Nature in Avon

Volume 65

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Front Cover. Red Admiral on Hemp Agrimony (D Davies)

NATURE IN AVON

The Proceedings of the Bristol Naturalists’ Society,
founded in 1862

© Bristol Naturalists’ Society 2005

Volume 65 for 2005

Edited by Richard Bland

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JAN 09 ll,
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Printed for the society
by the Charlesworth Group, Wakefield
ISSN 0068-1040

Editorial

The article written by Tony Smith in Volume 64 on the effects of
Mechanical Beach Cleaning at Sand Bay cited original research carried out
by Hazel Willmott in 1999. Hazel's work was requested by English Nature
for her MSc Dissertation in Ecology and Management of the Natural
Environment and can be found in the University of Bristols' library. Her
dissertation is entitled "The Impact of Mechanical Beach Cleaning on the
Invertebrate Fauna .and Associated Bird Life at Sand Bay with
Recommendations for the Management of this Ecosystem by North
Somerset County Council’. It was as a result of this work that mechanical
beach cleaning ceased. Tony carried out follow up research to measure the
effects of this on the invertebrate fauna.

This number contains details of important research into the prehistoric flora
of the region, features a second article on local nature reserves, the first of
what is intended to be a series of profiles of local naturalists, and the results —
of local surveys into toad migration and plants on walls. It also contains a
good deal of information about weather, its impact on wildlife, and the local
climate, because the subject has become controversial, and hard facts are
often rather difficult to come by. The colour section contains a few pictures
relevant to articles, and a number of excellent pictures by members. Digital
illustrations for all articles in future are encouraged.

We ought to be treating the world as if we meant to stay, to use a striking
phrase from the Times business news. We are consuming all the available
resources of our earth at a rate which will leave none for our descendants,
and very little for all the rest of creation, which has as much right to them as
we do. It is also clear that we depend on the rest of creation, and not the
other way round, and that when we are gone, they will remain.

Those of us who understand the natural world bear a heavy burden of
responsibility to revolutionise the thinking that dominates society today.
Endless economic and population growth, is impossible. We must settle for
stability. That is what sustainability means.

Richard Bland, Editor.

Weather report for 2005
R.L.Bland. 11 Percival RD BSA8 3LN richardbland @blueyonder.co.uk

2005 was characterized by an exceptionally warm January, dry February
and August, and warm and wet October. Both temperature and rainfall for
all other months lay very close to the long term average since 1853 for rain
and 1881 for temperature. The overall mean maximum temperature was
14.4C, just above 2004, and just 0.6C above the average since 1881. Overall
rainfall was 870mm compared with the average since 1853 of 907mm.

Table | Annual and decadal mean maximum temperature and rainfall

Seasons The average for the Winter (Dec-Feb) was 8.3C, despite the
warm January, a little above the average of 7.7C, and there were just 27
frost nights, 2 days with snow lying, and 8 days with ice on ponds. The
coldest spell was from Feb 20" to March 3rd. Spring (March-May) was
identical to the long term average, though there was a cold spell from May
8" to 14" with northerly winds which clearly caused problems for single
brooded species. Summer, at 20.9C, was almost a degree hotter than
average. There were two dry weeks in July and three in August, and
reservoir levels fell sharply. Autumn, at 15.2C, was just over a degree
warmer than average, mainly because of the exceptionally warm October,
only just cooler than 2001, which caused trees to keep their leaves longer
than normal. The first frost did not come until Nov f4e and was followed
by a very sharp cold snap from Nov 17"-21“.

Monthly temperatures in 2005. Nine months were warmer than the
long term, average, three, February, May and November, were colder. Chart
| shows the percentage differences.

Chart | Monthly mean maximum temperature;percentage variation from
long term average.

Monthly rainfall. Six months were drier than the long term average, six
wetter. Chart 2 shows the percentage differences.

Chart 2 Monthly rainfall, percentage variation from long term average

Monthly summary

For each month the average maximum temperature and the total rainfall in
mm is given followed in brackets by the average of each since 1881 and
1853 respectively.

January Temp C, 9.1 (7.2C). Rain 67 mm (83mm). Frost nights.5. First
two weeks dominated by succession of depressions and strong SW winds,
with temperature up to 13C. Colder from 21* as winds shifted to NE or NW
round an Atlantic high.

February Temp C, 7.4 (7.6C). Rain 36mm (62mm). Frost nights, 7.
Dominated by low pressure until 12" when winds turned northerly with low
pressure over Baltic and high in Atlantic, producing a cold spell with
minima of 3C in 24".

March 2003. Temp 10.6C (10.0C). Rain 64mm (60mm). Frost nights 4.
Dominated by Atlantic high until 12, bringing northerly winds and low
temperatures. Southerly winds set in on 14" to 23" with low pressure in
Atlantic and high in Mediterranean. Temperatures reached 17C on 19" and
remained high to 25" when winds turned East.

