Chronicle, 18 January 1878.

57. Doncaster, Nottingham & Lincoln Gazette, 18 January 1878.

58. The term ‘American plants’ had a specific meaning. The Garden 10: 27-29 explains:
‘In England, after 1809, Rlhododendron] catawbiense which in flowers does not differ
materially from R. ponticum, soon became, like the latter, extremely common. Con-
currently with the acquisition of the American Rhododendrons, there were discovered,
chiefly in company with them, many species of the beautiful genera Ledum, Andromeda,
Kalmia, and Gaultheria, and of the section of Rhododendron, which, being originally
distinguished as a genus under the name of Azalea, still possesses that name in everyday
converse. All were conveyed to England, where they immediately became popular, and
gave quite a new complexion to the flower garden. For a very long period it was customary
to grow these various shrubs in borders by themselves; they demanded similar soil, and
bloomed mostly at the same season of the year. Hence they acquired, very naturally, the
collective name of American plants, a term still [1876] in use’.

59. A List and Description of Rhododendrons etc., on sale by W. & J. C. Casson, Thorne.
Thorne, 1872.

60. As checked against Salley, H. E. and Greer, H. E., Rhododendron Hybrids. A Guide To
Their Origins. London, 1986.

61. Hogg (1874).

62. Doncaster Chronicle, 18 January 1878.

63. The presence of Mordecai Casson in Pennsylvania may have been helpful in organising
exportation.

64. See William Casson’s will (note 3).

Book Reviews

15

65. At the 1871 population census, Francis was detailed as a member of William’s house-
hold, being listed as a grocer’s assistant and presumably then undertaking his apprentice-
ship. In William Casson’s will, dated 1880, it was stated that Francis was then employed
as a grocer and seedsman, having perhaps succeeded his uncle on the latter’s retirement.
Francis was included as a grocer in the 1881 population census, and was listed (1888 data)
as a grocer and seed dealer in Kelly’s Directory of the West Riding of Yorkshire 1889.
London, 1888.

66. Doncaster Gazette, Doncaster Chronicle, Goole Weekly Times, 4 January 1889.

67. Naturalist 7: 22-24; Nat. Hist. J. 12: 157-158.

68. 1891 Select List of Vegetable & Flower Seeds Offered for Sale by A. T. Baker (late F.
Casson), Seedsman, Thorne. Thorne, 1891.

69. Doncaster Chronicle, 4 January 1889.

70. Doncaster Gazette, 21 August 1885.

71. Doncaster Chronicle, 4 January 1889.

72. Doncaster Gazette, Goole Weekly Times, 15 August 1890.

73. Doncaster Gazette, 15 May 1896.

74. NWNat. 10: 45-47.

75. The history of this rediscovery is outlined in Limbert (1987).

76. Although the Casson’s Garden area remains the centre of rhododendron distribution on
Thorne Moors, stunted bushes may be found scattered over the rest of the surface,
although mainly on the western half. The exception to this is the area of planted rhodo-
dendrons on the moor beyond Whaley Balk/Bell’s Pond, close to what was formerly
known as Durham’s Gardens, with which they were once doubtless connected. This site
belonged to Makin Durham of Thorne Hall, and is alleged to have been laid out by the
gardener and architect Sir Joseph Paxton, who died in 1865 (Limbert 1987). These
rhododendrons all appear to be R. ponticum, and have none of the morphological variety
of those further south. It is not known whether they were supplied from Casson land, or
had an entirely independent origin. Clearly, however, it cannot be assumed that all sur-
viving rhododendrons on Thorne Moors have been derived from the Casson plantings.

77. Nat. Hist. J. 12: 157-158; Goole Moor to Crowle, Saturday, in Y.N. U./L.N. U. Excur-
sion Circular: Goole Moor, Broughton Woods and Twigmoor Gullery. Trans Hull Sc. Fid
Nat. Cl. 1: 1-9.

BOOK REVIEWS

The Botanist in Berwickshire by Michael E. Braithwaite and David G. Long. Pp. vi + 111.
Berwickshire Naturalists Club. 1990. £5.30 including postage, available from: M. E.
Braithwaite, Clarilaw, Hawick TD9 8PT.

An important contribution, the result of 40 years work initiated by Dr Albert Long, for
a county with a long tradition of botanical exploration dating back to the pioneer work of
George Johnston (1797-1855) and continued over more than 150 years through the
Berwickshire Naturalists Club. The present work provides succinct accounts of these origins
and of the county’s ecology in terms of present-day habitats available for flowering plants,
ferns, mosses and liverworts, followed by lists of these groups showing status (and localities
for less common species) and preferred substrata, habitats, etc. The flora currently consists
of 722 species of flowering plants and ferns and 426 species of bryophytes; 88 species of
flowering plants and ferns are thought to have become extinct since 1830. A bibliography,
indexes to genera and families, and a gazetteer are also provided.

16

Book Reviews

Scandal in Madeira by Roy Nash. Pp. 187. The Book Guild, Lewes, Sussex. 1990. £10.50.

Richard Thomas Lowe (1802-1874) spent much of his adult life studying the natural
history of Madeira, and to a lesser extent, that of the Cap Verde islands and the Canaries.
He is especially remembered for his A Manual of the Flora of Madeira ... &c. that appeared
in parts from 1857 to 1872, and was unfortunately not quite complete at his death. Another
major work was A History of the fishes of Madeira that also appeared in parts, from 1843
to 1 860. In addition to making large collections (his plants are at Kew, and his shells and fishes
at The Natural History Museum, London), he published a number of papers on various
aspects of his researches.

He first went to Madeira to arrange a prolonged stay there for his mother for the good of
her health. There was a flourishing British community at Funchal, comprising merchants,
especially those concerned with the wine trade, and invalids hoping to benefit from the
climate. They had their own church, in the charge of a chaplain appointed by the British
Foreign Secretary. As were many 19th century naturalists, Lowe was in holy orders, and when
the chaplaincy became vacant in 1833 he was appointed to it. Immediately he set about
making changes in line with the ‘Tractarian Movement’. Lowe’s congregation objected to
changes in the services and other alterations that he introduced without consultation. Lowe
would not discuss matters with the Funchal church council, and they appealed to higher
authority. He had chosen to oppose the wrong man in Palmerston, the Foreign Secretary,
who understood power; Lowe was dismissed in 1848, and a successor appointed. He
continued to preach to a rump of the congregation that supported him in a room off an alley
in the town, but gave this up in 1851. These disputes in the Funchal church, lasting nearly
thirty years, are the ‘Scandal’ referred to in the title of this book, which has to be regarded
as literary journalism rather than as history; furthermore, the book contains little of interest
to the naturalist.

Through the influence of his wife (whom he had married in 1843), Lowe was appointed
to a living at Lea in Lincolnshire. He was no more successful there than he had been in
Madeira, but he continued to travel to the Atlantic islands, and as indicated above, published
useful work on their natural history.

FHB

Birds in Focus by Mark Carwardine. Pp. 160, with over 200 colour photographs, Salamander
Books. 1990. £16.95.

Birds in Focus is without question a book for the coffee table. Seven aspects of bird
behaviour are illustrated by more than 200 superb photographs of birds from throughout the
world. Most of the photographs have been cleverly chosen and arranged in complementary
pairs or groups, with just sufficient text added to provide interest without being overpowering
to the non-ornithologist. Although the book will appeal to the ornithologist because of the
sheer beauty of the pictures, it is probably aimed more at the bird lover rather than the
dedicated bird watcher. The text gives a thumb-nail sketch of the behaviour or character of
the birds depicted; much of this information will be familiar to anyone with the slightest
knowledge of birds but may be of interest to the layman. The book, if not aimed specifically
at the uninitiated, will certainly be read by them and therefore should explain that the Great
Black-backed Gull illustrated is a first year immature which will eventually have a black back
and look more like the well known seagull; however this is a minor criticism of an otherwise
well written text.

The photographs, which have been taken by some of the world’s leading photographers,
should inspire all bird and wildlife photographers and the publishers are to be congratulated
on the quality of the reproduction. This book will make an ideal Christmas present for
potential bird watchers or conservationists. Left on the coffee table, it cannot fail to impress
and might perhaps convert some visitors to become bird enthusiasts.

JEK

17

LICHEN FLORA OF THE WEST YORKSHIRE CONURBATION
SUPPLEMENT IV (1984-90)

M. R. D. SEAWARD

Department of Environmental Science, University of Bradford
and

A. HENDERSON

Department of Pure and Applied Biology, University of Leeds

The recolonization of the ameliorating environment of the West Yorkshire conurbation by
lichens continues unabated: the appreciable reductions in air pollution in general, and
sulphur dioxide in particular, over most of the study area have been conducive to lichen re-
establishment on a wide variety of substrata. Of particular interest in this respect is the spread
of foliose lichens such as Hypogymnia physodes, Parmelia spp. and Physcia spp., but it
should be noted that the success of some foliose species, notably Xanthoria parietina,
X. polycarpa and Phaeophyscia orbicularis, in reinvading local urban environments is due
in part to a rise in nutrient enrichment (mainly nitrogen and phosphorus) from a variety of
artificial (agrochemicals, dusts) and natural (bird excreta) sources; fruticose species, such as
Ramalina farinacea and Evernia prunastri, have recolonized in several areas of the
conurbation, but have so far failed to establish themselves successfully.

The above observations support previous findings in respect of the West Yorkshire
conurbation (Seaward 1979, 1981; Henderson-Sellers & Seaward 1979). Decline in the lichen
floras of many urban areas over the past two centuries has been halted and major
improvements recorded in numerous other European cities, eg. London (Rose &
Hawksworth 1981; Hawksworth & McManus 1989), Munich (Kandler & Poelt 1984) and
Paris (Seaward & Letrouit-Galinou 1991); quantitative reductions and qualitative differences
in air pollution resulting from changes in national energy policies and industrial practices,
economic factors and implementation of clean air legislation have been instrumental in
encouraging the return of lichens.

Anthropogenic saxicolous substrata are also conducive to lichen establishment in urban
areas, and some previously inhospitable under polluted conditions are now proving
favourable to lichen growth; Lecanora muralis, for example, is now found within 3 km of
the centre of Leeds on tarmacadam (cf. Seaward 1976, Table VI). To date, 210 saxicolous
species (entirely or partly so) have been reported from the conurbation, of which 154 have
been recorded during the recent survey (October 1967 -December 1990).

The establishment of lichens on lignum is less evident in urban environments, but where
nutrient enrichment occurs, eg. decorticated tree trunks in suburbia, a diverse and colourful
flora ( Candelariella vitellina, Lecanora dispersa, Phaeophyscia orbicularis, Rinodina
gennarii, Xanthoria parietina, etc.) is to be found.

The generally improved status of lichens throughout the conurbation over the past 1 8 years
is clearly demonstrated in Figure 1, which has been constructed from multidirectional
transect work to distances of c. 18 km from the centre of the conurbation (grid ref.
44/200.300). All zones, even those in central urban areas, show impressive species gains, a
clear confirmation of the value of lichens in monitoring falling air pollution levels as well as
of their more familiar role as bioindicators of stable and rising levels.

The following list of lichens includes additions to the flora together with changes in status
and distribution of other taxa over the past seven years based on recording units given in
Seaward (1978, Figure 1 and Table 1). As a consequence of this work, the lichen flora of the
West Yorkshire conurbation can be summarized as follows: 337 lichen taxa have been
reported from the area within 20 km of the centre of the conurbation, of which 5 are doubtful
in the absence of supporting herbarium material, at least 33 are extinct in the area, and 199
have been recorded during the present survey (October 1967 -December 1990).

Naturalist 116 (1991)

18

Lichen Flora of West Yorkshire

FIGURE 1

Relationship between lichen diversity and distance from the centre of the West Yorkshire
conurbation in 1972, 1980 and 1990

We are grateful to Mr P. M. Earland-Bennett, Dr O. L. Gilbert and Dr D. J. Hackett for

their field records, and to Dr B. J. Coppins for his identification of the more critical material.

Acarospora fuscata (Nyl.) Arnold Add D.

A. macrospora (Hepp) Bagle. V (Earland-Bennett, 1976, on ‘black-lime’ mortar of Mill-
stone Grit wall coping, 44/071.198). New to the conurbation.

A. umbilicata Bagl. U (Henderson, 1984, on Millstone Grit roadside wall); see Hender-
son (1986). New to the conurbation.

Arthonia leucodontis (Poelt & Dobb.) Coppins M (Henderson, 1981, on sandstone wall
face, 44/288.360); see Coppins (1989). Delete A. cf. exilis in Seaward and Henderson
(1984).

Bacidia saxenii Erichsen M (Henderson, 1988, on iron railings, Meanwood Tannery,
44/283.371). New to the conurbation.

Buellia punctata (Hoffm.) Massal. Add M (on Salix and Fagus ).

Caloplaca citrina (Hoffm.) Th.Fr. Add S.

C. holocarpa (Hoffm.) Wade Add D, S.

C. saxicola (Hoffm.) Nordin ( = C. murorum (Ach.) Th.Fr.) Add M.

Lichen Flora of West Yorkshire

19

Candelariella vitellina (Hoffm.) Mull. Arg. forma flavovirella (Nyl.) Henderson Distinc-
tive citrine-green form known only from one site within the conurbation. M (Henderson,
1985, sandstone wall coping of bridge near Adel Mill Farm, 44/275.407).

Catillaria lenticularis (Ach.) Th. Fr. U (Gilbert & Henderson, 1986, on Millstone Grit road-
side wall, 44/208.447. New to the conurbation.

Chrysothrix candelaris (L.) Laundon Add (V); record in Hobkirk (1868) as Lepraria flava.
New to the conurbation.

Cladonia chlorophaea (Florke ex Sommerf.) Sprengel Add D.

Collema tenax (Swartz) Ach. var. ceranoides (Borrer) Degel. Add P (on demolition site).

Dimerella diluta (Pers.) Trevisan M (Henderson, 1984, on Fraxinus in roadside banking,
44/279.403). New to the conurbation.

Evernia prunastri (L.) Ach. Add A (on base of Salix, 44/07.42).

Gyalideopsis anastomosans P. James & Vezda U (Gilbert, 1988, on Acer and Salix,
44/273.412). New to the conurbation.

Haematomma ochroleucum (Necker) Laundon var. porphyrium (Pers.) Laundon Add T.

Hypogymnia physodes (L.) Nyl. Delete (A), add A. Spreading into the conurbation, often
on Salix.

Lecania erysibe (Ach.) Mudd Add S.

Lecanora albescens (Hoffm.) Branth & Rostrup Delete (T), add T.

L. dispersa agg. Spreading on Acer, Salix and decorticate wood.

L. muralis (Schreber) Rabenh. Spreading on a variety of substrata (mainly calcareous),
including lignum and tree bases.

L. polytropa (Hoffm.) Rabenh. Add D.

Lecidea fuscoatra (L.) Ach. Add U (on terrace sandstone, Harewood House).

Lepraria neglecta auct. Add T.

L. zonata Brodo Add U.

Micarea botryoides (Nyl.) Coppins Add B. Fruitless plants with black-stalked pycnidia
referred to under M. melaena (Nyl.) Hedl. in Seaward and Henderson (1984) are in fact
M. botryoides.

Opegrapha atra Pers. Add (V); record in Hobkirk (1868).

O. saxatilis agg. Add (V); record in Hobkirk (1868). New to the conurbation.

Parmelia subaurifera Nyl. Add T. Small thalli at other sites difficult to separate from
P. glabratula (Lamy) Nyl. Both species often overlooked on damp tree bark.

P. sulcata Taylor Add A (on Salix). Small thalli at several sites difficult to separate from

P. saxatilis (L.) Ach.

Physcia adscendens (Fr.) H. Olivier Add S.

P. caesia (Hoffm.) Furnrohr Add S.

Placynthiella icmalea (Ach.) Coppins & P. James D, T (Seaward, 1985, cut surface of
tree stumps). New to the conurbation.

Porina chlorotica (Ach.) Miill. Arg. U (Henderson & Hackett, 1985, on sandstone wall
below coping, 44/306.447). New to the conurbation.

Rinodina gennarii Bagl. Add P, S.

Scoliciosporum chlorococcum (Graewe ex Stenhammar) Vezda Add A, D.

Thelidium mesotropum (Nyl.) A. L. Sm. Add P (on demolition site).

Thelocarpon laureri (Flotow) Nyl. P (Gilbert, 1988, on demolition site, 44/31.34). New to
the conurbation.

Toninia aromatica (Turner ex Sm.) Massal. Add T.

Trapelia coarctata (Sm.) Choisy Add P.

T. placodioides Coppins & P. James T (Seaward, 1986, on smooth siliceous stones). New
to the conurbation.

Trapeliopsis granulosa (Hoffm.) Lumbsch ( = Lecidea granulosa (Hoffm. )Ach.) Add D.

T. pseudogranulosa Coppins & P. James T,U (Seaward, 1985, peaty soil and decaying
plant debris). New to the conurbation.

Verrucaria baldensis Massal. Add T.

20

Lichen Flora of West Yorkshire

V. bryoctona (Th. Fr.) Orange ( = V. melaenella p.p. non Vainio) P (Gilbert, 1988, on demolition
site, 44/31.34). New to the conurbation.

Xanthoria parietina (L.) Th. Fr. Add I.

X. polycarpa (Hoffm.) Rieber M, U, V (Seaward, 1985, on Salix, Fagus, Fraxinus, rubber-
compound dustbin lid, etc.). Spreading into suburbia. New to the conurbation.

References

Coppins, B. J. (1989) Notes on the Arthoniaceae in the British Isles. Lichenologist 21:
195-216.

Hawksworth, D. L. and McManus, P. M. (1989) Lichen recolonization in London under
conditions of rapidly falling sulphur dioxide levels, and the concept of zone skipping.
Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 100: 99-109.

Henderson, A. (1986) Two interesting British lichens: Acarospora umbilicata Bagl., new to
Yorkshire, and Polysporina dubia (H. Magn.) Vezda, new to England. Naturalist 111:
139-144.

Henderson-Sellers, A. and Seaward, M. R. D. (1979) Monitoring lichen reinvasion of
ameliorating environments. Environ. Pollut. 19: 207-213.

Hobkirk, C. P. (1868) Huddersfield: its history and natural history. A descriptive , historical,
geological, botanical, and zoological sketch of the town and neighbourhood. Geo. Tindall,
Huddersfield.

Kendler, O. and Poelt, J. (1984) Wiederbesiedlung der Innenstadt von Miinchen durch
Flechten. Naturwiss. Rundsch. 37: 90-95.

Rose, C. I. and Hawksworth, D. L. (1981) Lichen recolonization in London’s cleaner air.
Nature, Lond. 289: 289-292.

Seaward, M. R. D. (1976) Performance of Lecanora muralis in an urban environment. In:
Lichenology: Progress and Problems (D. H. Brown, D. L. Hawksworth & R. H. Bailey,
eds.): 323-357. Academic Press, London.

Seaward, M. R. D. (1978) Lichen flora of the West Yorkshire conurbation — supplement I
(1975-1977). Naturalist 103: 69-76.

Seaward, M. R. D. (1979) Lichens as monitors of environments with decreasing sulphur
dioxide levels. In: International Symposium on Sulphur Emissions and the Environment:
225-258. Society of Chemical Industry, London.

Seaward, M. R. D. (1981) Lichen flora of the West Yorkshire conurbation — supplement II
(1978-80). Naturalist 106: 89-95.

Seaward, M. R. D. and Henderson, A. (1984) Lichen flora of the West Yorkshire conurba-
tion — supplement III (1981-83). Naturalist 109: 61-65.

Seaward, M. R. D. and Letrouit-Galinou, M. A. (1991) Lichen recolonisation of trees in
the Jardin du Luxembourg, Paris. Lichenologist 23 (in press).

21

A FURTHER STUDY OF THE MOSS MITES
OF THE LAKE DISTRICT (ACARI: ORIBATIDA)

EDMUND L. SEYD*

Department of Zoology, The Manchester Museum, University of Manchester,
Manchester M13 9PL
and

MATTHEW J. COLLOFF

Department of Zoology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ

Introduction

The moss mites of the high ground of the Lake District, Cumbria, are known only from a
collection made by Ms J. Fuller in 1962 from Burtness Combe (Seyd 1966). Her collections
consisted of three samples: moss, lichens and heath litter. Collections made by one of the
authors (ELS) in 1967 from two other Lake District Peaks, Harrison’s Stickle and Pike of
Blisco, are the subject of the present study and they add further to our knowledge of high
upland species.

Burtness Combe, where Ms Fuller collected, is a vast hollow overlooking Buttermere from
the south-west and lying between the peaks High Crag and High Stile. The southern edge of
the Combe forms a 730m ridge connecting these two peaks and it was at this altitude that the
Fuller collection was made.

Harrison’s Stickle (732 m), 1 3 km south-east of Burtness Combe, is the second highest peak
of the Langdale Pikes, which lie due west of Grasmere. About 3.5 km south-west of
Harrison’s Stickle is Pike of Blisco (702 m), which is one of the Bowfell group of mountains.

Materials and Methods

Two samples were collected on Harrison’s Stickle, one a mixture of moss and lichens from
the summit and the other drenched moss from the edge of a waterfall about 60 km below the
summit. Two samples were also collected on the summit of the Pike of Blisco. One was again
a mixture of moss and lichens and the other of moss alone.

The samples were brought back to the laboratory in plastic bags and the mites were
extracted in the usual way by means of a Tullgren funnel.

Species List

In the following list the samples in which each of the listed species was present are indicated
by the following notation.

Harrison’s Stickle: moss/lichen HSML Pike of Blisco: moss/lichen PBML
Harrison’s Stickle: waterfall/moss HSWM Pike of Blisco: moss PBM

In order to give a measure of the relative abundance of the different species, the number
of specimens of each species in the samples is shown in brackets.

The classification and taxonomy used below follows that of Luxton (in prep.) and Marshall
etal. (1987).

Family CAMISIIDAE Oudemans, 1900

Camisia horrida (Hermann, 1804). HSML (1), PBML (7). Burtness Combe in moss.
An Holarctic species, widely distributed in Britain.

Camisia invenusta (Michael, 1888). HSML (1), PBML (6). Burntess Combe in litter.
Recorded from upper moorland and mountain peaks in Britain (Seyd 1966, 1968, 1981;
Wood 1967) and from high ground in the Swiss Alps (Schweizer 1922), Pyrenees (Trave, 1960
1963) and Northern India (Colloff, unpublished). There are, however, a few records from

Naturalist 116 (1991)

* Current address: 42 Marston Street, Oxford 0X4 MU.

22 Moss Mites of the Lake District

lowland sites in the British Isles (Michael 1888; Halbert 1915, 1920; Hull 1916; Colloff 1983;
Pugh & King 1988).

Seyd and Seaward (1 984) place this species in their lichen-associated group B species. These
are species which prefer lichens as a habitat and feeding source but which are also found on
other plants. Colloff (1983) recorded it from the maritime lichen, Anaptychia runcinata
[ =A.fusca\, on the Island of Great Cumbrae. British Isles, Europe, Scandanavia, Faroes,
Soviet Union, India.

Platynothrus peltifer (C. L. Koch, 1840). HSML (4), PBM (5). Cosmopolitan. Common
and widely distributed .

Platynothrus punctatus (L. Koch, 1879) {Heminothrus valentianus Hull, 1916).
HSWM (3).

This is only the fifth record of this arctic and subarctic species from Britain. The first was
from Kinder Scout, Derbyshire, at 610 m (Seyd 1958), the second from the Moor House
National Nature Reserve, Cumbria at 549 m (Block 1965) and the third from the Cheviot at
808 m (Seyd 1988). A fourth record is that of Hull (1916) also from the Cheviot, though Hull
described it as a new species, Heminothrus valentianus (see Seyd 1970).

Like Platynothrus fluviatilis (Hull 1 91 3), P. punctatus is often aquatic or is found in damp
habitats. Thus Sellnick and Forsslund (1955) also found it in moss in slow-flowing water, in
springs and brooks and on the shore of lakes. Strenzke (1955) also found it in the middle of
a brook and in very damp moss at the edge of a lake. One of Karppinen’s records of the species
(Karppinen 1971) was from a bog beside a pond. Schweizer (1956) collected it from moss at
a spring, Hammer (1944) from the edges of lakes and in bogs, Willmann (1943) from springs
and Tragardh (1910) from moss in slow-flowing water. Graverson (1931) even reports the
species being found in the stomachs of sticklebacks taken from a small pond!

It has frequently been recorded from less aquatic habitats, for example from a wet meadow
(Solh^y, pers. comm.), often with Platynothrus peltifer, but of the two species P. punctatus
is more abundant in the wetter sites. Dalenius (1960), who collected both species from ten
different habitats, found that while P. peltifer was more abundant than P. punctatus in the
majority of habitats, the situation was reversed as the sites became wetter and in bogs and
fens there were high densities of P. punctatus.

Novaja Zemlya, Baren Island, Siberia, Jan Mayen Island, Svalbard, Sweden, Norway,
Finland, Iceland, Greenland, Canada, Alaska, mountains of Britain and Switzerland.
References to its synonymy and distribution are given by Seyd (1970) and Marshall et al,
(1987).

The view that in its southern range P. punctatus is an arctic relict species has been advanced
by Seyd (1962) and by Hammer and Wall work (1979).

Family CARABODIDAE C. L. Koch, 1837

Carabodes marginatus (Michael, 1884). HSML (3), PBML (2). Burtness Comb in litter.
Palaearctic. Common and widely distributed.

Family TECTOCEPHEIDAE Grandjean, 1954

Tectocepheus velatus (Michael, 1880). HSML (6). Burtness Combe in litter.
Cosmopolitan. Common and widely distributed.

Family HYDROZETIDAE Grandjean, 1954

Hydrozetes lacustris (Michael, 1882). HSWM (20). Holarctic. Common in damp
habitats, especially freshwater streams and ponds in Sphagnum, moss and weeds.

This would appear to be only the second record of this species at a high altitude in
Britain Block (1965) having recorded it from the Moor House National Nature Reserve
at 549 m.

Family LIMNOZETIDAE Grandjean, 1954

Limnozetes ciliatus (Schrank, 1803). HSWM (600), HSML (1).

Palaearctic and Canada, recently recorded from bog pools in New Brunswick — the first
Nearctic record (Behan-Pelletier 1989). Damp or very wet habitats, especially in

Moss Mites of the Lake District

23

Sphagnum. L. ciliatus has not been recorded very often in Britain and two of these
records have been from high ground in the Moor House National Nature Reserve (Block
1965) and on Kinder Scout (Seyd 1962), in both cases recorded as L. sphagni (Michael).
Family CERATOPPIIDAE Kunst, 1971

Ceratoppia bipilis (Hermann, 1804). PBML (2). Burtness Combe in litter.

Holarctic. This species has been recorded many times in Britain, mostly in moss and litter.
It does not appear in the list of Seyd and Seaward (1984) of oribatids associated with lichens
but Colloff (1983) collected five specimens from Cladonia portentosa on the Island of
Great Cumbrae.

Family OPPIIDAE (C. L. Koch, 1840)

Dissorhina ornata (Oudemans, 1900). HSML (29), PBML (7), PBM (3). Burtness
Combe in litter. Holarctic. Common and widely distributed.

Moritzoppia sp. nov. HSML (1), PBM (2). Burtness Combe in litter (recorded as ‘ Oppia
sp.’)

This species is close to Moritzoppia clavigera (Hammer 1952) but has five pairs of genital
setae rather than four pairs, only one solenidion on tarsus II rather than two, and the alveoli
of setae le are situated some distance anterior of the anterior apices of the costulae, rather
than in close proximity to them. The description of this species is the subject of another
publication (Colloff & Seyd, 1991.)

Family SUCTOBELBIDAE Grandjean, 1954

Suctobelba trigona (Michael, 1888). HSML (2).

Palaearctic. This is another species for which there are only a few records from Britain and
two of them are from upper moorland, Block (1965) having recorded it from the Moor House
National Nature Reserve and Wood (1967) from near Malham Tarn, North Yorkshire. There
is also a record from Ireland (Halbert 1915) at 183 m.

Family BANKSINOMIDAE Kunst, 1971

Banksinoma lanceolata (Michael, 1885). HSML (23), PBML (4), PBM (1). Burtness
Combe in litter. Palaearctic. Common and widely distributed.

Family CERATOZETIDAE Jacot, 1925

Edwardzetes edwardsi (Nicolet, 1855). HSML (15). Holarctic (not North America).
Common and widely distributed.

Family CHAMOBATIDAE Grandjean, 1954

Chamobates scheutzi (Oudemans, 1902). HSML (1), PBML (3). Burtness Combe in
lichens, litter.

Holarctic. Recorded from several montane and upland moorland sites in Britain (Seyd
1962, 1966, 1968, 1981, 1988; Block 1965; Usher 1975) but also known from lowland
moorland sites in southwest England (Webb 1972; Luxton 1990).

Family MYCOBATIDAE Grandjean, 1954

Mycobates sarekensis (Tragardh, 1910) ( Calyptozetes sarekensis (Tragardh, 1910)).
HSML (38), PBML (10). Burtness Combe in lichens, litter.

Arctic and Subarctic zones of the Holarctic region, mountains of Britain and southern
Europe. An arctic relict species in these southern regions (Seyd 1979; Hammer & Wallwork
1979). A member of group B of the list of lichen-associated Oribatida (Seyd & Seaward 1984).

Family ORIBATULIDAE Thor, 1929

Zygoribatula exilis (Nicolet, 1855). HSML (27), PBML (10), PBM (3). Burtness Combe
in lichens. Holarctic. Generally distributed.

Discussion

An analysis of the faunal list shows that 16 species of Oribatida were recorded from
Harrison’s Stickle and 1 1 from Pike of Blisco. Reference to the paper on the Oribatida of
Burtness Combe shows that the faunal list of that peak consists of 16 species. If we now make
a combined list of 22 species in all from the three sites, we find that 9 of the 22 species are

24 Moss Mites of the Lake District

present at all three sites, 3 are found at two of them and 10 are present on only one of
the peaks.

However, a closer inspection of these 10 species, 5 from Harrison’s Stickle (3 of them in
the waterfall moss) and 5 from Burtness Comb, shows that every one of them appears on one
or more of the faunal lists of Oribatida from other montane sites in England and Wales,
which have been the subject of study over the last thirty years. Moreover this applies equally
to the 12 species found on either two or all three sites of the Lake District Peaks.

The present study therefore is further evidence that the oribatid montane fauna of Britain
is characterised by a common group of oribatid species. It has been suggested that a possible
explanation for this fact is that these are cold-adapted species (Seyd 1988). As pointed out
in that study, it would appear to be quite reasonable to make such an assumption for species
such as Mycobates sarekensis and Platynothrus punctatus, which are species restricted to
mountain summits in Britain, but much more difficult to believe that this also applies to the
majority of species in the group, since they are also common at low altitude. However Colloff
(see Seyd 1988) has made the point that it could well be true that such species over a period
of time have become differentiated into both high and low altitude populations, which differ
in their cold adaptive tolerance.

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Dr Malcolm Luxton for his help in confirming the identity of some of
the species.

References

Behan-Pelletier, V. M. (\9$9) Limnozetes (Acari: Oribatida: Limnozetidae) of Northeastern
North America. Can. Entomol. 121: 453-506.

Block, W. C. (1965) Distribution of soil mites (Acarina) on the Moor House National
Nature Reserve, Westmorland, with notes on their numerical abundance. Pedobiologia 5:
244-251.

Colloff, M. J. (1983). Oribatid mites associated with marine and maritime lichens on the
island of Great Cumbrae. Glasg. Nat. 20 (4): 347-359.

Colloff, M. J. & Seyd, E. L. (1991). A new species of Moritzoppia from montane sites
in the British Isles, with a redescription of M. clavigera (Hammer, 1952) (Acari:
Oribatida). J. Nat. Hist, (in press).

Dalenius, P. (1960). Studies on the Oribatei (Acari) of the Tornetrask territory in Swedish
Lapland. I. A list of the habitats and the composition of their oribatid fauna. Oikos 11:
80-124.

Graverson, C. B. (1931) Notizen uber Gr0nlandische Oribatiden. Meddr. Gr0nland 91(2)
1-18.

Hammer, M. (1944) Studies on the oribatids and collemboles of Greenland. Meddr.
Gr0nland 141(3): 1-210.

Hammer, M. & Wallwork, J. A. (1979) A review of the world distribution of oribatid mites
(Acari: Cryptostigmata) in relation to continental drift. Biol. Skr. Dan. Vidensk. Selsk.
22: 1-31.

Halbert, J. N. (1915) Acarinida: Section II — Terrestrial and Marine Acarina. Proc. R.
Irish Acad. 31:45-136.

Halbert, J. N. (1920) The Acarina of the seashore. Proc. R. Irish Acad. 35: 106-152.
Hull, J. E. (1916) Terrestrial Acari of the Tyne Province. I. Oribatidae. Trans. Northumb.
Nat. Hist. Soc. 4: 381-423.

Karppinen, E. (1971) Studies on the Oribatei (Acari) of Norway. Ann. Entomol. Fenn.
37(1): 30-53.

Luxton, M. (1990) Oribatid mites (Acari: Cryptostigmata) from the Isles of Scilly. Naturalist
115: 7-11.

Luxton, M. (in prep.)The Oribatid Mites of the British Isles.

Marshall, V. G. Reeves, R. M. & Norton R. A. (1987) Catalogue of the Oribatida (Acari)
of Continental United States and Canada. Mem. Entomol. Soc. Can. No. 139.

Moss Mites of the Lake District

25

Michael, A. D. (1888) British Oribatidae. Vol. II. Ray Society, London.

Pugh, P. J. A. & King, P. E. (1988) Acari of the British Supralittoral. J. Nat. Hist. 22:
107-122.

Schweizer, J. (1922) Beitrag zur Kenntnis der terrestrischen Milbenfauna der Schweiz.
Verh. Naturf. Ges. Basel 33: 23-112.

Schweizer, J. (1956) Die Landmilben des Schweizerischen Nationalparkes. 3 Teil: Sarcopti-
formes Reuter, 1909. Erg. wiss. Unters. Schweiz . Nat. Parks (NF) 5(34): 215-377,
Sellnick, M. & Forsslund, K.-H. (1955) Die Camisiidae Schwedens (Acar. Oribat.) Ark.
Zool., Stockh. (2)8: 473-530.

Seyd, E. L. (1958) An Oribatid Mite new to the British Fauna. Naturalist 83: 3-4.

Seyd, E. L. (1962) The Moss Mites of Kinder Scout, Derbyshire (Acari: Oribatei). J. Linn.
Soc. (Zool.) 44: 585-591.

Seyd, E. L. (1966) The Moss Mites of a Lakeland Peak (Acari: Oribatei). Entomologist 99:
140-143.

Seyd, E. L. (1968) Studies on the Moss Mites of Snowdonia (Acari: Oribatei). 1. Moel
Hebog. Entomologist 101: 37-41.

Seyd, E. L. (1970) Note on Heminothrus valentianus, together with a further record from
Britain and a synonymy of Platynothrus punctatus (Acari: Oribatei). J. Zool., Lond. 160:
291-296.

Seyd, E. L. (1979) The evolution and distribution of Calyptozetes sarekensis (Acari:
Oribatei). Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 12: 1-18.

Seyd. E. L. (1981) Studies on the Moss Mites of Snowdonia (Acari: Oribatei). 2. The Cnicht.
Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 15: 287-298.

Seyd, E. L. (1988) The moss mites of the Cheviot (Acari: Oribatei). Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 34:
349-362.

Seyd, E. L. & Seaward, M. R. D. (1984) The association of oribatid mites with lichens.
Zool. J. Linn. Soc. 80: 369-420.

Strenzke, K. (1955) Oribates (Acariens), in: Strenzke, K., de Lesse, H. & Denis, J. (eds.)
Microfaune du sol de I’Equ Groenland. I. Arachnides, pp. 14-64. Actualities scientifiques
et industrielles 1232. Expedition Polaires Francaises, VII. Hermann et Cie., Paris.
Tragardh, I. (1910) Acariden aus dem Sarekgebirg, in: Hamburg, A. (ed.) Naturwissen-
schaftliche Untersuchungen des Sarekgebirges in Schwedisch Lappland. Band IV.
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Webb, N. (1972) Cryptostigmatid mites recorded from heathland in Dorset. Entomol. mon.
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Description of the sites and their populations. Oikos 18: 102-117.

BOOK REVIEWS

Natural Landscapes of Britain from the Air, edited by N. Stephens. Pp. 288, with 146 b/w
photographs + 101 line drawings depicting geological sections and maps. Cambridge
University Press. 1990. £19.50.

This lavishly illustrated book uses aerial photographs to illustrate notable landscapes and
landforms in Great Britain. The clarity of the black and white photographs is often exemplary

26

Book Reviews

and many well known features of Northern England, such as Giggleswick Scar, Malham
Cove, Curbar Edge, Newtondale, Borrowdale and the Great Whin Sill, as well as equally
cherished landforms of Scotland, Wales and central and southern England, are presented.
Many of the photographs are accompanied by explanatory maps and geological sections and
all are dealt with in the text, which has been written by expert geographers and geologists.
A particularly welcome feature is that grid references are provided for all of the photographs.

Though the work is not a textbook on geomorphology, it would be of considerable value
to students studying physical geography or geology. The work is divided into seven chapters,
each written by an academic authority. The first chapter illustrates the effects of rock types
and geological structure on landforms and the others are concerned with the result of pro-
cesses which have shaped the land. The themes covered are landforms created by glacial
erosion and meltwater, glacial deposits, periglacial activity, fluvial processes, coastal pro-
cesses, and a final chapter covering miscellaneous activity such as landslips, man-induced
erosion, storm surge damage and quarrying.

The examples are well chosen and the text clearly explains how landforms have evolved and
what processes are still shaping them. Though the authors have occasionally digressed from
a straight account of the types of landform which are illustrated, this may be considered to
add to the interest of the volume and the additional information may well appeal to readers
who are interested in the evolution of the landscapes of Britain. The text is supported by a
concise but well chosen set of references, which should serve to enable readers to effectively
pursue their interests. In short, the volume is a worthy addition to the growing number of
books depicting British landscapes, and has both sound academic qualities as well as a more
popular appeal. DEC

Britain’s Changing Environment from the Air, edited by T. Bayliss-Smith and S. Owens. Pp.
256, with 142 b/w photographs + 18 b/w illustrations. Cambridge University Press
1990, £25.

This volume clearly attempts to draw upon the strengths of the superb aerial photograph
collection of the Cambridge University Committee for Aerial Photography to produce a
semi-popular volume detailing the changes which have occurred within the landscape of
Britain. There are eight chapters, each written by experts who seek to describe in detail ‘the
destruction of lowland woods and hedgerows, heather and wetlands, watercourses and
ancient grasslands ... the effects of industrial expansion, dereliction, changing energy
requirements [and] the immense and rising impact of cars and road transport on working,
housing and shopping patterns, travel and leisure’.

The photographs within the volume are a delight: crisp, clear and packed with information.
Each has a caption explaining the salient features, but unfortunately all too frequently the
photographs are not integrated effectively with the main text, and on some occasions (as on
page 174 when reference is made to photographs of Dover in a discussion of the privatisation
of British Airways) things are clearly amiss. None of the photographs are accompanied by
grid references, and the 16 splendid photographs used in the final chapter can only be located
by rummaging into the Appendices to determine their provenance.

Though the text is clear and authoritative, a couple of major bungles occur in the
description of the Loch Rannoch area on page 24, where it is claimed that the area is
‘dominated by one of three native conifers Pinus sylvatica (sic) (the others are gorse
and juniper)’!!!

Taken individually, some of the chapters are excellent, and yet the volume does not seem
to cohere. It may be that political and economic forces do not lend themselves to being
interpreted by aerial photography! It is also difficult to determine the book’s probable
market. Academically it covers a wide range of topics but not ones which are usually
integrated. The themes of the changing countryside are admirably covered elsehwere, for
example by J. Blunden and N. Curry (1985), The Changing Countryside (Croom Helm) and
the abundance of Latin botanical names in some chapters will probably deter the lay
purchaser, especially as the volume is not particularly cheap. DEC

27

A REVIEW OF THE SMELT (OS ME R US EPERLANUS L.)

IN THE HUMBER AND TEES ESTUARIES, THEIR TIDAL TRIBUTARIES
AND THE TIDAL WATERS OF LINCOLNSHIRE

C. A. HOWES

Museum and Art Gallery, Doncaster DN1 2AE
and

B. R. KIRK

70 Cambridge Road, Hessle, North Humberside HU 13 9DF

Introduction

The smelt or sparling Osmerus eperlanus L. , is a surface feeding, shoaling fish of inshore and
estuarine waters, preying on planktonic crustaceans and fish fry. Its distribution extends
from the shores and estuaries of the White Sea, the Baltic region, the British Isles and the
continental coast from Denmark to the Bay of Biscay (Muus & Dahlstrom 1971, Wheeler
1978). Isolated land-locked populations, relicts of migratory stocks of the early post-glacial
period, were known in lakes across Scandinavia and European USSR (Wheeler 1978). Many
of these waters are now fishless through the effects of pollution and Britain’s only freshwater
post-glacial relict population, in Rostherne Mere, Cheshire, became extinct in the 1920s
(Wheeler 1978, Cacutt 1979).

In Britain up to the 19th century smelt populations were present in prodigious abundance
in the tidal reaches of all large river systems south of the Tay and Clyde (Yarrell 1836, Regan
1911); indeed, descriptions of the River Forth at Stirling Bridge being periodically yellow with
smelt eggs (Regan 1911) and up to two thousand fishermen taking smelt in the Thames
between London Bridge and Greenwich (Cacutt 1979) are now part of fishing folklore.
Significantly, smelt have not been recorded in the Firth of Forth since the early 1970s and
the only remaining smelt spawning grounds are thought to be confined to four or five Scottish
and English estuaries (Maitland 1989).

This study shows that commercially exploitable stocks in the Tees, Humber, Trent and
Ouse collapsed during the late 19th and early 20th centuries and subsequent records indicate
the survival of no more than token populations; indeed, Maitland (1989) warns that the smelt
is one of twelve species of previously abundant fresh water and estuarine fish now under
serious threat of extinction in British waters.

Recent records from the Humber area have prompted the compilation of this historical
review, with a view to forming a database for the promotion of the conservation and possibly
the commercial management of the smelt in the Humber and its tidal tributaries.

Tees

Smelt were commercially exploited in the Tees estuary during the 16th century, to the extent
that in 1530 it was deemed necessary to control this practice, the ‘Cursitor’s Roll’ of 1530
pronouncing that:

‘ ... it is ordered that no man or no sort of the fisher . . . shall fish with Kydyll netts for taking
of smelts, sparlings or fry from a certain place called Salthouse so upwards upon the river
Tees after St. Marks day (25th April) unto Lammas day (1st August) only hereafter upon
pain of 6s. 8d. of every man so doing.’ (Brewster 1796).

Surtees (1823), describing the lower Tees immediately prior to the development of the city
of Middlesbrough and the rise of industrial Teesside, noted that the river produces great
abundance of excellent fish such as flounders, eels, smelts or sparlings.

By the 1880s it was still resident and common (Clarke & Roebuck 1881) and Grabham
(1907) noted that at times it was very common.

Due to its unique cucumber flavour, smelt was much in demand for human consumption.
Consequently, various attempts were made to ‘farm’ land-locked stocks. One such venture
was undertaken by Col. Meynell, who kept a stock for four years in a 3-acre freshwater lake
adjacent to the Tees at Yarm (NZ/4112). Yarrell (1836) reported that:

Naturalist 116 (1991)

28

The Smelt in the Humber and Tees Estuaries

‘They continued to thrive and propagated abundantly ... When the pond was drawn the

fishermen of the Tees considered that they had never seen a finer lot of smelts. There was

no loss of flavour or quality’.

Humber

Smelt were abundant from the Ouse to Spurn Point (TA/41) (Clarke & Roebuck 1881,
Grabham 1907) and during the 19th century the estuary supported several commercial smelt
fisheries, those at Ferriby (SE/9825) and Brough (SE/9326) supplying markets as distant as
Doncaster (Sheardown 1872). According to Smith (1915) they favoured the brackish water
of the Humber and abounded in the Alexandra Docks, Grimsby, where in September
specimens reached a fine size. Procter (1922), referring to East Yorkshire waters and
probably basing his comments on earlier references, noted that smelt were common during
the fall of the year in tidal waters and could be taken to bait in considerable numbers.

After the First World War however, it was noticed that ‘The smelt, once a common visitor
to the Humber, has disappeared and rarely indeed is caught now’ (Smith 1926).

During the 1950s, smelt were found to occur in a number of flooded clay pits along the
south bank of the Humber, particularly in Dick Fairfield’s Pond (TA/0724) and Pelican
Pond (T A/0523) (pers. comm. T. W. Day). These were connected to the estuary by sluices
allowing access for flounders and other brackish water species which formed the basis of a
thriving winter fishery. Most of these sluices are now blocked, the waters isolated from the
estuary and managed purely as ‘coarse’ fisheries. Interestingly, during the, 1890s, in a similar
project to the Yarm experiment (Yarrell 1836), smelt were kept, together with herring,
flounder and brown trout in a 3-acre flooded clay pit adjacent to the Humber south bank at
New Holland (TA/0724) (Foster 1893).

On the Humber north bank smelt and flounders gain access to Melton Waters (SE/9524:
9525), a large productive coarse fishery connected to the estuary by a sluice system (Howes
& Kirk 1991). Fishing matches for flounders are regularly held during the winter months
and smelt are occasionally caught; indeed, four specimens with a combined weight of 6 oz.
were caught and returned to the water alive during a match on 13 October 1985 (T. W. Day
pers. comm.).

On 10 June 1984 Mr H. J. Maynard of Doncaster caught a smelt on rod and line near the
mouth of the Hedon Haven and Burstwick Drain at Pauli (T A/1627). The specimen is in
the Doncaster Museum collection. Smelt also occur with flounders and eels in the mouth of
Stone Creek or the Keyinghan Level Drain (TA/2319) (Howes & Kirk 1991).

Ouse

In reviewing Yorkshire’s fish fauna, Meynell (1844) made particular mention of smelt in the
Ouse. The irregular stock fluctuations, a characteristic of this species, was commented upon
by Denny (1840) who regarded the smelt as occasionally plentiful in the Ouse at Cawood
(SE/5737) noting that on 21 December 1834 they were in such abundance that they were sold
in Leeds Market at 2d per lb.

During the mid- 19th century however, the Howden fisheries declined, the Rev. Thomas
Clarke (Anon 1851) claiming that although salmon, trout and smelt were often plentiful, the
local fisheries had become nearly valueless. Catch levels in the adjacent fishery at Goole were
also probably unexceptional, since Thomas Bunker, that assiduous recorder of Goole fish,
in a lecture on the subject given to the Goole Naturalists’ Society and reported in the Goole
Weekly Times (1882) merely refers to the smelt nets catching considerable numbers
of flounders.

Smelt from the Ouse fisheries were still being sold at Doncaster fish market, where from
1866 to 1870-1 prices per dozen were 6d; 1/-; 1/3; 1/6; 2/- and 6d to 1/- respectively
(Sheardown 1872). Although seasonal abundance was known to fluctuate, these steadily
rising prices may be evidence of a downward trend in population; certainly these prices are
somewhat higher than the 2d. per lb being charged on Leeds Market during the ‘glut’ period
of December 1834.

The Smelt in the Humber and Tees Estuaries

29

Clarke and Roebuck (1881) claimed that smelt abounded in the Ouse up to Naburn Lock
(SE/5944), and Grabham (1907) reported that ‘In the months of March and April, Mr Tom
Smith nets many of these fish just below Naburn Lock (SE/5944), close to York’. Dr E. W.
Taylor also recalls that although not present in the Derwent, ‘smelts were formerly netted in
large numbers up to Naburn (SE/5944)’ (Clegg 1977). However, Grabham (1915) noted that
‘smelt netting there in April 1914 was a complete failure’.

Trent

Michael Drayton, in his epic poem Polyolbion published in 1622, refers (song 26, stanza 220)
to the ‘sweet-smelling smelt’ occurring in the Trent.

During the 19th century, particularly in its lower reaches and the Isle of Axholme region
(SE/80), smelt were noted in the Trent, its connecting tributaries and ‘warping’ drains
(Stonehouse 1839, Peacock 1900). Indeed smelt from the Trent fisheries were sold on
Doncaster Market during the 1860s and early 1870s (Sheardown 1872) and in 1915 it was still
regarded as plentiful at Torksey (SK/8379) and Lea (SK/8187) (Smith 1915). However,
although familiar with Drayton’s (1622) poetical allusion, Carr (1906) was not aware of smelt
penetrating further up-stream into Nottinghamshire.

A residual population may still enter the lower reaches of the Trent, since specimens were
occasionally caught by the Doncaster angler Alf. Kitchen in adjacent stretches of the
Chesterfield Canal during the 1950s (Doncaster Museum records) and others were caught
during an angling match at Littleborough (SK/8282) in November 1966 (Cacutt 1979).

Lincolnshire Tidal Waters

Yairell (1836) reported large quantities of smelt taken in spring along the sandy shallow
shores of the east coast, particularly Lincolnshire. Within Lincolnshire’s Wash and Fenland
areas, Br ogden (1899) noted that smelt could still be taken in large quantities and recalled
helping to net 751 specimens in a deep hole in the Welland in a single haul.

Smith (1915) also referred to smelt occurring along the Lincolnshire shoreline, noting that
‘The horse nets near Skegness sometimes each catch a score along with the shrimps’. He also
noted their preference for brackish water, occurring in the Wash, Boston Docks, the Witham,
Welland and Wainfleet Haven, where large quantities are caught.

Conclusions

Since it would appear that a residual smelt population still exists in the Humber /Trent system
and that given the opportunity, fish seasonally visit accessible estuary-side clay pits and the
mouths of fresh water inlets, it would seem desirable as a conservation measure to manage
more of these waters as smelt breeding and rearing sites with a view to re-establishing the large
and commercially valuable populations which previously occurred.

References

Anon [Clarke, Rev. T.] (1851) History of the Church, Parish and Manor of Howden.
Pratt, Howden.

Brewster, J. (1796) The Parochial History and Antiquities of Stockton-upon-Tees. Ventnor
& Hood, London.

Brogden, T. J. H. (1899) Fishes of the Lincolnshire Wash and Fenland. Naturalist 24: 357.
Bunker, T. (1882) Fishes and allied species of the [Goole] district. Goole Weekly Times,
3. 3. 1882.

Cacutt, L. (1979) British Freshwater Fishes. Croom Helm, London.

Carr, J. W. (1906) Fishes, in Page, W. (ed) Victoria Histories of the Counties of England:
Nottinghamshire, pp. 152-154. Constable, London.

Clarke, W. E. and Roebuck, W. D. (1881) A Handbook of the Vertebrate Fauna of York-
shire. Lovell Reeve, London.

Clegg, T. M. (1977) Notes on the fishes of the Yorkshire Derwent. Naturalist 102: 105-108.
Denny, H. (1840) Sketch of the natural history of Leeds and its vicinity for twenty miles.
Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. 5: 382-396.

30

Book Review

Foster, H. M. (1893) Herrings confined in a pond. Naturalist 18: 106.

Grabham, O. (1907) Fishes, in Page, W. (ed) Victoria Histories of the Counties of England:
Yorkshire, Vol. 1, pp. 313-320. Constable, London.

Grabham, O. (1915) YNU Annual Report for 1914, Naturalist, 40: 39.

Howes, C. A. and Kirk, B. R. (1991) East Yorkshire fish fauna — a preliminary review.
YNU Bulletin (in press).

Maitland, P. (1989) in Sadler, R. Yorkshire Post, 25. 2. 1989.

Meynell, T. (1844) On the Fishes of Yorkshire pp. 62-63. Report of the British Association
for the Advancement of Science. York.

Muus, B. J. and Dahlstrom, P. (1971). The Freshwater Fishes of Britain and Europe.
Collins, London.

Peacock, M. (1900) The fishes of Bottesford parish, North Lincolnshire. Naturalist 25:
305-306.

Procter, C. F. (1922) Fishes of East Yorkshire, in Sheppard, T. (ed) Handbook to Hull and
the East Riding of Yorkshire, pp. 352-356. Brown, Hull.

Regan, C. T. (191 1) The Freshwater Fishes of the British Isles. Methuen, London.
Sheardown, W. (1872) Fishmongers, in The Marts and Markets of Doncaster: their rise,
progress and sources of supply, pp. 63-69. Doncaster Gazette. Doncaster. Reprinted in
1979 by Doncaster MBC Library Service.

Stonehouse, Rev. W. B. (1839) The History and Topography of the Isle of Axholme.
London.

Smith, A. (1915) The fishes of Lincolnshire. Trans. Lines. Nat. Un. 3: 239-256.

Smith, S. H. (1926) YNU Annual Report for 1925. Naturalist 51: 13.

Surtees, R. (1823) The History and Antiquities of the County Palatine of Durham, Vol. 3.
Nicholas, London.

Wheeler, A. (1978) Key to the Fishes of Northern Europe. Warne, London.

Yarrell, W. (1836) A History of British Fish. Van Voorst, London.

BOOK REVIEW

Snowdonia by W. A. Poacher, Pp. 210. Constable. 1990. £15.95.

This book is a collection of 100 colour photographs taken by the late W. A. Poucher in
his travels around Snowdonia, and have been collated and annotated by his son John
Poucher. The photographs chosen cover the Snowdonia National Parks crags, fells and
valleys. The sequence of photographs goes from north from just outside the National Park
at Great Orme head to the south at Aberdovey on the edge of Cardigan Bay. Many of the
photographs are excellent at depicting the grandeur and beauty of the Snowdonia fells. The
photographs are in the same style as the other books compiled by W. A. Poucher of Wales,
the Lake District and Scotland. The standard of most of the photographs is on the whole
good, but it is clear from some of the strange colours that many of the negatives or
transparencies are on the old side. The composition of one or two photographs is poor, with
large boulders detracting from the general scenery behind.

My one major criticism is that the photographs too often show Snowdonia in a sunny and
picturesque light. There is the occasional cloudy photograph, but I know from many years
of cold and wet experience that Snowdonia has a very high rainfall and cloudy climate.

This collection of photographs with short descriptions will appeal to the fans of Poucher ’s
books, but it is in the old fashioned mould of scenery and mountain photography.

ADH

31

HISTORICAL RECORDS OF THE BURBOT LOTA LOTA (LINNAEUS 1758)
IN THE RIVER HULL, NORTH HUMBERSIDE

BARRY R. KIRK

70 Cambridge Road, Hessle, North Humberside HU 13 9DF

Introduction

The purpose of this paper is to examine records of the former presence of burbot Lota lota
in the River Hull in Watsonian vice county 61, the former East Riding of Yorkshire. The
habitat and past and present distribution of the species are also briefly examined.

Habitat and Distribution

The burbot or eelpout is the only European freshwater member of the cod family Gadidae,
occurring in rivers and lakes throughout much of Europe, Asia and North America (Maitland
1977). It is reported to live in deep water and shelter under stones and in holes in river banks.
Their preference for this situation is highlighted by Yarrel’s (1836) allusion to the burbot’s
folk name, ‘coney-fish’, referring to its habit of ‘lurking and hiding itself in holes like a
rabbit’; indeed, Grabham (1907) reported having seen them taken out of water vole holes.

Several authors mention that the burbot is active at low temperatures and breeds in winter.
As with other members of the cod family, a large number of eggs are laid; Cacutt (1979) puts
the number at up to three million. The burbot is said to feed mainly on invertebrates when
young and fish when adult (Maitland 1977). In Europe, the burbot reaches a weight of 32 kg
(72 lb) but in Britain the largest recorded is a specimen of 3.63 kg (8 lb) from the River Trent,
with 0.68 kg (1.5 lb) being average (MacMahon 1946).

Until recently, the burbot occurred in the British Isles in the rivers of eastern England
between Suffolk and Durham. However, the species is now thought to be extinct throughout
this range (Maitland & Lyle 1988). There is some evidence that in earlier times the burbot was
common within parts of its British distribution. Phillips and Rix (1988) quote from Mancall’s
Booke of Fishing with Hooke and Line written in 1590 that ‘(burbot) have such a plentie in
the fenne brooks, they feed their hogges with them’. In more recent times, the species has
generally been regarded as uncommon in Britain. Of rivers in Yorkshire and adjacent areas,
Yarrell (1836) lists its presence in the Skern, the Darlington tributary of the Tees, the Ouse,
Derwent and the Trent ‘from where Nottingham market is occasionally supplied with
examples for sale’. Clarke and Roebuck (1881) refer to the burbot as ‘local’ and ‘far from
being numerous’ in Yorkshire waters, listing it as being ‘comparatively common’ in the
Wiske, Foss, Ouse below Naburn, the Lower Derwent and in dykes around Selby. They also
refer to its ‘scarce’ occurrence in the Codbeck, Nidd, Wharfe and in the Seven, Pickering
Beck and other tributaries of the Upper Derwent. To these waters can be added Scalby Beck
(Spaul 1956) and the river Idle and New Idle Drain (Bunting et. al. 1974).

There are few 20th century records. Maitland (1972) recorded it in 24 ten kilometre squares
before 1960 and in only six for the period 1960-1972. Maitland did not indicate that the
burbot’s distribution included the River Hull. He did however include the Yorkshire Rivers
Derwent and Ouse as being within the burbot’s range and included a post- 1960 station for
the Derwent .-

Some doubt appears to exist as to when the last live burbot was seen in British waters.
During the 1950s and 1960s the British angling press carried a number of items attempting
to determine whether burbot still survived but no definite information was forthcoming
(Cacutt 1979). It would seem unlikely that the burbot still exists in British waters.

The River Hull

The River Hull is a relatively short river, c. 50 km from source to mouth. It originates in
several springs on the chalk wolds north of Driffield from where it runs south to the Humber
at Kingston upon Hull. Over its lower reaches it is tidal. The River Hull valley has changed

Naturalist 116 (1991)

32

Historical Records of the Burbot

dramatically over the centuries from an area of marsh and mere to the present tightly
embanked river and surrounding rich farmland of today (Sheppard 1958). At present, the
river supports a rich fish fauna with trout important on the upper reaches and tributaries and
‘coarse’ fish dominating on the lower stretches until the salinity near the mouth of the river
restricts their distribution. Angling is popular on the river at easily accessible points.

Burbot Records from the River Hull

Although Clarke and Roebuck (1881) regarded the burbot as being ‘comparatively common’
in the River Hull, the only specific allusions to its capture are contained in a paper presented
by H. M. Foster to the Hull Scientific and Field Naturalists’ Club in 1898 and published in
its Transactions for that year. The section referring to the burbot is reproduced in full here:
‘The BURBOT is occasionally found in the Hull, but during the last few years very few
instances of its occurrence have come under observation. “Ike”, a well-known professional
fisherman, informs me he has in previous years caught as many as ten during one night’s
fishing. The largest specimen I have seen taken weighed 2 lbs., and was caught on a night line
baited with a dead fish.’

Writing in 1922, Procter noted that the burbot occurred in the River Hull and Humber but
that it was much rarer at the time of writing than it had been thirty years earlier (1890s).
Procter’s reference to the occurrence of the burbot in the Humber estuary is of interest, as
the British literature does not appear to contain any other reference to estuarine dwelling
although the species does occur in brackish parts of the Baltic (Phillips & Rix 1988).

Discussion

Due to the scarcity of records it is not possible to draw any firm conclusions regarding the
burbot and its decline in the River Hull. It is, however, possible to confirm the past occurrence
of the burbot in the river. Only one of the references, that of Foster (1898), contains an
apparent first-hand account of a record, that of a specimen caught on a night line. Foster’s
mention of ‘Ike’ taking up to ten burbot in an evening is of interest, as this could suggest a
local abundance of the species at some locations on the River Hull during the latter part of
the 19th century.

Foster (1 898) and Proctor (1922) both comment on an apparent decline in burbot numbers
in the River Hull at the turn of the century. This decline seems to correspond with a decline
over the whole of the fish’s British range, which apparently continued throughout this
century until the species became extinct at some time in the last thirty years. The causes of
this decline remain unknown. Maitland and Lyle (1988) suggest pollution as a possible cause.
Further research into the pollution history of the River Hull may prove useful on this point.
Several other factors may have resulted in the burbot’s decline, for example, habitat loss
through changes in river design and management. The burbot’s preferred habitat of
meandering and often tidal lowland rivers, with banks undercut and honeycombed with
networks of water vole burrows, has been replaced, due to the priorities of flood prevention
and land drainage efficiency, by clinically managed embanked trences, their tidal influences
curtailed by weirs or locks. Climatic warming may also have been influential. The reference
to this cold-preferring species occurring in prodigious abundance during the 16th century
interestingly coincides with the period of Britain’s ‘Little Ice Age’.

A subsequently less severe climate may have rendered burbot populations less consistent
at successful spawning. It may be for the same reason that the burbot’s historic range in
Britain, restricted to the eastern counties within the February 34 and 45 °F isotherms, does
not extend to areas subjected to a milder Atlantic climate.

The widespread and regular stocking of potentially more competitive fish species for
sporting purposes may have lessened the ability, particularly of young burbot, to replace
ageing populations. It is possible that a combination of some of these and other factors
caused the demise of the burbot. Until the reasons for the burbot’s decline are better
understood it is unlikely that any attempt to reintroduce the species into Britain would be
successful.

A New Millipede for Yorkshire

33

A major problem facing natural historians interested in fish, both in the past and today,
is that those most likely to come into contact with them, professional fishermen in the past
and anglers today, leave few written records of their catches. It is therefore difficult to build
up a picture of fish distribution today, let alone that of a century ago. The rapid
disappearance of a large vertebrate such as the burbot from the Yorkshire fauna highlights
how little attention has been paid by naturalists and river authorities to the area’s fish fauna.
The loss of the burbot should act as a warning and prompt some work on Yorkshire’s
fish fauna.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Colin Howes of the Doncaster Museum for his many constructive
comments made regarding this paper. Of particular importance were his observations made
on burbot abundance in the ‘Little Ice Age’ and also his remarks concerning the former
distribution of the species in Yorkshire.

References

Bunting, W., Hanson, H., Howes, C. A. and Kitchen, A. (1974) The history and distribution
of fish in the Doncaster district. Naturalist 99: 41-55.

Cacutt, L. (1979) British Freshwater Fishes. The Story of their Evolution. Croom Helm,
London.

Clarke, W. E. and Roebuck, W. D. (1881) A Handbook to the Vertebrate Fauna of York-
shire. Lovell Reeve, London.

Foster, H. M. (1898) The Fishes of the River Hull. Transactions of the Hull Scientific and
Field Naturalists' Club. 1: 10-21.

Grabham, O. (1907) Fishes, in Page, W. (ed.) Victoria History of the Counties of England:
Yorkshire 1, pp 313-320 Archibald Constable, London.

MacMahon, A. F. M. (1946) Fishlore. Penguin, Harmondsworth.

Maitland, P. S. (1972) Key to British Freshwater Fishes. Freshwater Biological Association,
Ambleside.

Maitland, P. S. (1977) The Hamlyn Guide to Freshwater Fishes of Britain and Europe.
Hamlyn, London.

Maitland, P. and Lyle, A. (1988) Lost below the surface. Natural World 23: 25-27 .
Phillips, R. and Rix, M. (1988) A Guide to the Freshwater Fish of Britain, Ireland and
Europe. Treasure Press, London.

Procter, C. F. (1922) Fishes of East Yorkshire, in Sheppard, T. (ed.) Handbook to Hull
and the East Riding of Yorkshire, pp. 352-356 Browns, London and Hull.

Sheppard, J. A. (1958) The Draining of the Hull Valley. E. Y. Local History Series: No. 8.
Spaul, E. A. (1956) Freshwater Fishes, in Walsh, G. B. and Rimington, F. C. (eds.) The
Natural History of the Scarborough District. Vol. 2, pp 364-367. Scarborough Field
Naturalists’ Society, Scarborough.

Yarrell, W. (1836) A History of British Fish. Van Voorst, London.

A NEW MILLIPEDE FOR YORKSHIRE

J. P. RICHARDS

While searching for the hot-house species of Myriapoda and Isopoda in the Sheffield
University Botanical Gardens in June 1990, I turned up the woodlouse Armadillidium
nasatum Budde-Lund, 1885, running beneath polythene sheeting, previously only recorded
for South Yorkshire from a plant pot in Sheffield Museum.

This alone was a nice enough find, but searching under stones beneath a Sorbus aria in the
Gardens produced two further species of note, both millipedes. The first was Macrostern-
odesmus palicola Brolemann, 1908, an uncommon species first found in Yorkshire in 1984,

34

The Dotterel

and the other Cylindroiulus vulnerarius (Berlese, 1888) known only from five other sites in
Britain, this being the first Yorkshire record. Its known localities, London, Manchester,
Swansea, Hampshire and Dublin, seem to have no logical pattern, and the factors affecting
distribution are unlikely to be understood until further records have been made. In the
meantime, look out for a small blind coffee coloured snake millipede with a short tail and
bright orange spots along its side.

THE DOTTEREL

Photo: John Knight

The Dotterel, arguably our most beautiful plover, has in the past nested sparsely on the
Yorkshire Fells and may still do so irregularly. It is much better known as an exciting annual
spring passage migrant: ‘trips’, as the parties of Dotterel are known, stop-off each spring at
regular places in the Wolds and on the North Yorks moors. Their stay in these places may
last only for a few hours or even minutes or for several days; the photograph shows an
individual that stayed in the same area for at least 13 days, being first seen on 24 May and
remaining at least until 5 June 1989; it was seen to have a severely damaged upper mandible
which may have caused it to stay longer than is usual, although it appeared to feed without
difficulty and was in full breeding plumage.

The name Dotterel originates from their apparent tameness; implying that they are stupid,
they have been called ‘Moss fools’ and ‘Daft Dotterel’, and in the poem ‘Philip Sparrow’
written by John Skelton about 500 years ago we read of ‘The shoveller with his broad beak;
the dotterel, that foolish peke’, its reputation obviously being well known through the
centuries. The photograph was one of several taken as the bird foraged, completely ignoring
the photographer.

35

OBITUARIES

JOAN APPLEYARD, PRESIDENT 1981

Joan Appleyard (nee Wincott) was born in Coventry in December 1906. She joined the YNU
in 1946, specialising in mosses. She was an active member of the British Bryological Society,
becoming its President for 1966- 67, and she was also its referee for the Hypnaceae.

In the mid-1950s, Joan left Yorkshire for the south, but still kept her links with the Union
and her friends here, studying mosses in the field whenever she visited.

Joan was President of the Union, nominated by the Bryological Section, in 1981. During
that year she came up from Wells for at least two YNU field meetings. A highlight of her year
of office was her visit to the Royal Garden Party as one of the four YNU guests, when she
was presented to our Patron, HRH the Duchess of Kent.

Joan Appleyard (right) and Joyce Payne at a YNU field meeting c. 1960

In her Presidential Address, purposely delivered without the distraction of slides, she gave
a wide ranging review of Yorkshire bryophytes, with the emphasis on recent developments
and discoveries.

Although Joan’s years in Yorkshire came at an early stage in the development of her
interests in bryophytes, she made a number of important new records and published short
notes and excursion reports in The Naturalist. Subsequently she became one of the most

36

Obituaries

active and dedicated of British field bryologists and she continued to make outstanding
discoveries until ill health curtailed her activities. One of her later discoveries, the moss
Brachythecium appleyardiae, was named in her honour as a species new to science found in
her localities, Wiltshire and Somerset.

Sadly, in 1988, Joan resigned from the Union due to illness; she died in Wells in June 1989.
In a quiet way and with real dedication she contributed much to the work of the YNU.

J. E. Duncan

EDWARD WRIGLEY AUBROOK (1915-1990)

When Edward Wrigley Aubrook, ‘Ted’ to his friends, died on 18 April 1990, Yorkshire lost
one of its most eminent coleopterists . Ted was a native of Oldham, born on 1 September 1915.
Prior to his move to Yorkshire he had experience as Assistant Curator at the Museum and
Art Galleries, Paisley, as Assistant in the Department of Entomology at the University
Museum, Oxford, and as Assistant in the Department of Agricultural Entomology at
Manchester University. When Ted moved to Yorkshire in 1939, he became.Assistant Curator
and Meteorological Recorder at the Tolson Museum, Huddersfield. After a wartime period
as Assistant Director, he was appointed Director in 1946, a post which he held until his
retirement in 1979. Part of his work there involved the running of an insect identification
service for the people of Huddersfield. Due to Ted’s expertise and enthusiasm this service put
the museum on the map as one of Yorkshire’s leading entomological centres. His services to
museums were recognised by a Fellowship of the Museums Association, and the award of the
Queen’s Silver Jubilee Medal in 1977.

At the age of 10, Ted showed a great interest in insects and he began to collect and set
butterflies. His involvement with Coleoptera started in his teens, for in 1933 he purchased
the then new A Practical Handbook of British Beetles by Norman H. Joy, a work which was
to stand him in good stead. After joining the Union in December 1959, he became Coleoptera
Recorder in 1962, a post which he held for ten years; many of his reports appear in The
Naturalist. Over the years he published a total of 38 scientific notes and papers in various
journals, two of which described species new to the British list. Details of the discovery of
Oxypoda nigricornis Mot. can be found in The Entomologist 101: 71-72 (co-authored with
Colin Johnson) and Cis dentatus Mell. in The Entomologist 103: 250-251. He was also
fortunate in collecting two beetle species which proved to be new to science. The first,
Micrambe aubrooki Donisthorpe, was taken at a flower show in Manchester during
November 1934. This is the only known specimen and now resides in The Natural History
Museum, London. The other species, Notoptenidium aubrooki Johnson, stemmed from his
collecting in New Zealand (on visits to his only daughter, the late Ann Taylor). Three
specimens of this species were found near Rotorua in January 1981 , and two of these are now
in the Manchester Museum, the other being in the New Zealand Arthropod Collection at
DSIR, Auckland.

His Coleoptera collections, when amassed, number in excess of 18,000; 12,000 British and
over 6,000 from New Zealand. Since his British collection is of national importance, it has
been proposed that his Tolson Museum specimens be amalgamated with those he gave to
Manchester Museum. In such an event Tolson Museum would retain voucher specimens
which, despite depleting the number of specimens, would give it a greater diversity of species.
It would have pleased Ted if his British collection was eventually housed in such a prestigious
museum as Manchester. His New Zealand collection is also housed at Manchester Museum,
particularly as there are few collections of New Zealand insects in Britain; only The Natural
History Museum can boast a larger assemblage within the British Isles. His collecting and

Obituaries

37

setting abilities can be seen in many museum and private collections, for Ted was very
generous with specimens he regarded as ‘duplicates’. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal
Entomological Society in April 1946.

His interest in natural history also involved him with the ornithology of the Huddersfield
area, and in 1958 he co-authored Birds Around Huddersfield with E. C. J. Swabey. This
publication reviewed the status of bird species in the area and now helps set the scene for a
book on the local avifauna. Not only was Ted an excellent natural historian, but he was also
an accomplished fisherman, his membership of seven fishing clubs reflecting his interest. I
well remember his delight at being accepted as a member of the Huddersfield Angling
Association. His interest in fishing extended beyond the process of catching fish, for he also
collected and renovated antique fishing tackle. Ted’s avidity for collecting antiques didn’t
stop there, for he also had extensive collections of glass, pottery and books. His acquisition
of various oddments over the years gradually transformed his cottage at Thurstonland into
a miniature museum.

A memorial seat has been placed at Tolson Museum by his sister and her husband, Mr and
Mrs E. W. Wood, at the entrance to what is probably Ted’s greatest achievement there, the
Transport Gallery. With a man of Ted’s calibre, one could carry on recording the details of
his many-faceted life indefinitely. Whether he is remembered as museum curator,
coleopterist, fisherman or antique collector, all who knew Ted will remember him with great
affection. I, like many others, am proud to have been one of his many friends.

M. L. Denton

38

BOOK REVIEWS

Mice of the British Isles by Michael Leach. Pp. 24, with 26 b/w and colour illustrations. Shire
Publications, Aylesbury. 1990. £1.95 paperback.

Yet another (the 54th) lavishly illustrated and information-packed addition to Shire’s now
celebrated Natural History Series.

Michael Leach concisely reviews the identifications, diet, breeding, behaviour and ecology
of our four members of the sub-family Murinae, the house mouse (Mus musculus), wood
mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus), yellow-necked mouse (A. flavicollis) and harvest mouse
(Micromys minutus).

The text is highly readable, but should be used with the similar but more technically
competent booklets on the Harvest Mouse by Stephen Harris (1980) in the Blandford
Mammal Society Series and Woodmice by John Flowerdew (1984) in the Nelson Mammal
Society Series. The line drawings, apart from the rather elastic-sided woodmouse skull, are
clear and effective, but this booklet is worth collecting for the author’s series of outstanding
colour photographs alone. CAH

Predation upon Lambs by Foxes in the Absence of Control by R. Hewson Pp. 16. League
Against Cruel Sports. 1990. Unpriced.

This paper summarises three years of research on fox ecology on the Eriboll Estate in north
Sutherland. During this period no foxes were killed. In a detailed scientific study the author
examined changes in fox numbers, home ranges and food and then compared his results with
those of other upland areas in Britain. Hewson found little evidence of fox predation on live
lambs, with rabbits and rodents comprising the main food sources. At Eriboll, fox numbers
are largely determined by availability of these two items.

Birds of Singapore and South-East Asia by Sir John A. S. Bucknill and F. N. Chasen. Pp.
247, with 31 coloured plates by G. A. Levett-Yeats. First published 1927, re published 1990
by Tynron Press, Scotland. £11.95.

This classic work, first published in 1927 under the title ‘Birds of Singapore Island’, no
doubt provided an invaluable guide to the birds of the region at a time when there were few
pocket sized books available to the amateur. Although the publishers give as the reason for
changing the title the fact that the birds described in the book are not restricted to Singapore
and recommend the book as a helpful guide to the birds of South-East Asia, I feel that this
is perhaps misguided and the original title should have been retained. Anyone visiting this
bird-rich region of South-East Asia would be well advised to take with them one of the more
comprehensive modern field guides; nevertheless this book should not be ignored. Detailed
descriptions of over 90 birds are accompanied by interesting, and at times naive, comments
and field notes on behaviour and occurrence on the island, details that may not appear in the
field guides. It is of interest to compare species and their occurrence in 1927 with their present-
day status in Singapore and to note that in spite of the massive development that has taken
place in the island many of the birds can still be found in the same areas.

The illustrations by Levett-Yeats add character to the book, being typical of many late
Victorian and early Edwardian wildlife illustrations, their stiffness and pose indicating that
they were drawn from museum specimens and not from the wild; in spite of being somewhat
unnatural, they are still useful in identifying some species, although it is difficult not to be
amused by some illustrations, in particular the Collared Scope Owl, perhaps more
reminiscent of a marmalade cat.

As this book contains information not readily available in one small volume elsewhere, it
can be recommended for general interest but not as a guide to be taken on holiday. It is well
produced on quality paper and represents good value for money; read it before and after a
visit to the Far East. TFK

Book Reviews

39

Audubon Perspectives. Fight for Survival by R. L. DiSilvestro. Pp. 284, with numerous
colour & b/w plates. A Companion to the Audubon Television Specials. Wiley. 1990. $34.95 .

Although this book is written as a companion to an American television series it can be read
as an independent work. It is a report on the conservation of wildlife habitats and endangered
species, mainly from North America. The text charts the disastrous effects of man’s
economic growth on wildlife populations and propagates the message that man must live in
harmony with natural ecosystems. Four chapters are devoted to endangered species of
wolves, sharks, sea turtles and dolphins and three to the habitats represented by the forest,
particularly in the Pacific North-West, the Arctic in Alaska and Nebraska’s Platte river. The
threats to these three habitats from the timber and oil industries and water projects are
covered in detail. Much natural history is given of the threatened species with a history of
man’s relationship to them and the current research being carried out to aid the conservation
of these species. The conservation issue is also treated in terms of the law and how politicians
and the courts can help the conservationist. A final chapter covers the history of North
American man as hunter, sportsman and poacher, with a study of the effects of such activities
on the population dynamics of selected species including the ‘slob hunting’ of the Black Bear.
The book contains a great deal of useful and interesting information and is very readable and
well illustrated with very good photographs.

MEA

South Carolina. The Natural Heritage, photography by Robert C. Clark, text by Stephen H.
Bennett and Thomas M. Poland. Pp. 96. University of South Carolina Press. 1990. $35.00.

This is an interesting and unusual book which deals with the exotic flora and fauna of one
of the smallest states of North America. It provides a comprehensive description of the
natural history of South Carolina, showing unique animal and plant relationships existing
in the Mountain Province, the Piedmont, the Sandhills, Upper Coastal Plain and the Coastal
Zone. A spirited text provides insight into how weather, climate, geology and geography
formed South Carolina’s natural areas. As an additional bonus, this splendid book has many
well produced photographs in glorious colour.

MET

Aphid Predators by Graham E. Rotheray. Pp. 77, including keys, numerous line drawings
and 2 colour plates. Mayflies by Janet Harker. Pp. 56, including keys, numerous line
drawings & 4 colour plates. Richmond Publishing Co. Naturalists’ Handbooks Nos. 1 1 & 1 3 .
1989. £5.95 each.

The Naturalists’ Handbooks series is based on the concept that our education system is
turning out a large number of young people with a basic grounding in the principles of
scientific investigation at a time when there are many gaps in our knowledge of the biology
and ecology of even the most common British animals and plants. The aim is to encourage
these potential students to fill some of these gaps. The greatest gaps are among the
invertebrates and all the Handbooks so far produced deal with these animals. The two
approaches adopted in the series are illustrated by these two booklets — ‘Mayflies’ is a single
taxon approach while ‘Aphid Predators’ is more ecological in its content. Each one provides
sufficient background information to allow a novice to become familiar with our current level
of knowledge, identification keys to allow the accurate identification of the relevant organ-
isms and practical advice on the conduct of investigations. The text is liberally peppered with
examples of the gaps in our knowledge. The narrower base of the single taxon approach is
clearly more limited in this respect; ‘Mayflies’ does contain over two dozen suggestions for
original studies with larvae and adults, but it allows a more complete coverage of its subject.
I prefer the broader base of ‘Aphid Predators’ but this has presented its author with an
impossibly large task. The suggestions for individual work are legion and the beauty of aphid
studies is that every garden, park or piece of derelict ground will supply the raw material. And
all gardeners can think about is how to get rid of them! The keys cover both adults and larvae
of the well-known groups of aphid predators such as ladybirds, lacewings and hoverflies, but

40

Book Reviews

the task of identifying casual predators among the ground beetles and rove beetles is not
possible within the scope of this handbook and Rotheray does not attempt much more than
a guide to more comprehensive literature. Both booklets continue the very high standard set
by earlier ones in this series and both are highly recommended for anyone wishing to
undertake some scientific natural history.

WAE

A Key to the Case-bearing Caddis Larvae of Britain & Ireland by I. D. Wallace, B. Wallace
and G. N. Philipson. Pp. 237, with 93 text figures. Freshwater Biological Association
Scientific Publication no. 51, Ambleside, Cumbria. 1990. £16.00.

This key assembles for the first time all the previously published information required for
identifying case-bearing caddis larvae. In addition, the key to the Glossosmatidae is improved
by new descriptions of distinguishing characters. A detailed key to the genera of the
Hydroptilidae appears for the first time. It is now possible to distinguish between larvae of
species of Halesus, Micropterna and Stenophylax. Nomenclature has been revised. A vast
amount of information on the anatomy of cased caddis larvae is described and clearly
illustrated, since for the purpose of identification, a larva must be examined in great detail.
Measurements accurate to 0.01 mm may be necessary, and in order to do this, users of zoom
microscopes must first calibrate. Much additional information is included in the key, and
every effort has been made to facilitate correct identification. The book is elegant in
appearance and is likely to be a standard work for many years. Its publication could stimulate
interest in the ecology of case-bearing caddis larvae.

MA

Pond and Brook. A Guide to Nature in Freshwater Environments by Michael J. Caduto. Pp.

xxi + 276. University Press of New England, Hanover and London. 1990. £15.55,
paperback.

The many worlds of freshwater and the flora and fauna therein are dealt with in an
extremely concise, readable and informative manner. Whilst North American in orientation,
it is equally applicable to the European scene, if one excludes the references to specifically
American animals and plants.

The subject matter covers the unique properties of water and the ecological principals that
are basic to an understanding of aquatic life. The effects of human activities on freshwater
environments provide a background to understanding the lives and living conditions of plants
and animals to be found in ponds, lakes, streams, rivers and wetlands. Scattered through the
text are references to collecting techniques and practical work, and there is a more than
adequate glossary.

Although it is principally aimed at the amateur naturalist, this book does provide excellent
reading for anyone with even the slightest interest in the freshwater environment, and is
lavishly illustrated with black and white photographs and line drawings.

DTR

The Cambridge Illustrated Dictionary of Natural History by R. J. Lincoln and G. A.
Boxshall . Pp . 4 1 3 , with numerous small b/w illustrations . Cambridge University Press . 1 990 .
£9.95, paperback edition.

This dictionary contains over 10,000 entries. There is a strong weighting towards living
organisms and their habitats, though limited reference is made to fossils and past geological
periods, and a few climatological terms are also included. Definitions are short and rarely
run to more than 50 words. Many common names are included which may give it a market
amongst the growing number of people who are developing an interest in the living world,
though its main market is likely to be amongst serious students who are seeking to elucidate
texts which use technical biological terms.

DEC

Correction:

The dates for Margaret Mee {Naturalist 115: 143, 1990) should read 1909-1988.

Butterflies and Moths of Yorkshire
Distribution and Conservation

Editors: S. L. Sutton and H. E. Beaumont

370 pages packed with information about Yorkshire’s 1,591 butterflies and moths.
Introductory chapters dealing with distribution, conservation, etc., comprehensive
bibliography, gazetteer of 900 locality names.

£15.00 + p&p. Obtainable from Mrs J. Payne, 15 Broad Lane, Cawood, Selby Y08 0SQ.
Please make cheques payable to the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union.

‘The Naturalist’ is available in microform

UNIVERSITY MICROFILMS INTERNATIONAL

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Number 997

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April — June 1991

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* I Volume 116

Naturalist

A QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF NATURAL HISTORY FOR THE NORTH OF ENGLAND

2H

l

SI 2 8 5 3

\m

The Killarney Fern ( Trichomanes speciosum ) in Yorkshire —

F. J. Rumsey, A. D. Headley, D. R. Farrar and E. Sheffield

Birds in Farndale in 1990 — Margaret and Richard Vaughan

The sub-fossil occurrence of the Greater Silver Water-Beetle
Hydrophilus piceus (L.) at Shirley Pool, South Yorkshire —

M. H. Dinnin

The Duck Leech Theromyzon tessulatum (O. F. Muller) in
Crose Mere, Shropshire — R. M. H. Seaby, S. M. Spelling and
J. O. Young

Notes on Yorkshire Mollusca 8: Helicodiscus singleyanus
(Pilsbry, 1890) new to Yorkshire — A. Norris

Phaonia jaroschewskii Schnabl (Diptera; Muscidae), the ‘Hairy
Canary’ — P. Skidmore

Published by the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union

Editor M. R. D. Seaward, MSc, PhD, DSc, FLS, The University, Bradford BD7 1DP

Notice to Contributors to ‘The Naturalist’

Manuscripts (two copies if possible), typed double-spaced on one side of the paper only
with margins at top and left-hand at least 2.5 cm wide, should be submitted. Latin names of
genera and species, but nothing else, should be underlined. S.I. Units should be used
wherever possible. Authors must ensure that their references are accurately cited, and that
the titles of the journals are correctly abbreviated. Volumes of The Naturalist for the years
1886 to 1975 have been retrospectively numbered 11 to 100 to accord with numbering
before and after this period (see YNU Bulletin no. 3, pp. 21-22 1985); please cite these
volume numbers in all references. Tables and text-figures should be prepared on separate
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should be in jet-black Indian ink, and legends should not be written on the figures.
Publishable manuscripts not conforming to the above requirements will be returned
for alteration.

Photographic Plates

Readers of The Naturalist will have noticed that the number of photographic illustrations
has increased in recent years. Good clear photographs, suitably captioned, to accompany
articles or as independent features, such as the bird portraits by Arthur Gilpin in recent
issues, are always welcome.

To encourage this development, a long-standing member of the YNU, who wishes to
remain anonymous, has most generously offered to make a donation, the income from
which would finance the publication of a plate or equivalent illustration in future
issues whenever possible. The editor, on behalf of the YNU, wishes to record his deep
appreciation of this imaginative gesture.

© Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union - 1991

Single copies may be made of single articles in this journal provided that due acknow-
ledgement is made and the copies are for non-profit making educational or private use.
Copying of more than one article or multiple copying of a single article is forbidden unless
special permission has been obtained from the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union. Permission is
granted for the use of brief quotations in published work provided that acknowledgement
of the source is clearly stated, but the use of substantial sections of text and any illustrative
matter requires the express permission of the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union.

All matters other than subscriptions should be addressed to:

Mr John A. Newbould, Tapton House, 30 Moorlands, Wickersley
ROTHERHAM S66 OAT.

Items which should be sent to the above include: All membership applications, changes
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Mr D. Bramley, c/o Doncaster Museum, Chequer Road
DONCASTER DN1 2AE

The Naturalist is issued free to individual members of the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union
and to Affiliated Societies.

Institutions and Subscribers £12.00.

41

THE KILLARNEY FERN ( TRICHOMANES SPECIOSUM) IN YORKSHIRE

F. J. RUMSEY1, A. D. HEADLEY2, D. R. FARRAR3 AND E. SHEFFIELD1

‘Department of Cell and Structural Biology, Williamson Building, University of Manchester,

Manchester Ml 3 9PL

2 Department of Environmental Science, University of Bradford,

Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD7 1 DP

3 Department of Botany, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa - 50011, USA

The Killarney Fern (Trichomanes speciosum Willd.) has been considered to be one of
Britain’s most endangered plants. Whilst always rare, it suffered severe depletion during the
Victorian fern craze. Depredation by collectors is a continuing threat, with the loss of at least
one Welsh site during the last 20 years. Although the plant has been accorded full legal
protection since 1976, its continued survival must be considered precarious. Accordingly,
considerable secrecy surrounds past and present records of this fern and most cultivated or
herbarium specimens and rumoured occurrences lack locality data.

The first report of Trichomanes speciosum within the British Isles was, surprisingly, not on
the oceanic western fringe to which subsequent records are restricted, but at a site close to
Bingley, West Yorkshire. The plant was discovered by Dr Richard Richardson, and
documented and depicted by Dillenius in Ray (1724). Herbarium material from this site still
exists at the British Museum (Jermy, pers. comm.). In 1758, it was said to be still plentiful in
its original site, ‘a dark cavern beneath a dripping rock’, but when this was destroyed by
alterations to a nearby well it was feared lost. Bolton (1785) found ‘after several researches’ a
root close by in 1782, in which year it was also seen by Teesdale (1800). Lees (1888)
suggested that these later discoveries from this site were of immature sporophytes and
concluded ‘it has long been extinct at Bingley’ and then gives the following enigmatic
statement: ‘still in one station in the West Riding; James Backhouse in litt. I cannot more
precisely indicate the locality’.

The name of Backhouse is inextricably linked with early discoveries of Trichomanes on the
mainland of Britain. He reputedly knew the plant from at least two Welsh stations (Roberts
1979), in one of which it was particularly luxuriant and fertile, a condition recorded in only
two populations from mainland Britain (D. A. Ratcliffe, pers. comm.). Unfortunately, this site
has never been accurately located and similar plants have not been refound. As a nurseryman,
Backhouse would have had access to Irish material and his finds have thus been treated with
some suspicion.

The exact whereabouts of his later Yorkshire station is also apparently unknown. The
locality area given by Lees (1888) would suggest it is not the same as that listed by Cheetham
and Sledge (1943) as a presumed introduction from the Scammonden Valley area and mapped
in G.R. 44/01 (Perring & Walters 1962). Given these uncertainties, the herbarium material
collected by Richardson and subsequent 18th century records from Bingley constituted the
only definite native occurrences of this plant in Yorkshire until this present study.

The discovery by one of us (DRF) of the gametophyte of this species at two Lake District
sites in October 1989 (Rumsey et al. 1990) initiated a broader survey of areas considered
suitable for gametophyte occurrence, given the known habitat preferences of closely related
species in North America (Farrar et al. 1983). We were delighted to discover more than ten
thriving populations in at least nine 10 km squares within vice-counties 63 and 64, and feel
sure many more sites remain to be located. These gametophytes have undoubtedly been
overlooked previously due to their appearance and habitat.

Unlike most pteridophyte gametophytes, that of Trichomanes is filamentous and perennial
(Fig. 1), ultimately forming a mat-like weft which more closely resembles certain algae or

Naturalist 116 (1991)

42

The Killarney Fern in Yorkshire

bryophyte protonemata. It produces specialised gemmae, a feature also found in the
bryophytes Tetradontium and Schistostega (Edwards, 1978) which occupy similar niches and
may be found near Trichomanes in Yorkshire sites. Gametophytic colonies in Yorkshire are
restricted to deep crevices and caverns, under overhanging rocks. The porous acidic gritstone
rocks are often in sheltered valleys with woodland cover and near streams. Characteristically,
the gametophyte exists as patches beyond the limits of bryophytic growth and can be seen
only with the aid of a torch.

The current scattered distributions and documented extinctions of more widespread
‘Atlantic’ species, e.g., Hymenophyllum wilsonii, H. tunbrigense, Asplenium bilotii and

Dryopteris aemula, within Yorkshire, suggest that prior to deforestation and later
industrialisation, these species may have been more widely distributed. The sporophyte of
Trichomanes is probably the most ecologically exacting of these and hence the first lost when
conditions become sub-optimal. Its gametophyte, by virtue of its curious ecology, is however,
capable of survival long after all other ‘Atlantic’ species, including bryophytes, have been
lost. This is possible as the gametophyte is perennial, reproduces asexually and exploits a
competition free niche, due largely to its ability to function at extremely low irradiance
(< 1 pmole nr1 s~‘), The discovery of widespread populations of Trichomanes gametophytes
often at, or near, sites where reports of other ‘Atlantic’ species have been considered dubious,
suggests that many of these disputed records may be authentic.

detached gemma

1 00 Aim

antheridium

FIGURE 1

Trichomanes speciosum gametophyte.

Book Reviews

43

Gametophytes have been seen to produce antheridia and archegonia in at least one site.
Most excitingly, immature sporophytes have been seen at this site and at one other Yorkshire
location. It is still not certain whether these sporophytes have arisen sexually or are products
of apogamy. The production of filamentous outgrowths, indistinguishable from gametophytic
tissue, from the extremities of the leaves may be evidence for an aberrant life cycle. It is
unclear whether the present microclimate in the Yorkshire sites is suitable for the survival of
mature sporophytes, although this was obviously the case during the 18th century at Bingley.

As a result of the discovery of a number of gametophyte records, Trichomanes would
become ineligible for inclusion in the British Red Data book based purely on these new
records (Perring & Farrell 1983)! The apparent inability of most gametophyte populations to
produce sporophytes and the low fertility of the few remaining sporophytes, combined with
our dearth of knowledge of the biology of this internationally threatened species, argue for its
continued legal protection. To safeguard the potentially fragile sites of this species, strict
confidentiality as to their location will be maintained by the authors. Removal of any part of
the fern, including its gametophyte, is illegal, and verification must therefore be done non-
destructively in the field. To this end the authors would be happy to confirm any suspected
occurrence and would welcome any information on past sites, introductions, etc., of this
species.

References

Bolton, J. (1785) Filices Britannicae; A History of the British Proper Ferns. John Binns,
Leeds.

Cheetham, C. A. and Sledge, W.A., eds. (1943) A Supplement to the Yorkshire Floras by the
late F. Arnold Lees. Brown, Hull.

Edwards, S. R. (1978) Protonemal gemmae in Schistostega pennata (Hedw.) Web et Mohr. J.
Bryol. 10: 69-72.

Farrar, D. R. Parks, J. C. and McAlpin, B. W. (1983) The fern genera Vittaria and
Trichomanes in the North Eastern United States. Rhodora 85: 83-92.

Lees, F. A. (1888) The Flora of West Yorkshire. Lovell Reeve, London.

Perring, F. H. and Farrell, L. (1983) British Red Data Book No. 1. Vascular Plants. 2nd ed.

Society for the Promotion of Nature Conservation, Nettleham.

Perring, F. H. and Walters, S. M. (1962) Atlas of the British Flora. Nelson, London.

Ray, J. (1724) Synopsis Methodica Stirpium Britannic arum. 3rd ed. W. & J. Innys, London.
Roberts, R. H. (1979) The Killamey Fern Trichomanes speciosum in Wales. Fern Gazette 12:
1-4.

Rumsey, F. J., Sheffield, E. and Farrar, D. R. (1990) British Filmy Fern Gametophytes.
Pteridologist 2: 40-42.

Teesdale, R. (1800) Supplement to the Plantae Eboracenses. Linn. Trans. 5: 75.

BOOK REVIEWS

British Plant Communities. Volume 1. Woodlands and Scrub edited by J. S. Rodwell. Pp.

395, 25 figures including maps. Cambridge University Press, 1991. £70.00 hardback.

Sixty-two years have elapsed since Tansley’s comprehensive review of British plant
communities and this book is the first in a series which attempts to do the same, but with a
more up to date analytical approach. It represents the culmination of the National Vegetation
Classification (NVC) started in 1975. This was initiated by the Nature Conservancy Council,
the British Ecological Society and four universities and was devised to establish ‘a national
and systematic phytosociological treatment of British vegetation’. This mammoth task
involved a total of c.35,000 samples covering 80% of the 10 x 10 km squares in Britain.

The book covers the rationale and methods used in the NVC system and then covers the
specific methods used for characterising woodland vegetation. It also describes the overall

44

Book Reviews

patterns in woodland communities with associated soil, climate and management. There is a
key to the 18 woodland and 7 scrub communities. The physiognomy of each community and
sub-community is described in detail along with their synonyms, habitats and successional
position. Floristic tables are given for each community, but only woodland communities have
distribution maps.

The system does cover synonymous communities described by others for the British Isles
and in some cases Europe. The nomenclature does not, however, correspond to the continental
system, which has been perfected to a much higher degree than in this country. Having had
personal experience in classifying Scottish woodland communities using the descriptions and
keys contained in this book, I have found this system to work tolerably well. I would therefore
recommend this as a reference book for any professional field ecologists who wish to survey
and map woodland and scrub vegetation, but the price may even exclude it from some
libraries as well as private bookshelves. The nature of the material contained within such a
book is too tedious for those with a general interest in woodland ecology.

ADH

Myriapoda and the Ancestry of Insects by Wolfgang Dohle. Pp. iv + 28, with 15 b/w
figures. Manchester Polytechnic, 1988. £2.50, obtainable from: J. G. Blower, Dept, of
Environmental Biology, The University, Manchester M13 9PL.

This substantial essay embodies the contents of a lecture given by Professor Dohle at
Manchester Polytechnic to commemorate the life and work of Dr Charles H. Brookes. Dr
Brookes had carried out valuable research into the life cycles of millipedes before his
untimely death in 1983. Prof. Dohle cites some of this work in this essay.

The outstanding feature of this publication is the accessibility of the language and the
treatment of the subject to the general public. The phylogeny of the insects and the myriapods
(millipedes and centipedes, chiefly) is a fairly fearsome subject, a classic problem in the
comparative morphology of embryos, juveniles and adults. Prof. Dohle gives us firm but
gentle guidance through the rocks and shoals of cladograms, anamorphosis and much else
besides. As an added bonus, sandwiched among discussion on the ancestry of insects, is a
paragraph about the reasons why such arcane matters should concern us. This is a quiet but
powerful statement (although the context may seem unlikely!) of the needs of human beings
to understand our true place in nature. The humble insect is a powerful challenge to human
dominance of the globe. Our fondness for the technological fix ensures that this problem will
increase rather than decrease in the future (through increased insecticide resistance for
example). This essay is one small step towards humanity getting a grip on itself and learning
to live on a planet which is a responsibility, not a consumable.

SLS

The Butterflies of Great Britain and Ireland. Volume 7, Part 1 of The Moths and Butter-
flies of Great Britain and Ireland (Hesperiidae to Nymphalidae), edited by A. Maitland
Emmet and John Heath. Pp. ix + 370, with 24 colour plates, 74 maps and 22 black and white
figures. Paperback edition revised with minor corrections, Harley Books, Colchester, 1990.
£24.95

This edition is almost identical to the cloth-bound edition of 1989 which was so highly
praised in a review in The Naturalist in 1990 (pp. 31-32), but it comes at half the price. This
should put this very handsome and authoritative volume within the reach of many who
baulked at £49.50, although the cloth-bound edition in regular use can be expected to have a
longer life and will lie open at every page. The first 50 pag^s of text in the paperback and all
the colour plates at the back will not lie open and must be held down. You pay your money
and you take your choice.

JHF

45

BIRDS IN FARNDALE IN 1990

MARGARET AND RICHARD VAUGHAN
Bee Stone, Farndale, Kirkbymoorside, York Y06 6XH

Introduction

Farndale (Fig. 1) is geographically similar to the valleys on either side of it in the North
Yorkshire Moors, Rosedale and Bransdale. It is narrow, steep-sided and thickly wooded at its
southern end, where it becomes Douthwaite Dale, and broadens out in the middle at Low Mill
and Church Houses before narrowing again at the dale head. Its geographical limits are clearly
defined on either side and at its head by the height of land, which reaches to a little over 1000
feet and consists of broad flat ridges of open heather moorland. Thus from the point of view
of its bird life, Farndale forms a rather isolated area of mixed woodland, rough moorland and
grassland, comprising about 30 working farms mostly concentrating on sheep-rearing. The
aim of this paper is to present in summary form the results of a year’s bird recording in the
dale and then to consider certain features of the dales avifauna revealed by these data.

Methods and Results

Throughout 1990 we resided at Bee Stone, Farndale, our only long absence being between 22
May and 26 June. During 299 days of observation we recorded all bird species seen or heard
at or from Bee Stone, and a summary of our daily records is given in a month-by-month form
in Table 1.

During 1990 we also recorded all bird species present in Farndale, both by means of
walks round the dale, during which all species present were listed, and by means of the daily
bird log at Bee Stone. The months during which each species was recorded in Farndale are
shown in Table 2.

For the sake of completeness, it may be added that the following species, not seen in
Farndale in 1990, were recorded by us in Farndale once or more in the years 1984-1989
inclusive: Buzzard ( Buteo buteo), Redshank ( Tringa totanus ), Great Black-backed Gull
( Larus marinus), Siskin ( Carduelis spinus) and Crossbill (. Loxia curvirostra).

Discussion

Inevitably, our results tend to establish the relative conspicuousness of the different species
recorded, rather than their relative abundance. Thus noisy birds like Tawny Owl and Jackdaw
are recorded often while the probably ever-present Sparrowhawk is almost never heard and
seldom seen. The fact that some species visited the garden at Bee Stone regularly in winter to
take food put out for them must also be taken into account. These were Pheasant, Great Tit,
Blue Tit, Coal Tit, Marsh Tit, Nuthatch, Blackbird, Robin, Dunnock and Chaffinch.

Only 84 species were recorded in Farndale in 1990. This rather short list (see Table 2) may
reflect the dale’s relative geographical isolation, the absence of any sizeable body of water, or
the complete absence of towns or even villages. This last feature certainly explains the
absence of the Collared Dove ( Streptopelia decaocto), which has however colonised villages
like Hutton-le-Hole on the moorland fringe near Farndale. Other absentees are the Little Owl
( Athene noctua ) and Lesser Spotted Woodpecker ( Dendrocopus leucotos), and the Skylark,
which, though occasionally recorded flying over, was not seen to visit the dale to feed or
breed. There are no suitable breeding sites for Sand Martins ( Riparia riparia), but it is
surprising that these birds were not seen flying over. The Willow Tit ( Parus montanus) was
not recorded in 1990, though the Marsh Tit is common. Otherwise the Farndale bird list is
probably representative enough of similar terrain elsewhere in Yorkshire in terms of species
present, but when the numbers, seasonal movements and other features of some species are
considered there may be surprises in store.

Naturalist 116 (1991)

46

Birds in Farndale in 1990

FIGURE 1
Map of Famdale.

Birds in Farndale in 1990

41

Herons are present in ones and twos throughout the year; the nearest heronry is in
Sleightholmdale only a few miles away. Three species of duck were seen in Farndale in 1990:
the Mallard was present throughout the year; the Teal and Goosander, seen in May, may have
bred sparsely. Of birds of prey, the Sparrowhawk and Kestrel were common residents in
1990; Merlin (Plate 1) was recorded once, and we received reports from local people of
Buzzard and Peregrine ( Falco peregrinus).

PLATE 1

The Merlin is a sparsely distributed summer visitor and breeding bird which is probably
still declining in numbers in the North Yorkshire Moors. It was recorded in Farndale only

once in 1990.

It is hardly surprising that apart from the Chaffinch, the most frequently observed bird at
Bee Stone in 1990 was the Pheasant. These are reared and released in large numbers by the
estate’s gamekeeper. So far we have no explanation for the fact that only male Pheasants —
up to six at a time — have been seen feeding in winter in our garden at Bee Stone, unless it be
that females are less adventurous. Other game birds are a feature of the Farndale avifauna.
Numbers of captive-bred Red-legged Partridges ( Alectoris rufus ) and Chukars ( Alectoris
chukar) have been released in the dale in recent years and most of the birds there now are
hybrids (Plate 2). The Grey Partridge seems to be in rapid decline. A pair was seen in May but
the 1990 breeding season was apparently disastrous and the only Grey Partridges seen in the
second half of the year were two or three birds on 13 September. Red Grouse can often be
heard calling from the moorland ridges above the dale.

TABLE 1

Number of records per month of different bird species seen or heard at Bee Stone, Farndale, 1990,

with total for the year.