April Temp 13.0C (12.7C). Rain 66mm (58mm). Frost nights 1. Began
cool, 8C on 8" and winds set in to north on 14th and then east, with
temperatures down to 10C on 20" A switch to southerly winds on 22 nd
released a pent up wave of migrants as temperatures rose to 18 on 30".

May Temp 15.7C (16.2C). Rain 51mm (61mm). Low pressure over UK
dominated first week, then winds turned north and east from 7" to l4thicas
high pressure took control over UK from 9th and temperatures fell to 13C.
From 18" SW winds and low pressure took over and temperature rose to 22
on 27". The cold spell damaged single brooded species.

June Temp 20.2C (19.3C), Rain 73 mm (61mm). High pressure over UK
brought easterly winds and high temperatures from t6th to 12", and again
from 17", when six days of blue skies and light winds saw temperatures
rise to 26C on 22".

July Temp 21.2C (20.8C). Rain 53mm (71mm). High pressure and light
winds produced another hot sunny spell from 10 to 17 th. The last week was
controlled by a low pressure system and a little rain.

August. Temp 21.4C (20.4C), Rain 41mm (85mm). A month dominated by
high pressure, good temperatures and dry bright days, the best August for
sun since 1998.

September Temp 19.9C (18.0C), Rain 93mm (79mm). Temperature stayed
above 20C until 16", with light and variable winds, and the month was very
dry except for 10" when a low pressure system dumped 47 mm of rain, the
record daily figures for the year

October Temp 16.2C (14.1C) Rain 144mm (95mm). A warm month that
only fell below 15C four times. High pressure over the Baltic from 13 to
20" produced ideal conditions for migration, and huge numbers of birds
were on the move. There was a lot of rain from 19", when conditions were
dominated by a succession of lows and moderate SW winds.

November. Temp 9.6C (10.2C). Rain 101mm (87). Frost nights 9.
Dominated by warm SW winds until 11" when northerlies, then easterlies
round a high pressure system, pulled cold air from Russia and a low of 3C
on 20th.

December. Temp 8.3C (7.9C), rain 81mm (86mm). Frost nights 3. Began
with low pressure, but from gin high pressure over UK, Europe or the west
Atlantic dominated conditions with generally light winds, temperatures
around 8C, and cloudy days except for a spell of fine sunny days from 10"
to 17". A north east wind from 26™ brought snow to eastern England at the
end of the month.

Weather extremes of 2005.

Coldest day 24 Feb 3C ; 20 Nov 3C
Hottest day 19 June 30C
Wettest day 10 Sep 47 mm
Sunniest day 14 July 14.8 hrs
Longest cold spell 20 Feb to 3 Mar (Temp 3-6C)
Longest Hot spell 10-14 July ( Five days at +27C)
Longest dry spell 14-28 Feb (14 dys) 12-26 Nov (14 dys)
Longest wet spell 19-25 Oct (7 days)
Frost nights, annual total 29 nights
Days snow lying Two
Storms 8 Jan
Phenology 2005

R.L. Bland. 11 Percival RD BSA8 3LN richardbland@blueyonder.co.uk

If phenology is a science it ought to be able to make testable predictions,
and at a time when there is much interest in the processes of climate change,
and when some absurd statements are produced by the press, it is important
to try to understand what are the effective limits of the impact of climate on
our fauna and flora. In what follows I have tried to draw a few testable
conclusions from my observations over the past five years.

Conditions in 2005 were very similar to those in 2004, but the slight
differences had an important impact on the timing of events. In particular
January was an exceptionally warm month, but February had a cold snap in
the last week that extended into early March. March 19th-26th was
exceptionally warm, as was the first week in May. May 8th-14th was cooler

than normal, there were hot spells between June 17th-29th, and July
Oth-17th which will have assisted ripening, and October was
exceptionally warm and very wet, which delayed the onset of leaf
turning and leaf fall. A sharp cold spell from Nov 15th to 29"" which
included eight frost-nights, brought an abrupt end to the flowering
period of almost all plants. Overall the annual mean maximum
temperature at 14.4C was almost identical to 2004.

The impact of these differences was that Spring events occurred on
average earlier than I have recorded since 1997, the ripening of fruit
was similar to 2004, but not as early as 2003, and leaf fall was two
weeks later than average, and very similar to 2001 which also had a
warm October. The sight of Oak trees still hanging on to their leaves
just before Christmas was remarkable.

These phenology records are based on a weekly 2km walk across
Clifton Down, done since 1997, during which I note every species in
flower, and successive changes throughout the year. Dates are given
as Julian days, that is days since January 1°. Over time I have
become increasingly skilled at knowing what to look for, but the
records demonstrate the annual variation in the date of spring and
autumn events.

Measured by 13 events for which I have consistent records back to
1998, the average date of Spring events in 2005 was day 65 (March
6'"), ten days earlier than 2004, but very heavily influenced by two
exceptionally early dates for the flowering of Celandine ( Dec 26"
2004) and Alexanders (on Jan 1“). Chart | illustrates this pattern
based on the events listed in Table |. All the events are the date the
first flower is seen open except for bud-break in Whitebeam. The
species are not all native, but are the best indicators on my walk of
the onset of Spring, and they were also recorded by Gilbert White, so
I have few qualms in using them.