48

Birds in Farndale in 1990

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50

Birds in Farndale in 1990

TABLE 2

Months in which birds seen or heard in Farndale in 1990 were recorded

Heron ( Ardea cinerea )

Ja

Fe

Ma

Ap

Ma

Ju

Ju

Au

Se

Oc

—

De

Teal (Anas crecca )

—

—

—

Ma

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)

Ja

Fe

Ma

Ap

Ma

Ju

—

—

Se

—

—

De

Goosander (Mergus merganser )

—

—

—

—

Ma

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus)

Ja

Fe

Ma

Ap

Ma

Ju

Ju

Au

—

Oc

No

De

Merlin (Falco columbarius)

—

—

—

Ap

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus)

Ja

Fe

Ma

Ap

Ma

Ju

Ju

Au

Se

Oc

No

De

Red Grouse (Lagopus lagopus )

Ja

Fe

Ma

Ap

Ma

—

Ju

Au

Se

Oc

No

—

R-l Partridge (Alectoris rufa/chukar )

Ja

Fe

Ma

Ap

Ma

Ju

Ju

Au

Se

Oc

No

De

Grey Partridge (Perdix perdix)

Ja

Fe

Ma

—

Ma

Ju

—

—

Se

—

—

—

Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus)

Ja

Fe

Ma

Ap

Ma

Ju

Ju

Au

Se

Oc

No

De

Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus)

—

Fe

Ma

Ap

Ma

Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus)

Ja

Fe

Ma

Ap

Ma

Ju

Ju

Au

—

Oc

—

—

GoLden Plover (Pluvialis apricaria)

—

—

Ma

Ap

Ma

Snipe (Gallinago gallinago)

—

—

Ma

Ap

Ma

Ju

Woodcock (Scolopax rusticola )

Ja

—

Ma

Ap

Ma

Ju

Ju

Au

—

Oc

—

De

Curlew (Numenius arquata)

—

—

Ma

Ap

Ma

Ju

Ju

Au

—

—

—

—

Herring Gull (Larus argentatus)

—

—

—

—

—

Ju

—

—

—

—

—

—

Common Gull (Larus cams )

Ja

—

Ma

Ap

Ma

—

Ju

Au

—

—

—

—

Black-headed Gull (Larus ridibundus)

—

—

Ma

Ap

Ma

Ju

Ju

Stock Dove (Columba oenas)

—

Fe

Ma

Ap

Ma

Ju

Ju

Au

Se

—

—

—

Woodpigeon (Columba palumbus)

Ja

Fe

Ma

Ap

Ma

Ju

Ju

Au

Se

Oc

No

De

Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus )

—

—

— .

—

Ma

Ju

—

—

—

—

—

—

Bam Owl (Tyto alba )

—

Fe

Tawny Owl (Strix aluco)

Ja

Fe

Ma

Ap

Ma

Ju

Ju

Au

Se

Oc

No

De

Swift (Apus apus)

—

—

—

—

Ma

Ju

Ju

Au

—

—

—

—

Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis)

—

—

—

Ap

—

Ju

Ju

Au

—

—

—

—

Green Woodpecker (Picus viridis)

—

Fe

Ma

Ap

Ma

Ju

Ju

Au

Se

Oc

No

De

G. S. Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major)

Ja

Fe

Ma

Ap

Ma

Ju

Ju

—

Se

Oc

—

De

Skylark (Alauda arvensis)

—

—

—

—

Ma

—

—

—

—

Oc

—

—

Swallow (Hirundo rustica )

—

—

—

Ap

Ma

Ju

Ju

Au

Se

—

—

—

House Martin (Delichon urbica)

Ju

Ju

Au

—

—

—

—

Carrion Crow (Corvus c. corone )

Ja

Fe

Ma

Ap

Ma

Ju

Ju

Au

Se

Oc

No

De

Rook (Corvus frugilegus)

Ja

Fe

Ma

Ap

Ma

Ju

Ju

Au

Se

Oc

No

—

Jackdaw (Corvus monedula)

Ja

Fe

Ma

Ap

Ma

Ju

Ju

Au

Se

Oc

No

De

Magpie (Pica pica )

Ja

Fe

—

Ap

Ma

—

Ju

Au

Se

Oc

No

De

Jay (Garrulus glandarius)

Ja

Fe

Ma

Ap

Ma

Ju

Ju

Au

Se

Oc

No

De

Great Tit (Parus major)

Ja

Fe

Ma

Ap

Ma

—

Ju

Au

Se

Oc

No

De

Blue Tit (Parus caeruleus)

Ja

Fe

Ma

Ap

Ma

Ju

Ju

Au

Se

Oc

No

De

Coal Tit (Parus ater)

Ja

Fe

Ma

Ap

Ma

—

Ju

Au

Se

Oc

No

De

Marsh Tit (Parus palustris)

Ja

Fe

Ma

Ap

Ma

Ju

Ju

Au

Se

Oc

No

De

Long-tailed Tit (Ae git halos caudatus)

Ja

Fe

Ma

Ap

Ma

Ju

Ju

Au

Se

Oc

No

De

Nuthatch (Sitta europaea)

Ja

Fe

Ma

Ap

Ma

Ju

Ju

Au

Se

Oc

No

De

Tree Creeper (Certhia familiaris)

Ja

Fe

Ma

Ap

Ma

Ju

Ju

Au

Se

Oc

No

De

Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes)

Ja

Fe

Ma

Ap

Ma

Ju

Ju

Au

Se

Oc

No

De

Dipper (Cinclus cinclus)

—

Fe

Ma

Ap

Ma

—

—

Au

—

—

—

—

Mistle Thrush (Turdus viscivorus)

Ja

Fe

Ma

Ap

Ma

Ju

Ju

Au

Se

Oc

No

De

Fieldfare (Turdus pilaris)

Ja

Fe

Ma

Ap

Ma

—

—

—

—

Oc

No

De

Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos)

—

Fe

Ma

Ap

Ma

Ju

Ju

Au

—

—

—

—

Redwing (Turdus iliacus)

Ja

Fe

Ma

Oc

—

De

Ring Ouzel ( Turdus torquatus )

Ap Ma

Birds in Farndale in 1990

51

TABLE 2 ( continued )

Blackbird ( Turdus merula)

Ja

Fe

Ma

Ap

Ma

Ju

Ju

Au

Se

Oc

No

De

Wheatear ( Oenanthe oenanthe)

—

—

—

—

Ma

—

Ju

—

—

—

—

—

Whinchat ( Saxicola rubetra)

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

Au

—

—

—

—

Redstart (Phoenicurus phoenicurus )

—

—

—

Ap

Ma

Ju

Ju

Au

Se

—

—

—

Robin ( Erithacus rubecula)

Ja

Fe

Ma

Ap

Ma

Ju

Ju

Au

Se

Oc

No

De

Blackcap ( Sylvia atricapilla)

—

—

—

—

Ma

—

Ju

—

—

Oc

—

—

Garden Warbler ( Sylvia borin )

—

—

—

—

Ma

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

Whitethroat ( Sylvia communis )

—

—

—

—

Ma

—

Ju

—

—

—

—

—

Lesser Whitethroat ( Sylvia curruca)

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

Au

—

—

—

—

Willow Warbler (Phylloscopus trochilus)

—

—

—

Ap

Ma

Ju

Ju

Au

Se

—

—

—

Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita )

—

—

—

—

Ma

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

Wood Warbler ( Phylloscopus sibilatrix)

—

—

—

—

Ma

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

Goldcrest (Regulus regulus)

Ja

Fe

Ma

Ap

Ma

—

—

—

—

Oc

No

De

Spotted Flycatcher (Muscicapa striata)

—

—

—

—

—

—

Ju

Au

—

—

—

—

Pied Flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca)

—

—

—

—

Ma

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

Dunnock (Prunella modularis)

Ja

Fe

Ma

Ap

Ma

Ju

Ju

Au

Se

Oc

No

De

Meadow Pipit (Anthus pratensis)

—

—

Ma

Ap

Ma

Ju

Ju

Au

Se

—

—

—

Tree Pipit (Anthus trivialis)

—

—

—

Ap

Ma

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba)

—

—

Ma

Ap

Ma

Ju

Ju

—

Se

Oc

No

—

Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea)

Ja

Fe

Ma

Ap

Ma

Ju

Ju

Au

Se

Oc

No

De

Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)

Ja

Fe

Ma

Ap

Ma

Ju

—

—

Se

—

—

—

Greenfinch (Carduelis chloris)

Ja

—

Ma

Ap

—

Ju

Ju

Au

Se

—

No

De

Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis)

Ja

Fe

Ma

Ap

Ma

Ju

Ju

Au

Se

Oc

No

De

Linnet (Carduelis cannabina)

—

Fe

Ma

Ap

Ma

Ju

Ju

Au

Se

—

—

—

Redpoll (Carduelis flammed)

Ja

Fe

Ma

Ap

Ma

—

Ju

Au

Se

Oc

No

De

Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula)

Ja

Fe

Ma

Ap

Ma

Ju

Ju

Au

Se

Oc

No

De

Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs)

Ja

Fe

Ma

Ap

Ma

Ju

Ju

Au

Se

Oc

No

De

Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla)

Ja

Snow Bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis)

—

—

Ma

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

Yellowhammer (Ember iza citrine lla)

Ja

Fe

Ma

Ap

Ma

—

Ju

Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus)

—

—

—

Ma

—

—

—

—

—

—

—

House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)

Ja

Fe

Ma

Ap

Ma

Ju

Ju

Au

Se

Oc

No

De

Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus)

Ja

—

—

—

Ma

Ju

—

—

—

—

—

—

No passage waders were recorded in or over Farndale in 1990. Five wader species were
present: Golden Plover, Snipe and Curlew only in summer; Lapwing and Woodcock (Plate 3)
the year round. All five breed annually. Gulls are rare in Farndale except in the spring and
summer when Black-headed Gulls often fly high over the dale and groups of Common Gulls
pass through. Either or both species may occasionally be seen feeding in grass fields in the
dale.

Table 1 shows that the Woodpigeon was the fifth most frequently recorded species at Bee
Stone in 1990. This is partly due to its large size, frequent flights and prolonged song season,
but it is also one of Famdale’s most abundant and characteristic birds. While the Woodpigeon
appears to be resident the year round, the Stock Dove is at least partly absent in the winter
months. There is a flourishing population of feral pigeons (Rock Doves Columba livid) in the
dale spread between some half-dozen colonies in ruined buildings, but daily records of these
were not kept in 1990. Some evidence from previous years points to interbreeding between
feral pigeons and Stock Doves.

52

Birds in Farndale in 1990

PLATE 2

The Farndale ‘Red-legged Partridge’, photographed here at Bee Stone, is a hybrid between
the Red-legged Partridge and the Chukar.

Only two owl species were recorded in Farndale in 1990. The Tawny Owl (Plate 4) is a
common breeding resident and was the ninth most frequently recorded species at Bee Stone.
No evidence was found of breeding Bam Owls in 1990 though this species undoubtedly bred
at least twice in Farndale in the 1980s.

In 1990 a pair of Kingfishers bred successfully in Farndale but this should perhaps be
regarded as an unusual event. Time will show if the species breeds regularly, but the River
Dove is not a typical Kingfisher river. Several pairs of Dippers (Plate 5) breed annually in
Farndale though no nest was found in 1990.

Of the hirundines, the Swallow breeds abundantly and was recorded at Bee Stone virtually
daily in May-August. The House Martin’s Farndale distribution is much more local. In 1990
two small colonies were found, at Low Mill and on the Methodist chapel on the east side of
the valley; each consisted of about six occupied nests. Only a few pairs of Swifts bred in the
dale in 1990. Three or more pairs bred at High Mill, two pairs at Church Houses and a single
pair at Lendersfield House, where an adult was flying in and out of the eaves, evidently
feeding young, on the very late date of 1 8 August.

In spite of intensive keepering, which up to 1989 at least included putting down poison,
evidently aimed at Magpies and Crows, Famdale’s avifauna in 1990 featured five common
corvids: Carrion Crow, Rook, Jackdaw, Magpie and Jay, all of them present throughout the
year. The Rooks and Jackdaws, except when breeding, normally flew out of Farndale at dusk
and roosted somewhere to the south in the Vale of Pickering, returning in the early morning.
To judge from these flights, 50-100 Rooks and about 250 Jackdaws were visiting Farndale.

Birds in Farndale in 1990

53

PLATE 3

Throughout Farndale roding Woodcocks are a familiar sight and sound from March to July.
This bird is returning to its nest after an off-duty spell to feed, with earth still adhering

to its bill.

While the Jackdaws breed throughout the dale in single pairs and small groups, mostly in
holes in trees, the Rooks nest in the dale’s only rookery located between Church Houses and
Low Mill on the west side of the valley. During bad weather in the winter, especially mist,
driving rain or snow, these Rooks and Jackdaws remain in the vale and do not visit Farndale
at all. Thus at Bee Stone, where the Jackdaw was the sixth most often recorded bird, it was
only recorded on half or two-thirds of the days of observation in December and January,
while in February, March, September and October, it was recorded on virtually every day of
observation (Table 1).

Five tit species were present throughout the year in 1990 in Farndale: Great, Blue, Coal,
Marsh and Long-tailed. The first four of these regularly took nuts, sunflower seeds and fat put
out for them at Bee Stone from October to March inclusive and visited the garden much less
often in summer. Their relative abundance in the dale as a whole may well be reflected in
their appearances at Bee Stone: as can be calculated from Table 1, Blue Tit was recorded on
93% of days of observation. Great Tit on 74%, Coal Tit on 65%, Marsh Tit on 52%. The same
criterion would place the Nuthatch, also a regular bird-table feeder, between the Coal and
Marsh Tits in relative abundance. The Tree Creeper and Long-tailed Tit only visited Bee
Stone irregularly and never took food put out by us.

As one would expect, thrushes of the genus Turdus are well represented in Farndale. Table
2 shows that Mistle Thrush and Blackbird were present the year round; Fieldfare and
Redwing were winter visitors and Ring Ouzel and Song Thrush summer visitors. The Song
Thrush’s status came as a surprise and may be somewhat exaggerated in Table 2, because in

54

Birds in Farndale in 1990

earlier years single Song Thrushes had been seen in November and December. Some birds
probably remain in the winter, but most of Farndale’s Song Thrushes are absent then,
returning in February-March, when they produce a chorus of song. The species breeds
commonly throughout the dale. The Ring Ouzel is confined to the moorland fringe around the
rim of the dale.

PLATE 4

Farndale is excellent Tawny Owl country. The only other owl recorded there in 1990 was a

single Bam Owl.

In Farndale in 1990 the family Turdidae was also represented throughout the year by the
Robin, which breeds in the lower wooded and agricultural parts of the dale. Table 1 shows
that it was the fourth most commonly recorded species at Bee Stone in 1990. The Wheatear,
Whinchat and Redstart all breed in the dale, though no proof of breeding was obtained in
1990 for Wheatear and Whinchat. Two pairs of Redstarts nested at Bee Stone in 1990, one in
a hole in a bam wall, the other in a nestbox which contained 9 eggs on 20 May and 9 well-
feathered young on 8 June.

Birds in Farndale in 1990

55

The only abundant breeding warbler in Farndale is the Willow Warbler. As Table 2 shows,
Blackcap, Garden Warbler, Whitethroat, Chiffchaff and Wood Warbler were all present in
May. They advertised their presence by singing and all probably bred, though sparsely. Other
soft-billed passerines recorded in Farndale in the summer months of 1990 were the common
and widespread Spotted Flycatcher, the rather rare Pied Flycatcher, and Tree and Meadow
Pipits. The Meadow Pipit may be present in small numbers in winter as well as summer, but
was not recorded in January, February, October, November or December 1990 (Table 2). The
same is perhaps true of the Pied Wagtail, seen at Bee Stone, where a pair raised two broods in

PLATE 5

This Dipper is perched on a branch above the River Dove in Farndale, where the species is
resident throughout the year.

1990, in every month except January, February and December. On the other hand some Grey
Wagtails remained in Farndale through the winter. The Starling’s status in Farndale requires
further investigation. In 1990, it appeared to be breeding fairly commonly but was not
recorded in October, November or December. It may be only irregularly present in winter.

The thick-billed seed eaters make a big contribution to Farndale’ s avifauna. The Chaffinch
was the most often recorded bird species at Bee Stone in 1990, being recorded on 95% of the
days of observation there. Goldfinch, Redpoll and Bullfinch were each recorded in 11 or 12
months; Goldfinch being recorded on one-third of the days of observation and Bullfinch on
more than half of them. The local Bullfinches appeared to be dependent on wild or
Myrobalam plum ( Prunus cerasifera ) buds during the winter and early spring. Greenfinch and

56

Birds in Farndale in 1990

Redpoll were present in all seasons but always sparsely distributed. The Linnet and Reed
Bunting were recorded only in summer and neither was common. The Yellowhammer,
common in the broad agricultural valley bottom, was missed, rather than absent, in the second
half of the year (Table 2): it is a resident. Siskin, Snow Bunting and Brambling are
uncommon winter visitors: the first of these was seen in November and December 1989 and
January 1991, but not in 1990.

Last, but certainly not least in interest, come the sparrows. Though in the Pickering area,
only a few miles away, the Tree Sparrow is a common bird, it has scarcely penetrated into
Farndale, where our only 1990 records were of a single bird at or near Tenter Hill in January,
May and June; perhaps a pair nested. The status of the House Sparrow came as a surprise. At
Bee Stone it figured among the seven least recorded species, i.e. those seen once only during
1990. These seven rarities were Goosander, Merlin, Grey Partridge, Herring Gull, Bam Owl,
Lesser Whitethroat and House Sparrow (Table 1). Although Table 2 shows that the House
Sparrow was present in Farndale throughout the year in 1990, it is not at all abundant, being
found at a few widely scattered working farms; a proportion of the sparrow population may
leave the dale altogether in winter. A search in January and February revealed only three
groups of House Sparrows in Farndale: at Tenter Hill, Church Houses and Toad Hole. In
July-August 1990 there were thought to be nine or ten breeding colonies, each only
numbering a few pairs. The typical farmyard passerine of Farndale is not the House Sparrow
but the Chaffinch.

Conclusions

This pilot study based on a single year’s observations shows that there is much to be learned
about local avifaunas from regular round-the-year observations, especially in areas like
Farndale which have natural geographical limits. Even the establishment of the ten most often
recorded species in a particular area is a worthwhile exercise. At Bee Stone these ten, in order
of frequency, were Chaffinch, Pheasant, Blue Tit, Robin, Woodpigeon, Jackdaw, Blackbird,
Great Tit, Tawny Owl and Wren. Compare these with the ten most often recorded birds in
rural gardens nationally in 1988-1989 as found by the British Trust for Ornithology’s Garden
Bird Survey (Muirhead 1990): Blackbird, Blue Tit, House Sparrow, Robin, Starling, Great
Tit, Chaffinch, Dunnock, Greenfinch and Collared Dove.

Reference

Muirhead, L. (1990) Garden Bird Survey News. BTO News 166: 9-10.

Acknowledgement

Our grateful thanks to Nancy Vaughan who drew the map, read through the paper in draft and
made valuable suggestions.

57

THE SUB-FOSSIL OCCURRENCE OF THE GREATER SILVER WATER-
BEETLE HYDROPHILUS PICEUS (L.) (COL: HYDROPHILIIDAE) AT
SHIRLEY POOL, SOUTH YORKSHIRE

M. H. DINNIN

Department of Archaeology and Prehistory, University of Sheffield S10 2TN

Shirley Pool Site of Special Scientific Interest (SE568119) is situated approximately 9 km
north of Doncaster, near the mining village of Askem. It comprises alder carr woodland
bordering a small lake formed by flooded peat cuttings. The site is of particular interest
because of the alkaline nature of the water regime in a situation where an oligotrophic mire
might be expected. This alkalinity is a result of run-off from the dipslope of the Magnesian
limestone to the west. The high pH has led to the growth of the calciphile sword sedge
Cladium mariscus (L.) Pohl. and the absence of acid bog plants. These unusual conditions led
to the designation of the site in 1955.

Distinct vegetational zonation occurs around the pool, with derelict alder oak coppice
growing on the uncut areas of peat. The area of former medieval peat-cutting has flooded to
form a fishing pond approximately 300 m long and 75 m wide, fringed with Phragmites reed
swamp. The woodland is adjacent to the Sutton Common Scheduled Ancient Monument
(SE564121), a pair of Iron Age raised enclosures once separated by the now diverted
Hampole Beck (Sydes & Symonds 1987). The proximity of archaeological remains to the peat
deposits provides an excellent opportunity to study palaeoecological evidence for the
landscape history and anthropogenic impact in the area. The pollen record from Shirley Pool
(Ward 1988) shows expansion and contraction of carr woodland followed by the opening up
and drying out of the area. This last phase is seen as a result of drainage and modern
agricultural techniques.

As part of a project investigating woodland management history, using sub-fossil beetle
remains as environmental indicators, a monolith was extracted from uncut peat 20 m from the
edge of the lake. The peat sequence recovered showed episodic expansion and contraction of
the water body. Lenses of unhumified Phragmites and Carex peat, formed in periods of
higher water levels, were inter-bedded with more humified woody fen peats and root matter
formed from vegetation growing in situ when the water body contracted and the peat surface
became drier. The three samples analysed, from 120-126 cm, 87-90 cm and 0-5 cm, have
yielded numerous well preserved beetle remains. The two lower (older) faunas, recovered
from silty, poorly humified fen peats, are dominated by a clear eutrophic freshwater beetle
component. These deposits formed when the water level was higher than present day and the
sample site was submerged. Several of the species recovered from peat layers at 120-126 cm
and 87-90 cm are now comparatively rare and currently enjoy far more restricted distributions
than that which their fossil records display.

Fragments of the Greater Silver Water-beetle, Hydrophilus piceus (L.), were present in the
sample, lying between 87 and 90 cm below the modem peat surface. Since this level cannot
be dated by artefactual evidence and no radiocarbon dates have been obtained, the sample has
been dated palynologically. The appearance of Pinus pollen immediately above sample 87-90
cm (Ward, 1988) is probably a result of planting when Owston Park was landscaped and
planted by Humphrey Repton in 1790. The sample is therefore assigned to the early post-
medieval period.

The enormous size of this species, as large as the stag beetle Lucanus cervus (L.), makes it
unlikely that it has been overlooked by entomologists. Balfour-Browne (1958) reviews the
evidence for the species decline from habitats around London, beginning in the mid-
eighteenth century (Curtis 1862). Populations are still well established in the Somerset Levels
where it has also been found as a fossil (Girling 1976), mid and west-Kent (Massee &
Southwood 1962) and the Sussex marshes (Foster 1965). Although H. piceus has been

Naturalist 116 (1991)

58

Sub-fossil Occurrence of the Greater Silver Water-Beetle

recorded from the Norfolk Broads, most of the recent captures are from the conserved area of
Wicken Fen. Northerly mid-nineteenth century records come from Repton, Derbyshire and
from near Huddersfield (Balfour-Browne 1958).

H. piceus has been found as a fossil at three other localities. An almost complete specimen
was found in undated deposits from Hatfield Moors earlier this century. It is recorded from
deposits in a ditch at the Iron Age fortifications at Stanwick, N. Yorkshire (Kimmins 1954)
and from a Roman ditch in Oxfordshire (Robinson 1980).

Thus the fossil evidence and the old records from Repton and Huddersfield suggest that the
species was once more widespread. The beetles’ contraction in range could be attributed to
urban development destroying suitable habitats, as is the case around London, infilling and
drainage of ponds and eutrophication. Buckland (1979) argues that on the evidence of the
older records the decline of the species commenced before these factors would have become
more than locally significant. This pattern of decline has been noted for several other water
beetles (Girling 1984a) and includes at least one national extinction, the whirligig beetle
Gyrinus colymbus Er. (Girling, 1984b) .

Climatic deterioration in the form of the Little Ice Age may have been a contributory factor
in the earlier contraction of the beetles’ range, compounded by later deleterious human
activity. In the post-Little Ice Age period H. piceus may have been prevented from re-
establishing itself in its potential thermal range as a result of habitat fragmentation and
destruction. Buckland (1975) proposes a similar hypothesis to explain the present and past
distribution of the Death-watch Beetle, Xestobium rufovillosum (Degeer). Given the apparent
inability of H. piceus to recolonise suitable habitats in this country during the post-Little Ice
Age climatic amelioration, Balfour-Browne ’s (1958) suggestion that the Somerset and south-
east populations of H. piceus are products of recruitment from European populations seems
unlikely.

The drying out of uppermost peat layers destroys insect remains and it is these deposits
which would contain the information necessary to test this hypothesis. The loss of suitable
medieval and post-medieval deposits and the acceleration of wetland drainage results in the
destruction of a vital information source necessary for the conservation of species.

The case of the Greater Silver Water-beetle is by no means exceptional. The deposits
yielded two other beetles with fossil distribution disjunct from that of the present day.

The ground beetle Odacantha melanura (L. ) is now found no farther north than Norfolk
(Luff 1982) and yet is present in the lower sample from Shirley Pool. In addition, O.
melanura was present in early to mid-Holocene peat deposits from the river Calder near
Methley, S. Yorkshire. The current expansion of the species in Scandinavia (Lindroth 1986)
and in Britain (Eversham pers. comm.) must in some way be temperature-related, since its
preferred habitat of clayey or muddy soil with rich tall vegetation is by no means restricted to
the southern half of England.

The small Dytiscid Bidessus unistriatus (Schrank), a category one endangered species, has
a still more southerly distribution and has only two recorded twentieth century breeding sites
in Britain, both in East Anglia (Shirt 1987). Girling (1976) recovered several individuals of
this species from peat beneath the Bronze Age Meare Heath trackway in the Somerset Levels.
It is most likely to have been a victim of habitat destruction through fen drainage, disturbance
and pollution.

Shirley Pool and the associated enclosures of Sutton Common have already been severely
damaged by falling water levels, due in part to a series of dry summers but more significantly
as a result of the extensive drainage of local farmland. If allowed to continue unchecked the
remaining archaeology and a valuable repository of ecological information will simply dry up
and turn to dust. The Shirley Pool peat record contains evidence for the demise of at least
three beetle species. If the destruction of the site is allowed to continue it will surely
contribute to the piecemeal extinction of many others. The irony is that without consulting the
fossil record preserved in peat we may not realise a species is endangered until it becomes
extinct.

Book Reviews

59

References

Balfour-Browne, F. (1958) British Water Beetles. Vol. 3, Ray Society, London.

Buckland, P.C. ( 1975) Synanthropy and the Deathwatch: a discussion. Naturalist 100:
37—42.

Buckland, P.C. (1979) Thorne Moors, a palaeoecological study of a Bronze site. Occasional
Publication No. 8, Department of Geography, University of Birmingham.

Curtis, J. (1862) British Entomology: being illustrated and descriptions of the Genera of
Insects found in Great Britain and Ireland. Coleoptera, Part I, London.

Foster, G.N. (1965) Aquatic Coleoptera in East Sussex. Entomologists’ Monthly Magazine
101: 197.

Girling, M. (1976 ) Changes in the Meare Heath coleoptera fauna in response to flooding. In
J. M. Coles & B. J. Orme, The Meare Heath Trackway: excavation of a Bronze Age
structure in the Somerset Levels. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 42: 297-399.

Girling, M. (1984a) Aquatic Coleoptera in the Fossil Insect assemblages from Archaeological
Sites in the Somerset Levels. Balfour-Browne Club Newsletter 30: 79-91.

Girling, M. (1984b) A Little Ice Age extinction of a water beetle from Britain. Boreas 13:
1-4.

Kimmins, D. E. (1954) Coleoptera. In R. E. M. Wheeler, The Stanwick Fortifications, North
Riding of Yorkshire, 58. Research Reports of the Society of Antiquaries of London, 17,
London.

Lindroth, C. H. (1986) The Carabidae (Coleoptera ) of Fennoscandia and Denmark. Fauna
Entomologica Scandinavia, 15, part 2, Leiden, Brill/Scandinavian Science Press Ltd.

Luff, M. L. (1982) Preliminary Atlas of British Carabidae ( Coleoptera ). Monks Wood
Biological Records Centre, Institute of Terrestrial Ecology.

Massee, A. M. & Southwood, T. R. E. (1962) Records of Hydrophilus piceus (L.) and
Hydrobius niger (Zschauch) (Col., Hydrophiliidae) from West Kent. Entomologists’
Monthly Magazine 98: 104.

Robinson, M.A. (1980) An ancient record of Hydrophilus piceus (L.) (Col., Hydrophilidae)
breeding in Oxfordshire. Entomologists’ Monthly Magazine 115: 28.

Shirt, D. B. (1987) British Red Data Books: 2. Insects. Peterborough, Nature Conservancy
Council.

Sydes, B. & Symonds, J. (1987) Sutton Common Excavation Report, 1987. South Yorkshire
Archaeology Unit, Sheffield.

Ward, C.S. (1988) The Vegetational History of Shirley Wood, South Yorkshire. Unpublished
undergraduate dissertation. Department of Archaeology and Prehistory, University of
Sheffield.

BOOK REVIEWS

The Handbook of British Mammals edited by Gordon B. Corbet and Stephen Harris. 3rd

edition. Pp. xiv + 588, with numerous b/w photographs, line drawings and maps. Blackwell,
1991. £49.50.

This edition of the Handbook is of similar content to its predecessors in having short
introductory chapters followed by systematic accounts appropriately occupying by far the
larger section of the book. There are now also appendices on species that have become extinct
in Britain since 10000 BP and on ephemeral introductions and escapes. A larger page size and
two-column format facilitates the inclusion of much more material. This is essential if there is
to be adequate coverage of the ever-growing knowledge on our mammals. This is well
illustrated by the size of the bibliographies: in the first edition (1964) there were 661
references, in the second (1977) 1284 and in this edition 3186.

The introductory chapters are a great improvement in their content and coverage on those in
the previous editions, with useful authoritative accounts of the history of the fauna, mammal

60

Book Reviews

habitats and mammals and the law. In the systematic section each species is dealt with
individually. Here information is given clearly and concisely with the editors, commendably,
ensuring uniformity of presentation. This is achieved through the adoption of eighteen major
categories, e.g. recognition, sign, measurements, social organisation and behaviour, feeding,
population, relations with man etc. Contributors have kept their accounts succinct, making
access to information remarkably easy. The species accounts are generally more informative
than previously, with some groups given much more expansive treatment. For example, this is
particularly evident in the Cetacea with here the enlarged text, supplemented with maps,
indicating the location of the main concentrations and regional relative frequency of sightings,
while as a result of recent research comprehensive data on the Ungulates is now presented,
both in text and through illustration, on such topics as seasonal dietary changes, feeding
activity and social behaviour.

The text is supplemented by numerous first class monochrome photographs, line drawings
of animals and selected skulls, diagrams and distribution maps of ranges in the British Isles
and throughout the world. The last are a considerable improvement on textual description of
range. It is a pleasure to see the continued inclusion of many of Robert Gillmar’s drawings of
mammals although regrettable that his contribution is nowhere acknowledged. The inclusion
of sources of sound recordings is a progressive step and a reflection of the new areas into
which mammal study has evolved over the past two decades.

With such a vast literature to work from, it is obviously difficult for authors to provide both
comprehensive and balanced accounts. Nevertheless, in looking critically into some species
accounts there appear to be a few significant oversights. For example, no mention is made of
Gibson’s work on the altitudinal effects of breeding season duration on the bank vole, Dards’
pioneering work on the social organisation and behaviour of urban feral cats is overlooked
while the absence of measurements on at least some of the island races of the wood mouse
(comparable data is given for the bank vole) leaves the reader unaware of how great size
differences can be.

It is particularly pleasing to see an expansion of our knowledge of British mammals spread
across all groups and species. To have incorporated so much data into one volume is to the
credit of both editors and contributors. There can be no doubt that this will be a standard
reference work on British mammals for many years to come.

MJD

In Spain’s Secret Wilderness by Mike Tomkies. Pp. 240, with 32 colour plates. Jonathan
Cape, 1989. £12.95

Mike Tomkies belongs firmly in the tradition of the rugged field naturalist, crouched for
hours behind some bush to get just the right photograph of a rare bird or mammal. His
dedication is tremendous and his ability to communicate his experiences and enthusiasm has
led to a clutch of books, mostly concerning the wildlife around the remote Scottish loch where
he lived alone for years. At intervals he swapped the Highlands for the wild places of Spain,
no doubt on the basis that a change was as good as a rest. This is a blow by blow account of
these visits. There is much detail of back-breaking climbs, knee-cracking descents and the
aforesaid hours behind bushes. Vultures, eagles, owls and other special birds are present in
variety, as are bears, wolves, lynx and other large mammals. You cannot beat direct
observation of the daily lives of these animals for making them seem real and worth
conserving, and this is where the author excels. There are numerous colour shots of the actual
events described in the text.

Anyone who has travelled in Spain beyond the resorts will be aware of the rich potential for
wildlife in the mountain ranges of the hinterland. Mike Tomkies has actually seen the animals
we suspected (or were told) might be there. What an encouragement to go back and get stuck
in behind a bush! I shall be booking my passage shortly.

SLS

THE DUCK LEECH THEROMYZON TESSULATUM (O. F. MULLER)
IN CROSE MERE, SHROPSHIRE

61

R. M. H. SEABY, S. M. SPELLING and J. O. YOUNG
Department of Environmental and Evolutionary Biology,
University of Liverpool, P.O. Box 147, Liverpool L69 3BX

Introduction

The freshwater leech Theromyzon tessulatum (O. F. Muller) is the major leech parasite of
waterfowl in Britain, the only other being Haementeria costata (O. F. Muller) which is found
exclusively in lowland streams at Pevensey Levels in Sussex (Elliott etal. 1979).

T. tessulatum is widespread in Britain, and the only freshwater habitat from which it is
absent is fast flowing streams. It is an egg-brooding leech, and carries its young for a time
after they hatch (Elliott & Mann 1979). The host of T. tessulatum is varied, with twenty
species of bird known to be parasited (Elliott & Tullett 1982). The leech can only attack and
feed from soft tissues, and is often found feeding on the mucosa of the nasal cavity of birds
after entering via the nares (Trauger & Bartonek 1977; McKinney & Derrickson 1979). It has
also been observed feeding from beneath the nictitating membrane of the eye. The attacks can
be fatal, with the cause of death either a haemorrhage or, more usually, asphyxiation caused
by blocking the respiratory tract. T. tessulatum needs a minimum of three blood meals to
mature (Herter 1929; Wilkialis & Davies 1980a).

The information presented in this paper was gathered during an ecological investigation of
the free-living leeches of Crose Mere, a eutrophic lake in Shropshire (grid ref. SJ 430305).
Only data on changes in numbers and weights of T. tessulatum, and whether the leeches were
carrying young or not, were recorded. In the light of some interesting differences between the
current data and those obtained from the three previous studies of the life cycle of T.
tessulatum, it was thought that the information was worthy of publication.

Methods

From April 1981 through to March 1983, T. tessulatum were sampled on seventeen occasions
(see Fig. 1), using seed trays, 215 x 365 mm in size, filled with detritus, sand, gravel and
small stones from the lake bed and subsequently buried in the substratum along the length of
the littoral zone of the north shore of the lake (Spelling & Young 1987). After being left for
about a month to allow colonization by invertebrates, the seed trays were returned to the
laboratory, where the leeches were removed from the substrate, counted and weighed, and the
occurrence of carried young noted. On each sampling occasion 16 trays were examined.
Samples of leeches from stones were also taken at the same time as the seed trays were lifted.
A month before the sampling programme began, stones were arranged in 16 rows, from the
shore line to arms-length depth, and spaced along the length of the northern shore; the basal
area of each row of stones was approximately equal at 0.1 m2. Leeches were picked off the
stones, placed in water-filled containers, and brought back to the laboratory, where they were
counted, weighed and examined for carried young.

Results

The life cycle of Theromyzon tessulatum extended over two years (Fig. 1). Young leeches
were carried in the months of June and July. After release the mean weight of young increased
in the autumn, remained constant over winter, and then increased in the following
summer/autumn (Fig. la). The leeches then over- wintered at a constant mean weight before a
final increase before breeding and subsequently dying in late summer/early autumn. The
minimum and maximum weight recorded for leeches carrying young were 74 and 714 mg
respectively.

For each cohort, there was a trend for biomass to peak shortly after the release of the young

Naturalist 116 (1991)

62 Duck Leech in Crose Mere

1981 1982 1983

FIGURE 1

(a) Arithmetic mean individual weights, (b) geometric mean biomasses, and (c) geometric
mean densities, for each cohort of Theromyzon tessulatum, from combined tray and stone data.

• 1979-81 cohort A 1980-82 cohort ■ 1981-83 cohort O 1982-84 cohort

Duck Leech in Crose Mere

63

(Fig. lb) . Thereafter, values declined rapidly throughout the winter and then more slowly the
following spring and early summer, to remain fairly constant, with the exception of slight
increases in bulk the first and second summer/autumn of a cohort’s two-year life span. The
final increases reflected rises in the number of leeches detected in samples (Fig. lc).

Seasonal changes in density (Fig. lc) were similar to those described for biomass. Based on
the numbers of free-living young obtained in samples, by the time leeches were one year old
64% of the population had died; at two years old 95% had died (Table 1), with total mortality
occurring within the subsequent one or two months.

TABLE 1

Mortality data for the averaged cohort values from all years
Average maximum density (nr2)

(1) young leeches

13.2

(2) one-year-old leeches

4.8

(3) two-year-old leeches

0.7

% mortality between 1 and 2

64

% mortality between 2 and 3

86

% mortality between 1 and 3

95

Discussion

The only previous studies of the life history of Theromyzon tessulatum are by Mann (1951),
Wilkialis & Davies (1980a) and Elliott & Tullett (1982); the first and last were in Britain and
the second in Poland. Mann found that the breeding season started with egg laying in June and
July, and continued with the carrying of young from June to November. Elliott and Tullett
found brooding leeches in June and July and young-carrying leeches from June to mid-
October. Wilkialis and Davies found young carried from June to August. Elliott and Tullett
also found that once released the young over-wintered as immature leeches, growing over the
next summer, before over-wintering again; in the second summer, they were reproductively
active. Elliott and Tullett also thought that some first-year leeches may have grown fast
enough to breed in their first summer.

The current data supports the general two-year life cycle described by previous workers,
but the breeding season in Crose Mere seems to be condensed . Adult leeches in the Crose
Mere population appear to carry their young for a shorter time. The young were found to be
carried only in June and July, and no adults were observed with young in August. The
carrying of young in June and July is between one and four months less than recorded in
previous studies. Wilkialis & Davies (1980b) found that the minimum weight of a breeding
adult was 150 mg whilst in the present work an individual of only 74 mg was found breeding
in Crose Mere in June 1982.

For each cohort, density and biomass increased in the summer of each year of its life
(Fig. lb, c), but particularly in its second year (e.g. 1980-82 cohort). This may be due to
leeches moving up shore from deeper waters, not sampled by the trays and stones, into
shallower water, so increasing the chance of adults and their young contacting a host to obtain
a meal (Wilkalis & Davies 1980a). Interestingly, young-carrying T. tessulatum also showed a
movement onto large stones in the autumn of their second year which may again have helped
its released young to find a host.

Crose Mere experiences high summer water temperatures (Young & Ironmonger 1982a).
Young & Ironmonger (1982b) found that the duration of both egg brooding/carrying and
young carrying by the adult glossiphoniid leeches Helobdella stagnalis (L.) and Glossiphonia
complanata (L.) was inversely related to temperature. It is tempting to speculate, therefore,
that the thermal regime in Crose Mere during the breeding season of T. tessulatum may have
been higher than in those other habitats studied by Mann (1951), Wilkialis & Davies (1980a)
and Elliott & Tullett (1982).

64

Duck Leech in Crose Mere

Summary

On seventeen occasions over two years, the leech Theromyzon tessulatum was sampled from
stones and seed trays buried in the substratum on the littoral zone of Crose Mere, Shropshire.
Changes in mean weight, biomass and density, and the incidence of young-carrying leeches,
were recorded.

The leech has a two-year life cycle. Young are carried in June and July. For each cohort,
density and biomass declined with time, with the exception of a slight increase in each
summer/autumn, involving, perhaps, a movement of leeches into shallower water to contact a
host. Sixty-four percent of released young died by the end of the first year. Differences
between the current and the previous studies on the leech include a much shorter period for
the carrying of young, perhaps a consequence of higher water temperatures in Crose Mere,
and a much smaller mean weight for breeding leeches.

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the Natural Environment Research Council for financial support,
and to the owners and Nature Conservancy Council for permission to remove samples of
leeches from Crose Mere.

References

Elliott, J. M. and Mann K. H. (1979) A key to the British freshwater leeches with notes on
their life cycles and ecology. Scient. Pubis Freshwat. Biol. Ass. No. 40: 1-72.

Elliott, J. M., Mugridge, R. E. R. and Stallybrass, H. G. (1979) Haementeria costata
(Hirudinoidea: Glossiphoniidae), a new leech to Britain. Freshwat. Biol. 9: 461-5.

Elliott, J. M. and Tullett, P. A. (1982) Leech parasitism of waterfowl in the British Isles.
Wildfowl. 33: 164-70.

Herter, K. (1972) Reizphysiologisches Verhalten und Parasitismus des Entenegels
Protoclepsis tesselata O. F. Muller Z. Vgl. Physiol. 10: 272-308.

Mann, K. H. (1951) On the bionomics and distribution of Theromyzon tessulatum (O. F.

Muller), 1714. (= Protoclepsis tesselata). Ann. Mag. nat. Hist., Ser. 12: 4: 956-61.
McKinney, F. and Derrickson, S. (1979) Aerial scratching, leeches and nasal saddles in
Green-winged Teal. Wildfowl 30: 151-3.

Spelling, S. M. and Young, J. O. (1987) Predation on the lake-dwelling leeches (Annelida:
Hirudinea): an evaluation by field experiment. J. Anim. Ecol. 56: 131-46.

Trauger, D. L. and Bartonek, C. J. (1977) Leech parasitism of waterfowl in North America.
Wildfowl 28: 143-52.

Wilkialis, J. and Davies, R. W. (1980a) The population ecology of the leech (Glossiphoniidae:
Hirudinoidea) Theromyzon tessulatum. Can. J. Zool. 58: 906-12.

Wilkialis, J . and Davies, R. W. (1980b) The reproductive biology of Theromyzon tessulatum
(Glossiphoniidae: Hirudinoidea), with comments on Theromyzon rude. J. Zool. Lond. 192:
421-9.

Young, J. O. and Ironmonger, J. W. (1982a) A comparative study of the life histories of three
species of leeches in two British lakes of different trophic status. Arch. Hydrobiol. 94:
218-50.

Young, J. O. and Ironmonger, J. W. (1982b) The influence of temperature on the life cycle
and occurrence of three species of lake dwelling leeches (Annelida: Hirudinea). J. Zool.
Lond. 196: 519-43.

65

NOTES ON YORKSHIRE MOLLUSCA 8:
HELICODISCUS SINGLEYANUS (PILSBRY, 1890) NEW TO YORKSHIRE

A. NORRIS
Leeds City Museums

Whilst examining the molluscan finds from flood debris collected from the east bank of the
River Wharfe at a point just below Grass Woods, Grassington 34/985650). Dr C. R. C. Paul
of Liverpool University found three dead shells of the small Endodontid, Helicodiscus
( Hebetodiscus ) singleyanus (Pilsbry, 1890). All three of the specimens still possessed their
periostracum, and one of the shells was very fresh and translucent. The material was collected
on 25 April 1987, but not recognised by Dr Paul until the specimens were re-sorted over the
Christmas vacation in 1990. The specimens were then forwarded to the national recorder, Dr
M. P. Kemey, who confirmed their identification.

Additionally, whilst investigating an infestation of ants in the greenhouses at Leeds
University Experimental Gardens in Leeds in August 1987, 1 noticed a number of small snails
which, on examination, turned out to be a mixture of Zonitoides ( Zonitoides ) arboreus (Say
1816) and H. singleyanus (Norris 1988). Both of these species are the first records for
Yorkshire. Greenhouse records are, however, of little other than academic interest, as most of
the species found in greenhouses do not escape into the wild. Helicodiscus is, however,
known to occur both in the wild and in greenhouse situations in Britain and Europe.

The occurrence of this species at Grassington is of great interest, as it may well have
become established in that area. In Europe it has been recorded from a variety of lowland
habitats and it is known to be subterranean in habit (Kemey & Cameron, 1979). In Britain it
was first recorded from an archaeological dig at La Bergerie, St Ouen, Jersey in 1974;
woodland at Ynys-hir Hall near Machynlleth, Dyfed in September 1975; a yard at Dell Farm
Field Centre, Whipsnade, Bedfordshire in May 1 976 and in leaf litter in Kew Gardens in June
1976 (Chatfield 1977). Since the original discoveries it has been found in several other
scattered sites throughout Britain, including Potton Church in Bedfordshire and Dr Paul’s
garden in Liverpool. This small but interesting species is very rare in Europe, and it is thought
to have been introduced accidentally into the area from North America. It has recently been
recorded, however, from Pleistocene deposits in Europe, but a great deal of doubt has been
expressed over these finds. Living specimens are known to occur (and, indeed have been
found on plant rootlets) several metres underground. Contamination of fossil deposits by
subterranean snails is often overlooked or misinterpreted. Very little is known about this
species in Europe, and we are not certain how it has been spread throughout the area. I would
be interested to see any possible specimens of this small snail, together with any other snails
found in greenhouses. Helicodiscus could be far more widespread within Britain than is
known at present.

I would like to thank Dr C. R. C. Paul for allowing me access to his notes, and Dr M. P.
Kemey for his information on recent records of this species in Britain.

References

Chatfield, J. E., 1977, Helicodiscus singleyanus (Pilsbry) (Pulmonata: Endodontidae) found in
the British Isles. J. Conch. 29: 137-140.

Kemey, M. P & Cameron, R. A. D., 1979, A Field Guide to the Land Snails of Britain and
North-west Europe. Collins, London.

Norris, A., 1988, Molluscan Report 1987 . Leeds Naturalists’ Newsletter , 2 (7); 139.

Naturalist 116 (1991)

66

FIELD NOTES

A further Yorkshire locality for the water fern beetle, Stenopelmus rufinasus Gy 11.

The weevil Stenopelmus rufinasus Ghyll. was first reported in Yorkshire by Mr J. H. Flint
when, in September 1978, he and Mrs Flint found the species in quantity in a pond near the
River Derwent at Hemingborough (Naturalist 104: 112). This tiny weevil is associated with
the water fern Azolla filiculoides Lam. and, like the fern, it is an introduction from North
America.

In December 1990, Mr Tim Dixon drew to my attention a large quantity of water fern which
had been pulled out of Pocklington Canal near Canal Head at SE/797468, and dumped in
heaps by the side of the path. A quantity of the material was brought home on 20 December
and on close examination it was found to contain large numbers of S. rufinasus. This
constitutes the second known Yorkshire locality for this interesting insect, and no doubt future
investigation will reveal its presence in other places on the Plain of York where the the water
fern occurs.

Coleopterists may wish to know that some patience is needed when searching for the beetle
because of its small size coupled with very sluggish movement, even if the material is being
examined in a warm room.

Roy Crossley

1 The Cloisters, Birker Lane, Wilberfoss, York Y04 5RF

Cache prey of Tawny Owl

The ability of male owls to deliver several prey items in quick succession to an incubating or
brooding female has often been ascribed to the greater hunting efficiency of certain males or
to a concentration of easily caught prey. Observations on a pair of Tawny Owls Strix aluco in
Bedfordshire indicate that the male had the rationale to cache prey, presumably in preparation
for subsequent high demands.

While visiting nesting sites of Tawny Owls during the afternoon of 12 April 1990, a natural
tree cavity used previously by them in 1989 was inspected and found to contain a roosting
Tawny Owl and three freshly killed Starlings Sturnus vulgaris. A nesting box was in position
200 metres away from this natural site, having been placed there because of the poor
structural condition of the tree, and on inspection a female Tawny Owl was flushed from three
young, the eldest of which was estimated to be about eight days old.

Evening observations were made at this location from a position which permitted an
unobstructed view of both sites. At 21.23 hours, the female began calling from within the
nesting box; at 21.28 hours, a Tawny Owl, presumed to be the male, was seen to visit the
natural site, to collect a prey item and deliver it to the nest box, where it was taken by the
female. The male then flew directly back to the tree cavity and collected a second prey item,
taking it to a nearby perch, and finally delivering it to the female when she called from within
the box.

It may thus be concluded that timed observations of prey deliveries to a breeding site by the
male may not be a true record of the time taken to catch the observed prey.

Paul N. Johnson

The Stewards House, Sunderland Farm, Docking, Norfolk, PE31 8PF

Footnote:

John R. Mather comments that although the habit of caching prey items is well known
(Philips W. R. 1948, Birds of a Valley , London; Walpole-Bond H. 1914, Field Studies of
some Rarer British Birds, London), these observations are most interesting in that they record
the retrieval procedure, not mentioned in Birds of the Western Palearctic Vol. IV.

67

OBITUARY

ALAN FREDERICK GORDON WALKER

1928-1991

The death of Alan Walker in February 1991 was a sad loss. A victim of polio at the age of 12,
he was left with restricted mobility with which he had to come to terms. He showed great
courage, and from the outset fought against the easy option of becoming dependent on others.

During the war years he relied on public transport to get to Gouthwaite Reservoir, where he
spent hundreds of hours not only bird-watching but learning bird song, which he regarded as a
complementary skill. He later acquired his own vehicle and was able to travel. He visited the
Solway, Monk’s House Bird Observatory (in the days of Eric Ennion) and later Islay which
was to become his second love after Gouthwaite. He went abroad to Sardinia, northern Spain,
America, Norway, the Gulf, and also Gibraltar on a number of occasions, where he was able
to study and provide data on raptor migration over the Straits.

He joined the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union in 1947, the year of the foundation of the
Harrogate and District Naturalists’ Society. Encouraged by the Rev. K. Ilderton, a local
ornithologist, he set about compiling the first check list of the birds of the H&DNS study area,
which was to form the basis of all the Ornithological section reports he compiled as the
Society’s recorder until 1976. He set himself a high standard and his contributions to the
VC64 recorders were always greatly appreciated. In 1960 he took on the VC Ornithological
Recordership, but relinquished it after 3 years, mainly because of his increasing commitment
to the British Trust for Ornithology.

68

Obituary

He joined the BTO in 1950 and became a ringer in 1952. Over the years, Alan handled
thousands of birds but was quick to recognise the scientific value of nestling ringing, which
establishes the age and origin of each bird. In the late 1950s he embarked on two main
projects: the ringing of wader chicks on the high ground around Harrogate, and the ringing of
thrush pulli in Upper Nidderdale.

A total of 321 Lapwing chicks were ringed during the spring and summer of 1957 by a
team of wader chick ‘spotters’ and catchers. The ringing of Blackbird and Song Thrush pulli
produced enough recoveries to establish a pattern of winter movement of Song Thrushes
south and west and even into the Iberian Peninsula, whereas Blackbirds were mainly leaving
the high ground to winter at lower altitudes more locally.

Whilst basically rejecting the ‘ring and fling’ attitude to ringing, Alan was always eager to
have a go at ‘the big stuff’; and therefore, in 1956, after experimenting with a variety of
methods to get moulting Canada Geese off the Lakes at Ripley Castle, near Harrogate (those
were the pioneering years) a few were penned. This catch marked the beginning of Alan’s
enduring interest in the Canada Goose — in the species’ moult migration to the Beauly Firth,
Inverness-shire, and later in founding the Canada Goose Study Group of Yorkshire. In 1970
‘The moult migration of Yorkshire Canada Geese’ was published in Wildfowl and he later
wrote the chapter on Canada Geese in Birds of Yorkshire by J. R. Mather (1986).

He always enjoyed survey work and, as a result of the steady flow of data he sent in during
the six years following his joining, the BTO appointed him the Regional Representative for
West Yorkshire in 1956. He later served a term as a Council member (1973-1977). His
enthusiasm for birds was such that he was able to motivate people into providing records for
numerous surveys, including two major projects: the Atlas of Breeding Birds and the Register
of Ornithological Sites. He had, since 1952, been organising the wildfowl counts for the
Wildfowl Trust. In 1970, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to Ornithology, he
was awarded the Bernard Tucker Medal by the BTO.

His contribution to the Harrogate and District Naturalists’ Society was remarkable. He was
a founder member, and President in 1958, 1959 and again in 1972, the Society’s Jubilee Year.
He produced two major publications: a booklet on Gouthwaite Reservoir and a ‘Check list of
the Birds of the Harrogate area’ (1961), which ultimately covered a span of forty years. He
edited the Harrogate and District Naturalists Society’s Annual Report from 1963-1970, and
was co-author of a paper ‘Recoveries of birds ringed in the Harrogate area’ in The Naturalist
(1965).

Alan cared deeply about wild places and their birds. In the 1960s, with recreational
pressures mounting, he feared for the future of Gouthwaite Reservoir and pressed for SSSI
designation. When its protection as a nature reserve was assured it was fitting that, in 1978, he
should be appointed Chairman of the Yorkshire Water Authority’s Expert Committee, a
position which he held until his death.

Alan loved birds. He would sit for hours watching birds bathe, preen, song-flight or nest,
sometimes a mere bundle of feathers in a winter blizzard. He was sceptical about what he
used to call ‘Man’s technical ingenuity’ and its consequences for the natural world. He
preferred to share his simple pleasures with others, infecting them with his own enthusiasm.
He married in 1984, and after his retirement (he worked for Harrogate Borough Council and
latterly the Regional Hospital Board) was able to enjoy longer holidays with Alison, and
Branta, his black Labrador.

Many who learnt their bird-watching skills from him will remember him with gratitude. In
spite of his difficulties he derived a great deal of satisfaction from his life, through putting so
much into it.

MRS

Correction

The headings ‘Aerial nests’ and ‘Soil nests’ in Table 8 of The Naturalist 115: 135 (1990)
should be reversed

69

PHAONIA JAROSCHEWSKII SCHNABL (DIPTERA; MUSCIDAE), THE
‘HAIRY CANARY’

P. SKIDMORE

Museum and Art Gallery, Chequer Road, Doncaster DN1 2AE

The author’s involvement in the identification of some one hundred thousand muscid flies
over recent years from surveys in many parts of Britain, and from various museum and
private collections, has highlighted many of the truly rare species. Where something of their
ecological requirements is understood, strategies for their conservation can be formulated.
This paper is concerned with one of our rarest muscids and one currently of particular
relevance to Yorkshire, namely Phaonia jaroschewskii Schnabl. It is evident that this species
can be used to assess the ecological integrity of the peat-bogs which it frequents in much the
same way that canaries were used by colliers to test the safety of coalmines.

P. jaroschewskii, especially in the male sex, is unmistakable amongst British muscids in the
exceptionally bristly hind tibiae which carry the strong near-posterodorsal bristle
characteristic of the genus. It was the extremely hairy hind tibiae of this fly indeed which
prompted Ringdahl to give it the name P. crinipes when he described it from Sweden in 1913.
His name however sinks into synonymy since it has been shown that the species had already
been named by Schnabl in 1888 on specimens taken in Kharkov by Jaroschevsky. The
puparium of P. jaroschewskii is even more distinctive in the minute, highly characteristic anal
spiracles and the unusually long and thick prospiracular processes. In this respect the only
known muscid with a similar puparium is the North American P. deleta Stein (Skidmore
1985). Hennig (1955-64) and Zinoviev (1981) state that P. siebecki Schnabl & Dziedzicki,
which ranges from Devon northwards to Allerthorpe Common (VC61) and eastwards to
Lower Austria and Leningrad is the only palaearctic species closeiy related to P.
jaroschewskii. The biology of P. siebecki is unknown, but it favours drier places than P.
jaroschewskii, frequenting birch-clad heaths, and hence is less rare.

P. jaroschewskii is the lowland raised bog muscid par excellence; an international rarity
whose world distribution, a very meagre scatter of isolated colonies, coincides very closely
with that of lowland raised bogs. Polunin and Walters (1985) show that this was an
exclusively north European vegetational type and essentially a feature of the Baltic region, but
with extensions westwards into lowland England and eastwards across north-west Russia;
today, as Caulfield (199 1 ) shows most has been destroyed and even the remnant is everywhere
under attack. Within its habitat P. jaroschewskii breeds in wet, active Sphagnum (Skidmore,
1985).

Insofar as the British status of P. jaroschewskii is concerned Fonseca (1968) gave only
three British localities (i.e. New Forest, Hants., Whixall Moss, Flints, and Skipwith Common,
Yorks.), whilst the huge amount of collecting and subsequent surveys throughout the British
Isles have added only two further sites (i.e. Arne, Dorset and Thome Moor, Yorks). Currently
known only from Thome Moors it is classed by the Nature Conservancy Council as an RDB 2
species in Britain. Recent work on Thorne Moors shows clearly that such is the fly’s
vulnerability that its continued presence in the other recorded localities listed above cannot be
assumed; continual monitoring is essential. A recent intensive survey of peatlands throughout
Wales, which included the Flintshire part of Whixall Moss, failed to reveal its presence there,
but the exact location near Bettisfield where it was taken by Wainwright in 1938, was
destroyed by peat-extraction during the 1970s. Unprecedented collecting by dipterists in the
New Forest and the Dorset heaths has failed to rediscover it, and the area of Skipwith
Common where it was taken has now totally changed.

In July 1985 random sweeping over much of the National Nature Reserve on Thome Moors
revealed that P . jaroschewskii was the most abundant muscid, and when in 1987 W. A.Taylor,
the NCC Warden, ran a Malaise Trap there, this was again found to be the case. During late
1988 and through 1989 a system of very deep drains was dug by Fisons beside the National

Naturalist 116 (1991)

70

Phaonia jaroschewskii

Nature Reserve and in 1990 the water-table on the reserve reached the lowest level ever
known. Fortuitously, it was also during 1990 that the most intensive entomological survey
ever carried out there was organised (Heaver & Eversham, 1991). The largest number of
muscids taken in any single sector in this survey came from the reserve, and this figure greatly
exceeded that taken in 1987. But there were far fewer species present in 1990, and P.
jaroschewskii was totally absent! In fact most of the muscids from the reserve in 1990
belonged to our commonest British species, Helina evecta. which is tolerant of the driest
conditions and could not breed in the inundated regimes required by P. jaroschewskii. The
1990 results in fact very strongly indicate that the lowering of the water table across the
reserve had wiped out the the international rarity P. jaroschewskii from that part of the moors.

During 1990 P. jaroschewskii maintained a good foothold in three other isolated parts of
Thome Moor where an adequate water-table had remained despite the extended drought, and
some tree cover gave insulation against excessive evaporation. However the huge population
crash on the National Nature Reserve, occurring in less than three years, demonstrates that
population size is no guarantee for survival in the face of habitat change. It also underlines the
absolute necessity of continual monitoring.

Lest it be argued that it was the drought of 1990 alone which caused the demise of P.
jaroschewskii on Thome Moor NNR, it is merely necessary to recall that populations of peat-
pool species showed no decline on the NNR. during the long 1976 drought. Also, as stated
above, P. jaroschewskii occurred elsewhere on the moors in 1990, invalidating any attempt at
a climatic explanation and any suggestion that different trapping methods caused the disparity
in results. Lowland raised bogs in areas of low rainfall, such as Thome Moors, have always
faced the hazards of droughts, and a study of climatic records over the past centuries show
how frequently these have occurred. However, provided a high water table is maintained by
the living bog surface, the deleterious effects of droughts are minimised, and even the most
hygrophilous members of the mire ecosystem can survive these difficult periods.

The implications from the changing fortunes of the ‘Hairy Canary’ on Thome Moors are
clear. An actively growing bog surface is vital for the survival of this international rarity in
what is to the best of our knowledge, its only remaining British locality. If strong populations
can be maintained on other parts of Thome Moor, re-colonisation of the National Nature
Reserve may be possible when the water-table across the reserve is restored to the optimum
level. The evidence suggests that P . jaroschewskii may survive on two of the sectors
adjoining the reserve, but only in very small numbers.

If a widespread arrest of declining water tables is initiated now as a matter of urgency, and
high levels restored to most of the moor, it may be possible to save the ‘Hairy Canary’ on
Thome Moor, along with many other peat-pool species. However it seems most unlikely that
this will be done, since according to Caulfield (1991), the peat-extraction company has
incurred huge expenditure on new drainage works, and even road-building, across Thome
Moors in preparation for a massive increase in peat removal. This has now become possible
through technological innovations introduced from abroad, whereby vast areas of peat-bog
can be removed simultaneously by the surface-milling system. This alien technique appears to
have been pioneered in Finland but has been used widely elsewhere with disastrous results on
peat-bog flora and fauna throughout the entire distributional range of this globally rare habitat
type. Caulfield (1991) quotes the company’s Thome Moor manager, whom she interviewed in
the latter half of 1990, as saying ‘Fisons were about the last to adopt surface-milling. If we
had been earlier we might not have had a problem about Thome Moors, because it wouldn’t
be worth fighting for’. Doubtless an honest comment, but not one which inspires confidence
in the future ecological integrity of the moor!

Clearly, faced with the draining of most of the moors, followed by the wholesale habitat
destruction planned, the retention of a viable peat-bog invertebrate community on Thome
Moors is exceedingly remote. The entire ecosystem of which the ‘Hairy Canary’ is a
particularly vulnerable member, is now wholly at the mercy of Fisons Horticultural Pic.
Atkins (1991), an adviser to the company, recognising the irrevocable damage done by peat-
harvesting to this ecosystem, by removal of surface vegetation and drainage operations, urges

Book Reviews

71

continuous pressure on manufacturers to produce alternatives. Echoing these sentiments, we
leave the last word to Prince Charles: ‘If we would like other countries to stop regarding their
rain-forests as useless jungles, we would do well to set an example by not treating our
peatland habitats as useless bog to be drained, dug up and scattered about in our gardens’.

References.

Atkins, P. (1991) Peat and the gardener. J. R. Hort. Soc. 10-13.

Caulfield, C. (1991) Thome Moor. The New Yorker (4 Feb. 1991): 58-77.

Fonseca, E. C. M. d’A. (1968) Diptera Cyclorrhapha Calyptrata. Section (b) Muscidae.
Handb. Ident. Br. Insects. X (4a): 1119.

Heaver, D. and Eversham, B. (1991) Thome & Hatfield Moor Invertebrate Survey (Draft Final
Report). Thome & Hatfield Moors Conservation Forum.

Hennig, W. (1955- 64) Muscidae, in Lindner, E. Fliegen Palaarkt. Reg. 63b: 1-1 1 10.

Polunin, O. and Walters, M. (1985) A Guide to the vegetation of Britain and Europe. Oxford
University Press.

Skidmore, P. (1985) The biology of the Muscidae of the world. Series Entomologica 29:
1-550.

Zinoviev, A. G. (1981) On the Classification of the Genus Phaonia R.-D. (Diptera,
Muscidae). Ent. Obozr. 60 (3); 686-698. [In Russian.]

BOOK REVIEWS

Soils and Micromorphology in Archaeology by M. A. Courty, P. Goldberg and R.
Macphail. Pp. xx + 344, including many b/w plates, line drawings & tables, plus 8 pp. of
colour plates. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. 1989. £40.00.

Classical archaeology is about digging and digging is about shifting soil to reveal artifacts
and constructional remains for scrutiny and measurement. A welcome development in recent
years is the realisation that soil itself has a story to tell for those who can read the hidden text.
Evidence gleaned from soil analysis deepens archaeological understanding. This book is
about one way in which the soil record can be read, namely through its micromorphology. For
the chemist soil is a most intriguing set of highly reactive interfaces. The ecologist sees soil as
the medium in which plants spread their roots and from which they derive their nourishment.
But for the pedologist soil is to be interpreted in terms of the nature and arrangement of both
visible and microscopic structures in the undisturbed soil as it forms and evolves in the
landscape. Micromorphology deals with the study of thin sections of undisturbed soil, usually
using a petrological microscope. Descriptions of the organisation of soil minerals and the
natures of thin films and concretions as seen in plain and polarised light have added much to
the understanding of pedogenesis. Optical microscopy is now powerfully complemented by
new techniques such as scanning electron microscopy. It is a welcome development to see
these applied to soils and sediments from archaeological sites.

After some introductory pages the first main contribution in Part I (Basic Principles) covers
fundamental concepts in soil science and current methods. This is a conventional treatment of
soil genesis and profile description. I do wish, however, that authors would have the courage
of their convictions and drop all references to zonal and azonal soils, concepts which are not
only obsolete but positively misleading. The second half of the chapter describes methods of
soil analysis, albeit in a very condensed form. Field methodologies and soil sampling are
described next, followed by a comprehensive account of the microscopic approach.

The second part of the book has to do with ‘Processes and Features’ starting with
sediments, their nature, formation and transportation. The material or anthropogenic features

72

Book Reviews

in soils and sediments is full as one would expect in a book of this kind. Post-depositional
processes are also described in great detail.

The final part comprises a number of case studies. Micromorphology of sediments from the
Cave of Vaufrey in Perigord, France established a relative chronology of events which would
have been impossible using more conventional approaches. Similarly, other studies in Israel
and Morocco have also provided new interpretations of chronologies. The remaining cases
were from open-air sites. One project in the Golan Heights allowed a differentiation of
apparently uniform red sediments while another in the Jordan Valley led to a fuller
understanding of the nature of building materials and occupational surfaces.

This is a fascinating book. It is well produced with many good plates and figures. There is
a comprehensive reference list. I can confidently recommend it to all pedologists and
archaeologists.

BED

Grasshoppers and Allied Insects of Great Britain and Ireland by Judith A. Marshall and
E. C. M. Haes. Pp. 252, with 55 text figures and 12 colour plates. Harley Books, Colchester.
Revised Version 1990. £15.95.

We welcome the publication of this ‘soft-back’ edition of the superb Harley Monograph
under the above title, the first edition of which was reviewed in The Naturalist in 1988 (p.
140). A small number of corrections to the 1988 edition are included in the one here under
review, along with some additional distributional data arising from more recent research.

The greatly reduced price should guarantee the work a wider sale and with the expanding
enthusiasm amongst wildlife photographers for our more conspicuous insects, we would
expect this book should prove a well-deserved success for the publishers. A valuable feature
which this book shares with many currently being produced on other entomological subjects
is that it is equally instructive to beginner and seasoned specialist alike. The new recruit with
no prior knowledge of entomology is transported through the subject with consummate ease
to the frontiers of our knowledge of the subject. One will quickly learn to distinguish the
species, and with an accompanying tape can even learn to recognise them by their calls!

A walk in the country will gain yet another fascinating dimension.

PS

Poplars of the British Isles by Theresa Brendell. Pp. 24 with 29 colour plates. Shire
Publications, Princes Risborough. 1990. £1.95.

This booklet is number 58 in the excellent series of Shire Natural History mini-
monographs, and follows the regular format of informative text, many colour photographs and
useful line drawings in a compact and appealing style. Both native species of poplar and
common introductions are covered. There is a guide for identification of species, as well as
sections on distribution and ecology, growth and propogation, pests and diseases, and the
commercial and amenity value of poplars. A worthwhile addition to this series.

WHGH

Butterflies and Moths of Yorkshire
Distribution and Conservation

Editors: S. L. Sutton and H. E. Beaumont

370 pages packed with information about Yorkshire’s 1,591 butterflies and moths.
Introductory chapters dealing with distribution, conservation, etc., comprehensive
bibliography, gazetteer of 900 locality names.

£15.00 + p&p. Obtainable from Mrs J. Payne, 15 Broad Lane, Cawood, Selby Y08 0SQ.
Please make cheques payable to the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union.

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The Irish Naturalists’ Journal

A quarterly journal of Irish natural history
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A QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF NATURAL HISTORY FOR THE NORTH OF ENGLAND

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>853

The Birds around Malham Tarn — A. J. Clunas and B. Shorrock

Two rare Scuttle Flies (Diptera, Phoridae) from Yorkshire,
including one new for Britain — R. H. L. Disney

Population changes in three butterfly species in North
Lancashire 1979-1990 — John Wilson

Recent Cetacean records from Yorkshire waters —

C. A. Howes

Coleoptera records for Yorkshire: a review and update —

R. J. Marsh

The G. B. Walsh Collection of Meligethes Stephens
(Coleoptera: Nitidulidae), with notes on published
records — A. H. Kirk-Spriggs

Published by the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union

Editor M. R. D. Seaward, MSc, PhD, DSc, fls. The University, Bradford BD7 1DP

Notice to Contributors to ‘The Naturalist’

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73

THE BIRDS AROUND MALHAM TARN

A. J. CLUNAS

National Trust, Malham Tarn Estate
and

B. SHORROCK

7 East View, Settle

Introduction

This paper updates the excellent ‘The Birds of Malham Moor’ (1960) by Paul Holmes, the first
warden of the Malham Tam Field Centre. He had a long association with the area and had an
intimate knowledge of its birds.

The total number of species recorded is 179. Forty new species have been added to the
original list published by Holmes. These additions are given in Appendix 1 together with the first
recorded date. A total of 91 species are known to have bred with 72 species currently breeding.
We hope that the paper will encourage others to add to our knowledge of the birds of this area.
There is still a great deal to learn.

The area covered by the paper is 4440 hectares (c. 44 km2), being the parish of Malham Moor
and a part of the parish of Malham (Figure 1). Grassland is the most widespread habitat, ranging
from calcareous to acid; open water is represented by Malham Tam and Fountains Fell Tam; the
streams include Dambrook Beck, Cowside Beck, the upper reaches of Gordale Beck and the
inflow and outflow of the Malham Tam; mires are represented by Tam Moss, a raised bog, Tam
Fen, Ha Mire and Great Close Mire, together with calcareous mires and numerous wet flush
areas where springs emerge from the bedrock; the largest woodland is Tam Woods with other
smaller plantations around farmhouses and at Dambrook farm. The plantations at Dambrook
covering 42 hectares and planted between 1974 and 1980, have created a new habitat in
otherwise open moorland and have been colonised by willow warbler, linnet, and whinchat.

The predominant land use is stock farming, but parts of Fountains Fell are maintained for
grouse shooting, and a small area around the Tam which is a nature reserve owned by the.
National Tmst and managed jointly by the National Trust and the Field Studies Council.

The main changes that effect birds, particularly the breeding birds, are an increase in the
number of visitors and an increase in the number of students visiting Malham Tam Field Centre.
It is also likely that the arrival of mink in the area has had an adverse affect on breeding birds.
Species which have shown a marked change in status since 1960 are given in Appendix 2.

Undoubtedly the most potent regulator of birdlife in the study area will always be the winter
weather, when severe spells can wipe out populations and it may take some years before
recolonisation occurs, particularly by the more the sedentary species.

A list of earliest and latest dates for summer visitors is given in Appendix 3.

Systematic List

The systematic list follows K.H.Voous, List of Recent Holarctic Bird Species (1973 and 1977).
Each species has been given a status as follows:

Very rare

Rare

Scarce

Uncommon

Common

B

(B)

FB

recorded 1-5 occasions

recorded 6-20 times

1-4 recorded almost annually

5-20 recorded annually on a few occasions

20+ recorded annually

breeding proven

irregular breeder

formerly bred

Naturalist 116 (1991)

The Birds Around Malham Tarn

Roads

Woods & plantations

FIGURE 1
Study area

The Birds Around Malham Tarn

75

Sp

Su

Au

W

Spring

Summer

Autumn

Winter

(A season in parenthesis indicates that the species is less common at that time.)

Y

recorded throughout the year

Esc

escape or likely escape

f.

female

m.

male

imm.

immature

juv.

juvenile

pr

pair

Observers

DB

D. Bremner

PM

P. Mawby

FR

F. Roberts

RB

R. Brown

IM

I. Mercer

BS

B. Shorrock

AC

A. Clunas

KM

K. Moir

MT

Mr & Mrs Tullock

PC

P. Croft

HM

H. & S. Musher

PW

P. Wilkinson

PH

P. Holmes

CP

C. Poulson

TW

T. Williams

EJ

E. Jackson

SR

S. Ralph

Species Accounts

Red-throated Diver ( Gavia stellata ) Very rare

One on Tam in 1907 but no date given (Nelson, 1907). One on Tam still showing traces of
breeding plumage on 24/12/66 (DB, BS).

Little Grebe ( Tachybaptus ruficollis) Common (B) Sp Su Au (W)

Breeding at the Tam in 1896 (Peake, 1896). 1 pr breeding up to 1960 (Holmes, 1960). BTO
Census 4 prs 1966, 2 prs 1977, then 1 pr irregularly to end of 1990. Maximum numbers
present Aug-Oct. Some notable counts as follows: 27 on 14/10/72, 20 on 6/10/73, 18 on
11/10/74, 18 on 2/9/75, 20 on 16/9/77, 17 on 1 1/10/78. These have not been matched in recent
years, e.g. maximum 4 on 23/10/89. 1-2 birds winter around inflow stream most years.

Great Crested Grebe ( Podiceps cristatus) Common B Sp Su Au (W)

First pr bred on Tam in 1921 (Booth, 1933) but E. Peake (1896) saw a single bird there on 7
June 1895. 6 to 8 prs attempt to breed annually. Arriving Feb-Mar, departing Sept-Oct. In
most years one or two birds attempt to winter.

Red-necked Grebe ( Podiceps grisegena ) Very rare

One on Tam 23-30/3/79 (EJ et al.). One there 24/7-26/8/89 in breeding plumage when first
seen (BS).

Slavonian Grebe ( Podiceps auritus ) Very rare

1 on Tam 10/9/48 (Chislett, 1949).

Black-necked Grebe ( Podiceps nigricollis) Very rare

1 adult with traces of breeding plumage on Tam 23/12/49 (PH).

Gannet ( Sula bassana ) Very rare

1 on Tam 30/3/58, after a foggy night, seen diving at fish (PH).

Cormorant ( Phalacrocorax carbo) Rare Y

Only ten records but becoming a more frequent visitor: 2 on theTam 1/6/48, one 6-10/9/50
(PH) and single birds 25/5/77, 26/4/81, 1/4/87, 6 on 12/4/87 and 1 on 28/9/87, 1 on 9/4/89 and
21/8/89, 2 on 6/5/90.

76

The Birds Around Mai ham Tarn

Bittern ( Botaurus stellar is) Very rare

1 on Malham Tam Fen 30/1 1/85 (PW et al.).

Grey Heron ( Ardea cinerea) Common Y

1-3 birds recorded in all months, but most frequent in autumn. Herons do not breed within the
area, the nearest colony being near Hellifield.

Flamingo ( Phoenicopterus sp .) Very rare Esc

3 birds, obvious escapes at the Tam outflow on 29/7/78 (EJ).

Mute Swan ( Cygnus olor) FB Very rare

9 were introduced to the Tam in 1928, these survived until Jan 1949 when the last remaining
bird died. There were no more records until 2 appeared on the Tam Nov 1984, these wintered
before departing in Apr 1985. 1 imm. on 30/6—1/7/87.

Bewick’s Swan ( Cygnus columbianus ) Very rare

All on Tam, 14 on 15/3/56, 3 on 30/1 1/78 and 14 on 6/1 1/80.

Whooper Swan ( Cygnus cygnus ) Scarce W Sp

Birds recorded almost annually but rarely staying more than a day and in many cases only a
few hours. Peak months Oct-Nov and Mar-Apr. More notable flocks have been, 25 on 7/1/50,
32 on 20/3/50, and 27 on 1/4/82.

Pink-footed Goose (. Anser brachyrhynchus) Scarce W

Recorded most winters, mainly skeins flying over from Oct to Feb. The maximum count was
80 SW over the Tam on 19/1 1/79.

Greylag Goose (Anser anser) Very rare W Sp

Single birds on Tam 17/1/71, 29/3/84 and 17/4/87.

Canada Goose ( Branta canadensis) Scarce

Small numbers recorded annually. A pr was seen near the Tam for a few weeks in the spring
of 1977-1980 but they did not breed. Notable records are 11 on 3/5/76, 5 on 29/3/77, 7 on
4/4/88 and 16 on 5/6/82 with a maximum of 30 on 8/6/89.

Barnacle Goose (Branta leucopsis) Very rare

One on Tarn 14/10/71 and 2 circled there on 7/5/84, eventually leaving in a northerly
direction.

Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna) Scarce

Sixteen records, all from the Tam as follows: 1 on 22/9/48, 1 possibly feral bird 14 Aug to
early Dec 1976, 13 on 4/5/78 and 5 on 12/10/78, 2 on 12/2/80 and 3 on 6/5/80, 3 on 13/5/82,2
on 28/4/83 and one on 7/5/85, 3 on 21/10/87, pr flying N over Waterhouses on 29/10/87 and 1
on 4/1 1/87, 3 on 17/3/89, 20 on 1 1/8/89, 7 on 22/9/89 and 1 on 18-19/1 1/89.

Wood Duck (Aix sponsa) Very rare Esc

One m. on Tam 23/5/89 (BS).

Wigeon (Anas penelope) Common FB Au W Sp

Regular winter visitor in small numbers, maximum 60 on 14/9/49. Earliest arrival date
27/8/89, the area is vacated during hard weather, with the birds reappearing from Feb-Apr
latest date 3/5/87. An adult with young on the Tarn in 1901 is the only breeding record
(Nelson, 1907 ). Prior to 1970 30-50 birds were seen on the Tam, now much scarcer, recent
records are of 10-30.

Gadwall (Anas strep era) Very rare

Pr on the Tam 1 1/5/82 with 1 m. and 2 f. there on 2/1/85.

Teal (Anas crecca) Common B Y esp W

Two or 3 prs breed annually around the Tam, with 1 pr on Fountains Fell Tam 640 metres
above sea level. Small numbers are present during the winter months, an exceptionally high
count was 70 on the Tam 27 Nov 1985. One ringing recovery shows the continental origin of
the wintering birds — a first year bird ringed in Holland Sept 1961 was recovered at Malham

The Birds Around Malham Tarn

77

Tam 23/10/62. Teal ringed as young appear to leave their natal area. Out of five young birds
ringed on Malham Moor on 29/6/52, four had been recovered before the year end. One at
Bewholme, East Riding in Aug; one at Bootle, Cumberland, in Oct; one in County Cork in
Aug; and one in County Antrim in Nov (Mather, 1986).

Mallard {Anas platyrhychos ) Common B Y esp W

At least 10 prs breed annually (11 broods on 18/6/87). The resident population is boosted by
winter visitors. Peak count of 98 birds on 26/10/70, more usually 20-60.

Pintail {Anas acuta) Very rare

Five records from the Tam, 1 m. on 25 Sept 1959, 1 m. on 29/3/74, 2 on 7/10/78 and 2 on
28/8/83, 9 on 31/8/88.

Shoveler {Anas clypeata ) Formerly common, now scarce FB

Up to 1963 an irregular winter visitor in small numbers late Sept to Dec, occasional in spring.
In 1963 a pr bred for the first time, with 5 prs by 1966. This situation continued until 1976
when breeding ceased. During this period a flock of 50 to 60 birds gathered on the Tam from
Aug to Nov, maximum 78 in Oct 1971. When breeding ceased, autumn numbers dropped and
recently no more than 10 birds have been recorded. A few birds still appear irregularly and a
pr again bred in 1981. The only recent sightings being 7 on 31/8/88, 1 on 26/7/89 and 1 on
12/10/90.

Red-crested Pochard {Netta rufina) Rare

Single m. on the Tam 12 and 16/11/72, 27/10/73 and 24/12/73, and 13/1/74 with a f. there
from 28 Aug to 1 1 Oct 1983, one f. imm. on 26/7/89.

Pochard {Ay thy a ferina) Common FB AU W Sp (Su)

Recorded as breeding (Peake 1896 ) and since then it bred in 1906 and 1971. Regular winter
visitor in good numbers,with a majority of m. at all times. Maximum count in Holmes (1960)
was 105 on 11/12/49, exceeded in the 70s and early 80s with 365 present 30/12/72, 214 in
17/1/73, 235 on 20/12/75, 230 on 3/1/76, and 209 on 23/12/83. The normal maxima in recent
winters were 60 on 21/2/88 and 78 on 14/2/89. During the winter of 1989/90 exceptional
numbers were present Oct 1 15, Nov 230, Dec 153, Jan 458, Feb 480, and Mar 168.

Ring-necked Duck {Ay thy a collar is) Very rare

One m. on the Tam on 13/1/90 (KM).

Tufted Duck {Ay thy a fuligula) Common B Y esp W

Probably first bred 1895, 12 prs in 1966 BTO Census, with 4-6 prs at the present time but few
successful broods noted in recent years (1 brood 1989, none in 1990). Influx of m. late Jun
early Jul, with numbers peaking Aug-Oct and Jan-Feb. More notable counts have been 237
on 19/8/72, 160 on 6/8/77 and 150 on 31/10/84. c.100 present in mid winter when the Tam is
ice free.

Scaup {Aythya marila) Rare

Single birds on Tam 28/10/51, 25/10/53, 1 1/10/55, 16/4/54 and 2 on 7/6/54, 1 on 6 May-4 Jun
1983 and 2 on 8/8/87.

Common Scoter {Melanitta nigra) Rare

Thirty six on 5/9/54, 30 on 10/10/57, 6 on 17/6/58 and one 25-28/4/77, 8 on 3/11/87, 9 on
2/12/87, and 12 on 13/7/90 all records from the Tam.

Goldeneye {Bucephala clangula) Common Y esp W

Regular winter visitor in small numbers Oct to Apr. Maximum 17 on 22/12/79 and 3/1 1/86. In
recent years one or two birds have been recorded during the summer months, possibly birds
from the expanding Scottish population. One m. 18/6/60.

Smew {Mergus albellus) Rare

Ten records from the Tam as follows: 2 f. 21/2/50, pr 23/1/51, one m. 7 and 17/3/53, one m.
16-18/4/54, 3 on 22/1/56, 1 on 25-26/2/61, 2 f. on 18/12/63, one f. on 17/2/74, one redhead
2-3/1 1/86 and one redhead 15/3-17/4/87.

78

The Birds Around Malham Tarn

Red-breasted Merganser ( Mergus serrator) Rare

Three redheads 17/10/74, one f. 24/2-27/3/75, pr on 24/5/75, pr on 28/4/78 and two m. on
28/5/83, one on 28/10/87 and single f./j. on 13/11/87, 22/9/89, 2/9/90 and 12/1/91 all on the
Tam.

Goosander ( Mergus merganser) Common (B?) Y esp Sp

Present on the Tam throughout the year, with peak numbers in early spring. Maximum counts
are 30 on 20/3/50, 40 on 10/2/60, 29 on 1/4/80 and 40 on 6/3/8 1 .

Ruddy Duck ( Oxyura jamaicensis) Very rare

Three records from the Tam, imm. on the 1-3/10/84 (TW et al.), and f./imm. on 29/8 and
4/1 1/90 (BS, AC).

Hen Harrier ( Circus cyaneus) Scarce Au W Sp

Single birds, usually ringtails appear almost annually Sept to May but a few occur outside this
period 1 m. 9/6/70, 1 ringtail 10-18/8/71, 1 ringtail 23/7/75, 1 m. Tam Moss 16/7/76.

Montagu’s Harrier ( Circus pygargus) Very rare

A ringtail near the Tam 23-30/8/68.

Goshawk ( Accipiter gentilis ) Very rare

Single birds Tam Woods 13/10/82 (TW) and 18/8/84 (SR).

Sparrowhawk ( Accipiter nisus) Common B Y

This species returned to Tam Woods in 1970 after a gap of 17 years, with the last breeding
record in 1953. One resident pr now breeds annually, with a marked increase during Sept and
Oct.

Buzzard ( Buteo buteo) Scarce (Sp) Au (W)

In most years single birds are seen, usually in autumn, with occasional sightings in winter and
spring. The birds rarely stay any length of time and are usually seen flying over.

Osprey ( Pandion haliaetus ) Very rare

Three records of single birds, one SW over the Tam 15/8/85 (RB, EJ et al.), and near the Tam
on 20/5/88 (PC) and 22/9/88 (BS).

Kestrel ( Falco tinnunculus) Common B Sp Su Au (W)

‘Up to four prs breed when voles are plentiful, odd birds are resident but most leave in
autumn’ (Holmes, 1960) is still valid. There is a variable movement of birds through the area
in spring, with a more obvious movement in autumn.

Merlin (Falco columbarius) Scarce FB Sp Au

One pr possibly breeds in the area or just outside it in some years, otherwise small numbers of
mainly f. and imm. birds pass through Mar-Apr and Sept-Nov.

Hobby (Falco subbuteo) Very rare

Single birds near the Tam 15/8/70 (IM) and 2/6/83 (EJ).

Peregrine (Falco peregrinus) Common Y esp Au

Single birds noted in most months, with breeding now taking place annually just outside the
area. In recent years imm. birds have taken up residence in suitable breeding habitat for a few
weeks.

Red Grouse (Lagopus lagopus) Common Y

Small numbers are resident on Tam Moss, 5 m. in territory here in 1966, 7 in 1967, only 2 in
1989. Probably no more than 10 birds on the Moss in recent years. An influx has taken place
in late autumn/early winter in at least two years when up to 20 birds present. These birds are
probably overspill from the Fountains and Dambrook Fell populations in good breeding years.

Black Grouse (Tetrao tetrix) Formerly uncommon now rare

Holmes (1960) states that a lek just outside the area held up to 16 m., a more recent figure is
12 m. and 3 f. The only recent records are 2 m. on Tam Moss in Feb, with one there 27/4/83, a

The Birds Around Malham Tarn

79

pr on Fountains Fell 9/4/84 and a m. near Malham Tam 19/8/84 and 1 f. on 28/1/90 near
Henside.

Red-legged Partridge (Alec tor is rufa ) Very rare

Single birds near Capon Hall 22/4/86, near Tennant Gill 24/6/87, 2 Sannat Hall on 4/8/87 and
one Dambrook early Mar 1989.

Grey Partridge ( Perdix perdix ) Uncommon B Y

Resident in small numbers, with coveys seen in most autumns. Eleven Capon Hall on 7/10/89.

Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus ) Common B Y

Resident in Tam Woods (maximum 18 on 26/12/89), it also occurs in small numbers in the
new plantations at Dambrook.

Water Rail (Rallus aquaticus ) Very rare W (Sp)

One seen on the Fen 26/5/49 (PH) but there are no other records of summering birds. There
are odd sightings of birds in winter.

Spotted Crake (Porzana porzana) Very rare

One Tam Fen 13-20/6/48 calling from dusk till dawn (PH).

Corncrake (Crex crex ) FB? no recent records

The last records of birds heard on Malham Moor and near Malham were in late May 1952 and
early Jun 1954.

Moorhen ( Gallinula chloropus) B Y

Two or three prs resident around the Tam 1966-67. After 1967 there were no further breeding
records until in 1988 when there was an unsuccessful attempt. In this interval a decline took
place but it is not possible to say exactly when this occurred. Four sightings of single birds in
1989, 17/3/89, 9 & 31/10/89 and 5/11/89 but breeding was not proven. In 1990 a pr reared 2
young and three birds were noted till the end of the year. A combination of hard winters and
the arrival of mink in the area probably being responsible for the decline. Maximum recorded
in winter was 14 on 27/12/74.

Coot (Fulica atra) Common B Y esp W

There has been an increase in both the breeding and wintering population. In the 1950s 4-7
prs bred, 8 prs 1966, 15 in 1978, 10 in 1980. and 19 in 1987. Autumn-Winter counts in last
decade are now well in excess of 150-240 (Holmes, 1960), maximum counts in recent years
are 720 Oct 1974, 950 on 3/1/76, 555 on 22/12/79, 570 on 7/12/81, 500+ on 4/10/85, 550 on
17/11/86 and 640 on 17/10/89.This is one of the most important wintering sites in Yorkshire
which considering its altitude is surprising. When the Tam freezes over, most birds disperse to
as yet unknown destinations but return fairly quickly when a thaw occurs.

Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus) Common B Sp Su Au

One or two prs attempt to breed annually since colonisation in 1978, breeding was proven in
1989 near the Tam. Main arrival Mar and departure Aug, with a few passage birds also during
spring and autumn. Earliest date 24/2/90 and latest date 7/9/90.

Stone Curlew ( Burhinus oedicnemus) Very rare

One Malham Ings at the end of Apr 1895 (Nelson, 1907).

Little Ringed Plover ( Charadrius dubius ) Very rare

One on Great Close Mire 12/6/50 and 2/6/51.

Ringed Plover ( Charadrius hiaticula) Scarce FB

First recorded from the Tam 10 and 23/5/09 : in 1937 a pr bred on Great Close Mire (Bedford,
1937) and probably in several succeeding years. Since 1948 there have been three late May
records in unspecified years (Holmes, 1960), and 10/6/54, 18/8/50, 1 on 14/9/75, 3/4/76 and 1
on 7/8/83 with 3 on 28/8/83, 1 on 15/5/88, 4 on 11/5, 1 on 19/5 and 1 on 20/8/89 and 2 on
6/5/90. There has been no breeding attempt for at least 40 years.

80

The Birds Around Malham Tarn

Dotterel ( Charadrius morinellus ) Very rare

One Fountains Fell on 14/9/52 (Chislett, 1953), 2 on 28/5/55 (Holmes, 1960), 2 on 6/5/73
(FR) and 5 near the Tam 7/5/86 (PW).

Golden Plover ( Pluvialis apricaria ) Common B Sp Su Au

Six to 10 prs breed on Fountains Fell with one pr in most years on Great Close Mire, arriving
Feb-Mar and departing Aug-Sept. Up to 16 prs were found on Fountains and Dambrook Fells
in the early 1970s (Bell, 1979). During Mar- Apr flocks of mainly northern race birds (C. a.
albifrons ) pass through the area, one flock gathers near Middle House, up to 150 birds in some
years. Autumn passage Aug-Nov also probably contains many northern race birds.

Grey Plover (. Pluvialis squatarola) Very rare

Single birds at the Tam 18/9/72 (BS) and 3/5/86 (CP).

Lapwing ( Vanellus vanellus ) Common B Sp Su Au (W)

Common breeding bird, arriving Feb-Mar and departing Oct-Nov. The only instance of birds
wintering was in the very mild winter of 1974/75 when 20 birds stayed near the Tam, numbers
increased to 120 on 12/1/75 and 80 on 1/2/75. A bird with white wings seen near Settle
sewage farm in Feb was seen on Malham Moor in Aug and back at the sewage farm. Settle on
25/10/74. A pr bred on the summit plateau of Fountains Fell in 1978 and probably does so in
other years, the bulk of breeding population being on the lower ground of Malham Tam
Estate. BTO census 7 prs in 1966, 8 prs in 1967. Flocks which form on the moor from Jun to
Aug are probably local breeding birds.

Knot ( Calidris canutus) Very rare

One by the Tam 14/1 1/49 (Holmes, 1960).

Purple Sandpiper ( Calidris maritima ) Very rare

One at Malham Nov-Dec 1906 (Chislett, 1952).

Dunlin ( Calidris alpina ) Common B Sp Su Au

Three or 4 prs breed Fountains Fell with 1 or 2 near the Tam, arriving Apr and departing Aug.
Five-seven territories Fountains Fell in the early 1970s (Bell, 1979). Regular passage migrant
in small numbers around edge of Tam during Apr-Jun and Aug-Nov.

Ruff ( Philomachus pugnax ) Very rare

One Malham Moor 6/9/78 (SR).

Jack Snipe ( Lymnocryptes minimus ) Rare Au W

There are only ten records of single birds, an injured bird near Rough Close Farm on 19/12/78,
near Low Trenhouse 12/1/81 and on Tam Moss on 13/11/88. Recent records of single birds
around the Tam on 9/10/89, 1 1, 19 and 29/1 1/89, 10/2/90, 7/10/90 and 30/1 1/90. This species
is likely to be under recorded.

Snipe ( Gallinago gallinago) Common B Sp Su Au (W)

A fairly common breeding bird from late Mar to Oct-Nov. 19 prs around the Tam in the BTO
Census of 1966 with 23 prs the following year. A few birds are recorded most winters.
Maximum 13 near the Tam on 17/10/89.

Great Snipe ( Gallinago media) Very rare

Two shot on high ground, Malham 6 Sept 1862. (Peake, 1896).

Woodcock ( Scolopax rusticola) B Sp Su Au (W)

‘One pr usually breeds in Tam Woods’ (Holmes, 1960). In the BTO Census the Malham Tam
Estate held 4 prs in 1966,and 3 in 1967. The population is now at least 4 prs and with the new
plantations at Darnbrook probably holding a few more. Single birds are recorded in most
winters mainly on Tam Fen.

Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica) Very rare

Five in non-breeding plumage by the Tam 29/6/47 (Chislett, 1952), 1 on 22/8/73 at Tam
Outflow, with 2 there on 16/7/82 (EJ) and 1 on 11/9/87 over the Tam (BS). One on 2/9/90
(BS).

The Birds Around Malham Tarn

81

Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus ) Scarce Sp Au

Small numbers pass through both in spring and autumn, main months are Apr-May and
Jul-Aug. Usually single birds, maximum 8 S over Fountains Fell 2/8/70.

Curlew C Numenius arquata) Common B Sp Su Au

A common breeding bird arriving Feb-Mar, departing Sept-Oct e.g. 1987 recorded 28 Feb-18
Oct. 15 prs on Malham Tam Estate 1966 in the BTO Census with 18 the following year. A
flock of up to 500 birds still gathers on Tam Moss from Apr to early Jun presumably non-
breeders or passage birds. The formerly large moulting flock, up to 3,000 birds which
assembled near the Tam Aug-Sept (Holmes, 1960) has rarely reached more than 500 birds in
recent years. Flock totals in recent years: 900 on 10/9/74, 60 on 8/6/76, 100 on 27/3/71, 200
on 12/3/75 and 500 on 29/3/88. Recorded irregularly during winter months usually single
birds passing through area. 1 on Fountains Fell 1/1/82.

Redshank ( Tringa totanus ) Common B Sp Su Au (W)

Arriving Mar leaving Aug with a few passage birds Apr and Sept. 5 prs on Malham Tam
Estate 1966 with 6 the following year. C. 25 prs Malham Moor in 1985. The only winter
record is of a single bird near the Tam 20/12/70.

Greenshank (Tringa nebularia) Scarce (Sp) Au

A regular late summer autumn passage bird from 4 Jul (1978) to 2 Oct (1985) in very small
numbers, usually single birds around edge of Tam. There is only one spring record of a single
bird near the Tam on 13/5/82.

Green Sandpiper ( Tringa ochropus) Very rare Au

Three records 12-18/8/50 and 25/9/50. and 12/8/52 (Holmes, 1960).

Wood Sandpiper ( Tringa glareola ) Very rare

A single bird near the Tam 21/8/83 (BS) is the only record.

Common Sandpiper ( Actitis hypoleucos ) Common B Sp Su Au

Arriving late Apr, and leaving Jul-Aug with a few passage birds in spring and autumn. 7 prs
on Malham Tam Estate in 1966 with 8 the following year. Five or six prs around the Tam in
1989. 1 or 2 prs also on the beck at Dambrook Farm.

Turnstone ( Arenaria interpres ) Very rare

Three on 15/5/58 (Holmes, 1960) and 5 W on 14/5/90 (AC) both near the Tam.

Red-necked Phalarope ( Phalaropus lobatus) Very rare

One at the Tam 3/6/65 (PM).

Arctic Skua (Stercorarius parasiticus) Very rare

One light phase bird probably an imm. at the Tam on 4/9/40 (Chislett, 1952).

Great Skua ( Stercorarius skua) Very rare

One on the Tam on 20/9/85 (GR) and one there on 12/9/88 (BS).

Black-headed Gull ( Larus ridibundus) Common Y esp Au FB

Recorded in all months. Formerly bred on Fountains Fell e.g. 56 prs in 1950. No longer nests
by the Tam, on Tam Moss or Great Close Mire, last breeding record 1967, although birds
were seen in suitable habitat near the Tam in May 1982. Increased roosting since 1960s
peaking in spring with 1,500 in Mar 1975 and in autumn 9,400 on 16/8/74 and 3000 on
13/11/89. Ringing recoveries — one ringed on 29/6/73 at Sunbiggin Tam as young recovered
dead on 26/8/76, one ringed as pullus Locker Tam, Carperby, 10/6/66 found dead at Malham
Tam 8/10/78. Two foreign ringed birds have been found at the Tarn one on 19/8/89 was
ringed in Lithuania (details not yet received),the other found on 24/7/90 was ringed as a
nestling at Fruensholm, Denmark on 21/6/89.

Common Gull (Larus canus) Common (B) Sp (Su) Au W

In 1955 a pr bred at the Tam, this was the first breeding record for Yorkshire since then a pr
bred irregularly in the area until 1984. The pr bred successfully in 1969,1970, and 1971.

82

The Birds Around Malham Tarn

Increase in roosting birds in spring from several 100 (Holmes, 1960) to 3,000 on 18/3/78 and
autumn 1,000 on 5/11/50 (Mather, 1986), 300-600 (Holmes, 1960) to 2,600 on 10/9/74 with
an estimated 2,000 there on 13/11/89. Odd records of birds between mid Apr-mid Jul. 2 on
17/6/81, and singles on 25/5/83 and 7/5/85.

Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus) Common FB Sp (Su) Au (W)

A few bred Tam Moss in 1920 and 6-7 prs in 1921 but gamekeepers prevented the colony
continuing (Holmes, 1960). Passage migrant late Mar-end Apr and Aug-Sept with lesser
numbers outside these periods. Spring peak 50 on 29/4/82. Autumn peak 750 in Aug 1974.
Winter records 2 Malham Tam on 7/1/81 and 7/12/81, 2 on 13/12/87. One L. f. fuscus on
28/9/55.

Herring Gull (, Larus argentatus) Common Y FB?

Regular visitor to the Tam throughout the year in small numbers, in the last two years there
has been a marked movement in Jan-Feb. Notable counts 25 on 26/1/89, 60+ on 2/2/89 and 25
on 22/1/90.

Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus) Common Sp (Su) Au W

Small numbers at the Tam in all months. Notable flocks were 17 in Jan 1968, 8 in Nov 1985,
25 on 9/2/89 and 45 on 6/1/91.

Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla) Very rare

Three records one of an imm. flying W near Tennant Gill on 30/10/86 (BS), 90 including 1
juv. flew from the E and landed on the Tam on 17/1 1/87 (AC) and 2 adults on 10/3/90 (BS).

Sandwich Tem (Sterna sandvicensis ) Very rare

Two W over the Fen on 6/5/90 (BS).

Common Tem (Sterna hirundo)

Arctic Tem (Sterna paradisaea ) Rare Sp (Su) (Au)

Passage migrant in May (8 records) and single records Jun, Aug and Sept. Of the records
specifically identified 7 records were of Common Terns. Maximum 20 possibly Common
Terns 31/5/81.

Little Tem (Sterna albifrons ) Very rare

One by the Tam on 17/9/50 after severe storm (PH).

Black Tem (Childonias niger ) Rare Sp Su (Au)

Passage migrant singles mostly in May and Jun in recent years but recorded by Holmes in
Aug, Sept and Oct. Maxima 21 on 9/5/54 (Holmes, 1960) with 10 on 16/6/86 (HM). Probably
under recorded and it is likely to be an annual passage bird at the Tam following easterly
winds.

Razorbill (Alca torda) Very rare

One picked up in March 1894 ‘on the high moorland near Malham Tam’ (Nelson, 1907).

Stock Dove (Columba oenas) Common B Sp Su Au

Breeds on cliffs and in bams. Not resident returning in late Jan-Feb, departing Sept-Oct.

Woodpigeon (Columba palumbus ) Common B Sp Su Au (W)

Summer visitor returning 8 Feb (1989)-22 Mar (1982). BTO Census recorded 17 prs breeding
on the reserve in 1966. A notable flock of 40 birds was seen on 5/1 1/89. Ten plus wintered in
1976-1977 after an exceptional beech mast year.

Collared Dove (Streptopelia decaocto ) Rare Y

All records near the Tarn: first 1 on 25/5/67, 1 on 3/4/76, 3 on 11/1/85 and singles at
Waterhouses on 14/5/87 and 3/7/87, 1/4/90 and 26/5/90.

Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus ) B Sp Su

BTO Census 1966 and 1967 counted 3 territorial m. on the Reserve. Probably decreased, in
recent years only the occasional transient singing bird noted. Earliest and latest dates 29/4/77
and 1/9/87.

The Birds Around Malham Tarn

83

Bam Owl ( Tyto alba) Very rare

There have been no records added to those given in Holmes (1960) and it must be considered
extinct in the area. One flushed from a cliff behind Tarn House 6/9/48 and one at a barn
8/2/59.

Little Owl ( Athene noctua ) Common B Y

Breeding at a good many sites in the area in bams, cliffs and probably rabbit holes. It suffers
badly in hard winters but quickly recolonises, presumably from lower ground where it is a
common species.

Tawny Owl (Strix aluco ) Common B Y

Breeds in Tam Woods and environs in small numbers. BTO Census 1966 2 prs and 1967 3
prs. Population fluctuates dependent on the size of the vole population. A bird found in Tam
Woods on 7/11/88 had been ringed there on 25/5/67 as a first year bird. This is currently the
longest lived tawny owl known from ringing in Britain.

Long-eared Owl ( Asio otus) Very rare FB

One pr bred successfully in Tam Woods in 1982 during a vole plague on Tam Moss. One
flushed from Tam Fen on 22/1 1/89 (AC).

Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus) Scarce (B)(Sp) Su Au

Passage migrant. Singles seen in autumn of most years (Jul, Aug and Sept). One record in
spring on Fountains Fell on 30/4/74. Holmes (1960) recorded it as breeding on Fountains Fell
in 1949 and 1958. It has since been recorded breeding at Dambrook Plantations.

Swift (Apus apus ) Common FB Sp Su Au

Birds seen feeding over the Tam from May-Aug. In 1979 and probably in 1990 a pr bred at
Rough Close Farm at 485 metres above sea level. Maximum 500 near Malham Tam in cold
weather on 20/7/79. Earliest date 6/5/90 and latest date 21/8/90.

Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) Uncommon Su Au W

Records of single birds in most years Jan-Feb and Jun-Dec. Most commonly recorded in
autumn but no records in 1978 or 1987.

Green Woodpecker ( Picus viridus ) Rare

Ten records of single birds from Tam Woods between Apr-Aug. (4 in May and single records
in Apr, Jun, Jul and Aug). Recent records 9 Sept-year end 1987, 3 Apr-3 May 1988 and
28/7/89.

Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major ) Rare

Ten records of single birds in Tam Woods, 19/10/48, 11/7/57, 10/2/77, 2/5/80, drumming
10/5/82, 1/10/84, Round Wood 31/8/88, Tam Woods 16/7-12/8/89 and Waterhouses 10/9/90
and 17/9/90.

Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos minor ) Very rare

Three records, all singles, Tam Woods 10/8/50 (Holmes, 1960), 9/2/51, Tam Fen and Moss m.
1/9-10/11/90. (4 sightings) (BS).

Skylark (Alauda arvensis ) Common B Sp Su Au (W)

Mainly a summer visitor with a total of 58 prs recorded during 1967 BTO Census comprising
42 prs Malham Lings, 10 prs Great Close Mire, 4 prs Tam Moss and 2 prs Great Close Scar.
Earliest record 22/1/88. Latest record 12/12/71. Usual arrival is in Feb. Largest count 300 Low
Trenhouse on 9-14/4/78.

Sand Martin (Riparia riparia ) Uncommon FB now Sp (Su) Au

Breeding at the Tam at least since 1896 (Peake, 1896). Nineteen nests holes with 30-40 birds
present at Tam Moss on 12/8/66, 1,015 prs in 1977, present but no breeding (due to cold wet
season?) in 1978, only 1 bird present 1979, last breeding record 1980 when 1 pr bred. Now
only a passage migrant in small numbers with earliest record 14/4/81, and latest 20/9/83.

84

The Birds Around Malham Tarn

Swallow (Hirundo rustica ) Common B Sp Su Au

Breeds Waterhouses and other farms in the area. Five prs Tam House in 1966. Earliest record
1 1/4/80. Latest record 9/10/80.

House Martin ( Delichon urbica ) Common B Sp Su Au

Usually breeds Waterhouses and other farms e.g. Rough Close, Dambrook and Rainscar.
Arrives late Apr-May. Earliest 28/4/87. Latest record 25/1 1/60.

Tree Pipit ( Anthus trivialis ) Common B Sp Su Au

It now breeds in much smaller numbers than in 1960s with none now breeding in Tam Woods.
BTO Census 1967 — Tam Woods 4 prs, and 1 pr in the Fen and Horseshoe Plantation. In
recent years only one pr in territory on the Fen. Earliest record 10/5/80. Latest record 16/8/88.

Meadow Pipit ( Anthus pratensis ) Common B Sp Su Au (W)

Common breeding bird, usually a summer visitor but with a few winter records. BTO Census
in 1967 gave 78 prs on territory. Main arrival is late Mar-May, maximum 100 on 2/5/48.
Autumn passage Sept-Oct. Winter records singles except where stated 4/1/59, Tam Moss
24/1/81, 6 on 2/2/76, 21/1 1/67, Tam Fen on 3/12/83, Tennant Gill on 14/12/74, 7 on 22/1 1/87,
2-3 birds wintered 1988-89 and 1989-90 on Tam Moss.

Yellow Wagtail ( Motacilla flava ) Common B Sp Su Au

Probably breeding in lesser numbers than in the 1960s. BTO Census 1967 — 17 prs, c. 25 prs
Malham Moor 20/6/85. Earliest record Malham Tam 16/4/87. Latest 16 September 1990.Peak
count 100 Malham Tam on 3/5/79. A bird of the nominate race M. f. flava (Blue-headed
Wagtail) was seen on Tam Moss on 4/5/78. (EJ)

Grey Wagtail ( Motacilla cinerea ) Common B Sp Su Au

The present status remains as in Holmes (1960) with one-two prs breeding Dambrook and
upper Cowside Becks. Otherwise a regular passage of single birds at the Tam Mar-Apr and
Aug early Oct with a winter record on 25/1 1/89. Unusually 5 were seen on 26/8/90. Earliest
date 25/2/90 and latest date 7/10/90.

Pied Wagtail ( Motacilla alba) Common B Sp Su Au

The BTO Census around Malham Tam noted 3 prs 1967. Recorded Mar-Sept earliest 8 March
(Holmes,1960) latest 9/10/89. An exceptional record of 1 on Malham Moor 14/11/75. Small
numbers of the nominate race M. a. alba (White Wagtail) occur on spring passage.

Waxwing ( Bombycilla garrulus) Very rare

Three by Tam House 13/12/58 and 10 near Tam House on 5/1 1/65.

Dipper ( Cinclus cinclus) Common B Y

Holmes recorded 7 prs in the area. Infrequently recorded from the Tam 1 on 23/11/79 and 1
on 3/12/80.

Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) Common B Sp Su Au (W)

Usually a summer visitor but a few resident in mild winters e.g. 1987, 1988 and 1989. 15
territories Tam Woods in 1966 and 1978, 24 in 1967. 12 on walls Middle House 1/11/59
presumably passage migrants (Holmes, 1960).

Dunnock (Prunella modularis) Common B Sp Su Au (W)

Resident in small numbers. BTO Census 23 territories in 1966 and 1967, marked decrease
with no more than 4 prs in 1989.

Robin (Erithacus rubecula) Common B Y

Small numbers resident with a noticeable passage in spring and autumn. Thirteen territories
Tam Woods in 1966 (12 in 1967). Total of 20 territories around Malham Tam in 1966. One
ringed Malham Tam Fen 18/7/86 controlled Retford, Notts. 30/8/86.

Redstart (Phoenicurus phoenicurus) Common B Sp Su Au

Summer visitor with 16 territories in 1966 and 15 in 1967. Marked decrease with only 6 prs in
1977 (4 in nestboxes). Earliest record 4 Apr (1980), the latest a f. on 15 Sept (1988).

The Birds Around Malham Tarn

85

Whinchat ( Saxicola rubetra) Uncommon B (Sp) Au

Breeds Dambrook Plantations with passage in small numbers in spring (May) and autumn
(Aug-Sept). 1 pr in territory Ha Mire in 1966, and a m. on the Fen in Jun 1977. Earliest spring
record a m. on 1/5/79, latest record 1 High Trenhouse 15/10/83.

Stonechat ( Saxicola torquata) Rare

Only three recent records, all single birds, a m. near Rough Close on 13/3/88, Capon Hall on
1 1/10/89 and prior to this the previous record was in 1975. 2 prs above Gordale 14/8/49. Other
records all singles except where stated, a m. near the Tam 27/10/49, a m. in the Tam area on
15/5/42, 1 m. on 17/3/72, 1 on 5/3/75. lm. Tennant Gill and lm.Sannat Hall on 3/3/75, 3
Malham Moor on 14/10/75, and Capon Hall on 23/10/75.

Wheatear ( Oenanthe oenanthe) Common B Sp Su Au

Common summer visitor with 5 territories around Malham Tam in 1966, 7 in 1967. Earliest
record 10/3/77, latest 24/10/82.There are a few records of the race ( O . O. leucorrhoa ) 4
summit Fountains Fell on 14/9/59, and 2 m. there on 8/5/74.

Ring Ouzel ( Turdus torquatus) Common B Sp Su Au

It was recorded as breeding on Great Close Hill (2 prs BTO Census 1966) but no longer does
so. This could be due to increased visitor pressure. However it still breeds on Fountains Fell.
Arrives late Mar-early Apr. Earliest date 16/3/73, departing Sept-Oct. Latest date 30/10/88.
Five noted Tam Fen on 29/9/89.

Blackbird ( Turdus merula ) Common B Sp Su Au (W)

Summer visitor arriving in late Mar, with noticeable passage in spring and autumn. Maximum
noted 60+ m. near Malham Tam on 29/4/84 probably migrants. One wintered Rainscar Farm
at 437 metres in 1978 spending its time mostly in a bam, only venturing out in mild weather.
BTO Census in 1966 gave 38 territories (46 in 1967) with the majority in Tam Woods — 22
in 1966 and 25 in 1967. One nest on a limestone outcrop Fountains Fell 240 metres above sea
level in 1976. One bird was controlled at Malham in Jul 1982 which had been ringed in 1979
on the Isle of Man as a juv. and again controlled Malham Tam 1984.

Fieldfare ( Turdus Pilaris) Common Sp (Su) Au (W)

Passage migrant in Oct-Nov and Mar-Apr, exceptional record of one bird 5/6/58 (Holmes,
1960). Autumn maximum 1,500 near Sannat Hall and 1,000 Tennant Gill on 5/11/73. Earliest
date 27/9/90 and latest date 2 on 24/5/73. Winter records 280 on 28/12/77. Middlehouse on
22/1/87, 20 Pinewood on 31/12/87.

Song Thrush ( Turdus philomtlos) Common B Sp Su Au (W)

Breeding summer visitor BTO Census 1966 and in parenthesis 1967 gave the following
figures: Tam Woods 26 (27), Fen 6 (8), Horseshoe Plantation 6 (7), Spiggot Hill Plantation 1
(0). In 1978 there were 19 territories in Tam Woods. Possible decline since then. Usual arrival
mid-late Feb with departure in Oct. Some passage noted Mar-Apr and Sept-Oct. Earliest date
9/2/89 with the latest 29/1 1/80.

Redwing ( Turdus iliacus) Common (Sp) Au

Passage migrant Sept-early Nov and less regularly in spring. Rare mid winter. Earliest record
20 Tam Woods on 26/9/84. Maximum 500+ Tam Woods on 8/10/82. Latest record 13/5/77.

Mistle Thrush (' Turdus viscivorus ) Common B Sp Su Au (W)

Breeding summer visitor which occasionally winters. BTO Census 1966 gave 1 pr on the Fen
and one pr in Tam Woods but in 1967 only one pr on the Fen. In 1987-90 one pr probably
bred near Waterhouses, with an additional pr in Tam Woods in 1989 and 1990. Maximum
recorded 40+ on 13/8/89. Wintering maximum 5 on 26/12/87.

Grasshopper Warbler ( Locustella naevia) Very rare (FB)

Bred on Tam Fen 1948. 1 heard 3/5/53, 1 on 2/5/70, probably passage migrants, 1 Tam Fen
1 3/7/82 and 1 singing there 27/7/90.

86

The Birds Around Malham Tarn

Sedge Warbler ( Acrocephalus schoenobaenus) Scarce (FB) Sp (Su)

Birds recorded on the Fen in most years, usually in spring, with the only breeding record 1951
(Holmes, 1960). Earliest date 29/4/77, 4 juv. caught and ringed on Tam Fen in Jul 1985.
Latest date 1 Tam Fen on 14/9/90.

Lesser Whitethroat ( Sylvia curruca) Very rare

Two records of single singing birds in Tarn Woods on 30/5/66 andl2/5/82. Two autumn
records of single birds at Ha Mire Plantation on 2/8/89 and Tam Fen 27/8/90.

Whitethroat ( Sylvia communis) Formerly uncommon (FB) now rare

Declined in recent years, affected by the drought in its wintering area. It bred in 1957, possibly
in 1959, and 2 prs were recorded in 1966 and 1967. The only other recent records are singing
birds 1977, 1 on 13/6/80 and 1 on Tam Fen 1/5/82.

Garden Warbler ( Sylvia borin) Scarce B Sp Su Au

Breeds in small numbers (3-4 prs) almost annually. Earliest arrival 9/5/89 with latest 5/8/89.

Blackcap ( Sylvia atricapilla) Common B Sp Su Au

Breeds annually. BTO Census 4 prs Tam Woods, 1 pr Horseshoe Plantation in 1966 with
similar population today. Arriving May mid Jun. Earliest date 6/5/90 and latest date 16/9/89.

Wood Warbler ( Phylloscopus sibilatrix ) Uncommon B Sp (Au)

A pr probably bred 1975. Singing birds recorded in spring almost annually but first confirmed
breeding attempt Tam Woods 1989. Earliest date 27/4/82. Latest record — one killed by cat at
Middlehouse on 13/8/82.

Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita ) Uncommon (B?) Sp (Su) Au

Regular passage migrant in small numbers spring and autumn, although a juv. caught and
ringed in Jul 1985 suggested breeding. Earliest record 1/4/89 with the latest 8/10/82. Two
winter records of single birds in Tam Woods on 5/1 1/89 and 4/1 1/90.

Willow Warbler (Phylloscopus trochilus) Common B Sp Su Au

Passage migrant. Summer visitor, breeds in considerable numbers. Tarn Woods held 48
territories in 1978 c. f. 39 territories in 1966. Earliest arrival 9/4/89. Latest date 16/9/90.

Goldcrest (Regulus regulus ) Common B Y

Resident population which suffers in severe winters. BTO Census 3 prs Tam Woods 1966 and
1967, 1 pr Horseshoe Plantation and Pothole Lane. No breeding 1979. Passage birds noted
Apr and Sept-Oct. Fifty plus Tam Woods and Fen 16/9/89. Twenty plus Tam Fen on 10/9/90.

Firecrest (Regulus ignicapillus) Very rare

One with goldcrests Tam Fen on 4/4/88 (TW, BS, AC).

Spotted Flycatcher (Muscicapa striata ) Common B Sp Su Au

Breeds in small numbers 2-5 prs Holmes (1948-60), 11 prs Tam Woods 1966, 5 prs Tam
Woods 1978, 10 used nest boxes 1979, recorded as next most abundant summer visitor after
willow warbler in 1980. Earliest record 1/5/84, latest record 12/10/81.

Pied Flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca) Uncommon (B) Sp Su (Au)

Summer visitor which breeds irregularly — probably bred in 1948. bred in 1966, 1978 and
1987. Five singing birds Tarn Woods in 1989. Passage migrant most frequent in spring
(earliest record 6/5/90) with the latest record a single bird at Globe Flower Wood on 13/8/81.

Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus ) Rare (FB) Sp Su Au

Rare visitor arriving Oct-Nov, sometimes wintering. A flock of thirteen birds first seen in late
Oct 1984, over wintered, subsequently two prs bred the following year. Other records 30 Tam
Woods 2-8/2/57, 4 on 3/11/75, 7 Tam Woods 9/10-16/11 1987, 9 Waterhouses on 29/10/89,
and up to 12 birds present Tam Woods Oct-Nov 1990.

Marsh Tit (Parus palustris) FB no recent records

Formerly a resident breeding bird. Holmes records at least 2 prs (1960) and the BTO Census
1966 and 1967 records 3 prs in Tam Woods. Last bred 1970. A single bird was recorded in
1975 and this is the last known record.

The Birds Around Malham Tarn

87

Willow Tit ( Parus montanus) Very rare

Three records of single birds all from Tam Fen 12/11/74, 10/10/83 until the end of 1985 and
one 2-3/8/89.

Coal Tit (. Parus ater) Common B Sp Su Au (W)

One to 4 prs Tam Woods, some wintering (Holmes, 1960). BTO Census 1 pr Tam Woods
1966 and 1967. Two prs recorded Tam Woods 1990.

Blue Tit (Parus caeruleus ) Common B Y

Resident breeding bird 2-10 prs (Holmes, 1960). 14-15 prs (BTO Census 1966-67) with 24
prs maximum on the whole estate 1966. Passage in autumn suggested by small parties north
over open ground on 3/10/57, and 60 Tam Woods on 4/1 1/59. One ringed as a juv. on 4/9/82
Tam Fen, was found dead Giggleswick, 9 km SW 28/10/82.

Great Tit (Parus major) Common B Y

Breeding resident 1-4 prs (Holmes, 1960). BTO Census 7 prs 1966 and 3 prs 1967. No recent
breeding census.

Nuthatch (Sitta europaea) Common B Y

First record 1 Tam Woods on 4/5/57. First bred 1971. Two prs until 1977 when a severe
winter reduced the population to a single bird. Tam Woods 1 pr bred 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988,
1989 with 2 prs 1990.

Treecreeper (Certhia familiaris) Common B Y

Breeding resident 1-3 Prs Holmes 1960, 3 prs noted BTO Census 1966 and 1967, present
status similar. Suffers like other residents from severe winters.

Jay (Garrulus glandurius ) Very rare

One West Fen in late May (no date) 1967 (Williamson, 1968). 15 at the Tam on 13/10/83
during a huge influx into Britain. One trapped and ringed by T. Williams, left in SW direction.
One Fen 21/10/88 (BS).

Magpie (Pica pica ) Common B Y

One or two prs have bred in recent years ( first 1983 since 1948-50). Prior to this they were
unwelcome spring visitors which were exterminated (Holmes, 1960). Up to 5 noted
Waterhouses 1990.

Jackdaw (Corvus monendula) Common Sp Su Au (W)

Common non breeding visitor to the area seen throughout the year.

Rook (Corvus frugilegus) Common B Y

Breeding summer visitor, with some birds wintering. Rookeries at Low Trenhouse founded
1959 — 10 nests, 1981 — 16 nests, 1987 — 35 nests. Stangill Bam 10 prs 1976, 6 nests in
1981, 17 prs in 1982. The plantation was felled in 1984 after it was ring barked by sheep.
Spiggot Hill Plantation first breeding 1983 — 14 nests, 1987 — 97 nests, 1990 — 170 nests.

Carrion Crow (Corvus corone) Common B Y

Resident breeder. BTO Census 1966 — 5 prs around the Tam, 1967 — 2 prs. Still common
despite persecution. Birds showing characteristics of the race C. c. cornix Hooded Crow 2
Capon Hall 8-30/1/51, and 1 near High Trenhouse 13/3/74.

Raven (Corvus corax) Uncommon (FB) Y

Non breeding visitor seen throughout the year. Fountains Fell singles 25 & 30/4/74 & May
1974. 2/10/80, 2 on 13/1 1/85. Near Malham Tam 6 on 8/12/62, 1 on 4/3/75,2 on 13/6/75, 1 on
30/11/75, 1 on 13/3/77, 2 on 15/10/82, 2 on 2/12/83, 1 on 14/8/84, 1 near the Tam 13 &
23/10/88, up to 7 near the Tarn from 19 Oct to the end of 1989, with up to three seen
throughout the year during 1990. Ringing recovery — a nestling ringed in NW England
14/5/39 was recovered Malham Moor in the winter of 1940/41 (Mather, 1986).

88

The Birds Around Malham Tarn

Starling ( Sturnus vulgaris) Common B Y

Breeding resident with large influxes in the spring and autumn. BTO Census 1966 12 prs Tam
Woods, 22 prs around the Tam. Peak counts 5,000 on 9/7/48 and 6,000 Sannat Hall 22/3/75.

Rose-coloured Starling ( Sturnus roseus ) Very rare

An adult near Malham Tam on 30/6-1/7/79 (MT & BS).

House Sparrow {Passer domesticus ) Common B Y

Breeding resident. Common resident on all farms (Holmes, 1960). BTO Census 10 prs Tam
House and Close 1966. Current status (1990) — absent from Tarn House, Waterhouses,
Middlehouse, Tennant Gill, Rough Close, Rainscar, but present Dambrook, Low Trenhouse,
High Trenhouse, Capon Hall and Westside House.

Chaffinch {Fringilla coelebs) Common B Y

Breeding summer visitor,some wintering. BTO Census 32 prs Tam Woods (1966) with a total
of 51 prs around the Tam. Arrival of m. late Jan-Mar with f. slightly later but usually early
Apr. Exceptionally the first f. in 1980 arrived on 18 Mar. Autumn peak 60 Tam Woods on
28/9/81. Nine m. present in Dec 1980 with small numbers wintering 1989-90. Ringing
recoveries Holmes gave details of a m. ringed in Apr 1954 returning in Apr 1957 and 1958. A
m. ringed Apr 1954 recovered Settle 7 km WSW on 21/10/54.

Brambling {Fringilla montifringilla) Scarce Au W (Sp).

Passage migrant and winter visitor to Tam Woods. In considerable numbers in good beech
mast years e.g. 50 Nov-Dec 1976, 300 Nov 1983, 80 on 27/1 1/85. Latest date a m. in breeding
plumage feeding with chaffinches 15/5/78. Earliest date 2 on 8/10/82. Other notable numbers
100 Tam Woods on 1 1/1/77. Usually do not stay long unless there is a heavy beech mast crop.

Greenfinch {Carduelis chloris) Common B Sp Su Au (W)

Breeding summer visitor. Tarn Woods 1-4 prs (Holmes, 1960), 4-5 prs BTO Census
1966-67. The earliest date of 24 Feb given in Holmes, 1960 does not specify the year. Holmes
gives one winter record 20 Tam House from 13/12/58 to 10/2/59. Recent winter records 1 on
24/1 1/82, 1 on 22/1 1/87 and 3 on 7/12/87, and 4 Tam Woods on 26/12/89.

Goldfinch {Carduelis carduelis ) Common (B) Au W Sp

Irregular breeder, with influx in autumn-winter. Probably bred on the estate 1977 and bred
successfully in Tam Woods in 1984 (prs seen 1970, 1972, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1988-1990).
Winter and spring records 3 Malham Moor on 11/2/73, 6 at the Tam 7/1/81, 1 Tam Woods on
19/1/82. Autumn/winter records 100 High Trenhouse on 19/9/76, 40 Malham Moor Nov/Dec
1979, 50 Malham Tam in Nov 1981, 1 Tam Woods 12/12/81, 30 at the Tam 13/10/83, 55
Tam House lawn 13/10/87.

Siskin {Carduelis spinus) Scarce Sp Au

Passage migrant in Feb-Apr and Sept-Oct with up to 20 birds present. Earliest date 5 on
17/9/77 with the latest date 22/4/82. The only record outside this period is ‘a pair was feeding
on the ground at Malham Tam on 6th June 1966.’ (Mather, 1986)

Linnet {Carduelis cannabina ) Scarce (B) Sp Su Au

Summer visitor and passage migrant in spring and autumn in small numbers. BTO Census Fen
2 prs 1966, 1 pr 1967; Tam Close 1 pr 1966, none 1967. It may have bred Tam Fen 1980. One
pr 1989 Tarn Moss. In 1990 single prs Tarn Moss and Waterhouses. Probably breeds
Dambrook Plantations. Earliest date 9/4/89. Latest date 16/9/90.

Twite {Carduelis flavirostris) Common B Sp Su Au

Common breeding bird on Fountains Fell (1975 — 6 prs, 1976 — 10 prs, 1978 — 40 prs) but
irregular Tam Moss (1964, 1974, possibly 1982 and 2 prs in 1989 & 1990). Earliest arrival
15/3/78, usually main arrival is end Mar-early Apr. Large autumn flocks in Aug-early Oct.
Latest 20/10/78. Maximum in autumn 100 Malham Moor mid Aug 1975,150 High Trenhouse
on 24/8/76,200 Malham Tam on 27/9/78,150 Mastiles Lane on 13/8/81,120 Capon Hall on
10/9/83, 100 Malham Tam 15/9/83,180 near Malham Tam 6/8/85.

The Birds Around Malham Tarn

89

Redpoll ( Carduelis flammea ) Common B Sp Su Au (W)

Breeding summer visitor on Tam Fen, Tam Woods and Dambrook Plantations. BTO Census
10 prs Tam Woods and 4 prs Fen in 1966. Earliest record 5/4/59, latest 7/11/89. Autumn
maximum 50 Tam Fen 26/9/84. Two winter records of single birds near the Tam on 6/12/83
and 12/1/91.

Common Crossbill ( Loxia curvirostra) Very rare

Up to 10 in Tam Woods 1-18/8/53 and 4-5/9/53 (Holmes, 1960). 1 Tam Woods on 2/1/85
and 8 on 3/1/85. Influx in 1990 with 14 bird days, from 13/7 to 2/1 1 max of 5 on 13/7.

Scarlet Rosefinch ( Carpodacus erythrinus) Very rare

One singing Tam Fen on 22/6/89, only record (BS).

Bullfinch ( Pyrrhula pyrrhula ) Common (B) Sp Au (W)

Irregular breeder and passage migrant. Single birds on 4/6/10 and 25/5/58 (Holmes, 1960)
suggest breeding. BTO Census recorded a single pr in Tam Woods in 1966 and 1967 with
three prs breeding in 1977. One Westside House 6/4/87 and 2 Tam Woods 21/10-22/11/87. 2
on 17/10/89 and 3 on 18/10/89. Up to 7 from 21/10 to 18/1 1/90 with 1 on 23/12/90. Maximum
counts 10 on 29/1 1/77 and 15/12/77.

Hawfinch ( Coccothraustes coccothraustes) Very rare

Four Tam Woods on 4-9/8/59 (Holmes, 1960), only record.

Lapland Bunting ( Calcarius lapponicus ) Very rare

One Tam Fen with reed buntings on 30/10/88. (BS)

Snow Bunting ( Plectrophenax nivalis) Rare W

Winter visitor usually in small numbers, probably under recorded. All singles except where
stated Capon Hall 21/12/57, 2 there 9/1/60, 20 near Tam on 26/2/60,30 on 6/2/64. On road
between Low Trenhouse, and Dambrook 10/1/74, 16/11/74, 10 on 11 & 14/12/74, 20 Malham
Tam 7/12/74, 2 Malham Moor 7/12/80, Fountains Fell 27/1/81.

Yellowhammer ( Emberiza citrinella) Very rare

Two over Great Close Mire on 21/3/54, 1 on 13/3/74.

Reed Bunting {Emberiza schoeniclus ) Scarce (B) Sp Su Au (W)

Summer visitor, irregular breeding bird on Tam Fen with occasional winter records. Arriving
Mar- Apr and leaving Aug-Sept. 1 pr most years (Holmes, 1960), BTO Census 3 prs 1966 and
5 prs in 1967,6-8 prs on the Fen 1978, not recorded as breeding 1987, bred 1989 and one
singing there 1990. Winter records 2 Rough Close Farm on 14/11/75, Rough Close Farm m.
6/2/76 and 12/12/76, with one there on 25/1/80.

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the people who live on Malham Moor who drew our attention to unusual birds
and supplied information on the farming and habitat changes since 1960, especially E. Jackson,
M. V. Bell, M. Bailly, S. Pemberton, S. Ralph, G. Taylor and P. Wilkinson. Thanks are also due
to Trevor Williams who carried out ringing on Malham Tam Fen and in doing so has drawn
attention to the less obvious breeding birds and skulking migrants, and to D. Clements for
preparing the map.

References

Bell, M. V. (1979) The status of Golden Plover ( Pluvialis apricaria) and Dunlin ( Calidris
alpina) in Upper Wharfedale. Naturalist 104: 95-100.

Booth, B. (1933) The Great Crested Grebe enquiry and census of 1930 in Yorkshire, and a few
later notes. Naturalist 58: 87-92.

Chislett, R. (1952) Yorkshire Birds. A, Brown, London.

Holmes, P. (1960) The birds of Malham Moor. Field Studies 1(2): 49-60.

Marchant, J. (1985) 1983-4 CBC Index Report. BTO News 140: 7-9.

90

The Birds Around Malham Tarn

Mather, J. R. (1986) The Birds of Yorkshire. Croom Helm, London.

Mead, C. (1984) Sand Martins slump. BTO News 133: 1.

Mead, C. (1985) Will they return? BTO News 137: 4.

Nelson, T. H. (1907) The Birds of Yorkshire. A Brown, London.

Peake, E. (1896) The avifauna of Settle and Upper Ribblesdale. Naturalist 21: 35-48.

Parslow, J. (1973) Breeding Birds of Britain and Ireland. T & A D Poyser, Berkhamsted.
Sharrock, J. T. R., ed. (1976) The Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain and Ireland. BTO/TWC,
Tring.

Shorrock, B. (1966-85) Settle Bird Reports. Unpublished reports.

Shorrock B. (1987) Birds of Settle. Privately printed, Settle.

Williamson K. (1968) Bird communities in the Malham Tam Region of the Pennines. Field
Studies 2 (5): 651-668.

APPENDIX 1 First Recorded Dates

Red Necked Grebe

1979

Bittern

1985

Flamingo

1978

Greylag Goose

1971

Barnacle Goose

1971

Wood Duck

1989

Gadwall

1982

Red-crested Pochard

1972

Ring-necked Duck

1990

Red-breasted Merganser

1974

Ruddy Duck

1984

Hen Harrier

1970

Montagu’s Harrier

1968

Goshawk

1982

Osprey

1985

Hobby

1970

Red-legged Partridge

1986

Stone Curlew

1895

Grey Plover

1972

Purple Sandpiper

1906

Ruff

1978

Jack Snipe

1978

Great Snipe

1862

Wood Sandpiper

1983

Red-necked Phalarope

1965

Great Skua

1985

Kittiwake

1986

Sandwich Tem

1990

Collared Dove

1967

Long-eared Owl

1982

Lesser Whitethroat

1966

Firecrest

1988

Willow Tit

1974

Jay

1967

Rose-coloured Starling

1979

Siskin

1977

Linnet

1966

Twite

1964

Scarlet Rosefinch

1989

Lapland Bunting

1988

APPENDIX 2 Changes in status and distribution

Some species have altered their status since Holmes (1960). The reason for the change in status
is clear in some cases but is still a matter of conjecture in others:

Shoveler bred 1963-76 no longer breeds reason not known

decrease in autumn

Sparrowhawk resumed breeding 1970 after recovery from pesticides

a gap of 17 years

colonised 1978

Oystercatcher

increased inland breeding

The Birds Around Malham Tarn

91

Appendix 2 ( continued )

Black-headed Gull

no longer breeds
bred until 1967

Sand Martin

no longer breeds

national decline due to
drought in their wintering
area (Mead 1984, 1985)

Whitethroat

no longer breeds

as for Sand Martin
(Marchant 1985)

Garden Warbler

colonised probably

suitable habitat

in last decade

now present

Wood Warbler

confirmed breeding 1989

Pied Flycatcher

confirmed in 1978 and 1987

Marsh Tit

last bred 1970
last recorded 1975

Nuthatch

first bred 1971

Goldfinch

probably bred 1977
confirmed breeding 1984

Linnet

two prs 1966

Twite

not mentioned in Holmes 1960

APPENDIX 3 Earliest and latest dates for summer migrants

Earliest date

Latest date

Common Sandpiper

21 April

(1971)

1 3 August

(1989)

Cuckoo

29 April

(1977)

1 September

(1987)

Swift

6 May

(1989)

21 August

(1990)

Sand Martin

14 April

(1981)

20 September

(1983)

Swallow

11 April

(1980)

20 September

(1983)

House Martin

28 April

(1987)

25 November

(1960)

Tree Pipit

10 May

(1980)

16 August

(1988)

Yellow Wagtail

16 April

(1987)

16 September

(1990)

Redstart

4 April

(1980)

15 September

(1988)

Whinchat

1 May

(1979)

15 October

(1983)

Wheatear

10 March

(1977)

24 October

(1982)

Ring Ouzel

16 March

(1973)

30 October

(1988)

Garden Warbler

8 May

(1988)

5 August

(1989)

Blackcap

6 May

(1990)

16 September

(1989)

Wood Warbler

24 April

(1978)

13 August

(1982)

Willow Warbler

9 April

(1989)

16 September

(1990)

Spotted Flycatcher

1 May

(1990)

12 October

(1981)

Pied Flycatcher

6 May

(1990)

13 August

(1981)

92

CORRECTIONS TO THE BIRDS OF YORKSHIRE

JOHN R. MATHER

Two records published by me in 1986 are in need of clarification and correction. I have been
asked by H. O. Bunce to clarify the situation pertaining to the record of three skeins of Pink-
footed Geese Anser brachyrhynchus flying over Easington on the improbably early date of
5 August 1948 (page 114). This was not in fact his record as stated by Chislett in the
Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union Ornithological Report for that year. The incident was related to
Bunce by a colleague who lived in the area and who knew the geese well. He said that he ‘had
three skeins of Pinks over last night’ and Bunce included the report in his notes to Chislett
who published the record with the initials HOB. Bunce spoke to Chislett who said he would
publish a correction in the next report but this was never done and he repeated the error in his
Yorkshire Birds in 1952 (page 178). I extracted the record for The Birds of Yorkshire in 1986
and because of the reliability of the presumed observer (HOB) assumed it to refer to an
exceptionally early record. It is impossible to guess what the birds may have been as the
observer was very familiar with the Pink-footed Goose skeins which regularly passed over the
area at that time; however, 5 August is a very early date, at a time when the geese would still
be in Iceland having just completed their wing moult. It is thus safer to delete the occurrence
from the records.

The story of a skua killed with a stick whilst attacking chickens at Steeton Reservoir, near
Halifax on 17 September 1942 makes interesting reading. It was identified as an Arctic Skua
Stercorarius parasiticus, an unlikely species to attack chickens, and taken to the Keighley
Museum where it was eventually labelled as a Great Skua Stercorarius skua. After doubts as
to its correct identity had been raised by the curator J. Ogden and C. D. Robinson, Chislett
inspected the mounted bird on 2 October 1953 and pronounced it to be a Pomarine Skua
Stercorarius pomarinus. In his correction in the YNU Ornithological Report for 1953 Chislett
wrote: ‘...and found it to be a typical, dark form Pomarine Skua except that the central tail-
feathers were not completely grown nor twisted; probably it was a juvenile. Mr. Alfred
Hazelwood agrees the bird is a Pomarine Skua. ’

It can only be presumed that Hazelwood did not see the specimen, otherwise he would
surely have correctly identified it. Again, having assumed that Chislett had finally sorted out
the question of the bird’s identity, I published the details in The Birds of Yorkshire. In 1988,
whilst sorting through the collections at the Keighley Museum, Miss M. M. Hartley took
some measurements of the supposed Pomarine Skua and was not convinced that it was in fact
that species. She wrote to me on 5 August 1988, asking whether or not I had actually seen the
specimen as I had said in my book that it had ‘finally been identified correctly by Chislett...’
I collected the specimen shortly afterwards and it was in fact a juvenile Great Skua in very
dark sepia-brown plumage with no pale hackles or edges to the mantle feathers. The legs and
feet were far too large for Pomarine but the bill was very small, this latter feature combined
with the uniformly dark plumage obviously prompting Chislett to reach his erroneous
conclusion. It seemed logical to me when I read accounts of the record that as it had at first
been thought to have been an Arctic Skua and then a Great Skua, a dark phase Pomarine Skua
was feasible and that the ‘final’ identification had been correct. I compared the bird with skins
at the British Museum of Natural History, sub-department of Ornithology at Tring and it
matched three very dark juvenile Great Skuas from the Shetland Isles.

TWO RARE SCUTTLE FLIES (DIPTERA, PHORIDAE) FROM
YORKSHIRE, INCLUDING ONE NEW FOR BRITAIN

93

R. H. L. DISNEY

Field Studies Council Research Fellow, University Museum of Zoology, Downing Street,

Cambridge CB2 3EJ

In July, August and September 1990 Jean Johnston and Dr Michael Usher (University of
York) operated some water traps in eleven woods on the Escrick Estate, North Yorkshire. The
Phoridae were sent to me for identification. Among the 27 species represented in these
collections were two rare species of Megaselia Rondani. One has not been collected in Britain
since 1907 and the other is new to the British List. These are detailed below.

Megaselia angularis (Schmitz 1924) (Fig. 1)

In July 1990 four males and two females were collected in Gamble’s Rush Wood (Grid ref.
44/616398); one male in Winter’s Plantation (44/651415); and one male in the Nursery
Plantation (44/645413). These are the first British records for this species, which had
previously been recorded from Austria, Czechoslovakia, Finland, Germany, Poland and
Portugal.

FIGURE 1

Megaselia angularis male hypopygium viewed from left side (scale bar = 0.1 mm)

Naturalist 116 (1991)

94

Two Rare Scuttle Flies

This species is covered by the incomplete keys to the Palaearctic Megaselia species,
running out in ‘Abteilung IV, Erste Reihe’ (Schmitz 1958) or ‘Abteilung V’ (Schmitz and
Delage 1974), depending on the length of the costa. Schmitz (1958, fig. 283) illustrates the
right face of the male hypopygium.

In the keys to the British Megaselia (Disney 1989) M. angularis runs to couplets 137 or
139 on page 26. The somewhat yellow basal half of the hind femur will distinguish it from M.
fusciclava Schmitz. The posterior lobe of the left side of the hypandrium is bare, in contrast to
the latter species and M. tergata (Lundbeck). The left face of the hypopygium is shown in
Fig. 1 , for comparison with the figures of these other two species.

Megaselia barbulata (Wood 1909) (Fig. 2)

Up until now only a single male of this distinctive species, the holotype collected in Stoke
Wood, Herefordshire, in July 1907, has been recorded in Britain. However, it has since been
reported from Austria, Germany, Denmark, Finland, Portugal and Spain.

At the time of writing my Handbook I had no specimen available, other than the holotype.
The latter’s hypopygium was not in a state suitable for illustration.

In July 1990 four males were obtained in the Nursery Plantation. I illustrate the striking
hypopygium, with its enlarged penis complex, in Fig. 2. This will supplement the
recognition characters cited in couplet 15 of my key (Disney 1989, p. 14).

References

Disney, R. H. L. (1989). Scuttle flies Diptera, Phoridae genus Megaselia. Hanbk Ident. Br.
Insects 10 (8): 1-155.

Schmitz, H. (1924). Drei neue Phoriden aus Ostpreussen. Schrift Phys. -okon. Gesell.
Konigsberg 44: 15-18.

Schmitz, H. (1958), in Lindner, E. (ed.). Die Fliegen der palaearktischen Region 33.
Phoridae. Lief. 202: 465-512.

Schmitz, H. and Delage, A. (1974). Ibid. Lief. 301: 638-664.

Wood, J. H. (1909). On the British species of Phora. Part II contd. Entomologist’ s Mon. Mag.
45: 24-29, 59-63, 113-120, 143-149, 191-195, 240-244.

95

POPULATION CHANGES IN THREE BUTTERFLY SPECIES IN NORTH
LANCASHIRE 1979 TO 1990

JOHN WILSON

Myers Farm, Silverdale, Carnforth, Lancs LA5 OSW

Summary

This paper details the observed changes in the populations of Brimstone ( Gonepteryx rhamni).
Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae) and Peacock ( Inachis io ) butterflies over a 12 year period
at two nature reserves in North Lancashire. These three species all overwinter as adults,
hibernating in the autumn before emerging in spring. During the period under study all three
species suffered a marked decline, all at the same time, followed by a recovery three years
later in Small Tortoiseshell and peacock, but there is little sign after five years of a marked
recovery in the brimstone. The possible causes of the decline and subsequent recovery are
considered.

Introduction and Methods

Populations were sampled using the methods of the ITE National Butterfly Monitoring
Scheme (Pollard 1977; Pollard et al. 1986) . The same route was surveyed weekly from April
to September throughout the period whenever weather conditions permitted. To standardise
recording, counts were only made in the middle of the day during sunny weather with the
temperature above 13°C or in any conditions other than rain when above 17°C. Pollard et al.
(1986) have shown that this monitoring technique provides a reliable assessment of
population changes in butterflies. Recording throughout was mainly done by the author at
Leighton Moss and at Gait Barrows by Tony Aldridge the NCC Warden.

The transect at Leighton Moss RSPB Reserve mainly covers the dry edges of the reed-bed
where there are extensive stands of plants used for nectar feeding by these three species,
including Knapweed ( Centaurea nigra). Purple Loosestrife (. Lythrum salicaria ), Creeping
Thistle ( Cirsium arvense ) and Hemp Agrimony ( Eupatorium cannabinum ).

Large stands of Nettle ( Urtica dioica ), the host plant of both Peacock and Small
Tortoiseshell, occur in many areas, while both Purging Buckthorn ( Rhamnus catharticus) and
Alder Buckthorn ( Frangula alnus ), the foodplants of brimstone, were locally frequent in the
area. The transect at Gait Barrows NNR covers many of the rides and paths within the
limestone woodland and pavement areas. Although rich in flowers as described for Leighton,
there are few food plant species, although many occur close by.

An index of abundance was calculated for both the spring and summer generations by
adding together the weekly counts during the flight periods. Pollard et al. (1986) and Pollard
(1988) present evidence that the index is a measure of relative abundance, not an estimate of
population size and that counts are very little influenced by weather during the count.
Although there were some differences in the flight periods of the three species, in each the
spring flight was on the wing mainly from April to early June and the autumn flight from late
June to early September. The flight periods varied somewhat from year to year depending on
weather conditions.

Results and Discussion

The index of abundance obtained for each flight period is shown in Table 1 while the weather
details during the same period are shown in Table 2.

Prior to 1985 all three species showed some marked fluctuations in numbers. No attempt
has been made to correlate changes with weather during this period, indeed the sample size is
probably too small to undertake such an analysis. However as might be expected there are
indications that the highest numbers occurred during periods of low rainfall and above
average temperatures although in only one year did all three species follow a similar pattern;
this was in the very dry warm spring of 1984 when a high population index was recorded
simultaneously for each species. Also there were indications that the lowest numbers occurred

Naturalist 116 (1991)

96

Population Changes in Three Butterfly Species

TABLE 1

Spring and summer index of Brimstone, Small Tortoiseshell and Peacock Butterflies at Leighton
Moss (LM) and Gait Barrows (GB) Nature Reserves 1979-1990

Brimstone

Small Tortoiseshell

Peacock

Spring
LM GB

Summer
LM GB

Spring
LM GB

Summer
LM GB

Spring
LM GB

Summer
LM GB

1979

13

20

53

84

73

104

1980

31

41

141

221

54

235

1981

18

27

92

142

47

105

1982

37

12

56

94

71

3

241

52

136

33

201

136

1983

47

51

59

40

75

7

171

10

171

64

142

55

1984

105

46

95

32

134

3

125

21

318

48

99

62

1985

95

57

11

41

51

2

64

32

175

30

95

68

1986

10

3

2

20

20

0

9

0

15

6

2

3

1987

4

4

2

8

14

0

26

7

2

1

0

1

1988

3

1

5

3

69

2

298

22

12

6

29

43

1989

3

0

1

2

38

0

285

22

22

9

247

54

1990

5

2

5

3

151

4

666

48

173

58

645

109

TABLE 2

Rainfall, average maximum temperatures and sunshine, Leighton Moss

1979-1990

, North Lancashire

Rainfall mm

Average Maximum Temperature °C

Hours of Sunshine

Apr/May

Jul/Aug

Apr/May

Jul/Aug

Apr/May

Jul/Aug

1979

184.6

189.2

13.4

14.6

290.3

300.7

1980

36.9

206.2

16.2

17.1

474.5

290.5

1981

132.9

172.9

13.8

17.5

323.2

296.4

1982

103.6

187.8

13.2

16.6

434.7

342.0

1983

172.9

101.4

11.4

21.3

288.6

436.5

1984

93.7

127.2

13.7

23.0

438.5

486.3

1985

243.0

340.0

13.8

16.1

290.4

287.8

1986

231.5

129.7

12.2

16.3

328.8

270.8

1987

118.0

216.0

13.7

17.0

358.4

340.1

1988

128.5

269.5

14.2

16.1

370.5

301.1

1989

92.0

122.0

13.7

18.8

445.4

478.7

1990

92.0

77.0

13.6

20.7

453.6

408.4

Ave.

135.8

178.2

13.6

17.9

374.7

353.3

Note Rainfall and temperatures were recorded at Leighton Moss; sunshine data are from Morecambe,

6 miles south

Population Changes in Three Butterfly Species

97

during cold wet periods, although again only in one year, the cold wet spring of 1979, was a
low population index recorded in all three species simultaneously.

The start of the major decline was first detected at Leighton Moss in the autumn of 1985
when all three species recorded their lowest population index to date, with the decline being
the most marked in Brimstone and Small Tortoiseshell. At Gait Barrows there was no real
suggestion of a decline that autumn, possibly because the transect area at Gait Barrows is
much more sheltered than Leighton and butterflies tend to fly there more frequently on days
of marginal weather. All three species recorded an unprecedented low population index in the
spring and summer of 1986 at both sites and continued through 1987 when only ten
Brimstone and one Peacock were recorded during the summer flight that year. The rapid
population decline of all these three species at the two sites suggests that a common factor
was responsible. Habitat change is an unlikely reason for the decline as no marked habitat
changes took place at either of these sites during that year. Other local observers reported a
similar decline throughout North Lancashire and adjoining areas of Cumbria, again indicating
that habitat change was not a factor.

Close examination of the weather conditions at the time of the population decline strongly
suggests that the decline was weather related (Table 2 ). The late summer flight in July and
August 1985 occurred during the wettest period recorded in the twelve years with 340 mm of
rain compared to the average of 178 mm over the 12 years. It was also cold with an average
maximum temperature of 16.1°C compared with 17.9°C for the 12 years. Hours of sunshine
were also below average with only 287 hours during July and August compared with an
average of 353 hours. The following spring flight period also coincided with wet weather
when 231 mm of rain fell during April and May compared to an average of 135 mm. The
temperature was also cold during April and May with an average maximum of 12.2°C
compared with an average of 13.6°C over the twelve year period. Again hours of sunshine
were lower during April and May with 328 against an average of 374 hours.

It does appear that the combination of very poor weather over two successive flight periods
was the reason for the decline. In the late summer flight periods possibly very few butterflies
emerged and those that did had little opportunity to feed on nectar to prepare for hibernation.
Larval and pupal survival may also have been adversely affected by the cool wet weather.
Poor weather the following spring compounded the problem probably by inhibiting courtship,
mating and egg laying.

By the spring of 1988 there were the first signs of recovery in the populations of both Small
Tortoiseshells and Peacocks and by the autumn, Small Tortoiseshells were recorded in pre-
crash numbers. It took another year for Peacock populations to recover completely but
Brimstones still continued at a very low population level throughout this period.

The recovery was very slow, taking three years in the Small Tortoiseshell and four in the
Peacock, but even after five years there is no real sign of recovery in the Brimstone. The first
two species are widely distributed within Britain and are to some extent migratory (Emmett &
Heath 1989), so providing the opportunity for the area to be recolonised. It would be
interesting to know the extent of the area where butterflies suffered a similar decline
following the poor weather of 1985. Certainly southern Cumbria suffered to the same extent
and the recovery has taken even longer there (Bill Kydd pers. comm.). Similar declines were
also recorded on many Scottish butterfly transects (Dr James Cadbury pers. comm.).

One interesting possibility is that the parasites of these species may also have suffered a
similar severe decline. The Ichneumonid Phobocampe confusa (Thomson) is host specific to
Peacock and Small Tortoiseshell (M. Shaw pers. comm.-, Shaw 1990) and when present
causes considerable mortality to the larvae, although it is not known if this parasite occurs in
the area. The build up in 1989 and especially 1990 to unprecedented levels might possibly be
due to low parasite levels.

The Brimstone is much more restricted in its distribution, mainly a southern species with an
outlying population within the Southern Lakes. With no breeding populations immediately to
the south or east of the area to provide immigrants, and with the decline stretching across into
at least southern Cumbria, there has probably been no immigration and the population is still

98

Book Review

struggling to build up from the very few individuals that survived the decline.

Of the other 1 8 species of butterflies regularly monitored on the two transects none showed
a similar pattern of decline. All fly later in the season and overwinter either in the egg or
larval stage.

Acknowledgements

Many thanks to Tony Aldridge, Warden of Gait Barrows NNR, for allowing me to use his
census details and to Dr James Cadbury and Dr Tim Melling for commenting on an earlier
draft of this paper. David Wrigley, Chief Engineer Lancaster City Council, kindly supplied
the sunshine data.

References

Emmet, M. E. & Heath, J. (1989) The Moths and Butterflies of Great Britain and Ireland.
Volume 7, Part 1. Harley, Colchester.

Pollard, E. (1977) A method for assessing changes in the abundance of butterflies. Biol.
Conserv. 12: 115-134.

Pollard, E., Hall, M. L. & Bibby, T. J. (1986) Monitoring the abundance of butterflies,
1976-1985. Nature Conservancy Council, Peterborough.

Pollard, E. (1988) Temperature, rainfall and butterfly numbers. J. appl. Ecol. 25: 819-828.
Shaw, M. R. (1990) Parasitoids of European butterflies and their study. In: Kudma, O. (ed)
Butterflies of Europe Vol. 2, pp. 451^4-79. Aula-Verlag, Wiesbaden.

BOOK REVIEW

A Field Key for Classifying British Woodland Vegetation Part 2 by R. G. H. Bunce. Pp

95. HMSO, London. 1989. £7.95.

This booklet, and its associated earlier volume, are reflections of the constant desire to
classify things into appropriately labelled categories. Whereas Part 1 of this key (published in
1982) classified individual 200 m2 plots of woodland into identified vegetation types, this
volume uses the range of variation of species composition found within a number of plots in
any one woodland to classify the woodland as a whole into one of 15 types. Indicator species,
from both the ground vegetation and canopy species, are employed in a series of keys to
determine the designated woodland category, and then descriptive information about the
characteristic species, individual plot vegetation types present and very limited information
about the distribution and certain environmental parameters appropriate to the woodland types
is provided.

The use of a range of indicator species in keys of this sort is a relatively straightforward
way of classifying whole woodlands, and could have use when the woodland as a whole is the
focus of ecological interest. However, to have to take 16 vegetation samples, each of 200 m2,
before starting to use the keys does not make this a simple task. Full species lists including
grasses, ferns and mosses, need to be completed for all 16 plots as the primary field task,
whereas using the keys is essentially the final step that need not be field based, belying the
booklet’s title. As regards the production of the booklet, I did not always feel that the
introduction section was clearly written, and was rather disconcerted at the number of
typographical errors encountered in the example on pages 12-14; I hoped that these were not
continued in the keys themselves. I also felt that most of the photographs, showing woodlands
framing the distant horizon, did more to demonstrate the surrounding farmland than the
ecological character of the woodland in question, and that the photographs could usefully
have been omitted.

Overall, an approach to classification of interest, and possibly of use to those ecologists and
conservationists who need to categorise a woodland in relation to others throughout Britain,
but not enhanced by the production quality of this booklet.

WHGH

99

RECENT CETACEAN RECORDS FROM YORKSHIRE WATERS

C. A. HOWES

Museum and Art Gallery, Doncaster DN1 2AE

The occurrences of cetaceans in Yorkshire waters have been collated and reviewed in Clarke and
Roebuck (1881), Grabham (1907), Fraser (1956), Spalding (1966), Clegg (1980) and Delany
(1985). Spalding’s (1966) study gives the most detailed historical review though Delany (1985)
provides the best interpretation of occurrences in the light of recent studies of status, seasonality
and migratory patterns of cetaceans in the North Atlantic and British waters.

Subsequently there have been detailed reviews of the Yorkshire occurrences of minke whale
(Howes et al. 1987), Yorkshire and other British occurrences of white whale (Howes 1990) and
observations on the occurrence and behaviour of minke whale and fin whale off Flamborough
(Allport 1989), and Limbert (1985) through critical analysis of historical literature provides
clarification of the often misquoted 1863/4 occurrence in the Humber of a herd of northern
bottlenose whales.

The following compilation assembles records of standings and sightings made available since
Delany (1985), and provides a more extensive review of the long-finned pilot whale stranding on
the Holdemess Coast in January 1985.

Records of harbour porpoise ( Phocaena phocaena ) are being incorporated in a separate study
of their seasonality, herd size and status changes (Howes in prep.).

Minke Whale ( Balaenoptera acutorostrata )

13/7/1982 Hilston (T A/3033). A 7.9 m adult male stranded (Howes et al. 1987).

29/4/1985 Brooriifleet Island (SE/8826). A 5.18 m specimen stranded after temporarily

stranding in the Trent at Burton-on-Stather (SE/8618) and the Ouse at Goole Fields (SE/7521)
(Howes et al. 1987).

25/10/1986 Flamborough Head. 1 estimated to be 6 to 9 m in length repeatedly leaping
almost clear of the water, seen by J. C. Lamplough (Allport 1989).

Fin or Common Rorqual Whale ( B . physalus)

10/8/1985 Flamborough Head. 1 feeding about half a mile off shore was watched for about
35 minutes by P. A. Lassey and A. Allport (Allport 1988).

Beluga or White Whale ( Delphinapterus leucas)

12/6/1987 1 seen from fishing boat 24 km off Scarborough (Howes 1990).

14/6/1987 1 seen from yacht 800 m off Whitby harbour mouth (Howes 1990).

Killer Whale ( Orcinus orca)

9/11/1990 1 male and 2 females or young seen moving north about 3 km off Hornsea

ipers. comm. W. F. Curtis).

Long-finned Pilot Whale ( Globicephala melaena)

The mass stranding along the Holderness coast in January 1985 was reported in the
Holdemess Gazette (1985) and in the South Holderness Countryside Society journal
Holderness Countryside by Bellamy (1985), Rowell (1985) and Walters (1985).

The event involved at least 36 animals, including fully grown bulls, pregnant and lactating
cows and young calves.

The majority of animals stranded at about midday on 15 January during gale force on-shore
winds and driving snow on the stretch of beach between Holmpton and the Easington Gas

Naturalist 116 (1991)

100

Recent Cetacean Records from Yorkshire Waters

terminal, the majority between Holmpton and Out Newton. Members of the Sea Mammal
research unit examined 33 specimens, of which 14 were males, ranging from 2.86 m to 5.80 m
and 19 were females, measuring from a 2.19 m calf to a 4.70 m adult cow. Of the females, five
were pregnant and three were lactating, indicating the presence of deserted calves.

On the 18th, in addition to counting 34 beached animals, a further two animals were seen
offshore and on the 21st another animal stranded alive near Donna Nook south of the Humber
mouth. Photographs by L. Kirk, A. Burnham, D. Earle and D. James appeared in the Hull
Daily Mail , 16 / 1/1985, Holderness Gazette , 25/1/1985, and Holderness Countryside (1985).

White-beaked dolphin ( Lagenorinchus albirostris)

13/1/1985 Easington. A 1.82 m specimen found dead. Photographs by J. Cudworth
examined by CAH.

14/8/1986 North Bay, Scarborough. A 2.45 m male found dead. Photograph in
Scarborough Mercury 16.8.1986.

14/8/1986

6/8/1987

13/8/1987).

1 1/8/1987

-mi

-/2/1988

25/8/1988

Cornelian Bay. A 2.74 m male found dead ( Scarborough Mercury, 16.8.1986).
North Bay Scarborough. One stranded ( Scarborough Evening News 12 &

Cornelian Bay. One stranded (Scarborough Evening News, 12 & 13/8/1987).
Reighton Gap. One stranded (Scarborough Evening News, 12 & 13/8/1987).
Battery Parade, Whitby. One stranded (Whitby Gazette, 12.2. 1988).

Off Scarborough. Two seen at a few metres range from a fishing boat 5 miles

off Scarborough Castle. Photograph by E. Horsley examined by CAH.

White-sided Dolphin (L. acutus)

17/2/1986 Filey. A 2.6 m specimen found dead. Photographs examined by C. I. Massey.
(Scarborough Mercury, 16/8/1986).

Unidentified Dolphins

-/6/1985 Grimston. A 91 cm specimen (? young porpoise) found by coastguards at the
foot of the cliff (Hull Daily Mail, 6/6/1985).

13/7/1985 Hornsea. One seen off shore (M. Mourby pers. comm.).

20/8/1985 Grimston. One seen off shore (M. Mourby pers. comm.).

-/2/1986 Filey. Two dolphins stranded, one identified as L. acutus (Scarborough
Mercury 16/8/1986).

— /4/ 1986 Cayton Bay. One stranded (Scarborough Mercury, 16/8/1986).

Acknowledgements

For records, references and photographs thanks are due to A. M. Allport, J. Cudworth, W. F.
Curtis, H. M. Frost, E. Horsley, C. I. Massey, Mrs M. Mourby and M. J. Warrington. Thanks are
also due to Dr M. Sheldrick for providing data on file at the British Museum (Nat. Hist.).

References

Allport, A. M. (1988) Two sight records of whales off the Yorkshire coast. YNU Bulletin 10: 7.
Bellamy, R. P. (1985) Pilot whale numbers. Holderness Countryside 8: 10.

Clarke, W. E. and Roebuck, W. D. (1881) A Handbook of the Vertebrate Fauna of Yorkshire.
Lovell Reeve, London.

Clegg, T. M. (1980) Mammal studies in Yorkshire — a review. Naturalist 105: 81-87.

Delany, M. J. (1985) Yorkshire Mammals. University of Bradford, Bradford.

Fraser, F. C. (1956) Cetacea, in Walsh, G. B. and Rimington, F. C. (eds) The Natural History of
the Scarborough District. Vol. 2, pp. 416-418. Scarborough Fid. Nats. Soc., Scarborough.
Grabham, O. (1907) Mammals, in Page, W. (ed) Victoria History of the County of Yorkshire,
Vol. 1, Archibald Constable, London.

Holderness Countryside (1985) Pilot whale wreck. 8: 3.

Coleoptera Records for Yorkshire

101

Holderness Gazette (1985) 25/1/1985.

Howes, C. A., Boyd, M. J. and Cutts, D. B. (1987) A review of minke whale ( Balaenoptera
acutorostrata Lacepedes) in the Humber and Yorkshire waters. Naturalist 112: 9-14.

Howes, C. A. (1990) A review of white whales (Delphinapterus leucas Pallas) off the Yorkshire
coast and in British waters. Naturalist 105: 13-17.

Howes, C. A. (in prep.) Notes on the seasonality, herd size and status changes of the porpoise
( Phocaena phocaena ) in Yorkshire waters and the tributaries of the Humber.

Hull Daily Mail (1985) 16/1/1985; 6/6/1985.

Limbert, M. (1985) Clarification of an early record of the northern bottlenose whale. YNU
Bulletin 4: 18-19.

Rowell, S. (1985) Whale wreck. Holderness Countryside 8: 1-5.

Scarborough Evening News (1987) 12/8/1987; 13/8/1987.

Scarborough Mercury (1986) 16/8/1986.

Spalding, D. A. E. (1966) Whales in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. Naturalist 91: 87-95.

Walters, T. (1985) Whale wreck. Holderness Countryside 8: 6.

Whitby Gazette (1988) 12/2/1988.

COLEOPTERA RECORDS FOR YORKSHIRE: A REVIEW AND UPDATE

R.J.MARSH

This paper updates previous Coleoptera reports which have appeared in The Naturalist in
recent years;

Part 1 : Carabidae by J. H. Flint

Part 2: Haliplidae-Scolytidae by J. H. Flint

Part 3: Staphylinidae (Aleocharinae) by M. L. Denton

Entomological Reports for 1984-1986, 113: 69-72 (1988) by J. H. Flint

Entomological Reports for 1988-1989: Staphylinidae (Aleocharinae), 115: 97-102 (1990)
by M. L. Denton.

This report deals with the Staphylinidae, excluding the Aleocharinae (further papers upon
which will be dealt with by M. L. Denton in due course). The records which follow are an
amalgamation of data already appearing on the files of the Y.N.U. which are worthy of mention
here, as well as data from my own recording system (built up since 1980), the records of the
Sorby Society, in addition to a continuous stream of records and observations from the following
whose initials appear in the list, and to whom I extend my thanks: R. B. Angus, J. T. Bum, R.
Crossley, M. L. Denton, W. A. Ely, J. H. Flint, S. Gardner, P. M. Hammond, R. J. Hunt, C.
Johnson, D. A. Lott, D. Maude, K. Payne, and E. J. Smith. My own records are initialled RJM.

Besides listing new county and vice-county records I have also made mention of species
which have not, to our knowledge, been recorded for very many years, and of course, some
interesting records which have been held by individuals without having been passed on to the
Y.N.U. recorders. There are also instances of species having been recorded, which as a result of
further taxonomic work have been split, or have otherwise been confused, e.g. Quedius
curtipennis Bernhauer /fuliginosus (Gravenhorst), Anotylus mutator (Lohs €)!sculpturatus
(Gravenhorst), Xantholinus jarrigei Coiffait /tricolor (Fabricius), and Olophrum fuscum
(Gravenhorst)/p/ce«w (Gyllenhal).

In the following list, (*) denotes a new vice-county (VC) record, whilst (+) denotes a record
new to Yorkshire (using the Watsonian vice-countyboundaries).

Naturalist 116 (1991)

102

Coleoptera Records for Yorkshire

Olophrum fuscum (Gravenhorst). (63) Shirley Pool (44/51), 5.vii.86; RJM. The first of five
recent records since Heath’s old record for Ackworth. Often confused with O. piceum\ see
Hammond (1970).

Arpedium brachypterum (Gravenhorst). (62) Rosedale Moor (44/79), 6.X.87; SG. In pitfall traps
on Calluna heath. The first VC62 record since the 1931 record for Burton Head.

Phyllodrepoidea crenata (Gravenhorst). (*63) Drop Clough (44/01), 23.ix.87; MLD. (*64) Grass
Wood (34/96), 3.ix.88; RJM.

Lesteva monticola (Keisen wetter). (*63) Blackmoorfoot (44/01),26.x.81; MLD.

Acrolocha sulcula (Stephens). (*65) Semerwater (34/98), 20.viii.88; RJM. Found in sheep dung
but elsewhere recorded from horse dung and vegetable refuse.

Omalium allardi Fairmaire & Brisout. (63) Blackmoorfoot (44/01), 1985; MLD. The first record
since being noted near Nostell by “JWC” (Carter?) in 1905.

O. exiguum Gyllenhal. (*63) Melton Wood (44/50), lO.v.87; RJM. Taken from grass heaps and
the first traceable Yorkshire specimen since the Scarborough record of W. W. Fowler.

O. oxyacanthae Gravenhorst. (*63) Elland Gravel Pit (44/12), 3.xii.83; MLD, and Melton Wood
(44/50), 6.ii.84;RJM, the latter found by sieving deep leaf litter.

Phloeonomus pusillus (Gravenhorst). (*64) Timble Ings (44/15), 27.ix.81; RC. Only the second
recent Yorkshire record, all earlier ones being more than 60 years old.

Xylodromus concinnus (Marsham) (*65) Felham Ranges (45/00), 8.viii.90; MLD. The first
VC65 record for this widespread and fairly common species.

X. depressus (Gravenhorst). (*61) North Duffield (44/63), 6.vii.87; RJM. Found in haystack
refuse. (*63) Eggborough (44/52), 4.vi.83; RJM. In leaf litter.

Philorinum sordidum (Stephens). (62) Lockton (44/89), 10v89; WAE. The first VC62 record
since Lawson’s (undated) record for Scarborough.

Coprophilus striatulus (Fabricius). (64) Cawood (44/53), iv.90; KP, det. MLD. From pitfall
traps. The first VC64 record since 1922 — a rarely encountered species in Yorkshire.

Bledius germanicus Wagner. (*63) Thome Moor (44/71), 24.X.90; MLD, det CJ. Only 2 other
Yorkshire records.

Ochthephilus aureus (Favel). (*63) Lindley Wood (44/20), 16.iii.86; EJS, det. CJ. This insect
only found in Yorkshire on 4 previous occasions, all pre-1935.

Thinodromus arcuatus (Stephens). (64) Studley Park (44/26), 19.vi.89; RJM. Found in debris
under rotting logs by the River Skell and the first known VC64 record since Ellis’s 1888
Ingleborough capture. (62) Duncombe Park (44/68), 10.ix.85; RJM. The only previous VC62
records are for Scarborough (Hey) and Glaisedale (G.B. Walsh).

Carpelimus foveolatus (Sahlberg) (61) Beacon Ponds (54/41), 21.V.90; MLD (teste CJ). The
third record for Yorkshire.

C. impressus (Boisduval & Lacordaire). (*61) Bubwith (44/73), 14.V.88; CJ. The third record for
Yorkshire and rarely encountered.

C. subtilicornis (Roubal). (*61) Bubwith (44/73), 14.V.88; RJM. Found on the banks of the River
Derwent on bare mud. Most other records are from VC64 and the species was described as
new to Britain in 1956. See Steel (1956).

C. zealandicus (Sharp). (+63) Parkgate, Rotherham (43/49), 13.vii.84; EJS. The first traceable
Yorkshire specimen of this distinctive species, described as new to Britain in 1969; see Steel
(1969). (*64) Studley Park (44/26) 14.vii.90; RJM. Found in vegetable refuse on the bank of
the River Skell.

Thinobius bicolor Joy. (*64) Studley Park (44/26), 19.vi.89; CJ. On the banks of the River Skell.
The only other traceable record is for Scarborough in the last century.

Coleoptera Records for Yorkshire

103

Aploderus caelatus (Gravenhorst). (62) Thirsk (44/58), 13.X.86; RJM. Found in roadside grass
heaps and the first VC62 record since Yedingham in 1931. (63) Mellor Wood (44/11),
22.vii.86; MLD, and the first record for that vice-county since 1907.

Platystethus nodifrons Mannerheim. (+61) Aughton Ings (44/63), iii.89; MLD.det CJ. (61)
Bubwith Bridge (44/73), vi.89; MLD, det CJ. specimens collected from Glyceria beds and the
first known Yorkshire records of this nationally rarely recorded species (Hammond, 1971).
(*64) Cawood (44/53), iv.90; KP det MLD. Taken from pitfall traps.

Anotylus maritimus (Thomson). (62) Robin Hood’s Bay (45/90), 9.ix.89; MLD. Found on the
strand line and the first since M.L. Thompson’s undated Saltbum record.

A. mutator Lohse. (*61) Aughton Ings (44/63), 7.vii.87; RJM. Found in cow dung, this is one of
an increasing number of records since the species was split from A. sculpturatus
(Gravenhorst); see Hammond (1968). (*64) Studley Park (44/26), 19.vi.89; RJM. Again found
in cow dung.

Stenus assequens Rey. (+65) Semerwater (34/98), 20.viii.88; RJM, MLD ,RBA, det. CJ.
Numerous specimens found in flood refuse. This species is rare nationally and has been
recorded only 8 times in Britain (Dorset, Surrey, Sussex, Somerset, and the New Forest).

S. bimaculatus Gyllenhal. (*65) Semerwater (34/98), 20.viii.88; PK. Found in flood refuse. The
first VC65 record for this common and widespread species.

S. comma LeConte. (61) Rudston (54/16), 19.viii.89; MLD, and (61) North Duffield Carrs
(44/63), 7.ix.89; MLD. The first VC61 records since Fordham’s Bubwith record of 1914.
(*63) Ravenfield Park (43/49), 6.vii.85;WAE, det. PMH.

S . formicetorum Mannerheim. (*63) Thome Moor (44/71), 21.vi.90; MLD. In pitfall traps and
only the third Yorkshire record.

S. fuscicornis Erichson. (*63) Rotherham (43/49), 12.V.88; WAE. Collected from garden
vegetable refuse. (*62) Duncombe Park (44/68), 28.ix.87; RJM. One specimen from a sheep
carcass (!).

S. melanopus (Marsham). (*61) Aughton Ings (44/63), 7.vii.87; RJM. The first Yorkshire record
since Fowler noted it from Bridlington.

S. nitens Stephens. (*61) Hornsea Mere (54/14), 2.viii.88; RJM. Found by sieving reed litter at
the edge of the Mere.

S. nigritulus Gyllenhal. (63) Sprotbrough (44/50), 28.x. 87; RJM. The first VC63 record since H.
H. Corbett’s 1900 Askem capture.

S. nitidiusculus Stephens. (65) Semerwater (34/98), 20.viii.88; RJM. The first VC65 capture this
century.

Euaesthetus laeviusculus Mannerheim. (*62) Kildale (45/70), 8.vii.87; SG. det. MLD. In pitfall
traps set by the York University heather moors arthropod survey.

Lathrobium elongatum (Linnaeus). (61) Bubwith Bridge (44/73), 10.vi.89; RJM. Found in the
ground litter in Glyceria beds and the first VC61 record since being noted from Hornsea Mere
in 1859.

L. multipunctatum Gravenhorst. (*63) Niblum Quarry (43/58), 14.viii.82; WAE. The first record
for Yorkshire for over 50 years.

L. quadratum (Paykull). (61) Bubwith Bridge (44/73), 22.V.90; MLD. Found in Glyceria beds
and last recorded in 1917 by G.B. Walsh.

Sunius propinquus (Brisout). (*63) Blackmoorfoot (44/01), 1987; MLD. The third known
Yorkshire record.

Lithocharis nigriceps Kraatz. (*65) Gillfield Wood (44/09), 7.v.89;MLD. A new record for this
usually common and widespread inhabitant of dungheaps and vegetable refuse.

104 Coleoptera Records for Yorkshire

Astenus pulchellus (Heer). (63) Blacktoft Sands (44/82), l.iv.88; MLD. Only the third Yorkshire
record.

Rugilus erichsoni (Fauvel). (*63) Hall Dike (44/11), 26.xii.83; DM, det. MLD. (*61) Thornton
Ellers (44/74), 25.ix.87; MLD & RBA. The last traceable record was from Askham Bog in
1907 (Hey).

Nudobius lentus (Gravenhorst). (*64) Sawood (44/33), 27.xii.88; MLD.

Gyrohypnus fracticornis (Muller). This species has often been confused with G. punctulatus
(Paykull). For the separation of the species see Freude et al. (1964) and Last (1981). The first
authentic Yorkshire records that I have been able to trace are as follows: (62) Duncombe Park
(44/68), 10.ix.87; RJM. Around old dungheaps. (63) Sprotbrough (44/50), 1 l.viii.87; RJM. In
vegetable refuse. (64) Newton Ings (44/42), 1989; MLD. (65) Gillfield Wood (44/09), 7.V.89;
MLD.

Xantholinus jarrigei Coiffait. This species has been confused in the past with X. tricolor
(Fabricius); see Steel (1946) and Last (1950). The following can be confirmed: (*63)
Sprotbrough (44/50), 6.vii.80; RJM. (63) Shirley Wood (44/51), ll.vii.86; RJM, both records
from horse dung. Records of X. tricolor on the Y.N.U. files should therefore be treated with
caution. Last (1950) states X. tricolor is an insect of wooded upland regions whereas X.
jarrigei is found in lower, milder regions and is widely distributed in Britain.

Neobisnius villosulus (Stephens) . (*63) Willow Garth (44/52), 29.iv.90; RJH. det. MLD.

Philonthus concinnus (Gravenhorst). (*61) Wheldrake (44/74), 7.ix.89; RJM & MLD.
(*63) Blacktoft Sands (44/82), 17.ix.83; RJM.

P. cruentatus (Gmelin). (*63) Netherfield (43/48), 20.vi.85; WAE. Only the fourth Yorkshire
record.

P. laminatus (Creutzer). (*65) Gillfield Wood (44/09), 7.V.89; MLD.

P. longicornis Stephens. (*63) March Haigh Reservoir (44/01), 18.iv.85; DM, det. MLD.

P. micantoides Benick & Lohse. (*61) Aughton Ings (44/63), 14.v.88,.CJ. (*62) Burton Riggs
Quarry (54/08), 29.iv.89; MLD.

P. nigrita (Gravenhorst). (*61) Allerthorpe Common (44/74), 5.viii.89; MLD. (62) Kildale
(45/70), 3.vii.87; SG, det. MLD. In pitfall traps on Calluna heath ; the first VC62 record since
H. Britten noted it from Whitby in 1935. Apparently very rarely encountered.

P. parcus Sharp. (*61) Derwent Ings (44/63), 19.viii.87; RJM. A male specimen in carrion.

P. quisquiliarus (Gyllenhal). (*62) Duncombe Park (44/68), 28.ix.87; RJM. In mud on the bank
of the River Rye.

P. rotundicollis (Menetries). (*61) Thornton Ings (44/74), 29.V.87; RJM.

P. sanguinolentus (Gravenhorst). (*64) Newton Ings (44/42), 26.vii.89; MLD. Recorded from
horse dung.

P. ventralis (Gravenhorst). (*63) Blackmoorfoot (44/01), 4.iv.81; MLD.

Gabrius bishopi Sharp. (*61) Aughton Ings (44/63), 19.viii.87; RJM & MLD. (*63) Elland
Gravel Pits (44/12), 9.viii.86; MLD.

G. piliger Mulsant & Rey. (*63) Elland Gravel Pits (44/12), 27.viii.83; MLD.

Platydracus stercorarius (Olivier). (*65) Felham Ranges (45/00), 18.viii.90; MLD.

Staphylinus aeneocephalus Degeer. (65) Semerwater (34/98), 20.viii.88: PK. Recorded from
deep moss and the first VC65 record since 1902.

S. compressus Marsham. (*63) Sprotbrough (44/50), 31.viii.88; RJM. In a compost heap. (64)
Sherbum Willows (44/42), 12.vii.88; RJH, det. MLD. Only two other previous Yorkshire
records.

S. ophthalmicus Scopoli. (63) Crow Wood (43/69), viii.90; JTB. Taken on the bank of a ditch.
There is only a vague reference to its occurrence in Yorkshire in Stephens (1832).

Coleoptera Records for Yorkshire

105

Ontholestes murinus (Linnaeus). (61) Wheldrake Ings (44/74), 23.V.90; MLD. The second
Yorkshire record, the first being for Spurn in 1952.

Heterothrops niger Kraatz. (*62) Throxenby Mere (54/08), 1986; MLD. (*63) West Wood
(44/11), 20.vi.84; DM, det.MLD.

Quedius curtipennis Bernhauer. This species has often been confused in the past with Q.
fuliginosus (Gravenhorst). The first authenticated records are: (61) Thornton Ings (44/74),
29.V.87; MLD. In Glyceria beds. (62) Caydale (44/68), 24.vi.84; RJM. (63) Kirkburton
(44/11), 22.vi.80; MLD. (64) Malham (34/86), viii.55; W. O. Steel and Austwick Moss
(34/76), v.87; WAE. (*65) Felham Ranges (45/00), 18.viii.90; MLD. Old records for this and
the following species should therefore be treated with caution.

Q. fuliginosus (Gravenhorst). Authentic records for this species are: (61) Aughton Ings (44/63),
27.vii.88; MLD. (62) Kildale Moor (45/70), 10.vi.87; SG, det. RJM. In pitfall traps on heather
moors. (63) Rossington Bridge (44/60), ll.vi.86; RJM. In the litter under a stand of Car ex
paniculata. (64) Bishopwood (44/53), 23.ix.81; RJM.

Q.fulvicollis (Stephens). (*63) New Mill (44/10), 10.i.85; DM, det. MLD. (63) Langsett (44/10),
23.viii.86; EJS. The first VC63 records of this infrequent species.

Q. nitipennis (Stephens). (*61 ) Rudston (54/16), 19.viii.89; MLD. (*64) Cawood (44/53), xii.89;
KP, det. MLD. In pitfall traps.

Q. schatzmayri Gridelli. (*62) Levisham Moor (44/89), 3.ix.87 SG, det. RJM. In pitfall traps on
Calluna heath.

Q. scitus (Gravenhorst). (*62) Duncombe Park (44/68), 26.V.87; RJM. The only other known
Yorkshire record of this species is for Studley in 1871 (Waterhouse). Found on both occasions
in the rotting heartwood of oak logs.

Q. semiobscurus (Marsham). (*64) Cawood (44/53), ix.90; KP, det. MLD. In pitfall traps.

Q. umbrinus Erichson. (*61) Saltmarshe Delph (44/72), 28.ii.82; PK.

Mycetoporus longulus Mannerheim. (61) Ellerton Ings (44/64), 29.V.87; RJM. The first VC61
record since that of G. B. Walsh. (*63) Blackmoorfoot (44/01), 7.V.85; MLD.

M. nigricollis Stephens. (*62) Egton Moor (45/70), 7.vii.87; MLD. Found in pitfall traps on
heather moors. (*63) March Haigh (44/01), 6.V.85; DM, det. MLD.

M. punctus (Gravenhorst). (+61) Thornton Ellers (44/74), 19.viii.87; MLD. (*63) Drop Clough
(44/01), 18.ix.87; MLD. In rabbit dung. There are no other known Yorkshire records.

M. rufescens (Stephens). (*63) Bretton Park (44/21), 15.iii.82; MLD.

M. splendidus (Gravenhorst). (*63) Sandall Beat (44/60), 6.V.83; RJM.

Bolitobius cingulatus (Mannerheim). (*61) Thornton Ings (44/74), 1987; MLD.

Tachinus corticinus Gravenhorst. (*63) Elland Gravel Pits (44/12), 1983; MLD.

T.proximus Kraatz. (*63) Barkisland (44/01), l.viii.81; MLD.

References

Freude, H., Harde, K. and Lohse, G. (1964) Die Kafer Mitteleuropas, 4: 161-162, Goecke &
Evers, Krefeld.

Hammond, P. M.(1968) Oxytelus mutator Lohse (Col., Staphylinidae) new to Britain.
Entomologist : 250.

Hammond, P. M. (1970) Notes on British Staphylinidae 1 — The status of Olophrum nicholsoni
Donisthorpe with notes on the British species of Olophrum. Entomologist’ s Mon. Mag. 106:
165-170.

Hammond, P. M. (1971) Notes on British Staphylinidae 2 — On the British species of
Platystethus Mannerheim, with one species new to Britain. Entomologist’ s Mon. Mag. 107:
93-111.

106

Roe Deer

Last, H. R. (1950) Xantholinus meridionalis (Nordmann) (Col., Staphylinidae) a species new to
the British list. Entomologist’ s Mon. Mag. 86: 138-140.

Last, H. R. (1981) Gyrohypnus punctulatus and G.fracticornis. Coleopterist’ s Newsletter 4: 2-3.

Steel, W. O. (1946) Xantholinus distans Muls. and Rey and X. cribripennis Fauvel with notes on
other British species of the genus. Entomologist’ s Mon. Mag. 82: 192-195.

Steel, W. O. (1956) Carpelimus subtilicornis (Roubal) (=strandi Sheerpeltz), a staphylinid new
to Britain. Entomologist’ s Mon. Mag. 92: 265-267 .

Steel, W. O. (1969) A British Carpelimus new to science. Entomologist’ s Mon. Mag. 105:
70-72.

Stephens, J. F. (1832) Illustrations of British Entomology. Mandibulata. 5: 209. Baldwin and
Cradock, London.

Photo: John Knight

ROE DEER

During the last 30 years the Roe Deer population throughout the country has increased
considerably and there are few areas of cover in North Yorkshire that do not show signs of
their presence. Roe normally feed at dusk and dawn but can frequently seen in daylight,
especially in undisturbed areas. Their presence in an area is however more often detected by
the stripping of saplings, tracks and regular pathways through woodland and, in spring and
summer, by their call, a bark remarkably similar to that of a dog.

Although a forest and woodland deer, they will often feed on arable farmland, especially
adjacent to forests, and have recently been seen on open moorland in North Yorkshire when
their presence resulted in an immediate and surprising reaction from several breeding birds.
Lapwing, Curlew and Redshank all gave the same type of vigorous anti-predator response
towards the deer that they use against foxes and other predators in or near their territories.
Sheep on the moor are generally ignored by the birds unless their nests are in imminent
danger of being trampled: this reaction against deer infers that their presence on the open

The G. B. Walsh Collection

107

moor is a very recent occurrence and that they are considered by the birds to be potential
enemies.

Rutting takes place in July and August and the fawns bom the following April to June, with
twins frequently occurring. The Roe Deer is the only artiodactyl to undergo a period of
delayed implantation after fertilization. The photograph, taken in a mainly oak wood, shows a
fawn only a few hours old.

THE G. B. WALSH COLLECTION OF MELIGETHES STEPHENS
(COLEOPTERA: NITIDULIDAE), WITH NOTES ON PUBLISHED

RECORDS

A. H. KIRK-SPRIGGS

Department of Zoology, National Museum of Wales, Cathay s Park, Cardiff CFI 3NP
Introduction

During the course of preparing the Handbook to British Pollen Beetles , to be published by the
Royal Entomological Society of London, I have had cause to examine many collections in
local museums, one such collection being that of G. B. Walsh. As this collection contains a
good deal of material from Yorkshire localities, and some material which is cited in the
literature it seems worthwhile to give a detailed account of its content here. As a result of
misidentifications some records must be invalidated.

This paper is the result of a visit made to the Woodend Museum of Natural History,
Scarborough in 1988, in order to examine pollen beetle genera ( Pria , Meligethes, Kateretes &
Brachypterus ) held in their collections. Through the kindness of the curator, Mr C. I. Massey,
I was able to borrow the material in order to examine it over a longer period and carry out the
necessary genital dissections. The examination of the material was completed in 1989 and it
has now been returned to the Museum.

The collection is comprised of 16 of our 36 British species (34 extant, see Kirk-Spriggs
1991) being: Meligethes solidus (Kugelann); M. atratus (Olivier); M.flavimanus Stephens; M.
fulvipes Brisout; M. aeneus (Fabricius); M. viridescens (Fabricius); M. difficilis (Heer); M.
brunnicornis Sturm; M. tenebrosus Forster; M. bidens Brisout; M. ovatus Sturm; M. exilis
Sturm; M. carinulatus Forster; M. nigrescens Stephens; M. planiusculus (Heer); and M.
obscurus Erichson. A detailed list of locality data for this material is given below.

In order to appreciate the value of this collection it was necessary to compile a list of the
published records of G. B. Walsh, from entomological and local journals. In some cases these
were records of specimens collected by Walsh, but not necessarily published under his name.
As a result specimens cited in the literature are indicated.

Material Examined

After re-examination based largely on genital characters the following list of the Walsh
collection’s contents is compiled.

Meligethes solidus (Kugelann)

8 Sharpenhoe [Bedford, VC 30], 27.vii.1924, P. H[arwood].

2 Woodeaton, Oxon. [Oxford, VC 23], 23.vi.1941.

1 Holmbury [Holmbury St Mary, Surrey, VC 17], viii.1896, E. A. Bfedwell].

Meligethes atratus (Olivier)

5 males & 3 females, Lyndhurst [S. Hants., VC 11], v.1921, CET[ottenham].

1 male, Brockenhurst [S. Hants., VC 11], 26.V.1931, GBW.

Meligethes flavimanus Stephens

1 female, Raincliffe Woods [N.E. York, VC 62], v.1921, GBW. Specimen cited as syn. M.
lumbaris (Walsh & Rimington 1956: 237).

Naturalist 116 (1991)

108

The G. B. Walsh Collection

1 male, Haybum Wyke [N.E. York, VC 62], 6.vi.l922, GBW. Specimen cited as syn. M.

lumbaris (Walsh & Rimington 1956: 237).

1 male, Grantchester [Cambs., VC 29], 14.viii.1922, GBW.

1 male, Quy [Cambs., VC 29], lO.viii. 1922, GBW.

1 male & 1 female, Wicken [Cambs., VC 29], 22.V.1923, GBW.

1 female, Brampton [?Hunts., VC 31], 5.ix.l915, GBW.

1 male & 1 female, Brockenhurst [S. Hants., VC 11], 21.V.1931, GBW.

1 female, Sway [S. Hants., VC 11], 21.vi.1914, GBW.

Meligethes fulvipes Brisout

5 males & 3 females, St Bubwith [S.E. York, VC 61], l.viii. 1915, WJF[ordham].
Specimens cited (Bayford 1914: 53; Fordham 1916: 261).

Meligethes aeneus (Fabricius)

1 Forge Valley [N.E. York, VC 62], 16.vii.1927, GBW.

1 Troutsdale [N.E. York, VC 62], 25.vi.1927, GBW.

1 Stainton Dale [N.E. York, VC 62], 22.vi.1927, GBW.

1 Brockenhurst [S. Hants., VC 11], 26.V.1931, GBW.

2 Selbome [N. Hants, VC 12], lO.viii. 1929, GBW.

Meligethes viridescens (Fabricius)

2 Forge Valley [N.E. York, VC 62], 16.vii.1927, GBW.

1 Stainton Dale [N.E. York, VC 62], 22.vi.1927, GBW. [Standing as M. aeneus ].

1 Haybum [N.E. York, VC 62], 31.V.1919, GBW.

1 Haybum Wyke [N.E. York, VC 62], 25.viii.1923, GBW.

1 Haybum Wyke [N.E. York, VC 62], 16.vii.1928, GBW.

1 Buttercrambe [N.E. York, VC 62], 18.vi.1927, GBW.

1 Buttercrambe [N.E. York, VC 62], 14.vi.1927, GBW.

2 Scarborough] District] [N.E. York, VC 62], 2.vii.l938, Geo. B. Walsh.

1 Rhinefield, N.F. [New Forest, S. Hants., VC 11], 25.V.1931, GBW. [Standing as M.
aeneus].

1 Handcross [E. Sussex, VC 14], viii.1894, 1 120.

Meligethes difficilis (Heer)

2 males, East Boldon [Durham, VC 66], 5.viii. 1918, GBW. [Standing as M. viduatus].

2 females, Cathill [Berks., VC 22], 23.ix.1917, J.C.

1 female, Tubney, Berks. [Berks., VC 22], 27.iv.1914, J.C.

Meligethes brunnicornis Sturm

1 female, Winlaton Mill [Durham, VC 66], 15.vi.1907, GBW. [Standing as M. viduatus ].

1 female, Winlaton Mill [Durham, VC 66], 13.ix.1916, GBW. [Standing as M. viduatus].

1 male & 1 female, Lamesley [Durham, VC 66], 19.vii. 1913, GBW. [Standing as M.
fulvipes].

1 male, Dovercourt [N. Essex, VC 19], vi. 1911, EAN[ewbery].

1 female, Higham’s Park [S. Essex, VC 18], [No.] 1324, EAN[ewbery].

1 male & 1 female, Hartlebury [Worcester, VC 37], 18.vi.1922. HD. [Standing as M.
difficilis].

Meligethes tenebrosus Forster (= M. pedicularius (Gyllenhal) auctt.)

1 male & 1 female, Filey [N.E. York, VC 62], vii.1924, GBW. [Standing as M.
brunnicornis]. Specimens cited as M. brunnicornis (Walsh & Rimington 1956: 237).

3 males & 5 females, Filey [N.E. York, VC 62], 3.vii. 1928, GBW. [Standing as M.
viduatus]. Specimens cited as M. viduatus (Walsh 1930: 198).

6 The Lizard [W. Cornwall, VC 1], vi.1924, JHK[eys].

Meligethes incanus Sturm

3 females, Tubney, Berks. [Berks., VC 22], 2.viii.l909, JC. [Standing as M. umbrosus],
Meligethes ovatus Sturm

3 males & 3 females, Pickering [N.E. York, VC 62], 4.ix.l922, GBW.

The G. B. Walsh Collection

109

1 male, Scarborough [N.E. York, VC 62], 1922, GBW.

1 female, Ellerbum [N.E. York, VC 62], 1 .viii. 1934, GBW. Specimen cited (Fordham &
Walsh 1936: 166).

1 male, Grantchester [Cambs., VC 29], 14.viii. 1922, GBW.

Meligethes exilis Sturm

2 Port Erin, I.O.M. [Isle of Man, VC 71].

Meligethes carinulatus Forster (= M. erythropus (Marsham))

3 males & 1 female, Brockenhurst [S. Hants., VC 11], 26.V.1931, GBW. [2 standing as M.
picipes ] .

2 males, Cathill [Berks., VC 22], 10.vi.I910, J.C.

1 female, Colgate, Sussex [W. Sussex, VC 13], 8129, EAN[ewbery] .

Meligethes nigrescens Stephens

1 female, Pickering [N.E. York, VC 62], 4.ix.l922, GBW.

1 male, Raincliffe Woods [N.E. York, VC 62], 24.V.1925, GBW.

1 male & 1 female, Troutsdale [N.E. York, VC 62], 25 .vi. 1927, GBW.

1 male, Stainton Dale [N.E. York, VC 62], 22.vi.1927, GBW.

2 females, Barnard Castle [Durham, VC 66], viii. 1916, GBW. [1 standing as Brachypterus
pubescens’, 1 standing as M. serripes ] .

1 female, Cumwhitton cd. [Cumberland, VC 70], 17.viii. 1915, GBW.

1 male, Wicken [Cambs., VC 29], 24.V.1923, GBW.

Meligethes planiusculus (Heer)

1 male, Freckenham [W. Suffolk, VC 26], 24.V.1923, GBW.

2 males & 8 females, Freckenham [W. Suffolk, VC 26], 25.viii.1924, GBW.

Meligethes obscurus Erichson

4 males & 4 females, Rye [E. Sussex, VC 14], vii.1931 .

1 male & 1 female, Abinger [Surrey, VC 17], E. A. B[edwell].

2 females, Tubney, Berks. [Berks., VC 22], 3.vii.l909, JC. [Standing as M. erythropus].

1 female, Trefriw [Caernarvon, VC 49], viii. 1903, 12463, EAN[ewbery].

Published Records

Meligethes brevis

Horden, Co. Durham, 21 July, on Helianthemum vulgare (Walsh, 1915: 292-293). There is
a cited specimen deposited in the Hope Entomological Collection, University Museum,
Oxford, which I have seen and confirmed (Kirk-Spriggs 1991).

Forge Valley in some numbers on a limestone hill with Helianthemum and other flowers,
R. Lawson; also taken by C. E. Stott 1936 (Walsh & Rimington 1956: 237). The former
would apply to specimens described as Meligethes pictus (= M. brevis Sturm), by Rye
(1871: 74-76), syntypes of which are deposited in many UK museums (National
Museum of Wales; National Museum of Ireland, Bolton Museum; and University
Museum of Zoology, Cambridge) (Kirk-Spriggs 1991).

Meligethes atratus

(As M. rufipes ), Pickering, by beating and sweeping, G. B. Walsh (Mason & Pearsall 1929:
347). Wykeham, 6 June (Walsh 1945: 140).

Levisham, W. C. Hey; Scarborough, E. G. Bayford; Pickering, Hayburn Wyke, G. B.
Walsh (Walsh & Rimington 1956: 237).

Meligethes flavimanus

(As M. lumbaris ), Hilla Green, near Scarborough, G. B. Walsh (Fordham 1920: 241).

(As M. lumbaris ), Littlebeck, M. L. Thompson; Hayburn Wyke, Raincliffe Wood, G. B.
Walsh; Robin Hood’s Bay, H. Britten (Walsh & Rimington 1956: 237).

Meligethes fulvipes

Bubwith, W. J. Fordham (Bayford 1914: 53).

110

The G. B. Walsh Collection

Bubwith, abundant in August, W. J. Fordham; Redcar Marshes, G. B. Walsh (Fordham
1916:261).

Forge Valley, fairly common by sweeping (Fordham & Walsh 1936: 166).

Raincliffe Wood, Forge Valley, Troutsdale, G. B. Walsh (Walsh & Rimington 1956: 237).
(As M. rubripes), Skipwith Common, 1926, G. B. Walsh; Raincliffe Wood, 1925, G. B.
Walsh (Thompson 1926: 271).

Meligethes aeneus

Amcliffe Wood, G. B. Walsh (Pearsall & Mason 1925: 187).

Hovingham (Walsh 1935: 256).

Hutton Le Hole, 5 June 1937 (Walsh 1937: 202).

Pickering (Walsh 1938: 239).

Wykeham, 6 June (Walsh 1945: 140).

Very common in the Scarborough area (Walsh & Rimington 1956: 237).

Meligethes viridescens

Hovingham (Walsh 1935: 256).

Hutton Le Hole, 5 June 1937 (Walsh 1937: 202).

Wykeham, 6 June (Walsh 1945: 140).

Common in the Scarborough area (Walsh & Rimington, 1956: 237).

Meligethes brunnicornis

Rare, Filey, E. C. Horrell (Walsh & Rimington 1956: 237).

Meligethes pedicularius (Gyllenhal) nec. auctt. (= M. viduatus (Heer))

(As syn. M. viduatus ) Primrose Valley, near Filey, common on flowers of Geranium
sanguineum G. B. Walsh (Walsh 1930: 198).

(As syn. M. viduatus ) Primrose Valley, on Geranium sanguineum, W . J. Fordham, G. B.
Walsh (Walsh & Rimington 1956: 237).

(As M. vidiuatus [sic]), Filey, Scarborough District, G. B. Walsh (Thompson 1930: 85).
Meligethes obscurus

Rare, Scarborough, J. H. Bailey; Sleight, H. Britten (Walsh & Rimington 1956: 237).
Meligethes nigrescens

(As M. picipes ), Hovingham, fairly common in marshy places (Walsh 1935: 256).

(As M. picipes ), Hutton Le Hole, 5 June 1937 (Walsh 1937: 202).

(As M. picipes ), common in the Scarborough area (Walsh & Rimington 1956: 237).

Meligethes ovatus

On flowers at Ellerbum (rare, only from VCs 61, 62) (Fordham & Walsh 1936: 166).
Primrose Valley, on Geranium sanguineum, W. J. Fordham, G. B. Walsh (Walsh &
Rimington 1956: 237).

Conclusions

The G. B. Walsh collection of Meligethes is shown to comprise 139 specimens of 16 species.
Forty-six specimens are from Yorkshire localities of which 21 specimens are shown to be
cited in the literature (2 M . flavimanus\ 8 M. fulvipes; 10 M. tenebrosus ; 1 M. ovatus). Of the
total 139 specimens contained within the collection 29 were misidentified.

Although many records are attributed to G.B. Walsh it appears that not all of the records
are based on specimens contained within his collection at Woodend Museum of Natural
History. It is possible that Walsh changed his mind about some of his identifications after the
publication of the records. Such might explain the specimens of Meligethes aeneus from
Forge Valley and Troutsdale, which are I suspect the specimens on which the M. fulvipes
records for these localities were based (Walsh & Rimington 1956: 237).

References

Bayford, E. G. (1914) Coleoptera in Yorkshire in 1913. Naturalist 39: 51-54.

Fordham, W. J. (1916) Coleoptera in Yorkshire in 1915. Naturalist 41: 204-207, 258-264.

Book Reviews

111

Fordham, W. J. (1920) Yorkshire Coleoptera in 1919. Naturalist 45: 199-202; 241-243.

Fordham, W. J. & Walsh, G. B. (1936) Records of Yorkshire Coleoptera. Naturalist 61:
165-167.

Kirk-Spriggs, A. H. (1991) The identity of the rare pollen beetle Meligethes brevis Sturm
(Col., Nitidulidae), and its status in Britain. Entomologist' s Monthly Magazine 127:
99-105.

Mason, F. A. & Pearsall, W. H. (1929) Yorkshire Naturalists at Pickering, Yorks. Naturalist
54: 345-347.

Pearsall, W. H. & Mason, F. A. (1925) Yorkshire Naturalists at Egton Bridge. Naturalist 50:
185-188.

Rye, E. C. (1871) Description of a new species of Meligethes from Britain. Entomologist’ s
Monthly Magazine 8: 74-76.

Thompson, M. L. (1926) Yorkshire Coleoptera, 1925-1926. Naturalist 51: 271-272.

Thompson, M. L. (1930) The Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union’s Sixty-Eighth Annual Report for
1929. Naturalist 55: 75-94, [Coleoptera p. 85].

Walsh, G. B. (1915) Meligethes brevis Sturm, in Co. Durham. Entomologist’ s Monthly
Magazine. 51: 292-293.

Walsh, G. B. (1930) New Records of Yorkshire Coleoptera. Naturalist 55: 197-199.

Walsh, G. B. (1935) Yorkshire Naturalists at Hovingham. Naturalist 60: 251-258.

Walsh, G. B. (1937) Yorkshire Naturalists at Hutton Le Hole June 5th, 1937. Naturalist 62:
200-203.

Walsh, G. B. (1938) Yorkshire Naturalists at Pickering. Naturalist 63: 237-244.

Walsh, G. B. (1945) Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union Excursions in 1945. Wykeham, June 6th.
Naturalistic. 138-141.

Walsh, G. B. & Rimington, F. C. (1956) Natural History of the Scarborough District.
Scarborough Field Naturalists’ Society, Vol. 2, xiv+430 pp.

BOOK REVIEWS

Behavioural Ecology by J. R. Krebs and N. B. Davies. Pp 482, with 79 figures. Blackwell
Scientific Publications, 1991. £19.95.

This is the third edition of the standard textbook in the field, and has been so completely
rewritten that a new title might have been appropriate — perhaps ‘Advances in Behavioural
Ecology’. This would also prepare the reader for the substantial conceptual difficulties in this
complex field.

The cover claims the book continues the ‘tradition of clarity and accessibility’ of the
previous editions. To certain readerships this may be so, but the newcomer to the field would
be strongly advised to begin with the ‘Introduction to Behavioural Ecology’ by the same
authors. The book is not for the layperson, however intelligent, and even many students
specialising in these areas will find such complex material difficult. Clarity is not improved
by a flurry of typological errors early in the book, reducing to a dribble in later chapters.

Without doubt, this book serves a useful purpose in drawing together very recent and
exciting literature in this rapidly expanding area, and presenting some novel ideas. The full
understanding of any one chapter is dependent upon knowledge from several other chapters,
although few will read it from cover to cover. A high level of intellectual rigour is clear
throughout. The editors grasp the nettle and include a welcome chapter on human behavioural
ecology, although this is rather limited in scope and does not address many interesting areas
such as sexual ornamentation, or aggression.

This book, then, is for a specialist and able readership, interested in the ways theory,
modelling and experimental work have explained many puzzles in animal foraging,
signalling, breeding and socialising. It reveals how fast we are learning, yet how far we have
still to go, in our understanding of behavioural processes relevant to ecology.

CH

112

Book Reviews

The Biology of the Naked Mole Rat edited by P. W. Sherman, J. U. M. Jarvis and R. D.
Alexander. Pp. xvi + 518, one colour plate and numerous line drawings, maps and
monochrome photographs. Princeton University Press. 1991. $65.00 cloth, $24.95 paperback
The Naked Mole-Rat is unique among mammals. Firstly, it is, as its name suggests almost
devoid of hair. Secondly, its underground colonies display a social structure more like that of
a social insect than a mammal. Castes exist in which, for example, some animals are workers,
others inactive supporters of the brood chamber and only a single female is reproductively
active. Like her insect counterpart she produces large numbers of progeny. This vegetarian
rodent is only found in arid parts of Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya. In 1967 Jennifer Jarvis first
started working on the ecology and sociobiology of this species in Kenya. Her research has
continued since that time and the study expanded with the establishment of colonies in
Michigan, Cornell, London and Cape Town where Professor Jarvis is now based. The book is
a comprehensive review of work on this species from all these research centres. Following
three introductory chapters, topics covered include ecology, population structure, vocal and
non-vocal behaviour, social organisation, reproduction, growth and genetics. This volume has
the advantage of being up-to-date and comprehensive. It is a fascinating account of a very
unusual animal written by individuals who have actually worked on it. The book will be of
value to mammalogists, behaviourists, sociobiologists and any naturalist interested in a very
unusual animal.

MJD

Fuller’s View from the Attic by John Fuller. Pp ii + 134 with 12 line drawings. R. & W.
Publications, Newmarket. £7.95.

For many years John Fuller has worked in one of the top floor rooms (hence the book’s
title) of the Cambridge University Veterinary School. From here he encountered many
species of animals as well as witnessing veterinary practice, research, teaching and
illustration. The book is largely concerned with his artistic record of these activities. In
addition, Fuller illustrates events in his life, Cambridge and various animal/veterinary
activities in rural situations. Some illustrations are humorous, some representational and
others with obvious applications to research and teaching. Fuller is a very good artist with a
keen eye for detail. Furthermore, the breadth of his talent is exemplified by the diversity of his
subject material. My favoured choice is of the faces and heads of animals; these contain great
vitality and representational accuracy. My only criticism of the book is the length and content
of the text which emphasises much of the author’s early life and co-ordinates indifferently
with the illustrations.

MJD

Identification chart of British and Irish dragonflies. 1990. Harley Books. 70 x 100 cm.

£4.99.

This chart consists of 87 individually coloured figures of the 39 species of Dragonflies
found in the British Isles. The illustrations are taken from The Dragonflies of Europe by R. R.
Askew. The sexes of most species are depicted besides several colour forms. The brief
captions include information on habitat, distribution and status of each species. Working with
a larger group of insects it is strange to see all the study species on one sheet of paper.
However, these illustrations are superb and a useful aid.

MEA

Butterflies and Moths of Yorkshire
Distribution and Conservation

Editors: S. L. Sutton and H. E. Beaumont

370 pages packed with information about Yorkshire’s 1,591 butterflies and moths.
Introductory chapters dealing with distribution, conservation, etc., comprehensive
bibliography, gazetteer of 900 locality names.

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A study of the macro-invertebrate fauna of Spicey Gill, a
stream rising on Ilkley Moor — M. Andrews

A note on the vegetation of some English crons —

Allan Pentecost

Natterer’s Bat Myotis nattereri taken by Short-eared Owl Asio
flammeus — J. S. Armitage and R. W. Weeks

Note on a successful breeding attempt by an immature female
Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus , in the Yorkshire
Dales — Stuart Brocklehurst

Published by the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union

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113

A STUDY OF THE MACRO-INVERTEBRATE FAUNA OF SPICEY GILL,

A STREAM RISING ON ILKLEY MOOR

M. ANDREWS

26 Margerison Road, Ilkley, West Yorkshire LS29 8QU

Much work has been done on the fauna of rivers and streams. In Yorkshire, Percival and
Whitehead led the way, through their studies of the invertebrates of the rivers Wharfe and
Derwent (1929, 1930, 1935). Several workers explored the fauna of Welsh mountain streams.
A landmark was the publication of a synthesis by Hynes (1970) of works on life in running
water world-wide. Continuing research resulted in the production of the keys used here.

This study aims at identifying the macro-invertebrates of a stream, Spicey Gill, Ilkley, to
assess the sizes of the populations of the important species throughout the year, attempt to
explain their variation spatially and temporarily, and also if possible throw further light on the
life histories of some of the species present.

Spicey Gill (Figure 1) is formed by the confluence of a number of tributaries, some
draining peat, others draining the underlying Millstone Grit. It is a stony stream, little more
than 1 m in width and up to 0.5 m deep, flowing down the heather moor in a steep-sided gully.
The vegetation of the moor was recently described by Cotton and Hale (1989). On leaving the
moor, the stream continues to flow in a deep gully between gardens on the steep hillside,
beneath overhanging deciduous trees. The stepped profile of the Millstone Grit underlying the
whole area has caused the formation in the stream of a number of quiet pools and chutes, and
two waterfalls. The stream finally flows across the valley bottom to join the River Wharfe
between Ilkley’s two bridges (GR 44/1 15.482).

Station 1 (alt. 275 m, GR 44/108.464) is a little below the confluence of the tributaries
forming the stream. At Station 2 (alt. 207 m, GR 44/110.468), Spicey Gill crosses a marine
band, then flows steeply down to the outskirts of Ilkley. Station 3 (alt. 130 m, GR 44/1 13.474)
is at the bottom of a garden in a road leading to Ilkley town centre. Station 4 (alt. 100 m, GR
44/113.477) is just above the point where the stream disappears under the main road to
Skipton.

As far as possible, each station was visited once each month to collect invertebrates and to
test the pH of the water. Since the use of quantitative methods in Spicey Gill is almost
impossible, a semi-quantitative method was adopted. Invertebrates were collected from 30
stones. Two tins of 130 ml capacity were filled with sand or gravel and an identical third tin
filled with moss, lightly pressed down with fingers. Debris was collected into a polythene bag,
size 180 mm by 230 mm, which was half filled, leaving room for tying. Collecting was
usually completed from about 10 m length of stream, but after a spate, it was sometimes
necessary to go as far as 100 m to collect gravel and debris. Invertebrates were sorted from
the samples, and identified using keys by Eddington and Hildrew (1981), Elliott, Humpesch
and Macan (1988), Hynes (1977), Macan (1959) and Savage (1989). Case-bearing caddis
larvae (Trichoptera), except for Agapetus fuscipes, were bred out and the adults identified
using the key by Macan and Worthington (1973). For A. fuscipes a new key by Wallace et al.
(1990) was used. pH was determined using BDH universal indicator. This simple method
gives only approximate readings, but is adequate for the purpose of showing the effect of
spates. Invertebrates not required for further study were returned to the stream. This procedure
was continued for two and a half years.

At Station 1, the pH fluctuates. During a period of dry weather the water is nearly neutral
(c.6.5), but generally within two weeks of heavy rain or snow it becomes acidic (4.0) because
of the extra water entering the stream from the peat. At the other three stations, with only
occasional exceptions, the water remains near neutral (7.0). This most likely results from the
presence in the stream bed of particles of calcareous materials which originate either in the
marine band or in the glacial drift on which much of Ilkley is built. It is possible also that run-
off from gardens affects the pH of the water at Stations 3 and 4. Figure 2 presents a summary

Naturalist 116 (1991)

114

Macro-invertebrate Fauna ofSpicey Gill

FIGURE 1

Macro-invertebrate Fauna ofSpicey Gill

115

TABLE 1

Composition of the fauna at the four stations. The figures given are the most collected at
any one time. Some species found only once are omitted

STN 1

STN 2

STN 3

STN 4

Polycelisfelina (Daly ell)

1

0

2

4

Rhabdocoelida

0

0

1

1

Potamopyrgus antipodarum (Gray) = P. jenkinsi

0

0

2

1000+

Ancylus fluviatilis Muller

0

0

2

250+

Glossiphonia complanata (L.)