Average date
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1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Chart 1. Average date of 13 spring events, 1998-2005

1998 |1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 |2005 Avg
Celandine 53/ 23/ 45| 1 89]. 46] © 32ls5 31
Prunus pisardii 38 1°361" aol’ saph42|" “509 #36 las 35
Daffodil 43)) 51 | 48] 9136). <48 |. 46 | 40eea voli
Almond 53/ 58/ 47| 55| 52| 66/ 39| 37 51
Wallflower 67| 37| 56] 84] 34] 69| 82] 79 64
Alexanders 53/ 37/ 63] 84] 48/ 69| sB2/] 1 | 55
Blackthorn 67| 58) 50] 91| 69] 75|° 67/ 72 69
Ash 74| 87 |') 70)! 64) '7e))/18 74'|) SeaeeE 79°
Laurel 81|/ 87| 72| 92/ 82/ 96| 88| 83 85
Whitebeam bb | 116/ 101 98/ 96| 83| 96| 95]| 100 98
Lilac 98/102/ 106] 116) 88] 97] 110 110 | 103
Horse Chestnut 87) 107 ill 112 OF. 03 112 | 110 105
Hawthorn 98/ 95/ 99/°115| 97]| 110) 1157 120 106
Average 71.4|/67.2| 69.6| 77.7| 65.4| 75.1] 75.4|64.9 71
Jan temp 8.6 19:5) _7:Siin) Coie OIE f7 Bile te a ee 8

Table 1 Dates in Julian days of 13 spring events 1998-2005, with the
average, and January temperatures.

Chart 2 shows the relationship between the average date for these 13
species, and January temperature. A one degree change in the average
temperature of January produces a five day change in the average date of
spring events. The range of January temperatures since 1881 is from OC to
13.2C, with an average of 7.2C. This suggests that the average for the 13
events listed could in theory be as early as day 45, (Feb 14") and as late as
day 110 (Apr 20"), a range of just over two months. However the

relationship is unlikely to be linear because it takes no account of the impact
of increasing day length, and the simultaneous increasing elevation of the
sun. In colder climates, such as North America, there are no early spring
events as the land is entirely frozen, but they all come with a rush in early
March, which is how I recall the spring of 1963, when frost was continuous
until the end of February. Looking at ten-year trends, the coldest figure for
January is 5.5C and the warmest 8.6C, (the last ten years have averaged
7.8C), and the implication is that the average variation of spring events lies
between day 68 (March 9"") at the earliest, and day 83 (March 24'") at the
latest, a period of just over two weeks. Hence 2005 was an example of an
unusually early spring

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January temperature

Chart 2 Relationship between average date of 13 spring events and January
temperature, 1998-2005

Autumn events.

Fruit ripening

Recording the point at which fruits are ripe is less precise than the date the
first flower opens, but Table 2 below shows the ripening dates for 13
species, 2002-2005 and their average, illustrated in Chart 3. The species
range from Apple falling from trees in 2005 on day 198 (July 17") to Ivy,
ripening on day 334 (Nov 30"). As the chart shows 2003, the year with an
exceptionally hot summer, has much the earliest average ripening date, and
2005 is very similar to 2004.

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 Avg
Apples falling 196 216 201 200 198 202
Ash 244 258 229 242 238 242
Blackberry 188 202 201 200 198 198
Blackthorn 231 230 215 214 2lg 222
Elder 2 ltieey 223 210 214 219 218
Hawthorn 238 230 215 234 246 233
Hazel 266 258 213 220 210 233
Holly 259 265 256 249 261 258
lw 335 328 342 333 330 334
Laurel 234 223 215 220 213 220
Rose 244 Oh, 236 234 238 238
Rowan 217 202 a 194 207 aie 206
Yew 240 230 222 234 220 229
Average 239 239 22/ 231 231 233
Temperature 19:5 19.4 Al 20.3 20.7

Table 2 Ripening dates of 13 species 2001-2005

Chart 4 below plots these dates against the average temperature for the four
months June to September, which gives much the best correlation. The chart
implies the same relationship as in spring, a five day change in average date
for every degree change in average temperature of those four months. June
to September temperatures since 1881 have ranged between 17.5C and
22.5C, with an average of 19.5C. The implication from the chart 1s that the
average ripening date for the species mentioned would vary from as early as
day 220 (Aug 8th) in the hottest summer to as late as day 250 (Sept 8"") in
the coldest, with an average of day 240 ( Aug 28"), as in 2000 and 2001.

250:
240;
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Temperature

Chart 4 Average ripening dates, 2001-2005 plotted against June to
September temperature

10

Leaf fall.