0

0

0

2

Annelida

0

4

2

5

Gammarus pulex Koch

0

0

2

250+

Hydracarina

0

0

2

3

Velia caprai Tananini

100

60

100

100

Protonemura praecox (Morton)

40

25

44

9

Amphinemura sulcicollis (Stephens)

42

54

19

5

Nemoura cambrica (Stephens)

7

4

41

1

N. cinerea (Retzius)

16

2

3

0

Leuctra hippopus (Kempny)

145

41

5

0

Brachyptera

0

0

1

4

Isoperla grammatica (Poda)

0

0

3

1

Baetis rhodani (Pictet)

7

30

20

11

Rhithrogena semicolorata (Curtis)

0

0

0

4

Ecdyonurus dispar (Curtis)

0

0

1

1

Rhyacophila dorsalis (Curtis)

1

7

25

4

Plectrocnemia conspersa (Curtis)

2

4

4

7

P. geniculata McLachlan

1

1

1

0

Hydropsyche pellucidula (Curtis)

0

0

4

4

Agapetus fuscipes Curtis

0

0

1

250+

Limnephilidae

10

10

12

100+

Simulium

120

220

7

1000+

Chironomidae

11

120

1000+

1000+

Dixa

0

6

51

14

Pericoma

12

3

4

1

Dicranota

1

5

2

0

Tipulidae

1

2

5

6

Other dipteran larvae

1

1

2

0

of rainfall and pH at Station 1 in 1989. In spring and autumn at Stations 1 and 2, outbursts of
filamentous green algae, desmids and diatoms occur, and throughout the year there is much
particulate detritus. At Stations 3 and 4 in autumn and winter, vast numbers of leaves
accumulate in the water, forming a substrate for the growth of fungi and bacteria, thus
providing abundant food for herbivorous invertebrates.

Table 1 lists the invertebrates found in the stream. The Plecoptera (stoneflies) form an
important constituent of its fauna. Stoneflies are univoltine (one generation per year). They fly

116

Macro-invertebrate Fauna ofSpicey Gill

early in the year. Egg hatching and growth of larvae spread over several months, so that in
summer the larvae are microscopic in size, are hiding in gravel or moss, and are rarely found.
Figure 3 shows the numbers of stonefly larvae found at each station for each month in 1989.
The principal species found were Amphinemura sulcicollis, Protonemura praecox, Nemoura

Month

Rainfall [ I pH at Stn 1 (275m)

(mm) in llkley

FIGURE 2

Monthly Rainfall and pH at Station 1.

cambrica, and Leuctra hippopus. Figure 4 indicates variations in population sizes of these
four species at all four stations together in 1989. A similarity in the pattern of population sizes
throughout the year is clearly demonstrated. Diagrams 4a and 4c show a March increase in
numbers of larvae of A. sulcicollis and N. cambrica. Such a spring increase has been
explained as resulting from a renewed hatching of eggs after the very adverse conditions of
winter spate (Hynes 1970).

Of the mayflies (Ephemeroptera) only Baetis rhodani is common, and because of its long
flight period, the larvae are found from February to November. B. rhodani is a bivoltine
species (two generations per year) found at all four stations, though in numbers decreasing
with increasing altitude. Spring flying adults emerge in April and May. Their eggs hatch in
June and July, and the second emergence occurs in August. The eggs of the autumn adults
give rise to overwintering larvae, the majority of which are washed down in winter spates. At
Stations 3 and 4, a few larvae of Rhithrogena semicolorata, Heptagenia lateralis and
Ecdyonurus dispar also occurred. These are univoltine and overwinter as larvae. Their well-
grown larvae were found in spring and early summer.

Figure 5 summarises the results of collections of Trichopteran (caddis fly) larvae at all four
stations in 1989. At Station 4 only, thousands of larvae of Agapetus fuscipes occurred. Other
case-bearing caddis larvae decreased in numbers with increasing altitude. They are
represented by Drusus annulatus, Micropterna sequax, Potamophylax cingulatus, P.
latipennis and Odontocerum albicorne. Caseless caddis larvae were most abundant at Station
3, where Rhyacophila dorsalis, Plectrocnemia conspersa, P. geniculata, and Hydropsyche

Macro-invertebrate Fauna ofSpicey Gill

117

JAN

FIGURE 3

Numbers of Stonefly larvae (Plecoptera) collected each month in 1989.

The innermost ring gives the numbers for Station 1 , the outermost for Station 4.

pellucidula occur. The paucity of caddis larvae at Station 1 is most likely related to the
frequent spates and episodes of acidity, which also cause a washdown of mayfly and stonefly
larvae even if they are acid tolerant. A sudden drop in numbers of stoneflies and mayflies may
indicate emergence of adults. A comparable fall in numbers of caddis larvae does not occur
because there are nine species which emerge over a period of eight months.

A few small members of Veliidae (Hemiptera Heteroptera) were noticed on the surface of
quiet pools all the way down the stream in June and July. These may have been early instars
of Velia, as the adults of Velia caprai were collected in August and September, at which time
as many as 100 were seen together in one pool. Larvae and adults of several species of beetle
(Coleoptera) were taken, the most frequent being dytiscids and haliplids. The only conclusion
that could be drawn from these collections is that beetles occur chiefly in moss and debris. No
preference for shade was noted. At Station 4 the stream flows more slowly, and widens to
enclose two small islands. Some of the invertebrates found here do not occur in the upper
reaches. Figure 6 relates to invertebrates that occur only at Station 4, where Potamopyrgus
antipodarum (=P. jenkinsi, snails) Ancylus fluviatilis (fresh water limpets), Gammarus pulex
(Amphipoda, shrimps) and Agapetus fuscipes are found. In summer 1989 during a period of
rapid reproduction, vast numbers of P. antipodarum, A. fluviatilis and A. fuscipes of various
sizes were found. There were so many that their numbers were estimated from counts on ten
stones, and numbers rounded to the nearest 50, 100 or 1,000. In 1990 only P. antipodarum
occurred in comparable numbers. Since A. fluviatilis and A. fuscipes feed exclusively on algae
on the stones in the stream, it seems probable that the algae did not recover sufficiently in

118

Macro-invertebrate Fauna ofSpicey Gill

Amphinemura sulcicollis

Emergence

100

50

100

150 -

(A)

Protonemura praecox

(B)

Macro-invertebrate Fauna ofSpicey Gill

119

Nemoura cambrica

(C)

FIGURE 4

120

Macro-invertebrate Fauna ofSpicey Gill

JAN

FIGURE 5

Numbers of caddisfly larvae (Trichoptera) collected each month in 1989.
The innermost ring gives numbers for Station 1, the outermost for Station 4.

1990 to support large populations of these species. P. antipodarum consumes algae, dead
leaves and moss, and is not affected in the same way.

Hynes (1970) showed that annual variation in population sizes of fresh water invertebrates
is not uncommon, and Hunter (1961), in a 9-year study of a stream in Scotland, showed that
the annual variation of assessed productivity of A.fluviatilis can be over 7-fold.

A feature of the fauna of the stream is the predominance of herbivores, which include most
of the stonefly larvae, the mayfly larvae, the case-bearing caddis larvae, the snails and limpets.
The carnivores include the stoneflies Isoperla grammatica, the caseless caddis larvae, R.
dorsalis and Plectrocnemia spp. which feed on other small larvae. Velia feeds on spiders
(Arachnida), emerging midges (Chironomidae), stoneflies and mayflies (Savage 1989).
Several larval and adult water beetles (Coleoptera) are carnivorous, as also are the leeches
Glossiphonia complanata and G. heteroclita which feed on P. antipodarum. Some of the
dipteran larvae are carnivorous. Many are eaten by other carnivores. Apart from the dipteran
larvae, only small numbers of these carnivores are found. Because of their vast numbers,
dipteran larvae - Simulium (blackfly) and chironomids (midges) - are important though
inconspicuous constituents of the fauna of the stream.

The ecosystem of the stream is simple. There are relatively few species of invertebrates and
no fish. Occasionally water birds are seen, e.g. dipper ( Cinclus cinclus), and grey wagtail
{Motacilla cinerea ). The macro-invertebrate fauna is comparatively varied, and on the basis
of the presence throughout the part of the stream studied of more than one species of stonefly,

Macro-invertebrate Fauna ofSpicey Gill

121

Gammarus pulex

0 N D J

1 1988 !

MAMJ JASOND
1989

J F

MAMJ JASON
1990

(A)

300

250

200

150

100

50

0

Ancylus fluviatilis

ONDJFMAMJ JASONDJFMAMJJASON
1988 1989 1990

(B)

FIGURE 6

122

Macro-invertebrate Fauna ofSpicey Gill

300

250

200

150

100

50

0

ONDJFMAMJ JASONDJFMAMJJASON

1988 1989 1990

(C)

ONDJFMAMJJASONDJFMAMJ JASON
1988 1989 1990

(D)

FIGURE 6 (continued)

Macro-invertebrate Fauna ofSpicey Gill 123

and of at least sixteen other species, the stream is judged to be clean and free from organic
pollution (Hellawell 1978).

Calcareous material is frequently added to naturally acid waters in order to neutralise the
acidity. The purpose of this is either to make the water safe to supply to establishments which
have lead water pipes, or to increase the invertebrate fauna and so improve fish stocks. In
Spicey Gill, it seems to be the granules of calcareous material in the gravel that neutralise the
water, and this would suggest that the amount required to be added for this purpose is small.

Acknowledgements

I acknowledge with thanks the help of Mr R. H. Booth who produced the manuscript,
including charts and diagrams, the Parks and Gardens Department, Ilkley, and Mr and Mrs G.
Bowen for access to their garden. Mr Bowen also discussed the first draft. Mr S. Davidson
drew the map. Prof. G. Fryer constructively criticised the manuscript. Dr. P. D. Hiley gave
generous help throughout. I also had help from Lydia Booth, Mr A. Norris and Prof. M. R. D.
Seaward.

References

Cotton, D. E. and Hale, W. H. G. (1989) Vegetation changes on Ilkley Moor 1964-1984.
Naturalist 114: 109-114.

Edington, J. M. and Hildrew, A. G. (1981) Caseless Caddis Larvae of the British Isles. Scient.
Pub. Freshwat. Biol. Ass., Ambleside.

Elliott, J. M., Humpesch, U. H. and Macan, T. T. (1988) Larvae of the British
Ephemeroptera. Scient. Pub. Freshwat. Biol. Ass., Ambleside.

Hellawell, J. M. (1978) Biological Surveillance of Rivers. Water Research Centre, Stevenage.
Hunter, W. R. (1961) Annual variations in growth and density in natural populations of
freshwater snails in the west of Scotland. Proc. Zoo. Soc. London 136: 219-253.

Hynes, H. B. N. (1970) The Ecology of Running Waters. Liverpool Univ. Press, Liverpool.
Hynes, H. B. N. (1977). A Key to the Adults and Nymphs of British Stoneflies (Plecoptera).

Scient. Pub. Freshwat. Biol. Ass., Ambleside.

Macan, T. T. (1959) A Guide to Freshwater Invertebrates. Longman, London.

Macan, T. T. and Worthington, C. J. (1973) A Key to the Adults of British Trichoptera. Scient.
Pub. Freshwat. Biol. Ass., Ambleside.

Percival, E. and Whitehead, H. (1929) A quantitative study of the fauna of some types of
streambed. J. Ecol. 17: 283-313.

Percival, E. and Whitehead, H. (1930) Biological survey of the R. Wharfe II. Report on the
invertebrate fauna. J. Ecol. 18: 286-302.

Percival, E. and Whitehead, H. (1935) an ecological study of the invertebrate fauna of a chalk
stream. J. Anim. Ecol. 4: 58-78.

Savage, A. A. (1989) Adults of the British Aquatic Hemiptera Heteroptera. Scient. Pub.
Freshwat. Biol. Ass., Ambleside.

Wallace, I. D., Wallace, B. and Philipson, G. N. (1990) A Key to the Case-bearing Caddis
Larvae of Britain and Ireland. Scient. Pub. Freshwat. Biol. Ass., Ambleside.

124

Book Review

BOOK REVIEW

The Moths and Butterflies of Great Britain and Ireland. Volume 7, Part 2.
Lasiocampidae - Thyatiridae, with a Life History Chart of the British Lepidoptera. Edited
by A. Maitland Emmet and John Heath. Pp. 400, 8 colour plates. Harley Books, Colchester,
Essex. 1991. £49.50.

This latest publication in the definitive series eventually intending to cover the whole of the
lepidoptera of Great Britain and Ireland is the concluding part of the original volume 7, of
which the butterflies were treated separately in volume 7, part 1 (reviewed in this journal in
1990, Naturalist 115: 31-2). This has left the present part with a much reduced taxonomic
content and only thirty species are treated here, the Lasiocampidae, Satumiidae, Drepanidae
and Thyratiridae by B. Goater and the Endromidae by M. R. Young. These occupy 47 pages
of text and are illustrated on four colour plates of paintings by Richard Lewington.

Thus the introductory material is more extensive than has hitherto been the case, beginning
with a chapter on the Classification of the Lepidoptera by M. J. Scoble. This outlines the
history and development of the classification of the higher taxonomic groupings in the
lepidoptera and goes on to discuss the characteristics and variability of the various super-
families at some length. The chapter is well constructed and thought provoking but may make
quite heavy reading for the field lepidopterist. Chapter two ‘Resting Posture in the
Lepidoptera’ is of much more general interest; it is jointly authored by M. W. F. Tweedie and
A. M. Emmet. Seven pages of text outline historical aspects and provide an introduction to
four colour plates (lettered A-D) which depict 64 photographs of 61 species of lepidoptera
and one caddis-fly. The subjects are on the whole well chosen to illustrate a variety of resting
postures of the adult insects but there is some duplication of similar resting postures within
the same family (e.g. plate A 10 & 1 1, 13 & 14, plate C 4 & 5) while there are no examples of
species in such extensive families as the Tineidae, Gracillariidae, Coleophoridae, Elachistidae
or Gelechiidae despite the characteristic porrected antennae of the family Coleophoridae
being mentioned in the text.

The major part of this book (240 pages) is taken up with a chart showing the life history
and habits of the British lepidoptera, compiled by A. M. Emmet. It covers the whole of the
British species including such recently added ones as Phyllonorycter platani Staud. and P.
leucographella (Zell.). These are arranged in double page spreads and give a month by month
indication of the life history of each species together with symbols indicating the status,
distribution (generally by defined regions), habitats, flight times and foodplants. The nature of
these tables involves the use of abbreviations and symbols which are duplicated on a
plasticised card to permit easy interpretation without the need to continually turn back to the
beginning of the chapter. The amount of information contained in the chart is considerable
and is a tribute to Col. Emmet’s organisational ability. It also provides the most up to date and
(so far as the reviewer can tell) error-free list of the entire British lepidoptera. Separate indices
are provided for the life history chart.

The standard of production is equal to that of previous volumes in this series. The cost of
the present publication may seem high in view of the small number of moths treated;
however, the life history chart adds a great deal to its usefulness, especially in providing
information on species in those families not yet covered by this on-going series. A must for
the serious lepidopterist; those who baulk at the price must wait for the paperback edition.

HEB

125

A NOTE ON THE VEGETATION OF SOME ENGLISH CRONS

ALLAN PENTECOST

Division of Biosphere Sciences, King’ s College London, Campden Hill Road
London W8 7 AH

The flora of three recently discovered ‘crons’ is described from the UK and compared with
the crons of Belgium. The cryptogamic vegetation of the two regions is almost identical.
Among higher plants, the grass Sesleria albicans was dominant at all sites. Differences in the
vegetation between the two areas is explained by their differing latitude, surrounding
microclimate and grazing.

Introduction

The term cron refers to a specific type of travertine deposit found in the Belgian district of
Lorraine (van Oye & Hubert, 1937). The deposits form on steep valley sides below highly
calcareous springs and consist of irregular, protuberant masses of water-saturated travertine.
Travertine is a deposit of calcium carbonate forming around calcium-rich springs and streams.
The deposits often form around the bases of plants, forming a brittle, but highly porous crust.

Narrow, braided rivulets run over the steeper cron slopes into permanently wet hollows.
Crons are readily distinguished from travertine cascades where the water normally follows a
single, locally eroded course, without associated wetland hollows. Because of their irregular
topography, cron vegetation is diverse and of considerable interest, ranging from that of a
calcareous mire to a well-drained and porous limestone.

The crons of Lorraine are well known (van Oye, 1937; Symoens et al., 1951; Iserentant,
1988; Pentecost, 1991) and one, the Cron de Montauban, is now a nature reserve. Both
cryptogams and phanerogams are well represented, and the rare desmid Oocardium stratum is
characteristic of many sites. Crons are not unique to Belgium and occur throughout the world,
but they have not been documented in Britain.

Recently, a fine example with abundant Oocardium was found near Cam Gill in the
Yorkshire Dales (Pentecost, 1991). The vegetation of this cron and of two others recently
disccovered is briefly described in this article.

Site Descriptions

All three sites occur in the Yorkshire Dales on valley sides composed of the Great Scar
Limestone. Site locations, together with associated relict (i.e. inactive) crons are shown in
Figure 1. Some physical characteristics are shown in Table 1. The described sites are at Cam
Gill (GR 34/955754), Clapham Beck (43/754712) and Kettlewell (34/974733). The travertine
deposits are all formed a short distance below small calcareous springs issuing from the
limestone. These springs are permanent, though discharge varies considerably, and is
generally higher during the winter. The deposits are small when compared with those of
Belgium. Cam Gill is the largest of the three, and in its morphometry and size most closely
resembles those of Lorraine. All three crons occur on open and exposed valley sides where
grassland predominates and there was evidence of grazing by sheep and rabbits.

Clear evidence of travertine deposition, particularly around moss polsters and algal mats,
was found. The crons show protruberant relief owing to the build-up of travertine downslope
to a height of 1-3 m above the adjacent valley sides. Their uneven profiles result from the
irregular growth of the travertine, but soil creep is also responsible for some of the terracing at
Cam Gill.

Some chemical characteristics for the sites are given in Table 1. The water was sampled
mid- way down the crons, where pH is usually close to 8.0. At the springs, pH is normally
lower because outgassing of carbon dioxide does not usually become significant until the
groundwater contacts outside air. The chemical characteristics of the three sites are similar
and the calcite saturation indices, being considerably greater than unity, show that calcium

Naturalist 116 (1991)

126

Vegetation of Some English Crons

80 90 100

Locations of known active (•) and relict (•) crons in the southern Yorkshire Dales.

Bar ticks are 1 km apart.

carbonate deposition is thermodynamically favourable.

The vegetation is diverse (Fig. 2, Table 2) and reflects the moisture regimes of these sites.
Five ‘zones’ can be distinguished, though sharp boundaries are rarely maintained. 1) truly
aquatic vegetation growing in the rivulets, colonised by algae and bryophytes; 2) boggy
hollows containing calcareous mud; 3) bryophyte hummocks permanently saturated by
capillarity; 4) saturated ground, often with thin soil developed over the travertine; 5) well-
drained travertine hummocks with soils up to 10 cm thick. This last zone develops in response
to travertine formation which is continuously changing the course of streams.

Where water flow is more or less continuous, a rich algal and cyanobacterial flora develops.
Characteristic species are Schizothrix calcicola agg., Homoeothrix Crustacea, Achnanthes
minutissima and Oocardium stratum. The latter is only known from Cam Gill, where large
areas are covered with a bright green crystalline crust. Considering their small size, the
microbial flora is very rich. Only a selection of species is provided in Table 2. Important
aquatic bryophytes are Bryum pseudotriquetrum, Cratoneuron commutatum, C. filicinum and
Pellia fabbroniana.

Boggy hollows provide a muddy environment unsuitable for algae except Chara vulgaris.
The areas are covered in Carex species, particularly C. lepidocarpa and C. flacca. Species of
Eleocharis, Eriophorum, J uncus and Hypochoeris also occur.

Moss polsters are a characteristic feature of all crons. Large cushions up to 50 cm high of
Eucladium verticillatum, Gymnostomum recurvirostrum and particularly Cratoneuron
commutatum develop as travertine encrusts the lower stems, providing a stable base for
further growth. Old, dense blocks of travertine, when broken open, usually reveal moulds of
these bryophyte cushions.

Sloping ground, intermittently saturated with seepage water, occurs adjacent to the
watercourses and supports interesting plant communities. Flowering plants include Cirsium
palustre, Filipendula ulmaria, Montia fontana, Parnassia palustris, Pinguicula vulgaris and

Vegetation of Some English Crons

127

Selaginella selaginoides. Carices are also common. On slightly drier ground. Primula
farinosa and Crepis paludosa occurred, and grasses became more evident. Sesleria albicans
was the most abundant plant on all three crons and sometimes grew on wet ground with
Molinia caerulea. Tussocks of Molinia also provided centres for travertine accumulation at
Cam Gill (Fig. 2). Other grasses were found on the driest parts of old travertine hummocks
e.g. Deschampsia flexuosa and Festuca rubra along with the moss Ctenidium molluscum. Old
travertine hollows supported Preissia quadrata. On the basis of plant distribution, the wettest
and driest crons were Cam Gill and Clapham Beck respectively. The richest site was Cam
Gill, where 38 species were recorded.

Discussion

Though smaller than their Belgian counterparts, the Dales crons possess a rich flora. Cam Gill
cron, the richest, is unique in Britain with its fine algal-bryophyte associations including
Oocardium stratum. The bryophyte associations of the Belgian sites have been described by
de Sloover & Goossens (1984) and these authors distinguished four communities: a
Eucladietum verticillatum developing on steep slopes, a non-incrusting Gymnostometum
recurvirostri, and a Cratoneuretum commutatum succeeding a cyanobacterium association,
the Scytonematatum myochrous. Elements of all of these associations occur on the Dales
crons but there is much intergradation of the communities and it proved impracticable to

TABLE 1

Some physical and chemical data for Yorkshire crons

Determinand

Cam Gill

Clapham

Beck

Kettlewell

Altitude m

290

250

290

Aspect

SE

WNW

E

Average slope, degrees

25

30

22

Length m

80

20

60

Discharge 1 s _I

0.5-5

0.5

0.5

Temperature °C

11.0

9.9

10.4

pH

8.1

8.1

8.1

TDIC* mM

3.3

2.49

3.46

Ca mg-at dm ~3

1.8

1.28

1.64

Mg pg-at dm-3

53

62

75

Na pg-at dm~3

105

200

220

K pg-at dm -3

4

5

5

Cl pg-at dm 3

130

160

200

SO4 pg-at dm~3

105

98

120

total P pg-at dm -3

0.7

0.10

<0.10

NO3-N pg-at dm~3

75

56

82

NH4-N pg-at dm~3

4.3

—

—

Calcite saturation index

4.50

2.25

3.90

* Total dissolved inorganic carbon.

Cam Gill cron was sampled on 15.9.90, the remainder on 26.5.91.

128

Vegetation of Some English Crons

the topography. Cf, Carex flacca\ Cv, Chara vulgaris ; Ev, Eucladium verticillatum',
Fo, Fissidens osmundoides', Me, Molinia caerulea', Os, Oocardium stratum ;

Pp, Parnassia palustris\ Rh, Rivularia haematites', Ss, Selaginella selaginoides;
t, small travertine terraces.

Vegetation of Some English Crons

129

TABLE 2

The flora of three Yorkshire crons (Domin scale)

Cam Gill Clapham Kettlewell
Beck

1. Cyanobacteria

* Aphanocapsa endolithica Erceg. x

* Calothrix spp. 3

* Phormidium incrustatum (Naeg.) Gom.

* Rivularia haematites (D.C.) Ag. 3

* Schizothrix calcicola agg. 3

Homoeothrix Crustacea Woron. 4

* Tolypothrix tenuis Kutz. —

x

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

3

3

X

2. Algae

* Achnanthes minutissima Kutz. 4

* Amphora ovalis (Kutz.) Kutz.

Caloneis alpestris (Grun.) Cl. x

Chara vulgaris L. 2

* Cladophora glomerata (L.) Kutz. 2

* Eunotia arcus Ehr. 2

* Gomphonema angustum Ag. 3

Gongrosira incrustans (Reinsch.) Schmid

* Oocardium stratum Naeg. 4

* Vaucheria sp. —

x

2

x

3

x

1

1

1

X

3. Bryophytes & lichens

* Bryum pseudotriquetrum (Hedw.) Schwaeg. 3 4

* Cratoneuron commutatum (Hedw.) Roth. 4 4

* C.filicinum (Hedw.) Spruce — 3

* Ctenidium molluscum (Hedw.) Mitt. — 3

* Eucladium verticillatum (Brid.) Br.Eur. 4 4

* Fissidens osmundoides Hedw. 2

* Gymnostomum recurvirostrum Hedw. 3

Jungermannia atrovirens Schleich. — 2

* Pellia fabbroniana Raddi 1 1

* Philonotis calcarea 1 x

* Preissia quadrata (Scop.) Nees x

* Riccardia pinguis (L.) Gray x x

Scorpidium scorpidioides (Hedw.) Limpr. x
Verrucaria elaeomeleana (Mass.) Arnold

5

5

3

3

3

1

2

x

X

X

continued. . .

130 Vegetation of Some English Crons

TABLE 2 (continued)

Cam Gill

Clapham

Beck

Kettlewell

4. Phanerogams

Agrostis stolonifera L.

1

Caltha palustris L.

1

—

—

* C.flacca Schreb.

5

—

4

* C. lepidocarpa Tausch.

4

5

4

C. nigra (L.) Reichard

—

4

—

C. panicea L.

—

—

4

* Cirsium palustre (L.) Scop.

—

3

3

Crepis paludosa (L.) Moench.

—

3

—

Deschampsia caespitosa (L.) Trin.

3

—

Eleocharis palustris (L.) Roem. & Schult.

1

—

—

* Equisetum palustre L.

1

—

—

* Eriophorum angustifolium Honck

2

—

—

Festuca rubra L.

—

3

—

Filipendula ulmaria (L.) Maxim

—

4

—

* Fraxinus excelsior L.

—

X

—

Hypochoeris radicata L.

—

X

—

J uncus acutiflorus Hoffm.

3

—

—

* J. articulatus L.

—

—

3

J. effusus L.

4

—

—

* Molinia caerulea (L.) Moensch.

7

—

—

Montia fontana L.

—

X

—

* Parnassia palustris L.

3

—

—

* Petasites hybridus (L.) Gaut, Mey & Sch.

4

—

—

Pinguicula vulgaris L.

2

2

—

Primula farinosa L.

4

3

—

P. vulgaris Huds.

—

3

—

Selaginella selaginoides (L.) Link

3

—

—

* Sesleria albicans Kit. ex Schultes

7

8

8

Valeriana dioica L.

2

2

—

Viola riviniana Rchb.

—

1

—

* Recorded from the Belgian crons.

classify the sites using them. Cratoneuron commutatum is a common bryophyte in damp
calcareous habitats throughout Britain, and in the Dales it is frequently associated with C.
filicinum and Bryum pseudotriquetrum. Similar Cratoneuron communities are widespread in
Europe (Walther, 1942; Herzog & Hofler, 1944; Poelt, 1954).

Among the higher plants, Sesleria albicans is a major component of the drier cron surfaces
in both countries, and is thought to help stabilise the travertine accumulations (van Oye,
1937). Molinia caerulea is also common to both areas, and is widely distributed in base-rich

Vegetation of Some English Crons

131

wetlands of Britain. Despite the apparent similarity in the higher plant flora (Fig. 2) there are
in fact a number of differences. The Belgian sites occur in open deciduous forest and are often
colonised by trees. In the Dales, the growth of trees is probably discouraged by grazing.
Several Orchidaceae occur on the Lorraine deposits, notably Dactylorchis incarnata,
Epipactis palustris and Platnanthera bifolia. Although these species are known from northern
England they have not been found on the crons. Other characteristic species in Belgium are
Eupatorium cannabinum, Origanum vulgare and Angelica sylvestris. Eupatorium is
uncommon in the Dales, but is known from travertine deposits in southern England
(unpublished observations). The Dales and Lorraine crons are of a similar altitude, but differ
by four degrees of latitude and this, together with effects of grazing, may explain the floristic
differences of the two areas.

The water chemistries of the two regions are similar (van Oye & Hubert, 1936; Symoens et
al. 1951; Pentecost, 1991). The waters are of the ‘calcium bicarbonate type’ with pH ranging
from 7. 5-8.3. Travertine formation occurs at all sites but the rate of deposition is unknown.
However, at Cam Gill, encrusted colonies of Oocardium grew at a rate of about 1 mm per
year (Pentecost, 1991). Levels of dissolved nutrients were low, but similar to those from many
other springs in the Dales (unpublished results). Comparable phosphorus concentrations have
been found in the waters of calcareous fens where phosphorus limitation, possibly attributable
to coprecipitation with calcite, has been demonstrated (Boyer & Wheeler, 1989).

Over two hundred sites of travertine deposition are known in Britain, but the majority of
these are now dry, or at least ‘inactive’. Among the active sites, typical cron sites are
uncommon. Travertine mounds, associated with mire vegetation have been described by
Boyer & Wheeler (1989). These mounds lack the steep gradient and travertine-encrusted
pools characteristic of crons, and possess a different vegetation.

Acknowledgements

I am grateful to Dr M. O. Hill and Dr P. D. Moore for their assistance with some of the
identifications.

References

Boyer, M. L. H. & Wheeler, B. D. (1989) Vegetation patterns in spring-fed calcareous fens:
calcite precipitation and constraints on fertility. Journal of Ecology, 77: 597-609.
de Sloover, J. & Goossens, M. (1984) The Cratoneurion associations on a travertine deposit
in southeastern Belgium. Bulletin Societe Roy ale de Botanique de Belgique, 117: 37-50.
Herzog, Th. & Holler, K. (1944) Kalkmoosgesellschaften um Golfing. Hedwigia 82: 1-92.
Iserentant, I. (1988) Les diatomees d’un travertin de Pente (<cron>) en Lorraine. Memoires
Societe Roy ale de Botanique de Belgique 10: 17-25.

Pentecost, A. (1991) A new and interesting site for the calcite-encrusted desmid Oocardium
stratum Naeg. in the British Isles. British Phycological Journal 26: 297-301.

Poelt, J. (1954) Moosgesellschaften in Alpenvorland I. Sitzungberichte der Akademie der
Wissenschaften. Mathematisch Naturwissenschaftliche Classe. Wien Abt. 1, 163: 141-174.
Symoens, J. J., Duvigneaud, P. & Vanden Bergen, C. (1951) Aper^u sur la vegetation des tufs
calcaires de la Belgique. Bulletin Societe Royale de Botanique de Belgique 83: 329-352.
van Oye, P. & Hubert B. (1937) Recherches sur les ‘crons’ du Jurassique Beige. Biologische
JaarboekA: 231-236.

van Oye, P. (1937) Biologie et ecologie des formations calcaires du Jurassique Beige. Ibid,
237-265.

Walther, K. (1942) Die Moosfiora der Cratoneuron commutatum - Gesellschaft in den
Karawanken. Hedwigia 81: 127-130.

132

BOOK REVIEW

British Fungus Flora: Agarics and Boleti. Part 6: Crepidotaceae, Pleurotaceae and other
Pleurotoid Agarics by Roy Watling and Norma M. Gregory. Pp. 157, including numerous
line drawings. Royal Botanical Garden, Edinburgh, 1989. £10.00

This work represents the sixth volume of a series whose high levels of scholarship and of
usefulness to professional and amateur mycologist alike are well established. It is particularly
gratifying to Yorkshire workers that the senior author has such strong links with this county,
where he cut his mycological teeth.

This volume differs from previous volumes in that its subject comprises a loosely
morphologically-related group rather than a taxonomic one. Accordingly, the taxa dealt with
here form a highly heterogeneous collection which includes many laterally stiped and some
centrally stiped, gilled ‘toadstools’; species with highly reduced gills such as are found in the
genera Arrhenia and Cyphellostereum\ the ‘ split-gilled ’ Schizophyllunv, and Paxillus
panuoides , which belongs with the boletes. The truly ‘cyphelloid’ species are not dealt with
here, but their genera are listed, along with their putative agaric relatives, on page 123.

About thirty different genera are fully or tangentially treated here, these belonging to no
fewer than nine families. There is no general consensus about agaric taxonomy at the ordinal
level at the current time, and the current flora quite sensibly concentrates on the family as the
major unit by which to organise the work. Major nomenclatural changes have taken place
since the 1960 New Check List, and several new genera whose names will be unfamiliar to
many appear in this work. The new arrangement is delineated alongside the 1960 version in
the Introduction.

The main body of the work follows the pattern set by previous volumes with compre-
hensive descriptions, species by species, of macroscopic and microscopic characters, details
of range and habitat preferences, and the very useful concluding paragraph which highlights
closely related species and the major distinguishing characters which separate them. There are
over 200 line figures showing habit sketches and/or drawings of spores, cystidia and other
microscopical features.

In a work which deals with such a heterogeneous group it is slightly irritating that
following the pattern of previous volumes the index is placed at the end of the text and before
the illustrations, rather than at the end of the whole work. In addition, the species index is
arranged by family rather than alphabetically, with the families arranged according to the
sequence in which they are dealt with in the systematic part of the book; this seems to run
counter to the purpose of an index and makes the book somewhat difficult to use until one is
familiar with its layout.

This minor complaint aside, this book belongs on the shelves of all serious mycologists, not
least because many of the species covered are intriguingly anomalous and little understood
(the comment ‘probably widespread but overlooked’ is applied to a considerable number of
them). Good descriptions of many of these taxa have not been generally available to field
mycologists in the past and this volume will greatly help to remedy the situation.

CSVY

133

NATTERER’S BAT MYOTIS NATTERERI TAKEN BY SHORT-EARED OWL

ASIO FLAMMEUS

J. S. ARMITAGE1 AND R. W. WEEKS2

'2 West View, Silkstone Common, Nr Barnsley , South Yorkshire, S75 4QF
264 Ben Bank Road, Silkstone Common, Nr Barnsley, South Yorkshire

During late June, 1986 a number (20) of pellets of a Short-eared Owl Asio flammeus was
collected in the Croasdale area, Forest of Bowland, Lancashire. The location was not
associated with a known nesting site and the pellets were presumed to have been cast by an
adult bird within its hunting territory.

The pellets were processed and analysed as part of a wider study on the summer diet of the
species. One of the pellets was found to contain the remains of two Field Voles Microtus
agrestis and what subsequently proved to be the skull of a Natterer’s Bat Myotis nattered.
This latter identification was confirmed by Dr R. E. Stebbings (Institute of Terrestrial
Ecology), who stated that the specimen was a young adult in its first year.

Various authors have shown that different owl species do occasionally take bats as prey
(Beven 1965; Brown 1987; Cramp 1985; Glue 1970 and 1977; Glue & Hammond 1974;
Mikkola 1983; Ruprecht 1979; Southern 1954; Yalden 1985). The Short-eared Owl would
appear to be no exception with Pipistrelle Bat Pipistrellus pipistrellus, Northern Bat
Vespertilio nilssoni and Noctule Bat Nyctalus noctula being recorded as prey within the
Western Palaearctic area (Brown 1987; Cramp 1985; and Mikkola 1983).

Twelve recorded instances of Natterer’s Bat being taken as prey by owls in Britain are
known; one by a Tawny Owl Strix aluco and eleven by Bam Owls Tyto alba in Anglesey and
Gwynedd, Wales (Brown 1987 and pers.comm.). From references available no similar
behaviour is recorded by Short-eared Owl for Britain or within the Western Palaearctic.

Analysing all published sources it can be seen that far less than 1 % of bats are taken as prey
within the diet of owl species, which might suggest their capture to be entirely of an
opportunist nature.

In the above instance the location at which the pellets were collected is at around an
altitude of 380 m asl. The general area comprises a wide upland valley with a mixture of
Calluna heath/grassland and occasional, but widely distributed. Rowan Sorbus aucuparia.
The location was between 1 .5-2 km from the first stands of mature trees and farm buildings at
a lower altitude of 200 m asl.

Natterer’s Bat is most frequently found in open woodland and parks. It roosts in hollow
trees and within buildings and caves (Corbet & Southern 1977; Delany 1985). The species is
medium sized (head and body 40-50 mm, weight (in hibernation) 7-12 gm) and hunts at
night, emerging soon after sunset. It is a rather slow flyer and has a preference for hunting
woodland edges or above/along hedgerows (Delany 1985). Circumstances suggest the owl
may have been hunting at the interface of the moor/agricultural land where trees and
hedgerows exist or that the bat was involved in travelling over the fell itself and was
intercepted by the bird involved. Both these must obviously remain assumptions.

Acknowledgements

Our thanks are offered to Messrs P. Etheridge and P. Irving, who kindly made collections of
pellets in the area and to Dr R. E. Stebbings (ITE) for providing a precise identification of the
skull remains. Similarly, particular thanks are due to Dr D. W. Yalden (University of
Manchester) for providing diverse information and comment, to D. Brown (NCC, North
Wales) for making known the results of his own work on owl diets and the occurrence of bat
species, to Mrs L. Giddings (RSPB Librarian) for assistance in checking references and to D.
Glue (British Trust for Ornithology) for investigating past details relating to the diet of Short-
eared Owls.

Naturalist 116 (1991)

134

References

Beven, G. (1965) The food of Tawny Owls in London. London Bird Report 29: 56-72.

Brown, D. (1987) Bats as food. Batchat No. 8, 4 February, 1987.

Corbet, G. B. and Southern, H. N., eds. (1977) The Handbook of British Mammals. Blackwell
Scientific Publications.

Cramp, S. (1985) The Birds of the Western Palaearctic, Vol. 4. Oxford University Press.

Delany, M. J., ed.(1985) Yorkshire Mammals, University of Bradford.

Glue, D. E. (1970) Prey taken by Short-eared Owls at British breeding sites and winter
quarters. Bird Study 17: 39-42.

Glue, D. E. (1977) Feeding ecology of the Short-eared Owl in Britain and Ireland. Bird Study
24: 70-78.

Glue, D.E.and Hammond, G. J. (1974) Feeding ecology of the Long-eared Owl in Britain and
Ireland. British Birds 67: 361-369.

Mikkola, H. (1983) Owls of Europe. T. and A. D. Poyser.

Ruprecht, A. L. (1979) Bats Chiroptera as constituents of the food of Bam Owls Tyto alba in
Poland. Ibis 121: 489-494.

Southern, H. N. (1954) Tawny Owls and their prey. Ibis 101: 429-436.

Yalden, D. W. (1985) Dietary separation of owls in the Peak District. Bird Study 32:
122-131.

BOOK REVIEWS

A Colour Guide to Rare Wild Flowers by John Fisher. Pp. 364, with 150 colour plates.
Constable. 1991. £12.95, hardback.

This unusual publication in the Constable guide-book format, which really does fit into
one’s pocket, has already caused controversy. One hundred and fifty species of rare wild
flowers are described and illustrated; some historical information is given, and the areas
where the plants are to be found. For the flower ‘twitcher’ anxious to see unusual and rare
plants the book should prove invaluable, but in the interests of the conservation of rare and
endangered species, perhaps it is not wise to be so explicit about habitats and sites.

There is a very good select bibliography, and a list of the Nature Conservation Trusts. John
Fisher is well-known as an excellent photographer, but some of the reproductions of his
photographs could be better.

DMB

Between Earth and Paradise by Mike Tomkies. Pp. 224, with 39 colour plates. Jonathan
Cape. 1991. £12.99, hardback.

This is a revised edition of a well-received book first published in 1 98 1 . It gives a wide and
detailed survey of the problems involved in setting up a solo existence on a remote island off
the North West coast of Scotland. The author records his observations of both the fauna and
the flora. The treatment is simple, but helpful to the ordinary naturalist. One can but be
impressed by the author’s energy and hardihood; however, he clearly demonstrates that
‘hermit-hood’ is not for many of us. The location of the island is revealed and the book
contains some good colour photographs.

DB

135

NOTE ON A SUCCESSFUL BREEDING ATTEMPT BY AN IMMATURE
FEMALE PEREGRINE FALCON FALCO PEREGRINUS , IN THE
YORKSHIRE DALES

STUART BROCKLEHURST

116 New Hey Road, Rastrick, Brighouse, West Yorkshire HD6 3QG

Initial pair formation in the Peregrine Falcon usually takes place in the second year, the
normal age of maturity for both sexes, when the blue-grey adult plumage is attained (Cramp
& Simmons, 1980). A few females will pair up with adult males in their first year, whilst still
in immature plumage, but the majority of these young falcons do not breed (Ratcliffe, 1980).
Between 1981 and 1990 a number of such adult immature pairings have been recorded in the
Yorkshire Dales, none of which resulted in successful breeding, although one female in 1984
did succeed in hatching her eggs, the young died a few days later (D. J. Simpson, pers.
comm.).

Immatures which do attempt breeding lay their eggs later in the season or lay smaller
clutches than older birds, and are usually unsuccessful. During a nine year study of Peregrine
breeding success in south Scotland, two females each laid clutches of two eggs in their first
year, but neither successfully reared young (Newton, 1979; Meams & Newton, 1988).

Successful breeding by first-year females seems to be very exceptional. Ratcliffe (1980)
gives only one record, of an immature-plumaged female seen feeding two young at a
Perthshire eyrie in 1959. Newton (1979), gives three records, two from Alaska and one from
Scotland, the latter perhaps the same as that quoted by Ratcliffe.

It is therefore of interest to record that in 1991 an immature female paired with an adult
male and successfully reared a brood of two young at a site in the Yorkshire Dales. The
juveniles, a male and a female, fledged during the third week of July and were seen to be fit
and healthy when checked on the 19th, by which time the parent female was heavily in moult
and in the process of gaining adult plumage.

The late fledging date, some 2xi2-3 weeks after other pairs in the district, may be accounted
for by the immaturity of the female. Mearns & Newton (1988) state that in their study,
performance improved as females aged, laying becoming progressively earlier and clutches
progressively larger, from one to five-plus years. However, because the pair was not located
until the young were about five weeks old, it is not possible to be certain if the brood of two is
genuine, or a depletion from a larger initial clutch.

Interestingly whilst preparing this note I received an unconfirmed report that a first-year
female at another Dales site, not checked by myself had also successfully bred, rearing one
young from a clutch of two eggs. If the report is correct, then to have two immature females
breeding successfully, within 17 km of each other in the same year, is quite remarkable.

References

Cramp, S. and Simmons, K. E. L. eds (1980) The Birds of the Western Palearctic. Vol. 2.
Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Meams, R. and Newton, I. (1988) Factors affecting breeding success of Peregrines in south
Scotland. Journal of Animal Ecology, 57: 903-916.

Newton, I. (1979) Population Ecology of Raptors. T. & A. D. Poyser, Berkhamstead.

Ratcliffe, D. (1980) The Peregrine Falcon. T. & A. D. Poyser, Calton.

Naturalist 116 (1991)

136

BOTANICAL REPORT FOR 1990
FLOWERING PLANTS AND FERNS

COMPILED BY J. E. DUNCAN

The thanks of the Recorders go to those members who have sent in records for the report, and
to the referees who have kindly identified specimens or confirmed the identification. In each
vice-county the names of recorders and referees are given in full the first time they appear,
after which initials are used.

First records and confirmation of earlier records are included at the appropriate places in
the report. The figures indicate 10 km grid references in the vice-county reports.

East Yorkshire (VC 61) (F. E. Crackles)

Asplenium adiantum-nigrum L. Walbut Lock, Pocklington Canal 44/74; YNU Bot. Sec.
Excn.

Ranunculus penicillatus (Dumort.) Bab. var. penicillatus Drain, nr Thornton 44/74; L.
Magee.

Hypericum maculatum Crantz subsp. obtusiusculum (Toulet) Hayek x H. perforatum L. = H.
x desetangsii Lamotte nm desetangsii A few feet from the Doncaster to Hull railway line
and on a chalk bank, Hessle Country Park 54/02; F. E. Crackles.

Geranium pyrenaicum Burm. fil. Nr Thornton 44/74; T. E. Dixon.

G. lucidum L. Sandy bank of Blackfoss Beck, Thornton Ings 44/74; TED.

Trifolium striatum L. Haverfield Pits 54/31, confirming a 1946 record; FEC.

T. scabrum L. Haverfield Pits 54/31, confirming a 1946 record; FEC.

T.fragiferum L. On gravel, beside disused railway, Harswell 44/84; M. Hunter.

Saxifraga granulata L. In quantity in Towthorpe Dale 44/86 and 44/96; YNU Excn. There
is a record in Robinson’s Flora (1902) for Fimber which is in 44/86.

Viscum album L. In small orchard, Brind 44/73, present for 12 years and at Cliffe Cum
Lund 44/63, known for 40 years; B. Greenacre.

Smyrnium olusatrum L. By lane, nr church, Hutton 54/05; J. Broadwell.

Rumex tenuifolius (Wallr.) Love Disused railway station, Harswell 44/84 and Sands Lane,
near Barmby moor 44/75; MH and FEC.

Calluna vulgaris (L.) Hull The Moors, Burton Constable 54/13, 1988; YNU Excn.

Lithospermum arvense L. Fifty plants in arable field, nr Walbut Lock 44/74; D. R. Grant.
The first VC 61 record since 1957.

Lycium chinense Miller Nr lighthouse. Spurn 54/41; FEC.

Melampyrum pratense L. Wood, Thornton Ellers 44/74, 1989; TED.

Bidens cernua L. Tophill Low 54/04; A. Marshall.

B. tripartita L. Tophill Low 54/04; AM.

Anthemis cotula L. Fitling and Grimston 54/23, 1989; FEC.

Lactuca virosa L. Broomfleet 44/82; P. Dunning and E. H. Wear.

Potamogeton berchtoldii Fieb. Thornton Lock, Pocklington Canal 44/74; DRG.

Dactylorhiza praetermissa (Druce) Sod Water-meadow, East Cottingwith 44/64; FEC.
Eleocharis uniglumis (Link) Schultes Water-meadow, East Cottingwith 44/64; FEC.

Naturalist 116 (1991)

Botanical Reports for 1990

137

North-East Yorkshire (VC 62) (T. F. Medd)

Ranunculus hederaceus L. Newton Mulgrave Moor 45/7 1 ; YNU Bot. Sec. Excn.

Aquilegia vulgaris L. Scar Wood, Harwood Dale 44/99; R. and M. Gulliver.

Diplotaxis tenuifolia (L.) DC By roadside, Bootham, York 44/55; T. F. Medd.

Stellaria nemorum L. Blue Scar Wood, Eskdaleside 45/80; R & MG.

S. neglecta Weihe Blue Scar Wood, Eskdaleside 45/80; R & MG.

Atriplex glabriuscula Edmondst. Skinningrove 45/72; R & MG.

Euonymus europaeus L. Thurtle Wood, Coneysthorpe 44/67, Haugh Wood, Gundale 44/88
and Fotherley Farm Wood, Grosmont 45/80; R & MG.

Vicia sylvatica L. Slingsby Bank Wood and Fryton Wood 44/67; R & MG.

Chrysosplenium alternifolium L. Wedland Slack, Lockton 44/89 and Haybum Wyke 45/09;
R & MG.

Daphne laureola L. Golden Grove, Whitby 45/80; R & MG.

Salix pentandra L. Newton Mulgrave Moor 45/71; YNU Bot. Sec. Excn.

Menyanthes trifoliata L. Newton Mulgrave Moor 45/71; YNU Bot. Sec. Excn.

Serratula tinctoriah. Dunes, Skinningrove 45/72; R & MG.

Convallaria majalis L. Castlebeck Wood, Harwood Dale 44/99; R & MG.

Epipactis palustris (L.) Crantz Near Helmsley 44/68; F. Horsman. Confirmation of pre-
1930 record.

Dactylorhiza x venusta (T. & T. A. Stephenson) Soo = D. fuchsii x purpurella Northdale
44/89, Sandsend 45/81 and Fyling Thorpe 45/90; FH.

D. maculata ssp. ericetorum (E. F. Linton) Hunt and Summerh. Newton Mulgrave Moor
45/71; YNU Bot. Sec. Excn.

D. x kellerana P. F. Hunt = D. fuchsii x traunsteineri Near Helmsley 44/68 and Dalby
Forest 44/88; FH.

D. x jenensis (Brand.) Soo = D. maculata x traunsteineri Dalby Forest 44/88; FH.

D. x claudiopolitana (Soo) Soo = D. incarnata x maculata Dalby Forest 44/88; FH. Second
vice-county record.

D. purpurella (T. & T. A. Stephenson) Soo Stape 44/79; Mrs N. Sykes det. FH. Newton
Mulgrave Moor 45/71; YNU Bot. Sec. Excn.

D. russowi (Klinge) J. Holub Dalby Forest 44/88; FH. New British record.

Eleocharis uniglumis (Link) Schult. Newton Mulgrave Moor 45/71; YNU Bot. Sec. Excn.
New vice-county record.

Blymus compressus (L.) Panz. ex Link Near Helmsley 44/68; FH.

Carex laevigata Sm. Newton Mulgrave Moor 45/7 1 ; YNU Bot. Sec. Excn.

C. rostrata Stokes Newton Mulgrave Moor 45/71; YNU Bot. Sec. Excn.

Hordelymus europaeus (L.) Harz Hilda Wood, Hackness 44/99 and Fotherley Farm Wood,
Grosmont 45/80; R & MG.

South-West Yorkshire (VC 63) (D. R. Grant)

Asplenium adiantum-nigrum L. Lock wall, canal, Clifton nr Brighouse 44/12; YNU Bot.
Sec. Excn.

Nuphar lutea (L.) Sm. Nr Sprotborough 44/50; E. Thompson.

Ceratophyllum demersum L. Pond near church, Birstall 44/22; D. Proctor.

138

Botanical Reports for 1990

Cardaria draba (L.) Desv. Wrenthorpe nr Wakefield 44/32; D. R. Grant.

Hypericum andsosaemum L. Nr Digley Reservoir, Holmbridge 44/10; DRG.

H. maculatum Crantz Nr Sprotborough 44/50; ET.

Spergularia rubra (L.) J. & C. Presl River Calder bank, Kirkthorpe, Wakefield 44/32; DRG.
Medicago sativa L. Pildacre Hill, Ossett 44/22; DRG.

Coronilla varia L. Old Roundwood Colliery site, Ossett 44/22; DRG.

Peplis portula L. Agden Reservoir, Bradfield 43/29; DRG.

Euonymus europaeus L. Burghwallis 44/5 1 ; ET.

Myriophyllum verticillatum L. Dead Eye, Cononley 34/94; Freshwater Biol. Sec. Excn. First
record since 1890.

Oenanthe crocata L. Canal, Stainforth nr Doncaster 44/61; T. Schofield.

O. aquatica (L.) Poir. Nr Sprotborough 44/50; TS.

Foeniculum vulgare Mill. Tip nr Newton Lane, Sprotborough 44/50; DRG.

Humulus lupulus L. Nr Low Laithes, Ossett 44/22; DRG.

Parietaria diffusa Mert. & Koch Birkby, Huddersfield 44/1 1 ; J. Lucas.

Populus canescens (Ait.) Sm. Lindale Hill, Wrenthorpe 44/32; DRG.

Pyrola rotundifolia L. Old gravel pits, Elland 44/12; A. Logue.

Hottonia palustris L. Nr Sprotborough 44/50; DRG.

Echium vulgare L. Kirkthorpe, Wakefield 44/32; C. Hartley.

Scrophularia aquatica L. Figure of Three Locks, Healey, Ossett 44/21; DRG.

S. umbrosa Dumort. River Aire, Thorlby, Skipton 34/95; TS.

Orobanche minor Sm. Old Colliery site, Upton 44/41; DP.

Campanula glomerata L. Old Colliery site, Upton 44/41; DRG.

Galium verum L. Earlsheaton, Dewsbury 44/22; DRG.

Dipsacus fullonum L. Brodsworth Colliery 44/50; TS.

Bidens tripartita L. Agden Reservoir, Bradfield 43/29; DRG.

Luronium natans (L.) Raf. Huddersfield Canal, Colne Bridge 44/12; TS. Nr Wellhouse,
Huddersfield 44/01; JL.

Alisma lanceolatum With. Canal, Brookfoot, Brighouse 44/12; TS.

Potamogeton pusillus L. Rother Valley Country Park 43/48; ET.

Zannichellia palustris L. Old colliery site, Upton 44/41; DRG.

Juncus subnodulosus Schrank Nr Sprotborough 44/50; DRG.

Epipactis helleborine (L.) Crantz Nr Turner Wood, Kiveton 43/58; Dr L. Lloyd Evans.
Walton Woods, Wakefield 44/31; DP.

Ophrys apifera Huds. Old colliery site, Havercroft, nr Wakefield 44/31; DP. Over 200
spikes in a small area.

Acorus calamus L. Canal, Stainforth, nr Doncaster 44/61; TS.

Lemna polyrhiza L. Doncaster 44/50; DRG.

Scirpus lacustris L. Old marl pit, nr Turner Wood, Kiveton 43/58; FWBS Excn.

Eleocharis uniglumis (Link) Schult. Rother Valley Country Park 43/48; DRG.

Car ex laevigata Sm. Newsholme Dean, nr Keighley 44/04.

Vulpia bromoides (L.) Gray Old colliery site, Calder Grove, nr Wakefield 44/21; CH. Old
gravel pit, Elland 44/12; DRG.

Botanical Reports for 1990

139

Mid-West Yorkshire (VC 64) (L. Magee)

A large number of interesting records were received from many parts of VC 64 including
more records than usual from the Craven and Upper Wharfedale area. Many interesting
records of rare or decreasing species have come from the Freshwater Biological Section
which was re-activated in 1990.

* = New 10 km square records

Helleborus foetidus L. Increasing in Grass Wood 34/96; H. Lefevre.

H. viridis L. In woodland, Smaws 44/44; P. Abbott.

* Ceratophyllum demersum L. Barlow Common 44/24; D. R. Grant.

Erophila verna (L.) Chevall. Old railway, Barlow Common, Selby 44/62; DRG.

Malva moschata L. Arthington Station 44/24; L. Magee; Harewood Estate 44/34;
Freshwater Biol. Sec. meeting.

Sedum villosum L. Top of Crook Gill 34/97; DRG.

Ribes spicatum Robson Step Gill 34/97; PA. Riverside south of Buckden 34 /97; PA.

R. alpinum L. Cray Gill 34/97; PA.

* Callitriche intermedia Hoffm. Harewood Estate 44/34; FWBS field meeting.

* Salix purpurea L. Swinsty Reservoir 44/15; DRG.

Echium vulgare L. Arthington Station 44/24, LM.

Rumex longifolius DC. Roadside nr top of Silsden Moor 44/05; DRG.

Myosotis brevifolia C. E. Salmon Embsay Reservoir 34/95; L. Lloyd Evans.

Atropa bella-donna L. Roadside, Smaws 44/44; PA. Seacroft, Leeds 44/33; PA.

Veronica anagallis-aquatica L. Farmyard south of Buckden 34/97; LM.

* Bidens tripartita L. Roundhay Park Lake 44/33; PA.

Doronicum pardalianches L. Right bank of River Wharfe, Harewood Bridge 44/34; LM.

* Carduus nutans L. Roadside by Grass Wood 34/96; HL.

Leontodon taraxacoides (Vill) Meret. Buckden 34/87; YNU field meeting.

Pulicaria dysenterica (L.) Bemh. Stainforth 34/86; DRG.

Crepis mollis (Jacq.) Aschers. Starbotton 34/97; confirmation of old record (E. J. Roberts)
PA.

Potamogeton pusillus L. Cawood Ings 44/53; DRG.

* P.friesii Rupr. Harewood Estate 44/34; FWBS field meeting.

P.friesii Rupr. Deep pool in River Wharfe south of Buckden 34/97; LM.

* P. berchtoldii Fieb. Pond at Arthington 34/24; FWBS field meeting.

Allium scorodoprasum L. Right bank of River Wharfe, Arthington 44/24; LM. River Skell
nr Ripen 44/37; DRG.

Juncus filiformis L. First record for Swinsty Reservoir 44/15; DRG.

Epipactis palustris (L.) Crantz. Threshfield 34/96; rare in Upper Wharfedale, HL.

* Dactylorhiza praetermissa x D. purpurella (T. and T. A. Stephenson ) Soo Lawkland
Moss 34/76; new County record. F. Horsman.

* Eleocharis uniglumis (Link) Schult. Arncliffe 34/97: DRG.

Carex pendula L. Pond nr Burley Church 44/14; LM. Wharfe View, Burley 44/14; LM.

C. paniculata L. Harewood Estate 44/34; FWBS field meeting.

140 Botanical Reports for 1990

* Scirpus sylvaticus L. Harewood Park 44/34; FWBS field meeting; junction of Kex Beck
and River Wharfe 44/05; LM.

* Hordelymus europaeus (L.) Hartz. Crook Gill nr Cray 34/97; DRG.

Apera spica-venti (L.) Beauv. Barlow Common 44/62; DRG.

Casuals and Adventives (E. Chicken)

During the year 1990, there were 51 records received of 39 taxa from twelve individuals and
two groups. Despite the long hot summer, the number of records was considerably lower than
that for the previous year. Apparently it was too dry, resulting in crop failure and re-ploughing
in some of the fields treated with shoddy in the Wakefield area. Three unusual Trigonella
species were found there in 1989 and are included in this list. Perhaps it should be mentioned
that it can take quite a long time to get specimens of difficult plants determined or confirmed.
The Trigonellas, and more surprisingly, Garden Lobelia are new entries to the card index.

The contributor is the determiner unless otherwise stated. The fields treated with wool
shoddy between Leeds and Wakefield are given as E. Ardsley.

Sisymbrium irio L. (63) E. Ardsley SE 2924; J. Martin.

Montia perfoliata (Willd.) Howell (61) Under beech at Scampston Park SE 8675; B. S.
Pashby and Mrs S. Pashby.

Staphylea pinnata L. (64) In a wood at Knaresborough SE 3559; Harrogate and District Nat.
Soc. per L. Magee.

Trifolium angustifolium L. (63) E. Ardsley SE 2924 ; JM 1988 and
1989, conf. EC.

Trifolium hirtum All. (63) E. Ardsley SE 2924; JM 1989, conf. EC.

Trigonella coelesyriaca Boiss. (63) E. Ardsley SE 2924; JM 1989, det EC conf. E. J.
Clement.

Trigonella hamosa L. ssp. uncata (Boiss. et Noe) Townsend (63) E. Ardsley SE 3123; JM
1989, det. EJC.

Trigonella stellata Forssk. (63) E. Ardsley SE 2924; JM 1989, det. EJC.

Duchesnea indica (Andr.) Focke (62) Woodlands Ravine, Scarborough TA 0288; Mrs M.
Robinson, det. EC.

Rosa rugosa Thunb. (6 1 ) Emmotland TA 085 1 ; EC.

Crassula helmsii (T. Kirk) Cockayne (63) Pool at Lane House, Holmfirth SE 1604; Mrs J.
Lucas.

Saxifraga hirsuta L. (64) Step Gill, Buckden SD 9375 and Chapel-le-Dale SD 7377 ; YNU
meeting per Mrs P. P. Abbott, and Horton-in-Ribblesdale SD 8172; PPA, all per LM.

Fallopis aubertii (Louis Henry) J. Holub (63) Wall of old makings, Kiveton Park SK 5082;
D. R. Grant.

Rhododendron ponticum L. (64) Jowlands Whin, Barlow SE 6226; DRG.

Buddleja davidii Franch. (63) Newton Lane tip, Sprotborough SE 5502; DRG.

Physalis alike kengi L. (63) Wholestone Moor SE 0716; JL.

Datura stramonium L. (61) Roadside verge, Ruston Parva TA 0661; S. Burdass per BSP,
1989. (63) E. Ardsley SE 2924; JM.

Misopates orontium (L.) Raf. (63) Garden weed at Horbury SE 2918; C. Hartley.

Lobelia erinus L. (61) Between pavement and wall, Driffield TA 0257; EC.

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141

Doronicum pardalianches L. (61) Grass verge at Reighton TA 1273; BSP and SP.
Chionodoxa luciliae Boiss. (62) Wood at Keldholme SE 7186; LM.

Juncus tenuis Willd. (64) Roundhay Park lake, Leeds SE 3337; PPA.

Allium paradoxum (Bieb.) G. Don (64) By the R. Skell, Ripon SE 3070; I. Instone per
DRG.

Bromus secalinus L. (61) Weed in arable field, Brigham TA 0653; EC.

YORKSHIRE NATURALISTS’ UNION EXCURSIONS IN 1989

COMPILED BY C. S. V. YEATES AND W. A. ELY

Thorpe Hall, Rudston (VC61) 19 August (B. S. Pashby)

On a fine warm day members met in the estate yard from where most parts of the estate were
visited. The area lies on the chalk, with a narrow band of alluvium along which the Gypsey
Race normally flows. Due to the almost unprecedented dry spring and summer this stream
was virtually dry, just as it was in its upper reaches in the north-west Wolds, which is most
unusual.

The meeting for the presentation of reports was held in the village hall at Rudston. An
apology was received from the President, Dr Thompson, explaining his inability to attend, and
in his absence Mr A. J. Wallis took the Chair. Twenty-three members attended, with eighteen
societies answering the roll-call. Comments made included the obvious one about conditions
being far too dry and that the estate was an oasis in a desert of intensive farmland.

Votes of thanks were proposed to Sir Ian McDonald of Sleat, Bt. for permission to explore
the Thorpe Hall Estate; to Mr Tony Ezard for his valuable help and provision of excellent
maps of the area; to the Divisional Secretary for organising the excursion and to Mesdames
Jean Chicken and Shirley Pashby for providing most welcome cups of tea.

Ornithology (A. J. Wallis)

The list of species recorded (31 in all) was low for an area with such a varied range of
habitats. This was not altogether surprising bearing in mind the time of year, when it is not
possible to detect the presence of many species by song.

Where there was still some water in the Gypsey Race a Kingfisher was seen, a species
which in 1984 was watched on several occasions in Rudston village catching moths. At least
12 Snipe were present, and both Mallard and Teal were put to flight. The Moorhen was
clearly successful in the locality with at least 15 adults noted and juveniles seen in two places.

On a well-hidden pool in the middle of a ploughed field a gathering of some 500 gulls -
Common and Black-headed - had collected to bathe, and a single Green Sandpiper was
present. The latter did not fly off immediately, but eventually did take wing when a Stoat
dashed to cover across the dry mud at the pool edge.

Swallows and House Martins were numerous, particularly around the farm buildings, and
fields almost white-over with fruiting heads of Creeping Thistle were attractive to several
charms of Goldfinches.

One noticeable feature was the almost total absence of corvids. A few Rooks were
following a tractor harrowing a field and some Jackdaws were noted, but that was all.

Naturalist 116 (1991)

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COLEOPTERA (M. L. Denton)

The near-complete lack of water in the usually flowing Gypsey Race did at least allow the
mud and vegetated edges to be searched for beetles. The only species found, however, were a
few of the commoner members of the genera Elaphrus, Bembidion, Stenus and Gabrius. The
brightly coloured, although very small chrysomelid Prasocuris junci was also present, in
association with Veronica beccabunga, its main food-plant. Due to the dry conditions the only
water beetles found were a mixed group of aestivating Agabus didymus and A. paludosus.

Inspection of fruiting-bodies of the fungus Pleurotus cornucopiae in the garden area of the
estate revealed the presence of several Aleocharines. The genus Gyrophaena was represented
by four species: the most numerous was G. gentilis , followed by G.fasciata (first vice-county
record), a single male G. bihamata (fourth county record), and a single male G. poweri (new
to Yorkshire). Not only do the males of this genus have very distinctive genitalia, but the
apical segment of the hind-body is adorned with characteristically shaped ornamentations.
Dung in a bullock field held only the usual Atheta, Cercyon and Aphodius species.

A list of beetles previously recorded from the estate had been prepared by Mr Ezard.
However, because non-specialised collecting techniques had been employed, only the more
easily-procured species had been found. The different techniques used on the present visit,
therefore, ensured that a number of species were added to the list, even though only 69
species in all were collected. This paucity of species, it must be stressed, was not a reflection
on an impoverished site, but was due to the dry weather conditions and time of year.

Lepidoptera (A. S. Ezard & J. A. Newbould)

A moth-trap situated by the side of the dried-up Gypsey Race at the lower end of the gardens
yielded a freshly-emerged specimen of Pale Prominent. This was the first record of a second
brood individual of this species here, although the first brood is met with each year. Among
the other 16 species in this trap was the Bulrush Wainscot, which is taken annually at this site
in small numbers.

The fine sunny weather encouraged 10 species of butterfly to make an appearance. Painted
Lady and Red Admiral were to be found feeding on thistles, while on the unimproved chalk
hillside a Small Copper was sunning itself, Common Blue was seen and a late, tattered,
Meadow Brown flew past.

Another 10 species, including 5 micro-lepidoptera, were added during the day. These
included Leucoptera laburnella, identified from its abundant mines in Laburnum leaves, and a
new record for the area.

Flowering Plants and Ferns (E. Chicken)

The Thorpe Hall Estate is one with a wide variety of habitats, and was known to have over
300 species of vascular plants growing within it. The result of the hot and dry season was that
many plants had flowered and died down, and a not too exciting day had been anticipated by
some; in fact the dryness brought unexpected results.

The feeder stream and the lake had dried up, making it possible to wander up the bed of the
stream and make observations more easily than in a normal season. By following this course
of action a considerable quantity of Mentha x smithiana was discovered and initially caused
much discussion. It was interesting to note that many plants which one would expect in this
habitat were still to be seen surviving in the mud, albeit dwarfed and in small quantity,
Veronica anagallis-aquatica being a case in point. The lake bed was green over with Rorippa
palustris, Chenopodium rubrum and Rumex maritimus. Many regarded this last as the find of
the day. Other plants of note in this habitat were Mimulus guttatus, Gnaphalium uliginosum
and a large stand of Car ex riparia.

The low lying woodland contained an Aconitum and Campanula latifolia , both past
flowering, and also Melica uniflora and Carex pendula, neither of which is at all common in
the vice-county. The pasture on the chalk held Knautia arvensis and Scabiosa columbaria

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143

along with Campanula glomerata and Filipendula vulgaris.

The hay-meadow to the west of the Hall still had some Senecio aquaticus in flower, and a
single stem of Lychnis flos-cuculi still survived the drought. Weeds in the arable land were
mostly over or of little interest, but a solitary Cirsium eriophorum was seen. Two species
close to buildings were Verbascum thapsus and Chelidonium majus, and perhaps the most
surprising find was a plant of Pteris cretica well-established at gutter level on the derelict
orangery, which also had Helxine soleirolii growing on its walls and floor.

The estate is too extensive to be done justice by any one individual in one day and it is
probable that some areas such as the woodland on the higher ground were not seen by anyone
at this particular meeting; so the location was far from being exhausted of possibilities after a
most interesting day.

Bryology (T. L. Blocked)

In spite of the very dry conditions, some productive bryologising was possible in the vicinity
of the ponds. Particularly pleasing was the abundance of the liverwort Riccia cavernosa on
exposed mud, associated as it often is with the moss Physcomitrella patens. The Riccia is a
very rare species in the East Riding: the dry summer had obviously favoured it in this locality.

The bushes and trees on the banks of the ponds had a fairly rich epiphytic flora, no doubt
due in part to the relatively high humidity which is normally available. Metzgeria fruticulosa
was locally plentiful on Salix in one place, and there were a few tufts of Ulota bruchii ( U .
crispa var. norvegica). The Metzgeria is known elsewhere in the East Riding only at Danes
Dyke at Flamborough, and the Ulota was previously thought to be extinct. Other epiphytes
included three species of Orthotrichum, O. Affine, O. diaphanum and O. pulchellum, which
were found on Sambucus and Salix.

Drepanocladus aduncus and Amblystegium riparium occurred on wood and debris at the
pond margins. An interesting piece of shaded stonework, also by the pond margin, had the
thallose liverworts Conocephalum conicum and Pellia endiviifolia, and the mosses Eucladium
verticillatum and Leptobarbula berica. The latter species, overlooked in Britain until a few
weeks ago, is now known from some five stations in Yorkshire. This new one at Thorpe Hall
is a further extension of its range northwards in the country.

Other habitats, including the chalk grassland, were largely unproductive. Gyroweisia
tenuis , however, was found at the base of the north wall of the Hall, and Physcomitrium
pyriforme was on the banks of the Gypsey Race in pasture.

Mycology (C. S. V. Yeates)

The Thorpe Hall area is one of the mycologically better known areas within the vice-county,
and given the time of year and the hot conditions it was not expected that anything new or
exciting would turn up. A pleasant exception, therefore, was finding the downy mildew
Peronospora jacksonii on Mimulus. There are few British records of this species, and no
previous Yorkshire ones.

Lockton (VC62) 10 June (M. A. Atherden)

Although the summer of 1989 was exceptionally hot and dry, this meeting took place near the
beginning of the summer, when the vegetation was still green. Overnight rain gave way to
hazy sunshine as a fairly large party gathered in Lockton village. The study area was the
Levisham Beck valley between Levisham Mill and Farwath. The land is now owned by the
North York Moors National Park, who were delighted to welcome the YNU to this fascinating
and beautiful part of their estate.

The Levisham Beck rises in the Hole of Horcum and flows south to join Pickering Beck at
Farwath. The valley has been greatly over-deepened by glacial meltwater, and the stream is a
classic ‘misfit’ which has meandered over the alluvial valley floor to leave several ox-bow

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features. The valley floor is marshy, drainage being impeded by the presence of impervious
Oxford Clay below the surface. The steep valley sides, by contrast, are cut through well
drained Upper Jurassic limestones and calcareous grits.

Recording was concentrated in the rich deciduous woodlands of the valley sides and the
marshlands in the valley floor. The Hagg Wood Marsh Nature Reserve proved a great
attraction and many naturalists homed in on this area, managed with the help of the Yorkshire
Wildlife Trust. There was a good representation of groups being studied and the day proved
very rewarding. The afternoon ended with tea and the business meeting in Lockton Village
Hall.

Ornithology (M. J. A. Thompson)

Four distinct habitats were noted along the walk from Lockton village to Hagg Wood Marsh,
and in each a different set of birds was observed. Firstly, in and around the village itself,
House Martins, Swallows and Swifts were present in good numbers, along with a number of
garden birds, including Pied Wagtail and Collared Dove.

On the gorse-covered valley sides, which were intersected by some deteriorating stone
boundary walls, Yellowhammers, mostly males, were seen. A single Wheatear was sighted,
possibly still on migration, as well as resident Linnets, Goldfinches, Rooks and Woodpigeons.
A Curlew was heard in this vicinity. The occasional Black-headed Gull flew northwards up
the valley.

The woodland surrounding Hagg Wood Marsh and covering the lower slopes produced the
most bird species. Both Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff were singing, as were two Wood
Warblers directly adjacent to the marsh. Blackcap was seen. Amongst the oaks a single
Redstart was noted, with a Goldcrest in coniferous woodland. Long-tailed Tits were breeding
in the area and a Tree Pipit was performing its song-flight on the edge of the marsh.

Goldfinch, Greenfinch and Chaffinch were seen in the reserve, all showing evidence of
breeding. Cuckoo was heard calling in the valley and a male Great Spotted Woodpecker flew
over. A single Sparrowhawk sped through the reserve, the only bird of prey observed. In all
38 species were recorded.

Mammals and Lower Vertebrates (M. J. A. Thompson)

Judging by the number of mole-hills, especially in the fields around the village and the drier
areas of Hagg Wood Marsh, this species was well represented. The only other mammal
species recorded were a single sighting of a Roe Deer, plus numerous slots, along with field
Vole tunnels located under matted grass.

A single Adder was reported in the area. Several Common Frogs were seen, as was a single
Palmate Newt in the pond complex just outside the reserve. A single female of this species
was recorded by the writer from this same area in 1976 ( Naturalist 1979: 949 p.66), indicating
that it is well established here.

Brown Trout were noted in the stream feeding into Pickering Beck.

Mollusca (A. Norris)

The marshy grassland and tall swamp which comprises the bulk of the Nature Reserve
provided a rich and varied molluscan fauna, with 24 out of the 33 species recorded from the
reserve being found in this habitat. The richness of the molluscan fauna is emphasised by the
occurrence of three species of Vertigo : V. antivertigo, V. substriata and V. pygmaea, as well
as other local marshland species such as Punctum pygmaeum and Zonitoides nitidus.

The most unusual species recorded from this area was Cochlodina laminata, a species
normally associated with ancient woodland, and not normally found in swampy areas.

The drier habitats, such as the unimproved grassland, produced little evidence of Mollusca,
probably as a result of the long, hot, dry spell of weather over this period. This area, and parts

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145

of the dense scrub, should produce a number of species not recorded on the day, and I would
expect the total list for the reserve to exceed 40 species.

Coleoptera (M. L. Denton)

The coleopterists in the party spent most of the day within the confines of the YWT reserve
and were richly rewarded. As most beetle species are small and black it is pleasurable to
record several which are more pleasing to the eye. The bright green chrysomelid Chrysomela
aenea was found in good numbers and a close (but much more common) relative, C. polita
was also present. The yellowish chrysomelid Phytodecta pallida was found in the marshy
area. In the same vicinity, but on Crataegus , was the decidedly rare chrysomelid Orsodacne
cerasi. This species is southern in distribution, Yorkshire being on its northern limit.

Another splendid beast, the soldier beetle Cantharis abdominalis, was thinly distributed
throughout the reserve. Although this species is now recorded more frequently than has been
the case in the past, it is still decidedly rare. The longhorn beetles were well represented, with
Grammoptera ruficornis, Leiopus nebulosus, Rhagium bifasciatum and R. mordax being
encountered.

The small ponds just outside the reserve held the reed beetles Donacia simplex and
Plateumaris sericea. Although the former is relatively common it can only be found where
the food plant Sparganium erectum is abundant. On the other hand, the Plateumaris is far
more catholic in its choice of food and can be found on a wide variety of aquatic plants. The
smaller, less colourful (but to the writer’s mind more interesting) beetles were sieved from the
numerous piles of horse dung. Rove beetles were well represented, with Atheta ischnocera
providing the second vice-county record and A. laevana the fourth. Searching under bark
revealed the presence of Leptusa norvegica. This rove beetle is decidedly rare, with only three
previous Yorkshire records.

A complete list of the species encountered within the YWT reserve has been lodged with
the Chairman of the Management Committee.

Lepidoptera (J. Payne)

During the walk from Lockton to Hagg Wood Marsh and back 8 species of butterfly and 13
macro-moths were seen.

Small Tortoiseshell larvae were feeding on nettles in an exposed situation.

There were two particularly rewarding recording areas. The sloping grass field N of the
reserve held an abundance of Conopodium and Rumex acetosa. The former is the food-plant
of the larvae of the Chimney Sweeper, a black geometrid day-flying moth, several of which
were flying. The latter is fed upon by Small Copper larvae, and a single example of this
butterfly was reported. Another moth seen flying in numbers here was the Burnet Campion, a
brown and orange noctuid which flies in the sun.

Other Arthropods (P. Lee)

The total of thirteen millipede species recorded on this meeting would normally signify an
excellent day’s collecting in a rich site, but for some reason the other groups collected were
nothing like as abundant or diverse in species. A relatively long time was spent in 10 km
square 44/89 en route to Hagg Wood Marsh, as this was the less well-recorded of the two
squares visited. Although the area surveyed was small, and consisted mainly of roadside
verges, nine species in four groups were new to the square. These were mainly common
species, but the harvest-spider Lacinius ephippatus and the millipede Polydesmus inconstans
are less commonly encountered, and the millipede Macrosternodesmus pallicola is worthy of
special mention. Despite the generic name this is the smallest of the British species; a tiny,
white, flatback millipede resembling a mobile root-hair as much as anything. Previously
considered a rarity it is now being noted with increasing frequency throughout the county, but

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Excursions in 1989

this is only the second vice-county record. Four more flatback millipedes were found and it is
unusual to find so many species of this group in one area at the same time.

Centipedes were very hard to collect, with only single specimens of four species found. The
record of Lithobius melanops (new to 44/88) was somewhat out of the ordinary in that it came
from woodland at Hagg Wood Marsh, whereas it is normally associated with coastal or
synanthropic sites.

Entomology (W. A. Ely)

Mr Newbould and I took the high road from Lockton, along the rim of the eastern side of the
Levisham valley. In the first ‘field’ after the village were the capsid bugs Lygus wagneri and
Orthops basalis, which are more frequent in VC62 than in other areas. The flies included the
carnivorous Empis opaca and E. planetica, the scuttle flies Conicera floricola and Phora
tincta, the hoverfly Parasyrphus punctulatus and the acalypterates Scoliocentra caesia and
Philygria vittipennis. The second field was rough grazing and here both bugs were again
present, the empids included E. opaca again and Oedalea zetterstedti and the ichneumons
included Exyston sponsorius, a sawfly parasite, Glypta ceratites, a parasite of Lepidoptera and
Tersilochus heterocerus, a parasite of pollen beetles, and all three were new to VC62.
Between here and the valley bottom was a steep, gorse-covered bank which produced the
froghopper Jave sella forcipata, the acalypterate flies Cnemacantha muscaria, a rare fly which
has not been recorded in Yorkshire before, Lyciella quadrivittata, Tetanocera phyllophora
and Philygria sexmaculata, the ichneumon Glypta trochanterata, new to VC62, and the wasp
Nysson spinosus. This slow but profitable traverse left little time to explore Hagg Wood
Marsh. Lygus wagneri was found again and the snipe fly Spania nigra, the empids
Rhamphomyia anomalipennis and R. stigmosa and the hoverflies Orthonevra brevicornis and
Neoacsia obliqua were also recorded.

Flowering Plants and Ferns (D. R. Grant)

Members left the western end of Lockton village and followed the footpath which is situated
on Upper Jurassic calcareous grit. Near the village small cliffs held Cystopteris fragilis and
Myosotis sylvatica. Other calcicoles in the grassland included Primula veris, Helianthemum
nummularium and Plantago media. Further along the bank there was evidence of leaching and
of the underlying Oxford Clay strata. Here were Ulex europaeus, Calluna, Vaccinium
myrtillus and Digitalis purpurea.

Along the stream-side in the bottom of the valley there were Chrysosplenium oppositi-
folium, Crepis paludosa and Luzula sylvatica growing under a canopy of Corylus and Sorbus
aucuparia.

The Nature Reserve was dominated by large colonies of Carex acutiformis and C. disticha,
and there were also areas of C. paniculata. It was pleasing to see a large number of young
plants of the latter. Other sedges of note here were C. lepidocarpa, C. echinata, and C.
pallescens. In the grassy open part of the bog were Pedicularis palaustris and Dactylorhiza
fuchsii.

The most spectacular plant on the Reserve was Trollius europaeus, which was in full
bloom. In one area there were a few bushes of Myrica gale, while under light tree cover
Eupatorium cannabinum formed small colonies and there were scattered plants of Dryopteris
carthusiana. The northern part of the Reserve had a stand of Phragmites.

A small pond near the eastern end of the Reserve held Typha latifolia, Lemna minor and
Potamogeton berchtoldii.

Nearer to Farwath the marshy fields had Dactylorhiza maculata ssp. ericetorum, Carex
ovalis, C. hirta and Juncus acutiflorus. The lower slopes of the valley had much Conopodium
majus, growing with Stachys officinalis, Lathyrus montanus and Sanguisorba officinalis.
Under light shade were both Primula vulgaris and Dryopteris affinis, indicating that although
the soil was acid there were alkaline pockets, enabling calcicoles to flourish.

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147

Mycology (C. S. V. Yeates)

When a nature reserve forms part of the day’s collecting sites, it is not always the case that the
best fungi are found there, but in this instance the Hagg Wood Marsh reserve was indeed the
most rewarding area, with plenty of warm, damp comers in which to crouch.

The open marsh areas produced considerable quantities of discomycetes on the dead stems
of woody and herbaceous plants. Among those with few Yorkshire records was Mollisia
fuscostriata on dead stems of Filipendula ulmaria. This is one of the more readily recognised
members of a distinctly tricky genus.

Myrica has several species restricted to it and accordingly a lot of time was spent
scrutinising dead twigs and branches of this substrate. Two species eventually came to light,
both on the base of a dead shrub. These were the discomycetes Hyalotricha corticola, with its
attractive steel-grey hairs, and Dasyscyphus sulphurellus, which as its name suggests is a
yellow species; it too has hairs but these are much shorter and are tipped with large crystals of
calcium oxalate. Of these two species the former has been recorded once before in the county,
from this very site by Mr W. G. Bramley almost twenty years previously (one is conscious, as
a latter-day mycologist, of walking in giant’s footsteps in this area, long Mr Bramley’s happy
hunting ground!). The Dasyscyphus , it is therefore gratifying to be able to report, is new to
Yorkshire.

In an area of alder carr, among a number of fungi found on decaying Ilex leaves, was the
hyphomycete Anungitea fragilis , another species which has no previous Yorkshire records.

Plant Galls (J. A. Pearson)

A total of 30 plant galls was recorded during the day, among which was Dasineura acrophila,
which develops on the leaves of Fraxinus excelsior and looks and feels like a small pea-pod,
the leaflet mid-rib developing a hard and swollen core. Another fly, Chirosia betuleti, which
causes terminal loose mop-head shaped galls on fronds of ferns, was observed on Athyrium
filix-femina and Dryopteris filix-mas and D. dilatata.

Several observers noted the attractive bright orange aecial stage of the rust Triphragmium
ulmariae on Filipendula ulmaria in the marshy grassland. \

The most interesting record of the day was of the mite gall caused by Eriophyes malinus on
Malus sylvestris, found by Miss Molesworth. Mr Savage informs me that he has only one
other record of this gall.

Fryston Wood (VC63) 22 July (T. Higginbottom)

On a warm humid morning forty members and friends met in a lay-by beside the B6136
Knottingley to Castleford road.

Fryston Wood is a horseshoe-shaped woodland on the Magnesian Limestone and lies to the
south of the Fairburn Ings Nature Reserve. The new housing estates of Castleford are
encroaching towards its western boundary, while to the east can be seen the fly-ash tips and
cooling towers of the Ferrybridge power station. Most of this unmanaged woodland is
covered by silver birch and willow scrub, although there are areas of a more open nature
which support a flora typical of limestone grassland.

It was thought that the varied flora may support a variety of insects. Many butterflies were
seen during the visit, but other members of the Entomological Section seemed to have little of
interest to report. The woodland is used extensively by local people and these regular
disturbances seem also to have diminished its value to birds and mammals.

The future of the woodland is rather uncertain. Even if the potential extension of housing
can be resisted, the botanical and entomological interest of the woodland depends upon
controlling the development of the birch and willow scrub.

The Yorkshire Wildlife Trust also gave permission to members to visit a small limestone
quarry near Cridling Stubbs, a site well known to conchologists. Spring Lodge Quarry is to be

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Excursions in 1989

officially opened later in the year in memory of Christine Hoyle, a former member of the
Castleford Naturalists’ Society, who helped to save this important site. Recommendations as
to how the quarry should be managed were passed on the the YWT Field Officer, Mr Stephen
Warburton.

Other Arthropods (P. Lee)

While Fryston Wood produced new 10 km-square records for two centipedes, one harvestman
and three millipedes, these were all common species; the records reflect the lack of recording
in this area rather than any particular richness of the site. Indeed, the site appears to have a
low species diversity among the other invertebrate groups, considering its calcareous nature.
The dry weather doubtless played its part in driving individuals deep into the soil and the
noticeable lack of dead and decaying wood reduced considerably the micro-sites available for
them to shelter from adverse conditions.

Spring Lodge Quarry is, in comparison, a better recorded site and in spite of the dry
conditions it proved much richer both in species diversity and in numbers of individuals. The
centipede Lithobius melanops, the harvestmen Lacinus ephippiatus and Leiobunum rotundum,
the millipede Ophyiulus pilosus and the woodlouse Haplopthalmus mengei all constituted
new 10 km-square records. The presence of L. melanops is indicative of human influence on
the site.

COLEOPTERA (M. L. Denton)

It was obvious from the start that the new YWT reserve at Cridling Stubbs Quarry held great
potential. It was unfortunate, however, that the prolonged dry conditions inhibited any serious
collecting.

As Magnesian Limestone areas such as this are generally rich in snail species, it was
perhaps not surprising to find the snail beetle Cychrus caraboides at this site. Britain’s largest
rove beetle, the Devil’s Coach-horse Staphylinus olens was also present.

Beetles in Fryston Wood were also rather thin on the ground, and it was not until numerous
decaying fungi were inspected that any numbers were encountered. The rove beetle
Ortholestes tesselatus, an impressive beast with gold and black pubescence, was found in this
medium. Several other members of the Staphylinidae (mainly Aleocharines) were also
present, but all proved to be species widely distributed within Yorkshire and do not call for
comment.

The presence of the weevil Gymnetron antirrhini was revealed by inspecting the flowers
Linaria vulgaris. The larvae of this weevil cause galls on this plant, the corolla becoming
swollen and the flower remaining closed.

Although very little was found on this visit, the coleopterists present considered that further
work would prove rewarding.

Entomology (W. A. Ely)

The YWT Reserve had a variety of insect life which included a few less common species. The
scuttle fly Phora edentata, the large-headed fly Tomosvaryella kuthi and the hoverfly Pipzella
viduata were collected, together with the ichneumon Heterischnus nigricollis and the solitary
bee Lasioglossum rufitarse. Among the mined leaves were those of Ploughman’s Spikenard
with mines of the fly Phytomyza conyzae and those of Ox-eye Daisy with mines of P.
leucanthemi.

The shaded footpath through Fryston Wood produced the tree-living froghoppers
Eurhadina loewii, Eupteryx atropunctata and Ossiannilssonola callosa. The open area north
of the caravan site had the bug Dicyphus annulatus, the froghopper Turrutus socialis and the
large-headed fly Tomosvaryella nigritula, as well as two galls - those of the gall mite Aceria
origani on Origanum and those of the gall midge Cystiphora sanguinea on Hieracium.

Excursions in 1989

149

Bilton Banks (VC64) 22 July (D. P. Savage)

Ornithology (M. J. A. Thompson)

Although some 41 species of birds were observed by members in a variety of habitats, which
included dense woodland, river banks and the more open areas of the dismantled railway,
only a number are dealt with in this report. The most spectacular bird seen on the River Nidd
was the Kingfisher along with Mallard, mostly in eclipse, and the Grey Wagtail. The adjacent
Woodland Trust-owned Bilton Wood contained Blue Tit, Marsh Tit, Coal Tit, Treecreeper
and Goldcrest. From the viaduct, at the edge of the wood, a Spotted Flycatcher was seen
feeding. A Robin, with young, was reported from the woodland area, along with vocal and
nest-hole evidence of Great Spotted Woodpecker. Later, both this species and the Green
Woodpecker were seen in the vicinity.

In the more open habitats, the finch family was represented by the Chaffinch, Goldfinches
feeding, Greenfinch, Redpoll, and Linnet. The only bunting recorded was the Yellowhammer,
with the males still uttering their characteristic song. Five warbler species were recorded and
of these the most interesting was the Lesser Whitethroat. A single male of this species was
first heard and then seen in a garden with dense foliage next to the railway line. Both
Sparrowhawk and Kestrel were seen hunting in the area. Rooks, Carrion Crows and Magpies
were well represented.

Mammals and Lower Vertebrates (M. J. A. Thompson)

The Harrogate Natural History Society has recorded over 20 species of mammal in the
vicinity; this total includes 7 species of bat in the Nidd Valley. However, this meeting has to
report little mammalian activity, with only field signs of Mole, Rabbit and Red Fox.
Inspection of the viaduct proved to be negative as regards evidence of the presence of bats,
but it is a suitable roost site for such species as Daubenton’s Bat.

The Common Frog was reported from the area.

MOLLUSCA (A. Norris)

The dense woodland canopy, in conjunction with the acidity of the basic underlying rocks at
Bilton Banks, proved to be too hard an environment for many of our native mollusca. The
best woodland habitats for these animals are usually more open, thus allowing a rich
undergrowth of herbage to become established. The list of species found in the woodland
reserve was therefore very limited, even in comparison with Scotton Banks which lie less than
a mile downstream. The woodland at Bilton Banks produced 20 species on the day of our
visit; Scotton Banks, which had been investigated on 8 April 1989 produced exactly twice this
figure. The woodland at Scotton Banks, as well as being more open, lies partially on the
Magnesian Limestone which renders it a far more favourable molluscan habitat.

Entomology (W. A. Ely)

The disused railway line running north from Bilton Lane had become overgrown with trees
and shrubs as well as lower-growing plants, providing a variety of habitats for insects to
exploit. The capsid bug Phylus pallipes and the froghoppers Kybos strigilifer, Edwarsiana
rosae and E. prunicola were found on the bushes, as well as the uncommon lacewing
Sympherobius elegans. Among the carnivorous empid flies were the tiny Platypalpus
cothurnatus, P. pallipes and P. verralli and the somewhat larger Hilara cornicula. Damp
areas held a fair selection of the more common doly flies, most of which are metallic green
although Xanthochlorus ornatus is mainly yellow. The scutterfly Diplonevra pilosella was
taken here, together with several hoverflies. The picture-wing flies included Paroxyna
absinthi whose larvae feed on Mug wort and Wormwood, Tephritis vespertina which breeds in
seed-heads and Seioptera vibrans which is glossy black with a dark leading edge to each

150

Excursions in 1989

wing. The uncommon fly Homoneura consorbrina is yellow and its larvae feed on decaying
plant material, and there were several of the dung-breeding sepsids, which resemble miniature
versions of Seioptera. The shorefly Discocerina obscurella was also found, as was the
ichneumon Acrotomus lucidulus and the parasitic cynipid Trybliographa diaphana, both of
which are new to VC64. The most interesting insect collected on this track was the
ichneumon Sinarachna nigricornis, which belongs to a group of kamikaze ichneumons which
parasitise immature spiders. This species attacks web-spinners and eventually kills its host. It
is a scarce though widespread insect in this country, and this is the first time it has been
recorded in Yorkshire.

Bilton Beck Wood was rather dark and dense and the greatest variety of insect life as, as
usual, found around the edges. Mr Savage found the large mayfly Ephemera danica near the
river. The colony of Fern Bug included macropterous as well as the usual brachypterus
specimens and other bugs included Phylus coryli and Psallus wagneri and the Forest Bug.
Among the froghoppers were Eupteryx cy clops and Typhlocyba bifasciata. Flies were fairly
plentiful and included the yellow cranefly Limonia trivittata and the empids Platypalpus
cothurnatus. Hilar a fuscipes, Chelipoda vocatoria and Trichopeza longicornis. The latter has
exceptionally long antennae and was fairly frequent in the wood. The dolies here included
Hercostomus celer, the large and impressive Peocilobothrus nobilitatus with white and smoky
wing markings, the silver Argyra leucocephala and the tiny Teucophorus signatus, in which
the males have the hind tibiae ornamented with a pencil of hairs. The marsh flies, which have
snail-killing larvae, were represented by four species, including the uncommon Pteromicra
angustipennis, and the shoreflies included Philygra flavipes. The flowers along the wood edge
held a number of ichneumons, including Cosmoconus elongator, Tryphon auricularis and
Pygmaeolus nitidus. The latter is a tiny insect which I added to the Yorkshire list two days
earlier at Pot Riding Wood in Doncaster, so this specimen was the second for Yorkshire and
the first for VC64.

Coleoptera (M. L. Denton)

From a coleopterist’s point of view the day’s meagre findings were somewhat disappointing.
The Woodland Trust reserve, although extensively covered, revealed only a handful of
species. With the exceptions of Quedius plagiatus and Bythinus curtisi, which were found
under bark, and Gyrophaena gentilis in decaying fungi, the large proportion of species
emanated from a pile of Fox scats. As can be expected from this medium rove beetles
predominated. The occurrence of Atheta pertyi and A. dubia, although both are widely
distributed in Yorkshire, constituted only the third records for the vice-county.

Most of the beetle species encountered along the disused railway line came from a couple
of piles of decaying grass cuttings, dumped from nearby houses. Again a good selection of
rove beetles was present, but all were common and do not call for comment, although Atheta
dubia did put in another appearance. The small ponds along this length of disused railway
held only a selection of the commoner water beetles. Full species lists have been lodged with
the Woodland Trust and Harrogate Naturalists’ Society.

Lepidoptera (W. A. Ely & G. Boyd)

Only 5 species of butterfly were noted during this meeting and macro-moths were also scarce.
Micro-moths were more in evidence, both as adults and as leafmines, particularly on the trees
and shrubs along the railway track and in the wood. The Green Tortrix was frequent on the
sheltered side of the wood and other micros included Isotrias rectifasciana and Elachista
triatornea.

Excursions in 1989

151

Other Arthropods (P. Lee & D. T. Richardson)

The dense, acidic woodland of the Woodland Trust reserve around Bilton Beck was a poor
habitat for the groups covered under this heading, with records for only four woodlice, three
centipedes, seven millipedes and two harvestmen. Even some of the commonest species were
apparently absent. Bilton Beck was home to two species of leech - Erpobdella octulata and
Glossiphonia complanata - indicating a degree of pollution, possibly from the farm upstream.
The only record of note from the woodland was of the harvestman Opilio parietinus, new to
the 10 km square.

The dismantled railway proved to be a slightly richer habitat, adding a further three species
of harvestmen and two species each of woodlice, centipedes and millipede to the lists. This
was probably due to the variety of habitats along its length, including calcareous areas where
the pill woodlouse Armadillidium vulgare was abundant. The area around the car park
appeared the richest in terms of species diversity, providing new 10 km square records for the
centipede Geophilus insculptus and the millipede Boreoiulus tenuis. The latter, a tiny white
creature with orange yellow spots along its length was the most interesting find of the day. It
appears to be relatively uncommon in the county, having been recorded from less than twenty
sites. Many of these records are from gardens or waste ground and its presence at this site can
probably be attributed to the dumping of garden rubbish.

Lichenology (A. Henderson)

Close by the entry to the disused railway an old wall by the trackside carried a colourful
calcicolous community, dominated in the heavy rain falling just then by the dull red swollen
fruits of Protoblastenia rupestris among an overall sprinkling of bright white Lecanora
albescens and yellow Caloplaca citrina. A little further along the track these last two species
were growing with Lecanora dispersa on an old iron connecting-plate lying on the ground
among brick, mortar, stone and other rubble colonised by typical ruderal species. Here, too, an
old iron railing stub was shared by Scoliciosporum umbrinum and Trapelia c oar data, the
former spreading onto the surrounding lead packing. The gravelled bituminous felt of a flat
garage-roof standing just below the rail-track had a well developed population of Physcia
caesia, Phaeophyscia orbicularis and Lecanora muralis overgrowing numerous crustose
species.

The high sandstone viaduct over the Nidd had an attractive flora, including Catillaria
chalybeia, Lecanora stenotropa and Lecidea subfusca, diversified by calcicoles of the mortar-
filling.

A very brief walk into the woodland confirmed the impression of a survey visit there three
years earlier, of a lichen flora patchy but nonetheless promising in parts.

Mycology (C. S. V. Yeates)

The main body of the woodland examined was rather disappointing from a mycological point
of view. At this time of year the mycologist is obliged to concentrate almost entirely on the
micro-fungi. This involves the painstaking examination of both living and dead plant material,
an activity which on some days can furnish ample material for the day from the first couple of
hundred metres walked and on others may yield little that is unusual or - which is worse -
promising collections which upon examination are found to be effete or lacking the features
necessary for identification. The latter was the case on this occasion.

Good material of the discomycete Pyrenopeziza petriolaris was collected on Acer
pseudoplatanus petioles, and Melica uniflora provided a new host record in Yorkshire for the
‘loculoascomycete’ Leptosphaeria herpotrichoides. Another grass, Festuca gigantea, yielded
the hyphomycete Cylindrotrichum ellisii, previously only known in the county on
Deschampsia cespitosa in VC63.

152

Excursions in 1989

Among plant parasites, there was good material of the rust Puccinia pimpinellae on
Pimpinella major along the disused railway line, and the hyphomycete Ramularia taraxaci on
Taraxacum by Milner Lane was new to Yorkshire (although the second county record was not
short in coming, it being recorded the following day in the Rotherham area!).

Condenser Wood and Preston Quarry (VC65) 7 May (D. Millward)

MOLLUSCA (A. Norris)

The two areas examined produced a total of forty species of land and freshwater mollusca,
none of which proved new to the 10 km square. Several species found, however, are worthy
of special mention as they have restricted distributions within the county. It is always of
interest to record even local extensions to the known ranges of species such as Helicogona
lapicida (L., 1758), or Helicella itala (L., 1758), both recorded from Preston Quarry, particu-
larly as the latter is thought to be declining throughout Britain as a result of habitat loss. Other
species of interest included Azeca goodalli (Esmark, 1886), Oxychilus helveticus (Blum,
1881) and Ashfordia granulata (Alder, 1830).

Entomology (W. a. Ely)

The quarry and adjacent woodland where we began the day’s work had plenty of insects. The
stream was obviously clean as eight species of stonefly were found, including some less
common species such as Nemoura cambrica and N. erratica. The Green Tiger Beetle was in
evidence, flying in the warm sunlight when approached too closely. A single dead specimen
of the pill beetle Simplocaria semistriata was found, plus live examples of the leaf beetle
Phyllotreta tetrastigma, with four pale marks on the elytra, the tiny weevil Apion pallipes and
the slightly larger Ceuthorhynchus alliariae. A good range of the lesser dung flies, whose
larvae play an important part in the decomposition of dead and decaying material, were
collected, but the most interesting fly from this area was the picture-wing fly Platarea
discoidea. This nationally rare insect seems to have its British headquarters in this vice-
county, where it is found in streamside woodland where its larvae are stem-borers of the large
bell-flowers. The sawflies included Birka cinereipes, Empria liturata and E. tridens, and the
parasitic Proctotrupoidea were represented by Zygota excisipes, in which the fore tibiae of the
males are expanded into broad lamellar extensions.

The derelict pond and carr at Tullis Cote added one more stonefly, the meniscus midge
Dixella martinii whose larvae are u-shaped and live, as their name suggests, in the surface
film, the slender empid Rhamphomyia umbripennis and yet more lesser dung flies, while
Empria alector was added to the sawflies.

At Gillfield Wood the eight species of stoneflies included two additions to the list. The
beetles included the lesser dung beetle Cercyon lateralis , the hister Onthophilus striatus and
the carrion beetle Catops coracinus. The tiny rove beetles included Atheta sordidula and A.
nigripes and the common pollen beetle was joined by the less common Meligethes
pedicularius. The picture-wing fly Tephritis conura and the fungus-breeding Suillia parva
were found, and the seven species of lesser dung flies included Opalimosina liliputana. The
piles of dry quarry waste proved interesting for ground-nesting bees and the ones found here
included Andrena ruficrus and Sphecodes hyalinatus, a kleptoparasite which lays its eggs in
the nests of Andrena species.

Mycology (C. S. V. Yeates)

Extremely dry conditions meant that there was a distinct scarcity of fungi. Nevertheless, there
were several interesting finds, the best being the agaric Melanotus hepatochrous, new to the

Book Reviews

153

county, found by Mr Norris and identified by Dr Cooper. A note about this find and that of a
related species has already appeared in this journal (Cooper 1990). A pile of rotting turnips
provided another good find in the shape of the discomycete Cheilymenia rubra ; this is the
third Yorkshire record (and the first for the vice-county) of a species most commonly reported
from spent hops.

In the nearby village of Preston-under-Scar the downy mildew Peronospora viciae was
found in considerable quantity on a patch of Vicia sativa ssp. nigra. This is another first vice-
county record and is also a new host record for Yorkshire.

Reference

Cooper, J. (1990) Two species of Melanotus - Agaricales new to Yorkshire. Naturalist 115:
21-22.

BOOK REVIEWS

Fungi: Delight of Curiosity by Harold J. Brodie. Pp. xii + 130, including 21 black and
white plates. University of Toronto Press. 1989. £7.95.

This is the paperback edition of a book which first appeared in 1978. Its avowed intention
is to present to a general readership an indication of the fascination and beauty of the fungal
world. It is not a textbook, but there are many detailed descriptive sections, for example
within the chapter entitled The Mushroom: A Study in Form and Function, where details of
the morphology and physiology of a typical agaric are described.

Despite the titles of some of the chapters - The Mystery of The Water-Guns, The Insect
‘Itch’ and so on - the book is relatively free of excessive whimsy, though the author at times
adopts a rather dated style; it could perhaps be argued that this is part of its charm. It is a great
pity that the opportunity to update - or at least improve - the reproduction technique of the 22
photographs was not taken. Many excellent photographs can be seen in modem books and
journals, and given the intent of this current work the photographs do little to convey the
diverse variety of form and colour to be found in fungi - at both the macroscopic and
microscopic levels.

While the book does not claim to be a taxonomic work it is still unfortunate to find the
occasional fundamental error. For example, in the chapter on The Ants’ Fungus Gardens the
author discusses attempts to determine the identity of the fungi concerned. One turned out to
be a Lepiota, another a Leucocoprinus which the author states is related to the ‘Inky Cap
Mushroom’; this is simply not so, despite its name Leucocoprinus belongs in the Agaricaceae,
and is in fact rather closely related to Lepiota.

These criticisms aside, there is much to commend the book. Whatever our discipline, in our
quest for the rarity or the critical identification we all too easily lose sight of the aesthetic
element of our study. Through his obvious enthusiasm the author sets out to correct this. From
a mycological point of view it is good to see that most fungal groups are included and that
despite an understandable bias towards the basidiomycetes the book is not top-heavy with
toadstools. Particularly praiseworthy is the chapter on the neglected Laboulbeniales; at eight
and a half pages this is far longer an account than is to be found in standard mycological
textbooks. That said, the virtual absence of any further mention of the huge class
Ascomycotina in this book is something of an anomaly, as the Laboulbeniales are scarcely
representative of it.

CSVY

154

Book Reviews

Goose Damage and Management Workshop. Proceedings of a meeting organised by The
Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust at Martin Mere, Lancashire, on 27 April 1990. Edited by Myrfin
Owen and M. W. Pienkowski. Pp. 86, including numerous figures and tables. Joint Nature
Conservation Committee, Peterborough. 1991. £5.00, paperback.

No. 33 in the NCC ‘Research & survey in nature conservation’ series is an account of a
meeting which brought together various representatives from agricultural and conservation
interests. Some species of goose, while scarce in world terms, descend on these islands each
winter in locally large numbers and certainly cause serious damage in places. Such a problem
can only be solved by all interests working together to manage the countryside for these geese
and not, as one participant said, introducing himself as ‘an Essex farmer and Brent Goose
keeper’, getting at one anothers’ throats. Required reading for all lovers of wild geese.

BSP

New Views on an Old Planet by Tjeerd H. van Andel. Pp. xii + 324, with numerous b/w
sections, maps and illustrations. Cambridge University Press, 1985. Paperback edition 1991.
£14.95.

Over the last 30 years there have been dramatic developments in the techniques which can
be used by geologists to reconstruct ancient environments from clues which are contained
within rock deposits and in understanding how sections of the earth’s crust have moved
relative to one another throughout the last 250 million years. These two strands of under-
standing are ably elucidated by Professor van Andel who capably conveys complex issues by
means of well chosen analogies, word pictures and simple graphical illustrations.

With four and a half billion years of earth history to cover, the book wisely focuses on
selected key themes. Two short introductory chapters present basic concepts of rock dating
and outline how some ancient environments may be reconstructed from geological evidence.
Climatic change during Ice Ages are covered in the next three chapters, leading naturally onto
a further four chapters on the relationship between changing climates and continental drift.
There is a marked emphasis on the historical evolution of the world’s oceans. A further three
chapters deal with the early development of the atmosphere and oceans, and finally four
chapters are devoted to the history of life on earth with emphasis on the rate and mechanisms
of evolution and speculation on the cause of mass extinctions.

Overall, the book provides an excellent, eminently readable introduction to recent ideas
concerning the earth’s history, and is particularly suited to the general reader because of its
clear non-technical style.

DEC

155

CONTRIBUTORS

Andrews, M. 40,113-123
Archer, M. E. 39,112
Armitage, J. S. 133-134
Atherden, M. A. 143-144

Beaumont, H. E. 124
Blocked, T. L. 143
Boyd, G. 150
Bramley, D. 134
Bramley, D. M. 134
Brightman, F. H. 16
Brocklehurst, S. 135

Chicken, E. 140-141,142-143

Clunas, A. J. 73-91

Colloff, M. J. 21-25

Cotton, D. E. 25-26, 40, 154-155

Crackles, F. E. 136

Crossley, R. 66

Davies, B. E. 71-72

Delany, M. J. 38,59-60,112

Denton, M. L. 36-37, 142, 145, 148, 150

Dinnin, M. H. 57-59

Disney, R. H. L. 93-94

Duncan, J. E. 35-36,136-141

Ely, W. A. 39-40, 141-153
Ezard, A. S. 142

Farrar, D. R. 41^13
Flint, J. H. 44

Grant, D. R. 136-137,146

Hale, W. H. G. 72, 98
Hambler, C. Ill
Headley, A. D. 30,41-43,43^14
Henderson, A. 17-20,151
Higginbottom, T. 147-148
Howes, C. A. 27-30, 38, 99-101

Johnson, P. N. 66

Kirk, B.R. 27-30,31-33
Kirk-Spriggs, A. H. 107-1 1 1
Knight, J. E. 16, 34, 38, 106-107

Lee, P. 145-146,148,151
Limbert, M. 3-15

Magee, L. 139-140
Marsh, R. J. 101-106
Mather, J. R. 66, 92
Medd, T. F. 136

Newbould, J. A. 142

Norris, A. 65, 144-145, 149, 152

Pashby, B. S. 141,154
Payne, J. 145
Pearson, J. A. 147
Pentecost, A. 125-131

Richards, J. P. 33-34
Richardson, D. T. 40, 151
Rumsey, F. J. 41—43

Sanderson, M. R. 67-68
Seaby, R. M. H. 61-64
Seaward, M. R. D. 17-20
Seyd, E. L. 21-25
Sheffield, E. 41-43

Shorrock, B. 73-91
Skidmore, P. 69-71,72
Spelling, S. M. 61-64
Sutton, S. L. 44, 60

Thayre, M. E. 39
Thompson, M. J. A. 144, 149

Vaughan, M. 45-56
Vaughan, R. 45-56

Wallis, A. J. 141

Weeks, R. W. 133-134

Wilson, J. 95-98

Yeates, C. S. V. 132,141-153

Young, J. O. 61-64

156

INDEX

Acarl

Moss mites of the Lake District, 21-25

Biography

William Casson of Thome, 3-15

Book Reviews

15-16, 25-26, 30, 38^10, 43^14, 59-60,71-72, 98, 111-112, 124, 132, 134, 153-155

Botany

William Casson of Thome, 3-15; Botanical report for 1990, 136-141

Cetacea

Recent Cetacean records from Yorkshire waters, 99-101

Coleoptera

Subfossil occurrence of the Greater Silver Water-beetle at Shirley Pool 57-59; Further Yorkshire
locality for the Water Fem Beetle, 66; Coleoptera records for Yorkshire, 101-106; The
G.B.Walsh Collection of Meligethes, with notes on published records, 107-1 1 1

Diptera

Phaonis jaroschewskii , the ‘Hairy Canary’, 69-71; Two rare scuttle flies from Yorkshire,
including one new for Britain, 93-94

Fish

Smelt in the Humber and Tees estuaries, their tidal tributaries and the tidal waters of
Lincolnshire, 27-30; Historical records of the Burbot in the River Hull, 31-33
Freshwater Ecology

Macro-invertebrate fauna of Spicey Gill, Ilkley Moor, 1 13-123; Vegetation of some English
crons, 125-131

Hirudinea

Duck Leech in Crose Mere, Shropshire, 61-64

Invertebrates

Macro-invertebrate fauna of Spicey Gill, Ilkley Moor, 113-123

Lepidoptera

Population changes in three butterfly species in North Lancashire 1979 to 1990, 95-98

Lichenology

Lichen flora of the West Yorkshire conurbation, 17-20

Mammals

Recent Cetacean records from Yorkshire waters, 99-101; Roe Deer, 106-107; Natterer’s Bat
taken by Short-eared Owl, 133-134

Mollusca

Helicodiscus singleyanus new to Yorkshire 65

Myriapoda

A new millipede for Yorkshire, 33-34

Obituaries

Joan Appleyard, 35-36; Edward Wrigley Aubrook, 36-37; Alan Frederick Gordon Walker,
67-68

Ornithology

Dotterel, 34; Birds in Famdale in 1990, 45-56; Cache prey of Tawny Owl, 66; Birds around
Malham Tam, 73-91; Corrections to The Birds of Yorkshire, 92; Successful breeding attempt
by an immature female Peregrine Falcon in the Yorkshire Dales, 135

Pteridophyta

Killamey Fem in Yorkshire, 41^13
Subfossils

Subfossil occurrence of the Greater Silver Water-beetle at Shirley Pool, 57-59

Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union

Excursions in 1989, 141-153

Butterflies and Moths of Yorkshire
Distribution and Conservation

Editors : S. L. Sutton and H. E. Beaumont

370 pages packed with information about Yorkshire’s 1,591 butterflies and moths.
Introductory chapters dealing with distribution, conservation, etc., comprehensive
bibliography, gazetteer of 900 locality names.

£15.00 + p&p. Obtainable from Mrs J. Payne, 15 Broad Lane, Cawood, Selby Y08 0SQ.
Please make cheques payable to the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union.

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Naturalist

A QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF NATURAL HISTORY FOR THE NORTH OF ENGLAND

[2853

1000th ISSUE

A common bird census on Thorne Moors National Nature
Reserve — Peter C. Roworth

Aculeate wasps and bees of Skipwith Common and a comparison
of Skipwith Common with Allerthorpe and Strensall
Commons — Michael E. Archer

Drosophila fenestrarum from Leeds, a new record for northern

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Volume 117
1992

Published by the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union

EDITORIAL

The Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union has good reason to be proud of its record, not only
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This 1000th issue is a milestone in the history of the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union -
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A COMMON BIRD CENSUS ON THORNE MOORS NATIONAL
NATURE RESERVE, SOUTH YORKSHIRE - A RELIC
CUT-OVER RAISED MIRE

PETER C. ROWORTH

Site Manager, Thorne Moors NNR, English Nature, 44 Bond Street, Wakefield, West Yorkshire
Summary

A common bird census was undertaken on Thome Moors National Nature Reserve in
South Yorkshire, part of an extensive complex of cut-over raised mire and associated
habitats extending into South Humberside. Six visits were made to the reserve, each lasting
approximately five hours and recording was carried out using the standard method of the
British Trust for Ornithology Common Bird Census. A total of 16 species was recorded
breeding: an overall bird density of 93 prs/km2. Although this density is low compared to
other habitats, the survey has shown the value of the mosaic of habitat found on abandoned
relic cut-over raised mires. Nationally over 96% of lowland raised mires in Britain have
been lost due to drainage or peat cutting since the 1850s. Thome Moors NNR represents
the best surviving example of a cut-over raised mire left on Thome, Goole, Rawcliffe and
Crowle Moors, the largest remaining area of lowland peatland in Britain and a site from
which peat is still commercially extracted.

Introduction

Knowledge of the breeding bird populations of intact and cut-over raised mires in Britain is
poor, being restricted to only a broad overview of species distribution (Stroud 1989).
Although ten raised mire sites were documented in the BT-habitats register (Fuller 1982),
which gave an indication of species found breeding on the mire surface and associated
edge habitats, few raised mires have been the subject of more detailed ornithological study.
Williamson (1968) recorded the distribution of breeding bird territories at Tam Moss, near
Malham, North Yorkshire and the birds of Mongan Bog, Co. Offaly were surveyed by
Madden (1987). Kavanagh (1990), as part of a baseline ecological survey of Turraun
Cutaway Bog, Co. Offaly, investigated bird species abundance and diversity as indicators
of habitat quality. However, most ornithological studies of peatlands in Britain have
concentrated on upland blanket bogs (eg Stroud et al 1987, Rothwell et al 1988, Stroud et
al 1988).

Raised mires generally occur in Britain on estuarine alluvial deposits and on the flood
plains of mature river systems. The original fen vegetation gradually developed into a plant
community which favoured the growth of Sphagnum , cotton grass and heathers which
became independent of any groundwater influence and relied totally on rainfall. There is
also an upward growth of vegetation resulting in the characteristic shallow dome shape of
these mires which can still be seen today at sites such as Flanders Moss, Tayside and
Glasson Moss, Cumbria. Once the water table in these structures becomes elevated above
the original groundwater level, then they are called raised bogs or mires (Meade 1988). The
surfaces of intact raised mires vary considerably, but usually there is a mosaic of Sphagna
hummocks, open pools and a mixture of associated flora including Drosera rotundifolia,
Andromeda polifolia, Vaccinium oxycoccos and Erica tetralix. The slope of the mire, called
the rand, is usually drier and contains the dwarf shrub communities, for example, Calluna
vulgaris and Myrica gale. On the extremities, the lagg is usually identified by a marginal
water course and is represented by an association of poor fen or Betula-Salix communities.

The activity of man greatly affects the surface vegetation of raised mires. Large areas
have been reclaimed for agriculture by drainage and cultivation; lowering of the
consequent water-table results in the remnants of true mire communities becoming
enveloped by flora usually associated with the lower slopes of the rand at the expense of

Naturalist 117 (1992)

6

Bird Census on Thorne Moors National Nature Reserve

Sphagnum, and the lagg tends to become ill-defined. More directly, peat- winning on sites
has a drastic effect upon the surface vegetation. The sequence of vegetation from the
central wet dome to the lagg is lost, and through the lowering of the water-table, the cut-
over surface becomes dominated by Betula pubscens, B. pendula, Pteridium acquilinum,
Heather and poor fen communities. Pockets of Sphagnum associated vegetation become
rare (Ratcliffe 1977).

Thome Moor, (South Yorkshire) and the contiguous Goole, Rawcliffe and Crowle
Moors (South Humberside) cover an area of 1,918 ha; they represent an extensive remnant
of a raised mire system at the edge of the flood plain of the Humberhead levels. The area
surrounding the Moors has been drained and claimed for agricultural use, and the main
peatland continues to be extensively disturbed through further drainage and peat winning.
To the north of the reserve commercial peat extraction still takes place. Vegetation is
removed over large tracts of the Moors. The peat is then taken at a depth of a few
centimetres by a process known as milling, which is often repeated several times during
dry weather. Milling also produces a flat, dry surface, lacking the baulks and bottoms that
had been an earlier feature of the peat industry and which can still be seen south of the
reserve. However, despite its long history of exploitation, this area presents the largest
surviving example of lowland peatland in Britain (Limbert et al 1986, Limbert 1987).
Thome, Goole, Rawcliffe and Crowle Moors were collectively designated a Site of Special
Scientific Interest by the Nature Conservancy Council, under Section 28 of the Wildlife
and Countryside Act (1981) in 1986.

This paper reports on the breeding bird fauna of the NNR and examines its relationship
to the habitats presently found there.

The Study Area

Thome Moors NNR covers 73 ha within the Thome, Goole, Rawcliffe and Crowle Moors
(Figure 1) and contains the best best example of a relic cut-over raised mire left on the
moors (Ro worth 1991). Peat was initially cut from the area in 1894 by the Griendtsveen
Moss Litter Co., using Dutch methods. In 1896 Griendtsveen was succeeded by the British
Moss Litter Co., who continued to work until c. 1922, when this area was abandoned.
Internal canals were cut to transport the peat by barge from this area to a peat mill on the
western edge of the moors. On the NNR part of the system of derelict canals and cuttings is
still clearly visible and the pattern of vegetation which has developed gives a mosaic of
habitat ranging from re-established mire communities, to dry heath and poor fen (Figure 2).
The mire communities are dominated by Eriophorum angustifolium and E. vaginatum,
with areas of Sphagnum hummocks and hollows. Associated species include Bog-
rosemary, Cranberry, Round-leaved Sundew and Cross-leaved Heath. The old mire surface
between the peat cuttings is drier and has Downy Birch, Bracken and Heather. The re-
vegetated canals contain a wide range of plant species which include remnant mire flora,
but also those associated with fenland habitats. These latter species include Phragmites
australis, Cladium mariscus, Potentilla palustris and Salix spp. Along the northern
boundary of the reserve bordering the main canal, a limestone clinker towpath was laid to
allow horses to pull the peat laden barges and a disused tramway exists on the eastern
boundary. These areas have developed their own assemblage of calcicolous species,
including Listera ovata and Dactylorhiza praetermissa. With such a wide range of habitats,
the reserve is particularly rich in invertebrates. Eleven species of dragonfly and 20 species
of butterfly have been recorded. The Large Heath butterfly Coenonympha tullia breeds on
the reserve, and here it is at its southerly limit in eastern England. The areas occupied by
these habitats on the NNR are:

Peat cuttings - mire surface 35 ha

Peat baulks - dry heath 30.5 ha

Vegetated canals and drains with open water - fen 4.5 ha

Limestone towpath and tramway - Calcareous grassland 3.0 ha

Bird Census on Thorne Moors National Nature Reserve

7

FIGURE 1

Location of Thome Moors NNR on Thome, Goole, Rawcliffe and Crowle Moors.

8

Bird Census on Thorne Moors National Nature Reserve

Bird Census on Thorne Moors National Nature Reserve

9

Method

Observations of the bird life were made along a defined route. Bird contacts were recorded
on to a visit map using the species and activity codes as specified in the BTO Common
Bird Census (CBC) instructions (Marchant 1983). Six visits were made at 10-day intervals
between 11 April 1990 - 13 June 1990, each lasting approximately five hours. The route
followed a dry baulk alongside each of six canals, which gave a good coverage of the
whole site.

After the field visits, all the data was transferred on to species maps. These were then
analysed to give numbers of breeding birds for the site using CBC guidelines as to
identification of territories (Marchant 1983).

Results

Sixteen species were recorded breeding on the reserve: an overall density of 68 pairs in 73
ha (93 pairs/km2) (Table 1). Fuller (1982) assumed that generally the number of species
nesting on an unmodified raised mire would be greater on the margins, where there is a
wider variety of vegetation on the lower slope of the rand and the surrounding lagg. Where
the original mire surface has been influenced by man’s activities the vegetation types will
become altered and diversified, tending to form a mosaic of mire, dry heath and fen. Thus,
it is reasonable to assume that the number of breeding bird species will increase through
this range of habitat. Usually, those few species which breed on the mire surface will be
spread amongst this influx of additional species, if pockets of suitable habitat remain for
them. The distribution of breeding birds at Thome Moors National Nature Reserve shows
this pattern.

From the 16 species recorded, Snipe Gallinago gallinago, and Meadow Pipit Anthus
pratensis bred on the developing mire surface in the peat cuttings. These birds are
characteristic of lowland mires, (Fox 1986), but Teal Anac crecca which also bred, is
generally regarded as an upland mire breeding bird, although occurring on some other
lowland raised mires.

The drier peat baulks, which depict a vegetation type similar to that of the lower rand
slopes and dry heath communities, attracted Woodpigeon Columba palumbus, Wren
Troglodytes troglodytes. Willow Warbler Phylloscopus trochilus and Yellowhammer
Emberiza citrinella. Tree Pipit Anthus trivialis and Whinchat Saxicola rubetra bred
amongst low vegetation of the peat baulks, but obtained food (invertebrates) over the mire
surface of the peat cuttings. They also relied on prominent dead birch stumps for suitable
song posts.

Nightjars Caprimulgus europaeus are usually associated with woodland edge habitats
especially those growing on heathland (Burgess et al 1989). The Moors are an important
stronghold for the species and hold almost 2% of the British breeding nightjar population.
One pair found a suitable area to breed on the reserve.

Where a fen community has developed, generally in the old canals, birds such as Robin
Erithacus rubecula, Reed Warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus, Whitethroat Sylvia communis.
Willow Tit Parus montanus and Reed Bunting Emberiza schoeniclus all held territories.

Several pairs of Cuckoo Cuculus conorus were observed over the area calling and
displaying in search of suitable hosts.

During the survey, 18 species of non-breeding birds were also observed, as shown in
Table 2. Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus and Kestrel Falco tinnunculus which bred close to
the NNR were frequently observed hunting over the area. Hobby Falco subbuteo was
occasionally recorded around midday, particularly during May, hawking over the site. Jay
Garrulus glandarius. Magpie Pica pica and Carrion Crow Corvus corone were all
observed, particularly early in the breeding season, flying over in search of eggs or
nestlings. A Green Woodpecker Picus viridis was occasionally observed, in search of food
on decaying birch stumps, and hirundines regularly fed over the area. Other sightings of
birds were generally incidental to the site.

10

Bird Census on Thorne Moors National Nature Reserve

TABLE 1

Birds recorded breeding between 11 April and 13 June 1990 on Thorne Moors
National Nature Reserve. Data shown as breeding pairs and prs/km2

Species

mire

(old peat cuttings)

dry heath
(peat baulks)

fen

(abandoned canals)

Teal

Anas crecca

2-2.7

—

Snipe

Gallinago gallinago

2-2.7

—

Meadow Pipit
Anthus pratensis

4-5.4

—

Wood Pigeon
Columba palumbus

—

2-2.7

—

Nightjar

Caprimulgus europaeus

—

1-1.3

—

Tree Pipit
Anthus trivialis

—

4-5.4

—

Wren

Troglodytes troglodytes

—

7-9.5

—

Whinchat
Saxicola rubetra

—

10-13.6

—

Willow Warbler
Phylloscopus trochilus

—

10-13.6

—

Yellowhammer
Emberiza citrinella

—

3-4.1

—

Robin

Erithacus rubecula

—

—

5-6.8

Reed Warbler
Acrocephalus scirpaceus

—

—

1-1.3

Whitethroat
Sylvia communis

—

—

6-8.2

Willow Tit
Parus montanus

—

—

1-1.3

Reed Bunting —

Emberiza schoeniclus

Cuckoo

Cuculus canorus - 3 pairs

4. 1 prs/km2 were recorded for the site

1 - 13.6

Discussion

Of the few British and Irish mire sites which have been studied omithologically, results
have shown that numbers of breeding birds vary considerably, influenced by many factors
including latitude and mire type (Tables 3 and 4). The bird communities in the Malham
Tam region studied by Williamson (1968), included those of Tam Moss, an intact raised

Bird Census on Thome Moors National Nature Reserve

11

TABLE 2

Non-breeding birds observed between 11 April and 13 June 1990 on Thorne Moors
National Nature Reserve

Species

Notes

Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus

A pair bred close to the reserve; adults regularly
hunted over the site.

Kestrel Falco tinnunculus

Frequently observed hunting over reserve. Pair
displaying 1 May.

Hobby F. subbuteo

Adults occasionally observed feeding over reserve
during mid-May.

Lapwing Vanellus vanellus

Two pairs bred in old peat workings close to the
southern boundary of the reserve. Adults frequently
observed.

Curlew Numenius arquata

One adult calling and showing a tendency to hold
territory 17-19 April

Swift Apus apus

Common, feeding over reserve

Green Woodpecker Picus viridus

Adults occasionally disturbed from decaying birch
stumps. A pair bred close to the reserve

Swallow Hirundo rustica

Common, feeding over reserve

House Martin Delichon urbica

Occasionally seen with swallows feeding over reserve

Blackbird Turdus merula

Single males infrequently observed

Goldcrest Regulus regulus

One in song 23 April

Blue Tit Parus caeruleus

Singles on 1 1 April and 3 May

Jay Garrulus glandarius

Occasionally observed in pursuit of prey

Magpie Pica pica

Singles occasionally observed during May foraging
for food

Carrion Crow Corvus corone

One or two generally observed early in the breeding
season in search of food

Linnet Acanthis cannabina

Two flying over 23 April

Redpoll A. flammea

Two flying over 14 May

Bullfinch Pyrrhula pyrrhula

A pair near northern boundary 28 May

mire, with a small area of fen along its northern edge. Nine species of birds were recorded
breeding on the mire, with an overall density of 150 prs/km2, yet the bordering fen edge
held 27 species at 800 prs/km2. Finnish mires studied by Jarvinen and Sammalisto (1976)
showed that densities on intact raised mires could vary between 2-200 prs/km2.

There is very little data from British cut-over raised mires. Following his survey on
Mongan Bog in Co Offaly, Madden found that Five species bred on approximately 16 ha of
intact mire and 19 species bred on an adjacent 5 ha of cut-over mire. P. Singleton (pers
comm) surveyed 46 ha of mire with woodland edge on Roudsea Mosses NNR, Cumbria
and found 16 breeding bird species, six of which bred on the open mire, at an overall
density of 133 prs/km2.

As part of an ecological study on Turraun Cutaway Bog in Co Offaly, Kavanagh (1990)
used the results from his bird survey to try and correlate bird species abundance and

12

Bird Census on Thorne Moors National Nature Reserve

TABLE 3

Breeding birds recorded on mire/open habitat on five lowland mires in Britain and

Ireland

Species

Thome
Moors
NNR 73 ha

Mongan
Bog
21 ha

Turraun
bog
118 ha

Roudsea
Mosses
NNR 46 ha

Tam
Moss
45 ha

Greylag Goose
Anser anser

*

Teal

Anas crecca

Mallard

A. platyrhynchos

*

*

Red Grouse
Lagopus lagopus

*

Moorhen

Gallinula chloropus

*

Lapwing
Vanellus vanellus

*

Snipe

Gallinago gallinago

*

*

*

*

Curlew

Numerius arquata

*

*

*

Redshank
Tringa totanus

Black-headed Gull
Larus ridibundus

*

Cuckoo

Cuculus canorus

*

*

Skylark

Alauda arvensis

*

*

*

Tree Pipit
Anthus trivialis

*

Meadow Pipit
A. pratensis

*

*

*

*

*

Yellow Wagtail
Motacilla flava

*

Whinchat
Saxicola rubetra

*

TOTAL

4

5

6

7

8

Bird Census on Thorne Moors National Nature Reserve

13

TABLE 4

Breeding birds recorded on dry heath/fen edge habitat on five lowland
mires in Britain and Ireland

Species Thome

Moors
NNR 73 ha

Mongan
Bog
21 ha

Turraun
Bog
118 ha

Roudsea
Mosses
NNR 46 ha

Tam
Moss
45 ha

Teal

Anas crecca

*

Buzzard
Buteo buteo

*

Grey Partridge
Perdix perdix

*

Pheasant

Phasianus colchicus

*

*

Snipe

Gallinago gallinago

*

Woodcock
Scolopax rusticola

*

Woodpigeon
Columba palumbus

*

*

*

Cuckoo

Cuculus canorus

*

*

*

Tawny Owl
Strix aluco

*

Nightjar

Caprimulgus europaeus

*

Tree Pipit
Anthus trivialis

*

*

*

Meadow Pipit
A. pratensis

*

*

Yellow Wagtail
Motacilla flava

*

Wren

Troglodytes troglodytes

*

*

*

*

*

Dunnock

Prunella modularis

*

*

Robin

Erithacus rubecula

*

*

*

*

*

Redstart

Phoenicrus phoenicurus

*

Whinchat
Saxicola rubetra

*

Stonechat
S. torquata

*

Continued overleaf

14

Bird Census on Thorne Moors National Nature Reserve

Thome

Moors

Mongan

Bog

Turraun

Bog

Roudsea

Mosses

Tam

Moss

Blackbird
T urdus merula

*

*

*

*

Song Thrush
T. philomelos

*

*

*

Mistle Thrush
T. viscivorus

*

Sedge Warbler
Acrocephalus
schoenobaenus

*

*

Reed Warbler
A. scripaceus

*

Whitethroat
Sly via communis

*

*

*

Chiff Chaff
Phylloscopus collybita

*

*

*

Willow Warbler
P. trochilus

*

*

*

*

*

Goldcrest
Regulus regulus

*

Willow Tit
Parus montanus

*

*

Blue Tit
P. caeruleus

*

*

Great Tit
P. major

*

*

Magpie
Pica pica

*

Carrion Crow
Corvus corone

*

Starling

Sturnus vulgaris

*

*

Chaffinch
Fringilla coelebs

*

*

*

Greenfinch
Carduelis chloris

*

*

Linnet

C. cannabina

*

*

Redpoll

C.flammea

*

Yellow Hammer
Emberiza citrinella

*

Reed Bunting
E schoeniclus

*

*

TOTAL

13

19

12

10

27

Bird Census on Thorne Moors National Nature Reserve

15

TABLE 5

Birds recorded breeding on open cut-over mire habitat on Thorne Moors (Bain 1991)

Species

Breeding pairs

Teal Anas crecca

6

Kestrel Falco tinnunculus

1

Red-legged Partridge Alectoris rufa

1

Grey Partridge Perdix perdix

1

Moorhen Gallinula chloropus

1

Lapwing Wenellus vanellus

2

Woodpigeon Columba palumbus

1

Turtle Dove Streptopelia turtur

2

Nightjar Caprimulgus europaeus

12

Wren Troglodytes troglodytes

3

Whinchat Saxicola rubetra

8

Robin Erithacus rubecula

1

Whitethroat Slyvia communis

7

Willow Warbler Phylloscopus trochilus

8

Meadow Pipit Anthus pratensis

2

Tree Pipit A. trivialis

2

Linnet Carduelis cannabina

2

Redpoll C. flammea

2

Chaffinch Fringillia coelebs

1

Yellowhammer Emberiza citrinella

6

Reed Bunting E. schoeniclus

4

diversity with habitat quality. The 118 ha survey area was marked out into 18 x 200m2
tetrads. Within each tetrad the relative abundance for each species was compared with
vegetation structure and peat depth. A total of 18 bird species was recorded breeding with a
further 25 species observed.

The work undertaken by Limbert, Mitchell and Rhodes (1986) reviews the avifaunal
records of Thome Moors up to the end of 1982, and a supplement written by Limbert
(1990) updates the documentation to the end of 1989. This work forms a major
contribution to the historical and recent collation of ornithological data for the Moors.
However, the recording techniques of the past often do not allow an insight into
quantitative bird distribution and this is reflected in the published results.

Results from the Thome Moors NNR survey found 16 breeding species on 73 ha, giving
a total of 68 pairs, a density of 93prs/km2. Of this, only eight pairs bred on the mire surface
of the disused peat cuttings, whilst 59 pairs bred on the remaining birch, heather and fen
habitats. In 1990 a wider ranging ornithological survey of Thome, Goole, Rawcliffe and
Crowle Moors, documented by Bain (1991) showed a total of 21 species breeding on 191
ha of cut-over mire habitat, which included abandoned wet peat cuttings and dry baulks
with heather and birch scrub (Table 5). Species breeding were similar to those found on the
NNR, additional records include Kestrel, Red-legged Partridge Alectoris rufa. Grey

16

Bird Census on Thorne Moors National Nature Reserve

Patridge Perdix perdix, Moorhen Gallinula chloropus. Lapwing Vanellus vanellus. Turtle
Dove Streptopelia turtur, Linnet Carduelis cannabina , Redpol C. flammea and Chaffinch
Fringilla coelebs. A total of 73 pairs gave a density of 38 prs/km2, this excludes the NNR
records.

Data from the few mire sites which have been studied for breeding birds, clearly shows a
wide range in the number of species, yet as expected, the lower density is on the open mire
areas of Sphagnum and cotton grass. Here Teal, Mallard Anas platyrhynchos. Snipe,
Curlew Numenius arquata. Redshank Tringa totanus. Skylark Alauda arvensis, and
Meadow Pipit may breed. Numbers of bird species and their breeding density generally
increases with the development of scrub and fen. However, the bird assemblage is usually
dominated by the smaller passerines, with specialists of more open habitats such as

FIGURE 3

Thome Moors National Nature Reserve showing an abandoned peat cutting with mire
vegetation and a drier peat baulk supporting heath communities.

wildfowl and waders being gradually lost. Some birds, for example, Tree Pipit and
Whinchat, use the edge habitat between scrub and mire, breeding close to the ground in
vegetation on drier peat surfaces, using prominent birch stumps for song posts and feeding
mainly over the mire surface for invertebrates. This was particularly noted on Thome
Moors NNR, and Hayrinen et al (1986) made special reference to Whinchat favouring the
edge of a raised mire in North Karelia.

Although there are few bird species which breed on lowland raised mires and the
densities are usually low, this specialised habitat is of high conservation importance due to
its unique flora and fauna. It is also an extremely vulnerable habitat; since the middle of the
last century there has been a 96% loss of lowland raised mires in Britain as a result of
drainage, agricultural land claim, afforestation and peat winning (Farrar and Davies 1991).
However, in some European countries raised mires have been totally destroyed, thus
placing Britain’s remaining 4% of surviving raised mires in a position of high importance
in a European context (Stroud et al 1990). Even the cut-over sites offer a range of habitat
types which are of considerable conservation interest. The habitats developing on such sites

Bird Census on Thorne Moors National Nature Reserve

17

are an ecological mimic of wetland scrub habitat (Figure 3) that has elsewhere been lost
through damage and agricultural intensification.

Further information is required on the numbers and species of breeding, passage and
wintering birds of cut-over raised mires. The surface vegetation of a cut-over raised mire
varies with the length of time since parts of the mire were last worked for peat and hence
the bird fauna might be predicted to change over time. Other influences include peripheral
drainage, the height of the water table, scrub encroachment and fire. Monitoring is
therefore necessary to assess the ornithological impact of any major changes in the habitat
and this data will be of particular importance when considering the restorative management
of cut-over raised mires elsewhere.

Acknowledgements

I am particularly grateful to David Stroud who offered advice and encouragement
throughout the early stages of the census and later with guidance on the draft paper. Martin
Limbert also commented on the paper in its early stages. Sally Haeger very kindly drew the
habitat map of the NNR and the location map is reproduced with thanks to English Nature,
North West Region. Also thanks to Jeff Lunn who kindly read and commented on the
paper and Janet Donnelly who typed the manuscript. Finally thanks to Janet, my wife,
whose comments and encouragement will always be appreciated.

References

Bain, C. (1991) Thorne & Hatfield Moors Ornithological Survey 1990/91. RSPB East
Midlands Region, Lincoln.

Burgess, N. D., Evans, C. E. and Sorenson, J. (1989) The Management of Heathland for
Nightjars at Minsmere, Suffolk. RSPB, Sandy.

Farrar, A. and Davies, S. (1991) Do lowland peatlands have a future? RSPB Conserv. Rev.
5: 82-87.

Fox, A. D. (1986) The breeding Teal {Anas crecca) of a coastal raised mire in Central
Wales. Bird Study 33: 18-23.

Fuller, R. F. (1982) Bird Habitats in Britain. T. & A. D. Pyser, Calton.

Hayrinen, U., Jarvinen, O. and Kouki, J. (1986) The bird sanctuary of Kensonsuo, a raised
bog in North Karelia: its breeding bird assemblages, summer visitors and spring
migrants. Ornis Fennica 63: 97-11 1 .

Jarvinen, O., and Sammalisto, L. (1976) Regional trends in the avifauna of Finnish
peatland bogs. Annales Zoologici Fennici 13: 31-34.

Kavanagh, B. (1990) Baseline Ecological Survey of Turraun Cutaway Bog, Co. Offaly.
Unpubl. report to Bord Na Mona.

Limbert, M., Mitchell, R. D. and Rhodes, R. J. (1986) Thorne Moors; Birds and Man.

Doncaster and District Ornithological Society, Doncaster.

Limbert, M. ed. (1987) Thorne Moors Papers. Doncaster Naturalists’ Society, Donacaster.
Limbert, M. (1990) A Supplement to Thorne Moors; Birds and Man. NCC, Wakefield.
Madden, B. (1987) The birds of Mongan Bog, Co. Offaly. Irish Birds 3 : 441-448.
Marchant, J. (1983) Common Bird Census Instructions. BTO, Tring.

Meade, R. (1988) Conservation in peatlands: is Thome a waste? Lands and Mineral
Surveying 6 :25 1-256.

Ratcliffe, D. A. (1977) A Nature Conservation Review. 2 Vols. Cambridge University
Press, Cambridge.

Rothwell, A. J., Stroud, D. A., and Shepherd, K. B. (1988) Shetland Moorland Bird
Surveys, 1986. NCC, Chief Scientists’ Directorate Report No. 775, Peterborough.
Roworth, P.C. (1991) Thome Moor National Nature Reserve, South Yorkshire. British
Wildflife 2: 164-166.

Smart, P. J., Wheeler, B. D. and Willis, A. J. (1986) Plants and peat cuttings; histrical
ecology of a much exploited peatland - Thome Waste, Yorkshire, UK. New Phytologist
104: 731-748.

18

Book Review

Stroud, D. A. (1989) Birds of raised and cut-over raised mires. In: Cut-over Lowland
Raised Mires (Fojt, W. and Meade, R. eds) Research and Survey in Nature Conservation
Series No. 24, NCC. Peterborough.

Stroud, D. A., Reed, T. M., Pienkowski, M. W. and Lindsay, R.A. (1987) Birds, Bogs and
Forestry : the peatlands of Caithness and Sutherland. NCC, Peterborough.

Stroud, D. A., Condie, M., Holloway, S. J., Rothwell, A. J., Shepher, K. B., Simons, J. R.
and Turner, J. (1988) A Survey of Moorland Birds on the Isle of Lewis in 1987. NCC,
Chief Scientists’ Directorate Report No. 776, Peterborough.

Stroud, D. A., Mudge, G. P. and Pienkowski, M. W. (1990) Protecting Internationally
Important Bird Sites; a Review of the EEC Special Protection Area Network in Great
Britain. NCC, Peterborough.

Williamson, K. (1968) Bird communities in the Malham Tam region of the Pennines. Field
Studies 2: 651-688.

Postscript

Since this paper was written and accepted for publication, an agreement has been reached

between English Nature and Fisons pic which will extend the National Nature Reserve to

include all the vegetated abandoned peat cuttings in the southern half of Thome Moors.

BOOK REVIEW

Crucifers of Great Britain and Ireland by T. C. G. Rich. Pp. 336, with most plants
illustrated and drawn to a standard format and many descriptive illustrations. 60 distribution
maps. Botanical Society of the British Isles, London, 1991. £10.75.

This is the sixth of the B.S.B.I. Handbooks which deal with some of the more difficult
groups of plants found in the British Isles. A more comprehensive guide to the crucifer
family of plants, which many botanists have to struggle with, has long been needed. So
many of our “weeds” belong to this family and so many botanists tend to dismiss them as
“those troublesome yellow or white jobs”. Several of them are aliens which have established
themselves around our main ports and have subsequently spread inland to colonize both
waste and cultivated land.

One local problem here at Teesside was solved by this book in that Sisymbrium orientate
is described as producing entire leaves late in the season - a fact which hitherto had puzzled
us on finding several such plants which did not correspond to the universal description of S.
orientate.

The drawings are a very useful guide especially for those who rely upon illustrations for
their identification. The descriptions may be rather technical-sounding for the beginner, but
they are ideal for the taxonomist. It is, of course, essential that the introductory explanations
and keys ae studied before using the main descriptions.

It would, perhaps, have been helpful to include old nomenclature where new
nomenclature is given, but that only seems to apply to the genus Rhyncosinapis which is
evidently now Coincyal

On balance, I am sure that Tim Rich’s guide is an essential addition to the serious
botanist’s library.

ICL

ACULEATE WASPS AND BEES (HYMENOPTERA: ACULEATA)
OF SKIPWITH COMMON AND A COMPARISON OF SKIPWITH
COMMON WITH ALLERTHORPE AND STRENSALL COMMONS

MICHAEL E. ARCHER

Skipwith Common has been found to be a very good locality for aculeates, with 91 species
recorded, two species being national notables and two species notable in a Watsonian
Yorkshire context.

Skipwith Common is an area of about 312 ha. situated about 10 miles south of York
(VC61; SE63). The Common is a flat area of lowland heath on glacial sands. Wet and dry
heath are present although there is an extensive invasion of bracken and silver birch, pine
and oak. The Common has a number of small ponds and drains and ruderal vegetation
around the old aerodrome buildings and runways. The shallow ponds were created by peat
cutting and parts of the Common were grazed by cattle and sheep and still are by sheep.
The Common is much wetter than the other two lowland heaths of the Vale of York, called
Allerthorpe and Strensall Commons.

The aculeate wasps and bees of Allerthorpe and Strensall Commons have already been
described (Archer, 1988, 1989b). This paper will compare the solitary aculeate species of
the three Commons.

From voucher specimens and written record it has proved possible to trace 29 visits by
other entomologists to Skipwith Common. W. J. Fordham (1909-1923) made 11 visits,
J. W. Carter (1919) one visit, J. Wood (1927, 1930) two visits, M. D. Barnes (1937) one
visit, J. H. Elliott (1950) one visit, J. H. Flint (1965-1977) nine visits, W. A. Ely (1977,
1988) two visits, A. Norris (1980) one visit and R. B. Angus (1990) one visit. Ant records
are also available from D. J. Richardson (1980), W. A. Ely (1988) and Lawton & Heads
(1984). My 33 visits (Archer sample) consist of 14 visits during the 1970s and 18 visits
during the 1980s, with one early visit during 1968. During each of my visits all species
found were recorded. Specimens were collected visually with a hand net. My visits were
distributed throughout the year as follows: April (5 visits), May (7), June (8), July (6),
August (5), September (2). I am grateful to curators of the following museums for access to
their collections: Keighley, Manchester, Rotherham, Scarborough, York; and to J. H. Flint,
W. A. Ely, A. Norris and R. B. Angus for access to their personal collections. J. Bum
identified the bethylid recorded by R. B. Angus.

Results

Species present at Skipwith Common

At the family level, the taxonomic distribution of species is given in Table 1. The 91
recorded species represents 30% of the Watsonian Yorkshire and 15% of the British Isles.

The bethylid species was Cephalomonia formiciformis and social species consisted of
the ant species: Formica lemani, Myrmica ruginodis, M. scabrinodis, Leptothorax
acervorum, Lasius niger; the social wasps: Vespula rufa, Dolichovespula sylvestris,
Paravespula vulgaris; and social bees: Bombus lucorum, B. terrestris, B. lapidarius, B.
jonellus, B. pratorum, B. hortorum. B. pascuorum, Psithyrus barbutellus, P. bohemicus, P.
campestris, P. sylvestris, P. vestalis, Apis mellifera. The nomenclature is according to
Kloet and Hincks (1978).

The Archer sample of species of solitary wasps and bees consists of 193 records
representing 56 species where a record would be a specimen differing in one of the
following three variables: name, sex and day of visit. Thirty-nine species (69.9%) were
recorded on one, two or three days (the unusual species) while the other 17 species (30.4%)
each were recorded on four to 15 days (the common species) (Table 2). Solitary wasp and

Naturalist 117 (1992)

20

Aculeate Wasps and Bees (Hymenoptera: Aculeata) ofSkipwith Common

TABLE 1

The number of species of aculeate Hymenoptera found at Skipwith Common and the
three Commons of Allerthorpe, Strensall and Skipwith combined

Family

Number of species

Skipwith

Combined three

Dryinidae

0

3

Bethylidae

1

2

Chrysididae

2

10

Tiphiidae

1

1

Mutillidae

0

1

Formicidae

5

8

Pompilidae

7

17

Eumenidae

4

8

Vespidae

3

6

Sphecidae

24

48

Colletidae

3

5

Andrenidae

7

24

Halicidae

10

19

Megachilidae

5

11

Anthophoridae

6

12

Apidae

13

18

Total

91

193

bee species found at Skipwith Common but not recorded in the Archer sample are:
Priocnemis parvula, Anoplius concinnus, Odynerus spinipes, Crossocerus elongatulus, C.
tarsatus, Ectemnius cavifrons, Rhopalium clavipes, R. coarctatum, Ammophila sabulosa,
Colletes daviesanus, Andrena bicolor, A. minutula, Nomada ruficornis.

In a national context two species, Priocnemis schioedtei and Nysson trimaculatus, are
notable species category b, being recorded in 31-100 10 km squares. Although P.
schioedtei is very local in the south of England, it is a common species in Watsonian
Yorkshire (Archer, 1989a). N. trimaculatus reaches the northern border of its range in
Watsonian Yorkshire.

In a Watsonian Yorkshire context two species are notable. Psenulus atratus is rare and of
the eleven known records of Megachile ligniseca seven are from Skipwith Common.

Seasonal progression at Skipwith Common

For the Archer sample, the number of solitary species recorded in each month and the new
species seen each month are given in Table 3. The most productive months for numbers of
species were June, July and August and for new species June and July.

During April and May only the mining bees of the genera Andrena, Halictus and
Lasioglossum with their cleptoparasites Nomada and Sphecodes were present. Particularly
noticeable were Andrena barbilabris, Lasioglossum calceatum and L. rufitarse. Most of the
Andrena species were gone by June except A. barbilabris which could be found until July.
The summer species A. denticulata occurred from July until September. The Lasioglossum
species also persisted until September.

From June the summer fauna emerged, some of which persisted until September. Among
the bee species were Collectes with their cleptoparasites Epeolus, Hylaeus, Osmia and

Aculeate Wasps and Bees (Hymenoptera: Aculeata) ofSkipwith Common

21

TABLE 2

The number of days on which each species of solitary wasp and bee was recorded at
Skipwith Common from the Archer sample

No.

days

Species

No.

species

1

Omalus panzeri, Chrysis ignita, Myrmosa atra, Arachnosphila spissa,
Priocnemis fennica, P. schioedtei, Ancistrocerus parietinus,
Crossocerus megacephalus, C. annulipes, C. nigritus, Psen equestris,
P. dahlbomi, Psenulus atratus, Nysson spinosus, N. trimaculatus,
Andrena scotica, Sphecodes gibbus, S. hyalinatus, Osmia rufa,
Megachile centuncularis, Nomada goodeniana

21

2

Symmorphus mutinensis, Trypoxylon attenuatum,

Crossocerus ovalis, Colletes succinctus, Halictus rubicundus,
Sphecodes pellucidus, Megachile willugbiella, Nomada fabricana,
N. marshamella, Epeolus cruciger

10

3

Arachnospila anceps, Crabro cribrarius, Crossocerus pusillus,
Ectemnius lapidarius, Gorytes quadrifasciatus, Andrena denticulata,
A. haemorrhoa, Sphecodes fasciatus

8

4

Crossocerus quadrimaculatus

1

5

Ancistrocerus trifasciatus, Mellinus arvensis,

Argogorytes mystaceus, Hylaeus communis, Lasioglossum albipes,
Sphecodes monilicornis

6

6

Nomada leucophthalma

1

7

Anoplius nigerrimus, Megachile ligniseca

2

8

Lasioglossum fratellum. Megachile versicolor

2

9

Oxybelus uniglumis, Andrena clarkella

2

12

Lasioglossum rufitarse

1

13

Andrena barbilabris

1

15

Lasioglossum calceatum

1

TABLE 3

The number of species of solitary wasps and bees recorded per month and new
species seen each month at Skipwith Common from the Archer sample

April

May

June

July

August

September

No. of species

6

15

26

23

25

15

No. new species

6

9

19

12

8

2

TABLE 4

The relative frequency of the cleptoparastic species among the solitary wasps and
bees from Skipwith Common (Bethylid excluded)

No. hosts

No. cleptoparasites

Cleptoparasitic load

(H)

(C)

CL= 100x(C/H+C)

Solitary wasps

33

5

13.2

Solitary bees

20

11

35.5

22

Aculeate Wasps and Bees ( Hymenoptera : Aculeata) ofSkipwith Common

Megachile. M. versicolor and M. ligniseca were particularly noticeable. However, no
species of Coelioxys, the cleptoparasites of Megachile, have been recorded. Among the
wasp species pompilids, eumenids and sphecids with their cleptoparasites, the chrysids and
Myrmosa appeared. Particularly noticeable were Oxybelus uniglumis with the females
carrying small flies on their stings. Anoplius nigerrimus flying close to the ground hunting
spiders, males of Ancistrocerus trifasciatus flying up-and-down in sheltered sunny places
probably searching for females, females of Mellinus arvensis returning to their burrows
with larger flies and Argogorytes mystaceus taking nectar from umbelliferous flowers.

Cleptoparastic load and aerial nester frequency at Skipwith Common

The cleptoparastic load (CL) is the percentage of species that are cleptoparasites on other
aculeate wasps and bees. The CL for solitary bees species is higher than for the solitary
wasp species (Table 4). The aerial nester frequence (AF) is the percentage of the host or
non-cleptoparasitic species that have aerial nests. The AF is higher for the solitary wasp
species (Table 5).

Comparison of the Three Commons

The speci es

The data from the three Commons is arranged in four data sets: Allerthorpe (pre- and post-
coniferisation), Strensall and Skipwith. Combining the data for the three Commons (Table
1) shows that 193 species have been recorded which is nearly 64% of the Watsonian
Yorkshire and 32% of the British lists. Excluding the Dryinidae and Bethylidae, which are
probably under recorded, then 36% of the British list has been found on the three
Commons. My own recordings has been of 113 species which is nearly 49% of the
Watsonian Yorkshire list. The importance of lowland sandy or heathland sites in a
Watsonian Yorkshire or British context for this group of insects is therefore well
established.

The number of solitary wasp (excluding dryinids & bethylids) and bee species found on
the three Commons is given in Table 6. Allerthorpe Common (pre-coniferisation) has the
greatest number of species followed by Strensall, Allerthorpe (post-coniferisation) and
Skipwith Commons. The larger number of species for Allerthorpe (pre-coniferisation)
Common could be consequence of the much larger number of records or visits to this site
(Table 7). The mean number of records per visit is always lower for the other
entomologists compared with Archer (Table 7). This is probably because the other
entomologists were selective in what species they recorded instead of recording all species
as practised by Archer. Please note that the record of Nomada tormentillae, a Red Data
Book category 3 species, from Strensall Common was missed by Archer (1988); also
Crossocerus quadrifasciatus in Table 4 (Archer, 1989b) relating to Allerthorpe Common
should be Gorytes quadrifasciatus.

Similarity Indices

The four data sets from Allerthorpe (pre- and post-coniferisation), Strensall and Skipwith
Commons can be compared by calculating a similarity index between each pair of data
sets. The results of using the simple Jaccard index (Magurran, 1988), which depends upon
the presence or absence of species, are given in Table 8. The similarity indices, which vary
from 40% to 50%, indicate large differences between the data sets either because of
differences in species richness or in sample size. The Morisita-Hom index, which uses
quantitative information on the relative abundance of species, is relatively independent of
sample size but gives more importance to the abundances of the most abundant species
(Magurran, 1988). Compared with the Jaccard index the similarity indices of the
Moristia-Hom index are increased (Table 8) with values from 49% to 74%. In particular
the similarity of pre- and post-coniferisation Allerthorpe Common are more similar to each
other. However, even with the Morisita-Hom index there are still large differences
between the data sets. Why do these differences exist? They could be a consequence of

Aculeate Wasps and Bees (Hymenoptera: Aculeata) of Skipwith Common

23

TABLE 5

The nesting habits of the host wasp and bee species at Skipwith Common

No. soil
nesters
(S)

No. aerial
nesters
(A)'

Aerial nester
frequency
AF= 100xA(A/S)

Solitary wasps

19

14

42.4

Solitary bees

14

6

30.0

TABLE 6

The number of species of solitary wasps and bees in the data sets from
Allerthorpe (pre- and post-coniferisation), Strensall and Skipwith Commons
(Dryinids and Bethylids excluded)

No.

solitary

wasps

No.

solitary

Bees

Total

species

Pre-Allerthorpe

65

64

129

Post-Allerthorpe

36

39

75

Strensall

51

40

91

Skipwith

38

31

69

TABLE 7

The number of solitary wasp and bee records from and visits made to
Allerthorpe (pre- and post-coniferised), Strensall, and Skipwith Commons
by Archer and other entomologists (Dryinids and Bethylids excluded)

Pre-

Allerthorpe

Post-

Allerthorpe

Strensall

Skipwith

No. records:

Archer

-

387

318

193

Others

797

29

48

54

Total

797

416

366

247

No. visits:

Archer

-

76

70

33

Others

224

6

22

28

Total

224

82

92

61

Records/Visits:

Archer

-

5.1

4.5

5.8

Others

3.6

4.8

2.2

1.9

24

Aculeate Wasps and Bees (Hymenoptera: Aculeata) ofSkipwith Common

TABLE 8

The Jaccard and Morisita-Horn Similarity Indices of the solitary wasp and bee
species between Allerthorpe (pre- and post-coniferisation),

Strensall and Skipwith Commons (Dryinids and Bethylids excluded)

Jaccard

Post-Allerthorpe

Strensall

Skipwith

Pre-Allerthorpe

0.49

0.49

0.40

Post-Allerthorpe

0.50

0.41

Strensall

0.42

Morisita-Horn

Post-Allerthorpe

Strensall

Skipwith

Pre-Allerthorpe

0.74

0.59

0.59

Post-Allerthorpe

0.51

0.61

Strensall

0.49

TABLE 9

The number of species of solitary wasps and bees found in one, two, three or four data
sets from Allerthorpe (pre- and post-coniferisation) Strensall and
Skipwith Commons (Dryinids and Bethylids excluded)

No. species

No. data sets

% of species

49

1

31.4

39

2

25.0

35

3

22.4

33

4

21.2

genuine differences in species diversity or sampling errors due to small sample size. Low
sample size relative to high species diversity would increase sampling error. According to
Wolda (1981) species diversity from the four data sets may be considered low and sample
size low to median, a relationship which could tend to reduce sampling errors.

The number in species found at one, two, three or four data sets are given in Table 9. The
largest category of 49 species is only found in one set of data. Of these 49 species, 40
species (81.6%) are only based on one, two or three records (unusual species). Thus the
absence of a species from a particular site could easily be a consequence of the difficulty of
finding a particular species.

In conclusion it is difficult to show differences in species diversity between the four data
sets because the chances of recording many species is very low. The total data set of the
solitary wasp and bee species consists of 1826 records. 24 species (15.4% of species) were
only recorded on one occasion which is equivalent to a 0.0005 chance of finding each of
these 24 species.

Cleptoparasitic loads

The cleptoparasitic loads (CLs) for the solitary wasp and bee species from Allerthorpe and
Strensall Commons are given in Table 10 for comparison with the data for Skipwith
Common (Table 4). The CLs are relatively constant varying from 13% to 18% for the
solitary wasp species and from 33% to 36% for the solitary bee species. Wcislo (1987)

Aculeate Wasps and Bees (Hymenoptera: Aculeata) ofSkipwith Common 25

showed that faculative parasitic behaviour among aculeate Hymenoptera correlated with
geographical latitude. Thus the parasitic rates are higher in temperate regions as host
populations are more synchronised in their life history characteristics. Since the four data
sets were collected within a very small geographical area variations of CLs would not be
expected.

Aerial nester frequency

The aerial nester frequencies (AFs) for the solitary wasp species are relatively constant
(Tables 5, 10) except for the post-coniferisation Allerthorpe data where the lower value is

TABLE 10

The cleptoparasitic loads (CLs) and aerial nester frequencies (AFs)
among the species of solitary wasps and bees in the data sets of
Allerthorpe (pre- and post-coniferisation) and Strensall Commons
(Dryinids and Bethylids excluded)

Pre-Allerthorpe

Post-Allerthorpe

Strensall

CLs

Solitary wasps

16.9

13.9

18.0

Solitary bees

32.8

35.9

35.0

AFs

Solitary wasps

45.3

20.0

41.5

Solitary bees

16.3

8.0

19.2

due to the loss of aerial nesters (Archer, 1989b, Table 8 but note Aerial nests and Soil nests
columns should be reversed). The AFs for the solitary bee species are more variable with a
low value for the post-coniferisation Allerthorpe data and a high value for the Skipwith
Common data. Again the low value for the post-coniferisation Allerthorpe data is due to
the loss of aerial nesters. The high value of the Skipwith Common data is due to relatively
fewer soil nesters which is probably related to the much wetter conditions of Skipwith
Common.

References

Archer, M. E. (1988) The aculeate wasps and bees (Hymenoptera: Aculeata) of my local
patch: Strensall Common, the first 70 visits. Naturalist 113: 25-30.

Archer, M. E. (1989a) The spider-hunting wasps (Hymenoptera: Aculeata, Pompilidae) of
Watsonian Yorkshire. Naturalist 114: 3-14.

Archer, M. E. (1989b) The wasps and bees (Hymenoptera: Aculeata) of Allerthorpe
Common before and after coniferisation. Naturalist 114: 129-136.

Kloet, G. S. and Hincks, W. D. (1978) A check list of British Insects 11(4): Hymenoptera.
Royal Entomological Society, London.

Lawton, J. H. and Heads, P. A. (1984) Bracken, ants and extrafloral nectaries. I. The
components of the system. J. Anim. Ecol. 53: 995-1014.

Magurran, A. E. (1988) Ecological diversity and its measurement. Croom Helm, London.
Wcislo, W. T. (1987) The role of seasonality, host synchrony, and behaviour in the
evolutions and distributions of nest parasites in Hymenoptera (Insecta), with special
reference to bees (Apoidea). Biol. Rev. 62: 515-543.

Wolda, H. (1981) Similarity indices, sample size and diversity. Oecologica 50: 296-302.

26

Book Reviews

BOOK REVIEWS

Velvet Mites and Silken Webs. The Wonderful Details of Nature in Photographs and
Essays by Scott Camazine. Pp. 178, with colour plates. Wiley, 1991. $24.95.

Scott Camazine is a physican and research biologist at Cornell University with an interest in
nature photography for which he has won major prizes. The author looks at the natural
world through the eye of a poet and scientist. By looking at nature close-up he hopes to
arouse curiosity, sharpen powers of observation and increase understanding. He finds that
the discipline of photography enables him to achieve these aims. The book consists of about
40 essays, each of a few pages with a colour photograph, covering some aspect of nature.
Each essay ends with suggestions for further reading which will often lead the reader into
the academic literature. Of the 40 essays 12 deal with species or species groups of
vertebrates including the human being plus an account of feathers; 14 deal with
invertebrates including the fossil group of trilobites, ten deal with plants, two cover the
topics of diversity and the Amazon and two the inanimate world of icicles and snowflakes.
A final chapter gives some useful hints on close-up photography.

MEA

Recent Surveys and Research on Butterflies in Britain and Ireland: a species index and
bibliography compiled by Paul T. Harding and Stuart V. Green.. Pp. 48. 1991. From
Publication Sales, Institute of Terrestrial Ecology, Merlewood Research Station, Grange-
over-Sands, Cumbria LAI 1 6JU. £2.50 inch p&p..

This is the first of an occasional series of bibliographies relevant to biogeographical studies.
The species index has bold headings in English and Latin and the bibliography has clear
authors’ names followed by a very brief summary, date and publication reference. It deals
with studies in the 1970s and 80s. Most references seem to indicate the work of
professionals. One wonders how complete the search has been; for instance there is no
reference to the 1987 Game Conservancy paper by Dr. John W. Dover “An investigation
into the effects of Conservation Headlands in Cereal Fields on Butterfly Populations”.
Perusal through regional society newsletters would produce many more references. It is an
essential publication for those studying British butterflies and will save time looking up
references or duplicating work. At this modest price all lepidopterists should invest in a
copy.

JP

Understanding Your Garden by Stefan Buczacki. Pp. 180, with full colour illustrations.
Cambridge University Press, 1990. £14.95.

What a good writer and communicator Stefan Buczacki is - sane, sensible, eminently
practical and very readable. “This book” he announces at the beginning of Chapter 3 “is
essentially about the cultivation of plants and the site within which they are grown, the
garden”. Explaining the scientific rationale underlying gardening practices with admirable
clarity, he takes nothing on trust and, along the way, refutes a number of myths peretrated
by generations of gardening pundits who have never, unlike Buczacki, taken the trouble to
test such theories scientifically - his exposition of the pros and cons of such contentious
issues as the use of “organic” versus “chemical” fertilizers should be required reading by all
would-be organic gardeners. A most useful and informative book, well worth purchasing.

YAH

DROSOPHILA FENESTRARUM FROM LEEDS, YORKSHIRE, A
NEW RECORD FOR NORTHERN ENGLAND, WITH NOTES ON
LARVAL FEEDING SITES

ANDREW J. DAVIS and LINDA S. JENKINSON
Pure and Applied Biology, The University, Leeds LS2 9JT

Abstract

We report here the rearing of Drosophila fenestrarum Fallen 1823 (Diptera: Drosophilidae),
not previously recorded in Yorkshire or northern England, from rotting stems of several
plant species. We discuss the types of substrate fed on by larvae of this species in the UK.

Introduction

There are thirty-three species of Drosophila (fruit-flies) recorded from the British Isles
(Kloet & Hincks 1976, Newbury et al. 1984) of which D. melanogaster and D. subobscura
are the most frequently encountered. Although widespread in Europe (Wheeler 1981)
Drosophila fenestrarum has been collected infrequently in the British Isles. It has been
recorded from Scotland (Basden 1954) and from most Welsh counties but records from
England are confined to counties south of Herefordshire (BM(NH) Drosophilidae database
1991). There are no records from any of the northern counties.

The substrates used by D. fenestrarum in the British Isles for oviposition and for larval
feeding are largely unknown. Although D. melanogaster, D. subobscura and several other
species develop on fruit, it is unlikely that D. fenestrarum frequently does so. Species that
develop on fruit are attracted to fermenting fruit baits but these do not attract D. fenestrarum
adults (Bachli & Burla 1985, Basden 1954). The species was thought to be associated with
water because adults have been caught over watercress (Basden 1954, Thaler 1977) but there
are no records of it being reared from aquatic vegetation in the United Kingdom.

Methods

In August 1990 we collected soft, rotten, leaf-stalks of giant hogweed, Heracleum
mantegazzianium, from St George’s Field, Leeds, West Yorkshire. St George’s Field is a
deconsecrated graveyard in the north-west comer of the Leeds University campus (Grid ref.
SE 429434, altitude 95m). Small clumps of scrubby vegetation, trees and bushes, in some of
which giant hogweed grows, are separated by closely mown grass. Collections of giant
hogweed from St George’s Field were repeated in 1991. In August and September 1991 we
also collected rotten leaf-stalks of water dropwort, Oenanthe crocata, (Umbelliferae) and of
an arum, Calla sp. (Araceae) (not Calla palustris ) from Adel Dam nature reserve, 8km north
of Leeds (Grid ref. SE 273415, altitude 120m) (detailed description in Shorrocks 1975).
During the same period we collected rhubarb. Rheum rhaponticum (Polygonaceae) from a
walled garden at Arthington, 12km north of Leeds and 3km from Adel (Grid ref. SE 275450,
altitude 55m). The garden at Arthington is surrounded by grassland and deciduous
woodland.

In both years adult flies were reared out of the rotten stems in a greenhouse insectary with
natural light and temperature. Each of the stems was kept individually in clear plastic
beakers over moist sand. They were checked two or three times a week and any flies that had
emerged were collected.

Results

In 1990 two female and two male D. fenestrarum emerged from one of the stems on 3
September, two weeks after collection, and were transferred to a vial of standard cereal-
based drosophila medium (Shorrocks 1972). They were maintained in an incubator at 20°C,
L: D 12:12 and approximately 60% RH but we were unable to culture them. The females
laid numerous eggs but all the eggs developed irregular swellings and none hatched out. The

Naturalist 117 (1992)

28

Drosophila fenestrarum from Leeds, Yorkshire

flies died seven to eight weeks after their emergence.

Flies emerged from collections made in 1991 between 19 and 23 days after the samples
were collected. Some of these flies were transferred to a vial of malt medium (Lakovaara
1969) and later to sections of rotting rhubarb stem. Others were put in vials of standard
medium to which spinach leaves had been added. All vials were again maintained at 20°C,
L:D 12:12 and approximately 60% RH. Eggs were laid, and hatched, on all of these
substrates and the larvae developed successfully. The life cycle from egg to adult took 36
days on malt medium. On rhubarb and on spinach medium, however, the larvae reached the
fourth, final, instar in about 30 days but all these larvae failed to pupate.

Two other drosophilid species, Drosophila subobscura and Scaptomyza pallida were also
reared from the rotting stems collected from Adel, Arthington and St George’s Field.
Drosophila subobscura larvae also develop in fruit or fungi but those of S. pallida feed
predominantly on rotting plant material. Both are far commoner and more widespread than
D. fenestrarum.

Discussion

These collections are the first published records of D. fenestrarum from Yorkshire and from
northern England (Figure 1). The lack of records is not due to climate because there are
records from further north: Scotland (Basden, 1954), Denmark (Frydenberg 1956) and
Sweden (Rasmuson & Johansson 1969). The species has also been collected from the
southern English counties (BM(NH) Drosophilidae database 1991) and from southern
Europe (Shorrocks 1972). It is probable therefore that the absence of records of this species
from northern England indicates only that collections have not been made in this region.

Despite being called fruit-flies many species of Drosophila use fungi or rotting plants as a
food source for their larvae (Begon & Shorrocks 1978, Shorrocks 1981). The fruit feeding
species are best known because fruit substrates have been sampled most frequently.

Fermenting fruit baits do not attract adult D . fenestrarum (Bachli & Burla 1985, Basden
1954, Frydenberg 1956) and in consequence it is unlikely that the females will lay eggs in
fruit very often. Such substrates will not therefore be exploited by the larvae. The species is
almost unknown from fruit and has not been reared from fruit collected in or near Leeds

FIGURE 1

Collection locations for Drosophila fenestrarum in Yorkshire
(within 10km squares of vice-county 64).
(a=Harrogate, b=York, c=Leeds, d=Bradford)

Drosophila fenestrarum from Leeds, Yorkshire

29

despite many years of sampling. There is, however, a record of the species from deadly
nightshade, Atropa belladonna , in Switzerland (Schatzmann 1977).

In Germany D. fenestrarum has been recorded from rotting red cabbage (Herting 1955)
and, in 1990-1991, from plant stems, pretreated by deep freezing to promote rotting, exposed
near Munich (Offenberger & Klarenberg 1992). In the Munich study, D. fenestrarum
emerged from five of the 16 plant species used including common hogweed, Heracleum
spondylium, but giant hogweed was not tested. In the Netherlands, Janssen, Driessen, de
Haan and Roodbol (1988) failed to rear the species from fruit or fungi but did find it in
rotting stems of giant hogweed and burdock, Arctium spp. During more recent collections in
the Netherlands it was also reared from butter-burr, Petasites hybridus, and rhubarb stems
and from the leaves of bluebell, Endymion subscriptus, (J. J. M. van Alphen, pers. comm.).

Our findings confirm that, in northern England as in the rest of Europe, D . fenestrarum is a
species that exploits rotting plants as oviposition sites and for larval development. More
extensive rearing from rotting plant material would probably reveal that the species is less
infrequent than currently thought. The larvae will develop on malt medium in the laboratory
even though malt does not attract the adults (Lakovaara et al. 1969). The life cycle from egg
to adult is about five weeks under the rearing conditions we used but it is likely to be longer
in the field because of the lower temperatures there. Our failure to rear the species on
rhubarb may have been because the parents had been collected too late in the year.

Although both the arum species and the water dropwort grow in marshy ground at Adel
Dam, water is not a feature of either St George’s Field or Arthington. We do not feel
therefore that D. fenestrarum has any particular association with water or with aquatic
vegetation. Frydenberg (1956) caught all his specimens in small groups of trees surrounded
by open ground and observed that D. fenestrarum was not a species of thick woods. This
may well be true since two of our sampling sites have small groups of trees standing in open
ground and the Adel Dam material was collected from a woodland edge location.

Acknowledgements

This work was carried out in the Drosophia Population Biology Unit, Department of Pure
and Applied Biology, Leeds University. We thank Professor B. Shorrocks for allowing us to
use the Unit’s facilities. A. Davis was supported by a NERC Research Fellowship
(GR3/7418). Information from the British Museum (Natural History) Drosophilidae database
was made available to us by Dr Brian Pitkin of the Museum. The identification of
Drosophila fenestrarum was confirmed by Dr J. J. M. van Alphen, Rijksuniversiteit Leiden,
Netherlands.

Dr D. D. Bartley, University of Leeds, UK, identified the Calla sp. and Oenanthe crocata.
We are grateful to Mrs Sheepshanks for allowing access to her property at Arthington Hall
and to the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust for permission to sample in the Adel Dam nature reserve.

References

Bachli, G. and Burla, H. (1985) Diptera Drosophilidae. Insecta Helvetica, series A, Fauna 7:
1-116.

Basden, E. B. (1954) The distribution and biology of Drosophilidae (Diptera) in Scotland,
including a new species of Drosophila. Trans. Roy. Soc. Edinburgh 62: 603-654.

Begon, M. and Shorrocks, B. (1978) The feeding- and breeding-sites of Drosophila obscura
Fallen and Drosophila subobscura Collin. J. Nat. Hist. 12 137-151.

Frydenberg, O. (1956) The Danish species of Drosophila (Dipt.). Entomol. Meddel. 27: 249-
294.

Herting, B. (1955) Untersuchungen iiber die Okologie der wildlebenden Drosophila-arten
Westfalens. Z. Morphol. Okol. Tiere 44 1-42.

Jannsen, A., Driessen, G., de Haan, M. and Roodbol, N. (1988) The impact of parasitoids on
natural populations of temperate woodland Drosophila. Neth. J. Zool. 38 61-73.

Kloet, G. S. and Hincks, W. D. (1976) A checklist of British insects, Diptera and
Siphonaptera. (2nd edition). Handbk Ident. Br. Insects 11:5 86.

30

Book Review

Lakovaara, S. (1969) Malt as a culture medium for Drosophila species. Drosophila
Information Service 44: 128.

Lakovaara, S., Hackman, W. and Vepsalainen, K. (1969) A malt bait in trapping
Drosophilids. Drosophila Information Service 44: 123.

Newbury, S. F., Donegan, J. and Stewart, J. A. (1984) Drosophila virilis and its
cosmopolitan relatives in urban islands. Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 23: 323-329.

Offenberger, M. and Klarenberg, A. J. (1992) Attractiveness and exploitation of decaying
herbage by Drosophila in temperate woodland: an experimental analysis. ( Oecologia
submitted)

Rasmuson, B. and Johansson, H. (1969) Drosophila species in the northern part of Sweden.
Drosophila Information Service 44: 188.

Schatzmann, E. (1977) Friichte als natiirliche Entwicklungs-substrate von Drosophiliden.
Mitt. Schweiz. Entomol. Ges. 50: 135-148.

Shorrocks, B. (1972) Drosophila. Ginn & Co., London.

Shorrocks, B. (1975) The distribution and abundance of woodland species of British
Drosophila (Diptera: Drosophilidae). J. Anim. Ecol. 44: 851-864.

Shorrocks, B. (1981) The breeding sites of temperate woodland Drosophila. In: The
Genetics and Biology of Drosophila, Volume 3b. (M. Ashbumer, H. Carson and J. N.
Thompson, eds.) : 385-428. Academic Press, London.

Thaler, K. (1977) Fragmenta faunistica tirolensis, III. (Insecta: Saltoria, Hymenoptera,
Diptera; Arachnida: Opiliones). Veroffentlichungen Mus. Ferdinandeum Innsbruck
57: 137-151.

Wheeler, M. R. (1981) The Drosophilidae: A taxonomic overview. In: The Genetics and
Biology of Drosophila, Volume 3a. (M. Ashbumer, H. Carson and J. N. Thompson eds.) :
1-121. Academic Press, London.

BOOK REVIEW

Mosquitoes by K. R. Snow. Pp. 66, with 41 figures & 4 plates. Naturalists’ Handbooks,
Richmond Publishing. £13.00 hardback, £7.95 paperback.

Another superb book in an excellent series, this is of great value to beginner and long-term
devotee alike.

The Culicidae or Mosquitoes, is one of those very few families of insects whose larval,
pupal and adult morphological features are so characteristic that none of the species can be
confused with any other insects. With very little practice those with no prior knowledge of
Diptera can readily recognise a mosquito in all its active stages of development in the field.
There are 32 known British species, many of them common, and globally the family is of
major economic, veterinary and medical importance. In short this is an ideal group in which
to specialize, and this is the ideal book with which to commence the study. The amount of
information provided on the 66 pages is truly staggering. This is no coffee-table glossy;
indeed the aesthetic appearance of many pages has suffered from the sheer quantity of data
although this is by no means a criticism! It is real value for money.

It may appear paradoxical that whilst the biology of many tropical mosquitoes is known
in great detail, much remains to be learnt of many of our native species. Here again this
book highlights gaps in our knowledge and provides a wealth of practical advice on
worthwhile research programmes and appropriate techniques. Keys are provided, as far as is
possible, to eggs, larvae, pupae and adults of all of our species along with ecological and
distributional data. A very pleasing feature is the inclusion of Terzi’s classic paintings of
eight of our mosquitoes which first appeared in Marshall’s masterly monograph published
by the British Museum (Natural History) in 1938.

As with many dipterous families today, there is a recording scheme for British mosquitoes
whose organisers will be delighted to welcome new recruits to their modest ranks.

PS

ARCHIVES OF THE YORKSHIRE NATURALISTS’ UNION

A. NORRIS

Natural History Department, Leeds City Museum
and

M. R. D. SEAWARD

Department of Environmental Science, University of Bradford

In 1972, the Officers of the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union deposited a series of minute
books, cash books, ledgers, reports, record books, published materials, letters, etc.
(Accession no. 1713) with the Leeds Archives Department, now the Leeds District
Archives of the West Yorkshire Archive Service. These items (1-35) and subsequent
deposits (items 36-145, added 1975, acc. no. 1911; items 146-158, added 1980, acc. no.
2408; items 159-166, added 1983, acc. no. 2678; item 167, added 1988, acc. no. 3170;
items 168-169, added 1989, acc. no. 3297; item 170, added 1989, acc. no. 3330; item 171,
added 1990, acc. no. 3461; items 172-179, added 1991, acc. no. 3476) are on loan to the
Archive Service, and the ownership still rests with the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union.

For those wishing to research these collections, restrictions apply to all items less than 30
years old (based on the date of the last entry in the volume or file). Therefore, those
wishing to examine such items should seek written consent of an Officer of the Union.
Furthermore, no records may be published in whole or part without the permission of the
depositer, in this case the Executive of the Union.

The 179 items listed below include botanical locality records of W. J. Fordham, 1887-
1908, and the minute books of the Union’s Botanical, Bryological, Entomological and
Geological Sections, as well as the minute books of the Union itself. The Union’s archives
also contain many hundreds of letters and papers relating to conservation in Yorkshire,
personal diaries, record books, newspaper cuttings and other ephemera gathered together
by the Union’s Officers over many years.

In 1977 and 1978 the Yorkshire Conchological Society and the Conchological Society of
Great Britain and Ireland respectively also deposited their archives in the Leeds District
Archives, as did other organisations such as the Leeds Naturalists’ Club and Scientific
Association. The inter-relationships of these societies, including the Yorkshire Naturalists’
Union, in their early years make these joint archives particularly valuable to those
researching the history of natural history in Yorkshire.

Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union archive material also rests in the hands of its current
Officers and will from time to time be added to the Leeds District Archive. The Union also
possesses numerous books in the form of two library collections currently housed at
Bradford University and the Doncaster Museum; the former collection contains the
important annotated volumes relating to G. Massee and C. Crossland’s “Fungus Flora of
Yorkshire”. Lists of the contents of these two collections are available, and access to work
on them is readily granted to members of the Union through its Officers. Additional items
for depositing in the Leeds District Archives and in the Union’s libraries are always
appreciated.

Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union Records

Yorkshire Naturalists’ Club

1. Minute Book 1849-55

West Riding Consolidated Naturalists’ Society

2. Minute Book 1861-71

Naturalist 117 (1992)

32

Archives of the Yorkshire Naturalists' Union

3. Minute Book

1876-8

Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union

4. Minute Book 1879

5. Minute Book 1882-3

6. Minute Book 1930-50

7. Proceedings and Cuttings relating to the Grand Exhibition, Leeds 1879

8. “Important Documents” Book .

Papers relating to publications, premises etc. c. 1903-6

9. Key and Index to Annual Meetings, Excursions etc. 1877-1961

10. Miscellaneous, including circulars 1906-15 and Annual Reports 1909-13

11. Cash Book 1885-91

12. Cash Book 1892-98

13. Cash Book 1899-1902

14. Ledger 1886-1900

15. Circulars 1906-1963 (incomplete)

16. Agendas for meetings 1 88 1 - 1904 (incomplete)

17. Miscellaneous articles from the Transactions of the

Yorkshire Naturalist Union c.1879-1891

18.

19.

20.
21.
22.

23.

24.

25.

26.

27.

28.

29.

30.

31.

32.

33.

34.

35.

Annual Reports and Balance Sheets 1895-1961 (incomplete)

Notes of Hon. Sec. 1954/5 relating to sub-committee to report on
organisation of Union into sections. Letters relating to publicity among
affiliated societies. 1955

Meteorological Reports 1882-96 (incomplete)

Correspondence of Hon. Sec. including letters re Presidency c. 1955-60

Lists of Members 1 954 & 1958

Letters relating to Centenary Meeting and Royal Patronage 1961

Misc. letters relating to Finance and Publicity Sub-Committee 1958-9

Letters and papers relating to conservation activities, e.g. Spurn Head,

Grass Woods, tree felling, lime burning. Minutes of meeting of
Executive Dec. 1958

Assorted Membership cards c. 1925-64

Vertebrate Section Minute and Report Book 1 876- 1 880

Geology Section Report Book 1 894

Reports for Committee for Ornithology 1945 & 1949

Minutes of Botanical Section Meeting 1959

Wharfedale Naturalists Society Report 1955

Whitby Naturalists Club Reports 1955-6

Assorted Membership Cards 1950-64

The London Catalogue of British Plants 1 1th edition 1925

Unrelated loose article

Archives of the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union

33

36. Executive Minute Book 1902-1906

37. Executive Minute Book 1906-1920 with numerous letters loose

throughout book also copy of “British Association for the Advancement
of Science” Hull. Handbook 1922

38. Book of proofs, reports, cards, notices, members cards and amounts

ordered 1903-06

39. Mammals, Amphibians, Reptiles, and Fishes Committee Minute Book

Loose at front (2 pages) Vertebrate Section notes. 1920-1967

40. Report Book - Beetles recorded on excursions of YNU 1877-1939

41. Naturalist Stock Account Book 1884-1886

42. Minute Book of Botanical Section 1877-1882

43. Melvill Deweys Tables for Decimal Arrangement of Libraries’ written
in pencil (2 vols) n.d.

44. Library Stock List, returns, transfers, expenses, statements etc. Balance

Sheet 31st March 1886-3 1st Dec. 1905

45. Report Book - Various species - Terrestrial Mammalia, Marine

Mammalia, Birds 1872-1883

46. Report Book - from various districts: Frog Hall, Allerthorpe Common,

Fyling Hall etc., Watercolour drawing Enchelia on page 234. Many Pen
& Ink sketches. Newspaper cuttings. Photo H. M. Hallett. Sketch map at

front. List of species at front in alphabetical order. 1892-1929

47. Botanical Locality records of W. J. Fordham 1887-1908

48. Report Book 1. South West Yorkshire Entomological Society. Journal &

List of Coleoptera. Bubwith and district etc. Plans at front and back of
book. Lanercost Priory and newspaper cuttings. Life History of
Heinerobius styma - C. L. Withycombe. Numerous drawings,
illustrations and plans and photos. 1905-1924

49. Report Book 2. British Coleoptera. W.J.F. Journal and Index to

collection of Coleoptera newspaper cuttings, drawings, maps. Article

“Wild Life on a Yorkshire Moor” by Bejamin Hanley. 1910-1930

50. Report Book 3. Coleoptera 1916. J. W. Carter. Coleoptera in coll. W.J.F.
also “Insects of Hyeres” illus. “Table of Ptychoptera” Doncaster
Lepidoptera & Hemiptera. H. H. Corbett, and copy letters from W. E.

Sharp, B. S. Harwood, and others. 1896-1922

51. Report Book - Trichoptera (named by G. T. Porritt, 13.10.1917)

Phyrgavea striata. Bubwith 1916. Lists, articles, cuttings, 1916-1925

52. Notes on the topography, geology, zoology and botany of Knottingley
Yorks and surrounding district, (“earthquake 17.12.1896 area affected
350 miles” note) notes, newspaper cuttings, drawings, clrd one of
“Waxwing”.

53. Diptera Localities. Diary 1931. Lists findings in various localities, Robin
Hood’s Bay, Fylinghall, Clyne Valley, Ross On Wye etc.

54. Diary 1925 W.J.F. Day to day account of Finds. Numerous Trichocera
24.1.25. Chart folded at front Mole’s Nest Beetles in East Yorks.

Various ills, coloured and b/w, pencil drawings and pressed specimens.

Weather charts, also other notes and reports.

1894-9

1924-31

1925-8

34

Archives of the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union

55. Diary 1931-4 William J. Fordham. Question sheets with answers loose in
book. Index and list of letters at back. 2 watercolour drawings.

56. Schedules of Societies (loose schedule for 1906) Huddersfield Naturalist
& Photographic Society.

57. Membership cards of various Societies and (1862-1888) Invitation cards.
Inch a parcel do. apparently belonging to Sopwith.

58. Letters for 1915-19. Wild Birds and Eggs Protection Committee

59. Letters relating to the Purchase of Soppitt Library June 1917 (further
corres. 1972/3). Papers about Dent meeting Y.N.U. 1899-1900

60. Memoranda for Secretary’s information: Transactions, MSS reports,
binding colours, choice of Presidents etc.

61. Cash Books - showing receipts and payments

62. Reference cards - Mammals showing species, location, when sighted,
weight, date, etc.,

63. Folklore - Mammalia

64. Permian Lists, Mammalia - notes of W. D. Roebuck relating to the
Staveley and Knaresborough, Kippax and Ledstone districts

65. Notes of various animals living and extinct, + newspaper cuttings.

66. Mammals Committee - 36 envelopes containing notes diff. mammals -
(5 on Bats) Wild Boar, Bank Vole, House Mouse etc. 1 envelope -
Mammals report 1929-1930 other loose notes.

67. Wm. Denison Roebucks - Botanical Section Minutes and Report Book
1899, 144th Meeting. Tadcaster.

68. Letters to Mrs. E. Hazelwood - Botany Mammals etc. - (controversy
about an article by Mr. Hyde-Parker - ‘The Naturalist’, 1941) also Dr.
Stuart Smith

69. Reference notes - Fish notes showing species where caught, date, length,
weight, name of observer, e.g: Flounder one caught in R. Hull, Nr.
Beverley Lock, 1 899, J. R. Lowther

70. Reference cards - Sea fish giving species where caught or observed,
date, e.g. Pearlside 1914 taken in Scarborough S. Bay.

71. Associates cards.

72. 2 Letters from W. D. Roebuck, Kew 1938-9. Leaflet-article “Plant Gall
records for 1948” by H. J. Burkill 2 copies “Elms” by R. Melville, etc. 6
copies “Henry Thomas Soppitt”.

73. “A list of British Diptera” by G. H. Verrall. 1888

74. 2 copies - Lists of Members.

75. 8 copies _ Jubilee of the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union Leaflets, n.d.

76. Leaflets (Transactions of the Y.N.U. specially offered to reduce stock).
Leaflets - The Y.N.U. “Aims of the Society.”

Syllabus - S. West Yorks Entomological Society

77. 1 Copy 51st Annual Report for 1912
1 Copy 56th Annual Report for 1917
1 Copy 79th Annual Report for 1940

78. 1 Leatherette case with cards - Reptiles & Batrachians giving species
where sighted and date.

1931-4

1912-15

1879-92

1915-19

1875-1945

1879-85

1907-34

1897-8

1880

1881- 1901

1882- 1930
10.6.1899

1884-1909

1882-1938

1960/1

1858-99

1958

1903

1941

1913-34

Archives of the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union

35

79.

Receipts

1906-8

80.

Culpin correspondence

1905-8

Various correspondence

1899-1907

W. West’s memoir by W. D. Roebuck

June 1914

Charter correspondence

1910

Hamer correspondence

1910

Amott correspondence

1903-11

Letters to members of various Comm, re rules etc.

1910-11

81.

List of Yorkshire & Lincolnshire Birds

1902

Y.N.U. Presidential address by W. D. Roebuck (2 copies)

1903

Leaflet - British Association for the Advancement of Science

1917

82.

Botanical Section Correspondence

1876-9

83.

“A Catalogue of the recorded Coleoptera of the British Isles”

by Sir

Thomas Hudson Beare

1930

84.

Geological Section Minute Books with loose drawings at front

1891-2

85.

Geological Section Minute Book

1893

86.

Geological Section Minute Book

1895

87.

Geological Section Minute Book

1897

88.

Geological Section Minute Book, Section Rules etc.

1899

89.

Section B. Vertebrate - Zoology Minute Book

1891

90.

Section B. Vertebrate Minute Book

1895

91.

Section B. Vertebrate Minute Book

1896

92.

Vertebrate Section Minutes 143 Meeting

22.5.1899

Vertebrate Section Minutes 144 Meeting

10.6.1899

Vertebrate Section Minutes 145 Meeting

8.7.1899

93.

Section D Entomology Minute Book and Register

1891

94.

Entomological Section 1892 Minute Book

95.

Entomological Section 1 894 Minute Book

96.

Entomological Section 1 895 Minute Book

97.

Entomological Section 1897 Minute Book

98.

Entomological Section Minutes 143 Meeting

22.5.1899

Entomological Section Minutes 145 Meeting

8.7.1899

99.

Cryptogamic Sub-section Minute Book

1892

100.

Cryptogamic Botany Section Minute Book

1894

101.

Section E. Div.2. Cryptogams (except Fungi) Minute Book

1895

102.

Bryology Section Minute Book

1896

103.

Bryology Committee Minutes and Reports 143 Meeting

22.5.1899

Bryology Committee Minutes and Reports 145 Meeting

8.7.1899

104.

Section E. Botany Minute Book and Register

1891

105.

Section E. Botany Minutes 143 Meeting

22.5.1899

Section E. Botany Minutes 145 Meeting

8.7.1899

106.

Coleoptera Committee Minutes 143 Meeting

22.5.1899

107.

Conchological Section Minute Book

1897

108.

Excursions and meetings for 1893 and minutes

109.

Mammals etc., Committee Reports for 1912

36 Archives of the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union

110.

W. Denison Roebuck’s notes on the smaller mammals - “Criticism of
works on British Mammals” n.d.

111.

50 Notebooks & loose papers

Copy of T. Carter Jan 1.1875. “Natural History Calendar” - 49 lists of
mammals, reptiles, amphibia, freshwater fishes also envelope -
Marine Fish, + papers, letters, lists, notes.

1863-1883

112.

Reference cards extinct British Mammals: Strophodus (Manchester
Museum) and many others, also articles and authors listed on each card

1911-1935

113.

Reference notes on British Mammals showing species, date, place,
description

1882-1908

114.

Reference cards - Freshwater Fishes showing species location when
sighted, weight, date etc.

1906-24

115.

Reference cards - Sea Mammals showing species, location when
sighted, weight, date

1909-37

116.

File - East Yorkshire Insects; Bubwith, Skipwith and Allerthorpe.
Collected by W. J. Fordham and others

1911-37

117.

File - Coleoptera; Allerthorpe & Barmby Moors. Numerous notes on
sightings listed, also coloured leaflet inserted at front, Varieties of
British Butterflies

1907-35

118.

Certificate Y.N.U. to Life Membership of “The Yorkshire Naturalists’

Trust Ltd.” 30 Dec. 1946

119.

Copy of “The London Catalogue of British Plants” Part 1

1886

120.

Bundle of Papers: Libel Action, Walmesley -v- Y.N.U.

1915-16

Corres. Y.N.U. excursion records: Scunthorpe 1910,
Scarborough 1909 and others.

Corres to W. Denison Roebuck

1891-1902

Report and letter from E. G. Bayford

1901

121.

Bundle of Papers: Y.N.U.’s accounts

1906

Obituary notice William West

Membership proposals

Minutes annual meeting of Cen. Comm.

1903-11

Town Hall, Wakefield

17.10.1901

W. D. Roebuck’s List of Subscribers

1903 etc.

Excursions

1908-9

122.

Bundle - Soppitt Memorial: Receipt Book

1899-1902

Midland Bank Book

1899-1901

(Letter re Soppitt portrait 15.12.1903
Paying-in book

1899-1901

Vouchers

Inventory of Books etc. taken before

1899-1903

purchase. Note book, letters of
condolence, etc.

1899

Book in German “Index of Desiderata”

123.

H. T. Soppitt of Frizinghall. Plant Lists of Bradford District 1877-79,
Revision of W. Yorks Uredineae. London Catalogue. Notes - 30 pages
on Pinus sylvestris

124.

Membership cards belonging to H. T. Soppitt

1881-98

125.

Ring File - Christina Cheetham, Nutting Grove, Old Famley, Leeds. List
of Flora

1913

Archives of the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union

126. 4 copies “The London Catalogue of British Plants”

127. Papers for Y.N.U. at Stokesley. Note book giving train time-tables in
pencil. Telegram and letters to W. D. Roebuck

128. List of Officers for various Districts + General correspondence

129. Correspondence and forms for meetings at Bawtry and Brough 1901
Correspondence addressed to W. D. Roebuck

130. 3 Pale Blue Notebooks - list Garden Fowls; list Beetles on plants; list
Ichneumonidae, n.d.

131. Handwritten list “Westmoreland”

A) Macpherson H. A. - Vertebrate Fauna of Lakeland 1892

B) Boulenger G. A. - The Tailless Batrachians of Europe. Ray Society 1897

C) Leighton G. R. - The Life History of British Serpents and their local
distribution in the British Isles 1901

132. Correspondence - W. G. Bramley, Bolton Percy notes - Vertebrate
Zoology section. York district 1935. Reptiles 1935, also envelopes cont
notes Reptiles, Batrachians where sighted and date.

133. Printed pamphlets, Yorkshire Naturalists at North Grimston (31) 1902.

Y.N.U. at Wykeham, Nr Scarborough 1901 (33). Y.N.U. at Bawtry 1902
(2 copies (38)) Y.N.U. AGM at Huddersfield 1893 (2 copies (40)) Y.N.U.
at Withemsea 1892 (2 copies (41)). Y.N.U. at Ferrybridge 1895 (2 copies
(45)) Y.N.U. in mid-Ribblesdale 1894 (2 copies (46)) Y.N.U. in Edlington
& Wadsworth Woods 1891 (2 copies (49)). Yorks & Lancs Naturalists at
Saddleworth 1888 (51) Y.N.U. on the Wolds 1891 (2 copies (56)).

134. Pamphlet “A Bird Watcher in Yorkshire” by Ralph Chislett 1948

135. 2 copies of the Rules of the Society. Invitation card Y.N.U. & Hull
Scientific Societies meeting at Royal Institute, Albion Street, Hull. 20.1 1.1889
Typed - Submitted Resolutions. Y.N.U. Vertebrate Section 3 typed

pages specifying reasons for producing a current history of the Birdlife
of the County signed by Ralph Chislett, n.d.

136. Societies’ List
Corres. to E. Hawkes worth
Leaflet Y.N.U. Winter Lecture Scheme
Papers - British Assoc, for the Advancement of Science
Baugh Fell notes, various letters to W.D.R.

Doncaster, Cadeby etc Fungus Foray
Askham Bog

Packet of letters to W.D.R.

Presidential address to Y.N.U. by Sir Michael Foster

137. Fox Hunting - Hounds: Newspaper cuttings and notes
Fox Hunting - Songs

Lists of Hounds. Folklore and bits of news about Foxes and Hunting

138. Envelope - Notes and letters W. D. Roebuck, meeting at Sutton &

Barnsley

139. Envelope - Otter Hunting - newspaper cuttings and notes, letter re otters

and otter hunting 1880-1 900

140. Bundle - Misc. letters to W. D. Roebuck (one from J. R. Lane-Fox, visit
to Bramham Park Estate) notes on animals, list of Freshwater Algae,
printed articles - one by Wm. Nelson “To Whinmoor in Search of
Limnaea glabra ” Lists of Birds & Plants. Notes and newspaper cuttings

1875-82

1899

1897

1902

1901
1890

1902
1901
1900

1899-1902
Dec. 14.1898

37

1886-95

1899

1877

1902

38

Archives of the Yorkshire Naturalists' Union

re dogs, bloodhound trials, horses, truffle-hunting pigs, customs and
folklore 1877-1900

141. 2 sepia photographs (Edw. Maule Cole, geologist) and letter dated
15.4.1897 re outing to Boston Spa + report Lees’s report on excursion to
Boston Spa, 19.4.1897

142. 8 invitation cards - The Jubilee of the Y.N.U. - The Heckmondwike
Naturalist Society and the Spen Valley Literary & Scientific Society.

16.12.1911 50th Annual Meeting of the Y.N.U.

143 12 Y.N.U. Voting papers - for ten members to be added to the General

Committee 23.10.1899

144. Leaflet reprinted from - The Entomologist' s Record Vol. 17, No. 11 -
additions to our latest list of British Coleoptera by H. Willoughby Ellis

145. 2 Glass Negatives - Goose, Rat?

146. Protection of Birds Committee Minute Book (also envelope containing:

Bird Protection Act Comm. misc. cuttings, reports etc. to be retained

with minute book) 1906-54

147. Protection of Birds Acts. Government Acts and Protection Leaflets, i.e.,
notes and comments 1970 “The Problem of Pollution”. 1964 Wild Birds
“The Wild Birds (Fairbum Ings Sanctuary) order 1968. Poster Protection
of Birds Act 1954, giving which birds may be shot. Wildfowl Trust
leaflet, Slimbridge. R.S.P.B. Nature Trails, Shipstal, Arne. Firearms Act

1965 and others. 1954-70

148. Correspondence: The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds 1955-62

149. File: Protection of Birds Act Comm. Correspondence 1957-65

Copy of Firearms Act 1937

Correspondence: re Wildbirds (Eggs of Common Birds) order 1955

Shooting-gun Licences 1958-61

Armed Trespass Bill 1965

150. Bundle: Protection of Birds Act Comm. Correspondence 1965-66

List of Wardens willing to assist the Society 1966

Letters - re posters on Bird Protection; Sempton Correspondence; Protection

of Birds Act 1954 and schedules; Leaflets. “The Use of Guns within the
Law” School publicity poster 1963

151. Bundle: Protection of Birds Act Comm. Correspondence 1967

Protection of Birds Act Comm, list of names and addresses 1966
Leaflets “Use of guns within the law” and “Shooting Menace” and
corres. with R.S.P.B. and Teesmouth; corres. re Pasture Masters
Beverley; corres. Bempton Cliffs.

152. Bundle: Protection of Birds Act Comm. Correspondence 1968-9

Newsletter No. 10 Nov. 1969

Newsletter No. 9 May 1969

The Hare wood Park Bird Report 1968

Corres. Robbing of Peregrine nests 1968-9

Poster “Osprey” R.S.P.B.; 7 page typescript “The History of the Wild Birds
Protection Act Comm, of the Y.N.U.” Report “Fairbum Nature Reserve”

December 1968, committee meetings etc.

153. Envelope: Protection of Birds Act Comm, correspondence 1970

Report for 1970. Notes, comments and recommendations from M.R.S.

Committee meetings, reports etc.

Archives of the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union

39

154 Envelope: Protection of Birds Act Comm, correspondence
Report for 1971 committee meetings, reports etc.

155. Envelope: Protection of Birds Act Comm, correspondence

Report for 1971-2. Beached Birds survey. Committee meetings, reports
etc. Humber Wildfowl Refuge, correspondence and report 1971-2

156. Envelope: Protection of Birds Act Comm, correspondence
Newspaper cuttings, corres. with House of Commons - Firearms control.
Humber Wildfowl Refuge Annual Report

Angling Press release and replies

157. Envelope: Protection of Birds Act Comm, correspondence

Report for 1973-4; Humber Wildfowl Refuge Annual Report 1973-4;
Newsletter 25 Sept. 1974; Habitat Digest Newsletter

158. Envelope: Protection of Birds Act Comm, correspondence
Reports 1974-5 and 1976-7

Report Fungicides and Tilmire Golf Course, Nov. 1974

Report Pink footed Geese Fatalities, Humber Wildfowl Refuge, Jan. 1975

Humber Wildfowl Annual Report, 1975-6

Humber Wildfowl Annual Report, 1976-7

Poster Wild Birds: Protection of Birds Acts, 1954-76

159. Minute Book

160. Account Book

161. Account Book - Members ’ subscriptions

162. Correspondence - Allerthorpe Common. Hornsea etc.

Ornithological Section recommendations, Edlington Wood.

Copies of Yorks. Naturalists’ Trust & Conservation Review, 1971.

“The Tees Valley & Cleveland Water Board, Bird Watching Facilities
and Regulations”, 1972

163. Correspondence - Spurn Reserve - Future Policy; Nature Conservation
on Urban Canals; Report on Edlington Wood; Hessle Chalk Quarry

164. Correspondence - Plant Gall new to Britain; Heritage Coast - Cloughton
to Scalby; River Derwent Bill. Ornithological Committee minutes of
various meetings

165. Correspondence - Loss of S.S.S.I. sites and further protection;

Yorkshire Water Authority (River Derwent) Act 1976. Booklet, “The
case for a Regional Airport for Yorkshire & Humberside”. North Yorks
and West Yorkshire County Structure. 2 sets reports.

166. Correspondence - River Derwent - Recreation Policy etc.

West Yorks Structure Plan. Statement on participation, December 1978.
“Problem of Oak Wilt” Disease. Thorpe Marsh Nature Reserve.

167. 1 ) Painting of New British Fungi (with MS notes)

2) Offprint of article re above reprinted from The Naturalist January
1904

3) Painting of Humaria phillipsii

4) Offprint of “New and Rare British Fungi” reprinted from The
Naturalist , January 1906

168. Minutes of Executive Committee meetings (incomplete) with
correspondence

169. Minutes, correspondence and miscellaneous papers relating to Y.N.U.
Entomological Survey Committee

1971

1972

1973

1972- 3

1974
1974-77

1958-68

1957-71

1972-82

1963-73

1973- 4
1973-4

1977- 8

1978- 9

c. 1904-6
1971-81

1968-77

40

Archives of the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union

170.

Protection of Birds Committee, minute book

1956-86

171.

Ornithological Section, General Committee correspondence.

1976-90

172.

AGM Minute Book

1958-86

173.

Executive Committee Minutes

Dec. 1968-Dec. 1974

174.

Executive Committee Minutes

March 1978-Dec. 1983

175.

Loose agendas, typed minutes and attendance lists of Executive

Committee

Dec. 1980-June 1983

176.

Annual Report

1972

177.

Ornithological Reports

1970-4, 1976

178.

The Naturalist. Nos. 951, 955 (4 copies), 972, 973

1979-85

179

Bulletin. (2 copies of no. 4)

1984-90

Access to the holdings in the Leeds District Archives is by appointment during office
hours (normally 9.30 am to 5.00 pm with a restricted service at lunchtime); three or four
days’ advance notice may be required and material will be researched under the
supervision of the Archives’ staff in the Record Offices’ searchroom. For appointments
(after obtaining permission from the Union, see above) apply to:

West Yorkshire Archive Service
Leeds District Archives
Chapeltown Road
Sheepscar
LEEDS LS7 3AP

Telephone: Leeds (0532-) 628339

Y.N.U. BRYOLOGICAL SECTION: ANNUAL REPORT 1990-1991

T. L. BLOCKEEL

9 Ashfurlong Close, Dore, Sheffield SI 7 3NN

Sectional meetings during 1990-1991 have been held as follows:
Spring 1990 - Agden Dyke (VC 63), 31 March

Autumn 1990 - Wharfedale (VC 64), 8 September

Spring 1991 - Westerdale (VC 62), 27 April

Autumn 1991 - Sedbergh (VC 65), 28-29 September

These are reported in the Bulletin of the Yorkshire Naturalists Union.

Records

Once again, rather few records have been made in the county. The list below includes all
new vice-county records and other records of note. Recorders’ initials: TLB = T. L.
Blocked; PCB = P. C. Bowes; CW = C. Wall. An asterisk indicates a new vice-county
record or an amendment to the Census Catalogue.

Preissia quadrata : (63*) 44/52 On Magnesian Limestone, Spring Lodge Quarry, Cridling
Stubbs, CW, Jan 1990; 44/51 On Magnesian Limestone crag, Brockadale, CW, Jun 1990.

Riccia cavernosa : (64) 44/27 Lumley Reservoir, near Grantley Hall, A. Henderson, Sep
1991, comm. A. Norris.

Riccardia palmata : (64*) 34/97 On rotting log, Step Gill, Buckden, CW, Jul 1990.

Leiocolea bantriensis : (62) 44/99 Calcareous flush, Hem Head, Wydale forest, R. C. Stem,
Aug 1987.

Sphagnum girgensohnii : (63) 43/69 Seven Arches Carr, CW, Feb 1990.

Sphagnum recurvum var. tenue: (64*) 34/86 Weakly minerotrophic ground, edge of
Malham Tam Moss, M.O. Hill, Jul 1990.

Tortula ruralis: (63) 44/52 In small quantity on broken Magnesian Limestone, Spring Lodge
Quarry, Cridling Stubbs, TLB, Nov 1991. Though common on the Carboniferous
Limestone, T. ruralis is very rare on the Magnesian.

Tortula latifolia : (63) 44/61 Fishlake Church, CW, Feb 1990.

Aloina rigida : (63) 44/52 On soil on recently cleared, stony ground on Magnesian
Limestone, Spring Lodge Quarry, Cridling Stubbs, TLB, Nov 1991. This appears now to
be a very rare species in the county.

Gymnostomum calcareum: (63) 44/00 On base-rich grit rocks, Seal Bark, Saddle worth,
TLB, Jun 1990.

Gymnostomum viridulum : (63*) 44/51 Soil on slabs of Magnesian Limestone on dry bank,
Brockadale, TLB, Mar 1981; (64*) 44/42 Soft face of Magnesian Limestone outcrop in
wood near Fairbum, TLB, Mar 1981; 44/44 Friable earth on shaded Magnesian
Limestone bank, Wharfe Banks, Boston Spa, TLB, Jul 1983. Whitehouse & Crundwell
(1991) have recently clarified the distinction between this little known species and G.
calcareum. The occurrences on the Magnesian Limestone are the most northerly in
Britain.

Ephemerum serratum var. minutissimum: (63) 43/38 On edge of path in woodland, Ecclesall
Wood, Sheffield, TLB, Jan 1992.

Pohlia elongata ssp. elongata var. elongata : (63*) 44/00 At edge of base-rich grit rock, Seal
Bark, Saddleworth, TLB, Jun 1990. This is very probably the exact location where Pohlia
elongata was collected by William Wilson in an excursion with Jethro Tinker in 1832
(Cash, 1887). Since that time, the surrounding moorland has become severely degraded,
but a very interesting flora survives in one spot on small outcrops of base-enriched grit.

Mnium marginatum : (63) 44/00 On base-rich grit. Seal Bark, Saddleworth, TLB, Jun 1990.

Naturalist 117 (1992)

42

Y.N.U. Bryological Section: Annual Report 1990-1991

Breutelia chrysocoma: (62) 44/89 Thack Sike, Levisham high Moor, PCB, Oct 1990.
Welcome confirmation of the continued occurrence of this Atlantic species in NE
Yorkshire.

Zygodon conoideus : (63) 44/00 On base-rich grit, Seal Bark, Saddleworth, TLB, Jun 1990.
Orthotrichum cupulatum : (63) 44/61 Fishlake Church, CW, Feb 1990.

Orthotrichum stramineum: (63*) 44/32 On Salix in small quantity, Stanley Marsh, near
Wakefield, TLB, May 1990. The occurrence in the West Yorkshire conurbation of this
and Ulota crispa, both pollution-sensitive epiphytes, is most unexpected.

Ulota crispa s.l.: (63) 44/32 On Salix in small quantity, and without mature capsules,
Stanley Marsh, near Wakefield, TLB, May 1990.

Homalothecium lutescens : (63) 44/52 On Magnesian Limestone, Spring Lodge Quarry,
Cridling Stubbs, CW, Feb 1990.

Cirriphyllum piliferum : (63) 44/51 Edge of woodland, Went Valley, TLB, Mar 1990.
Orthothecium intricatum: (63) 44/00 On base-rich grit, Seal Bark, Saddleworth Moor, TLB,
Jun 1990.

The Racomitrium Heterostichum Group in Yorkshire

Following the revision of this difficult group in the northern hemisphere by Frisvoll (1988),
I have revised a substantial amount of British material in order to establish an accurate vice-
county distribution (Blocked, 1991). Racomitrium sudeticum is the least common species of
the group in Yorkshire, being nearly confined to the high ground of the north and north-
west. Its occurrence on Saddleworth Moor is therefore of special interest; this is the only site
known at present in the South Pennines. R. sudeticum is the plant described as R. affine in
Smith (1978). The true R. affine is very close to R. heterostichum , and both species are
widely spread in the western half of the county. No specimens have yet been confirmed for
NE Yorkshire, but there are a number of field and literature records for the aggregate species
there. A list of confirmed records for the county follows.

R. sudeticum (Funck) B. & S.:

(63) 44/00 Grit rock face, Seal Bark Rocks, Saddleworth, T. L. Blocked, Oct 1980 (Hb.
Blocked).

(64) 34/77 Ingleborough, J. A. Wheldon, May 1890 (NMW) and Jun 1890 (NMW);
34/87 Pen-y-ghent, C. A. Cheetham, n.d. (NMW); 34/77 Ingleborough, C. A. Cheetham,
n.d. (NMW); 34/77 Ingleborough, A. S., 10 Apr 1925 (BBSUK); 34/77 Ingleborough, A.
Sutton, 10 Apr 1926 (NMW); 34/87 Boulder below grit scree, Pen-y-ghent, T. L.
Blocked, Aug 1981 (Hb. Blocked).

(65) 35/82 Cronkley Fell, E. C. Horrell, Aug 1898 (NMW); 35/82 Cronkley Scar,
Teesdale, M. C. F. Proctor, 24 May 1952 (MCFP); 35/82 Near High Force, Teesdale, L.
B. C. Trotter, 18 Sep 1958 (NMW); 34/69 On boulder on bank of stream, Carlin Gill, near
Black Force, Howgill Fells, 300 m alt., T. L. Blocked, Sept 1991 (Hb. Blocked).