Total leaf fall was late in 2005, fifteen days later than the average of the
previous four years. Although many trees began to lose leaves at a normal
date, the warm and wet weather in October, and the complete absence of
night frosts, encouraged many species to continue building up their buds.
Table 3 lists the dates when 13 species lost their leaves, ranging from
Whitebeam, the earliest to fall (Average day 296, 23th Oct), to Oak, the last
(Average day 334, Dec Ist).

2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 Avg
Whitebeam 313° |-200~ |, 290.) 303 296
Ash 314 | 300 | 292 | 298 | 303 301
Small-leaved Lime | 321 | 300 | 285 | 298 | 311 301
Silver Birch 3142 © 300 —) ate) | 3127 6323 310
Sycamore 328- |" 300" IY 312. "| 312 |. 3380 313
Beech B07. 7) Giz Ie Sle) |Raae 310
Norway Maple 335: | 300° 1.292 | 319 | 345 oi2
Balsam Poplar | 834.1320 312 |-S1T 322
Field Maple 335 | 313 312 | 312 | 330 | 318
Horse Chestnut 335 307 | 312 | Sl2 |. 3389 | 317
Common Elm | $35 7,313 | 312 |- 319 -| 339 320
Rowan 328 313. | 320 >|, 326. | 345 322
Common Oak 342 | 348 | 320 | 326 | 353 334
Average B29 SIT) A BORA Sl Whes29 Sty
Oct Temp 16:6.).13:8 | 1925 4\13:8 "16:2 14.8

Table 3 Dates when 13 species lost their leaves, 2001-2005

These figures correlate neatly with the October temperature as Chart 5
shows. There are only four points shown because the figures for 2002 and
2004 were identical in both temperature and date. The implication is that a
one degree change in October temperature produces a seven day change in
the date trees become bare. As the average October temperature since 1881
is 14.0C the normal date would be day 310 (6 Novy).

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Temperature

Chart 5 Relationship between October temperature and average date of leaf
fall for 13 native species.

Annual activity.

By comparing the dates of bud-break in the spring and that of going bare in
the autumn, a figure can be calculated showing the period of the year when
each tree species is active. This is shown in Table 4 for 11 species since
2000. A combination of early spring and late autumn had the result that the
overall average for these species in 2005 was nine days longer than the
previous average.

2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 Avg
Whitebeam 230 189° IS 195. 1) 203 204
Common Lime 224 .|.205 |. 196 | 209: | 227 212
Ash 230 | 224 | 218 | 190 | 203 213
Beech 216.) 203 |. 208 \-224) | 237 218
Poplar 219 ‘| 223 | 217. | 258 228
Maple 230 | 224 | 223 | 224 | 253 231
Oak 235) 25 \\' 228" | 2ie: ||) 2538 236
Silver Birch 252. | 269 W230.) 227 237
Sycamore 244 | 231 | 243 | 266 | 245 246
Horse Chestnut 269 | 244. |, 243. | 237 | 261 251
Common Elm 67 {| 252 | 285. 278, e280 259

239, | 230 "| (221: || 226 | 240 230
Avg Jan, Oct temp | 11.5 | 11.5-).10.4 | 11 12.6 11

Table 4. Annual active period in days for 11 tree species, 2001-2005

h2

Chart 6 shows the relationship between the average active life of these trees
and the average of the January and October temperatures, which seem to
control the onset of spring, and the duration of autumn. The average of
these two temperature since 1881 is 10.5C, so that recent years have seen
unusually long periods of tree activity. A one degree change in this average
seems to alter the active period by ten days. The minimum average since
1881 is 6.7C and the maximum 14.7C, with the implication is that the
minimum tree active period for these species would be 180 days, and the
maximum 260.

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Temperature

Chart 6 Average tree activity time in days compared with the average of
January and October temperatures

Survival in flower

Since 2000 I have noted on the last day of the year the species in flower on
my standard walk. The species are listed in Table 5. In 2005, despite the
November cold spell and a below-average December, I5 species were
found still in flower, two of them, Holly and Alkanet, for the first time. The
Holly had clearly been brought into flower by October warmth. There is
only a rough correlation between the total number of species and December
temperature.

13

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 Total
Adria Bellflower y y y y y y
Alexanders yi
Alkanet y
Barren Strawberry
Blackberry i
Celandine
Daisy y,
Dandelion
Gorse y
Groundsel y
Herb Robert y
Hogweed y
Holly y
Ivy y
Ivy-leaved Toadflax y y y y y y
Oxford Ragwort y y
Petty Spurge y
Ragwort Me
Red Nettle y
Red Valerian y y y y
Shepherds Purse y y
Field Scabius
Smooth Sowthistle y y y y
Snapdragon y
Trailing Bellflower y y y y yi
Wallflower y
Yarrow y. yi
Yellow Fumitory y y y y y.

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MN OR NRW MNN RRND WR KK NDWAKN RR Ka

Total 28 8 13 We 3 li 1S

Table 5. Species in flower on December 31" on Clifton Down

An alternative way to look at survival is to note the average total
flowering period of all species. 103 species for which I have records
from 2002 had an overall average of 15.1 weeks in flower. Fourteen
species, listed in Table 6, were in flower for more than 26 weeks.