R. affine (Schleich.) Lindb.:

(63) 43/28 Wall top, Rivelin, T. L. Blocked, Apr 1980 (Hb. Blocked); 43/19 On grit
boulder, nr. Stainery Clough, Upper Derwent Valley, T. L. Blocked, Mar 1988 (Hb.
Blocked)

(64) 34/67 Ingleton, J. A. Wheldon, 13 Jul 1895 (NMW); 34/95 Grit boulder, Waterfall
Gill, Embsay Moor, T. L. Blocked, Aug 1981 (Hb. Blocked).

(65) 34/69 On rock face in ravine by waterfall, 300 m alt., Cautley Spout, c. 6km NE of
Sedbergh 34/68.97, T. L. Blocked, Sept 1991 (Hb. Blocked); 34/69 On boulder on banks
of stream, 300 m alt., Carlin Gill, near Black Force, Howgill Fells 34/64.99., T. L.
Blocked, Sept 1991 (Hb. Blocked)

Obituary

43

R. heterostichum (Hedw.) Brid. (incl. R. obtusum (Brid.) Brid.):

(63) 34/92 Millstone grit wall, north of Hebden Bridge, T. L. Blocked, Jun 1977 (Hb.
TLB); 43/29 On millstone grit boulder in oak woodland, Agden Dyke, Bradfield
43/24.93., T. L. Blocked 19/036, Mar 1990 (Hb. TLB).

(64) 34/67 Ingleton, J. A. Wheldon, May 1890 (NMW); 34/87 Pen-y-ghent, J. Appleyard,
Aug 1947 (NMW); 34/67 Walls, Oddies Lane, above Mealbank, Ingleton, G. W. Garlick,
6 Apr 1956 (NMW); 34/67 On stones, Kingsdale Head, Ingleton, G. W. Garlick, 6 Apr
1956 (NMW); 44/17 Grit wall, Lofthouse, Nidderdale, T. L. Blocked, Nov 1983 (Hb.
TLB); 34/77 On rock face in old quarry in ravine, Twistleton Glen, Ingleton, T. L.
Blocked, Oct 1991 (Hb. TLB).

(65) 35/82 Cronkley Fell, Upper Teesdale, H. N. Dixon, Aug 1896 (NMW).

References

Blocked, T. L. (1991). The Racomitrium heterostichum group in the British Isles. Bull. brit.
Bryol. Soc. 58: 29-35.

Cash, J. (1887). The early botanical work of the late William Wilson. Naturalist 143: 181-
190.

Frisvoll, A. A. (1988). A taxonomic revision of the Racomitrium heterostichum group
(Bryophyta, Grimmiales) in N. and C. America, N. Africa, Europe and Asia. Gunneria
59: 1-289.

Smith, A. J. E. (1978). The Moss Flora of Britain and Ireland. Cambridge.

Whitehouse, H. L. K. and Crundwell, A. C. (1991). Gymnostomum calcareum Nees &
Homsch. and allied plants in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. J. Bryol. 16: 561-
579.

OBITUARY

WILLIAM ARTHUR SLEDGE

(1904-1991)

Arthur Sledge was a Leodiensian. He was bom in Leeds on 14th February 1904 and died in
Leeds on 15th December 1991, having lived there all his life. He was educated at Leeds
Grammar School and graduated from the Botany department of Leeds University in 1926.
He gained his Ph.D. in 1928, when he joined the staff of the department as a Demonstrator.
He was appointed as a Lecturer a year later and eventually became a Senior Lecturer. After
his official retirement in 1969 he retained a room in the department and continued his work
there as Honorary Research Fellow, usually walking the two miles from his home in
Headingley. A severe heart attack two years ago restricted his physical activities but he
bore the resulting debilities uncomplainingly and with fortitude.

His interest in botany was triggered at his junior school by a pressed flower competition,
which, of course, he won. Some time later he realised that the master designated to judge
the competition could only have been one step ahead, since all crucifers, umbellifers and
composites were banned from the competition and grasses, sedges and rushes were not
considered to have proper flowers. While he was out collecting specimens, his vasculum
was spotted by Frank Palmer who was taking part in a similar senior school competition.
Frank and his father subsequently introduced the young Sledge to the joys of botanising on
the Permian Magnesian Limestones a few miles east of Leeds. From this was bom an
awareness of habitat and an interest in ecology and he was later to become a founder
member and council member of the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Trust (now the Yorkshire
Wildlife Trust).

Naturalist 117 (1992)

44

Obituary

Whilst still in his early teens, he had found F. A. Lees’ Flora of West Yorkshire (1888) in
the library and, learning that Dr Lees lived quite nearby, he became a frequent visitor to his
home, armed with a vasculum of plants for identification and eggs from his mother’s hens.
In 1941, A Supplement to the Yorkshire Floras by the Late F. Arnold Lees, edited by C. A.
Cheetham and W. A. Sledge, was published.

In 1920 he was introduced to Leeds Naturalists’ Club by the blind botanist, John
Wilkinson. He joined about the same time as two proteges of Digby Firth, Douglas Hincks
and Basil Kitchen, who later became first class naturalists themselves. Active members of
the club at that time, who all helped to further Arthur Sledge’s interest, included such
famous names as J. H. Priestley, Professor of Botany at Leeds; W. H. Pearsall, Edward
Percival, R. W. Butcher, the bryologist W. H. Burrell and an excellent all-round naturalist,
E. C. Horrell.

It was standard practice at the Leeds Naturalists’ Club to report on Yorkshire Naturalists’
Union meetings and Arthur Sledge was inspired to join the Union. The most
knowledgeable naturalists in the county belonged to the Union and from them much was
gleaned. Later he more than repaid what he had gained. In the field he was the ultimate
authority who could be relied upon to give a correct identification to all but the most
esoteric of critical plants, along with interesting comments on habitat and plant
associations. His memory for sites of interest was unfailing, even those he had not visited
for forty years and, when he felt there was good reason to give directions to them, these
directions were precise and accurate. All of us were in awe of him, but those who showed
an intelligent interest and desire for knowledge were subsequently greeted with a warm
smile and questions were answered fully, with quiet enthusiasm. In addition to sharing his
expertise in the field, Dr Sledge edited the Union’s scientific publication, The Naturalist,
for thirty-two years, from 1943-1975. His dedication and skill resulted in The Naturalist
being read and respected nationally and internationally, and, in spite of his modest and
unassuming manner, his pride in it and his paternalism towards it were evident.

He joined the BSBI in 1924 and was appointed recorder for south-east, south-west and
mid- west Yorkshire in 1949. He relinquished south-east Yorkshire to Eva Crackles in 1969
and continued with south-west and mid- west until 1987. In 1987 he was made an honorary
member of the Society for his “long and valuable service to Yorkshire botany and to the
Society as Recorder and Editor’’. He had edited the Distributor’ s Report ( Exchange
Section), a supplement to the Year Book, in the late 1940s.

Dr Sledge was very much a Yorkshireman but he was by no means parochial. During his
undergraduate days, much of his travel outside the “Broad Acres” was by bicycle,
accompanied by R. W. Butcher. This included visits to East Anglia, the Gower, the Avon
Gorge and Dorset in search of their special plants. In those days specimens were picked
and contributed to Dr Sledge’s enormous and excellent herbarium. The British sheets were
donated several years ago to the Bradford Museums Service and they now reside in
Cartwright Hall Museum along with those of Lees. The foreign material is widely
distributed internationally.

Arthur Sledge was one of the lucky ones, able to combine his interest with his career.
His first publication was a contribution to the report of the British Association meeting
which was held in Leeds in 1927, for which he wrote sections on the flora of Fountains
Abbey, Nidderdale, Malham and Wharfedale. This was followed a year later by his Ph.D.
thesis on the rooting of woody cuttings. He travelled widely in Europe and, for research
purposes, visited New Zealand, Madeira, Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) and Samoa. His work
was concerned mainly with the systematics of Botany and, following his first visit to Sri
Lanka, he untangled the difficult taxonomy of the native ferns. His paper, written in
association with Professor Irene Manton, entitled Observations on the Cytology and
Taxonomy of the Pteridophyte Flora of Ceylon (1954) remains a classic. Other papers on
the taxonomy of tropical ferns followed, as well as numerous articles on aspects of the
Yorkshire flora. All this work was carried out with meticulous care and his clear systematic
presentation made him a first-class teacher. Even during his period of ill-health Dr Sledge

Book Reviews

45

continued to work. He had recently completed an excellent historical review for the
forthcoming West Yorkshire Plant Atlas, to be published by the West Yorkshire Ecological
Advisory Service and he was still collaborating with Professor R. E. Schultes, formerly of
Harvard University: they shared a deep respect for Richard Spruce, pioneer botanist in the
Amazon and Andean regions, and were instrumental in having a commemorative plaque
put on the cottage in the Castle Howard estate where Spruce had lived.

We in Yorkshire have lost our most outstanding botanist, and one of the best in Britain,
and we mourn along with Marjorie, his wife, who has supported him wonderfully since
their marriage in 1939. We offer sympathy to Mrs Sledge and to her son, Christopher, and
his family.

P. P. Abbott

[For a portrait of Dr Sledge, see The Naturalist 101: 1 (1976).]

BOOK REVIEWS

The African Elephant. Twilight in Eden by Roger L. DiSilvestro. Pp. xxiii +206, with
numerous colour plates. John Wiley, New York, 1991. $34.95.

As is widely appreciated the African Elephant has in recent times suffered severe
depredations in numbers from a variety of causes particularly changed land use, conflicts
and poaching. This book attempts to place this in perspective by describing the natural
history of the elephant and at the same time drawing a picture of the historical development
up to the present of man’s relationship with this species. It starts with early history which
includes the use in war of elephants by the Greeks, Mongols, Egyptians, Romans and
Carthaginians. A fairly brisk jump in time takes us to their appearance in zoos and circuses
in the 19th Century in Europe and America.

The following chapter looks at elephants in the field from two aspects. Those of elephant
hunters and explorers in Africa south of the Sahara and those of the contemporary tourist.
This chapter exemplifies one of the main shortcomings of the text namely lack of balance
with the inclusion of the irrelevant at the cost of much that would be of interest to the
general reader. Thus while a few hunters are mentioned often notable elephant hunters such
as W. D. M. “Karamoja” Bell and more recently E. Temple-Perkins are omitted. On the
other hand considerable space is devoted to describing Theodore Rossevelt’s safari although
relatively little of this was devoted to elephant hunting. And why in a book about elephants
is the text of pages 58-60 devoted to a boring list of timings of visitors to a lioness in
Amboseli Park?

Things get even worse in the third chapter on “The Hidden World of the African
Elephant” which presumably attempts to describe its natural history. In the first section
Laws outstanding pioneer research is greatly under-represented and to state that this “failed
to provide much information on elephant social behaviour and ecology” is grossly
inaccurate. It was Laws who correctly predicted the mass mortality through drought in
Tsavo Park, who related reproductive frequency to population density and who described
elephant ranges and group sizes. A long section on post-embryonic development describes
behavioural and development. While this of undoubted interest the lay reader would
probably also like to know something of the diet, activity, population density and favoured
habitats of the elephant all of which would make a useful prelude to the next section on
management. The section on elephant culls is hardly a detached account of the pros and
cons of culling with, for example little attention given to the self-inflicted damage elephants
can do by degrading their habitat.

The final chapter “Africa fights to Save its Elephants” is by far the best in the book. This
is an up-to-date account of the now largely defunct markets in ivory, poaching control
measures in the 1980s (particularly in Kenya), trade bans and their economic consequences.

46

Book Reviews

Here the reader is given a lucid insight into how the beneficial effects of trade bans depress
the price of ivory and with it the incentive to poach. While in some countries there is at
present cause of optimism one still wonders how well the elephant is surviving across much
of its tropical range; but of this we are not advised.

There are numerous superb colour photographs by Page Chichester which do much to
illuminate and enhance the text. Overall, the text is a disappointing, poorly balanced account
which does little credit to the book’s sponsors - the National Andubon Society.

MJB

Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea by John E. Randall, Gerald R. Allen
and Roger C. Steene. Pp. 507, with over 1,000 full colour illustrations. University of
Hawaii Press, Honolulu, 1990. £40.00.

This lavishly illustrated book is intended to provide for the identification of the 1,111
species of fish found in the Great Barrier Reef and adjoining reefs of the Coral Sea. The
Coral Sea covers an area to the North-east of Queensland, and includes the seas around the
Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia. This small area of the Pacific Ocean holds
one of the world’s richest marine habitats, with more than 90 per cent of the region’s reef
fishes being recorded from the Coral Sea.

The authors have used the technical advances of underwater photography to great
advantage with the result that many of the photographs are quite stunning. Some, however,
suffer from a lack of direct light, which gives many of the photographs a bluish cast, the
result of sun rays being filtered out by the sea-water. The volume also contains seven plates:
these are full page colour illustrations. The plates illustrate, in the main, oceanic or deep
water fish such as Sharks, Tunas and Mackerels, and are specifically included for the use of
deep sea anglers.

This book truly exemplifies the use of colour photography for the recording of plants and
animals. A close comparison of the colour illustrations with the colour photographs does,
however, show that a good illustration is nearly always better than a photograph. Ideally,
both good photographs and good colour illustrations are needed if books are to be used for
the identification of groups of animals such as fish.

With the recent growth in overseas tourism to Australia (and the Great Barrier Reef in
particular), the book has been written to try and catch the maximum market of laymen,
divers, anglers, underwater naturalists and professional biologists. The authors have
attempted a very delicate balancing act between the production of a scientific publication
and a coffee-table book. On balance, this tactic does seem to have worked, and I have little
doubt that this book will find its way into the libraries of all those people, both professional
and otherwise, who are interested in the identification of fish, and in the seas in which they
can be found.

AN

The Development and Evolution of Butterfly Wing Patterns by H. Frederik Nijhout.

Pp. 297. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington & London, 1991. £15.50
A model sometimes discussed in developmental biology is known as the French flag
problem. The problem is to create a pattern of three distinct bands given a wave of
information passing from one side, with a degree location-specific interpretation of the
instructions. The solution is of general relevance in development, but given their shape, their
growth from one end and the variety of patterns achieved, butterfly wings are almost
diagrammatic realizations of models such as these. Moreover, the patterns themselves are
sometimes manifestly adaptive. They may provide camouflage, warning patches of colour,
mimetic patterns or eye spots, which in turn may be alarming or diversionary. The

Book Reviews

47

significance of the pattern can be readily understood, and clues to the mechanism generating
it may be discerned. The butterfly wing allows us to experience both the picture and the
methods of the artist.

Nijhout is a major investigator of the interplay of production and adaptive value of
Lepidopteran wing patterns. This book reviews the subject, with particular emphasis on his
own work, and discusses the problems to be solved. The account starts with a description of
the morphology of wings, the structure of scales, structural coloration and the chemistry of
the pigments. Naturalists look for pattern, both literally and figuratively, and one of the
starting points to a study of butterfly wings would be to decide whether their great variety
could be resolved into one or a few ground plans or archetypes. The author discusses the
remarkably similar descriptions of a ground plan which were produced independently in the
1920’s by Schwanwitsch and Siiffert. At one point Nijhout was disinclined to follow them.
Later he decided that they had got it right: all butterfly wing patterns could be resolved into
a single basic scheme, provided some additional features are included. One important
modification of the original picture is the realization of the extent to which pattern formation
in different parts of the wings of the same insect may be independent. The ground plan and
its manifold variants are described.

Having got a general picture, what then? Recent research has featured experimental
manipulation to understand the developmental processes and genetical studies, especially of
the control of mimetic patterns. The latter naturally leads to study of patterns as adaptations.
These subjects are considered in turn; the literature is reviewed and a general model for
pattern formation involving diffusion kinetics is presented.

This is a fascinating and informative book which may be recommended to anyone as a
comprehensive and up-to-date account of butterfly wing patterns. At another level it is also
written for the expert, being one of a Smithsonian series of studies in comparative
evolutionary biology. Dispute in this field broadly concerns the relative importance of
developmental constraint and selection for evolutionary novelty. Nijhout is impressed by the
archetype and so by the constraint, at least in the short term. In the long term the system is
not constrained, but it may not show continuous change either. The author argues from the
properties of the generative models that large scale jumps may have played their part in the
evolution of the group. Others will disagree with this interpretation, but that way the subject
develops. The book ends with a classification of butterflies, and in particular, a new
classification of the Nymphalidae by Donald J. Harvey and references to alternative
schemes. The publishers are to be congratulated on the production of this handsome volume.

LMC

Provisional Atlas of the Larger Brachycera (Diptera) of Britain and Ireland by C. M.
Drake. Pp. 132, with 63 maps & 1 table. Institute of Terrestrial Ecology, Monk’s Wood
Experimental Station, Huntingdon, 1990.

This latest Atlas of British Diptera covers the 152 known British members of the
brachycerous families Stratiomyiidae, Xylomyiidae, Xylophagidae, Rhagionidae,
Tabanidae, Asilidae, Therevidae, Scenopinidae, Acroceridae and Bombyliidae. The
collective name “Larger Brachycera” refers to the spectacular size and appearance of the
larger species, but this convenience-name belies the fact that its smallest members are
dwarfed by the largest members of such “Smaller Brachycera” as the Empididae and
Dolichopodidae.

The publication contains distribution maps of 62 species and a table of all of the known
British species arranged under Watsonian Vice-County numbers. In addition, summarised
distribution ranges, flight periods and habitats are also included. The author, who is to be
congratulated on the clarity and conciseness of his work, stresses that this Atlas is very
provisional, resulting from 20,984 records.

48

Book Reviews

Like other such publications this is as instructive for the negative as for the positive
records. Absence of records for a species from a particular square often indicates a mere
lack of recording, but the general coverage maps reveal unrecorded or relatively
underworked areas. So absence from the best-worked squares but presence elsewhere
becomes highly meaningful. Despite the provisional nature of the work it is very clear that
our bulkiest fly Tabanus sudeticus is seriously under threat in southern and eastern England
- hardly surprising for a denizen of wet heaths and bogs. The predominance of old records
further underlines decline in these areas. The equally spectacular Asilus crabroniformis
appears to be contracting south-westwards, probably in response to widespread destruction
of heaths and dry pastures further east.

Armed with this book, dipterists can now plan their summer holidays to unrecorded areas.
Scanning through the data they will see that many of their existing records have not been
included and this will hopefully prompt them to rectify the omissions.

A few published records, such as Chloromyia formosa in the Outer Hebrides, have been
missed, and a very few minor errors have inevitably crept in. Thus Solva varia appears
under the name S. solva in the Vice-County table. These however do not detract from the
great value of the book and we hope that it will precipitate a massive flood of data for the
next edition.

PS

Small Wonder, A New Approach to Understanding Nature by Mari Friend. Foreword
by David Bellamy. Pp. 160, with 80 colour and 20 line illustrations. Blandford Press, 1991.
£14.95

The 1990’s are much-heralded as an ecology-conscious decade. This book is claimed to be
“an ecology book for everyone”. The author, Mari Friend, has a long-held interest in
promoting the pleasures and secrets of the wildlife to be found in our everyday
surroundings. Ten years ago, she founded a countryside centre behind her home in Shipley
Glen where she introduced many children to natural history in the wildlife room and garden.
Although she has now moved to the Peak District, the centre at Bracken Hall was
sufficiently valued by the local community to ensure its continued management under the
auspices of the hard-pressed local authority, Bradford MDC.

This book draws heavily on her experiences of running Bracken Hall and is a mixture of
autobiographical anecdotes and factual information. Printed to a high quality, the book is
liberally illustrated by the author with countless drawings of a charmingly naive quality.

The content covers broad topics linked to habitat zones eg., Gardening for Wildlife,
Hedgerow Ecology, and Beachcombing. Almost all of the subject matter is the bread and
butter of junior and middle school natural history. In an already overcrowded schools’
publishing market, I am not sure that this publication will fill a unique niche. The language
is too advanced for children, but the book may prove useful to parents with no background
knowledge in answering their children’s questions on common countryside phenomena.

A major reservation is the encouragement given throughout to keeping specimens in
captivity in containers such as jam jars and longer-term aquaria. There are even instructions
for pitfall traps. Although the author does give practical advice to assist survival, as well as
making reference to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, it is my experience that the vast
majority of creatures die under such circumstances. Indeed, collection of spawn has not
helped the sharp decline in numbers of frogs.

This book almost seems to be a modem, “green” version of “The Country Diary of an
Edwardian Lady”. It may prove attractive enough in appearance to sell as a gift from non-
naturalists to other families of non-naturalists.

BW

Butterflies and Moths of Yorkshire
Distribution and Conservation

Editors: S. L. Sutton and H. E. Beaumont

370 pages packed with information about Yorkshire’s 1,591 butterflies and moths.
Introductory chapters dealing with distribution, conservation, etc., comprehensive
bibliography, gazetteer of 900 locality names.

£15.00 + p&p. Obtainable from Mrs J. Payne, 15 Broad Lane, Cawood, Selby Y08 0SQ.
Please make cheques payable to the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union.

‘The Naturalist’ is available in microform

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The Irish Naturalists’ Journal

A quarterly journal of Irish natural history
Edited by Elizabeth Platts
Assistant Editor — Robin Govier
Annual subscription £10.00, IR £12.00 ($20.00)

Further information from the Honorary Secretary, INJ
Department of Biology, Queen’s University of Belfast
Belfast BT7 INN, Northern Ireland

Printed in Great Britain by Titus Wilson & Son, Kendal

ISSN 0028-0771

\ April — June 1992

Number 1001
Volume 1 17

A QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF NATURAL HISTORY FOR THE NORTH OF ENGLAND

The Backhouse Trichomanes — D. A. Ratcliff e

James Backhouse Jnr (1825-1890) and the Killarney Fern —

Frank Horsman

The ecology of Long-eared Owls wintering in south west
Yorkshire — Jeff Lunn

The Common Sandpiper population of the Ladybower Reservoir
complex — a re-evaluation — D.W. Yalden

853

Published by the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union

Editor M. R. D. Seaward, MSc, PhD, DSc, FLS, The University, Bradford BD7 1DP

Notice to Contributors to ‘The Naturalist’

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with margins at top and left-hand at least 2.5cm wide, should be submitted. Latin names of
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wherever possible. Authors must ensure that their references are accurately cited, and that
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1886 to 1975 have been retrospectively numbered 11 to 100 to accord with numbering
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Publishable manuscripts not conforming to the above requirements will be returned
for alteration.

Photographic Plates

Readers of The Naturalist will have noticed that the number of photographic illustrations
has increased in recent years. Good clear photographs, suitably captioned, to accompany
articles or as independent features, such as the bird portraits by Arthur Gilpin in recent
issues, are always welcome.

To encourage this development, a long-standing member of the YNU, who wishes to
remain anonymous, has most generously offered to make a donation, the income from
which would finance the publication of a plate or equivalent illustration in future
issues whenever possible. The editor, on behalf of the YNU, wishes to record his deep
appreciation of this imaginative gesture.

© Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union — 1992

Single Copies may be made of single articles in this journal provided that due acknow-
ledgement is made and the copies are for non-profit making educational or private use.
Copying of more than one article or multiple copying of a single article is forbidden unless
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granted for the use of brief quotations in published work provided that acknowledgement
of the source is clearly stated, but the use of substantial sections of text and any illustrative
matter requires the express permission of the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union.

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Institutions and Subscribers £12.00

49

THE BACKHOUSE TRICHOMANES

D. A. RATCLIFFE

Rumsey et al. (1991) have given us a fascinating account of the occurrence of
gametophytes of Trichomanes speciosum in Yorkshire. How unfortunate, then, is their
criticism of one of the most distinguished and respected of Yorkshire botanists, James
Backhouse, whose Welsh records of the native sporophytes of this species they question.
There were three generations of James Backhouse, but it is with the middle one that the
Welsh records of Trichomanes are particularly connected. The obituary of this James
Backhouse (1825-1890) by Hanbury (1890) mentions three finds of the Killamey Fem in
Wales. In a letter to J. D. Hooker, dated 26 January 1864 (Kew MSS), Backhouse says that
“after 5 weeks of most patient seeking, my father and I found a fine wild habitat for
Trichomanes radicans in North Wales last autumn. The plant was more luxuriant than any
I ever saw or heard of from south west Ireland!” Backhouse junior’s herbarium material,
in the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, and elsewhere, shows this last statement to be
hardly an exaggeration; and one sheet bears the comment “certainly wild”. They found
several fertile fronds in this colony.

It is less certain that the two Backhouses were the first discoverers of this magnificent
colony, as they evidently believed themselves to be. Trichomanes had been found in
Snowdonia earlier in 1863 by J. F. Rowbotham, and the description of the habitat and plant
by Moore (1863), and the appearance of the surviving frond given to Moore (in Herbarium
of the Natural History Museum), suggest that the two records referred to the same locality
in vc 49. Its whereabouts was a closely guarded secret, and despite long and careful search,
this colony has not been re-found. Indeed, it seems never to have been seen during the
present century, and it could have ceased to exist long ago.

The younger Backhouse went on to discover at least 3 other separate colonies of
Trichomanes in Wales, and Hanbury indicates that he returned repeatedly in his persistent
searches: “In North Wales, too, so careful was his search for the Killlamey Fem that over
many miles of country his knowledge extended to every stream”. Other records and
specimens make it clear that other members of his related circle of friends were shown or
told of the additional localities. One of these was evidently the well known Merioneth
colony finally exterminated by collecting in the 1960s (Roberts, 1979).

It is certainly true that the Backhouses collected living filmy ferns from around the
world, and were said to have perhaps the finest known collection of these plants in their
underground fem-house in the York nurseries. They took Welsh and Irish Trichomanes
speciosum into cultivation, and material still growing in the Edinburgh and Cambridge
Botanic Gardens is said to be of their Welsh provenance (D. Henderson, H. J. B. Birks,
pers comm.). Despite past assertions that doubt attaches to the status of several finds of
Trichomanes sporophytes in Britain, and whatever the fate of the Backhouse Welsh
colonies, there is no reason to question that their finds in Wales were of genuinely native
populations. They were people of the highest integrity, held in great esteem by their
contemporaries, and were responsible for discovering several of the most celebrated of the
Upper Teesdale rarities (Horsman, 1990). Roberts (1979) has discussed the statements that
other botanists planted this fem in Wales; but if they did so, none of these introductions is
known to have survived, as far as I am aware.

References

Hanbury, F. J. (1890) The late James Backhouse. J. Bot. 28: 353-356.

Horsman, F. (1990) Some Backhouse discoveries in Upper Teesdale. Naturalist 115: 89-
96.

Moore. T. (1863) Trichomanes radicans indigenous to Yorkshire and Wales., J. Bot. 1:
238-239.

Naturalist 117 (1992)

50 James Backhouse and the Killarney Fern

Roberts, R. H. (1979) The Killarney Fern, Trichomanes speciosum, in Wales. Fern Gazette
12: 1-4.

Rumsey, F. J., Headley, A. D., Farrar, D. R. and Sheffield, E. (1991) The Killarney Fern
( Trichomanes speciosum) in Yorkshire. Naturalist 116: 41-43,

JAMES BACKHOUSE JNR (1825-1890) AND
THE KILLARNEY FERN*

FRANK HORSMAN
7 Fox Wood Walk, Leeds, LS8 3BP

In the course of describing their intriguing discoveries of thriving gametophyte populations
of the Killarney Fern Trichomanes speciosum Willd., within vice-counties 63 and 64,
Rumsey et al. (1991) comment on the link between the name of James Backhouse Jnr and
early discoveries of Trichomanes in mainland Britain: ‘As a nurseryman. Backhouse would
have had access to Irish material and his finds have thus been treated with some suspicion.’
An examination of the evidence, however, leaves little doubt of the validity of his finds.

The following note appeared in the final issue of The Phytologist published in July,
1863:

TRICHOMANES RADICANS IN WALES?

“The Trichomanes radicans [T. speciosum ], better known as the Killarney Fern, was found
last week in North Wales by Mr. J. F. Rowbotham, a member of the Manchester Field
Naturalists’ Society. This interesting Fern has not been found in Great Britain, except in
some portions of the lake district of Ireland, since the year 1782, when it was found at
Bingley, in Yorkshire.”

I forward the above extract from one of our Norwich papers of Wednesday last. Do you
know anything about the fact of the Fern having been discovered in North Wales, and also
whereabout (sic)? If so, you will oblige.

A. M. GIBSON

Norwich

Backhouse Jnr wrote numerous papers for The Phytologist (Hanbury 1890). There can be
little doubt that he read Gibson’s note.

Further, Moore (1863) wrote:

“I understand from Mr J. F. Rowbotham, of Manchester, that he has more recently found
Trichomanes in N. Wales, in a part of the Snowdon range. The fronds were abundant and
remarkably fine; one of them is quite equal to the bulk of Irish specimens in luxuriance of
development, the frond having the broad or triangular-ovate outline of the more perfect
examples of this fern, and measuring about 7" across the widest part, and nearly 10" in
length in addition to a stipe of 8" long. The frond is not fertile. Another frond in Mr
Rowbotham’s possession is rather larger, having a total length of about twenty-two inches.
“I found it,” he writes, “in a large hole formed by fallen rocks alongside a cascade of
water; and admission to this hole, which is about 5' high by 4' wide, is obstructed after a
depth of about 3' by the fern falling from the rocks at the top and growing out of the sides
in the form of a beautiful curtain, down which the water is constantly trickling, the whole
having much the appearance of a crystal screen.” What a treat to a fern seeker, to stumble
on such a sight as this !”

The botanical field work of Backhouse Jnr was inextricably wound up with that of his
father, James Backhouse Snr (1794-1869) during the period 1842-1869 (Baker 1869,
Hanbury 1890, Horsman 1990). Backhouse Snr had returned in 1841 from a ten year
absence in Australia, Mauritius and South Africa where he had been a Quaker missionary
(Davis 1989). Backhouse Jnr was himself a Minister in the Society of Friends (C. J. Smith,
pers comm.).

*Dedicated to the late W. Arthur Sledge who admired the Backhouses.

James Backhouse and the Killarney Fern

51

Having read Gibson’s note of July 1863 in The Phytologist, and/or T. Moore’s note in
Journal of Botany, it is hardly surprising that Backhouse Snr and Jnr should set off for
Wales as soon as possible in search of T. Speciosum. On 26 January 1864 Backhouse Jnr
wrote from York to Sir Joseph D. Hooker, then assistant to his father, Sir William J.
Hooker, who was Director at Kew and a life-long associate of Backhouse Snr (Horsman
1990):

“It gives me pleasure to hear of Sir W. J. Hooker’s health being better. He will be
interested in knowing that after 5 weeks most patient seeking, my father and I found a fine
wild habitat for Trichomanes radicans in North Wales last autumn. The plant was more
luxuriant that any I ever saw or heard of from South West Ireland! It proves perfectly
hardy - at least our plants (from Ireland & Wales) have been frozen into massive icicles for
2 to 3 weeks without an hour’s respite.” 1

On 30 January 1864 he wrote to Hooker again:

“I send by passenger train today a spec", of Trichomanes radicans from Wales for Sir
W. J. Hooker’s acceptance - much wishing that it were a better one, but we did not like to
take many and only found very old and shattered fronds fertile (or portions of partially
decomposed fronds,) one of which I send ...” 2

Backhouse(1864) presented specimens of T. radicans to the Royal Botanic Garden,
Edinburgh in February 1864, with the following note:

“I have much pleasure in forwarding herewith specimens of T. radicans found by my
father and myself in a truly wild state in Carnarvonshire. The plant was remarkably
luxuriant.”

His specimens in EDIN (10 sheets) are labelled “certainly wild”. “Discovered and
gathered by J. Backhouse Snr & Jnr. 7.10.1863” (H. J. B. Birks pers. comm.).

Hanbury (1890) summarises an untraced manuscript written by Backhouse Jnr ‘which
gives in a rough chronological order the dates of their (Backhouse, father and son) journeys
either alone or together, and the more important botanical discoveries which they made’.
Hanbury ’s summary states that in 1863 ‘a great hunt was made for Trichomanes radicans
Sw.’ in North Wales. Backhouse Snr’s last visit to Wales was made in June 1865 (Horsman
1990). ‘In 1869, Trichomanes radicans Sw. was gathered in Wales . . . Wales was again
visited in 1871, when “two fresh patches of Trichomanes in . . station with T. [Thomas]
Westcombe and Theodore [Crosfield]” were found’. Backhouse Jnr’s searches for
Trichomanes in North Wales were so intensive that Hanbury (1890) notes “so careful was
his search for the Killarney Fern that over many miles of country his knowledge extends to
every stream.’

Thus, there would appear to be no doubt that the Backhouses found the Killarney Fern
growing wild in North Wales. It is suggested that if they found it in North Wales, it is
not unreasonable to assume that Backhouse Jnr’s knowledge of a single extant site in the
West Riding of Yorkshire in no less credible. The record in Lees (1888) reads ‘D. or T.
[“Don with Deame” or “Trent tributaries”]. Still in one station in the West Riding; James
Backhouse in litt. I cannot more precisely indicate the locality.’ Lees (1888) does not
state that Backhouse found this station. Apparently Backhouse Jnr did not specify
the site to Lees (1888) as Lees did not know within which river-basin district the site
was to be found. Two relevant letters from Backhouse Jnr have been located by the author:
one in reply to F. Arnold Lees, and the other, in the author’s opinion, also in reply to Lees.3
Both suggest that Backhouse Jnr and Lees did not enjoy the most cordial of relationships.

H. J. B. Birks and D. A. Ratcliffe {pers. comm.) have made a special study of Backhouse
Jnr’s fem finds. Birks comments (27 November 1991) ‘Concerning the finds of
Trichomanes by James Backhouse, I do not regard them with any suspicion at all. I am sure
they are all totally reliable. Backhouse had, however, the vision not to disclose the
localities, thereby protecting the plants from collecting and extermination. Thus although
the localities are vague I am sure that Backhouse made them vague to protect the plant
from collectors.’

Roberts (1979) reviewed the Killarney Fem in Wales. R. H. Roberts {pers. comm.)

52

James Backhouse and the Killarney Fern

remarks ‘I did not intend to imply that Backhouse Jnr may have made some introductions
of the Killarney Fem in North Wales. I think that my references to plantings are clear
enough

Some confusion apparently surrounds an introduction of the Killarney Fem which
Backhouse Jnr’s son, James Backhouse fil. (1861-1945) assisted with in Wales in 1934.
Backhouse///., who was then still running the family nursery in York (Davis 1989), was a
great botanical friend of Mary Richards of Caerynwch, Dalgellau (W. M. Condry, pers.
comm.). Richards co-authored ‘A contribution to a Flora of Merioneth’ (Benoit & Richards
1963), and was the well-known African plant collector (A. O. Chater, pers. comm.). Her
manuscript journal for Wednesday, 21 December 1934 reads ‘Mr. Backhouse, Drinkwater,
Dr Owens Morris and I planted six Trichomanes Radicans - in the rocks in each side of the
waterfall above the dam - and by Cefn Coch bridge. We know of only one plant in
Merioneth and want to re-introduce it.’4 These sites were all within the grounds of Mary
Richards’s family home, Caerynwch. Drinkwater was her gardener. The plant has not
survived (W. M. Condry pers. comm.).

Notes

1. Official Correspondence. English letters, Kew (77, 262).

2. Official Correspondence. English letters, Kew (77, 263).

3. Both letters are in the Miscellaneous Handwriting Collection of the Botany
Department, the Natural History Museum, London. The first is dated 27 October,
1876, and the second 12 August, 1884. The latter letter will be discussed in detail in
the author’s thesis on the botanical discovery and floristic recognition of Upper
Teesdale.

4. The manuscript journal of Mary Richards is in the personal possession of W. M.
Condry.

Acknowledgements

I should like to thank Marjorie Sledge on behalf of her late husband W. Arthur Sledge, and
Albert Henderson and Professor H. J. B. Birks for critically reading the manuscript and for
their valuable suggestions. I should also like to thank Professor Birks for making available
to me copies or transcripts of certain correspondence, and Bill Condry for providing me
with a copy of the abstract from Mary Richard’s journal.

References

Backhouse, J. (1864) (Note on Trichomanes radicans) Trans. Bot. Soc. Edin. 8: 111.

Baker, J. G. (1869) James Backhouse. J. Bot 7 : 51-58.

Benoit, P. M. & Richards, M. (1963). A Contribution to a Flora of Merioneth. Ed. 2
Haverfordwest.

Davis, P. (1989) James Backhouse of York (1794-1869): missionary, traveller and botanist,
Arch. Nat. Hist. 16: 247-260.

Hanbury, F. J. (1890) The late James Backhouse. J. Bot 28: 353-356.

Horsman, F. (1990) Some Backhouse Discoveries in Upper Teesdale. Naturalist 115:
89-96.

Lees, F. A. (1888) The Flora of West Yorkshire. Lovell Reeve, London.

Moore, T. (1863) Trichomanes radicans indigenous to Yorkshire and Wales J. Bot. Lond.
1: 238.

Roberts, R. H, (1979) The Killarney fem Trichomanes speciosum in Wales. Fern Gazette
12: 1_4-

Rumsey, F. J., Headley, A. D., Farrar, D. R. and Sheffield, E. (1991) The Killarney Fem
(Trichomanes speciosum) in Yorkshire. Naturalist 116: 41-43.

Ecology of Long-Eared Owls Wintering in South West Yorkshire

RESPONSE TO THE ABOVE PAPERS

53

“The contentious phrase in our paper was perhaps ill advised in that we did not qualify it
with our own belief that this suspicion was unfounded. I only hope a century after my death
two such formidable champions would exist to defend my honour, though hopefully not
without better cause.

It is sad to think that Backhouse’s material may live on anonymously in our botanic
gardens, his remarkable powers of discovery testified to only by a few herbarium sheets
whose worth is lessened by their lack of provenance. We cannot tell if the secrecy
maintained by the Backhouse family and friends, or the latest generation of self-appointed
guardians, ultimately protects or profits this species.

Hopefully the work currently in progress in Manchester will provide answers to some of
the enigmatic questions posed by this, as yet almost completely uninvestigated, species. To
ultimately safeguard this fascinating plant it is not enough to throw a cloak of silence
around it.”

F. J. Rumsey

THE ECOLOGY OF LONG-EARED OWLS
WINTERING IN SOUTH WEST YORKSHIRE

JEFF LUNN

7 Ravenshaw Close, Redbrook, Barnsley, Yorkshire S75 2QS

Introduction

Long-eared Owls Asio otus are a sparse breeding species in Yorkshire, but numbers of
continental immigrants supplement the population in autumn and winter, when communal
roosts can be found in a variety of habitats such as conifer plantations, carr woodland and
scrub (Mather 1986). A roost at Haw Park, Wakefield has been known about since the mid-
1950s and was studied by J. C. S. Ellis and in detail by J. S. Armitage between 1958 and

1965 (Armitage 1968). This paper presents further information concerning this roost from

1966 to 1990.

Methods

Groups of trees traditionally used for roosting were checked regularly during October to
April each winter, though once birds were located care was taken not to disturb the
roost except in exceptional circumstances such as the collection of food pellets.
Observations were made from nearby vantage points at dusk to count birds emerging from
the roost. Mist-netting of birds for ringing purposes was carried out in some years by
placing nets on farmland at right angles and parallel to the roosting plantation: birds were
caught after dark as they hunted along the plantation edge, and also as they briefly stayed
around the edge, sitting on posts or chasing each other before dispersing to the hunting
areas.

Samples of pellets were taken from underneath the roost trees, air-dried, measured and
examined according to Yalden (1977). Exhaustive identification of bird remains was not
attempted given the absence of published references on the subject, but some comparisons
were made with the reference collection held at Weston Park Museum, Sheffield.

Habitat analysis of the surrounding area was made using maps prepared by the Phase 1
Habitat Survey of West Yorkshire 1986 (Ecological Advisory Service/Nature Conservancy
Council) using standard methodology (Nature Conservancy Council 1990).

Naturalist 117 (1992)

54

Ecology of Long-Eared Owls Wintering in South West Yorkshire
The Study Area

Haw Park (GR: SE 3615) is situated between Wakefield and Barnsley, on Carboniferous
Coal Measures at about 60 metres a.s.l. It consists of 68 hectares of woodland considered
to be ‘ancient’ (ie sites with a continuous history of woodland cover since around 1600
AD, Nature Conservancy Council 1988), though the majority of this has been replanted
with confers (86%, mainly Larch Larix, Pine Pinus and Spruce Picea ). The general locality
is, however, rich in habitats. Table 1 shows the main land use in the nine 1 km square (900
hectares) centred upon Haw Park. This area is arbitrarily selected since no data appears to
be available on the winter feeding range of Long-eared Owls, but it does provide an
indication of the range and quantity of habitats readily accessible for hunting. Birds have
been seen flying over the nearby Anglers Lake (1.5 km east) and west bank, Wintersett
Reservoir (1.5 km south-east) giving a local indication of range. Some published data
concerning summer territories suggest this is variable: in Finland, for example, territories
can vary between 50 and 100 ha (Mikkola 1983), though of course the significance of this
in relation to winter behaviour is questionable.

Whilst arable land (including ‘improved’ grassland, usually a monculture of rye-grass
Lolium perenne) dominates as might be expected, the proportion of built-up and industrial
land is low, and woodland, semi-improved grassland (defined as grassland which may have
received some treatment, but which still retains a diversity of original species and is likely

TABLE 1

Land-use in 9 x 1 km squares centred upon Haw Park, Yorkshire

Habitats

Area (ha)

%

Coniferous woodland

58

6.4

Deciduous woodland + scrub

107

11.9

Semi-improved grassland

76

8.4

Amenity grassland

29

3.2

Water

106

11.8

March

1

0.1

Arable

470

52.3

Built-up areas/industry*

53

5.9

Total

900

100.0

*Built-up areas/industry includes residential, farms, coal stocking land.

to be of some wildlife interest) and water are major features of the landscape. The figures
belie the pattern of habitats in the locality, which tend to be small parcels of land with
consequently a large area of ‘edge’ habitat which is often important for wildlife. There are
in addition, numerous linear features including disused canals and railways, hedgerows,
woodland rides, streams and road verges supplementing the mosaic and accentuating the
edge effect. The locality is of considerable wildlife value in a West Yorkshire context and
affords rich hunting grounds for predators.

The actual roost sites within Haw Park were located in dense larch and pine plantations.
That used in the 1960s and described by Armitage (1968) was abandoned in 1969 when
birds moved to another larch plantation some 500 metres to the north-east and in later years
birds roosted in the pine areas to the north of the larches. This plantation was established
around the late 1950s. There were successful discussions with the foresters responsible for
maintenance of the plantations, which resulted in their limiting the usual silvicultural
treatment of ‘brashing’ (removing lower branches) around the roost trees, thus enabling

Ecology of Long-Eared Owls Wintering in South West Yorkshire 55

thick cover to be maintained throughout the study period. Birds could be observed using
branches from almost ground level to 3-4 metres provided there was sufficient cover.

Although the general locality has remained much the same over the last 20 years, one
major change during the period was the development of a large opencast site during the
early 1980s. This has now been restored to a lake (‘Anglers’) surrounded by amenity
grassland and immature plantations.

Arrival and Departure

Although the roost was checked regularly, nightly observations were impractical and only
an approximation of arrival and departure dates can be made. For five winter seasons
1976/77 to 1980/81 the mean arrival date was 20 November (range 27 October to 20
December) and the mean departure date 25 March (range 24 February to 19 April).
However, these dates must be treated with some caution since Long-eared Owls bred
or attempted to breed in the locality in at least six years throughout the study period
(see Figure 1) and the possibility remains that local birds may have joined the winter
visitors.

Population Size and Movement

The numbers of birds using the roost varied markedly. Maxima for each winter period are
given in Figure 1, but reached 16 in 1976/77 and 13-14 in 1968/69, 1975/76 and 1978/79.
Numbers declined sharply after the 1982/83 winter and since then have been very low.
Some local observers have commented that the roost may now have been abandoned,
though it is possible that it may have shifted to another site in the area. It is interesting to
note that the large influx in the 1975/76 winter corresponded with a large national influx
into Britain (Glue, in Lack 1986). High numbers over the next five winters might have
reflected this initial influx, or local recuitment to the winter population through local
breeding attempts, half of which occurred during this period. However, it is also
noteworthy that another major influx in autumn 1986 is not reflected in the Haw Park data,
yet large numbers did appear in Yorkshire, for example, in the Doncaster area (Glue and
Whittington 1987, Curtis 1988, Howes & Thorpe 1990). Armitage argued that the birds
were possibly of continental origin, comparing arrivals on the Yorkshire coast. Whilst the
majority of the Old World population (including Britain) is thought to be sedentary,
northern populations, particularly from Fenno-Scandia are known to be migratory and
nomadic towards the south and west (Mikkola 1983). Despite the fact that 20 Long-eared
Owls were captured in the study area, no conclusive proof has been forthcoming to confirm
the birds’ origins, and local movements of birds are still little known. One of the ringed
birds was recovered in Britain, being found dead at Sprotborough 20 km south east of Haw
Park on 1 March 1981, having been ringed on 12 January 1980. It remains a strong
possibility that the birds are of continental origin, though no conclusive evidence is
available to support this view.

Diet

Pellet analysis

Samples of pellets were collected during the four winters 1979/80 to 1982/83. Apart from
the 1980/81 winter when monthly samples were collected between January and April, all
collections were made at the end of the winter period to avoid disturbance. A total of 417
pellets was collected over these four seasons, supplementing the 1 1 analysed by Ellis from
15 February 1958 and the 99 by Armitage. In addition, some pellet debris was also
analysed since one factor to emerge from the practicalities of examining owl pellets was
that pellets which were comprised mainly of bird remains had a greater tendency to
fragment and disintegrate than those comprised mainly of mammalian prey. Use of pellet
only analysis would, therefore, have underestimated the proportion of avian prey in the diet
of the Haw Park owls. The figures, therefore, represent total numbers of prey derived
predominantly from pellets, but with some from pellet debris.

• = years when Long-eared Owls bred in the Haw Park/Wintersett area

FIGURE 1

Maximium numbers of Long-eared Owls Asio otus at Haw Park, Yorkshire over each
winter period 1959/60 to 1989/90

The number of prey items per pellet is given in Table 2. In contrast to Armitage (1968)
there was no appreciable difference between the numbers of pellets containing one or two
prey items (87% in total). This study did, however, reveal seven pellets containing four or
five prey items. The largest number of prey in one pellet was the remains of five Short-
tailed Voles found in a single pellet from the 1980/81 winter.

Pellet dimensions were mean diameter 19.3 mm ± S.D. 2.2 mm and length 34.2 mm ±
S.D. 7.6 mm (n = 100), corresponding very closely to the average 33 x 19 mm given by
Glue and Hammond (1974) for British samples (n = 2484).

Ecology of Long-Eared Owls Wintering in South West Yorkshire

57

TABLE 2

Number of prey items per pellet of Long-eared Owl, Haw Park, Yorkshire

Prey items

79/80

%

80/81

%

81/82

%

82/83

%

Average

%

1

43

41

56

44

45

2

48

46

30

44

43

3

7

10

13

12

10

4

2

1

1

5

1

1

No. of pellets

104

225

89

9

417

Prey composition

Prey composition for each of the four years is given in Table 3. Figures from Ellis and
Armitage are also given for comparison. In this study 1119 prey items were identified. The
most important prey was Short-tailed Vole Microtus agrestis (56% of the diet), followed
by mice Apodemus (20%), birds (15%) and Bank Vole Clethrionomys glareolus (8%).
These four taxa constituted 99% of the prey, with mammals accounting for over 84%. The
mice are almost certainly Wood Mouse Apodemus sylvaticus since the Yellow-necked
Mouse A.flavicollis is not known to occur in the area (Delany 1985).

The overall diet corresponds closely to that presented by Glue and Hammond (1974) for
Britain (Table 4). At Haw Park more Short-tailed Voles and Wood Mice were taken, and
slightly fewer birds and Bank Voles. The paucity of other prey is noteworthy, especially of
shrews Sorex. These animals (Common S. araneus. Pigmy S. minimus and Water Neomys
fodiens shrews) do occur in the area, but were represented by only three prey items. This is
probably a genuine reflection in prey preference since shrews have been notably absent in
analyses from other lowland sites in the Sheffield area (Toher & Whiteley 1986) yet are
readily taken in other environments such as upland moorland where presumably preferred
prey is less abundant, eg the Peak District (Toher & Whiteley 1986, Lunn 1985), and
Scotland (Village 1981). Other owl species, especially Bam Owls Tyto alba are known to
take a much higher proportion of shrews in their diet, even in the Wakefield and Barnsley
areas (pers. obs.). The numbers of other mammalian prey are also inconsequential in
relation to the overall diet, though the taking of large mammals such as rats Rattus (almost
certainly R. norvegicus) and Water Voles Arvicola terrestris is of interest and would
provide the owls with a more substantial meal. The presence of Harvest Mice Micromys
minutus is also of interest since these animals are quite local in Yorkshire (Delany 1985)
and although nests have been found at nearby Wintersett Reservoir (pers. obs.) animals
could be more generally widespread in the Haw Park area. They have been recorded as
Long-eared Owl prey from Hatfield Moors, Denaby Ings, Potteric Carr, Thorpe Marsh and
Skew Bridge (C. A. Howes, in litt.). In a European context, Mikkola (1983) shows that
rodents, especially voles, are the most important prey of the Long-eared Owl. In Fenno-
Scandian countries their proportion in the diet is even greater (over 90%), though in
Roumania the diet is more varied with mice, rats and birds predominating.

One hundred and sixty six bird prey items were identified. In most pellets the most
readily identifiable bone was the humerus and both upper and lower mandibles were less
frequently found. However, in some samples, skulls/upper mandibles represented the most
frequent remains and counts of these were then used to estimate minimum numbers of
prey. Species identified included Greenfinch Carduelis chloris , Redpoll Acanthis flammea,
Starling Sturnus vulgaris , Robin Erithacus rubecula, tits Parus and Song Thrush Turdus
philomelos (all passerines). However, the most abundant prey by far was sparrows Passer.

TABLE 3

Prey of Long-eared Owls at Haw Park, Yorkshire. Figures given as percentage numerical prey (prey items in brackets).
Data by Ellis and Armitage added for comparison. See text for English names of prey

58

Ecology of Long-Eared Owls Wintering in South West Yorkshire

£ so
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Sorexminutus 0.4 (1) 0.6 (1) n.s. (2)

BIRDS 22.6 (66) 12.5 (77) 8.4 (15) 24.2(8) 14.8 (166) 9.3 (4) 12.7 (7) 9.9 (8)

Coleoptera (Geotrupes) 0.7 (2) 0.6 (1) n.s. (3)

(Carabidae) 1.8 (1)

Total prey items 292 616 178 33 1119 43 55 81

59

Ecology of Long-Eared Owls Wintering in South West Yorkshire

TABLE 4

Comparison of percentage numerical prey of Long-eared Owls at Haw Park, Yorkshire
and from Britain as a whole

Prey

Haw Park

(all winters combined)

%

Britain

Glue and Hammond
1974 (winter period)

%

Microtus agrestis

57.1

45

Clethrionomys glareolus

7.9

9

Apodemus

19.3

16

Rattus

n.s.

3

Birds

14.9

23

Other prey

0.8

4

Total No. of items

1298

2577

This reflects Glue & Hammond’s (1974) results and suggestion that Long-eared Owls prey
on the communal roosts of House Sparrows P. domesticus in particular. Both House and
Tree Sparrows P. montanus were recorded in flocks of up to several hundreds in the study
area during the period in question (Wakefield Bird Reports 1974-1988).

Prey composition by weight

Workers have traditionally converted numbers of prey items taken to an estimate of prey
weight based on a standard prey unit size of 20 g (Yalden 1977). Conversion factors cited
in Smal (1987) for Bam Owls, were used to convert the prey taken at Haw Park into
percentage weight taken which is given in Table 5. For bird prey measurement of the
humerus gives a good indication of prey weight and analysis of humeri provided a Figure of

TABLE 5

Prey of Long-eared Owls at Haw Park, Yorkshire as percentage prey weight, based on
standard ‘prey unit’ (see text for details)

Prey

Conversion

Factor

Prey Weight

Microtus agrestis

1

52.0

(625)

Clethrionomys glareolus

0.96

7.0

(88)

Apodemus (sylvaticus)

1

18.6

(223)

Rattus

2.96

0.7

(3)

Arvicola terrestris

5

1.7

(4)

Mus musculus

n.s.

(4)

Micromys minutus

n.s.

(3)

Sorex araneus

0.4

n.s.

(1)

Sorex minutus

0.18

n.s.

(2)

BIRDS

1.45

20.0

(166)

Coleoptera (Geotrupes)

n.s.

(3)

(Carabidae)

n.s.

(1)

60

Ecology of Long-Eared Owls Wintering in South West Yorkshire

29.1 g (Morris & Burgis 1988) with the main range between 14.9 g and 48.7 g (based on
mean humerus length 19.2 mm ± S.D. 3.7 mm, n = 140). The main difference in this
analysis is that birds assume a greater (5.2%) proportion of the diet at the main expense of
Short-tailed Voles, and the significance of larger prey such as rat Rattus and Water Vole
Arvicola terrestris increases slightly. The mean bird weight is considerably smaller than
that of 51.0 g cited for Bam Owls in Ireland (Smal 1987) and is comparable to the assumed
average weight of Short-tailed and Bank Voles and Wood Mouse. There is likely to be
some variation in the weights of animals taken, because of the variability of individuals and
seasonally related factors such as fat deposition. However, in broad terms, a prey weight of
20-30 g might indicate the preferred optimal size of prey which Long-eared Owls might
actively search for.

Seasonal variation in diet

During the 1980/81 winter, four samples of pellets representing prey taken in January,
February, March and April were separately analysed and are shown in Figure 2. Whilst the

FIGURE 2

Seasonal variation of prey taken by Long-eared Owls at Haw Park, Yorkshire Winter

1980/81

61

Ecology of Long-Eared Owls Wintering in South West Yorkshire

results are not dramatic, a trend towards the end of the winter is apparent when other prey,
especially mice, figured more prominently. This may be because voles were less common
towards spring, as demonstrated in Scotland by Village (1981), and owls were forced to
take alternative prey. Other factors may also play a part and Armitage (1968) suggested
that weather might have some influence, forcing birds to hunt in more sheltered habitats
during strong winds which are more prevalent in spring. However, the analysis does
demonstrate the need for taking into account the time of year when pellets are collected. In
all of the years of the study, pellets mainly from towards the end of the wintering period
were sampled, and analysis of November/December samples may prove to comprise an
even great proportion of Short-tailed Vole prey.

Annual variation in diet

Annual comparisons of prey taken can be seen in Table 3. A striking feature is that during
the 1979/80 winter. Wood Mice constituted the main prey item (41%), with Short-tailed
Voles only 25% and birds 23%. This possibly reflects the scarcity of vole prey since
Microtidae rodents are well known to exhibit cycles of abundance over three or four year
periods and suffer ‘crashes’ periodically. The figures suggest that 1979 could have been
one such year. This phenomenon has important consequences for breeding success of
Long-eared Owls which have poorer breeding results in poor vole years (Village 1981) and
in northern latitudes may even prevent breeding (Mikkola 1983).

Summary

The wintering ecology of a long established roost of Long-eared Owls Asio otus at Haw
Park, Wakefield, Yorkshire was investigated from 1966 to 1990, supplementing earlier
work by Armitage (1968).

1. The roost sites and surrounding land (9 km2) are described in the context of available
habitat capable of supporting up to 16 owls.

2. Arrival was generally in November and departure in March. Long-eared Owls also
attempted to breed during the study period, but no conclusions could be drawn as to
whether the birds were of local, British or Continental origin.

3. The winter diet comprised mainly of Short-tailed Voles (57%) with substantial
proportions of Wood Mice (19%) birds mainly sparrows Passer (15%) and Bank Voles
(8%) and corresponded closely to other studies of the diet of Long-eared Owls in
Britain. Other prey included Water Vole, Rat and Harvest Mouse. Shrews were notably
scarce.

4. Some annual and seasonal variation in prey was detected. It is suggested that Short-
tailed Voles are the preferred prey of Long-eared Owls at Haw Park, but that during
periods of vole scarcity in spring and during cyclical ‘crashes’ that owls switch to
taking more Wood Mice and birds. The average weight of the four main prey species is
broadly similar and it is also suggested that this represents the optimal prey weight for
feeding efficiency for Long-eared owls.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the many observers from Wintersett Ringing Group, Wakefield
Naturalists’ Society and Barnsley Bird Study Group, who have generated and contributed
the records over the years, which I have used in this study. Peter Smith in particular made
available his extensive knowledge of the roost and provided many helpful comments. I am
grateful to Colin Howes for his constructive comments on an earlier draft of this paper and
to Derek Whiteley for assistance at Sheffield Museum.

References

Armitage, J. S. (1968) A study of a Long-eared Owl roost. Naturalist 93: 37-46.

Curtis, W. F. (1988) Yorkshire Naturalists Union Ornithological Report for 1986. YNU,
Leeds.

62

Ecology of Long-Eared Owls Wintering in South West Yorkshire

Delany, M. J. (1985) Yorkshire Mammals. Bradford.

Glue, D. E. and Hammond, G. J. (1974) Feeding ecology of the Long-eared Owl in Britain
and Ireland. Brit. Birds 67: 361-369.

Glue, D. E. and Whittington, P. (1987) Long-eared Owls invade east coast. BTO News 148:

1.

Howes, C. A. and Thorpe, P. (1990) Gerbil in diet of Long-eared Owl. YNU Bull. 13: 20-

21.

Lack, P. (1986) The Atlas of Wintering Birds in Britain and Ireland. T. & A. D. Poyser,
Calton.

Lunn, J. (1985) Upland Water Vole taken by Long-eared Owl. Imprint 5: 8-9.

Mather, J. R. (1986) The Birds of Yorkshire. Croom Helm, Beckenham.

Mikkola, H. (1983) Owls of Europe. T. & A. D. Poyser, Calton.

Morris, P. A. and Burgis, M. J. (1988) A method for estimating total body weight of avian
prey items in the diet of owls. Bird Study 35: 147-152.

Nature Conservancy Council (1988) Inventory of Ancient Woodland (Provisional) - West
Yorkshire. Peterborough.

Nature Conservancy Council (1990) Handbook for Phase 1 Habitat Survey. Peterborough.

Smal, C.M. (1987) The diet of the Bam Owl Tyto alba in Southern Ireland, with reference
to a recently introduced prey species - the Bank Vole Clethrionomys glareolus. Bird
Study 34: 113-125.

Toher, S. and Whiteley, D. (1986) Long-eared Owl - winter diet in lowland areas. Sorby
Record 24: 63-64.

Village, A. (1981) The diet and breeding of Long-eared Owls in relation to vole numbers.
Bird Study 28: 215-224.

Wakefield Bird Reports (1974-1988) Wakefield Naturalist’ Society. Wakefield.

Yalden, D. W. (1977) The Identification of Remains in Owl Pellets. Mammal Society,
Reading.

BOOK REVIEW

Coppiced Woodlands: Their Management for Wildlife by R. J. Fuller and M. S.
Warren. Pp. 32 with 19 colour plates and 9 figures. Nature Conservancy Council,
Peterborough. 1990. £2.50

Woodland Rides and Glades: Their Management for Wildlife by M. S. Warren and
R. J. Fuller. Pp. 32 with 19 colour plates and 9 figures. Nature Conservancy Council,
Peterborough. 1990. £2.50

These two booklets are the first volumes in an intended series by the Nature Conservancy
Council on aspects of management of various habitats for wildlife. As stated in the Preface
to these booklets, they are not just prescriptive guides or recipe books for management
work, but compilations of the studies and an explanation of the scientific evidence on
which the management guidance is based.

The stmcture of the text falls roughly into die following notional sections: an
introduction outlining the current situation, including the conservation value of the habitat
concerned; the response of wildlife to possible management procedures for this habitat;
advice on the most appropriate management techniques; and a bibliography of relevant
scientific publications. The volumes are illustrated by very attractive, well produced colour
photographs which nicely complement the text, as well as line drawings.

These are attractive and informative booklets that can be read with enjoyment by
anyone, purely for interest about the surrounding countryside, but which should prove
particularly useful to their primary audience of people who are responsible for management
of a specific habitat, an area of woodland in this case. I look forward to future volumes in
the series.

WHGH

63

THE COMMON SANDPIPER POPULATION OF THE
LADYBOWER RESERVOIR COMPLEX — A RE-EVALUATION

D. W. YALDEN

Department of Environmental Biology, The University, Manchester Ml 3 9PL

Introduction

During the years 1979-1982, I undertook a single census each year of the Common
Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos population breeding on the shores around the reservoirs in the
Ladybower-Derwent-Howden complex (Yalden, 1984) and continued for three further
years. Each census required about 14.5 hours of fieldwork. It was conducted during the
third weekend in June because most pairs have hatched their eggs by this time (Holland et
al, 1982a) and are stridently anxious about their chicks, which makes them easy to detect.
It was, however, acknowledged that the population estimates so obtained would be
underestimates, because pairs that had already failed (not laid eggs, failed to hatch them, or
lost their young chicks already) and those that were late (perhaps with replacement
clutches) would probably be overlooked. Some extra birds (additional, that is, to ‘alarming’
parents) were noted on these surveys, and were presumed to belong to one or other of these
groups, but they were less obviously tied to any particular territory, sometimes flying off to
the opposite shore of the reservoir, and were hard to evaluate.

How seriously did these single-visit censuses underestimate the population? What were
the sources of error? In 1989-1991, further, more detailed, studies of this population were
undertaken, principally to investigate the possible impact of recreational disturbance
(Yalden 1992). Censuses undertaken for these studies provide some answers to the
questions posed. In addition, studies of the colour-ringed population along the nearby River
Ashop provide more understanding about the behaviour of Common Sandpipers at
different stages of their breeding cycle (Holland & Yalden, 1991; Yalden, 1986), and
therefore help to evaluate the results of single-visit censuses.

Study Area

The Ladybower-Derwent-Howden reservoir complex occupies the valley of the River
Derwent along the Derby shire- Yorkshire border in the Peak District. The Ladybower
Reservoir, much the largest, is a two-armed reservoir made during 1943-45 by damming
the River Derwent at SK200853, just below the confluence with the River Ashop. Thus the
western arm drains the valley of the River Ashop, and the northern arm that of the River
Derwent; their shorelines are roughly 10.6km and 8.6km respectively, a total of 19.2km.
The Derwent dam at SKI 72898 was completed in 1914, and the resultant reservoir has
6.1km of shoreline, while the Howden dam at SKI 70924 was completed in 1912, and
retains a reservoir with an 8.0km shoreline. The water levels in the three reservoirs can be
manipulated so that, for instance, two might be kept nearly full and the third one much
lower, but usually they are full at the end of winter, and draw down during the summer.
Strong winds produce waves, so the upper shores are bare, and the banks often undercut.
As the water level drops during May and June, the bare shingle or boulder shore provides
an increasing area of foraging habitat for the Common Sandpipers, especially the chicks.
The boulders and undercut banks also provide good refuges for the chicks.

The Ladybower Reservoir is stocked with Brown and Rainbow Trout ( Salmo trutta, S.
gairdneri) and supports an important recreational fishery, while the whole valley is a
popular venue for informal recreation. The impact of these activities on the Sandpipers has
largely been considered elsewhere (Yalden, 1984, 1992), but these survey results provide
some supplementary information.

Methods

In 1989 and 1990, census work was confined to the western arm of the Ladybower

Naturalist 117 (1992)

TABLE 1

Results of censusing Common Sandpipers Actitis hypoleucos around the Ladybower-Derwent-Howden Reservoir system in 1991.
There were 5 visits (v) to Derwent and Howden, 6 to W Ladybower and 7 to N Ladybower.

The June column indicates the number of pairs ‘alarming’ (+ present, silent)
on the weekend of 23-24 June (cf Table 2).

64

Common Sandpiper Population of the Ladybower Reservoir Complex

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-o

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Total 33.3 60 (1.80) 37 (62) 27 (45) 23(+24) 327 174 c.2.5

Common Sandpiper Population of the Ladybower Reservoir Complex 65

Reservoir (Yalden, 1992). The whole shoreline was walked at weekly intervals from late
April to mid-July, Sandpipers, anglers and other visitors being mapped and counted.
Accumulated records of Sandpipers over the season were assessed to indicate how many
pairs held territory, and where. Their behaviour over successive visits in June and July was
used to decide whether they had hatched their eggs (agitated behaviour indicating that they
were guarding chicks) and whether they had succeeded in fledging any (if they were
behaving in this way over three of four successive weeks, then presumably at least one
chick had fledged, since fledging requires 19 days).

In 1991, the whole reservoir complex was surveyed, but it was only possible to visit any
one reservoir at two or three week intervals; five to seven complete surveys were made of
each reservoir. The results for the western arm of Ladybower could be compared directly
with the results for 1989-90, and these comparisons then used to moderate the results for
the rest of the reservoir complex.

Population estimates made from the results for the whole season can be compared with
those made during the third weekend in June (ie what might have been recorded in 1979-
82). In particular, the reasons why particular territories might have been missed on such a
single census could be established by reference to earlier and later visits.

Results

The size of the population

The whole reservoir system held an estimated 60 pairs of Common Sandpipers in 1991, 40
pairs on Ladybower, 12 on Derwent and 8 on Howden (Table 1). Correcting for the size of
the reservoirs, there were 2.03 pairs per km of shoreline around Ladybower, 1 .97 pairs/km
around Derwent, but only 1.00 pairs/km round Howden. The most popular shoreline was
the east shore of north Ladybower, with 2.95 pairs/km.

The western arm of Ladybower had 31 pairs in 1989, 26 pairs in 1990 and only 19 pairs
in 1991, or 61% of the 1989 figure. It is, of course, possible that some pairs had
redistributed themselves, so that this apparent decline was actually balanced by increases
elsewhere in the valley. However, our studies of the nearby riverine population show that
Common Sandpipers are highly philopatric, with only 8% of males and 21% of females
changing territories between years (Holland & Yalden, 1991). They also show that the
population there declined sharply from 1988 to 1989 (21 pairs to 13 pairs) and it has not
subsequently recovered (14 pairs in 1990, 10 pairs in 1991). We believe that these
reductions are caused by increased adult mortality from cold weather in late April as the
birds return from Africa; both 1988 and 1991 were indeed years with cold springs.

Evaluating single-visit censuses

Single-visit censuses in 1979-1982 recorded 28-36 pairs anxiously guarding chicks, while
the comparable visits on 23-24 June 1991 found only 23 pairs (Table 2). Thus the
population in 1991 was only 64%, apparently, of the 1981 figure; furthermore, the June
census in 1991 located only 38% of the estimated 60 pairs present that year. On the western
arm of Ladybower, 12 of 31 pairs (39%) were ‘alarming’ on 17 June 1989, and 11 of 26
pairs (42%) on 23 June 1990. Thus a single-visit census in late June is likely to detect
about 40% of the total population.

In fact, a further 24 territories were apparently occupied in 1991, but the adults were not
‘alarming’, and therefore either had not yet hatched their eggs, or possibly had already
failed. The repeated surveys can be used to evaluate these possibilities. Combining the
three surveys (Table 3), it seems that about 12% of the pairs have still to hatch their eggs,
and are only discovered ‘alarming’ on later surveys; about half of these were at least
registered as occupied territories on the census, and half were completely missed. Only one
territory was apparently missed because the chicks hatched early, had already fledged and
had deserted the territory; fledging requires at least 19 days, and hatching very rarely
occurs before 3 June, so one would expect to detect successful territories up to 23 or 24
June. The largest category of both silent and completely missed territories is of apparently

66 Common Sandpiper Population of the Ladybower Reservoir Complex

TABLE 2

The results of single-visit June censuses of Common Sandpipers Actitis hypoleucos
breeding around the Ladybower Reservoir system, 1979-1991.

Reservoir/Shore

1979

1980

1981

1982

1983

1984

1985

1991

W Ladybower/N&E

6

6

4

2

4

3

7

2

W Ladybower/S

4

6

8

5

7

6

10

3

N Ladybower/E

3

5

9

5

7

5

9

2

N Ladybower/W

6

7

5

8

1

8

5

3

Derwent/E

7

5

3

3

3

3

3

5

Derwent/W

3

5

3

1

7

10

4

4

Howden/E

1

1

3

1

2

0

0

0

Howden/W

0

1

1

2

1

0

2

4

Total

30

36

36

28

32

35

40

23

TABLE 3

Evaluating the single-visit June census around the Ladybower Reservoir
system, 1989-1991. The whole system was covered in 1991,
only the W arm of Ladybower in 1989 and 1990

1989

1990

1991

Total

(%)

Pairs present, alarming

12

11

23

46

(39)

Pairs present, but silent

6

11

21

38

(32)

of which, already failed?

(4)

(11)

(16)

(31)

(26)

already fledged

-

-

-

-

yet to hatch

(2)

-

(5)

(7)

(6)

Pairs completely missed

13

4

16

33

(28)

of which, already failed?

(11)

(3)

(ID

(25)

(21)

already fledged

-

(1)

_

(1)

(1)

yet to hatch

(2)

—

(5)

(7)

(6)

Total Population

31

26

60

1

1

7

Common Sandpiper Population of the Ladybower Reservoir Complex 67

unsuccessful pairs. Some of these had definitely failed, in that the parents had been
“alarming” on an earlier visit but were either silent or had already left by the census date
(12 out of the 56 in these two categories). The others never provided any indication that
they ever hatched chicks; they could have done so, between visits, but then lost them; they
may have lost their eggs; or they may never even have laid a clutch. So far as population
dynamics is concerned, they represent failed breeding attempts, and so far as censusing is
concerned they indicate a large segment of the population which is difficult to detect and
difficult to evaluate.

Impact of people

Combining all the visits, 327 anglers and 174 other visitors were counted on the shorelines
of the three reservoirs in 1991 (Table 1). All the anglers and 82% of the other people were
around Ladybower Reservoir, with the western arm receiving most visitors. Expressed as
the number of visitors per visits per km of shoreline, west Ladybower received 4-5, north
Ladybower 2-3, and the rest fewer than one visitor/km. These figures might be slightly
biased, because the area is most popular on Sundays, and the upper reservoirs were only
censused on one Sunday, whereas Ladybower received three Sunday visits. Any such bias
is modest compared with the substantial difference in visitor pressure, however, and
anglers are confined to Ladybower. There was no systematic variation in Common
Sandpiper density between Ladybower and Derwent Reservoirs, despite the different
angling use; both had around two pairs per km of shoreline. (Howden appears to be less
suitable habitat, and had a lower Sandpiper density). However, there is a statistically
significant difference in the proportion of territories which succeeded in hatching, 21 out of
40 at Ladybower versus 16 out of 20 at Derwent and Howden (x2 = 4.26, p=0.036) (Table
1). Success to fledging differed even more markedly (14 out of 40 at Ladybower, 13 out of
20 at Howden and Derwent; x2=4.85, p=0.026). This suggests that recreational pressure
might be having an impact on the breeding attempts and breeding success around
Ladybower.

Discussion

At 1.8 pairs/km around the shoreline of these reservoirs, including both favourable and
unfavourable stretches, this is quite a dense population, comparing favourably with various
riverine populations: Cuthbertson et al (1952) 1.05 pairs/km; Cowper (1973) 0.13; Jones
(1983) 0.3-2.3; Vickery (1991) 0.2-1.12; Holland et al. (1982b) 0.7-2.4. However,
comparison of the June censuses with those made in earlier years (Table 2) and the figures
for west Ladybower for 1989-1990 suggest that the 1991 population is low compared to
what it used to be. The 1989- 1990 figures for west Ladybower may not be a fair basis for
comparison if the 1991 population had redistributed itself around the reservoirs, but
comparison with the earlier (1979-81) censuses does not suggest that this has happened. In
that case, the 1989 population for the whole reservoir complex might have been 103 pairs,
a density of 3.1 pairs/km.

Single visits censuses in late June apparently only found about 40% of the population
“alarming” to protect their chicks, and detected about 70% of the population altogether, if
“silent” birds are also counted. If the 29-36 pairs of “alarming” birds counted in 1979-1981
are ‘corrected’ in the same way populations then for the whole reservoir system must have
been 73-90 pairs, at least: the importance of this area for the species, both within the Peak
District and nationally, was correspondingly underestimated in our earlier papers (Holland
et al., 1982a, 1982b).

Reservoirs are better buffered against bad weather in April than the rivers, and one
would expect their invertebrate food supply, and therefore the Sandpipers themselves, to be
less affected. We noted that the drop in population in our riverine population from 1980 to
1981 was not immediately reflected in either this nearby reservoir population or the
national figures from the Waterways Bird Survey (Holland & Yalden, 1991), but there
were declines from 1981 to 1982. If the 1981 snows killed a number of the better

68 Common Sandpiper Population of the Ladybower Reservoir Complex

established, older, breeding sandpipers, one might predict lower breeding success that year,
therefore fewer recruits and a lower population in 1982. This seems to have happened, and
might also be what affected the west Ladybower population from 1989 to 1990 and to
1991. We expected that the reservoir population might have better breeding success than
our riverine population, but the proportions of territories that succeed to hatching and to
fledging, 62% and 45%, on the reservoir are very similar to the figures, 62% and 41%,
from our riverine study population, averaged over 15 years. It is of course possible that, for
instance, each successful territory around the reservoirs fledges two young on average, as
against only one young per successful riverine territory, and that the reservoir population is
therefore more productive, but we have no particular evidence for such an argument. We
reported that the River Ashop population produces only just enough recruits to balance the
normal, low (c. 20%) adult annual mortality; when there is more extreme adult mortality
(40-50%) in one of the severe April cold spells, it takes the population several years to
creep back up to its former level (Holland & Yalden, 1991). The figure just quoted
suggests that recruitment is not noticeably better for the reservoir population. If true, it is
obviously important to the conservation of this population that successful breeding areas
are protected.

Acknowledgement

I thank Phil Holland for co-operation in this and our other studies, my wife for her
logistical support, and Sevem-Trent Water pic, through Geoff Nickolds, for permission to
study the species around these reservoirs.

References

Cowper, C. N. L. (1973) Breeding distribution of grey wagtails, dippers and common
sandpipers on the Midlothian Esk. Scot. Bird 7: 302-306.

Cuthbertson, E. I., Foggitt, G. T. & Bell, M. A. (1952) A census of Common Sandpipers in
the Sedbergh area, 1951. Brit. Birds 45: 171.

Holland, P. K., Robson, J. E. & Yalden, D. W. (1982a) The breeding biology of the
Common Sandpiper ( Actitis hypoleucos ) in the Peak District. Bird Study 29: 99-110.
Holland, P. K., Robson, J. E. & Yalden, D. W. (1982b) The status and distribution of the
Common Sandpiper ( Actitis hypoleucos ) in the Peak District. Naturalist 107: 77-86.
Holland, P. K. & Yalden, D. W. (1991) Population dynamics of Common Sandpipers
( Actitis hypoleucos ) breeding along an upland river system. Bird Study 38: 151-159.
Jones, S. A. (1983) Ecological studies of wading birds (Charadrii) in some upland areas of
Britain. Unpubl. Ph.D. thesis, University of Durham.

Vickery, J. (1191) Breeding density of Dippers Cinclus cinclus, Grey Wagtails Motacilla
cinerea and Common Sandpipers Actitis hypoleucos in relation to the acidity of streams
in Scotland. Ibis 133: 178-185.

Yalden, D. W. (1984) Common Sandpiper numbers and recreational pressure in the
Derwent Valley. Magpie 3: 38-46.

Yalden, D. W. (1986) The habitat and activity of Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos
breeding by upland rivers. Bird Study 33: 214-222.

Yalden, D. W. (1992) The influence of recreational disturbance on Common Sandpipers
Actitis hypoleucos breeding by an upland reservoir. Biol. Cons. 61: 41-50.

69

ENTOMOLOGICAL REPORTS FOR 1987-1989

COLEOPTERA: CARABIDAE-HYDROPHILIDAE,
CERAMBYCIDAE-PLATYPODIDAE

J. H. FLINT

Until 1987 the Coleoptera reports had been compiled by a single author. From 1987, to
spread the load of reporting and recording, the work was shared between three with
responsibility for the families as below -

J. H. Flint Carabidae-Hydrophilidae

Cerambycidae-Platypodidae
M. L. Denton Staphylininae

R. J. Marsh Sphaeritidae-Aderidae (except Staphylininae)

This report covers the families allowed to the present author for the years 1987-1989.

In the list of more notable beetles that follows, twelve species are recorded for the first
time in Yorkshire. Most of these, as is usual, may have been passed over previously
because they are not easily distinguished but two are outstanding. The large ground beetle
Carabus auratus is almost certainly a casual introduction from the continent, transported
with imported vegetable produce. The second is the distinctive longhorn beetle Phytoecia
cylindrica and its occurrence at Allerthorpe may indicate that it is extending its range
northwards.

My thanks go to all who have contributed reports and records or who have assisted with
determining of species. The initials used in the list that follows are: KNAA = K. N. A.
Alexander; RBA = R. B. Angus; RGB = R. G. Booth; JDC = J. D. Coldwell; RHD =
R. H. Deaton; MLD = M. L. Denton; WAE = W. A. Ely; HEF = Mrs. H. E. Flint; JHF =
J. H. Flint; SPG = S. P. Garland; PK = P. Kendall; RSK = R. S. Key; TBK = T. B. Kitchen;
SPL = S. P. Lazenby; RJM = R. J. Marsh; KGP = K. G. Payne; AS = Miss A. Shields; PS =
P. Skidmore and AW = A. Wilkinson.

f New county records. * New vice-county records.

f Carabus auratus L. (64) Allerton Bywater (Leeds Road) (SE28), 3/88, taken by Mrs C.
Smith and identified by Dr S. L. Sutton. This large and splendid ground beetle is an
occasional introduction to Britain; it does not appear to have been reported previously
in Yorkshire.

Nebria salina Fairm. (*65) Dent (SD6886), 21/5/79; WAE.

Broscus cephalotes L. (63) Blaxton Common, 13/8/88; RSK.
t Asaphidion curtum Hey. The most common and widespread of the three species formerly
lumped under flavipes L. Reported from (61) Saltmarshe, Howden, Boynton, Kelfield
Ings; (63) Blackmoorfoot, Sheffield, Barnsley, Bretton, Denaby Ings; (64) Barlow,
Cattal, Moor Monkton.

t A. flavipes L. (64) Barlow (SE6330), 29/5/52; TBK.

f A. stierlini Hey. (63) Walkley, Sheffield (SK0889), demolition site, 1987; ASL. (64)
Hazelwood Castle, Aberford (SE4439), 6/1 1/88; RBA det. MLD.

Bembidion harpaloides Serv. (*65) River Swale at Great Langton (SE2897), 23/4/84;
H. Mendel.

B. litorale 01. (62) Beningborough Park, 1987; KNAA.

Laemostenus terricola Hbst. (63) Attercliffe, Sheffield (SK381893), 5/10/88; ASL. In
disused chapel with pigeon muck and rat holes.

Agonum livens Gyll. (63) Oak Hill, Goole (SE7222), 16.6.87; PK.
t Perigona nigriceps Dej. (64) Aberford (SE441369), 27/8/89; RBA det. PS.

Amara eurynota Panz. (63) Sheffield, on waste ground. ASL reports many records of

Naturalist 117 (1992)

70

Entomological Reports for 1987-1989

this conspicuous beetle in Sheffield and JDC reports it from Barnsley. JHF did not
find any on similar sites in Leeds in the late 1940s and there is still no record for
VC64 although it has been found in all the other vice-counties.

A. praetermissa Sahl. (61) Wharram Quarry (SE8665), 9/7/89; PK. (63) Brightside,
Sheffield (SK386905), 18/7/88; ASL. Waste ground on limestone core near railway
embankment.

Harpalus puncticeps Steph. (63) Worsborough reservoir, 20/9/87; JDC. Only reported
three times before in Yorkshire.

H. tardus Panz. (61) Southcliffe Common (SE83), 5/87; MLD.

Acupalpus meridianus L. (63) Agden (SK253929), 14/2/87; MLD. In flood refuse. Not
reported since Hey’s List in the nineteenth century.

Haliplus laminatus Schall. (61) Ulleskelf (SE5239), 6/9/88; KGP.

Ilybius subaeneus Er. (64) Cawood (SE5737), 25/8/88; KGP.

Helophorus arvernicus Muls. (*61) Newton Mask, R. Derwent (SE7050), 1984; RGB.
t H. grandis Illig. (63) Rushy Moor, Askem (SE5612), 22/3/86; WAE. Scholes Pond
(SK3895), 23/3/87; WAE (65) Semerwater (SD9186), 20/8/88; WAE.

H. minutus F. (*65) Semerwater (SD9186), 20/8/88; WAE.

H. obscurus Muls. (*63) Rushy Moor, Askem (SE5612), 23/7/86; Scholes Pond
(SK3895), 23/3/87; WAE. (*65) Semerwater (SD9186) 20/8/88; WAE.

Cercyon haemorrhoidalis F., C. lateralis Marsh., C. pygmaeus Illig., C. quisquilius L.
(*65) Semerwater (SD9185), 20/8/88; RJM.
t Anacaena lutescens Steph. (63) Drop Clough (SE01), 29/1/89; MLD.

Grammoptera holomelina Pool (63) Oak Hill, Goole (SE7222), 16/6/87; PK. Worsborough
(SE3403), 2/8/86; WAE.

Stenostola ferrea Schr. (63) Ewden Beck, near Stocksbridge (SK240968), 20/6/87; MLD.
f Phytoecia cylindrica L. (61) Sutton Lane, Allerthorpe Common on umbels (SE7548),
31/5/87; PK. Far to the north of other English records.

Chrysolina violacea Mull. (*62) Ellerbum Bank (SE8584), 10/7/88; RBA. Very rarely
seen in Yorkshire.

Hydrothassa hannoveriana F. (*65) Semerwater (SD9185), 20/8/88; RJM and others.
Many specimens in flood refuse. Known from Fulford and Askham Bryan in the early
half of the nineteenth century but long ago extinct there. Colonies were found at
Malham Tam in 1958 and Fountains Fell in 1973; also, in 1966, on the Durham side
of the Tees (NZ8430), HEF.

Prasocuris phellandrii L. (*65) Semerwater (SD9186), 20/8/88; WAE.

Phyllodecta laticollis Suffr. (*63) Lindrick golf course (SK5482), 18/8/79; WAE.

Galerucella calmariensis L. (64) Camblesforth (SE6525), 21/7/87; WAE. Many
records from Askham Bog up to 1949 but otherwise only reported four times in
Yorkshire.

Longitarsus brunneus Duft. (*64) Askham Bog, 1984; RGB.

L. obliteratus Ros. (61) Thornton Ellers (SE7245), 19/8/87; MLD. There is one old
record from Hull c. 1900.

Psylliodes chrysocephala L. (*65) Gale Bank (SE0988), 6/10/85; WAE.

Anthribus resinosus Scop. (*61) Skipwith Common, 25/4/87; AW and AS. (63) Langold
Holt (SK5685), 14/7/84; SPG.

Rhynchites aequatus L. (*61) Thornton Ings (SE7545), 29/5/87; JHF. Only two previous
records in Yorkshire this century of this very handsome beetle.

Apion aestivum Germ. (64) Askham Bog, 21/3/87; WAE. Sixty years since it was last
reported in Yorkshire.

A. subulatum Kby. (*61) Newton Mask (SE7050), 1984; WAE.

A. afer Gyll. (*63) Niblung Quarry (SK5481), 5/7/79; WAE. Not reported in Yorkshire
since 1917.

A. ononis Kby. (*63) Pieces Bank (SK5491), 6/7/86; WAE.

A, punctigerum Payk. (*63) Rother Valley (SK4681), 21/8/86; WAE.

Entomological Reports for 1990-1991 7 1

Trachyphloeus bifoveolatus Beck (*61) Southcliffe Common (SE83), 6.87, in pitfall
trap; MLD.

f T. scabriculus L . Southcliffe Common, with the above.

Brachysomus echinatus Bons. (*63) Sprotborough (SE50), 13/6/87; MLD.

Limobius borealis Payk. (*61) Loftsome Bridge, near Howden (SE7030), 28/7/87; PK.
Pissodes pini L. (*63) Margery Wood (SE20), 2/7/88; MLD.

Mesites tardyi Curt. (62) Haybum Wyke, 1987; KNAA. A persistent colony under bark
of various trees, first recorded here in 1868 and later in 1920.

Acalles ptinoides Marsh. (*63) Pot Ridings Wood (SE5200), 29/6/88; WAE.
Hydronomus alismatis Marsh. (63) Treeton, Rotherham (SK429883), 24/7/86; WAE.
Not reported since 1952, possibly because its foodplants are not easily accessible,
water plantain (Alisma plantago-aquatica) and arrowhead (Sagittaria sagittifolia). It
was taken on arrowhead in profusion at Brayton, Selby, by W. D. Hincks and T. B.
Kitchen in 1944.

N otaris bimaculatus F. (61) Thornton Ellers, 25/7/87; RHD. The only other record is
from Bubwith in 1912.

t Thryogenes festucae Hbst. (61) Sunk Island, by Old Hall (TA2716), 17/8/86; WAE.
Ceutorhynchus picitarsis Gyll. (63) Pot Ridings Wood (SE5200), 20/7/88; WAE.
Second Yorkshire record.

t Curculio nucum L. (63) Shepherd’s Plantation, Rotherham (SK4095), 18/6/86; Wath
upon Deame (SK4399), 24/5/86; WAE.

Scolytus intricatus Ratz. (63) Hall Dike (SE11), 7/12/84; MLD.

S. mali Bech. (*63) Blackmoorfoot, 17/10/84; MLD.
t S. rugulosus Mull. (63) Oak Hill, Goole (SE7222), 16/6/87; PK.

ENTOMOLOGICAL REPORTS FOR 1990-1991
COLEOPTERA: ST APH YLINID AE (ALEOCHARINAE)

M. L. DENTON

The collecting, identifying and documentation of Yorkshires Aleocharinae continued
apace, albeit by a small but dedicated group of specialists. The following list documents
their findings since the last report which appeared in The Naturalist, 115: 97-102.

Work for various conservation bodies during the period under review revealed the
presence of some hitherto unrecorded vice-county and Yorkshire species. Notable in this
respect was the mammoth undertaking by the Nature Conservancy Council (now English
Nature) on Thome Moor. This survey, which covered the whole of 1990, culminated in a
document entitled ‘The Thome and Hatfield Moors Invertebrate Survey Final Report’,
written by David Heaver and Brian Eversham. Both R. J. Marsh and the writer were
involved in identifying the Staphylinids (including Aleocharinae) for this project.

The identification of the Aleocharinae can be a difficult and daunting task, with a good
reference collection being essential. The backing of a knowledgeable specialist is also
paramount for the more problematical specimens. It is with this in mind that thanks must
be expressed to Mr C. Johnson of the Manchester Museum for his time and efforts in
identifying specimens which recorders were finding beyond their capabilities.

For reasons described in the first Aleocharinae report {Naturalist 111: 91-96), the sex of
the specimen(s) on which identification was based has been indicated; it can be assumed
that all specimens were male, unless otherwise stated.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the small band of dedicated collectors and
identifiers for their continued support in documenting the Aleocharinae of Yorkshire. The
following people’s initials appear in the list that follows: RBA = R. B. Angus; MLD =
M. L. Denton; WAE = W. A. Ely; CJ = C. Johnson, RJM = R. J. Marsh; KP = K. Payne
and EJS = E. J. Smith.

Naturalist 117 (1992)

72

Entomological Reports for 1990-1991

This list introduces the names of one species new to Britain, 8 new to the county and 37
new to one or other of the vice-counties.

f New county records. * New vice-county records.

Deinopsis erosa (Steph.) (61) Wheldrake Ings (SE74), 7/9/89, Phragmites bed, RJM.
The only previous records are from Hornsea (TA24) in 1903 and Hagg Wood (SE54)
in 1963.

Oligota apicata Er. (63) Anston Stones Wood (SK58), female, 19/5/85, WAE (teste CJ).
The only previous records are from Whitby (NZ81) in 1935, Anston Stones Wood
(SK58) in 1935 and Scarborough (TA08) on an unrecorded date.

O. parva Kra. (*64) Aberford (SE43), 17/1 1/90, compost heap, RBA det. CJ.

O. punctulata Heer. (*61) Haverfield Quarry (TA32), female, 27/4/91, pondside debris,
RBA (teste MLD). (63) Hillsborough (SK38), 7/8/90; female, 25/2/91, EJS. Askham
Bog (SE54), Sprotbrough (SE50), Melton Wood (SE50) and Whitley (SE51) have
yielded the only previous records.

O. pusillima (Gr.) (61) Spurn (TA41), 23/6/90, old straw heap, MLD (teste CJ). The only
previous records are from Dalton (SE11) in 1948, Thirsk (SE58) in 1986, Whitley
(SE51) in 1989 and Spurn (TA41) on an unrecorded date.

Myllaena gracilis (Matt.) (*61) Thornton Ellers (SE74), 7/9/89, pondside debris, RJM
(teste CJ). Fisherman’s Channel, Sunk Island (TA41), both sexes, 27/4/91, Typha bed,
RJM. The only previous record was from Hagg Wood (SE54) in 1963.

M. intermedia Er. (61) Wheldrake Ings (SE74), 7/9/89, Typha bed, RJM (teste CJ).
Sprotbrough (SE50), Studley (SE26), Skipwith Common (SE63) and Bumiston
(TA09) have yielded the only previous records.

M. minuta (Gr.) (61) Bubwith Bridge (SE73), 22/5/90, Glyceria bed, MLD. Towthorpe
(SE86), 26/5/90, Moorhen nest, MLD. The only previous records are from
Sprotbrough (SE50) in 1971, Knaresborough Ringing Station (SE35) in 1983,
Askham Bog (SE54) in 1987 and Bubwith Bridge (SE73) in 1988 and 1989.

Gyrophaena bihamata Thom. (63) Owston Wood (SE51), 11/8/90, decaying fungi,
MLD. The only previous records are from Skipwith Common (SE63) in 1915, Thome
Bridge (SE60) in 1969, Thome Moor (SE71) in 1985 and Rudston (TA16) in 1989.
t G. joyioides Wust. (64) Hetchell Wood (SE34), 25/7/89, in Amanita rubescens, RBA
det. MLD (teste CJ).

G. latissima (Steph.) (*61) Thornton Ellers (SE74), 16/4/90, decaying fungi, MLD.

G. minima Er. (*64) Hell Wath (SE36), 2/6/90, fungi under bark, RJM.

Autalia longicornis Sch. (*64) Hazelwood Castle (SE43), 6/11/88, decaying fungi, RBA
det. MLD. Ringhay Wood (SE43), 17/9/89, decaying fungi, RBA det. MLD. Bishop
Wood (SE53), 1/10/89, decaying fungi, RBA det. MLD.

Cordalia obscura (Gr.) (64) Cawood (SE53), 10/5/90, pit fall trap in wet meadow, KP
det. MLD. The only previous records are from Cloughton (TA09) in 1914, Whitby
(NZ81) in 1935, Mag Wood (SE11) in 1983 and the York district on an unrecorded
date.

Tachyusa leucopus (Marsh.) (*64) High Batts N.R. (SE27), female, 18/8/91, river side
sand bank, MLD.

t Gnypeta ripicola (Kies.) (63) Margery Wood (SE20), female, 19/7/89, EJS (teste CJ).

Callicerus rigidicornis (Er.) (63) Owston Wood (SE51), female, 1 1/8/90, MLD. Bramley
(SK49), Gillfield Wood (SE09) and Newton Ings (SE42) have yielded the only
previous records.

Dacrila fallax (Kra.) (61) Haverfield Quarry (TA32), female, 27/4/91, pondside debris,
MLD (teste CJ). Fisherman’s Channel, Sunk Island (TA41), both sexes, 27/4/91,
Typha bed, RJM. The only previous record was from Spurn (TA41) in 1948.

Amischa cavifrons (Sharp) (*65) Aysgarth (SD98), 25/5/91, cow dung, MLD.

A. decipiens (Sharp) (*64) Hell Wath (SE36), female, 2/6/90, fungi under bark, RJM.

Brundinia meridionalis (Mul. & Rey) (61) Beacon Ponds (TA41), both sexes, 21/6/90,

73

Entomological Reports for 1990-1991

pondside debris, MLD. Fisherman’s Channel, Sunk Island (TA21), both sexes,
27/4/91, pondside debris, MLD and RJM. The only previous records are from Sunk
Island (TA21) in 1986 and Spurn (TA41) on an unrecorded date.

Dochmonota clancula (Er.) (61) Bubwith Bridge (SE73), 22/5/90, Glyceria bed, MLD
det. CJ. Askham Bog (SE54), North Duffield Carrs (SE63) and Guisbrough (SK59)
have yielded the only previous records.

Atheta debilis (Er.) (*61) Bubwith Bridge (SE73), 15/12/90, flood refuse, MLD.
Wheldrake Ings (SE74), 10/3/91, flood refuse, MLD and RJM.

A. fallaciosa (Sharp) (*63) Thome Moor (SE71), 10/90, pit fall trap, English Nature det.
MLD. The only previous records are from Danby High Moor (NZ70) in 1987 and
Skipwith Common (SE63) in 1989.

A. gyllenhali (Thom.) (*64) Cawood (SE53), 9/90, pit fall trap in wet meadow, KP det.
MLD.

A. hygrobia (Thom.) (63) Owston Wood (SE51), 11/8/90, MLD. The only previous
records are from Bubwith (SE73) in 1931, Ashberry Pastures (SE58) in 1972,
Rudding Park (SE35) in 1973 and Blackmoorfoot (SE01) in 1989.

A. malleus Joy. (*64) Studley Park (SE26), 14/7/90, decaying fungi, MLD.

A. palustris (Kies.) (*64) Hell Wath (SE26), 2/6/90, pondside debris, MLD.

A. euryptera (Steph.) (*61) Spurn (TA41), 18/6/90, tide line refuse, MLD det. CJ.

A. harwoodi Will. (*64) Hetchell Wood (SE34), female, 25/7/89, in Amanita rubescens,
RBA det. MLD. Hell Wath (SE26), 2/6/90, pondside debris, MLD.

A. liturata (Steph.) (*64) Hell Wath (SE36), both sexes, 2/6/90, fungi under bark, RJM.
Studley Park (SE26), both sexes, 14/7/90, decaying fungi, MLD. The only previous
records are from Roche Abbey (SK58) in 1984 and Duncombe Park (SE68) in 1985
and 1987.

A. atricolor (Sharp) (*65) Felham Ranges (NZ00), female, 18/8/90, in Polyporus
squamosus , MLD.

t A. boreella Brun. (63) Blackmoorfoot (SE01), female, 12/5/90, grass heap, MLD (teste
CJ).

A. liliputana (Bris.) (63) Linthwaite (SE01), 10/11/90, by canal side, MLD det. CJ. The
only previous record was from Blackmoorfoot (SE01) in 1987.

A. cadaverina (Bris.) (63) Blackmoorfoot (SE01), 9/9/90, grass heap, MLD. The only
previous records are from Langsett (SE20) in 1984 and 1985, Drop Clough (SE01) in
1987, Bradfield Dale (SK29) in 1988 and Crooksmoor (SK38) in 1989.

A. sodalis (Er.) (*65) Gunnerside Gill (NY90), 12/5/90, decaying fungi, MLD.

A. tibialis (Heer.) (65) Aysgarth (SD98), female, 25/4/91, RBA det. CJ. The only
previous records are from Birkdale Tam (NY80) in 1913, Mickle Fell (NY82) in
1917, Malham (SD86) in 1954 and 1957, Penyghent (SD87) in 1967 and 1981 and
Gaping Gill (SD77) on an unrecorded date.

A. melanaria (Mann.) (61) Spurn (TA41), 19/11/90, sheep dung at Chalk Bank, MLD.
Scarborough (TA08), Ravenscar (NZ90) and Spurn (TA41) have yielded the only
previous records.

t A. gilvicollis Sch. (63) Thome Moor (SE71), female, 15/3/69, CJ. (62) Runswick Bay
(NZ81), 9/6/90, grass heap, MLD det. CJ.

A. aterrima (Gr.) (*65) Aysgarth (SD98), female, 25/5/91, sheep dung, RJM.

A. obfuscata (Gr.) (63) Hillsborough (SK38), 2/10/90, EJS. This is the only known
locality for this species in Yorkshire. The only previous records were in 5 and 6/89.

A. parvula (Mann.) (*65) Gunnerside (SD99), both sexes, 12/5/90, RBA (teste MLD).
Aysgarth (SD98), both sexes, 25/5/91, sheep dung, RJM.

A. pygmaea (Gr.) (*61) Fisherman's Channel, Sunk Island (TA21), 27/4/91, pondside
debris, MLD det. CJ.

A. dadopora Thom. (63) Melton Wood (SE50), females, 10/8/89 and 20/6/90, grass
heap, RJM (teste CJ). (*64) Studley Royal (SE26), female, 19/5/89, old hay, RJM
(teste CJ). Studley Park (SE26), both sexes, 14/7/90, decaying fungi, MLD and RJM.

74

Entomological Reports for 1990-1991

The only previous records are from Elland Park Wood (SE12) in 1985. Anston Stones
Wood (SK58) in 1985, Melton Wood (SE50) in 1985, 1986 and 1987 and Thornton
Ellers (SE74) in 1987.

A. zosterae (Thom.) (61) Wheldrake Ings (SE74), female, 7/9/89, Phragmites bed, RJM
(teste CJ). The only previous record was from Aughton Ings (SE73) in 1988.

A. brunneipennis (Thom.) (*61) Thornton Ellers (SE74), 16/4/90, pondside debris,
MLD. Scampston (SE87), female, 8/6/91, decaying fungi, RJM.

A. coriaria (Kra.) (*61) Towthorpe (SE86), 26/5/90, Moorhen nest, MLD.

A. fungicola (Thom.) (63) Blackmoorfoot (SE01), 30/3/90, grass heap, MLD. (*64)
Studley Park (SE26), 14/7/90, decaying fungi, MLD. The only previous records are
from Goathland (NZ80) in 1935, Mulgrave Wood (NZ81) in 1936 and Blackmoorfoot
(SE01)in 1989.

A. ravilla (Er.) (*61) Bubwith Bridge (SE73), both sexes, 16/4/90, Glyceria bed, MLD.
Aughton Ings (SE63), both sexes, 16/4/90, sheep carrion, MLD.

A. repanda (Mul. & Rey) (*65) Felham Ranges (NZ00), 18/8/90, in Polyporus
squamosus, MLD.

t A. strandiella Brun. (61) Spurn (TA41), 18/6/90, tide line refuse, MLD det. CJ.

t A. cauta (Er.) (64) Ringhay Wood (SE43), 20/10/89, decaying fungi, RBA det. CJ.

A. marcida (Er.) (*64) Ringhay Wood (SE43), female 22/10/89, decaying fungi, RBA
det. MLD. Temple Newsome (SE33), both sexes, 12/1 1/89, decaying fungi, RBA det.
MLD.

A. nigripes (Thom.) (*62) Robin Hood’s Bay (NZ90), 28/7/91, decaying seaweed, RBA
det. MLD.

A. aeneipennis (Thom.) (= picipennis Mann.) (63) Strines (SK29), female, 2/9/89,
decaying fungi, EJS (teste CJ). The only previous records are from Abbey Brook
(SK19) in 1987 and Bradfield (SK29) in 1988.

A. setigera (Sharp) (*65) Aysgarth (SD98), 25/5/91, cow dung, MLD.

A. marina (Mull. & Rey) (61) Spurn (TA41), 30/5/90; both sexes, 19/6/90; female,
20/6/90; both sexes, 23/6/91, tide line refuse, MLD; female, 25.6.91, tide line refuse,
RJM. Beacon Ponds (TA41), both sexes, 24/6/90, pondside debris MLD. Fisherman’s
Channel, Sunk Island (TA21), both sexes, 27/4/91, pondside debris, MLD. The
only previous records are from Welwick (TA32) and Spurn (TA41) on unrecorded
dates.

Phloeopora testacea (Mann.) (*64) Bishop Wood (SE53), both sexes, 28/5/89, under
bark, RBA det. MLD.

Ilyobates nigricollis (Pk.) (*63) Langsett (SE20), not sexes, 17 /6/90, leaf litter, EJS det.
CJ. Roundhay Park (SE33), Askham Bog (SE54) and Scarborough (TA08) have
yielded the only previous records.

t Calodera protensa Mann. (64) Cawood (SE53), female, 5/90, pit fall trap in wet
meadow, KP det. CJ.

Deubelia picina (Aub.) (*61) Wheldrake Ings (SE74), 10/3/91, flood refuse, MLD (teste
CJ). The only previous records are from Collingham (SE34) in 1917 and Duncombe
Park (SE68) in 1987.

Aleochara albovillosa Bern., (*65) Felham Ranges (NZ00), 18/8/90, dead rabbit, MLD.
Aysgarth (SD98), 25/5/91, cow dung, MLD.

t A. binotata Kra. (61) A single female found at spurn (TA41) in July 1963 by R. C.
Welch was originally described as A. verna Say. (The Entomologist, 102: 207-209).
The true identity of the specimen has now been correctly determined and further
details can be gleaned from the Entomologist’ s Record, 102: 225-226. This species
can now be added to the British list, whilst A. verna Say. should be deleted.

A. grisea Kra. (61) Spurn (TA41), female, 19/6/90, tide line refuse; both sexes 23/6/90,
from a long dead Roe Deer, MLD. Saltbum (NZ62), Redcar (NZ62) and Spurn
(TA41) have yielded the only previous records.

f A. inconspicua Aub. (63) Thome Moor (SE71), 10/90, pit fall trap, English Nature det.

Book Reviews

75

CJ. Further information regarding this rare insect can be had from British Red Data
Books: 2. Insects.

A. intricata Mann. (*63) Shireoaks Quarry (SK58), 5/6/85, WAE det. CJ. The only
previous records are from Whitby (NZ81) in 1920, Kearby (SE34) in 1937,
Huntington Wood (SE65) in 1948, Sunk Island (TA21) in 1986 and Spurn (TA41) on
an unrecorded date.

A. spadicea (Er.) (*64) Cawood (SE53), 10/8/90, 11/90, 12/90 and 1/91, pit fall trap in
wet meadow, KP det. MLD.

BOOK REVIEWS

Birds and Pastoral Agriculture in Europe edited by D. J. Curtis, B. M. Bignal and
M. A. Curtis. Pp. 137. Joint Nature Conservation Committee and Scottish Chough Study
Group, Peterborough, 1991. £12.50 paperback.

The Conservation of Lowland Dry Grassland Birds in Europe edited by P. D. Goriup,
L. A. Batten and J. A. Forton. Pp. 136. Joint Nature Conservation Committee,
Peterborough, 1991. £10.00 paperback.

Both items available post free from JNCC, Monkstone House, City Road, Peterborough
PEI 1JY

These two reports of symposia, held respectively at Port Erin, Isle of Man, 26-30 October
1990 and the University of Reading, 20-22 March 1991, cover a range of topics which are
remarkable dissimilar and complementary, despite the overlap implied by their titles. Birds
and Pastoral Agriculture in Europe is concerned with detailed, academic studies reporting
largely recent research and analyses. There are 30 papers, mostly rather short, and despite
the title, there is a strong bias towards the British Isles. Four concern Choughs (Cornish
and Alpine) and the relationship between grazing and their invertebrate food supply, while
Black Grouse, Corncrake, Hen Harrier, Golden Eagle and Hooded Crows (and carrion
supply) are treated in other papers. Most of the papers are concerned with more general
aspects of pastoral agriculture, including patterns of changing use, the value of traditional
management, and the likely effects of various agro-political changes (ESAs, LFAs, the
EEC’s birds directive, etc.).

The report of lowland dry grasslands is more specifically targeted, and is consequently a
better review; its prime concern is the extensive dry grasslands and their characteristic
avifauna, especially Little Bustard, Great Bustard, Lesser Kestrel and Sociable Plover.
Other species associated with these (eg Montagu’s Harrier, Stone Curlew, various larks,
pipits and wheatear) also warrant concern, and justify a modest British participation, but
this is a much more international volume. Its major interest is perhaps in the eight status
reports, from Spain, France, Italy, Austria, Hungary, USSR, Turkey and Britain, which
include also discussion of the practical conservation measures which are being undertaken.
As in the other report, there are in addition more general papers on the distribution of the
habitat type, and on the agro-political implications of land use change, conservation and
agricultural legislation. With only 16 papers in virtually the same number of pages (136-
137), each of the contributions is rather longer and, to my mind, more valuable.

Both reports contain much of interest to any ornithologist or conservationist, particularly
one concerned to learn about the likely impact of agricultural policies on grassland birds.
The “dry grassland” report is a better review of its more limited subject, while “pastoral
agriculture” gives much more information on the British scene.

DWY

76

Book Reviews

Waders Breeding on Wet Grasslands edited by H. Hotker, N. C.Davidson and D. M.
Fleck. Wader Study Group Bulletin, No. 61, Supplement, April 1991. Pp. 107. Joint Nature
Conservation Committee. £10.00 post free from JNCC. Monkstone House, City Road,
Peterborough PEI 1JY.

The Wader Study Group is an association of amateurs and professionals from all parts of
the world interested in the Charadrii (waders or shore birds). The publication reviewed is
the report of a conference convened at Ribes, Denmark on 23 September 1989. The
excellent papers are supported by copious charts, distribution maps, statistics and
references. The estimated current breeding populations of eight species of waders are given
for all the countries of the European community (with the exception of Greece). The
individual papers cover meadow (wet grasslands) species in the Netherlands, Belgium,
Portugal, West Germany, France, Denmark, Italy, Ireland, Spain, Luxemburg and Great
Britain and discuss current knowledge and population trends. Generally there is little cause
for optimism unless conservation policies can be implemented for the common species as
well as for the rarer species, eg the Black-tailed Godwit in Britain and the Snipe in Spain.

Chapter 4 Discussion and Recommendations sets out the measures which need to be
implemented with some urgency since the remaining populations depend upon the
management of man-influenced, semi-natural habitats; in the case of some species such as
the Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa limosa), the future of the whole of the European
population depends upon these semi-natural habitats.

The nine recommendations are based on current research and they are translated in full
into 10 languages.

They include: safeguarding all remaining semi-natural wet grasslands; financial support
where appropriate and the withholding of financial support where there is a threat to the
habitat; control of water abstraction where this could lower the water table; control of
grazing; control of the use of inorganic fertilisers.

Recommendation 9 sets out a detailed management programme for the wetlands.

The Editor is to be complimented on the excellent production and sets a standard that
must impress all conservationists in whatever field they work

LM

The Moths and Butterflies of Spurn by B. R. Spence. Pp. 122. From B. R. Spence,
Spurn Bird Observatory, Kilnsea via Patrington, Hull HU12 0UG. Cheques for £5.50 (incl.
p. & p.) to Spurn Bird Observatory.

This is the first list of the lepidoptera of the YWT Spurn Peninsula. It is attractively
presented and represents an immense amount of work by the warden, Barry Spence, who
has been keeping records since 1969. The softback book has a fine colour photograph of
the Comma by Peter Crowther on the front cover. In addition his plume moth illustrates the
back cover together with John Cudworth’s Reed Dagger. There is a short introduction, a
plant list, references, a map and five pages of black and white photographs. These show
habitats, moth traps and a group of YNU entomologists. The Systematic List (112 pp.)
records 611 butterflies, ‘macros’ and ‘micros’. First records are always given and many
more details added for the less common species. Of the total Yorkshire list (Butterflies and
Moths of Yorkshire 1989), 32% have turned up at Spurn, but they are not all breeding
species. As well as his own light trap records Barry Spence includes, among others,
published YNU records and especially mentions the group of entomologists who undertook
the first systematic survey over several post-World War II years. The names and order
follow Bradley and Fletcher 1986 and are first given in Latin followed by English where
applicable. Every Yorkshire naturalist, and many national and international ones, visit
Spurn and only by having such a reference book as this can one experience the thrill of
recording for the first time one of the remaining 68% unlisted Yorkshire species.

JP

Book Reviews

11

A Natural History of the Lakes, Tarns and Streams of the English Lake District by
Geoffrey Fryer. Calligraphy by Sharon Murphy. Pp. 368 with 800 illustrations.
Freshwater Biological Association, Ambleside. 1991. £18.00 including postage from FBA,
The Ferry House, Far Sawrey, Ambleside, Cumbria LA22 OLP.

All the publications of the Association are renowned for their high standard of text and
illustrations and this fine book follows in the same tradition. The author, a Fellow of the
Royal Society since 1972, was formerly on the staff of the Freshwater Biological
Association and is now an Honorary Professor at the University of Lancaster. The format is
unusual but pleasing, the text being entirely handwritten by Sharon Murphy.

The book sets out to tell in a simple way how the lakes and tarns of the English Lake
District were formed. There is a profusely illustrated account of the plants, animals and the
wild life of not only the tarns but also of the streams and the mountain springs that feed
them. The macro-fauna and the microscopic flora and fauna are described, together with
their complex inter-relationships. However, this is not a technical book for professionals
(although one cannot fault its scientific content); it is written by a dedicated field naturalist
for all who enjoy the countryside, as well as being a mine of information for students and
amateur naturalists alike.

Although I have had a lifelong interest in freshwater biology, many of the author’s
revelations came as a complete surprise to me, especially the breeding behaviour of some
of our fishes and the observations of the life cycles of certain of the caddis flies and the
Ephemeroptera. There is nothing in this fascinating book which is outdated; turning to the
Crayfish, our largest crustacean, I found that the author had fully described the serious
threat to our native species posed by the fungus carried by the foreign species recently
introduced into this country for commercial purposes.

Whatever branch of natural history one may be interested in, whether it be botany,
entomology, birds or ecology, this book will provide something new; moreover, although it
deals primarily with the Lake District, much of the subject matter is applicable to the whole
of the North of England (and to many other regions too).

The author has gone to great pains to ensure the accuracy of the text, the drawings (many
of these being his own work) and his observations yet at the same time to make it very
readable; it has given me much pleasure. It is surely destined to be a classic work of natural
history.

LM

Biogeography of Mediterranean Invasions edited by R. H. Groves and F. di Castri. Pp.

485, Cambridge University Press. £65.00.

Europeans tend to associate the word ‘mediterranean’ exclusively with their own Mare
Internum and the surrounding lands to the north and south. This book has a refreshingly
world wide perspective on the regions with a mediterranean climate, including those of
California, central Chile, southern Africa and southern and south-western Australia as well.
All have in common a generally warm climate with damp winters and hot dry summers, a
pattern which arose in the Pleistocene and has continued in these places to the present. It is
of great interest to biogeography and to the study of evolution in general to know the extent
to which similar climatic patterns dictate the floral and faunal composition of isolated
regions and how much their evolution differs because of the particular combinations of
species available to exploit them. Here is a multi-authored book concerned particularly
with the fate of invading species, but covering all the regions and using the data to assess
the reasons for the similarities and differences between them. It begins with a historical
review and ends with a summary of conclusions. Between, there are sections on higher
plants, mammals and birds, these being the most apparent and easily studied groups, and
on specific applied aspects. Much detailed information is presented and some
generalizations can be made. On the whole, the regions tend to be resistant to invasions and
the most invaded have been the subject of repeated introductions, for example, those by the

78 Book Reviews

“Acclimatization societies” in colonial Australia.

Sometimes the invaders have a severely degrading effect, such as the rabbits and goats
on Juan Fernandez. Others become integrated as a new and harmonious ecosystem, such as
the Acacia caven savanna of Chile with its mixture of European animals and grasses.
Success can be related to some extent to presence or absence of adjoining regions from
which immigrants could have been recruited over long periods of time. Thus, in Australia
and South Africa, which do not have more temperate biotopes to the south of them,
invasions by conifers are more common than they are in other mediterranean locations.
Repetitive disturbances are important in creating the conditions for replacements and,
naturally enough, association with man has played a crucial part in determining the more
recent patterns of invasion.

Perhaps because of the international nature of the contributions, the editors have done a
thorough job of integration, which makes the book a particularly valuable introduction for
the non-specialist. At £65, however, it is not likely to have a large sale outside libraries
How often that has to be said. If a paperback would lower the price most readers would
probably value greater purchasing power over the undoubtedly handsome hard covers
possessed by this volume.

LMC

Bioindicators and Environmental Management edited by D. W. Jeffrey and B.
Madden. Pp. xiii + 458, with numerous line drawings, graphs and tables. Academic Press.
1991. £35.00

This volume is based on the Sixth International Bioindicators Symposium held at Trinity
College, Dublin in September 1990. It contains 35 papers which vary in quality and style:
most relate to specific organisms and/or locations, but a few contain review material and
are therefore more useful in a wider context. The papers are categorized under four
headings (Bioindicators, Industry and Administration; Environmental Radioactivity and
Biomonitoring of the Chernobyl Accident; Monitoring Long Term and Large Scale
Environmental Trends; Basic Research in Biomonitoring), but other than the three
contributions on Chernobyl, there appears to be little to justify the order. There is a
preponderance of papers (23) devoted to aquatic systems; as well as the Chernobyl papers,
five are concerned with terrestrial plants, three with terrestrial animals, and one with
landscape ecology.

Environmental scientists and applied biologists will find much of interest, particularly
with regard to the use of bioindicators in monitoring environmental trends, in
environmental impact assessments, and in environmental management.

MRDS

What is Life? with Mind and Matter and Autobiographical Sketches by Erwin
Schrodinger. Pp. viii +184 with line drawings. Cambridge University Press. 1992. £5.95
paperback.

What is Life was first published in 1944, Mind and Matter appeared in 1958 and
Autobiographical Sketches appears here, in translation, for the first time. Schrodinger in the
penultimate paragraph of the Sketches , which occupies 17 pages, stated ‘I must refrain
from drawing a complete picture of my life’! After reading these few pages one must regret
his restraint.

Mind and Matter is 60 pages of conjecture as to how the physical ‘world’ gives rise to
qualitative perceptions, eg of colour, and to consciousness - matters which physicists
cannot explain. Now, as in 1958, much remains speculative - a matter for erudition, as it
was in the time of Spinoza, and later in that of Gustav Theodor Fechner: these philosophers
Schrodinger quotes (not necessarily with agreement); interestingly, the writings of both
foreshadow the mystical GAIA concept, and fall back ultimately on unreason rather than
providing explanations.

Book Reviews

79

As a biologist, I was interested particularly in the 1944 section of the book in which
Schrodinger addressed the problem of ‘How can the events in space and time which take
place within the spatial boundary of a living organism be accounted for by physics and
chemistry?’ The answer is still as elusive at the level of quantum theory as it appeared to
Schrodinger, but at the chemical level there is less mystery. The section is truly historical
insofar as the significance of nucleic acids in heredity was unknown: proteins were at that
time credited as the genetic material. Schrodinger speculated on ‘a well ordered association
of atoms, endowed with sufficient resistivity to keep its order permanently’, as ‘the only
conceivable material structure that offers a variety of possible (“isometric”) arrangements
sufficiently large to embody a complicated system of “determinations” within a small
spatial boundary’.

Unfortunately some of the biology was so over-simplified as to be completely inaccurate
even for the state of knowledge at the time; examples of such over-simplification include a
diagram of two single-stranded chromosomes indulging in ‘crossing-over’ (sic), and the
suggestion that if it were supposed that he, Schrodinger, ‘carries ... a recessive detrimental
mutation . . .’ and . . . that his wife does not, ‘then half of our children (sic) . . . will also
carry it’. One could go on. But, disarmingly, Schrodinger wrote: ‘I have to summarize the
present state of knowledge in a subject of which I am not a master . . . and I apologize,
particularly to any biologist, for the dilettante character of my summary’. The problem for
any biologist young enough not to have endured pre-DNA genetic speculation, and not
well versed in cytogenetics will be to know what is biologically reliable. A problem for
most readers will be to understand the chapter on ‘quantum mechanical evidence’. In 1944
the stability of the allele associated with Habsburg lip, ‘kept at a temperature around 98 °F
. . . unperturbed by the disordering tendency of the heat motion for centuries’, is mentioned
under the heading ‘Permanence Unexplainable by Classical Physics’, and is followed by
‘Explicable by Quantum Theory’. The view that mutation is synonymous with isometric
change in a ‘huge molecule’ is not tenable today. What relationship does quantum theory
bear to genetics, if the genetic material does not mutate by quantum jumps as Schrodinger
postulated? Roger Penrose in his short Foreword should have provided a clue.

On the cover of the book is a suggestion (ludicrous, especially in the profit-oriented
climate of science in the 1990s, and with the parlous financial state of many students) that
‘this combined volume should be compulsory reading for all students who are seriously
concerned with the truly deep issues of science’ (my italics). Addition of footnotes
explaining developments in relevant biological fields since 1944 might have been helpful,
although the undoubted elegance of Schrodinger’ s presentation might thereby have been
compromised.

DJH

The Correspondence of Charles Darwin. Volume 7. 1858-1859 edited by Frederick

Burkhardt and Sydney Smith. Pp. xxxviii + 671 b/w photographic plates. Cambridge
University Press. 1991. £35.00.

This, the seventh volume in this large-scale publishing undertaking (and the last under the
editorship of Sydney Smith who died in 1988), covers some of the momentous events in
Darwin’s life, including the correspondence arising from his receipt of Wallace’s letter of
June 1858, indicating that he too had independently formulated a theory of natural
selection, through to the publication of Darwin’s theory a year later. The gathering together
of this wealth of correspondence, a large proportion of which has not been published
previously, illuminates a sequence of events which was to have the most far-reaching
consequences of any natural history discovery. It makes fascinating reading.

As well as containing the usual wealth of textual information in the form of manuscript
alterations and comments, bibliography, biographical register and detailed index, there are
36 pages of supplementary letters for the period 1821-1857 which have been located or re-
dated since the publication of the first six volumes of Correspondence.

MRDS

80

Book Reviews

An Illustrated Record of Ordnance Survey in Ireland. Pp. iv + 104. Published jointly
by The Ordnance Surveys of Ireland and Northern Ireland, Dublin. 1991. £5.00 from The
Director, OSNI, Colby House, Stranmillis Court, Belfast BT9 5BJ

This work provides a fascinating insight into the history of and methodology employed in
the cartographical representation of Ireland since the end of the 16th century, placing
emphasis on the Ordnance Survey which commenced in 1824 under the direction of Lt.
Col. Thomas Colby and included the world’s first large-scale mapping of an entire country.
This delightfully produced book is complemented by outstanding colour plates illustrating
a wide variety of maps throughout this period and the field survey work and mapping
techniques used in their production.

MRDS

Clematis: The Queen of Climbers by Jim Fisk. Pp. 160, with full colour photographic
illustrations. Cassell. 1991. £9.95 paperback.

Jim Fisk is one of the world’s acknowledged experts on what many consider to be the
finest of all climbing plants. This is the first paperback edition of his classic work on the
genus Clematis, reprinting the third edition of 1989. The author covers all aspects of
Clematis cultivation clearly and authoritatively, and supplies a most valuable account of
species and hybrid varieties. Many of the latter were bred at his own nursery and there is
much of interest on their raising in the (rather overlong) chapter on this establishment. The
photographs are excellent, but their quality is not matched by some of the few line
drawings, which do not adequately illustrate the points being made.

YAH

Designing your Garden by Roger Sweetinburgh. Pp. 96, plus 8 pages of full colour
photographic plates. Ward Lock. 1991. £9.95 paperback.

A most useful work, full of good ideas simply expressed, which should enable even the
rankest novice to achieve an interesting and attractive garden layout.

Small-garden Pools by Philip Swindells. Pp. 96. Ward Lock. 1991. £2.99 paperback.

An unpretentious, practical and modestly priced guide which provides all the basic
information likely to be needed by anyone planning to construct or install a small pond.
Brief guidance is given on suitable plants and fauna for stocking the finished pond and
there is also a chapter on pool maintenance.

Summary of National Vegetation Classification. Woodland Descriptions by A. M.
Whitbread and K. J. Kirby, Pp. 37. Joint Conservation Committee, Peterborough, 1992.
£3.50 paperback, post free from JNCC Monkstone House, City Road, Peterborough PEI
1JY

This publication is a summary of the woodland communities described in the book edited
by John Rodwell and is intended as an ‘ aide memoirs to assist surveyors in the field’. The
summary diagrams and dendrograms are a great help to a field worker in keying out a stand
of vegetation and show the relationships between the 1 8 woodland communities and their
sub-communities described in this volume. Each community is covered by three or four
paragraphs describing the soils on which it occurs, its physiognomy and characteristic
species composition. I would recommend this for any field ecologist, but the A4 format of
the booklet will not stand up to the rigours most ecologists put their fieldbooks through.

ADH

Butterflies and Moths of Yorkshire
Distribution and Conservation

Editors: S. L. Sutton and H. E. Beaumont

370 pages packed with information about Yorkshire’s 1,591 butterflies and moths.
Introductory chapters dealing with distribution, conservation, etc., comprehensive
bibliography, gazetteer of 900 locality names.

£15.00 + p&p. Obtainable from Mrs J. Payne, 15 Broad Lane, Cawood, Selby Y08 0SQ.
Please make cheques payable to the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union.

‘The Naturalist’ is available in microform

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The Irish Naturalists’ Journal

A quarterly journal of Irish natural history
Edited by Elizabeth Platts
Assistant Editor — Robin Govier
Annual subscription £10.00, IR £12.00 ($20.00)

Further information from the Honorary Secretary, INJ
Department of Biology, Queen’s University of Belfast
Belfast BT7 INN, Northern Ireland

Printed in Great Britain by Titus Wilson & Son, Kendal

ISSN 0028-0771

THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WALES

is pleased to announce the publication of the following:

Mosses and Liverworts of Woodland: A Guide to Some of the Commonest Species.

By A. Roy PERRY.

March 1992. ISBN 0 7200 0362 8

41 pages, 10 colour and 29 black and white photographs, 22 text figures and 29 distribution maps.
Paper (laminated cover) £2.95

The Museum’s new publication, Mosses and Liverworts of Woodland, is a photographic guide to some of the
commonest species. In its short introduction the general life history and structure of these beautiful plants is
sketched out, and the differences between mosses and liverworts explained. A series of black and white, and colour,
photographs, some accompanied by drawings, illustrate 39 species. Through these, together with short descriptions
of the plants as observed in the field, and distribution maps, it is hoped that this pocket-sized book will make
mosses and liverworts more accessible and introduce beginners to this fascinating group of green plants.

This book is available from the Bookshop, National Museum of Wales, Cathays Park, Cardiff, CF1 3NP,
UK. Price £2.95 (£3.45 by post inland, £3.75 EC, £3.95 non EC).

rr

July — September 1992 Number 1002

Volume 1 17

Naturalist

A QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF NATURAL HISTORY FOR THE NORTH OF ENGLAND

The Humber Wildfowl Refuge: an experiment in wildfowl
conservation — Brian S. Pashby

Bats and their roosts in Cleveland and north east Yorkshire

— A. A. Wardhaugh

Historical notes on the Starling Sturnus vulgaris in Yorkshire

— C. A. Howes

Published by the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union

Editor M. R. D. Seaward, MSc, PhD, DSc, FLS, The University, Bradford BD7 1DP

Notice to Contributors to ‘The Naturalist’

Manuscripts (two copies if possible), typed double-spaced on one side of the paper only
with margins at top and left-hand at least 2.5cm wide, should be submitted. Latin names of
genera and species, but nothing else, should be underlined. S.I. Units should be used
wherever possible. Authors must ensure that their references are accurately cited, and that
the titles of the journals are correctly abbreviated. Volumes of The Naturalist for the years
1886 to 1975 have been retrospectively numbered 11 to 100 to accord with numbering
before and after this period (see YNU Bulletin no. 3, pp. 21-22 1985); please cite these
volume numbers in all references. Tables and text-figures should be prepared on separate
sheets of paper. Drawings and graphs, drawn about twice the linear size they are to appear,
should be in jet-black Indian ink, and legends should not be written on the figures.
Publishable manuscripts not conforming to the above requirements will be returned
for alteration.

Photographic Plates

Readers of The Naturalist will have noticed that the number of photographic illustrations
has increased in recent years. Good clear photographs, suitably captioned, to accompany
articles or as independent features, such as the bird portraits by Arthur Gilpin in recent
issues, are always welcome.

To encourage this development, a long-standing member of the YNU, who wishes to
remain anonymous, has most generously offered to make a donation, the income from
which would finance the publication of a plate or equivalent illustration in future
issues whenever possible. The editor, on behalf of the YNU, wishes to record his deep
appreciation of this imaginative gesture.

© Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union — 1992

Single Copies may be made of single articles in this journal provided that due acknow-
ledgement is made and the copies are for non-profit making educational or private use.
Copying of more than one article or multiple copying of a single article is forbidden unless
special permission has been obtained from the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union. Permission is
granted for the use of brief quotations in published work provided that acknowledgement
of the source is clearly stated, but the use of substantial sections of text and any illustrative
matter requires the express permission of the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union.

All matters other than subscriptions should be addressed to:

Mr John A. Newbould, Tapton House, 30 Moorlands, Wickersley
ROTHERHAM S66 OAT.

Items which should be sent to the above include: All membership applications, changes
of address, resignations and problems concerning non-receipt of any of the YNU’s
publications. Please quote the membership number printed underneath your address on all
correspondence.

Subscriptions (unless covered by Banker’s Order) should continue to be sent to:

Mr D. Bramley, c/o Doncaster Museum, Chequer Road
DONCASTER DN1 2AE

The Naturalist is issued free to individual members of the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union
and to Affiliated Societies.

Institutions and Subscribers £12.00

THE HUMBER WILDFOWL REFUGE:

AN EXPERIMENT IN WILDFOWL CONSERVATION

BRIAN S. PASHBY

81

Due to Brian Pashby’s untimely death, this Presidential Address, based on his
almost completed manuscript, was presented by Derek Cutts to the 130th
Annual General Meeting of the Yorkshire Naturalists' Union in Beverley on
Saturday, 7 December 1991. Shirley Pashby has prepared her husband's
manuscript for publication with the help of Jean and Eric Chicken and John
Cudworth.

Three things influenced the choice of subject for my address. First of all, any moves
which involved the Union in the establishment of a sanctuary for wildfowl on the Humber
were made through the Union’s Protection of Birds Committee which this year has
celebrated its centenary. Secondly, practically nothing has been said or written within
Union circles about a course of action which was, thirty-six years ago, a pioneering effort
in conservation in which some of its members took part. Finally, for most of my
ornithological life I have been an “estuary” man. My talk falls into three main sections.
After an introduction, (1) a quick look at the Humber Estuary with the main emphasis on
the Upper Humber, (2) the events leading up to the establishment of the Refuge and (3) a
review of some of the species of waterfowl occurring there.

I want to go back to the 1950s and the days of Ralph Chislett who was regarded as the
voice of Yorkshire ornithology. His only reference to a wildfowl sanctuary on the Humber
appeared in the Y.N.U. Ornithology Report for 1954 published in The Naturalist for 1955.
In the classified list under the species-heading Grey Geese he wrote: “At a meeting of
representatives of the Nature Conservancy, the Wildfowlers’ organisations and the
Lincolnshire and Yorkshire Naturalists’ Unions' a defined area of sanctuary for geese in
the Upper Humber was agreed.” A further brief statement was made by him in the
Naturalist for 1956 in the Y.N.U. Annual Report for 1955 under the Ornithology Interim
Report: “An area of the Upper Humber has been declared a sanctuary for birds and it is
hoped the geese will benefit. The Humber Wildfowl Refuge Committee is composed of six
representatives each from wildfowlers’ and from naturalists’ organisations in Lincolnshire
and Yorkshire. The meetings were attended by our officials. Our thanks are due especially
to Mr. E. M. Nicholson, the energetic Director of the Nature Conservancy”.

So let us have a look at the Humber with the location of the Refuge (Fig. 1). It starts at
the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Trent and continues for 62 km or about 38!/2 miles
to Spurn Point. As estuaries go, it is relatively narrow, being no more than 12 km or 7V2
miles just east of Grimsby near its widest part. Its catchment area covers about a fifth of the
land area of England, as a result of which it receives the industrial and domestic discharge
of at least six large conurbations - Leeds, Bradford, Sheffield, Derby, Nottingham and
Birmingham, and then lower down from Hull. It is a stretch of water in which there are
many navigational hazards in the form of numerous sandbanks; no problem if these are
stabilised, but when shifting around or altering size or shape as they frequently do, they
make the Humber one of the most intricate for the navigation of sea-going vessels. The
responsibility for maintaining safe navigation was that of the Humber Conservancy Board,
and it is important to bear in mind that all matters concerning the Humber are subordinate
to this.

It is the winter home of thousands of visiting waterfowl but there is a considerable
difference in the way the two main families of birds occupy the available habitats. The

1 The Lincolnshire Naturalists’ Trust and the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union

Naturalist 117 (1992)

82

The Humber Wildfowl Refuge

main wader population occurs in the lower estuary where the birds feed and roost. The
main wildfowl population is in the upper estuary where some species find food as well as
roosting sites while others use the area for roosting only. The Upper Humber (Fig. 2), the

FIGURE 1

River Humber. A. Location map (Fig. 2) of the Upper Humber Flats and Marshes S.S.S.I.;
B. Location of the Humber Wildfowl Refuge.

area mentioned by Ralph Chislett in the references quoted earlier, is dominated at low tide
by two large areas of sand and mud-flats, the Redcliff Sand/Read’s Island/Pudding Pie
Sand complex, and a little further upstream, the Whitton Sand. A second feature is
Broomfleet Island and a third, which has had a profound effect on what we see today but
which does not catch the eye until we get closer to it, is the training wall at the confluence
of the Ouse and Trent.

The sandbanks of the Upper Humber have long been known as roosting sites for the
Pink-footed Goose ( Anser brachyrhynchus), though early writers on our county’s avi-fauna
did not name any particular one of them. It is quite likely that the geese used them all,
depending on which was most convenient, and of course the temporary loss of any of them
through erosion or undue disturbance would make a move necessary. Indeed, this has
occurred during our own lifetimes; for instance, during the early 1930s the Aire and Calder
Navigation Co. built the said training wall at the confluence. This was to preserve the port
of Goole, which was in danger of becoming isolated because of the silting-up of the Ouse
at the western end of the Whitton. This training wall alleviated the problem but
immediately caused the build-up of the area behind the wall, so that by the early 1940s,
Blacktoft Sand, once an area of open mud and a goose roost, was now a saltmarsh with
reed beds and grazing cattle. The main roosting site at this time was on a sandbank which
lay on the northern side of Read’s Island and this bank has always been subject to erosion.
There is no pattern whatever in the build-up, consolidation or eventual erosion of this bank.
It can be present for years, then after disappearing and rebuilding may only last for months,
and it was the loss of this site in the early 1950s which caused the geese to move to the

83

The Humber Wildfowl Refuge

Whitton and led indirectly to the establishment of the Refuge. It was in this setting then
that both birdwatcher and wildfowler would look forward to the arrival each year of the
first Pink-feet in mid-September, just a handful at first but with numbers increasing rapidly
until well into October, when the spectacle of thousands of geese taking off at morning
flight could be enjoyed, bound for feeding areas either on the Yorkshire or Lincolnshire
Wolds, often as far as Huggate c. 30 km away. There the birds would feed on the stubbles
before returning in mid-aftemoon to the security of the roost.

Until the Protection of Birds Act of 1954 there had been very little legislation on the
protection of wildfowl. Such private restrictions as there were banning the taking of
wildfowl had generally been in order to ensure a good supply for the landowners, which in
some cases were religious houses which depended a great deal on wildfowl as a source of
food. The first measures giving some kind of protection were contained in the Wild Birds
Protection Act of 1880 in which a close season was fixed for the first time, the idea being
that it would help to ensure a successful breeding season with the total of young birds
reared outnumbering the total taken during the previous winter. From a practical point of
view this was probably all that was necessary, but the Act had many anomalies and
loopholes, and it was not until 1939 that a new Act, called the Wild Birds (Ducks and
Geese) Protection Act, came into being. This resulted in the extension of the close season,
but some of the omissions in the previous Act were also put right.

However, social and economic changes following the Second World War brought about
changes in shooting pressure, more people wishing and being able to afford to shoot. As far
as the Humber geese were concerned, this in itself was not a great danger provided that two
essential conditions for the welfare of the geese were maintained: a good food supply and,
even more important, a safe place to roost. Both East Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire
provided the first of these in plenty and the Upper Humber mud-flats the second, that is,
until the erosion of the Read’s Island bank where access had been almost impossible. The

84

The Humber Wildfowl Refuge

main drawback to the Whitton Sand was that such access was possible. Inevitably, various
activities combined to cause disturbance on and around this roost. Decoys and calls were
being used as were both duck-punts and motor-boats. Worst of all, some shooters were
“digging-in” - actually digging barrels into the mud, from which they could remain
concealed while waiting the arrival of the geese at the roost. Many thought this to be quite
legal, but it was in fact contrary to the bye-laws of the Humber Conservancy Board and in
any case was regarded as most unethical by the majority of sportsmen. This plus
allegations of over-shooting and disturbance on Read’s Island led to the involvement of the
Lincolnshire Naturalists’ Trust in campaigns for better protection for the geese. The Nature
Conservancy, at the Trust’s suggestion, took up the question of shooting on Read’s Island
with the Humber Conservancy Board. The Trust’s second suggestion was that the
Conservancy should seek agreement with the Wildfowlers’ Association of Great Britain
and Ireland (W.A.G.B.I.) as to the establishment under the new Bird Protection Act of a
statutory refuge covering the Whitton Sand area, but omitting Read’s Island itself.
Meanwhile, on the north shore, wildfowlers were just as concerned at the disturbance,
particularly when one local individual started to bring American military personnel with
repeating shotguns to the area. Here too, suggestions for a refuge were put to the
Conservancy; these proposed, ideally, three sites: the Whitton Sand, Pudding Pie Sand and
Read’s Island, in that order of importance.

At the same time, national interest in wildfowl conservation had been stimulated by the
activity of Peter Scott and his new Severn Wildfowl Trust, as well as by protection
legislation under discussion concerning the Protection of Birds Act. As part of these, a
committee was recommending the setting up of a network of wildfowl refuges throughout
the country. It was leaks and rumours from these sources which led to the lowering of
relations between the general body of wildfowlers and naturalists. This was as obvious in
the Humber area as it was anywhere else. The bitter feelings engendered by all these
discussions and rumours were simply due to misunderstandings of what either side wanted
to achieve. For instance, many wildfowlers thought that the naturalists wanted to stop them
shooting on the shore, but this was not so. In practice, goose mortality through accepted
shooting codes was negligible on the Humber. Feeding parties on the Wolds, if shot at,
would simply move on elsewhere, and at both morning and evening flight they would gain
height when approaching the shore, to such good effect that they were out of range.

As a result of the approaches from both sides of the Humber and also his own mediating
skills, Max Nicholson, then Director General of the Nature Conservancy, called a meeting
for 15th January 1955 to be held at the offices of the Humber Conservancy Board in Hull.
Four officers of this Board were present as well as representatives of the following local
organisations:- the Hull & East Riding Wildfowlers’ Association; the Holdemess &
Humber Wildfowlers’ Association; the North Lincolnshire Wildfowlers’ Club; the
Lincolnshire Naturalists’ Trust; the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union and the tenants of Read’s
Island. National bodies represented were the Wildfowl Trust and W.A.G.B.I. Some
familiar names of the past and present were J. Atkinson-Willes; Dr Wilfred Taylor; George
Ainsworth; A. E. (Ted) Smith: R. K. (Dick) Cornwallis; J. W. (“Judge”) Johnson (a
remarkable man and a towering figure in W.A.G.B.I.), and, as observer for the British Field
Sports Society, Colonel J. K. Stanford. Also present as an observer while in this country
was Professor Gustav Swanson of Cornell University, U.S.A., the eminent American
authority on wildfowl conservation. At this meeting there was general agreement that (1)
the situation at Read’s Island should be left to continuing discussion between the tenants of
Read’s Island and the Nature Conservancy; (2) the question of a refuge on Pudding Pie
Sand no longer arose as it had disappeared and (3) proposals put forward by the
wildfowling bodies for a strict refuge on Whitton Sand which would have legal status on
which no shooting would be allowed should be endorsed. It was also agreed that a local
joint committee should be set up consisting of two representatives each from the local
organisations listed above plus the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Trust and the tenants of Read’s
Island.

85

The Humber Wildfowl Refuge

Later that year, Ralph Chislett called a meeting in June at which some of our members
were present, including Wilfred Taylor, Alfred Hazelwood, Bob Dickens, Henry Bunce
and George Ainsworth to mention a few. The meeting was addressed by one of the local
wildfowlers’ leaders, Frank Mason, who explained the reasons and need for a refuge. This
meeting may have been the result of Max Nicholson’s prodding of the wildfowlers into
getting in touch with Yorkshire naturalists for help towards their efforts. Informal as this
meeting was, it was a crucial one as there was obvious sympathy for the idea, and Frank
Mason and his colleagues, some of whom were also present, may well have been surprised
at this. However, it was probably the straightforward, no-nonsense approach by Alfred
Hazelwood which may have influenced Ralph Chislett and Wilfred Taylor into something
like firm support for the idea.

Max Nicholson then called a further meeting for 1st October 1955 in Hull which he
chaired, and at which he reviewed events which had taken place since the January meeting.
These included a press notice issued on 29th July announcing the proposed establishment
of an experimental Wildfowl Refuge on the Humber, the appointment of a warden and the
preparation of the Home Office Order. The Nature Conservancy would provide and pay for
the warden provided the Committee would agree on the warden's duties and the general
administration of the Refuge, the warden being immediately responsible to the Secretary of
the Committee. It was then agreed that the Committee should be called The Humber
Wildfowl Refuge Committee and would consist of six each of wildfowlers and naturalists,
drawn from local organisations, with the tenants of Read’s Island, and representatives from
W.A.G.B.I., the Humber Conservancy Board and the Nature Conservancy acting as
observers. Later that afternoon the Committee held its first meeting under the
Chairmanship of Trevor Field, a local businessman, J.P. and wildfowler. The Home Office
Order, Statutory Instrument 1955 no. 1532 (Fig. 3), was also made on 1st October and
came into force on 14th October 1955 under the title The Wild Birds (Humber Sanctuary)
Order, 1955, being applicable between 1st September each year until 20th February the
following year. Thus was bom the first of what Max Nicholson had been after for a long
time, the establishment of wildfowl refuges for quarry species.

The friendly relationship now established between the two apparently conflicting groups
surprised many and I would like to quote Mr. Nicholson’s words in a letter to me:

“I will find it a pleasure to meet your members again and recall the
discomfiture of the press when we broke it to them that we had decided
not to quarrel after all”.

Much deserved praise has been heaped on Nicholson for his persuasive and diplomatic
skills in many apparently hopeless situations. In supporting these sentiments I would like
also to praise the individuals of both groups for their determination to sink differences and
act in a common cause. One instance of their respect for one another is seen regarding the
Chairmanship of the Committee: it had been agreed that the office should alternate each
year between wildfowler and naturalist; however, the first Chairman, a wildfowler, was re-
elected for another twenty-two years.

The Refuge itself (Fig. 2) consists in the main of about 1,300 hectares of sand and mud-
flats, with its eastern boundary running along a line from Brough Haven on the north shore
to Whitton Ness on the south, the western boundary being a line from Faxfleet Ness on the
north shore, through the Apex light and on to the south shore below Alkborough. The
boundaries along the northern and southern shores are somewhat complex and I will go
into the difficulties of interpreting them later. The Refuge is part of what is now the Upper
Humber Flats and Marshes S.S.S.I., first notified in 1957, and renotified in 1987; it extends
from just west of the Humber Bridge to Blacktoft on the Ouse, and includes the whole of
the Humber embankments and saltmarshes as well as an important site of fresh water at
Faxfleet. The S.S.S.I. boundary on the south shore takes in the important sites of
Alkborough Flats in the Trent and the R.S.P.B. reserve at Blacktoft Sand. Other features
are the Ferriby Cliffs, the Broomfleet Island reedbeds and of course. Read’s Island.

As I have already said, the main duty of the Refuge warden was the prevention of

86

The Humber Wildfowl Refuge

STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS

1955 No. 1532
WILD BIRDS

The Wild Birds (Humber Sanctuary) Order 1955

Made - - - -

Coming into Operation

\ st October, 1955
14 th October, 1955

In pursuance of the powers conferred on me by subsection (1) of section three of the
Protection of Birds Act, 1954(a), I hereby make the following Order: —

1. The area (hereafter in this Order referred to as the “Humber sanctuary”)
specified in the Schedule to this Order shall be a bird sanctuary, and the following
provisions of this Order shall have effect with respect thereto.

2. Any person who, within the Humber sanctuary, at any time wilfully kills, injures
or takes, or attempts to kill, injure or take, any wild bird shall be guilty of an offence
against the Act.

3. — (1) Subject as provided in paragraph (2) of this Article, any person who enters
into the Humber sanctuary, in the period commencing on the first day of September in
each year and ending on the twentieth day of February in the next following year,
shall be guilty of an offence against the Act.

(2) Nothing in this Article shall apply as respects the entry into the Humber
sanctuary —

(a) by boat of any person who does not leave the boat while within the said

(b) for the purposes of the functions under the River Boards Act, 1948(b),
of any river board constituted under that Act, of any officer or servant of
that Board; or

(c) of any person appointed in writing by the Nature Conservancy.

4. Where any person in the Humber sanctuary does any act which by virtue of
Article 2 or 3 or this Order is an offence against the Act he shall be liable to a special

5. — (1) In this Order, the expression “the Act” means the Protection of Birds Act,

(2) The Interpretation Act, 1889(c), shall apply to the interpretation of this Order
as it applies to the interpretation of an Act of Parliament.

6. This Order may be cited as the Wild Birds (Humber Sanctuary) Order, 1955,
and shall come into operation on the fourteenth day of October, 1955.

sanctuary;

penalty.

1954.

G. Lloyd-George
One of Her Majesty’s Principal
Secretaries of State

Home Office,

Whitehall.

1st October, 1955.

(a) 2 & 3 Eliz. 2. c. 30.

(b) 1 1 & 12 Geo. 6 c. 32.

(c) 52 & 53 Viet. C. 63.

The Humber Wildfowl Refuge

87

trespass on the Sanctuary, particularly since there is difficulty in interpreting the Refuge
boundaries. The east and west ones presented no real problems, but the north and south
ones, particularly the former, certainly did. The following part of the Schedule in the
Statutory Instrument referring to these reads:

“the southem/northem line means a line parallel to and one hundred yards
below the high water mark of ordinary tides or, in such areas as have shore
vegetation growing across the said high water mark, parallel to and one
hundred yards below the lower edge of such portions of shore vegetation
as are connected without any break to the shore vegetation growing across
the said high water mark as aforesaid ...”

Now just imagine a wildfowler, birdwatcher or anyone else for that matter trying to decide
whether he is trespassing on the Sanctuary or not. In other words, the black and white areas
are quite simple to delineate, but not the grey ones! An arbitrary line was obviously
desirable and eventually the Committee agreed that on the northern shore, where the
vegetation tended to be both broken and continuous, the line of the north bank of Crabley
Creek should be the boundary. There have been incidents of trespass, though not many,
including the odd occasion when the local press had obviously been forewarned by the
trespasser of his intended action. However, an incident occurred in 1963 which involved
the frontage of Broomfleet Island, previously considered sacrosanct. This resulted in the
incorporation of the frontage and embankment of Broomfleet Island, though a second
Statutory Instrument, 1963, no. 1808 was necessary.

By the mid-1960s, the increased use of private transport and better road systems had led
to an increase of visiting shooters from afar and a consequent “free for all” situation in
which the irresponsible thrived. The Committee, with the co-operation of the Humber
Conservancy Board, set about establishing a system of controlled shooting in which only
permit holders were allowed to shoot on clearly designated fringes of the Refuge. The
Committee was granted the lease of the foreshore shooting rights, the local landowners
between Brough and Crabley Creek agreed to allow the Committee to restrict the right of
access over their greenshore to armed wildfowlers and as a result of this scheme, which
began in 1965, relative peace and order were restored. Members of the two local
wildfowling clubs could apply for season permits while a small number of day permits
were available to visiting shooters, who had to be members of W.A.G.B.I. All this,
however, increased shooting pressure at Faxfleet and in 1969 a similar scheme was
established there, with one important difference. At the specific request of those who lived
almost on the river bank, shooting on Sundays was banned. Similar efforts to establish such
a scheme on the south shore did not meet with success, although the Committee now held
the shooting rights of almost the whole of the foreshore of the Refuge, the cost of these
being met by the permit-holders themselves.

For about eight years the Pink-footed Geese responded very well indeed to all the effort
and time which had gone into the provision of a safe roost. The autumn of 1957 was
probably the height of Peter Scott’s ringing programme when he caught 250 Pink-feet on
the Yorkshire Wolds on 22nd October. In two consecutive seasons, 1959-60 and 1960-61
the warden’s maximum counts were 20,000. These figures were probably an overestimate
as other experienced observers put the numbers at between 10,000 and 15,000 (Fig. 4).
What went wrong? A possible major factor was that the intensive cereal growing now the
norm in England had reached Scotland, resulting in much increased feeding opportunities
for the geese, whose migration pattern coincided with the later harvest in the north. The
Refuge Committee’s attitude to these falling numbers was that it was better for the species
to be scattered in small numbers in more localities than have large numbers in just a few,
where sudden changes of any kind could have a serious effect. However, numbers appeared
to stabilise for a few years, but in 1971 the autumn peak fell to 1,650, the lowest ever
recorded. By now, spring sowing on the Wolds was giving way to autumn sowing, with the
subsequent cereal harvest being completed, stubbles burned off and autumn sowing being
in progress even before the arrival of the geese.

88

The Humber Wildfowl Refuge

The usual pattern of the Pink-foot in winter was to forage on the stubbles of the
Yorkshire and Lincolnshire Wolds until late November or thereabouts, then move down to
the Wash region of Lincolnshire to glean the potato fields. In the early weeks of the new
year the birds would return, in much smaller numbers, presumably preparing for the return
migration via the Solway. Now, the numbers returning at this time were, by the end of the

PINK-FOOTED GOOSE (Anser brachyrhynchus)

FIGURE 4

Annual maximum counts 1955/56 to 1990/91

1970s, higher than the previous autumn’s peaks, so low had the autumn figures become.

In January 1975 tragedy struck. The autumn of 1974 had been excessively wet. Farming
operations were delayed, including not only harvesting but the subsequent ploughing and
sowing of next year’s winter com. There was a partial drying-out period in the second half
of December and it was towards the end of this period that a sudden influx of birds
occurred, bringing numbers up to 1,300. On 5th January 1975 it was obvious that the birds
had found a feeding area to the south of the Refuge. The following morning, a local
wildfowler found several dead and dying geese on the Alkborough Flats shore at the same
time as were some on the Faxfleet shore. The birds had found a field of recently sown
dressed autumn wheat which had been drop-sown by a farmer desperate to make good the
autumn delay. Unfortunately this had resulted in a massive poisoning. The whole sorry
business is covered in The Naturalist (Pashby 1976). It was estimated that 500 geese had
perished and the following autumn saw the first three-figure maximum. A slight increase
followed, but overall the decline continued, with a maximum of 382 during the 1984-85
season; in fact, the 560 of last season occurred not on the Refuge itself but further east in
the Read’s Island area. Meanwhile, in Lancashire numbers increased annually to vast peaks
of 20,000-30,000. The end of an era? Who knows? It may all happen again.

The difficulties of quantifying total waterfowl populations on the Humber are immense
and the relatively small area of the Refuge is no exception to this. Way back in 1955 it was
agreed that the primary purpose of the Refuge was the conservation of stocks of Pink-
footed Geese and that it could be assumed that adequate measures for this purpose would

89

The Humber Wildfowl Refuge

incidentally provide any necessary additional protection for other species. Nevertheless,
instructions to the warden in those days were to monitor and count the Pink-feet and to do
the same for other species if and when his time allowed, and for many years this remained
so. I think it can be taken that the Pink-feet counts throughout the whole period since 1955
were on the whole complete and accurate; being large birds they were fairly easy to count
when airborne.

For the other species, however, it has never been anything like so simple. Most of the
wardens’ counts were done from the north shore of the Refuge and were, in the main,
restricted to that part of Whitton Sand they could see. There was no Humber Bridge until
1981, and visits to the south shore were very limited, most being of a business nature and
not concerned with counting wildfowl. Counts were made in all weathers, with the counter
sometimes exposed to the worst of the elements. When the observation hide was built in
1974, this vastly improved the working conditions, but counting still went on from a fixed
point on the north shore, the only exceptions being on those days when the British Trust for
Ornithology’s Birds of Estuaries Enquiry counts were taking place.

In spite of these limitations there are maximum counts for all seasons (September-
March) since 1971, plus figures for Shelduck from 1956. It is important to emphasise that
direct comparison between the early periods and the later is not always possible.
Nevertheless, the figures do show some general increase or decrease over the twenty year
period.

Before dealing with the main duck and wader species which are present on the Refuge, I
would like to diverge a little to a term which one may well have come across when reading
about wetlands conservation. I refer to the “Ramsar Convention”. There is a world-wide
body known as the International Waterfowl Research Bureau. It met in 1971 at Ramsar,
Iran, and agreed on the text of a Convention on Wetlands of International Importance
Especially on Waterfowl Habitat, thereafter known as the “Ramsar Convention”. By April
1990, 52 countries were parties to the Convention and 30 million hectares of wetland had
been designated under it, comprising 445 sites. In Britain, the total area of Ramsar sites
was 130,000 hectares; across the water in Denmark there were two million hectares. The
criterion used in evaluating a wildfowl site was that it should hold 1% of the north-west
European population of a species. At a further conference of the I.W.R.B. at Heiligenhafen,
Germany in 1974, additional criteria were added for site classification which were then re-
examined at another conference at Cagliari, Italy in 1980. Briefly, they are as follows; a
wetland should be considered internationally important if it A. regularly supports either
10,000 ducks, geese and swans; or 10,000 Coots; or 20,000 waders; or B. regularly
supports 1% of the individuals of the population of one species or sub-species of
waterfowl; or C. 1% of breeding pairs.

So, on to the fortunes of six species of ducks and three of waders. Figures 5 to 13 show
the average of peak counts over five-year periods; National Importance levels are shown by
a broken line and International or “Ramsar Convention” ones with alternate “dot-dash”.

Shelduck ( Tadorna tadorna)

A local breeder, the Shelduck is also a passage-migrant and winter visitor (Plate 1).
Numbers on the Upper Humber remained fairly stable but showed a small increase in the
1970s (Fig. 5), and a further increase in the early 1980s with a remarkable one in the
following years. This can probably be explained by there being a sufficiently adequate food
supply, though there may well be another contributory factor. The majority of the north-
west European population fly to Heligoland Bight for their moult. The first recorded
exception to this in Britain was the establishment of a moulting flock in Bridgwater Bay in
the early 1950s, to be followed by others in the Forth in 1976, the Dee in 1983 and the
Wash, also in the early 1980s. The Humber was no exception to this extension of the bird’s
moulting range, as in 1978, Mark Tasker found a moulting party in the lower estuary and
about five years ago Derek Cutts confirmed his earlier suspicions that birds were now
forming a moulting flock on the Refuge. It is probably this that has also caused the increase

90 The Humber Wildfowl Refuge

SHELDUCK (Tadorna tadorna)

Maximum count = 4,186 (Oct. 1988)

FIGURE 5

5-year averages of annual maximum counts 1956 to 1990.

in numbers to such an extent that the Shelduck can now be regarded as one of the most
numerically important species on the Refuge. The highest number recorded was 4,186 in
October 1988, of which just over half were on the Refuge, the remainder being in the
Read’s Island and Pudding Pie areas. The average peak-count of the five years 1986-90
was above the level of International Importance.

PLATE 1. A pair of Shelduck feeding on the Humber mud. Photo : Richard Vaughan.

The Humber Wildfowl Refuge

91

Wigeon ( Anas penelope )

Once regarded as Britain’s most numerous wintering duck, it still occurs in large
numbers, a feature being its distribution over relatively few sites but in large numbers at
each, most of them being reserves of one kind or another. It is a grazing species (Plate 2),
coastal feeders preferring the fine grasses such as Puccinellia maritima and Festuca rubra ,
both of which are present on the Broomfleet salting, but this has not always been so. The
Wigeon habitat only became established after the introduction of sheep on the salting in the
mid-1960s. This resulted in the rapid decline of the then dominant plant Aster tripolium ,
the Sea Aster, and although there had been an appreciable amount of Puccinellia prior to
this, sheep grazing caused it to flourish and large areas of hitherto bare mud soon became
colonised by this grass. Subsequently an interesting sheep/Wigeon relationship became
apparent. The Wigeon preferred the already cropped grass, ignoring any coarser plants left
by the sheep. In other words, sheep grazing is also an essential for the optimum feeding
opportunities for Wigeon. However, things are never as simple as they seem. Severe
weather means an influx of more birds, possibly from the Continent, possibly from as near

PLATE 2. Part of the Refuge Wigeon flock busily grazing on the saltings.
Photo : Richard Vaughan

as the Lower Derwent Valley National Nature Reserve. When this occurs there is a rapid
decline in the available food supply which disappears, forcing the ducks to find alternative
food elsewhere. This situation occurred at least three times in the late 1970s and early
1980s (Fig. 6), the peak numbers of duck approaching International Importance levels. If
these influxes take place in December-January, the food supply may run out; if they are
later in the season, it may just suffice. On the whole, the recent milder winters have
resulted in peaks normally considered commensurate with the available food supply. To
sum up, a healthy situation exists, with two reserves in the county, apparently
complementary to one another, providing undisturbed safe feeding and roosting areas.

92

The Humber Wildfowl Refuge

WIG EON (Anas penelope)

Maximum count = 9,600 (Jan. 1980)

8000 -|

71/72-75/76 76/77-80/81 81/82-85/86 86/87-90/91

FIGURE 6

5 -year averages of annual maximum counts 1971/72 to 1990/91.

Teal ( Anas crecca)

Essentially an autumn passage-migrant, peak counts are between September and
November with 3,500 in September 1955 being the maximum and, closer to the present
day, 3,200 in mid-October 1982. Up to the 1972-73 season, peaks were usually no more
than 750, but a sudden increase to 1,300 in 1973-74 was followed by four-figure peaks in
all but four seasons up to last year (1990) with an average peak of 2,300 for the five years
1981-82 to 1985-86 (Fig. 7). The increase of the Whitton Sand has produced a habitat
ideally suited to the Teal. It has always achieved National Importance levels of 1,000 and
has obviously found the conditions and relative security of the Refuge to its liking.

TEAL (Anas crecca)

Maximum count = 3,200 (Oct. 1982)

FIGURE 7

5 -year averages of annual maximum counts 1971/72 to 1990/91.

The Humber Wildfowl Refuge

93

Mallard ( Anas platyrhynchos)

The Humber has for many years been at or near the top of the National table for numbers
of wintering Mallard, with the Refuge being its most important site. For some time now, it
has been suggested that the wintering flock roosting on the Refuge may be composed
largely of native breeding stock. The Birds of Estuaries Enquiry shows that the mid- winter
numbers in the Lower Humber are more or less maintained while those in the Upper
Humber fall dramatically in February and March, the birds presumably moving to local
breeding areas. The Lower Humber birds remain until they depart for their breeding areas
on the Continent some time later. If this is so, then the drop in peak numbers at the Refuge
during the last ten years is a little worrying (Fig. 8). In fact, last winter showed the lowest
peak for thirty years and it could well be that the species has had a succession of poor
breeding seasons. The highest figure recorded was 8,140 in January 1981, December 1990
peak being only 1,270. Let us hope that the fortunes of this well known but very beautiful
duck take a turn for the better.

Now to two species of ducks at the bottom of the numbers scale, but interesting nevertheless.

MALLARD ( Anas platyrhynchos)

Maximum count = 8,140 (Jan. 1981)

FIGURE 8

5-year averages of annual maximum counts 1971/72 to 1990/91.

Pintail ( Anas acuta)

Here the gradual increase, especially in the most recent years (Fig. 9), of a species,
which like the Teal is mainly a passage-migrant, is very welcome. In the early days the
peaks were in single figures only but there was a maximum of 400 in October 1990. (There
was a further increase to a maximum of 1,375 in November 1991, almost certainly the
highest number ever recorded in Yorkshire.)

Goosander ( Mergus merganser )

This attractive fish-eating duck was once very scarce, but in recent years has gradually
increased from low single figures to something like c.30 for its average peak numbers (Fig.
10). These are usually in January or February with a maximum of 73 in February 1991.
The Goosander is a very welcome newcomer to the Refuge.

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The Humber Wildfowl Refuge

PINTAIL (Anas acuta)

Maximum count = 400 (Oct. 1990)

FIGURE 9

5-year averages of annual maximum counts 1971/72 to 1990/91.

GOOSANDER (Mergus merganser)

Maximum count = 73 (Feb. 1991)

FIGURE 10

5 -year averages of annual maximum counts 1971/72 to 1990/91.

Golden Plover ( Pluvialis apricaria )

This bird primarily uses the Refuge as a safe roost, feeding to a much lesser extent and
flighting to main feeding areas around the Refuge. As can be seen from the average peaks
of the early 1970s (Fig. 11), it did not occur in exceptional numbers. The dramatic, but
steady increase to maximum counts of 8,000 on 8th December 1979, which was then the

95

The Humber Wildfowl Refuge

largest flock ever recorded in VC61, 14,000 in December 1988 and 15,000 in the same
month a year later, may well reflect the growth of Whitton Sand and the consequent
increase in its roosting potential.

GOLDEN PLOVER (Pluvialis apricaria)

Maximum count = 15,000 (Dec. 1988)

FIGURE 1 1

5 -year averages of annual maximum counts 1971/72 to 1990/91.

Lapwing ( Vanellus vanellus)

The Lapwing has always been a bird of the Refuge, but its peak numbers up to the late
1970s were usually the result of severe weather. As with the previous species, an upward

LAPWING (Vanellus vanellus)

Maximum count = 18,000 (Jan. 1989)

FIGURE 12

5-year averages of annual maximum counts 1971/72 to 1990/91.

96

The Humber Wildfowl Refuge

surge coincided with the increase and stablisation of Whitton Sand, (Fig. 12). Peak counts
were 13,400 in December 1987 and 18,000 in January 1989.

Dunlin ( Calidris alpina)

The earlier figures possibly represent an undercount and the population level over the
years has been relatively stable, although numbers do appear to be increasing in recent
years as indicated on the histogram (Fig. 13).

DUNLIN ( Calidris alpina )

Maximum count = 6,030 (Feb. 1989)

FIGURE 13

5-year averages of annual maximum counts 1971/72 to 1990/91

The totals (absolute numbers) of the average annual maximum counts 1985-1989, of four
species of ducks (Fig. 14) and three species of waders (Fig. 15) alone, show that the Upper
Humber qualifies as an area of International Importance.

Average annual
Maximum

National

International

(Ramsar)

Sheiduck

2909

750

2500

Wigeon

3100

2500

7500

Teal

1410

1000

4000

Mallard

2840

5000

50000

Absolute

10259

10000

FIGURE 14

Average annual maximum counts of four species of duck 1985-1989 with
qualifying levels for national and international importance.

The Humber Wildfowl Refuge

97

Average annual
Maximum

National

International

(Ramsar)

Golden Plover

8600

2000

10000

Lapwing

9130

10000

20000

Dunlin

2820

4300

14000

Absolute

20550

20000

FIGURE 15

Average annual maximum counts of three species of wader 1985-1989 with
qualifying levels for national and international importance.

In conclusion, Derek Cutts, current Chairman of the Refuge Committee, writes:

“I think you will agree that through the hard work of a group of people, the last 36 years
have been years of success and it is encouraging to know that the undoubted importance of
the Wildfowl Refuge and the wider Upper Humber S.S.S.I., has been recognised by an
application from English Nature for designation as a Wetland of International Importance
under the “Ramsar Convention”, and also as a Specially Protected Area under E.C.
Directive. We hope these designations will be forthcoming in the near future.

I believe it has been clearly demonstrated that for the majority of species the Refuge is a
success, with many species showing substantial increases in numbers. The one obvious
exception to this picture is ironically the Pink-footed Goose. We have seen the relatively
low numbers over the last 15 years or so which may well be due to the limited availability
of local feeding due to the previously discussed changes in agricultural practice. After all,
very substantial numbers of Pinkfeet still winter as far south as the Refuge. Lancashire has
wintering flocks of 20,000 or 30,000 and presumably there is adequate food available.

So, what of the future? The varied work of the Refuge Committee will continue, and a
worthwhile initiative may be to examine, in partnership with English Nature, the feasibility
of increasing the amount of local food available to the Pinkfeet, possibly by means of
something like the establishment of Sensitive Land Management Agreements.”

Acknowledgements

I am grateful for the help received from many people, and whilst it is not possible to
mention them all by name, I do wish to thank the following: Ted Smith of the Lincolnshire
Naturalists’ Trust, Frank Mason of the Hull and East Riding Wildfowlers’ Association and
first Secretary of the Refuge Committee, Henry Bunce, Derek Cutts, John Turner, and John
White; John Cudworth for the maps, Paul McSherry for the graph and histograms, Richard
Vaughan for the photographs, also Helen Stace of English Nature, Captain D. Thomas,
Harbour Master, Humber and D. Lusby, Assistant Hydrographer, both of Associated
British Ports; and lastly my wife Shirley, for her unfailing help and encouragement.

References

British Trust for Ornithology, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Wildfowl Trust,
Birds of Estuaries Enquiry 1971-72 to 1978-79.

Cutts, D. B. (1973) Birds of the Estuary, in The Humber Estuary. A Joint Symposium of
University of Hull/Humber Advisory Group.

Harrison, B. (1989) A report on the feeding activities of wintering Wigeon around the

98

The Humber Wildfowl Refuge

Upper River Humber on arable crops and the steps taken by farmers to combat them,
1988/89 season. Unpublished report to Nature Conservancy Council.

Humber Wildfowl Refuge Committee, Warden’s Annual Reports to the Committee 1971-
72 to 1990-91. Unpublished reports held at English Nature, York.

Kear, J. (1990) Man and Wildfowl. Poyser, London.

Mather, J. R. (1986) The Birds of Yorkshire. Croom Helm, London.

Ogilvie, M. A. (1978) Wild Geese. Poyser, Berkhamsted.

Owen, M., Atkinson-Willes, G. L. and Salmon, D. G. (1986). Wildfowl in Great Britain ,
2nd ed., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

Pashby, B. S. (1976) Pink-footed Goose fatalities at the Humber Wildfowl Refuge,
Naturalist 101, 15-18.

Prater, A. J. (1981) Estuary Birds of Britain and Ireland. Poyser, Calton.

Tasker, M. and Milsom, T. P. (1979) Birds of the Humber Estuary. Dept, of Zoology,
University of Hull.

Wildfowl Trust, Wildfowl and Wader Counts 1979-80 to 1990-91.

Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union, Ornithological Reports.

BOOK REVIEWS

The Ant and the Peacock by Helena Cronin, with foreword by John Maynard Smith. Pp.
xiv + 490, including black and white photographs, and line illustrations. Cambridge
University Press. 1991. £27.50 hardback.

The Ant and the Peacock comprises sixteen chapters, an epilogue, a note on the letters of
Darwin and Wallace, a comprehensive bibliography and an index. Controversies between
early evolutionists are traced and illuminated by Helena Cronin in this scholarly and lucid
book. Altruism and sexual selection no longer present the puzzles that they did in the mid-
nineteenth century when the founding fathers of evolutionary theory regarded them as
obstacles to the straightforward application of natural selection. Why should some
individuals forego their ability to leave offspring, and work for the “benefit” of a
community? Why should males of some species be handicapped by gigantic ornaments
which waste their substance, and make them more conspicuous to predators? The seminal
ideas of kin selection, costs and benefits, and the selfish gene are those of the second half
of the following century; it is therefore unsurprising that to the burdens of irrelevant
religious controversy (well documented elsewhere) borne by the early evolutionists were
added those of highly relevant internal controversies when the seekers of scientific truth
were themselves perplexed.

I seldom endorse the glowing opinions of the writers of publishers’ blurbs on the dust
jackets of books. In this instance I make an exception - science, history and philosophy, all
are blended here to produce a gripping account of the evolution of evolutionary theory
itself. This book I strongly recommend to anyone with the remotest interest in this, the
unifying theory of life.

DJH

The Whales of Hawaii by Stanley M. Minasian, Kenneth C. Balcomb and Larry
Foster. Pp. x + 99, with full colour illustrations. University of Hawaii Press for the Marine
Mammal Fund. 1991. £4.95.

These fascinating animals are splendidly portrayed in this delightful booklet, full of
superb underwater and surface photographs. This small volume encompasses a very
considerable amount of information within its text which will be of interest to a wider
audience than the title implies. In all, 22 species of Cetacea (and one seal!), many with
extensive distributions, have so far been sighted in Hawaiian waters; a further four species
are included that could well make their way to these exotic islands, depredations of man
permitting. Aloha!

IJH

BATS AND THEIR ROOSTS
IN CLEVELAND AND NORTH EAST YORKSHIRE

A. A. WARDHAUGH

13 Captain Cook’s Crescent, Marton, Middlesbrough, Cleveland TS7 8NN

99

Introduction

The aim of this paper is to present recent findings about the status and distribution of bats
and their roost sites in Cleveland county and adjacent parts of North Yorkshire.

Distribution maps for bat species in this area (eg Howes 1983, Howes & Thompson
1985) convey valuable but basic information since each record could for example represent
anything from an isolated, displaced individual to a large colony at a regularly occupied
summer roost or hibemaculum. The passing of the 1981 Wildlife and Countryside Act
afforded bats extensive legal protection, so highlighting their general decline and
stimulating interest in these animals. Of note has been the establishment of a network of
county bat groups, one such being the Cleveland Bat Group. It is perhaps worth pointing
out that these organisations have come into being in a somewhat ad hoc manner and are
largely based on the present county boundaries rather than on the Watsonian vice-county
system adopted in much biological recording. Hence Cleveland Bat Group covers both the
County of Cleveland and nearby parts of North Yorkshire, bounded approximately by lines
joining Darlington, Osmotherley, Bilsdale and Whitby, an area which thus includes parts of
vice-counties 62 (north east Yorkshire), 66 (Durham) and a little of vice-county 65 (north
west Yorkshire, the Middleton Tyas area).

The principal aim of this study has been to locate, survey and monitor bat roosting sites,
in the hope of fostering their conservation. In practice, the majority of sites which have
been located are summer roosts in buildings, where large concentrations of bats often
occur. Initially these groups are composed of females only (or very largely so, depending
upon the species), the majority of which are probably pregnant at the time of establishment
of the colony each year. Birth usually occurs in the second half of June or early July and in
any one colony most offspring are probably bom within a week of one another (Tuttle &
Stevenson 1982). How this synchrony is brought about seems to be unknown. Most
females give birth to a single young, although twins have been recorded in some species
(Stebbings 1991). The young are weaned and fully independent by the time the colony
disperses in late summer. Individual female bats display a high degree of site fidelity over
successive summers (Thompson 1987).

Much less is known about the location of adult males in summer, when most seem to
roost singly or in small groups and are therefore easily overlooked. During winter,
hibernating bats generally occur in moist and cool but frost free situations such as tree
cavities, caves, disused mineshafts and similar places, the type of site depending upon
species to some extent. Such sites are relatively inaccessible compared with summer roosts
and this, coupled with the inactivity of the animals, means that they are much more
difficult to locate in winter. For further information on British bats see Richardson (1985),
Stebbings (1986), Schober and Grimmberger (1989), Ransome (1990), Wardhaugh (1990),
and Corbet and Harris (1991).

Method

Information on roost sites was collected from 1983 to 1991 inclusive. Typically, summer
roosts were visited at dusk when bats emerge to feed. The number of bats leaving was
recorded and sometimes one or a few individuals were caught by hand net to confirm
identification. The latter activity was carried out under licence from the Nature
Conservancy Council for England as required by the 1981 Wildlife and Countryside Act.
Other data regarding the nature of the roost site were recorded as appropriate.

Naturalist 117 (1992)

100

Bats and their Roosts

Results

A total of 92 roost sites was located in the study area. Of these, at 34 sites the species was
not, or has not yet been confirmed by hand netting emerging individuals. All data presented
here deal with the remaining 58 sites, where five species were encountered, the pipistrelle
( Pipistrellus pipistrellus ), the brown long-eared bat {Plecotus auritus), Daubenton’s bat
{My otis daubentonii ), Brandt’s bat ( Myotis brandtii ) and Natterer’s bat ( Myotis natter eri).
Distribution maps are presented in Figures 1, 2 and 3. Data concerning all known sites and
those known to serve as summer nursery roosts are summarised in Tables 1 and 2
respectively. These data indicate that the large majority of known sites are nursery roosts
and that the pipistrelle is by far the most common species. For pipistrelle nursery roosts,
the building types and precise sites occupied are indicated in Tables 3 and 4. The direction
faced was also noted (Figure 4). Systematic and detailed study of one or more roost sites
was beyond the scope of this study but nevertheless a significant amount of information
about period of occupation and numbers of animals present was collected. Table 5 provides
information on occupancy in terms of the number of instances on which pipistrelles were
found to be present at roost sites during half-monthly periods (ie. if bats were present at a
site on a particular date then this is included as one count in the appropriate column of the
table). Bats were not necessarily present for the whole of this half-monthly period; they
may or could have been present for as little as one day. (Where bats were known to have
been present for more than one day in a half-monthly period this of course is still recorded
as one count). It was often possible to count the number of bats emerging from the nursery
roost at dusk and this information is summarised in a similar way in Table 6. In some
instances, individual roost sites were visited on a number of occasions during one or more
summers and data relating to the highest counts made at each nursery site visited in any
one year are presented in Table 7.

For many pipistrelle nursery roosts, it was possible to determine the age of the building
and from this information a mean age of 37.2 ± 46.4 years (N = 86) has been calculated. In
this calculation one unit of data (N) is the age, in years, of the building occupied during the
summer concerned. Where bats were present at a site of known age for more than one
summer then the appropriate age was included in the calculation for the corresponding
number of summers. Data from 22 nursery roosts were used to derive this mean. One site

Tetrad distribution of known roost sites of the pipistrelle in
Cleveland and north-east Yorkshire.

• = one roost • = two to five roosts

Bats and their Roosts

101

Tetrad distribution of known roost sites of the brown long-eared bat in
Cleveland and north-east Yorkshire.

Tetrad distrbution of known roost sites of Brandt’s, Daubenton’s and
Natterer’s bats in Cleveland and north-east Yorkshire.

• = Brandt’s bat ■ =Daubenton’s bat O = Natterer’s bat

was a notable exception in age, being a house built in 1851; all other buildings were much
newer. If this site is excluded (where bats were present every summer from at least 1976
until 1991) then the mean age of occupied buildings is 15.4 ± 8.0 years (N = 70. Range = 4
to 41 years).

Comparison of Tables 1 and 2 reveals that for the pipistrelle five sites which are not
nursery roosts were located. One site is a known hibemaculum in a west facing porch over
the door of a semi-detached house built about 1950. One or a few individuals have been

102

Bats and their Roosts

Pipistrelle nursery roosts: distribution of aspects faced (n = 37)

TABLE 1

Numbers of known roost sites (all types)

Species

Cleveland (%)

North

Yorkshire (%)

Total (%)*

Pipistrelle

28 (82.4)

15 (62.5)

43 (74.1)

Brown long-
eared bat

3 (8.8)

7 (29.2)

10(17.2)

Daubenton’s bat

1 (2.9)

1 (4.2)

2 (3.4)

Brandt’s bat

1 (2.9)

1 (4.2)

2 (3.4)

Natterer’s bat

1 (2.9)

0 (0)

1(1.7)

Totals

34

24

58

* For the pipistrelle (43), brown long-eared bat (10), and the three Myotis species
amalgamated (5), deviation from an equal frequency of occurrence is highly significant: chi
squared = 1 10.74, P < 0.001.

observed here intermittently during winter, most years since 1985-6. The animals occupy a
downward facing gap between the exterior wall of the house and the adjoining lead
covered wooden roof of the porch. Another site is a large, three-storey house built in 1881
where a torpid pipistrelle was found between the folds of a curtain in a little used bedroom
on 15th February 1986. At the same time at least three bats were seen flying inside the
building. The remaining three sites are used during summer at least and seem to be
occupied exclusively by small numbers of male pipistrelles, although further study is
needed to confirm this. Of thee, two are church interiors. It is interesting to note that during
an extensive survey of pipistrelle roosts on the Vale of York, no large hibemacula with
several bats present were found (Thompson 1990).

The second most frequently encountered species in this survey was the brown long-eared

Bats and their Roosts

103

TABLE 2

Numbers of known roost sites (nursery)

Species

Cleveland (%)

North

Yorkshire (%)

Total (%)*

Pipistrelle
Brown long-

25 (80.6)

13(81.3)

38 (80.9)

eared bat

3 (9.7)

2(12.5)

5 (10.6)

Daubenton’s bat

1 (3.2)

1 (6.3)

2 (4.3)

Brandt’s bat

1 (3.2)

0 (0)

1 (2.1)

Natterer’s bat

1 (3.2)

0 (0)

1 (2.1)

Totals

31

16

47

* For the pipistrelle (38), brown long-eared bat (5), and the three Myotis species
amalgamated (4), deviation from an equal frequency of occurrence is highly significant: chi
squared = 109.85, P < 0.001.

TABLE 3

Pipistrelle nursery roosts: buildings occupied

Building

Type

Cleveland (%)

North

Yorkshire (%)

Total (%)*

Two storey house
Other two storey

20 (80)

5 (38.5)

25 (65.8)

building

1 (4)

3(23.1)

4(10.6)

Bungalow

4(16)

2(15.4)

6(15.8)

Church

0 (0)

2(15.4)

2 (5.3)

Garden shed

0 (0)

1 (7.7)

1 (2.6)

Totals

25

13

38

* Deviation from equal frequency is highly significant: chi squared

TABLE 4

Pipistrelle nursery roosts: sites occupied

= 20.88, P< 0.001.

Site

Cleveland (%)

North

Yorkshire (%)

Total (%)*

Soffit

13 (52)

5 (38.5)

18(47.4)

Facia

4(16)

2(15.4)

6(15.8)

Hanging tiles

4(16)

0(0)

4(10.5)

Wall cavity

2(8)

2(15.4)

4(10.5)

Cladding

0(0)

4 (30.8)

4(10.5)

Flat roof void

2(8)

0(0)

2 (5.3)

Totals

25

13

38

* Deviation from equal frequency is highly significant: chi squared = 26.53, P < 0.001.

104

Bats and their Roosts

TABLE 5

Pipistrelle nursery roosts: period of occupancy

Apr

16-30

May

1-15

May

16-31

Jun

1-15

Jun

16-30

Jul

1-15

Jul

16-31

Aug

1-15

Aug

16-31

Sept

1-15

Sept

16-30

2

5

9

9

13

20

13

12

3

2

2

Data based on observation of 31 roost sites. Deviation from equal frequency is highly
significant: chi squared = 42.6, P < 0.001.

TABLE 6

Pipistrelle nursery roosts: numbers of animals recorded

May

May

Jun

Jun

Jul

Jul

Aug

Aug

Sept

Sept

1-15

16-31

1-15

16-30

1-15

16-31

1-15

16-31

1-15

16-30

I

266

706

320

736

1431

844

587

123

—

8

n

6

6

9

9

15

14

13

3

—

2

X*

44.3

117.7

35.6

81.8

95.4

60.3

45.2

41

—

4

on 1

23.1

150.0

43.8

46.7

71.1

51.0

30.7

26.9

—

2.8

Data based on observation of 27 roost sites.

*Deviation from equal frequency is highly significant: chi squared

= 152.58, P< 0.001.

TABLE 7

Pipistrelle nursery roosts: maximum annual counts

1983

1984

1985

1986

1987

1988

1989

1990

1991

I

439

646

328

391

300

429

411

914

237

n

4

6

4

8

5

5

2

7

7

X*

109.75

107.7

82.0

48.8

60.0

85.8

205.5

130.6

39.9

on 1

35.8

42.3

76.9

30.7

28.0

38.4

135.1

131.1

15.9

Data based on observation of 24 roost sites.

TABLE 8

Brown long-eared bat roost sites

Site type

Number of
sites

Number of
animals

Period of
occupancy

Loft void, sandstone
or brick house
or similar

7

Up to
about 30

Probably summer
only (nursery)

Church tower interior
sandstone wall cavity

1

Up to 32

Summer at least
(nursery)

Church interior
behind timbers

1

1

Summer at least

Disused railway
tunnel

1

1

Winter

(hibernation)

Bats and their Roosts

105

TABLE 9

Myotis species roost sites

Species

Site type

Roost position

Further remarks

Daubenton’s bat

Stone road
bridge over
river

Cavity on
underside
of arch

Numbers difficult
to estimate: about 20
to 30 bats. Nursery
roost. 1988-91.

Daubenton’s bat

Stone road
bridge over
river

Cavity on
underside
of arch

Numbers very difficult
to estimate: about 50
in summer (1985-91).
A few bats recorded
at times in winter.

Brandt’s bat

Sandstone

church

Between slates
and wooden
underboard

Nursery roost
occupied most years.
Up to 16 bats.
1985-91.

Brandt’s bat

Sandstone

bungalow

Wall crevice
in loft void

Two bats (one male)
on 18.6.88. Void also
a brown long-eared
bat nursery roost.

Natterer’s bat

Sandstone

church

Behind timbers
in nave

Up to 21 bats.
Nursery roost
occupied every
summer 1983-91
but a longer
history likely.

bat. Details for all known roost sites are provided in Table 8. Summary information about
Myotis species is presented in Table 9.

Discussion

Before attempting to draw specific conclusions from the data presented, it is essential that
some general comments be made about the nature of roost sites, their duration of
occupancy and inherent difficulties in determining the number of bats present. At the outset
it is important to define the term ‘colony’. Stebbings (1986) states that a colony of bats is a
group of animals of one species in an area, which normally relate to each other exclusively.

Regarding nursery roosts, in general colonies of bats use more than one roost site. This is
especially true of the pipistrelle, which may change roost site at any time during the
summer. Thus nursery roosts can be occupied for any period between approximately May
and September inclusive, continuously, for much of this time or for as little as a single day.
An average period of occupancy of 12 days has been calculated for the Northamptonshire
area (Richardson 1985). Bats often display a high level of roost site fidelity but never-
theless a site may be occupied for many successive summers, for a single year or sporadi-
cally, with bats present some years and absent others. Furthermore, in dwelling houses bats
may occupy a site for a single summer and the property owners might then exercise their
right under the Wildlife and Countryside Act to apply to the Nature Conservancy Council
for England for permission to seal up the access point after the animals have left.

Direct counts of most British bat species within summer roosts is not possible because
the animals usually occupy confined and inaccessible spaces as is indicated in the results of
this survey. The best that can be done is to count the animals as they leave the roost to fly
and feed at dusk. In general, all individuals emerge within about a half hour period. Not all
bats leave the roost site every night but it is probable that the large majority do so on a fine

106

Bats and their Roosts

night. Hence it should be stressed that counts provide only an estimate of the number of
animals present. A count at a nursery roost carried out in June would include only adult
bats (the large majority being pregnant females), whereas a count in August is likely to
include adults and their newly independent offspring. Not all females arrive at a nursery
roost on the same date, although in general they will do so within a few days of one
another. Similarly not all leave together at the end of summer, adults tending to disperse
before juveniles (Stebbings 1968). Occasionally a colony will split up during summer and
members then occupy two or more roost sites simultaneously (eg Thompson 1990).

The above points must be borne in mind when attempting to draw conclusions from
numerical data.

Reference to Tables 1 and 2 and Figures 1, 2 and 3 indicate that in the study area the
pipistelle is by far the most abundant and widespread species, with the brown long-eared
bat the next most numerous, a pattern which is in line with findings in Britain generally
(Stebbings & Griffith 1986). The maps (Figures 1, 2 and 3), notably that for pipistrelle
roosts, represent a considerable extension of previously published information for this area
(Howes 1983, Howes & Thompson 1985, Thompson 1990, the limitations of which are
pointed out in the introduction above). Thompson (1990) has five 10 km square records for
the pipistrelle within the Yorkshire part of the study area. Figure 1 is based on 43 records.
Similarly Howes and Thompson (1985) have one record for the brown long-eared bat
(there are ten records in Figure 2) and no records for Natterer’s, Brandt’s or Daubenton’s
bat in the area covered in this survey. Brief notes on the status of bats in the old county of
Durham (vice-county 66) published by Jackson and Hinchcliffe (1986) do not include
distribution maps. All five species under consideration are represented as present in the
study area in national distribution maps (Corbet & Harris 1991); hence the information
presented in this paper does not represent any extension of the known ranges of these
species, but rather adds to knowledge of their status within these. (All records from this
survey have been submitted to the Biological Records Centre at the end of the calendar
year in which the site was first located.) The abundance of the pipistrelle on a national
scale, relative to other bat species, must surely be related to its greater ability to exploit
dwelling houses as roost sites.

Regarding the sites selected as nursery roosts by female pipistrelles, there is a clear
statistical bias towards occupation of two-storey buildings, specifically behind soffit boards
(Tables 3 and 4). The data on age of sites (mean 37.2 years, revised to 15.4 years) seem to
be in line with national findings, eg. Richardson (1985) states that at the time of his
writing, 80% of pipistrelle roosts found in the Northamptonshire area were in houses built
since 1960. In the present study 74.4% (revised figure 91.4%) of roosts were in buildings
aged 25 years or less. The significance of these figures is hard to evaluate. The bats may be
simply exploiting what is available rather than deliberately selecting newer houses.

Interestingly, the direction faced by pipistrelle nursery roosts showed no marked trend
(Figure 4). However, only eight sites face north-west to north-east inclusive, compared
with a total of 29 facing other directions. This is just statistically significant (chi squared =
3.98 P <0.05). Avery (1991) states “nursery roosts are often in modem buildings, usually
south or south-west facing, presumably chosen partly for their warmth”. Thompson (1990)
suggests that bats may use roosts according to their temperature requirements, as the
females tend to be heterothermic early in pregnancy, using north facing roosts, and
homeothermic during mid-pregnancy and lactation when they move to south facing roosts.
Data collected in the present study are too few to comment on this point, which requires
further investigation. The matter has the added complication that in late pregnancy, when
the foetus takes up most of the abdomen, the female cannot eat a great deal and so may
become heterothermic again (Stebbings 1986). This may result in further movement
between roosts.

Occupation of summer roosts (Table 5) shows a clear peak from late June to early
August. Young are usually bom in the second half of June or early July and first fly when
three weeks old, after which the colony soon disperses (Stebbings 1991). The earliest date

Bats and their Roosts

107

on which bats were recorded in the present study was for twelve animals at a site on 25th
April 1987. The latest record in the year was for six bats on 20th September 1987,
interestingly, at the same roost. Thompson (1990) records 18th May 1982 and 8th
September 1979 as first and last dates for the York area. Peak counts (Table 6) occurred
from late June to late July inclusive with an apparent earlier peak during late May. The
latter would be less marked but for a single count of 416 animals at a site in a wall cavity in
the exterior of a church. If this count is excluded, the mean for late May is then 58.0 ±
37.8. Similarly two unusually high counts (88 and 124) were made at one roost site in early
June and if these are excluded then the mean for this period is 15.4 ± 17.7. Although these
alterations to the data are subjective it is felt that the revised figures serve to reflect more
fairly a pattern of high counts in May followed by generally fewer bats present during early
June, before the principal peak in numbers in late June to late July inclusive. Similar
occupation patterns have been observed elsewhere (eg Richardson 1984) and perhaps
reflect changes in thermoregulatory behaviour related to the reproductive cycle, as outlined
above, with a period of dispersion during late pregnancy when the animals may become
heterothermic. This is clearly a significant aspect of the life of the pipistrelle which
requires further study.

The data summarised in Table 7, the means for maximum annual counts, are probably
too few to reflect reliably any genuine fluctuation between years because individual sites
were not visited with sufficient frequency to estimate accurately the maximum number of
animals present; thus the true peak at any give site may well have been missed. The overall
mean for all maximum counts made during the nine year period is 85.3 ± 72.9. Avery
(1991) states that maternity roosts can hold up to 1000 bats but that 1 to 200 are much
more common, with an average of about 60. In the Vale of York, for the period 1977 to
1983 Howes and Thompson (1985) located eleven stable colonies which usually contained
50 to 100 bats. For Great Britain, Stebbings and Arnold (1992) report mean numbers of
pipistrelles emerging from roost sites as 1 1 1 ± 9 for 1990 and 100 ± 8 for 1991 (n = 342).
These figures are based on counts made in June (ie. all adults). Their survey indicates
considerable regional variation, with sizes for northern England of 102 ± 13 and 85 ±11
for 1990 and 1991 respectively (n = 69).

Regarding species other than the pipistrelle, sites occupied by the brown long-eared bat
(Table 8) are typically more rural and the buildings older, generally of the order of 100
years or more in age. Specific dates of construction have been difficult to obtain but in any
case the roof voids inhabited are not necessarily of the same age as the rest of the building
at these older sites. This overall pattern seems to be typical of that found nationally.

Data for the Myotis species (Table 9) are few due to the paucity of sites located - a point
of interest in itself. It is envisaged that further information about these roosts will form the
basis of future publications. The two sites occupied by Daubenton’s bats are of interest
since both are in bridge archways, on the underside, where in one case a lateral extension
has been added in the past to widen the bridge. Similar sites are known elsewhere, for
example in Hampshire (Goodall 1986). In Durham, Jackson and Hinchcliffe (1986) report
three roost sites for Daubenton’s bat (data for one of which, at Croft-on-Tees just inside
vice-count 65, is included in Table 9), one nursery roost for Natterer’s bat (again that
which is included in Table 9 since it is in Cleveland county) and four roosts for Brandt’s
bat. In Yorkshire, records for these three species seem to be sparse in general (Howes &
Thompson 1985) especially for Brandt’s bat which has been recognised as distinct from the
whiskered bat {Myotis mystacinus) only since 1970.

Other species of bat which may well breed in the study area include the whiskered bat
which seems to be not uncommon in the Durham area (Jackson & Hinchcliffe 1986). An
individual of this species was found near Eaglescliffe, Cleveland (GR 45/39.14) on 22nd
August 1988. It is equally surprising that no roosts of the noctule bat {Nyctalus noctula )
have been located. Two individuals were caught accidentally in bird ringers’ mist nets at
Salthome Pools, Cleveland (GR 45/504.224) on 1st September, 1969 and one was found in
a moribund condition at Hartlepool Headland (GR 45/531.341) on 23rd April 1971 (R. T.

108

Bats and their Roosts

McAndrew, pers. comm.). What is undoubtedly this species can be seen regularly during
summer months, feeding at dusk at a number of riparian habitats in the study area. Jackson
and Hinchcliffe (1986) reported thirteen noctule roosts in Durham whilst records for
Yorkshire are widely spread but with a southerly bias (Howes & Thompson 1985).

The chance of any other British bat species being resident in the study area seems to be
very slim; however it is perhaps worth noting that in the past, the barbastelle ( Barbastella
barbastellus ) and the lesser horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus hipposideros) have been recorded
as far north as Helmsley in Yorkshire (Howes & Thompson 1985) and Leisler’s bat
(Nyctalus leisleri ) occurs in the Sheffield area (Whiteley 1985).

Finally, it is of interest to note that a female Nathusius’ pipistrelle ( Pipistrellus nathusii)
was found at Teesport (GR 45/54.23) on 26th April, 1991. It seems highly likely that this
animal arrived in Britain by ship but regrettably this could not be ascertained for certain.
Only three records of this highly migratory species are listed for mainland Britain by Racey
(1991). Hutson (1991) mentions in passing one further individual found in Bristol.

Acknowledgements

I am grateful to members of Cleveland Bat Group, both past and present, for their help in
providing data included in this paper.

References

Avery, M. I. (1991) Pipstrelle Pipistrellus pipistrellus. In: The Handbook of British
Mammals. (Corbet, G. B. & Harris, S., eds.) 124-128. Blackwell, London.

Corbet, G. B. & Harris, S. eds. (1991) The Handbook of British Mammals. Blackwell,
London.

Goodall, D. (1986) Daubenton’s bats take the strain. Bat News 9: 2-3.

Howes, A. (1983) An atlas of Yorkshire mammals. Naturalist 108: 41-82.

Howes, A. & Thompson, M. J. A. (1985) Bats, Chiroptera. In: Yorkshire Mammals
(Delany, M. J. ed.): 35-72. University of Bradford.

Hutson, A. M. (1991) Grey long-eared bat at Brighton. Bat News 23: 6.

Jackson, N. & Hinchcliffe, G. (1986) Bats in Durham. The Vasculum 71: 35-38.

Racey, P. A. (1991) Nathusius’ pipistrelle Pipistrellus nathusii In: The Handbook of British
Mammals. (Corbet, G. B. & Harris, S., eds.) 128. Blackwell, London.

Ransome, R. D. (1990) The Natural History of Hibernating Bats. Helm, Bromley.
Richardson, P. (1984) Pipistrelle summer roosts. Bat Newsletter (Nature Conservancy
Council) 2: 2-4.

Richardson, P. (1985) Bats. Whittet, London.

Schober, W. & Grimmberger, E. (1989) A Guide to Bats of Britain and Europe. Hamlyn,
London.

Stebbings, R. E. (1968) Measurements, composition and behaviour of a large colony of the
bat Pipistrellus pipistrellus. J . Zool. Lond. 156: 15-33.

Stebbings, R. E. (1986) Bats. Anthony Nelson, Oswestry.

Stebbings, R. E. (1991) Chiroptera. In: The Handbook of British Mammals. (Corbet, G. B.

& Harris, S., eds.): 81-86. Blackwell, London.

Stebbings, R. E. & Arnold, H. R. (1992) National bat colony survey. Newsletter 13. The
Robert Stebbings Consultancy Ltd., 74 Alexandra Road, Peterborough PEI 3DG.
Stebbings, R. E. & Griffith, F. (1986) Distribution and Status of Bats in Europe. Institute
of Terrestrial Ecology, Abbots Ripton.

Thompson, M. J. A. (1987) Longevity and survival of female pipistrelle bats (Pipistrellus
pipistrellus) on the Vale of York, England. Journal of Zoology 211: 209-214.

Thompson, M. J. A. (1990) The pipistrelle bat Pipistrellus pipistrellus Schreber on the
Vale of York. Naturalist 115: 41-56.

Tuttle, M. D. & Stevenson, D. (1982) Growth and survival of Bats. In: Ecology of Bats
(Kunz, T. H., ed.): 105-150. Plenum, London.

Wardhaugh, A. A. (1990) Bats of the British Isles. Shire, Aylesbury.

Whiteley, D. (1985) News from Sheffield - Leisler’s country. Batchat 6: 6-7.

109

HISTORICAL NOTES ON THE STARLING STURNUS VULGARIS

IN YORKSHIRE

C. A. HOWES

Museum and Art Gallery, Doncaster DN1 2AE

'III have a starling shall be taught to speak’ .

Henry IV, part 1, Wm. Shakespeare

Introduction and sources

With technological, commercial and economic developments being capable of profoundly
altering patterns of landscape and biogeography, environmental monitoring is currently of
considerable public and political concern. Investigations into long term status changes of
birds, mammals and other organisms are, however, severely hampered by the paucity or
absence of documentary evidence prior to the the mid- 19th century. ‘Vermin’ bounty
payments entered in the annual accounts of churchwardens and other parish or township
officials from the late 16th to the mid- 19th centuries are now known to form a rich source
of provenanced, dated, and statistically based records of a range of mammal and bird
species in England and Wales for a period when there is otherwise little information other
than vague or subjective anecdotal comments (Howes 1984).

An extensive examination of these sources in Yorkshire has to date identified documents
relating to some 57 parishes and townships containing bird or mammal ‘vermin’ bounty
payment records (Howes 1984 & unpublished). Although a wide range of mammal species
(12 to date) is alluded to, bounties for birds refer almost exclusively to ‘sparrows’,
presumably house sparrows Passer domesticus and are confined largely to the late 1 8th to
mid- 19th centuries. However, very occasional references to ‘crows’ Corvidae (from 1587
to 1726), jackdaws Corvus monedula (1646), ‘owls’ Tytonidae and/or Strigidae (from 1642
to 1736), bullfinch Pyrrhula pyrrhula (1590) and starlings Sturnus vulgaris (1690 and
1709) have been traced, providing some of the earliest documentary references to these
taxa in the Yorkshire region.

Earliest Yorkshire records of starling

The earliest generally accepted, though rather tenuous allusion is Ralph Johnson’s
comment, quoted in Willughby’s Ornithology (Ray 1678), that he never saw starlings eat
berries. Since Johnson corresponded with Willughby from Brignall near Greta Bridge (then
in Yorkshire), this has been taken as evidence that his observations had been made within
the county (Nelson 1907, Mather 1987).

The following references, being accompanied by locations and dates, provide additional
and perhaps sounder proof for starlings being part of the Yorkshire fauna during the 17th
and early 18th centuries.

The churchwardens’ accounts for the parish of St Mary’s Beverley from 1592 to 1724
(HCAO PE 1/51-113) show that in 1690 1 Id. was paid for a stone of hair (probably used as
a binding agent in mortar for building repairs) and shooting starlings.

The churchwardens’ accounts for the parish of Bedale from 1668 to 1734 and 1767 to
1890 (NYCRO PR/Bed 2/2 Microfilm no. 995) show that in 1709 payment was made for
‘killing stamils’ (one of the many Yorkshire vernacular terms for starling).

The writings of the celebrated Yorkshire naturalist and diarist Charles Fothergill (1782-
1840) of Wensleydale provide a further significant historical allusion to starlings from an
otherwise poorly documented period. His excursion through the East Riding to
Flamborough in 1805 brought him on 2nd June to Driffield. His diary entries for the
occasion refer to a local informant describing the “ myriads of starlings which roosted
amongst the reeds ” in the carrland along the Driffield Beck at Wansford. This was not the
case on the occasion of Fothergill’ s visit, and though a post breeding roost seems to have

Naturalist 117 (1992)

110

Historical Notes on the Starling

been present, his notes record that “ The stories .... I find not untrue but since the highest
reeds have been cut down they are not so numerous” (Romney 1984).

Status changes

The payment of bounties for the killing of starlings during two relatively close dates and in
two widely separated parishes (Beverley (TA/0339) on the eastern edge of the Wolds and
Bedale (SE/2688) at the foot of Wensleydale), may suggest that throughout the Yorkshire
region at the close of the 17th and commencement of the 18th centuries, they may have
been sufficiently numerous to be regarded as ‘pests’.

Referring to later fluctuations in the status and distribution of the starling, Sharrock
(1976), following the researches of Parslow (1973), commented that few birdwatchers
today imagine that during the early 19th century this currently ubiquitous bird apparently
declined over the whole of Britain, and retreated from most of Scotland and Ireland as well
as West Wales and South west England.

The ‘revival’ to the starling’s present status was judged to have commenced between the
1830s and 1880s with parts of northern England being the first to be recolonised (Parslow
1973, Sharrock 1976).

Although broadly following this pattern, historical evidence presented here suggests that
the 19th century rise in status seems to have been well under way in the Yorkshire region
before the 1830s.

Fothergill’s anecdote and observation indicate a post breeding (rather than an autumn
migration) concentration, at least in the Driffield region of East Yorkshire by 1805. By
1844 in Yorkshire generally, Thomas Allis (in Nelson 1907) observed that the starling was
already “universally common” and Nelson (loc. cit.) reported that “ its numbers have,
subsequent to that period [the 1840s] multiplied almost beyond belief’ .

Commenting on the period 1845 to 1876 around Wakefield, Talbot (1877) judged the
starling to be “ . . . exceedingly common all year round. It is a great friend of the farmer,
and richly deserves all the encouragement and protection he can give it; it renders him
great assistance in clearing the land of mischievous insects .”

By the late 19th century, Clarke and Roebuck (1881) described it as “resident, generally
distributed, abundant” in Yorkshire, and Nelson (1907) confirmed that during this period
the starling was “ . . .one of our commonest and most generally distributed residents” .

By 1866 its recolonisation throughout Britain appears to have been complete, Morris
(1866) writing that “ In our own country it is everywhere to be met with ...” A little more
than a century later, according to data collated for the Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain
and Ireland (Sharrock 1976), the starling was found to represent the fifth most widespread
bird in Britain and Ireland. It occurred in 3,707 (96%) of available 10-km squares and with
nesting confirmed in 98% of these, was shown to breed in more ten kilometre squares than
any other species.

I would like to thank the County Archivists of North Humberside and North Yorkshire
for study facilities and permission to publish the above archival records.

References

Clarke, W. E. and Roebuck, W. D. (1881) A Handbook to the Vertebrate Fauna of
Yorkshire. Lovell Reeve, London.

Howes, C. A. (1984) Changes in the Status of some Yorkshire Mammals 1600-1980. MPhil
thesis, University of Bradford.

Humberside County Archives Office. Churchwardens’ accounts for the parish of St
Mary’s, Beverley from 1592 to 1724, ref. no. PE 1/51-113.

Mather, J. R. (1986) The Birds of Yorkshire, Croom Helm, London.

Morris, F. O. (1866) A History of British Birds. Vol. 3. Groombridge, London.

Nelson, T. H. (1907) The Birds of Yorkshire. Brown, Hull.

North Yorkshire County Records Office. Churchwardens’ accounts for the parish of Bedale

Book Reviews

111

from 1668 to 1734 and 1767 to 1890, ref. no. PR/Bed 2/2 Microfilm no. 995.

Parslow, J. (1973) Breeding Birds of Britain and Ireland: a historical survey. Poyser,
Berkhamstead.

Ray, J. (1678) The Ornithology of Francis Willughby of Middleton in the County of
Warwick. Royal Society, London.

Romney, P. (1984) The Diary of Charles Fothergill 1805. Yorkshire Archaeological
Society Records Series Vol. CXLII, Leeds.

Sharrock, J. T. R. (1976) The Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain and Ireland. British Trust
for Ornithology. Poyser, Berkhamstead.

Talbot, W. (1877) Birds of Wakefield. Brown, Huddersfield.

BOOK REVIEWS

A Key to the Woodlice of Britain and Ireland by Stephen P. Hopkin. Pp. 54 with 32
colour plates. Field Studies Council, Preston Montford, Montford Bridge, Shrewsbury SY4
1HW 1991. £4.75 Post paid.

This AIDGAP publication is one which even someone with no knowledge whatsoever of
the order can pick up, make sense of, master, use and enjoy without the frustrations
normally associated with identification keys.

It is lavishly illustrated with unusually clear annotated line drawings, not to mention the
real-life colour photographs of all but the rarest species. Descriptions are limited to the 37
native and naturalised species and confusion which has occurred in the past by inclusion of
hot-house aliens is eliminated.

It is not just an identification key as there is sufficient reference to historical aspects,
biology, ecology, collecting, preservation, preparation of microscope slides and the Isopod
recording scheme to fire the imagination of most and there is also a very fine glossary and
list of further reading. Errors are few and far between: scale bars given on Fig. 9 p. 613
should read 0.4 mm not 4 mm and the scale which should read 0.1 mm is omitted from
Figures 12a and 12b on page 616.

The book is excellent value for money, even if only for its magnificent colour
photographs. There is little doubt that it will generate interest in terrestrial isopods in
general and will see us through well into the next century.

DTR

Weevils by M. G. Morris. Pp. 76, many text figures and 4 colour plates. Naturalists’
Handbook no. 16, Richmond Publishing. 1991. £12.00 hardback, £5.99 paperback.

The aim of the books in this series is to provide the investigator with a means of
discovering more about the natural history of a particular group of organisms. This has
been achieved by conveying what is already known about a group and high-lighting topics
on which further research would pay dividends. In this book the writer openly admits that
we are still ignorant of several aspects of weevil life histories.

With a group as large as the weevils (about 570 British species) much condensing has
had to occur to reduce the group to a manageable size. The book therefore only
encompasses the weevils that are found on a selection of food plants (Hazel, Beech, Gorse,
Figwort etc.). The 25 pages devoted to biological information are crammed with
fascinating facts and should be a tremendous source of reference, even to the most
dedicated weevil buff. I have never had a satisfactory answer to the question of which
Scolytids carry Dutch Elm Disease - now I know! The section on Identification relies
heavily on the finder’s ability to identify the food plant and only covers weevils known to
be feeding on the plant host. Difficulty would arise should an alien species be encountered
on the food plant mentioned ie. both Phyllobius pyri and Otiorhynchus singularis, which
are not mentioned in the keys, are cosmopolitan species which can be found feeding on a
wide variety of plant species. Keys of this nature are of limited use and only frustrate the
beginner who cannot identify the specimen to species level.

112

Book Reviews

The section on Collecting and techniques for study contains a wealth of information that
the would-be weevil hunter will find advantageous. It is rather surprising, however, that the
writer does not place more emphasis on the use of reference collections when identifying to
species level. It is all too easy to determine an unfamiliar species by using a Key and then
find your identification incorrect when it is compared with a correctly named specimen.
Many spurious names will follow if a species is simply keyed out and comparative material
is not utilized.

The main plates, by Miranda Gray and Anthony J. Hopkins, are very pleasing but would
have benefitted from being drawn in lifelike positions rather than as museum type
specimens. The text figures by R. W. J. Read, despite being drawn in the same fashion, are
a good representation of the species depicted.

In writing this book, M. G. Morris has made a bold attempt to cover what is a very
difficult group. Apart from the few misgivings mentioned above, he has succeeded
admirably and there is much to be learned from this well researched and well written
account on weevils.

MLD

New Flora of the British Isles by Clive Stace, with illustrations mainly by Hilli
Thompson. Pp. xxx + 1226 (including numerous illustrations), plus end-paper maps.
Cambridge University Press. 1992. £24.95, flexi-covers.

Those of us who have grown up with CTW (Clapham, Tutin & Warburg), now CTM
(Clapham, Tutin & Moore), may question the need for a “new flora”, but Clive Stace has
provided us with a truly new and innovative guide which may well prove more useful in
the field: CTM with a volume of 1,900 cm3 weighs in at 1.4 kg, whereas Stace has a
volume of 1550 cm3 and weighs 1.25kg; furthermore, its value as a conservationist’s field
guide is enhanced by highlighting rare species which should not be damaged or collected -
only possible for some by on-the-spot diagnosis via keys.

A bold attempt has been made to cover all native and naturalised plants, crops and recent
casuals (2,990 species & 197 subspecies fully; 559 hybrids & 564 marginals briefly) within
1,178 pages of text which includes 150 pages of line drawing and/or photographic
illustrations. Frequently encountered taxonomic problems are addressed by new keys at the
family, generic and species level. The work is essentially a detailed key, and although,
compared to CTM, there is some loss of taxonomic and other detail, and line spacing tends
to cramp the text, the type is clear and the volume contains a very considerable body of
information within its compass.

The flora is the culmination of nine years’ dedicated labour. Botanists, ecologists and
plant-lovers in general owe the author a deep debt of gratitude for providing us with an
invaluable new tool with which to interpret the richness of our country’s flora.

MRDS

The Walker’s Guide to Swaledale by A. David Leather (Pp. xiii + 130, 1992), ... to
Three Peaks and Malhamdale by W. R. Mitchell (Pp. xiii + 129, 1992), ... to
Wensleydale by A. David Leather (Pp. xi + 130, 1991), ... to Wharfedale by A. David
Leather (Pp. xi + 132, 1991). Smith, Settle. £6.95 each.

Without doubt the Yorkshire Dales offer the walker some of the most beautiful and
interesting terrain in Britain and this series of guides takes the visitor by the hand along
about twenty walks (3-12 miles) in each dale, pointing out features of particular interest on
the way. Timings are given as well as explicit directions for parking and route finding.
Each volume has an introductory section covering local geology, pre-history, history,
industry, landscape, flora and wild life all illustrated by maps, sketches, paintings and some
excellent photographs. These well produced pocket-sized guides provide invaluable aides
to the newcomer and welcome additions to the walker’s bookshelf.

ARC

Butterflies and Moths of Yorkshire
Distribution and Conservation

Editors: S. L. Sutton and H. E. Beaumont

370 pages packed with information about Yorkshire’s 1,591 butterflies and moths.
Introductory chapters dealing with distribution, conservation, etc., comprehensive
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The book now covers about 600 species with a description of most of the
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The keys are illustrated with over 400 black and white and 100 full colour
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The

Number 1003
Volume 117

N atur alist

A QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF NATURAL HISTORY FOR THE NORTH OF ENGLAND

!

>853

l

F. O. Morris’s List of Yorkshire Birds — Martin Limbert

Loss of aquatic vegetation in a Wolds Winterbourne during
perennial dryness — R. Goulder

Limax maculatus , a slug new to Yorkshire — A. Norris

Deer (Cervidae) drowning in canals — C. A. Howes

Published by the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union

Editor M. R. D. Seaward, MSc, PhD, DSc, FLS, The University, Bradford BD7 1DP

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113

F. O. MORRIS’S LIST OF YORKSHIRE BIRDS

MARTIN LIMBERT

Museum and Art Gallery, Doncaster DN1 2AE

Introduction

In 1844, Thomas Allis Snr (1788-1875) presented an appraisal of the birds of Yorkshire to
a meeting in York of the British Association for the Advancement of Science. Although an
abstract appeared in print,1 his full manuscript subsequently lay unpublished until 1907.
However, W. Pumphrey, Allis’s son-in-law, granted William Eagle Clarke access to the
script, in order that the latter could quote from it to enhance his own synopsis of the
Yorkshire avifauna.2 In the uncompleted account of Yorkshire birds written by Clarke3 and
Clarke and Nelson,4 the relevant details from Allis were included verbatim under each
species, a practice re-employed in Nelson’s two volumed work of 1907. 5 Once finally
published in total and formalised in this way, Allis’s work took its prominent place in the
history of Yorkshire ornithology, with the original manuscript housed by the Yorkshire
Museum at York. Since Allis’s list became so widely available, it tends to be seen
uncritically as the first to embrace Yorkshire, and consequently is regarded as a convenient,
if arbitrary, starting point for the county’s ornithological history. For example, Nelson
noted Allis’s list as the “earliest Yorkshire one”, and more recently, Wallis6 began his
account of the development of ornithology with Allis. Yet it clear from perusing the
literature associated with the county’s avifauna that pre-1844 interest in birds was
substantial and sustained, as can be inferred from the ability and desire to produce a
relatively detailed and structured review in 1844. For example, several species were added
to the British list from pre-1844 Yorkshire specimens, commencing with Waxwing in
1681. 7 An examination of the Yorkshire section in Mullens et al .8 provides a
bibliographical view of this earlier interest.