14

In Flower

Daisy 3
Dandelion 49
Red Valerian 48
Adria Bellflower 44
Yellow Fumitory 44
Trailing Bellflower 43
Groundsel 42

lw-leaved Toadflax 41
Smooth Sow-thistle 39

Gorse | 37
Green Alkanet — of
Herb Robert 34
Clary 30
Blackberry 26

Table 6 The average flowering period, 2002-2005, of the 14 species that are
in flower for more than 26 weeks.

The hottest year, 2003, had the shortest average flowering period,
14.4 weeks. Hot summer weather accelerates the flowering process,
but so does a long dry period. A warm autumn will sustain plants in
flower, and a warm winter will bring them into flower early, so that
there are many factors affecting flowering period. The most
remarkable feature of the results is the huge variability from year to
year in the flowering period. The average difference for all 103
species between the longest and shortest annual flowering period 1s
6.2 weeks, and the variation was from zero (for Hornbeam) to 17
weeks (for Snapdragon). This illustrates the capacity of many plants
to react rapidly to the changing situation that temperature, sunlight
and rain offer them.

Ves

Gordano Valley National Nature Reserve
Tony Robinson. tony-robinson@lineone.net

The Gordano Valley will be a familiar, but perhaps unvisited, feature of the
landscape to anyone travelling west of Bristol on the M5. Below them the
flat-bottomed valley, much of it only a few metres above sea level, stretches
for about 10km from just east of Clevedon, gradually broadening out to
reach the Severn Estuary near Portishead. At the head of the valley is the
Gordano Valley National Nature Reserve, over 100ha of fen peatland
containing a wide variety of semi-natural habitats including rhynes, fen
meadows, tall fen, scrub and woodland.

First declared a National Nature Reserve in 1987 this mosaic of habitats is
managed by Natural England. However, only a quarter of the reserve is
owned by the organisation, which succeeded English Nature in October
2006. The remainder is owned by the Walton Manor Estate and is included _
in the reserve either through a lease or by agreement with the estate’s
tenants.

Peat

The peatland owes its existence to the particular circumstances of the
valley’s geology, geomorphology and hydrology. The valley is enclosed by
two ridges composed mainly of Carboniferous Limestone, the southernmost
of which connects with the well-known limestone of the Avon Gorge. This
permeable limestone continues beneath the valley floor but is overlain by
impermeable Triassic Mercia Mudstones, which aided the development of
waterlogged conditions at the head of the valley when, at the end of the last
glaciation, a sandbar formed across the valley south of the present-day
Weston-in-Gordano. In these waterlogged conditions a layer of peat up to
3m deep was gradually formed from the partially decayed remains of reed,
sedges and other vegetation.

Rhynes

Today the reserve is drained by an extensive network of rhynes dating from
the 1800s. These empty into the Portbury Ditch, a wide channel that carries
water on to the Severn Estuary at Portbury Wharf. It is these rhynes that
provide one of the most important features of the reserve. Because they are
largely supplied by groundwater that has percolated through the limestone
their water is calcium-rich and largely unpolluted. This benefits a wide
range of aquatic plants that includes the scarce Whorled Water Milfoil
(Myriophyllum verticilliatum) and Fen Pondweed (Potamogeton coloratus).
Other plants of interest include Frogbit (Hydrocharis morsus-ranae), Lesser

16

Water Plantain (Baldellia ranunculoides), Arrowhead (Sagittaria
sagittifolia) and a good selection of Stoneworts (Chara spp.).

The margin of one rhyne is one of the few remaining localities in Britain for
the Brown Galingale (Cyperus fuscus), a Red Data Book species. This
annual plant benefits from a certain amount of disturbance to the ditch edge,
either by livestock or ditch-cleaning machinery. Its occurrence, however, is
unpredictable; it is often scarce, sometimes abundant.

Rhynes on the reserve are cleaned of vegetation, or ‘keetched’, at varying
intervals. Some, such as the Portbury Ditch and Walton Brook, which are
classified as a Main Rivers, are cleaned annually by the Environment
Agency. Others, such as the delightfully named Cat Squint are the
responsibility of the local Internal Drainage Board. The majority of the
rhynes, however, are cleaned out at intervals of several years, so that each
of the different phases of recolonisation. by plants is always present. If left
alone some rhynes can quickly become full of Common Reed (Pharagmites
australis) and Willow (Salix spp.) attracting species such as the Reed
Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus). Yellow-flag Iris (/ris pseudocorus) adds
a splash of colour to rhynes that have become choked with vegetation. Such
rhynes are often the most important for invertebrates such as Asilus
crabroniformis, one of Britain’s largest flies. More obvious along the
rhynes, however, are the dragonflies and damselflies. 16 species have been
recorded on the reserve, the most notable of which are the Hairy Dragonfly
(Brachytron pratense) and the Ruddy Darter (Sympetrum sanguineum).