The formative years of Yorkshire ornithology constitute a significant aspect of the
development of interest in the county’s natural history. This is particularly true in seeking to
understand the origins of the perception of Yorkshire as a functional, if unscientific,
biogeographic unit. The first review of the Yorkshire avifauna has long been regarded as
Allis’s contribution of 1844. However, in reading it, as given in Nelson, clues to an earlier
statement are unwittingly provided, though no such compilation is included by Christy9 or
Mullens et al.10 This preceding summation, frequently used by Allis, was assembled by the
Rev. Francis Orpen Morris. Allis actually referred to Morris’s list or catalogue of Yorkshire
birds, and in his account of Cirl Bunting, stated that it had appeared in the Doncaster
Journal in December 1 840. A further hint of the existence of a list of sorts was provided by
Edwin Lankester in his book on the Askem district." In furnishing an annotated list of the
rarer birds of the area, he noted that the inclusion of Golden Eagle was based on an entry in
“a catalogue of the Birds of the West Riding of Yorkshire, kindly sent me by the Rev. F. O.
Morris, of Ordsall”. However, despite investigation, the list(s) began to seem apocryphal as,
even in Doncaster, no suitably dated periodical named the Doncaster Journal could be
traced. The eventual answer was suggested by a librarian at Doncaster Central Library:
could it be an erroneous citation of the Doncaster Chronicle and Farmers' Journal , which
first appeared in 1836? Checking the library’s microfilm stock quickly led to Morris’s
contribution printed in the above newspaper for 26 December 1 840.

Biographical outline

The Rev Francis Orpen Morris (Figure 1) is a relatively well-documented zoophilist,
naturalist and writer. He was a tireless campaigner, especially for animal welfare and bird
protection, though embracing a wide spectrum of causes over many years. This, and his
prolific natural history output, combined to give him fame as a popular naturalist,
surpassed only by another cleric, the Rev. J. G. Wood. The most detailed account of

Naturalist 117 (1992)

114 F.O. Morris’ s List of Yorkshire Birds

Morris’s life is that by his youngest son, the Rev. M. C. F. Morris,12 from which much of
this section is derived.

Bom in 1810 in Co. Cork, Francis Morris was educated at Bromsgrove School in
Worcestershire where he first began in earnest to form collections of birds and insects. In
1828, he went to a private tutor in Berkshire, before proceeding to Worcester College,
Oxford, from where he graduated B.A. in Classics in 1833. On leaving Oxford, Morris
prepared to take Holy Orders, and obtained a title to the curacy of Hanging Heaton near
Dewsbury in 1834. In the same year he was ordained deacon, and his first publication
appeared, a 20-page label-list of the birds of the British Isles.13 However, he did not remain
long at Hanging Heaton, subsequently taking up the curacy of Taxal in Cheshire for three
months.

FIGURE 1

Rev. F. O. Morris, from an unidentified engraving.

In 1835 Morris married, and was ordained priest at York. In October of that year he
became assistant curate of Armthorpe and Christ Church, Doncaster, under the Rev. Henry
John Branson. Morris lived at Beechfield House where he remained for two years, finding
time alongside his clerical duties “to pursue and cultivate his taste as a naturalist, the
neighbourhood of Doncaster being by no means an unfavourable one for the purpose”.14
Another of his early literary contributions, on Hatfield Chase, appeared in The Naturalist in
1836. 15 He became a member of the Doncaster Lyceum,16 a brilliant but relatively short-
lived scientific meteor that attracted the leading local naturalists of the day. Here he made
the fortunate acquaintance of men like Neville Wood and Edwin Lankester, though his
most profitable contact proved to be with Hugh Reid. The latter, like Morris, was primarily
an ornithologist and lepidopterist, and was in business in the town as a natural history
dealer and taxidermist. Reid was by far the most important source of Doncaster bird
records in the 19th century, featuring strongly in Morris’s Yorkshire list, which was
compiled during his residence in the town.

Morris subsequently ministered at Ordsall near East Retford in Nottinghamshire, and at
Crambe, between York and Malton. In 1844, he was presented to the living at Nafferton,
close to Driffield, and was appointed chaplain to the Duke of Cleveland. It was at
Nafferton that his literary work developed, and he began to reap fame as a writer. He was

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exceedingly fortunate that close by, in Driffield, lived Benjamin Fawcett, one of the most
skilled engravers and colour printers, capable of executing fine illustrations.17 Morris’s
Bible Natural History appeared in 20 monthly parts in 1 849-50, succeeded by his Book of
Natural History , completed in 1852. A History of British Butterflies followed, available in
18 parts during 1852-53. A History of British Birds and A Natural History of the Nests and
Eggs of British Birds were much larger undertakings, being issued from 1850 and 1852
respectively. Neither was complete when Morris quit Nafferton in 1854 for Nunbumholme,
a Wolds-edge parish to the east of Pocklington, a living he held until his death in 1893.

Although Morris continued to write prolifically on a range of subjects, his name always
remained most familiar as that of a naturalist. A History of British Birds was completed
with its ninetieth part, in 1857. It sold well for years, and went through six editions
(including a ‘cabinet’ edition). However, Mullens and Swann18 retrospectively remarked of
Morris’s British Birds:

His magnum opus is, of course, his History of British Birds , and of this it
may be said that, although one of the most voluminous and popular works
on the subject, and financially most successful ... yet it has never occupied
any very important positions among the histories of British birds. Morris
was too voluminous to be accurate, and too didactic to be scientific. He
accepted records and statements without discrimination, and consequently
his work abounds with errors and mistakes. Yet as a book for the amateur
ornithologist it has charmed and delighted for more than half a century, and
it had for many years the great merit of being almost the only work at a
moderate price to give a fairly accurate and coloured figure of every
species ... so that Morris has a name and a place in British ornithological
history despite the observations we have made above.

Morris sustained his natural history output throughout his years at Nunbumholme,
including his last great kindred work, A Natural History of British Moths , which was issued
between 1859 and 1870. He also maintained a vigorous correspondence with newspapers
and periodicals, much of it being subsequently marshalled into book form. Despite all this,
and the comment of Mullens and Swann antea, his endeavours seem not to have led
ultimately to personal affluence. In 1888, he was awarded a Civil List pension of £100
annually, “in recognition of his merits as a naturalist, and of his inadequate means of
support”.19 These payments partly acknowledged his seminal role in the evolution of bird
protection. Within a Yorkshire context, of particular interest is his part in the creation of
the Association for the Protection of Sea Birds. This was aimed at eliminating the shooting
of nesting seabirds perpetrated by ‘sportsmen’ at Flamborough and Bempton. The resultant
Sea-birds Preservation Act of 1869 was the forerunner of all similar legislation.20 F. O.
Morris’s main contributions to Yorkshire ornithology, though ironically not his 1840 list,
are itemised in Mullens et al.2' He became a subscriber to the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union
in 187722. In addition, he also edited three volumes of an early series of The Naturalist
(1856-58), and its short-lived successor. The Magazine of Natural History and Naturalist
(I860).23

F. O. Morris’s Yorkshire bird list: an introduction

The list in the Doncaster Chronicle and Farmers' Journal begins:

A CATALOGUE OF BRITISH BIRDS
WHICH HAVE OCCURRED AT DIFFERENT TIMES IN
YORKSHIRE, BY THE REV. F. O. MORRIS, B.A.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE DONCASTER CHRONICLE

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F. O. Morris’s List of Yorkshire Birds

Sir, — If you think that the following catalogue of the Birds of / Yorkshire would be
interesting to those of your readers who are / attached to the study of Natural History, it is
much at your / service. I compiled it three or four years ago, which will partly / perhaps
account for any omissions there may be, as recent discoveries / may have added new
species to our Yorkshire Fauna. I have every / reason to believe that the particulars
respecting the individuals / named are correct.

I am Sir, your very obedient servant,
FRANCIS ORPEN MORRIS

The numbers [omitted in the republished list postea ] refer to my guide to an arrangement of
British Birds.

December 3, 1840.

The list itself requires little general introduction. It particularly reflects Morris’s years in
Doncaster, but includes a number of records from elsewhere in the county (Figure 2).

FIGURE 2

Locations named in the 1840 list, Doncaster places omitted. All unmapped sites are within
the study area of the Doncaster & District Ornithological Society,
a ten miles (16.09 km) radius of Doncaster Museum.

Earlier comments on Morris’s uncritical approach to records can have little practical
impact now, and his records have simply to be used with this in mind. It is not an
exhaustive treatment; indeed, there are some odd omissions, for example amongst the
geese, terns and wagtails. In his preamble, Morris largely disarms some potential criticism
by his indirect admission that recent additions to the Yorkshire avifauna would only
partially account for any gaps. There were, for example, earlier Yorkshire records of
Barnacle Goose Branta leucopsis and Brent Goose B. bernicla in a standard published

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F. O. Morris’ s List of Yorkshire Birds

work,24 neither of which Morris used. His list was clearly a summary of data which were to
hand, and not the result of detailed research.

Morris implied that he had compiled the records in 1836/37 (“three or four years ago”).
Although he also suggested that they had not been revised in the interval between
compilation and publication, at least two extra details were inserted from this latter period:
a possible Golden Eagle shot in 1838, and a Grey Phalarope “shot at Rossington in 1836,
now (1838) in the possession of Mr. Reid, of Doncaster”. This latter bird was recorded by
Morris as a Red-necked Phalarope Phalaropus lobatus. However, Thomas Allis wrote that
he had been informed by Hugh Reid that the bird in question was a summer-plumaged
Grey Phalarope, hence its typification here. As it must be accepted that the data were not
substantially updated, Morris’s statements have to be put at 1836/37. This has implications
for Allis’s dating, or lack of such, of records derived from Morris’s list. Three examples
are given, the first concerning the last breeding of Red Kite near Doncaster.

In his 1844 paper, Allis particularised the event as “About twenty years ago” (i.e.
c.1824). As Morris gave the record as “sixteen years ago”, Allis had simply added four
years on to 1840, the year of publication of Morris’s list. Yet, accepting the latter work as a
product of 1836/37, it is obviously possible to date more accurately this last authentic
Yorkshire Kite’s nest to c. 1820/21. Similarly, Allis wrote of Red-legged Partridge:
“Several have been killed near Doncaster”. Hitherto, this statement has provided the
assumption that the first evidence of the species in Yorkshire is of pre-1844 date. Although
this is still true, the dates can now be slightly refined. An identical remark had already been
made by Morris, from which Allis’s must have been derived. The dating of the first
recorded Yorkshire occurrence is thus actually pre- 1836/37.

The third example, and potentially the most interesting, involves Black-tailed Godwit,
which Morris stated “Breeds on the edge of Hatfield Moor”. This would seem to suggest
that the bird was still nesting in Yorkshire in the mid- 1830s, when Morris lived in
Doncaster, though it is conceivable that the information could have been misunderstood in
some way and mistakenly transferred to the mid- 1830s. However, at that time Morris was
in regular receipt of information from Hugh Reid, who is known to have found Godwit
chicks on Hatfield Moors, though the year is not recorded.25 There is no good evidence to
say when nesting ceased in Yorkshire, although Hatfield Moors was probably the last site.
Others from that period were Potteric Carr26 and perhaps the East Riding carrs27. The end of
Yorkshire breeding has been put at dates as disparate as 182928 and nearer the middle of
that century,29 these extremes being apparently derived from mis-reading the earlier
evidence of Witherby et al.30 and More31 respectively. Morris’s tantalising wording seems
to be the strongest evidence to put breeding into the mid- 1830s. This is made more likely
by his statement that Ruff was common “20 years ago on Hatfield Moor”, which renders
his Godwit comment specific, and not a replicated, more generalised one.

It is now, a century and a half later, no longer possible to directly assess F. O. Morris’s
records unless reliably labelled specimens exist. Nevertheless, intelligent filleting will pick
out those records which are either apparently mistaken, or may be questioned in some other
way. Four cases from the Doncaster district are given here to illustrate the problem:
Harlequin Duck, Buzzard, Red-footed Falcon and Jack Snipe. Each exemplifies the
dangers of the unguarded interpretation of old bird records, which so frequently prove to be
invested with at least some element of doubt or confusion.

The Harlequin Duck, shot - though Morris’s list does not say so - near Doncaster, is a
particularly unlikely occurrence. In a recent review32 of extralimital European records, only
30 individuals had convincing and usable data. Many other claims, like that from
Doncaster, are either unsatisfactory or have been proved to be mistaken. The evidence for
the Doncaster record, as published 1840-81, 33 is that a female duck, apparently considered
or claimed to be a Harlequin Duck, was shot on the River Don, near Doncaster, on an
unrecorded date by a Mr. Carimel/Cartwell. It was sold (but not, as Morris asserts, shot) by
Hugh Reid, the authority for the identification, to the Rev. Nathaniel Constantine
Strickland. In 1838, Stirckland sold c. 1700 bird skins to his brother Arthur Strickland and

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cousin Hugh Edwin Strickland, and in 1850 the latter also acquired those which had been
purchased by Arthur Strickland. The University of Cambridge was presented with the H. E.
Strickland Collection in 1867, and currently houses it within the Department of Zoology.
Its published catalogue34 includes only a single Harlequin Duck, from Iceland. However,
further unlisted ones are held, and where data exist, it can be established that, predictably,
these have Icelandic or Canadian origins. Thus the relevant Doncaster specimen is not
easily traced. Hugh Reid’s reputation is such that deliberate fraud in naming the specimen
seems unlikely. There is no other evidence to impugn his trustworthiness, and he was
described by Nelson35 as “a first-rate and thoroughly reliable ornithologist”. However,
genuine mistakes are made, and it is at least possible that the supposed Harlequin Duck,
being a female, might actually have been a Long-tailed Duck, a much more likely species
to turn up anywhere in Europe. Gurney36 added that early authors did not appreciate the
rarity of the Harlequin Duck in Britain, citing comments by William Yarrell (“frequently
captured”) and John Gould (“more rare than the Long-tailed Duck”), neither of them
stressing the caution required when claiming the rarer species. The darkest female and
juvenile Long-tailed Ducks can have a facial pattern approaching that of Harlequin Duck,
which may lead to faulty identification if taken in isolation. Confusion between Harlequin
Duck and allied species was probably first stressed by Newton,37 with Howard Saunders, in
Yarrell,38 observing that “all the young or female ‘Harlequins’ which have from time to
time been recorded, have been proved, where proof was possible, to be Long-tailed
Ducks”. Regrettably, such an explanation for the Doncaster record cannot be substantiated.
An investigation of the Long-tailed Ducks in the H. E. Strickland Collection at Cambridge
revealed no Doncaster example, correctly re-determined, or even one inadequately
documented which could be suspected as being linked with the town.39

Thus, in the absence of evidence of identification error, are any other explanations for
the Harlequin Duck possible? As the ‘escape’ likelihood in the early 19th century does not
exist, the only other course of enquiry seems to be that of a confusion of names. Did Hugh
Reid, as the authority for identification, actually mean Histrionicus histrionicus when
naming it a ‘Harlequin’, irrespective of its later characterisation by others relying on the
indirect information? The main possibility is that explained by Newton,40 who stated that
the Wood Duck Aix sponsa was often called the ‘harlequin’ by dealers, because of the
male’s “beautifully variegated plumage”. The Wood Duck, a native of North America, was
established and breeding in England by the beginning of the 19th century. As it was not a
British species, anyone encountering one who did not have access to literature on
American birds was forced to rely on other sources of advice, including aviculturists and
dealers. In the Zoologist, Briggs41 gave an account of a pair of “Harlequin Ducks ( An[a]s
histrionicaY’ breeding in a semi-domesticated state in Derbyshire in 1849, with Newton42
confidently expressing his opinion that the birds in question were almost certainly Wood
Ducks. Later, Saunders43 observed that even examples of ‘Harlequin Ducks’ which had
been recorded as adult males “have proved to be examples of the American Wood Duck
or some other species”. Was therefore the Doncaster ‘Harlequin’ an errant female Wood
Duck from captivity? It is a beguiling possibility, which seems at least as reasonable as any
other.

It is likely that Morris’s allusion to the Buzzard being “Plentiful near Doncaster” arose
from confusion with the local occurrence of Marsh Harrier, which was once a regular
breeding denizen of the wetlands east of Doncaster.44 From the time of Francis Willughby,45
English writers referred to this harrier as the ‘Mooi -Buzzard’ or a derivative, Alfred
Newton46 in the early 1870s describing the name ‘Marsh-Harrier’ as “a book-name of
comparatively modem application”; it was probably first coined in the 1820s.47 As a tree-
nesting species, the true Buzzard was admittedly once a more frequent species in eastern
counties, for example being noted as “Formerly a common resident in the woodlands” of
Lincolnshire,48 but it seems never to have been “Plentiful” near Doncaster. Indeed,
historical research has located only two single 19th century records (1846, c. 1890), with
no hint of breeding.49 There can be little doubt that the 1840 comment was, mistakenly, a

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F. O. Morris' s List of Yorkshire Birds

reflection of the status of the Marsh Harrier in the area, which Morris described in the same
list as “Not uncommon” on the Doncaster lowlands.

It is clearly likely that Morris’s pair of Red-footed Falcons from “near Doncaster” were
actually Hobbies, the redness of the latter species’ tibial feathering perhaps not being fully
appreciated by those encountering the birds. The rarer species had only been added to the
British list in 1830, when a spring influx resulted in five specimens being recorded in
England, all of them in Norfolk50 except the first, omitted by Morris, which was shot near
Doncaster in April of that year.51 It follows that the subsequent Doncaster pair must have
been recorded in the 1830s, at a time when, on Morris’s own admission, Hobbies were
breeding locally. It is worth remembering that he “accepted records and statements without
discrimination”,52 and it is thus likely that an erroneous or even fraudulent claim was
inadvisedly received. At that time, an awareness of the new British falcon was perhaps
causing - at least in some quarters - a muddled appraisal of ‘red’ falcons in Britain.

A further problem is demonstrated by Morris’s allusion to Jack Snipe (“Breeds near
Doncaster sometimes”), which was dismissed long ago as a misinterpretation of names,
though it is worth trying to understand why. Yarrell53 reiterated an allegation of nesting at
an unspecified Yorkshire locality, and the situation was compounded by Allis54 in the
following year, who added further records and repeated the Doncaster claim. However, in
the early part of the 19th century, it was widely accepted that the Jack Snipe did at least
occasionally breed in Britain. These claims were largely based on the occurrence of birds
outside the main periods of migration, and on the identification of alleged or assumed
clutches of superficially plausible eggs. There was also confusion about the colloquial
name ‘jack snipe’. The Dunlin sometimes attracted this vernacular diminutive, simply as a
smaller wader breeding in Snipe country, as in Shetland where parallel breeding claims
have been made.55 Even the name ‘snipe’ was once a more generalised term than its present
limited usage in the western Palearctic would suggest. Morris56 himself documented
amongst the alternative names for the waders he described, Least Snipe (dowitchers
Limnodromus), Red-breasted Snipe (dowitchers and Bar-tailed Godwit), Jadreka Snipe
(Black-tailed Godwit), Spotted, Black-headed, Courland and Dusky Snipe (all Spotted
Redshank Tringa erythropus ), Pool Snipe (Redshank) and Summer Snipe (Common
Sandpiper).

Morris’s acceptance that the Jack Snipe sometimes bred near Doncaster probably arose
through the unguarded local use of this name. If Dunlin is accepted as the species in
question, this suggests Thome Moors as the site involved. The moorland was the only
known Doncaster breeding station of Dunlin, as particularised by Limbert et al ,57 In a later
account58 of Jack Snipe, Morris included two paragraphs on summer records and declared
breeding in the British Isles, but did not itemise Doncaster. Perhaps significantly, under
Dunlin, he observed that this species had “been known to build on Thome Moor, near
Doncaster”, as Thomas Allis had already written in 1844. Dunlins persisted at Thome until
at least the end of the century.

The list is republished following the sequence and scientific nomenclature of K. H.
Voous (1980) ‘List of Recent Holarctic Bird Species’ (amended reprint from Ibis), with
modifications as given in Ibis 128: 601-603.

The Species List

Red-throated Diver Gavia stellata : Rare.

Great Northern Diver G. immer. One was taken alive at Can[n]on Hall <>lr Stanhope’s). Also elsewhere.

Little Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis: Common.

Great Crested Grebe Podiceps cristatus : Breeds near Hornsea.

Red-necked Grebe P. grisegena : One or two shot near Doncaster every winter.

Slavonian Grebe P. auritus : One shot at Barmby-upon-Dun several years ago.

Fulmar Fulmarus glacialis: Uncommon.

Sooty Shearwater Puffinus griseus : Uncommon. One shot off the Tees mouth by [G.] Marwood, Esq.

Manx Shearwater P. puffinus: [no comment].

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F. O. Morris’s List of Yorkshire Birds
Storm Petrel Hydrohates pelagicus : Not uncommonly met with.

Leach’s Petrel Oceanodroma leucorhoa : One found dead on Sutton Common, near Doncaster. Also elsewhere.
Gannet Sula bassana : Scarborough, Flamborough and one near Doncaster.

Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo : Scarborough, &c.

Shag P. aristotelis: Scarborough, &c.

Bittern Botaurus stellaris : Not uncommonly met with in some winters. In 1831, Mr Reid, of Doncaster, had
twenty-five brought to him.

Night Heron Nycticorax nycticorax: I think I have seen this bird at Woodlands, near Doncaster.

Great White Egret Egretta alba: One shot near Beverley three years ago, now in the collection of James Hall,
Esq., of Scorboro’.

Grey Heron Ardea cinerea : Common.

Purple Heron A. purpurea: One shot near Flamborough, by Mr Pick of that place, in 1833. H. [J.] Torre, Esq.
White Stork Ciconia ciconia: A flock seen fourteen years ago on the Trent. Two supposed to belong to it were
shot near Bawtry.

Spoonbill Platalea leucorodia: One shot near Masham.

Mute Swan Cygnus olor: Ponds and lakes.

Bewick’s Swan C. columbianus: One shot near Bawtry eight or nine years ago (Mr Reid).

Whooper Swan C. cygnus: Shot near Doncaster, &c. in hard winters.

White-fronted Goose Anser albifrons: Shot near Doncaster in severe weather - sometimes.

Grey Lag Goose A. anser: Common in hard winters.

Brent Goose Branta bernicla: Shot in hard winters.

Shelduck Tadorna tadorna: Has been shot near Doncaster, &c.

Wigeon Anas penelope: Common.

Gadwall A. strepera: Often bought in Doncaster market.

Teal A. crecca: Common.

Mallard A. platyrhynchos: Common.

Pintail A. acuta: Often shot in winter.

Garganey A. querquedula: Frequently shot near Doncaster in the spring.

Shoveler A. clypeata: Sometimes met with near Doncaster in winter.

Pochard Aythya ferina: Common.

Tufted Duck A.fuligula: Often shot near Doncaster and other places in winter.

Scaup A. marila: Has been shot near Doncaster.

Harlequin Duck Histrionicus histrionicus: Shot by Mr Reid [at Doncaster]. Now in the collection of the
Reverend Nathaniel Constantine Strickland, rector of Rigton.

Long-tailed Duck Clangula hyemalis: Not very uncommon.

Common Scoter Melanitta nigra: Shot near Doncaster.

Velvet Scoter M. fusca: One shot near Bentley (Doncaster), now in Sir William B. Cooke’s collection,
Wheatley Hall, near Doncaster.

Goldeneye Bucephala clangula: Not uncommon.

Smew Mergus albellus: Several shot near Doncaster in hard winters.

Red-breasted Merganser M. serrator: Shot near Doncaster in hard winters. Also elsewhere - one in 1837.
Goosander M. merganser: Shot near Doncaster in hard winters.

Honey Buzzard Pernis apivorus: Not unfrequently occurs near Doncaster.

Red Kite Milvus milvus: One caught in a trap in Edlington Wood, and two young taken from the nest sixteen
years ago, by Mr Hugh Reid, of Doncaster, he has not heard of one since. It is yearly becoming more rare,
particularly in the North Riding.

White-tailed Eagle Haliaeetus albicilla: At Awkley near Doncaster, and Sandbeck.

Marsh Harrier Circus aeruginosus: Not uncommon on the carr grounds near Doncaster.

Hen Harrier C. cyaneus: Not uncommon on the low grounds and carrs near Doncaster.

Montagu’s Harrier C. pygargus: Two pairs shot near Doncaster in 1835.

Goshawk Accipiter gentilis: Shot at Cusworth, near Doncaster.

Sparrowhawk A. nisus: Common.

Buzzard Buteo buteo: Plentiful near Doncaster.

Rough-legged Buzzard Blagopus: Often taken on Hatfield Moor, and one at Sutton, near Doncaster.

Golden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos: One shot at Campsall, near Doncaster, about sixteen years ago; one believed
to be of this species shot near Newton, in 1838.

Osprey Pandion haliaetus: Rarely taken.

Kestrel Falco tinnunculus: Common.

F. O. Morris’ s List of Yorkshire Birds 1 2 1

Red-footed Falcon F. vespertinus : Very rare; a female shot at Rossington, four or five years ago, also a pair
near Doncaster.

Merlin F. columbarius: Occurs in the winter near Doncaster.

Hobby F. subbuteo : Breeds in the Woods near Doncaster.

Gyrfalcon F. rusticolus: One lately shot at Sutton-upon-Derwent, near York, in the possession of Mr Allis,
vide “The Naturalist” for April 1837.

Peregrine F. peregrinus : Unfrequent. Shot near Doncaster, also shot near Cantley, Scarborough, &c.

Red Grouse Lagopus lagopus : Common.

Black Grouse Tetrao tetrix : Hatfield Moor a few.

Red-legged Partridge Alectoris rufa: Several have been killed near Doncaster.

Grey Partridge Perdix perdix : Common.

Quail Coturnix coturnix : In various parts of the county occasionally.

Pheasant Phasianus colchicus : Common.

Water Rail Rallus aquaticus : Common enough.

Spotted Crake Porzana porzana: Rather scarce.

Little Crake P. parva: One caught at Cantley about twelve years ago.

Corncrake Crex crex: Not uncommon. I have seen it at Wickersley.

Moorhen Gallinula chloropus : Common.

Coot Fulica atra: Common.

Little Bustard Otis tetrax: Shot near Beverley, now in the collection of James Hall, Esq.

Great Bustard O. tarda : Killed near North Dalton, also in Mr Hall’s collection.

Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus : Common on the coast.

Avocet Recurvirostra avosetta : Several have been shot on the Humber. Also on other parts of the coast.
Stone-curlew Hurhinus oedicnemus: Breeds at Rossington and other places near Doncaster.

Dotterel Charadrius morinellus : Often killed on Black Hambleton.

Golden Plover Pluvialis apricaria: Common.

Grey Plover P. squatarola : Common on the coast.

Lapwing Vanellus vanellus : Common.

Sanderling Calidris alba: On the coast.

Little Stint C. minuta: Six killed near Recar, on the River Tees.

Curlew Sandpiper C . ferruginea: Several killed near Hull.

Purple Sandpiper C. maritima : Common enough on the coast.

Dunlin C. alpina: Shot in great numbers by G. Rudd, Esq.

Ruff Philomachus pugnax : Used to be common 20 years ago on Hatfield Moor.

Jack Snipe Lymnocryptes minimus: Breeds near Doncaster sometimes.

Snipe Gallinago gallinago: Also breeds occasionally near Doncaster.

Great Snipe G. media: Two shot near Doncaster. Also killed in other places, but rarely.

Woodcock Scolopax rusticola: Common. Several instances have occurred of their breeding in Yorkshire.
Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa: Breeds on the edge of Hatfield Moor.

Bar-tailed Godwit L. lapponica: One killed near Doncaster. Also elsewhere.

Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus: Common.

Curlew N. arquata: Common.

Redshank Tringa totanus: Breeds near Doncaster. Also met with in other parts.

Greenshank T. nebularia: Two killed near Doncaster. Also elsewhere.

Green Sandpiper T. ochropus: Not uncommon.

Wood Sandpiper T. glareola: One shot on the borders of Lincolnshire.

Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos: Common.

Turnstone Arenaria interpres: Often found between Hornsea and Bridlington.

Grey Phalarope Phalaropus fulicarius: A fine specimen in summer plumage, shot at Rossingto i in 1836, now
(1838) in the possession of Mr Reid, of Doncaster. Near Brignal[l], Scarborough, Crimpsall, &c. &c. Not
rarely.

Pomarine Skua Stercorarius pomarinus: Shot occasionally near Scarborough.

Arctic Skua S. parasiticus: Uncommon.

Little Gull Larus minutus: Has bo n shot near Scarborough I believe.

Black-headed Gull LK. ridibundus: Not uncommon on the coast.

Common Gull L. canus: Common on the coast.

Lesser Black-backed Gull L.fuscus: Common on the coast.

Herring Gull L. argentatus: Common on the coast.

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F. O. Morris’ s List of Yorkshire Birds

Glaucous Gull L. hyperboreus: One shot at Rossington Warren six years ago.

Great Black-backed Gull L. marinus : Common on the coast.

Kittiwake Rissa tridctyla : Common on the coast.

Roseate Tern Sterna dougallii: Shot near Scarborough and Hornsea, by Mr Reid.

Common Tern S. hirundo: Common.

Guillemot Uria aalge: Common.

Razorbill Alca torda : Common at Flamborough.

Black Guillemot Cepphus grylle: Used to be not uncommon at Flamborough Head. Mr Strickland has a
curious variety.

Little Auk Alle alle : Rare.

Puffin Fratercula arctica: Common at Flamborough.

Rock Dove Columba livia: Common at Flamborough head, where it associates with the Gull[s],

Woodpigeon C. palumbus: Common.

Turtle Dove Streptopelia turtur : Decidedly uncommon.

Cuckoo Culculus canorus : Common.

Barn Owl Tyto alba\ Plentiful.

Scops Owl Otus scops: Met with near Womersley and at Boynton.

Eagle Owl Bubo bubo: One killed off Flamborough Head, Yorkshire, by Patrick Ha[w]kridge.

Snowy Owl Nyctea scandiaca: Shot on a moor near Selby, by the late N. A. Vigors, Esq., M.P., D.C.L.

Tawny Owl Strix aluco: Plentiful.

Long-eared Owl Asio otus: Common near Doncaster.

Short-eared Owl A.flammeus: Common near Doncaster.

Nightjar Caprimulgus europaeus: Not uncommon.

Swift Apus apus: Common.

Kingfisher Alcedo atthis: Common enough.

Roller Coracias garrulus: One shot at Hatfield and one near Halifax, about the same time, seven or eight years
ago. One near Scarborough in 1832, now in the Museum.

Hoopoe Upupa epops: Three have been shot near Doncaster, and one seen in 1836, in Sir William Cooke’s
wood [Wheatley Wood], also at Coatham near Redcar, and near Scarborough.

Wryneck Jynx torquilla: Often met with near Doncaster.

Green Woodpecker Picus viridis: Common.

Great Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos major: Not uncommon
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker D. minor: Met with near Doncaster.

Woodlark Lululla arborea: Near Doncaster, &^.

Skylark Alauda arvensis: Common.

Sand Martin Riparia riparia: Common.

Swallow Hirundo rustica: Common.

House Martin Delichon urbica: Common.

Tree Pipit Anthus trivialis: Near Doncaster, &c., common.

Meadow Pipit A. pratensis: Common.

Rock Pipit A. petrosus: Common near Flamborough Head, and elsewhere on the coast.

Pied Wagtail Motacilla alba: Common.

Waxwing Bombycilla garrulus: Six or seven she. near Doncaster in 1834, and in other hard winters not very
unfrequently in other parts.

Dipper Cinclus cinclus: One shot near Doncaster, common in Saltbum beck, &c., &c.

Wren Troglodytes troglodytes: Common.

Dunnock Prunella modularis: Very common.

Robin Erithacus rubecula: Common.

Nightingale Luscinia megarhynchos: Common in Edlington and other woods.

Redstart Phoenicurus phoenicurus: Common in gardens and lanes.

Whinchat Saxicola rubetra: Common.

Stonechat S. torquata: Common.

Wheatear Oenanthe oenanthec

Ring Ouzel Turdus torquatus: Not very uncommon in summer in Woods, in winter in mountainous districts.
Blackbird T. merula: Common.

Fieldfare T. pilaris: Common.

Song Thrush T. viscivorus: Common.

Redwing T. Hiat us: Common.

F. O. Morris’s List of Yorkshire Birds

123

Mistle Thrush T. viscivorus: Common.

Grasshopper Warbler Loeustella naevia: Rare.

Sedge Warbler Acrocephalus schoenobaenus : Near Doncaster.

Lesser Whitethroat Sylvia curruca : Rather uncommon.

Whitethroat S. communis : Common.

Garden Warbler S. borin'. Common.

Blackcap S. atricapilla: Common in gardens and Shrubberies.

Wood Warbler Phylloscopus sibilatrix: Not uncommon.

Chiffchaff P. collybita : Near Doncaster &c., Common.

Willow Warbler P. trochilus'. The commonest of the three “Willow Wrens” in the West Riding of Yorkshire.
Goldcrest Regulus regulus : Common.

Spotted Flycatcher Muscicapa striata : Common in gardens.

Pied Flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca : Is an annual visitant at Danby, near Middleham, the seat of J. P. Scrope,
Esq.

Long-tailed Tit Aegithalos caudatus: Common.

Marsh Tit Parus palustris/Willow Tit P. montanus : Common.

Coal Tit P. ater. Common.

Blue Tit P. caeruleus: Common.

Great Tit P. major. Common.

Nuthatch Sitta europaea: Met with near Doncaster.

Treecreeper Certhia familiaris : Near Doncaster, &c.

Red-backed Shrike Lanius collurio : Not very uncommon in some parts of the West Riding.

Great Grey Shrike L. exubitor: Frequently shot near Doncaster in winter, as I am informed by Mr Reid. Also
met with in other places.

Woodchat Shrike L. senator. Very rare. Mr [T] Meynel[l], of Kilvington, informs me that it has occurred. Mr
Le[a]dbitter has a Yorkshire specimen.

Jay Garrulus glandarius: Common.

Magpie Pica pica: Common.

Chough Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax: One shot near Sheffield, which was preserved by Mr Hugh Reid, of
Doncaster.

Jackdaw Corvus monedula: Common.

Rook C.frugilegus: Common.

Carrion Crow C. corone: Common near Doncaster, &c.

Hooded Crow: Common on low grounds, moors, &c.

Raven C. corax: About five and twenty years ago used to be very common, but has since been gradually
getting scarce in most parts; not very common near Flamborough - H. J. Torre, Esq.

Starling Sturnus vulgaris: Common.

Rose-coloured Starling S. roseus: Shot at Thome three years ago, also at Skinningrove, &c.

House Sparrow Passer domesticus: Common.

Tree Sparrow P. montanus: Met with near Doncaster.

Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs: Very common.

Brambling F. montifringilla: Met with near Doncaster.

Greenfinch Carduelis chloris: Common.

Goldfinch C. carduelis: Common.

Siskin C. spinus: Not very uncommonly met with. A large flock seen in Sandall Beat, April 1837.

Linnet C. cannabina: Common.

Twite C . flavirostris: near Doncaster, &c.

Redpoll C . flammea: Common near Doncaster.

Crossbill Loxia curvirostra: Common. Periodically in fir plantations near Doncaster and other places.

Bullfinch Pyrrhula pyrrhula: Common.

Hawfinch Coccothraustes coccothraustes: Generally rare. But in some seasons common enough near
Doncaster, two shot near Orm[e]sby, by Mr Thompson.

Snow Bunting Plectrophenax nivalis: Occurs near Doncaster.

Yellowhammer Emberiza citrinella: Common.

Cirl Bunting E. cirlus: Killed near Campsall Hall, 1837.

Reed Bunting E. schoeniclus: Near Doncaster, &c.

Com Bunting Miliaria calandra: Common.

124

F. O. Morris’ s List of Yorkshire Birds

References and Notes

1. Allis, T. (1845) Report on the Birds of Yorkshire, prepared at the request of the
Yorkshire Philosophical Society. Rep. Brit. Ass. 1844: [Notices and Abstracts of
Communications . . .] 60-61.

2. Clarke, W. E. and Roebuck, W D. (1881) A Handbook of the Vertebrate Fauna of
Yorkshire. London.

3. Clarke, W. E. (1878-86) The Birds of Yorkshire [sheets 1-5]. Trans Yorks. Nat. Un.,
Ser.B [Parts 1,3,4, 9].

4. Clarke, W. E. and Nelson, T. H. (1901) The Birds of Yorkshire [sheets 6, 7]. Trans
Yorks. Nat. Un., Ser. B [Part 24].

5. Nelson, T. H. (1907) The Birds of Yorkshire. London.

6. Wallis, A. J. (1986) The Development of Ornithology in Yorkshire, in Mather, J. R.,
The Birds of Yorkshire, London.

7. Lister, M. (1685) A Letter of Dr Lister’s to Mr Ray, concerning some particulars that
might be added to the Ornithology. Phil Trans Roy. Soc. Lond. 15: 1 159-1 161.

8. Mullens, W. H., Swann, H. K. and Jourdain, F. C. R. (1920) A Geographical
Bibliography of British Ornithology. London.

9. Christy, M. (1890) A Catalogue of Local Lists of British Birds. Zoologist 14 (third
ser.): 247-267.

10. Mullens et al. (1920), op. cit.

1 1 . Lankester, E. (1842) An Account of Askern and its Mineral Springs. London.

12. Morris, M. C. F. (1897) Francis Orpen Morris. A Memoir. London.

13. A Guide to an Arrangement of British Birds', . . . London.

14. Morris (1897), op. cit.

15. Some Account of the Level of Hatfield Chase. Naturalist [Maund and Holl] 1: 80-83.

16. Report of the Committee of the Doncaster Lyceum, for the year 1836, with the
proceedings of the annual meeting of the members, held at the institution, on the fourth
of January, 1837. Doncaster, 1837.

17. McLean, R. and McLean, A. (1988) Benjamin Fawcett engraver and colour printer.
Aldershot.

18. Mullens, W. H. and Swann, H. K. (1917) A Bibliography of British Ornithology.
London.

19. McLean and McLean (1988), op. cit.

20. Varty, C. G. (1991) Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union Protection of Birds Committee
Centenary Year 1891-1911. [Otley].

21. Mullens et al. (1920), op. cit.

22. Naturalist 3: 63-64.

23. Sheppard, T. (1916) Yorkshire’ s Contribution to Science. London.

24. Ray, J. (1678) The Ornithology of Francis Willughby of Middleton in the County of
Warwick Esq ; Fellow of the Royal Society. London.

25. More, A. G. (1865) On the Distribution of Birds in Great Britain during the Nesting-
season. Ibis 1 (second ser.): 1-27, 1 19-142, 425-458.

26. Hatfield, C. W. (1866) Historical Notices of Doncaster. Vol. 1. Doncaster.

27. Nelson (1907), op. cit.

28. Bannerman, D. A. (1961) The Birds of the British Isles. Vol. 9. Edinburgh.

29. Mather (1986), op. cit.

30. Witherby, H. F., Jourdain, F. C. R., Ticehurst, N. F. and Tucker, B. W. (1940) The
Handbook of British Birds. Vol. 4. London.

31. More (1865), op. cit.

32. Van der Have, T. M. and Moerbeek, D. J. (1984) Occurrence of Harlequin Duck in
Europe.

33. Limbert, M. (1990) Notes on a Claimed Harlequin Duck from Doncaster. Yorks. Nat.
Un. Bull. 14:9-12.

F. O. Morris' s List of Yorkshire Birds 125

34. Salvin, O. (1882) A Catalogue of the Collection of Birds formed by the late Hugh
Edwin Strickland, M.A. Cambridge.

35. Nelson (1907), op. cit.

36. Gurney, J. H. [1876] Rambles of a Naturalist in Egypt & Other Countries. London.

37. Newton, A. (1859) Remarks on the Harlequin Duck (Histrionicus torquatus. Bp.). Ibis
1: 162-166.

38. Yarrell, W. (1884-85) A History of British Birds. Fourth edn. Vol. 4, revised and
enlarged by H. Saunders, London.

39. Limbert (1990), op cit.

40. Newton (1859), op cit.

41. Briggs, J. J. (1850) The Birds of Melbourne (concluded). Zoologist 8: 2949-2951.

42. Newton (1859), op cit.

43. Yarrell (1884-85), op cit.

44. Rhodes, R. J. (1988) Birds in the Doncaster District. Doncaster.

45. Ray (1678), op cit.

46. Yarrell, W. (1871-74) A History of British Birds. Fourth edn. Vol. 1, revised and
enlarged by A. Newton, London.

47. The initial usage of this name is believed to be that of P. J. Selby, in the first (1825)
volume of his Illustrations of British Ornithology.

48. Blathwayt, F. L. (1915) The Birds of Lincolnshire. Lines. Nat. Un. Trans. 3: 178-211.

49. Rhodes (1988), op. cit.

50. Yarrell, W. (1831) Additions to the Catalogue of British Birds, with Notice of the
Occurrence of several rare Species. Mag. nat. Hist. 4: 116-118.

51. Limbert, M. (1990) An historic ornithological letter. Naturalist 115: 103-104.

52. Mullens and Swann (1917), op. cit.

53. Yarrell, W. (18,43) A History of British Birds. Vol. 2. London.

54. Nelson (1907), op. cit.

55. Venables, L. S. V. and Venables, U. M. (1955) Birds and Mammals of Shetland.
Edinburgh.

56. Morris, F. O. (1866) A History of British Birds. Reissue of first edn. Vol. 4. London.

57. Limbert, M., Mitchell, R. D. and Rhodes, R. J. (1986) Thorne Moors: Birds and Man.
Doncaster.

58. Morris (1866), op. cit.

126

Book Reviews

BOOK REVIEWS

Martin Lister’s English Spiders (1678): translated by Malcolm Davies and Basil
Harley, edited with an Introduction and Notes by John Parker. Pp. 192 with one colour
plate and several b/w illustrations. Harley Books (Martins, Great Horkesley Colchester
C06 4AH) 1992. H/B £49.95, P/B £24.95 plus £2.50 p. & p. per copy.

Martin Lister’s remarkable book, Tractus de Araneis, was written in Latin over three
hundred years ago and is the earliest known scientific work in the world devoted solely to
spiders. Now at last we have an English translation. Martin Lister spent most of his early
life in the Craven district of Yorkshire, and by the time he took up medical practice in York
he was a naturalist of national repute, specialising in botany, conchology and arachnology.
John Parker’s introduction chronicles Lister’s life, including that which led to his
appointment as physician to the king, and assesses his contribution to arachnology.

This very readable translation of Lister’s Tractatus comprises an introductory section on
the diversity of spiders; their reproduction; the nature of thread and the manner of its
production; the manner of shedding the skin; the diet of spiders and their methods of
hunting; wasps and other enemies; several beliefs handed down from the Ancients and
writers of the Middle Ages - some doubtful, some spurious - and medicaments from
spiders. In Book 2 Lister describes over 30 species of spider known to him; in each case, he
provides a description, details of habitat, nature of the web, a brief life-history with details
of eggs and egg-sac, and finally a commentary by John Parker on Lister’s observations in
the light of modem knowledge. The latter part of the book deals with Lister’s
correspondence with John Ray and other Fellows of the Royal Society, of which Lister was
Vice-President for a number of years.

This is a delightful book, combining a very scientific yet almost Fabre-like introduction
to the study of spiders with a fascinating insight into the revolutionary developments in
scientific knowledge that were taking place in the 17th century. It should appeal to a wide
range of natural historians and, at last, brings Lister the recognition he so richly deserves.

CJS

British Red Data Books. 3 Invertebrates other than Insects edited by J. H. Bratton. Pp.

253 + 20 monochrome plates. Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Monkstone House,
City Road, Peterborough, PEI 1JY. £8.00 (post free).

A more than welcome companion to volumes 1 and 2. It highlights the importance of the
non-insect invertebrate fauna of Britain by identifying those species whose existence may
be threatened in some way or another; the thoughtful introduction of an Insufficiently
Known category focuses attention on those species which could benefit from more detailed
attention. The bulk of the book consists of data sheets, each dealing with one species along
with notes on available information, taxonomy, identification, distribution, habitat,
ecology, status and conservation. There are plates depicting various habitats and an
excellent cross-referenced species - place name index.

Somewhat specialist in its application but absolutely invaluable to those involved with
biological recording, county trusts, nature trust management and serious students of
invertebrates. It is excellent value for money.

DTR

127

LOSS OF AQUATIC VEGETATION IN A WOLDS
WINTERBOURNE DURING PERENNIAL DRYNESS

R. GOULDER

Department of Applied Biology, University of Hull, Hull HU6 7RX

The adverse ecological effects of recent low flows in the chalk streams of S and E
England, brought about by reduced rainfall and increased abstraction from aquifers, are a
current cause of concern (Giles et al. 1991). The characteristic plants of healthy chalk
streams are species of water crowfoot, often Ranunculus penicillatus var. calcareus
(Westlake et al. 1972; Haslam 1978) which in spring and summer may occupy virtually the
whole channel. In late summer, following decrease in current velocity and silt deposition,
species which are less demanding of fast-flowing water may increase in importance, e.g.
water-cress. Nasturtium officinale (Ladle & Casey 1971). Ranunculus also decreases
further upstream (Haslam 1978) and may be replaced by, for example, N. officinale and
fool’s watercress, Apium nodiflorum, the latter possibly being more tolerant of drier
conditions (Thommen & Westlake 1981). This upstream change in vegetation is related to
decrease in discharge, and particularly to intermittent flow, dry stream beds being a feature
of many calcareous headstreams during late summer-autumn. Such intermittent streams are
known as winterbournes.

Recent low flows have resulted in hitherto permanent chalk streams becoming
intermittent. Ranunculus (water crowfoot) has often been replaced by plants, notably N.
officinale, associated with silted and upstream situations. Growth of blanket weed
(filamentous algae) has occurred, and plants which are usually found as emergents in the
margin, e.g. bur-reeds, Sparganium spp., have come to choke channels (Giles et al. 1991).

A further feature of reduced flows is that lengths of headstream which customarily have
intermittent flow are liable to become perennially dry. The fate of such streams is less well
documented. The purpose of this paper is to describe the response of vegetation to
permanent dryness in Mill Beck, a calcareous stream near Market Weighton, N
Humberside, which has hitherto been intermittent.

Mill Beck is spring fed from beneath the western scarp of the Upper Cretaceous chalk of
the Yorkshire Wolds. The principal source, at National Grid Reference SE 899 426, is a
brickwork culvert which emerges from beneath a long-disused railway line. Natural springs
were presumably channelled into this culvert during railway construction which was
completed by 1865. Water for public supply is pumped from a borehole about 100 m south
of the source.

Planktonic bacteria in the stream were studied from March 1981 to March 1982 (Goulder
1984) and incidental observations were made on vegetation. In March 1981, there was
already flow from the source which continued until September, with a maximum in April.
Flow resumed from January to March 1982 and beyond. The stream, for about 500 m
downstream of its source, flowed largely through unshaded damp pasture. For most of
1981 there was abundant aquatic vegetation, predominantly N. officinale and A.
nodiflorum , which occupied 75-100% of the stream width. In December 1981, hard frosts
occurred before the resumption of winter flow, hence the unprotected vegetation was
severely damaged, and vegetation cover in January-March 1982 was much less than in the
previous year.

Further studies on aquatic plants in the stream, and their epiphytic bacteria, were carried
out during May-June 1983 (Rimes & Goulder 1986) and during January -June 1984 (Rimes
& Goulder 1987).

The May-June 1983 study was on the length of stream from 0-48 m downstream of the
source. Flow from the source during May-June, at 0.42-0.62 x 104 mYday, was substantial.
The area of submerged stream bed, between 0 m and 48 m, was 312 m:. Dense aquatic

Naturalist 117 (1992)

128 Loss of Aquatic Vegetation in a Wolds Winterbourne During Perennial Dryness

vegetation occupied 306 m2 of this, comprising 226 m2 of emergent vegetation and 80 m2 of
submerged vegetation. The mean dry weight, of underwater shoots only, from harvesting of
54 randomly-placed quadrats (25 cm x 25 cm) was 288 g/m2. The principal species were N.
officinale (on average representing 50% of total underwater dry weight), water-speedwell,
Veronica anagallis-aquatica, (25%), and A. , iiflorum (9%). Total dry weight of
underwater leaves and stems, in the 0-48 m length of stream, was about 89 kg.

The January -June 1984 study was on a 135 m length of stream extending from about
225 m to 360 m downstream of the source. When the study began in late January, there was
already a substantial flow through this length of stream of about 1.5 x 104 m’/day. This
rapidly increased to a peak of about 3.2 x 104 mVday in mid February, and then decreased
steadily to about 0.41 x 104 nT/day in late June. Aquatic vegetation was abundant, covering
89-96% of the stream bed. The area occupied by emergent foliage increased from 2% in
February to 87% in June. Early in the year the submerged foliage was protected from frost
by the near-constant spring-water temperature of around 10°C. The mean dry weight, of
underwater shoots only, increased from a January minimum of 109 g/m2 to a May-June
plateau with a maximum of 249 g/m2. These data are based on harvesting of 1 8 randomly-
placed 25 cm x 25 cm quadrats on each of eight sampling days. The maximum total dry
weight reached by underwater leaves and stems in the entire 135 m length of stream, area
640 m2, was about 150 kg. The principal species present were N. officinale , A. nodiflorum,
and flote-grass, Glyceria fluitans, which by late June together made up 86% of total
underwater dry weight.

In contrast to the early 1980s, flow from the Mill Beck source has been irregular in
recent years. I am grateful for information on flows to Gordon Scaife, warden of Rifle
Butts Quarry, a Yorkshire Wildlife Trust reserve which is adjacent to Mill Beck. The
source flowed in 1989 from February to July, in 1990 from February to May, and in 1991
during March-April and briefly in June. This year (1992) there has to date (August) been
no flow.

Observations on vegetation in the dry stream bed were made during May, July and
August 1992. The first 50 m downstream of the source formed a dry grassy sward with the
grasses Agrostis stolonifera and Holcus lanatus being abundant. Seven out of 13 aquatic
plants present in 1983 were not found in 1992 (Table 1). The lost species included N.
officinale and A. nodiflorum which had dominated the vegetation here during the 1981 and
1983 studies. Figure 1 contrasts the 1983 vegetation with that in 1992. The surviving
hydrophytes (Table 1) were species which often grow as emergent plants at stream
margins. Most notable were reed sweet-grass, Glyceria maxima , yellow flag, Iris
pseudacorus , and water mint, Mentha aquatica, which formed appreciable stands, although
probably, in total, not occupying more than about 15% of the dry stream bed.

The length of stream bed, 225-360 m downstream of the source, was also dry during
May- August 1992. Most of the bed was occupied by an ungrazed grassy sward; there were
also extensive areas of thistles, mainly Cirsium arvense, and some cover of stinging nettles,
Urtica dioica. Five out of 12 aquatic species present in 1984 were not found in 1992 (Table
1). Nasturtium officinale and A. nodiflorum , which were hugely abundant in 1984, were
largely restricted, along with lesser water-parsnip, Berula erecta, and brooklime, Veronica
beccabunga, to a few plants towards the upstream end of the section. This area, which was
shaded by trees on the adjacent disused railway embankment, was probably somewhat
damper.

The vegetation changes reported here are important in the context of biological
conservation. The lost vegetation represented a good example of a type which is
characteristic of intermittent calcareous streams: a luxuriant stand of aquatic plants with a
preponderance of amphibious species, able to withstand limited spells of dryness, most
notably N. officinale and A. nodiflorum. This vegetation type is not widespread in its
distribution around the Yorkshire Wolds. Small watercourses suffer from over-zealous
land-drainage engineering work and from fish-pond construction. An especially severe
inhibitor, however, is shading by riparian trees and shrubs.

Loss of Aquatic Vegetation in a Wolds Winterbourne During P erennial Dryness

129

FIGURE 1

The view upstream to the source of Mill Beck. (Top) May 1983 with high water flow and
abundant freshwater macrophytes, largely Nasturtium officinale, Veronica anagallis-
aquatica and Apium nodiflorum. (Bottom) May 1992, the stream bed is a dry grassy sward.

130 Loss of Aquatic Vegetation in a Wolds Winterbourne During Perennial Dryness

TABLE 1

Aquatic plants recorded near to the source of Mill Beck, 1983-84 and 1992

Species*

Distance from source

0-50 m

225-360 m

May-

June

1983

May-

August

1992

January-

June

1984

May-

August

1992

Agrostis stolonifera

+

+

+

+

Apium nodiflorum

+

-

+

+

Berula erecta

+

-

+

+

Caltha palustris

+

+

+

+

Equisetum fluviatile

-

-

+

-

Glyceria fluitans

+

-

+

-

Glyceria maxima

+

+

-

-

Iris pseudacorus

+

+

-

-

Mentha aquatica

+

+

-

-

Myosotis scorpioides

+

+

+

+

Nasturtium officinale

+

-

+

+

Ranunculus aquatilis

-

-

+

-

Ranunculus flammula

+

-

+

-

Veronica anagallis-aquatica

+

-

+

-

Veronica beccabunga

+

-

+

+

* Only species listed by Palmer and Newbold (1983) as aquatic plants found in England
and Wales are included here. Nomenclature here, and elsewhere in this paper, follows
Clapham, Tutin and Moore (1987). (+) Indicates present, (-) indicates not found. The
1983-84 records are from Rimes and Goulder (1986, 1987) and from contemporary
notebooks

Prediction about the future of the Mill Beck vegetation is speculative. Changes in rainfall
and/or abstraction might restore regular water flow, in which case there might be rapid
regeneration from the seed bank in the stream bed. Grazing pressure in the upstream
pastures, however, is now much less than it was in the early 1980s, hence management to
control excessive shading might be needed. On the other hand, if water flow and grazing
are not restored, further growth of the seedlings of hawthorn, Crataegus monogyna, and
dog rose, Rosa canina, which now thrive in the stream bed close to the source, might lead
to development of shrub cover and to total loss of aquatic vegetation.

References

Clapham, A. R., Tutin, T. G. and Moore, D. M. (1987) Flora of the British Isles. 3rd
edition. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

Giles, N., Phillips, V. E. and Barnard, S. (1991) The Current Crisis: Ecological Effects of
Low Flows on Chalk Streams. Royal Society for Nature Conservation/Wildlife Trusts
Partnership, Lincoln.

Goulder, R. (1984) Downstream increase in the abundance and heterotrophic activity of
suspended bacteria in an intermittent calcareous headstream. Freshwater Biology
14: 611-619.

Loss of Aquatic Vegetation in a Wolds Winterbourne During Perennial Dryness 1 3 1

Haslam, S. M. (1978) River Plants. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

Ladle, M. and Casey, H. (1971) Growth and nutrient relationships of Ranunculus
penicillatus var. calcareus in a small chalk stream. In: Proceedings of the Third
International Symposium on Aquatic Weeds, pp. 53-64. European Weed Research
Council, Wageningen.

Palmer, M. and Newbold, C. (1983) Focus on Nature Conservation No. 1. Wetland and
Riparian Plants in Great Britain. Nature Conservancy Council, Shrewsbury.

Rimes, C. A. and Goulder, R. (1986) Quantitative observations on the ability of epiphytic
bacteria to contribute to the populations of suspended bacteria in two dissimilar
headstreams. Freshwater Biology 16: 301-311.

Rimes, C. A. and Goulder, R. (1987) Relations between suspended bacteria, epiphytic
bacteria and submerged vegetation over the spring growing season in a calcareous
headstream. Freshwater Biology 17: 291-305.

Thommen, G. H. and Westlake, D. F. (1981) Factors affecting the distribution of
populations of Apium nodiflorum and Nasturtium officinale in small chalk streams.
Aquatic Botany 11: 21-36.

Westlake, D. F„ Casey, H., Dawson, H., Ladle, M„ Mann, R. H. K. and Marker, A. F. H.
(1972) The chalk-stream ecosystem. In: Productivity Problems of Freshwater s (Kajak,
Z. and Hillbricht-Ilkowska, A. eds) pp. 615-635. Polish Scientific Publishers, Warszawa.

NOTES ON YORKSHIRE MOLLUSCA - NUMBER 9

LIMAX (LIMACUS) MACULATUS (KALENICZENKO, 1851),

A SLUG NEW TO YORKSHIRE

A. NORRIS

Leeds City Museums

On Saturday 4th April 1992, a single specimen of Limax (Limacus) maculatus
(Kaleniczenko, 1851) was found under a slab of stone in the centre of the village of
Amcliffe, Littondale (SD34/933718), by the author. Several members of the Yorkshire
Conchological Society who had spent the day recording in the area searched for further
specimens but none could be found. A search of the area at night would probably be more
profitable, and further examples should come to light.

L. maculatus is native to the areas surrounding the Black Sea and was first noticed in the
British Isles on field trips by members of the Conchological Society of Great Britain and
Ireland in the late 1960s. At first it was thought to be a species new to science and was
described and named by N. J. Evans (1978) as Limax pseudoflavus. It is known by that
name in most recent publications. Wiktor and Norris (1982) compared material from the
Crimea, the Caucasus, Turkey and Bulgaria and were able to demonstrate that L.
pseudoflavus was a synonym of L. maculatus.

The earliest record of this species in the British Isles dates back to October 6, 1884,
when Charles Ashford (1829-1894) found six specimens of L. flavus in Christchurch,
Hampshire. These specimens were dissected and Charles Ashford made careful pencil
drawings which are now preserved in the British Museum (Natural History) as part of the
manuscript notebooks compiled by J. W. Taylor and W. Dennison Roebuck for Taylor’s
Monograph (Kemey, 1986).

Even though it reached Britain in the last century, the spread of this species in the British
Isles is thought to be a recent occurrence. The slug is common and widespread in woodland
habitats in Ireland, being found under the bark of trees in wild situations. In recent years, it
has been recorded from the mainland in scattered locations from Dover in the south
through mid-Wales, Liverpool and Carlisle, to Berwick-on-Tweed in the north. In

Naturalist 117 (1992)

132

Book Reviews

mainland Britain it has usually been found in situations similar to that of the common
yellow slug, Umax flavus Linnaeus, 1758, a synanthropic species normally found in close
proximity to human occupation.

The occurrence of this species in Yorkshire was predicted, and it may soon become as
common in Britain as it now is in Ireland. Care should be taken when recording both of the
yellow slugs L. flavus and L. maculatus, as they can be very difficult to separate without
careful dissection. L. maculatus is a darker pale greenish-gray to olive-green ground
colour, overlaid with darker mottling, whilst L. flavus is paler yellow overlaid with pale
greyish mottling.

References

Evans, N. J. (1978) Umax pseudoflavus sp.n. a new species of slug for Ireland. Ir. Nat. J.
19: 173.

Kemey, M. P. (1986) A 19th century record of Umax maculatus in the British Isles. The
Conchologists’ Newsletter 97: 361.

Wiktor, A. & Norris A. (1982) The synonymy of Umax maculatus (Kaleniczenko, 1851)
with notes on its European distribution. J. Conch. 31: 75-77 .

BOOK REVIEWS

British Plant Communities. Volume 2. Mires and Heaths edited by J. S. Rodwell. Pp.

628, 28 figures plus maps. Cambridge Univeristy Press 1991. £95.00 hardback.

This book is the second in a four-part series which attempts to review and classify
British plant communities. The authors and the many researchers who voluntarily
submitted their own floristic data on mires and heaths have to be congratulated on this
herculean task of incorporating and analysing over 5,300 releves from mires and heaths all
over Britain. Unfortunately Irish material is excluded from the whole of the National
Vegetation Classification (NVC) scheme of which this book is a product.

The book follows the same format as that in the first volume on woodlands (see review
in Naturalist 116:44), except it incorporates mires and heaths as two separate sections
within the one volume. The beginning of both the mire and heath sections gives an
overview of the relationships between each main community in geographical, successional,
climatological, nutritional and topographic terms. There are 38 mire communities
described together with their appropriate subdivisions, floristic table and distribution map
based on the releves from which each one is derived. The 22 heath communities are treated
in the same way.

The key to the different mire and heath communities may appear to help a fieldworker in
assigning an area of vegetation to a particular community, but in my experience it only
works satisfactorily in the minority of cases. Some of the rather strange phytosociological
groups are partly a result of amalgamating several different ecologists’ work with the
inherent lack of comparability in field methods. Also the subsequent multivariate statistical
analysis to group releves is not without its drawbacks. For example the Molinia caerulea-
Potentilla erecta mire (M25) is a large and variable community which is described as a
transition community to blanket mire or rush-pasture or tail-herb fen. This suggests that
this community is a “catch-all” community for those releves that do not fall into, other
communities.

This book is for the professional or very enthusiastic amateur ecologist who is fully
conversant with the principles of phytosociology. The price will however make anyone
wince.

ADH

133

DEER (CERVIDAE) DROWNING IN CANALS

C. A. HOWES

Museum and Art Gallery, Doncaster DN1 2AE

Introduction

The progressive southerly spread of roe deer Capreolus capreolus across the Yorkshire and
North Humberside region since the 1930s is reviewed by Howes (1977) and Mitchell
(1985). Since the late 1960s and particularly during the 1980s, roe deer populations in the
lower Vale of York and the Humber Head area have increased to the extent that most
suitable woods, copses and scrub areas are either occupied or visited; during winter periods
when agonistic behaviour in this normally territorial species is relaxed, groups of up to
eight individuals are not infrequently seen, particularly in the vicinities of Thome and
Hatfield moors (SE/61; 71).

Symptomatic of an increase in population density within this region have been
occasional appearances in suburban gardens, road casualties and frequent incidents of deer
becoming trapped and often drowning in canals; indeed, the drowning of a roe doe in the
Stainforth-Keadby canal at Stainforth on 1st January 1977 (Howes 1977) provided one of
South Yorkshire’s first tangible records of this now widespread species.

Canal Design and Deer Drownings

In 1990, discussions with bargees and other canal craft employees, anglers, naturalists and
animal welfare workers revealed that up to 16 deer annually were being rescued or found
drowned in the busy commercial waterways in the region centred on the Doncaster,
Thome, Crowle and Goole, districts. Incidents were occurring most frequently in the lower
Aire/Calder navigation from Rawcliffe Bridge to Goole Docks, the Stainforth to Keadby
section of the South Yorkshire Navigation and the interlinking New Junction Canal from
Kirk Bramwith to Sykehouse (Howes 1990).

With the exception of the New Junction Canal, situated in a thickly hedged terrain of
small pastures and green lanes, these canal systems largely pass through a landscape
characterised by intensive arable agriculture. Thus the linear zones of tall herb, scrub and
woodland which have developed along the canal corridors provide some of the most
undisturbed cover and feeding areas available to these large and mobile animals.

Under normal circumstances, roe deer could easily swim across the still or slow moving
water of a 20 to 30 metre wide canal in order to reach suitable cover, new food resources or
to flee from disturbance. Significantly perhaps, there have been no reported fatalities from
the numerous major river systems (Went, Don, Tome and Idle) which pass through the
region, or from the network of water courses which drain the Hatfield Chase. One must
assume therefore that these obstacles are crossed without difficulty; indeed, well worn
tracks in waterside vegetation give evidence of the ability to climb ashore.

By contrast, the metal or concrete piling along the banks of major industrial navigations,
required to prevent bank erosion by the wash from frequent and fast moving commercial
traffic, is proving too high to allow the deer to scramble ashore. Water bodies of this design
effectively function as linear pitfall traps from which deer and other large mammals are
unable to escape.

To investigate whether the problem is as widespread for deer as it evidently is for
waterside grazing farm animals (mainly cattle and ponies), appeals for information were
made in a range of national waterways, wildlife and countryside magazines. Information
was also sought from members of the Mammal Society, Ungulate Research Group, British
Deer Society, Yorkshire Mammal Group and the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust.

The results, presented in Appendix 1, show the problem to be almosty exclusively
confined to the network of navigable waters in the Humber Head region as described

Naturalist 117 (1992)

No. of deer

134

Deer (Cervidae) Drowning in Canals

above, where to July 1992 at least 60 drownings or rescues have been reported. Other
Yorkshire/Humberside examples are one from Knottingley Lock, again on the Aire/Calder
Navigation and one in Hull Docks.

The only records received from outside this region were both from the Grand Union
Canal system, where a small unidentified deer was seen on 25th May 1991 in waterside
vegetation at West Drayton (TQ/0679) (D. A. Campbell pers. comm.) and a male muntjac
(Muntiacus reevesi) found drowned on 3rd October 1991 near Warwick (SP/2766) (P.
Chan in pers. comm.).

The problem of large mammals becoming trapped in navigable watercourses is well
known in Europe, the matter being reviewed and solutions proposed in Leirop (1986) and
Bekker (1990), and in Arizona, USA, the problem of mule deer ( Odocoileus hemionus)
becoming trapped in canals has been studied by Krausman (1990).

Whereas the erection of electric fences or the revocation of waterside grazing leases has
succeeded in reducing the incidence of farm animals getting into difficulties along
dangerous stretches of canal bank (T. Price pers. comm.), these options are inappropriate
for free ranging animals.

Resulting from the assembly and analysis of the records in this study the creation of
appropriately designed and strategically positioned stepping out points is under
investigation by engineers at British Waterways.

Agonistic Behaviour in Roe and Seasonality of Drownings - A Possible Link
Since drowning incidents have occurred during all seasons, it was assumed that disturbance
by shooting, dogs or general human activities along canal banks and on adjacent land were
the primary causes of deer being flushed from cover and forced to make their escape across
water; indeed, shooting was implicated in one fatality.

Month

FIGURE 1

Seasonality of deer becoming trapped in canals (records referable to specific months only)

135

Deer (Cervidae) Drowning in Canals

An analysis of seasonality does not however accord with predicted peaks of human
activity on canal banks, during holiday periods or the coarse fishing season. Of the 22
records where a precise date or month is given, 19 refer to the April to June period (see
Figure 1) and of the 24 records relating to more than one month or season at least 19 (and
perhaps all) refer to the spring and early summer period (up to June). This strongly
suggests a link with the annual dispersal of young and low status animals.

Dominant bucks, usually older individuals, actively defend territory from April to
August. Aggression between adjacent territorial bucks is most intensive during the early
period of territory formation. However, bucks without territories, mostly young animals,
are chivvied and harassed by territory holding bucks throughout the spring and early
summer (Bramley 1970, Chaplin 1977). Increased agonistic behaviour by pregnant does
shortly before giving birth (mainly from mid May to mid June) serves to drive away the
previous year’s fawns (Bramley 1970, Chaplin 1977). These overlapping behaviour
patterns serve to promote dispersal in low status bucks and young of both sexes during the
period which coincides with high levels of drownings.

Since topographic features such as woodland rides and streams frequently appear to act
as territorial boundaries (Chapman 1977), it is reasonable to assume that canal banks or
scent marked shrubs along canal banks also function in this way, with territory holding
animals effectively forcing lower status animals into the water and thus into difficulties.

Summary

An evident increase in the roe deer population density in the southern Vale of York and the
Humber Head region, particularly since the late 1970s, has been accompanied by an
increase in cases of deer (mainly roe) becoming trapped in major industrial navigations of
the Doncaster, Thome, Crowle and Goole areas, where at least 60 animals in total and up to
16 per year have been reported drowned or rescued. Appeals through national waterways,
wildlife and countryside magazines have produced little additional information, suggesting
the problem to be currently confined to the above area. Although cases have occurred
during every season, the majority of datable instances are confined to the April-June
period, thus raising the speculation that seasonal territorial and agonistic behaviour leading
to the dispersal of low status males and young animals may be a significant cause of deer
being forced to cross water barriers. Since there have been no reported cases of deer getting
into difficulties in the river or drain systems of the region, it is assumed that those canal
embankments lined with erosion resistant concrete or metal piling are proving too high to
enable deer to escape. The creation of strategically positioned stepping out points is
currently under investigation.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Chris Dutheridge and Peter Hinks for the majority of records and who
provided useful contacts with British Waterways employees. Thanks are also due to the
editors of Waterways World , Waterways, Natural World and The Field and Shooting Times
for allowing me to canvass nationally for information. Records were also provided by
Inspector Tony Price of the South Yorkshire RSPCA, D. A. Campbell, Dr. P. Chanin, A.
Elks, M. Hanson, C. Lamboume, J. Pickering and M. Todd. Norma Chapman of the
Mammal Society suggested the preparation of this paper and provided valuable background
information.

References

Bekker, G. J. (1990) The use of fauna out-steps. Levende Naturalist 1: 34-39.

Chaplin, R. E. (1977) Deer. Blandford, Poole.

Chapman, D. I. (1977) Roe Deer, in Corbet, G. B. and Southern, H. N. (eds.) The
Handbook of British mammals , pp. 437 to 446. Blackwell, Oxford.

Howden, Goole & Thorne Courier 28/5/92.

Howes, C. A. (1977) Notes on South Yorkshire roe deer. Naturalist 102: 143-144.

136 Deer (Cervidae) Drowning in Canals

Howes, C. A. (1990) Canals a death trap for deer. Imprint 16: 8-9.

Hull Daily Mail 12/6/1989.

Krausmann, P. R. (1990) Unpublished report on mule deer ( Odocoileus hemionus ) in
canals in Arizona. School of Renewable Natural Resources, University of Arizona,
Tucson, USA.

Lierop, A. M. M. van (1986) Means of preventing wild animals from drowning and being
involved in road accidents. Naturopa Documentation Series, No. 2.

Mitchell, W. R. (1985) Roe Deer, in Delany, M. J. (ed.) Yorkshire Mammals pp. 206-215.
University at Bradford, Bradford.

APPENDIX 1

Records of Deer Becoming Trapped in Navigable Waters
Within the Yorkshire/Humberside Region
(Arranged by Canal)

Date/Period

DRO

RES

Locality & Grid Ref.

Source

(Aire/Calder

Navigation)

15/4/79

1*+

Rawcliff Bridge (SE/7021)

(Done. Mus.)

Spr/early sum ’89

4-5

4

Rawcliff Bridge to Goole (SE/72)

(Howes 1990)

Spring ’90

1

-

Knottingley Lock (SE/51)

(Howes 1990)

Up to -/6/90

5-7

-

Pollington to Goole (SE/61; 62; 72)

(Howes 1990)

2/6/90

lf+

Nr. Goole (SE/72)

(Howes 1990)

6/6/90

1

Nr. Goole (SE/72)

(Howes 1990)

Early 4 to mid 5/9 1

2

3

Aire/Calder (SE/62; 72)

(P. Hinks)

End of 5/91

2

Aire/Calder (SE/62; 72)

(P. Hinks)

Week ending 9/6/9 1

-

1

Goole Docks (SE/7322)
rescue by Fire Brigade

(P. Hinks)

14/6/91

1

-

Nr. Rawcliffe Bridge (SE/62; 72)

(P. Hinks)

30/6/91

1

-

Nr. Rawcliffe Bridge (SE/62; 72)

(P. Hinks)

Mid 8/91

-

1

Nr. Rawcliffe Bridge (SE/62; 72)

(P. Hinks)

Early 12/91

1

-

Nr. Rawcliffe Bridge (SE/62; 72)

(P. Hinks)

6/5/92

2m

-

Goole Docks (SE/7322)

(P. Hinks)

29/5/92

-

lm

Nr. Rawcliffe Bridge (SE/62; 72)

(P. Hinks)

18/5/92

lm

-

Goole Docks (SE/7322)

(P. Hinks)

8/6/92

-

1

Goole Docks (SE/7322)

(P. Hinks)

(New Junction Canal)
7-/85

-

1

Northern end (SE/6418)

(Done. Temp.
Lock Keeper
1991)

25/6/90

1

-

300 yds below Sykehouse Bridge

(SE/6417)

(M. Hanson)

Up to 13/9/90

5

-

New Junction Canal (SE/61)

(Howes 1990)

24/5/91

1

-

New Junction Canal (SE/61)

(P. Hinks)

(Stainforth/Keadby Canal [South Yorkshire Navigation])

1/1/77

lf+

-

Stainforth (SE/6512)

(Howes 1977)

Deer ( Cervidae ) Drowning in Canals

137

Date/Period

DRO RES Locality & Grid Ref.

Source

2/5/88

V2 mile above Thome Lock
(SE/6713)

Stainforth (SE/6512)
Stainforth (SE/6512)

Crowle to Keadby (SE/71;72)

General

14-17/4/91

22/4/91

General

1991-2

7 8 Maud’s Bridge area (SE/7012)

Crowle/Ealand area (SE/7L72).
Deer, cattle and ponies
frequently rescued by Fire
Services and R.S.P.C.A.
officers

deer frequently in canal

15 removed by M. Todd

(C. Lamboume)
(A. Elks)

(A. Elks)

(Done. Temp.
Lock Keeper
1991)

(Inspector
Tony Price
South York-
shire RSPCA
1991)

(Howden,

Goole &

Thome Courier
28/5/92)

(Hull Docks)
1 1/6/89

lm William Wright Dock (TA/ 1428) (Hull Daily

Mail 12/6/89)

DRO = Drowned

RES = Rescued or swimming

* = Fallow deer

+ = Spn. in Doncaster Museum colln.

m = Male

f = Female

Classification and Ranking of Water Beetle Communities by G. N. Foster and M. D.

Eyre. UK Nature Conservation No. 1. The Joint Nature Conservation Committee,
Monkstone House, City Road, Peterborough.

Naturalists individually develop a personal categorisation of ponds, lakes, streams, rivers
etc. based on their own collecting experience and taking into account such reports as they
encounter in literature and by contact with other entomologists. A good pond has a larger
than average number of species and these include a larger than average proportion of
uncommon ones. It is all very personal and subjective.

More objective methods of ranking sites can be employed with the aid of computers and
this study, which covers seven selected regions but does not include Yorkshire, uses
Fortran programmes Decorana and Twinspan to do just this. It still requires, of course, the
basic searching, collecting, naming and ranking of species but for those with access to
appropriate computers and software this refinement of our methods is available now and
for the rest of us is the possible shape of things to come.

BOOK REVIEW

JHF

138

PROGRESS IN THE STUDY OF THE YORKSHIRE LICHEN FLORA

M. R. D. SEAWARD

Lichenological activity in Yorkshire continues unabated, and it is pleasing to report a
significant increase in lichen recording since the publication of the previous progress map
based on November 1988 data {Naturalist 116: 31-33). Since that time, considerable
fieldwork has been undertaken in the county, particularly by B. J. Coppins, P. M. Earland-
Bennett, A. Fryday, O. L. Gilbert, A. Henderson, C. J. B. Hitch, D. H. Smith and M. R. D.
Seaward.

Since 1960, more than 17540 grid square records have been gathered and their average
number per square has risen from c. 77 in November 1988 to c. 90 in November 1992
(which is significantly higher than the current national figure of c. 85); these data represent a
16.9% increase in recording over the past four years.

Provisional maps for all taxa have already been prepared; it is envisaged that their
publication in the not too distant future will form the first stage in the compilation of a
county lichen flora.

By November 1992, the Yorkshire lichen flora can be summarized as follows:

833 taxa (809 species, 8 subspecies, 12 varieties and 4 forms) have been
recorded from the county over the past 300 years, of which 226 (220
species, 4 subspecies and 2 varieties) are based on old records, most of
which can be presumed extinct since they have not been seen for over a
century; of the 607 extant taxa (c. 37% of the British flora), c. 213 have
been discovered during the past 32 years.

50 60 70 80 90 400

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 50° 10 20 30 40 50

30
20
10

50°

90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10

40°

90
80
70

FIGURE 1

Number of extant lichen taxa, based on post- 1980 records, in each Yorkshire
10 km x 10 km grid square (November 1992). Border squares may contain a few records
pertaining to the neighbouring county. Computer derived map prepared by S. Davidson.

Naturalist 117 (1992)

Obituaries

OBITUARIES

139

BRIAN SHAW PASHBY

(1917-1991)

Brian Pashby, President of the Yorkshire Naturalist’s Union for 1991, died of a heart attack
on 17th November, 1991, at the age of 74 years. Typically, despite dying in office, he and
his wife Shirley attended all the major YNU field meetings held during his Presidential year
- an achievement probably unprecedented in the history of the Union Presidency. Almost
completed at the time of his death, Brian’s Presidential Address - a history of the Humber
Wildfowl Refuge - was provided with a summary and delivered on his behalf by his friend
and colleague of many years, Derek B. Cutts, at the 1991 YNU Annual General Meeting,
held in Beverley on 7th December, 1991. His funeral, held at Scarborough, was attended by
four previous Presidents of the YNU, by representatives of the Wildfowl and Wetlands
Trust and of English Nature (formerly The Nature Conservancy Council), as well as by
representatives and/or members of the many organisations with which Brian was associated
during his lifetime, including the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, the Wild Flower Society, the
Hull Natural History Society, the Scarborough Field Naturalists’ Society, and several
sections and committees of the YNU.

A Hull man bom and bred, and a keen supporter of Yorkshire County cricket and of Hull
and East Riding Rugby football during his younger days, Brian was for many years Steward
of the Brynmor Jones Library of Hull University prior to his retirement and subsequent
move to Hunmanby with his second wife, Shirley, in 1981.

Seemingly only becoming seriously interested in natural history (and certainly only
coming to the attention of his contemporaries) in his mid-thirties, but nevertheless
displaying from the outset his typical determination to become actively involved with the
work of any organisation he became associated with, he was elected a member of the

Naturalist 117 (1992)

140

Obituaries

Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union at the Union’s Annual General Meeting held in Huddersfield
on 3rd December, 1955, during the Presidency of the late Dr. E. W. Taylor. Brian’s sponsors
were no lesser personages than Ralph Chislett and G. R. Ainsworth, then Chairman and
Hon. Secretary respectively of the Spurn Bird Observatory committee, and leading
ornithologists of their day.

With his first wife, Gladys, who later died, Brian also became a member of the then Hull
Scientific and Field Naturalists’ Club, since renamed the Hull Natural History Society, in
April 1956, immediately becoming its long-serving Ornithological Recorder and,
subsequently, its Hon. Secretary (1958-69), its Vertebrate Section Leader (1960-62), its
Vice-President (1969-72 and 1980-82) and its President from 1972-75. He was also
subsequently a member of its Council from 1983-85. During his many years of service he
was closely involved with all aspects of the Society’s work and activities, including the
organisation of indoor and field meetings, its publications (including some pursued in
association with outside bodies such as the Hull and East Riding Field Studies Association
and Hull Geological Society), and represented the Society on bodies such as the East
Yorkshire Conservation Council. Never was any local society more loyally served!

By inclination and experience primarily an ornithologist, always describing himself as ‘an
estuary man’, and from the outset a keen student of the bird life of the Humber estuary, it
was hardly surprising that, in 1960, Brian was appointed the YNU’s representative on the
Humber Wildfowl Refuge committee, a service he performed for the Union until his
retirement from the committee in 1990. In addition to representing the YNU, he
subsequently became the committee’s Hon. Secretary from 1969-1983, prior to which, and
subsequently, acting as its Permit Officer and, after relinquishing the Secretaryship
becoming the committee’s Hon. Treasurer. His extensive knowledge and great commitment
over his 30 years of service were invaluable to the work of this committee.

Equally surprisingly, having by then become a regular visitor to the reserve, Brian was
asked (more or less instructed by Ralph Chislett!) in July 1962 to become a member of the
Spurn Bird Observatory committee, and remained a member of it until he died (he attended
his last meeting the day before his death). During his 30 years of service to this committee
he served as its Hon. Secretary (and its representative on the YNU Executive and Ornith-
ological Section’s General committees) from 1972-78, catalogued its book collection, and
published a number of works related to the reserve and to the estuary, including notes and
papers on Earth Star fungi at Spurn, The Fulmar Wreck of 1962 (with John Cudworth), Pink
Footed Goose fatalities at the Humber Refuge, Brent Geese and Zostera at Spurn, the
Oystercatcher in the Humber area and two major works published by the Spurn Bird
Observatory Committee, John Cordeaux, Ornithologist (an in-depth study of the work of the
great 19th century Lincolnshire ornithologist, on whom Brian was the recognised authority),
and A List of the Birds of Spurn, 1946-1985, again the product of detailed research.

Brian also attended two meetings of the Protection of Birds Committee of the YNU, as a
briefly co-opted member of it, in autumn 1963 and spring 1964, essentially to help clarify a
shooting incident at the Humber Wildfowl Refuge reported to the Committee by concerned
birdwatchers from Doncaster and Rotherham.

In 1978, several years after his marriage to Shirley, and three years before his retirement
from Hull University, Brian was also elected YNU Divisional Secretary for Vice-County 61,
with all the duties that that post entailed, a position he held, again, until his death.

Following his retirement and subsequent move to Hunmanby he also became an active
member of the Scarborough Field Naturalists’ Society, serving on its committee from 1984-
86. Other duties which he took on or continued to perform after his retirement included the
Wildfowl and Wetland Trust Organiser for National Wildfowl Counts for North
Humberside and parts of North Yorkshire (since 1989 reduced to the Driffield/
Malton/Scarborough areas) and, jointly with Shirley, Regional Representative and surveys
organiser for East Yorkshire (north) for the British Trust for Ornithology (both Brian and
Shirley had been active members of the BTO for many years before this). Shirley continues
to act as Waterfowl Counts Organiser in the Driffield/Mal ton/Scarborough area.

Obituaries

141

Latterly, as a result of his long term interest in the chalk grasslands of the Yorkshire
Wolds, Brian also became a member of the Wild Flower Society and, briefly, of the British
Butterfly Conservation Society, both interests which he pursued with enthusiasm locally,
providing valuable information to bodies such as English Nature, and thus assisting in the
establishment of new Sites of Special Scientific Interest in his area.

In the best sense of the term, and in the best traditions of British amateur field natural
history Brian was a good, old-fashioned, all-round naturalist, with a quick eye, an enquiring
mind, a ready understanding of the ecology of the various aspects of the natural environment
in which he was interested, and with an eagerness to share his enthusiasm and knowledge
with others. In terms of his personal commitment, he was of the very stuff of which
organisations such as the YNU, BTO and the local societies and committees which he so
loyally served are made, and will continue to need. He is sorely missed by those he served
and all those who knew him. We give thanks for the contribution he made, we are greatly
saddened by his passing, and we offer our sincere condolences to his wife Shirley, who
provided him with such wonderful support and companionship throughout the very happy
years of their marriage.

M. Densley

WILLIS GEORGE BRAMLEY

(1897-1992)

Willis George Bramley was bom at Fairbum, about ten miles west of Selby, on 12th
November 1 897, the year in which the British Mycological Society was formed, following a
Y.N.U. Fungus Foray based on Selby. He died, aged 94, in Malton, Norton and District
Hospital on 1st April 1992 and was buried at Pickering on 6th April.

His family were well known farmers in the Fairbum area and Willis, as he was always
known, continued in farming with his two brothers in Bolton Percy, near Tadcaster. Here he
and his family occupied one of the farm cottages at Pallathorpe. During the 1950s, though,
Willis left the family farming business and took his own family to Pickering, in North
Yorkshire, where he bought a much larger house with a large garden. From here, he worked
for other farmers till he reached retirement age.

Willis had a life-long interest in the outdoor world and in natural history. Early in life he
became a member of the Y.N.U. and was quite prepared to sleep under a hay stack when he
cycled to field meetings about Yorkshire.

At this time, birds were, perhaps, his strongest interest and he was a member of The
Protection of Birds Committee from 1926 until 1931. He became a competent flowering
plant botanist, an ability which served him well in his later studies of rust fungi.

Between 1941 and 1947 he rendered service to the Y.N.U. as Divisional Secretary for VC
64.

The writers first met Willis at meetings of the York & District Field Naturalists’ Society,
for which he was Mycological Recorder over a long period of years and of which he served
a period as President. At this time, the Society met in the Yorkshire Museum and Willis
came into contact with the then keeper, Reginald Wagstaffe, primarily an ornithologist but
also keen on beetles. From then on, Willis always carried a box of glass tubes into which to
put any beetles he came across, for Wagstaffe. He probably learnt a good deal from
Wagstaffe, an enthusiastic and widely informed man.

Willis himself records another lapse into entomology, at the Horton-in-Ribblesdale
Whitsun meeting of 1941. “The weather was not suitable for the collection of much except
water beetles, to which task the writer was degraded for two days”. K.G.P. remembers well
the sight of Willis, W. D. Hincks and T. Stainforth crouched over peat holes on Pen-y-ghent
in the rain.

142

Obituaries

FIGURE 1

Swinton Park, Masham c. 1947

In the best traditions of British natural history, Willis was always ready to help younger
people. The writers remember a Sunday in 1948 when he took them, riding bicycles, to see
Fairbum Ings, finishing with tea with some of his relatives. After we began collecting rust
fungi, Willis used to give us specimens of some of his more interesting finds.

It was in mycology that Willis developed and displayed the collecting skills and
taxonomic expertise that put him among the best Yorkshire naturalists of this century. We
believe it was A. E. Peck, from Scarborough, who first interested Willis in fungi. He also
acknowledged a great deal of early help from F. A. Mason (1878-1936), a friendly and
popular Y.N.U. member who was Recorder to the Y.N.U. Mycological Committee, to which
Willis was elected in 1921. He, in turn, became Recorder in 1935, at first jointly with Dr.
John Grainger, and then, from about 1946, as sole Recorder. He continued in this capacity
for 28 years until 1974, after which Dr. Tom Hering took over.

During these 28 years there were over 50 spring and autumn forays on which Willis
prepared reports for The Naturalist. In addition, he wrote many reports on mycology for the
Y.N.U. general field meetings. Some of the forays attracted some of the best British
mycologists - A. A. Pearson, E. W. Mason and C. G. C. Chesters, for instance. The writers
were among the (then) young Y.N.U. members who listened respectfully to the
pronouncements of the experts. Willis was not beyond a little mischief and he was behind
some judicious concoctions of spores on slides submitted to the experts.

Half a dozen of the 1940-1950 forays were based on Thornton Dale and the mycological
opportunities revealed were what determined Willis to move house to nearby Pickering.
Some of the foray reports listed over 200 species and Willis must have worked very hard
indeed at his own identification work and in badgering the experts for their lists and then
collating them for The Naturalist. It must have been especially hard while the family was at

Book Reviews 143

Pallathorpe. Willis had to clear his microscope and books from the kitchen table by 10.00pm
for his wife to lay it for breakfast.

However, it was during his Recordership that Willis was in touch with many of the
leading professional and amateur mycologists in Britain. They and he benefited and he
became one of the best amateur mycologists ever to have worked in the British Isles.
Though Willis worked at most groups of fungi, his favourites probably were the plant rusts,
with regard to which he has several mentions in the standard British text, British Rust Fungi
by Malcolm Wilson and D. M. Henderson. Fortunately, through the work of Tom and
Shirley Preece and a distinguished team of editors, the results of Willis’ years of collecting
and recording, are available to all in A Fungus Flora of Yorkshire (1985).

Acknowledgement from the British Mycological Society came in 1990 when it awarded
the Benefactor’s Medal to Willis “for his outstanding contribution to Yorkshire Mycology”.
The writers were given the pleasant duty of delivering the medal to him personally just
before Christmas. They found Willis in Mai ton Hospital on a short visit for routine
treatment. He was in his usual hearty form and had just tried on a Father Christmas outfit
and was looking forward to distributing presents in the Children’s Ward on Christmas Day.
With his white beard he really looked the part.

We will remember Willis as a big man (K.G.P. shared a bed with him at the 1942 Horton-
in-Ribblesdale meeting), always hearty and cheerful and ready to help and with a fund of
stories of meetings, mycologists and other naturalists from the past.

The sorrows of life did not pass him by, for his wife died many years before him, he
nursing her in her last illness.

Perhaps unusually for a farmer, Willis was a keen gardener and after his wife’s death he
became a meticulous housekeeper. He was an excellent correspondent and exhibited fine
clear handwriting up to the last.

The young Willis Bramley knew W. N. Cheesman (1847-1925), from Selby, in the last
four years of the latter’ s life. Cheesman spent some of his earlier life in London and was
proud of having known Charles Darwin and of having visited his home. So, those of us who
knew Willis have shaken the hand of a man who shook the hand of a man who shook
Darwin’s hand. For the origin of this thought, we are indebted to the late Miss E. M.
Blackwell, whose “Links with past Yorkshire mycologists” (Naturalist 1961: 53-66) gives a
fascinating account of the mycological scene into which Willis came. So, the continuity of
natural history is preserved through the lives and deaths of its students.

J. & K. G. Payne

BOOK REVIEWS

The Mole by R. David Stone. Pp. 24, with 27 b/w and colour illustrations. Shire
Publications, Princes Risborough, Bucks. 1992. £1.95 paperback.

David Stone has produced yet another addition (No 61) to this excellent Shire Natural
History Series. Although bom in Ireland, a country without moles, he has studied moles and
related species throughout the world. He describes their anatomy and explains how they can
survive in total darkness and how the tunnel system is created.

The European mole (Talpa europaea) is one of the commonest small mammals in Great
Britain and instantly recognisable, but it is a rare privilege to catch a glimpse of one.
Unfortunately many of the photographs do not make up for this as they have been seen
before. The line drawings have however been produced especially for this booklet.

A highly readable, value for money, introduction to a fascinating mammal.

CIM

144

Book Reviews

The Wren by Edward A. Armstrong. Pp. 24, with full colour and black and white
photographs. Shire Publications, 1992. £1.95 paperback.

This is the twenty-sixth Shire Natural History booklet dealing with a single species of bird,
each written by an authority on the bird covered. Edward A. Armstrong, one of a long line
of parson-naturalists, is well known as the authority on the wren, one of our commonest yet
little known species. Armstrong died in 1978 and the present text has been adapted from his
earlier writings by his son, Patrick H. Armstrong. The resultant booklet, which succinctly
covers all aspects of the species’ life style, is well worth a place in the library of every
birdwatcher.

AJW

The Robin by Mike Read, Martin King and Jake Allsop. Pp. 128, with 86 full colour
photographs and several line drawings. Blandford, 1992. £16.99.

This beautifully illustrated book is one I would give to anyone starting out on a single
species study. The authors, the first two of whom are also professional photographers, have
gone to a great deal of trouble to give an accurate, and yet readable, account of the life of the
robin. The quality of the photographs is outstanding, not only in their colour rendering, but
also their variety and interest.

On the fly sheet it states that Jake Allsop has a life long interest in ornithology and is a
qualified ringer for the British Trust for Ornithology. Although all three authors have
contributed to the field work, I assume that Jake Allsop has carried out most of the field
studies and written up his findings in a manner such that those without a scientific training
can understand. The chapters describe various aspects of the robin’s life, from taxonomy,
through courtship, nest building, territory holding, feeding and migration. There is a final
chapter on photographing the robin, followed by an extensive bibliography.

The text makes reference to David Lack’s classic study The Life of the Robin , published
in 1965. The authors freely quote from this highly readable study which I remember
thinking that nothing could surpass. However, in this recent study, we not only have new
information, but also better illustrations; The Robin is thus a complementary volume to
David Lack’s classic.

For me this book showed how much pleasure one can get out of observing a common
species, such as the robin. Today, with so much pressure being placed on much of our
wildlife, most of us have to study those animals and plants we find in our local
environments, such as our own back gardens. The Robin gives us a flavour of just that sort
of activity, and I would highly recommend it to any aspiring ornithologist.

MJAT

The Pocket Guide to Freshwater Fishes of Britain and Europe. Pp. 144; The Pocket
Guide to Saltwater Fishes of Britain and Europe. Pp. 176. By Alwyne Wheeler;

illustrated by Colin Newman. Dragon’s World. 1991. £6.95 each. Royalties to Royal
Society for Nature Conservation.

These eminently practical handbooks have waterproof covers and jackets, and are spirally
bound so that they lie flat wherever they are opened. Each species has a page to itself with a
description and account of the life cycle by an acknowledged expert, and an illustration,
usually in colour. In Freshwater Fishes the number of species (130) is inflated by the
inclusion of fishes from southern and south eastern Europe. For some of these, for instance
from Greece, little is known of the life cycles, and the illustration is a black and white
drawing because no colour references were available to the artist. In the lucid but all too
brief introduction Alwyne Wheeler gives a short account of the history of the European fish

Book Reviews

145

fauna and mentions the gloomy prospects for a number of species consequent upon reduced
water flow and increased pollution in many rivers. In Saltwater Fishes the number of
species (161) is also inflated by the inclusion of Mediterranean fishes, including some recent
arrivals through the Suez Canal. In the introduction the author comments on the
comparatively large number of species (about 250, including some caught only once or a
few times) in British waters, and gives reasons for this, such as the wide continental shelf
and the North Atlantic Drift; also some oceanic species migrate northwards in summer.
These guides can be thoroughly recommended to fishermen, ichthyologists and to the
general naturalist.

FHB

A Review of the Scarce and Threatened Coleoptera of Great Britain. Part 1 by P. S.
Hyman, revised and updated by M. S. Parsons. Pp. 484. UK Joint Nature Conservation
Committee. 1992. £18.00 plus £3.00 postage and packing from JNCC, Monkstone House,
City Road, Peterborough.

Roger Key in the Introduction states that the aim of this review is to identify the scarcer
species of beetles in Britain and those under threat and to suggest ways of conserving them.
The review will be in two parts. The present first part concentrates on 70 of the more readily
identifiable and popular families of Beetles. Those covered are predominantly terrestrial as
the water beetles have been considered elsewhere, although a status list of water beetles is
given in Appendix 1. 1043 species are considered and easy reference to them is made via
Appendices 2 and 3.

One section deals with the study of beetles in Britain, with particular reference to the
various recording schemes. A call is made to measure the degree of ‘habitat fidelity’ of
species and for studies on the biology of species which are needed to develop management
techniques for conservation. A review of the literature of British beetles includes the listing
of publications with keys to species level for many beetle families.

Detailed definitions and criteria of status categories are given with the national notable
category renamed “national scarce”. Defining status in terms of Red Data Book and
nationally scarce categories arises from the natural history tradition and is readily
understood by politicians. However these statuses are perhaps not the best way to measure
biodiversity which would seem to increase with species which are sole representatives of
genera or families, or of genera and families with few species and with species which are
representatives of the more primitive genera and families.

The major part of the review is devoted to the species accounts which includes the name
of the species, its family and status with distribution; details of habitat and ecology with
possible threats and suggestions for management and conservation; status is reviewed and
indicator species with their grading are given for species indicative of the continuity of
mature habitat; and finally a list of published sources. This mass of information will be
invaluable to the coleopterist and to the wildlife manger, providing the beetles can be
identified.

MEA

The Fragile Environment edited by Laurie Friday and Roland Laskey. Pp. x + 198

including 50 b/w photographs and 25 line drawings and maps. Cambridge University Press.
1989 £10.95. Paperback.

In this volume eight authorities on environmental matters each provide a chapter on aspects
of the environment in which they have particular expertise. Originally the contributions
were presented as the Darwin College Lectures on “Man and the Environment”, given in
Cambridge in 1987. The book clearly reveals its origins in that each chapter is discrete and
has its own style, with few links between the various contributions. Nevertheless, the eight

146 Book Reviews

contributions provide an excellent non-technical guide to many contemporary
environmental issues.

The first chapter provides an overview of man’s impact on the environment, particularly
over the last 38,000 years when fire has been employed to bring about changes in
vegetation. It points out that current human activity is a continuation of a long tradition of
deliberate and inadvertent human actions which had already profoundly changed the world
prior to the present century. This leads smoothly into Chapter 2 which gives an account of
the rates of loss of the world’s forests and their associated biota in recent years. This is in
turn followed by chapters which deal with human attitudes towards animals and an
explanation of the difficulties and uncertainties associated with attempting to determine the
number of species of organism in the world and the rates of species extinction.

Chapter 5 reviews the occurrence of famine and provides insights into the complex
issues which need to be addressed if adequate supplies of food are to be provided for the
growing populations of the Third World. This is followed by an account of the rates of
mineral resource depletion and an optimistic view of the prospects for a transition to an age
of resource substitutability.

Chapter 7 provides a systematic and wide ranging review of changing climates; it also
deals with the controversy of whether rising carbon dioxide levels pose a significant threat
to the present day pattern of global climates. The final chapter uses a series of well chosen
photographs taken from space to illustrate many of the themes of environmental change
which have been presented earlier in the book.

Though the work has clearly been produced for a non-specialist audience and does not
cover all aspects of concern about the changes which threaten the earth’s fragile
environments, it contains a wealth of clearly presented ideas and information. As such it
will admirably meet the needs of many people who take a serious interest in the problems
caused by human impact on the environment and who wish to broaden their awareness of
the complex issues which are involved.

DEC

Global Patterns: Climate Vegetation and Soils by Wallace E. Akin. Pp. ix + 370

including 142 b/w charts, line diagrams, maps and photographs. University of Oaklahoma
Press. 1990. £35.

This volume clearly presents a wealth of basic factual material. It is heavily weighted to a
North American market and much of the data is drawn from the United States, although
there are notable exceptions such as an illuminating case study of the origin and
reclamation of the Danish heathlands.

The book is divided into three discrete sections, each supported by a separate well
chosen bibliography. Section one, which deals with the atmosphere and climate takes up
almost half of the book. This section consists of four chapters covering atmospheric
attributes, global patterns of climate, hydrology, and climatic change. All the subject matter
is clearly presented in a non-technical manner so that it can be readily followed by readers
with a limited scientific background. However, one consequence of this approach is that
fundamental explanations of principles are largely omitted; for example, whilst wind
systems feature prominently in the work, there is only a sketchy outline of their origin and
behaviour, and the reader is told little more than that, “. . . air moves because of differences
in atmospheric pressure and weather is the product of this movement”.

Vegetation is dealt with in two chapters in the second part of the book, one outlining the
nature and classification of plant communities and the second providing an overview of the
character of the world’s major vegetation regions. Several sections are very brief: tundra
and alpine communities are dealt with in less than a page and even tropical rain-forest gets
only three pages and one photograph.

The third and final section of the book covers soils. A brief but effective introduction
explains the nature of soils and the factors which influence their evolution. This is followed

Contributors

147

by a chapter which unfortunately for the non-American student is dominated by an account
of the soil taxonomy systems of the United States Department of Agriculture and soils
outside of the United States receive scant attention.

Overall the volume provides a useful but slightly “potted” compilation of information on
climates, soils and vegetation, though its attractiveness to European readers will be
curtailed because of its strong weighting towards North American interests and its price.

DEC

CONTRIBUTORS

Abbott, P. P. 43-45
Archer, M. E. 19-25,26, 145

Magee, L. 76, 77
Massey, C. I. 143

Blocked, T. L. 41-43
Brightman, F. H. 144-145

Norris, A. 31^40, 46, 131-132

Caverhill, A. R. 112
Cook, L. M. 46-47, 77-78
Cotton, D. E. 145-146, 146-147

Pashby, B. S. 81-98
Payne, J. 26, 76, 141-143
Payne, K. G. 141-143

Davis, A. J. 27-30
Delany, M. J. 45—46
Densley, M. 139-141
Denton, M. L. 71-75,111-112

Ratcliffe, D. A. 49-50
Richardson, D. T. 111,126
Roworth, P. C. 5-18
Rumsey, F. J. 53

Flint, J. H. 69-71,137
Goulder, R. 127-131

Seaward, M. R. D. 31-40, 78, 79, 80, 1 1 2,
138

Skidmore, P. 30, 47—48
Smith, C. J. 126

Hale, W. H. G. 62

Hambler, D. J. 78-79, 98

Headley, A. D. 80, 132

Hodgkiss, I. J. 98

Horsman, F. 50-52

Howes, C. A. 109-111,133-137

Thompson, M. J. A. 144

Wallis, A. J. 144
Wardhaugh, A. A. 99-108
Woroncow, B. 48

Jenkinson, L. S. 27-30

Yalden, D. W. 63-68, 75

Lawrence, I. C. 18
Limbert, M. 113-125
Lunn, J. 53-62

148

INDEX

Book Reviews

18, 26, 30, 45-18, 62, 75-80, 98, 1 1 1-1 12, 126, 132, 137, 143-147

Botany

The Backhouse Trichomanes, 49-50; James Backhouse Jnr (1825-1890) and the Killamey
Fern, 50-52

Bryology

Y.N.U. Bryological Section: annual report 1990-1991, 41^-3

Conchology

Umax maculatus, a slug new to Yorkshire, 131-132

Ecology

Loss of aquatic vegetation in a Wolds Winterbourne during perennial dryness, 127-131

Entomology

Aculeate wasps and bees of Skipwith Common and a comparison of Skipwith Common
with Allerthorpe and Strensall Commons, 19-25; Drosophila fenestrarum from Leeds, a
new record for nothem England, with notes on larval feeding sites, 27-30; Entomological
reports for 1987-1989 (Coleoptera), 69-71; Entomological reports for 1990-1991
(Coleoptera), 71-75

Lichenology

Progress in the study of the Yorkshire lichen flora, 138

Mammalia

Bats and their roosts in Cleveland and north east Yorkshire, 99-108; Deer drowning in
canals, 133-137

Obituaries

William Arthur Sledge, 43-45; Brian Shaw Pashby, 139-141; Willis George Bramley,
141-143

Ornithology

Common bird census on Thome Moors National Nature Reserve, 5-18; Ecology of Long-
eared Owls wintering in south west Yorkshire, 53-62; Common Sandpiper population of
the Ladybower Reservoir Complex, 63-68; The Humber Wildfowl Refuge: an
experiment in wildfowl conservation, 81-98; Historical notes on the Starling in
Yorkshire, 109-1 1 1; F. O. Morris’s List of Yorkshire Birds, 1 13-125

Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union

Archives of the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union, 31^-0; Presidential address, 81-98

Butterflies and Moths of Yorkshire
Distribution and Conservation

Editors: S. L. Sutton and H. E. Beaumont

370 pages packed with information about Yorkshire’s 1,591 butterflies and moths.
Introductory chapters dealing with distribution, conservation, etc., comprehensive
bibliography, gazetteer of 900 locality names.

£15.00 + p&p. Obtainable from Mrs J. Payne, 15 Broad Lane, Cawood, Selby Y08 0SQ.
Please make cheques payable to the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union.

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