The overall water level in the valley is controlled by the Environment
Agency’s sluice on the Portbury Ditch at Middle Bridge near Portishead,
and this pens back the water in the summer so that levels are, contrary to
what one might expect, higher than in the winter. The main reason for
doing this is to ensure that the rhynes fulfil their principal functions, to act
as barriers between individual fields, which are largely unfenced, and to
provide a source of drinking water for cattle.

Fields

The fields are generally grazed by cattle through the summer or cut for hay,
it being too wet for any sort of farming in the winter. Unfortunately their
relatively low agricultural value and proximity to centres of populations led
to a few of being used for waste tipping in the 1960s and 1970s. However,
they escaped much of the agricultural improvement that occurred on peat
moors elsewhere in Somerset.

Most of the fields on the reserve can be classified as fen meadow and
characteristic species include Crested Dog’s-tail (Cynosurus cristatus),
Purple Moor Grass (Molinia caerulea) and Carnation Sedge (Carex

17

panicea). In fact sedges can be more common than grasses in the sward
giving the fields a distinctive blue hue. Against this backdrop a sequence of
flowering plants colour the fields through the spring and summer, starting
with the Marsh Marigold (Caltha palustris) and Cuckooflower (Cardamine
pratensis). These are followed by, amongst others, Bugle (Ajuga reptans),
Ragged Robin (Lychnis flos-cuculi), Meadow Thistle (Cirsium dissectum),
Purple-loosestrife (Lythrum _ salicaria), Southern Marsh Orchid
(Dactylorhiza praetermissa) and Devil’s bit Scabious (Succisa pratensis).

The fields are enlivened in the spring by boxing Hares (Lepus
europaeous) and, on Weston Moor, by breeding Lapwing (Vanellus
vanellus) and the occasional Snipe (Gallinago gallinago), a species
that is more commonly seen as a winter visitor. In the summer the
keen butterfly watcher may find these fields disappointing although
Meadow Browns (Maniola jurtina) and Gatekeepers (Pyronia
tithonus) can be abundant.

Tall Fen, Scrub and Woodland

The Scarlet Tiger (Callimorpha dominula), a day-flying moth, can be
seen on the wing in a group of fields that were abandoned long ago
and which have developed a tall-fen vegetation that is dominated by
Common Reed (Phragmites australis), and dotted with
Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria) and Valerian (Valeriana
officianalis). In places natural succession has progressed further to
give substantial clumps of Birch (Betula spp.) and Willow (Salix
spp.). The Birch provides a food source for another day-flying moth,
the Orange Underwing (Archiearis parthenias), while deadwood in
the Willows attracts the impressive Musk Beetle (Aromia moschata)
which can occasionally be seen sitting on logs and fence posts
alongside the rhynes.

The mosaic of tall fen and scrub in this area is also attractive to birds
and a ringing station has been monitoring bird populations for over
fifteen years. Data gathered here suggests that the Gordano Valley is
a major migration corridor for a range of warblers. The most
abundant species is the Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla) many of which
are ringed on their autumn passage, and birds from the reserve have
been recovered in France, Spain and North Africa. Occasionally
vagrant species such as the Common Rosefinch (Carpodacus
erythrinus) turn up at the ringing station.

18

The area around the ringing station cannot be maintained without
some form of management and so periodic clearance of the scrub
prevents natural succession progressing too far. Significant parts of
the reserve, however, have gone beyond the scrub phase and have
developed into woodland, helped in some instances by the planting
of non-native conifers and broadleaves in the 1920s. The woodland
is generally left to its own devices, and although its conservation
value is not great it does add to the overall diversity of the reserve.

Beyond the National Nature Reserve

The reserve as a whole is also contributing to the overall diversity of
Gordano Valley, of which it is just a part. Other stretches of the
valley are not without their own wildlife interest and there are
several Avon Wildlife Trust reserves nearby. These include Weston
Moor, which immediately adjoins the National Nature Reserve, and
Clapton Moor which lies further down the Portbury Ditch. These are
overlooked by Walton Common and Weston Big Wood, which both
sit on the northern limestone ridge. Together these reserves add a
further 160ha of land in the valley that is managed for nature
conservation. All are worth a visit.

Visiting arrangements

Because of the complex ownership of the National Nature Reserve,
and the need to protect breeding waders from disturbance, access,
other than on two rights of way, is by permit only. These are
available on request from Natural England on 01823 283211.
Details of the visiting arrangements for the Avon Wildlife Trust
Reserves are available from the Trust on 0117 9177270 or on their

website at www.avonwildlifetrust.org.uk .

19

Bristol Botany in 2005

Clive Lovatt clovatt@deloitte.co.mw

“Perhaps Mr White will search the quarries he knows so well for
confirmation of this” (Wayfarer, in Science Gossip in 1889, referring to a
disputed record of Clinopodium calamintha)

Introduction

Pride of place as regards Bristol Botany in 2005 must go to the
discrimination of a whitebeam new to science, White’s Whitebeam, named
after JW White, author of the Flora of Bristol (1912), and a President of the
BNS from 1907 to 1909. It is surely a rare occurrence for a member of our
Society (as Libby Houston is) to take part in naming a species after another
member of the Society. White himself named a bramble, Rubus bucknallii
after the finder, his close friend and fellow BNS member Cedric Bucknall.

Sorbus whiteana TCG Rich & L Houston is described and typical leaves are
illustrated in the February 2006 part of the BSBI Journal, Watsonia (Vol. 26
pages 1-7). This is the species formerly confused with Sorbus wilmottiana
on the floor of the Great Quarry in the Avon Gorge, G, and it is also known
in the Gully and the slopes between these sites, and also in three places on
the slopes below Leigh Woods, S. Remarkably, Libby Houston has also
identified it in the Wye Valley. White collected the species in 1920 and this
is the first record so far recognised (Kew Herbarium; none at Bristol).

Several plants new to the area (or one half of it) are highlighted below.
Two stand out as seemingly previously overlooked very rare natives, Poa
infirma, Early Meadow-grass on the sea lawns at Weston-super-Mare
(Paul Green, in 2004) and Carex filiformis, Downy-fruited Sedge, in a hay
meadow near Cheddar (Liz McDonnell in 2003). Amongst the aliens more
are or seem to be new to v.c. 6: Dorycnium hirsutum, Canary Clover;
Fatsia japonica, Fatsia; Cerinthe major, Greater Honeywort; Linaria
arenaria, Sand Toadflax; Arctotheca calendula, Plain Treasureflower and
Pistia Stratiotes, Water Lettuce. For v.c.34 the following are new: Pinus
radiata, Monterey Pine; Cotoneaster baccilaris, Open-fruited
Cotoneaster and Gaudinia fragilis French Oat-grass.

At a finer scale, several records are additional 10 km squares to those
recorded (up to 2000) in the BSBI Atlas or additional 1km squares to those
in the Flora of the Bristol Region maps. Pam Millman is surveying the
Tyntesfield, S, squares for which access was denied at the time, and Richard
Bland continues to show that plants that are neither rare nor ubiquitous can
be under-recorded

20

Bassia scoparia, Summer-cypress seems to be spreading along the MS, as
is Echinochloa crus-galli, Cockspur, at least to the south, according to
papers by Simon Leach and (for Bassia) Liz McDonnell. Garden escapes
remain a good source of records, particularly for someone like Richard
Bland prepared to systematically walk 150 km in one 10 km grid square.
Even the well-studied Avon Gorge produces new records most years,
Hippophae rhamnoides, Sea-buckthorn appearing below Leigh Woods, S,
and Conyza sumatrensis, Guernsey Fleabane in the Great Quarry, G.
Edward Niblett is producing some good records in the Clevedon area.

Bob Cropper combines repeated observation (as in Gagea lutea, Yellow
Star-of-Bethlehem at Stoke St Michael, S, or Cyperus fuscus, Brown
Galingale, of which he could find no plants at all this year on Walton Moor,
S) with discrimination of more difficult plants such as Erophila
glabrescens, Glabrous Whitlowgrass at Weston-super-Mare, S. The
inseparable Kitchens provide quality rather than quantity as in their
observation of some very old pollard Black-poplars in Victoria Park,
Bristol, S. Mr Nethercott, in his single record of an old Pear tree below the
Bristol Downs, G, from 2004 proves, in this instance at least, the outrageous
Victorian allegation that Bristol botanists look out for plants like Bristol
men were reputed to sleep- that is with one eye open (and in my case,
averted downwards).

It is also a pleasure to note that the hybrid of the Bee and Fly orchids has
again been found in North Somerset, though outside our area, south of
Castle Cary. As White remarked, finality in field botany is fortunately
unattainable.

Bristol botanists

In December 2005 a gentle giant of European and British botany passed
away. S Max Walters was perhaps best known as a prolific co-author
including two New Naturalist books the first BSBI Atlas, and Flora
Europaea. As a pacifist, he worked in Bristol hospitals during the Second
World War, and during that time he published an account of variation in
violets in our Proceedings, as well as drawing the attention of members to
Sorbus eminens, as it was later named. He was the Curator of the
Cambridge Botanic Gardens during my time there. He retained his early
interest in violets and many years later (BB 1980) he kindly confirmed my
identification of Viola canina from the Downs. An obituary by Peter Grubb
appeared in the Guardian on 22 December 2005 and an 80" birthday tribute
(with a recent photograph) was written by John Akeroyd for the magazine
Plant Talk no 21 (April 2000).

Zi

Dr J Hugh Davie was by all accounts a classic unmarried eccentric who
died about five years ago. He is only mentioned in the Flora of the Bristol
Region as the finder of the introduced Thlaspi macrophyllum in a Failand
wood in 1964, on which he co-wrote a paper in the Botanical Journal of the
Linnean Society in 1983, with another on plant invasion at Edford Wood
(1997). He was for many years a Science Master at Clifton College having
been ‘dressed’ in swimming trunks at the time of his recruitment. The
proceedings of their Scientific Society in the late 1940’s included local
plant records and around 1980 I arranged for his (equally eccentric)
herbarium to be transferred from the College to Bristol University. His
copy of Murray’s Flora of Somerset (1896) and its supplement are, at the
time of writing, available for sale at a Bristol bookseller. He was old
enough to have recalled attending a lecture on palaeobotany by Marie
Stopes, who later pioneered family planning, and was a fellow of the
Linnean Society of London for some 60 years. I am grateful to his co-
author John Akeroyd and former teaching colleague Richard Bland for these
and other anecdotes.

In BB 2004 I drew attention to a Miss Elizabeth Emily Bell whose un-seen
herbarium book of the late 1860’s included plants from Clifton and Weston-
super-Mare. The doubt concerning her identity as a lady from Coldstream,
Berwickshire who died in 1876 has been adequately dispelled. Lord Minto
of nearby Hawick gave her a copy of Withering’s Systematic Arrangement
of British Plants (5th edition, 1812) in 1815. In 1850 she noted, “Where the
species are marked with crosses, the specimens have been given me for my
collection but where dates are added to the crosses the plants have been
examined and chiefly found by myself". The annotations cover a long
period but none could immediately be seen relating to the Bristol area. I am
grateful to Anthony Bianco, a book collector and dealer, for this
information and for withdrawing the book from sale. There is still no trace
of the herbarium, which presumably comprised a number of volumes such
as the one mentioned above.

Bristol botany bibliography

As usual, several publications relevant to Bristol botany appeared during the
year. With thanks to the Editor, I have also been able to mention papers
appearing with this one in the 2005 Nature in Avon.

New Naturalist 97, Mosses and Liverworts by Ron Porley and Nick
Hodgetts, is a well-illustrated account of British Bryology, principally
arranged by habitat. It includes (pages 262-265) a short account of Mendip
specialities and the finds of the late Joan Appleyard, author of the
Bryophyte Flora on North Somerset (1970). The moss named in her

Vip

honour, Brachythecium appleyardiae, the authors suggest, may not be a
valid species.

The Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution published Leonard
Jenyns- Darwin’s Lifelong Friend in 2005. Jenyns (1800-1893; later
Blomefield) famously turned down the offer of the voyage on the Beagle,
which Darwin took up, and he later moved to Bath and founded a Field
Club in 1855. It is a valuable source book on Victorian Natural History as
practiced in the provinces, and includes a biography and compilation of
some of his writings, and an autobiography, and an obituary of his close
friend Christopher Edmund Broome (1812-1886), a noted British
mycologist. As Jenyns explains, Broome lived in Clifton for a few years
after 1845 and reportedly made, with GHK Thwaites, “many expeditions in
the neighbourhood in search of truffles”. The Jenyns and Broome herbaria
of vascular plants are at the Institution and both include specimens from the
Bristol (as opposed to Bath) area. The book has includes portraits of them
both.

In Nature in Avon for 2004 (page 62) Richard Bland estimates the age of an
ancient hawthorn on the Bristol Downs. A branch was estimated as 90
years old, and the trunk 200 years old, but as it was one of four from a
coppiced base, the tree must have been much older. In another article
(pages 55-60) he examines the distribution of 15 invasive alien plants in the
10 km square from Nailsea, S, to Filton, G, based on 150 km of footwork,
adding over 30% to their combined | km square records in the Flora of the
Bristol Region.

His continuing phenological records are based on a weekly 2 km walk on
the Bristol Downs and combine observation and analysis. There was a
similar series in these Proceedings in the early 1890’s. He has also
continued to compile annual reports on the Bristol weather thus obviating
any comment in Bristol Botany itself. Nonetheless, it remains clear that
even at a distance of 150 years, good weather records and good botanical
records can be usefully correlated. The first record of Allium
sphaerocephalon, Round-headed Leek, from the Avon Gorge was in 1847,
and it was “‘re-discovered” in 1869. These were each a year after the two
hottest years (by mean annual temperature) between 1771 and 1868,
according to London weather records in the 1869 Flora of Middlesex (see
my note in the BNS Bulletin for March 2006).

In a marvellous paper in these Proceedings, The Middle Holocene
woodlands of the Avon Valley: palaeoecological evidence from Deanery
Road, Bristol, by HM Tinsley and KN Wilkinson, the authors analyse a peat

25

sample from a freshwater marsh environment radiocarbon dated to about
4000 BC to 3250 BC. Pollen samples from the Gordano Valley reported in
1968 had already shown (after allowing for its low pollen productivity), the
preponderance of lime in the regional woodland canopy at the time, but this
sample gives more local evidence of the vegetation. Alder Carr initially
surrounded the hollow, there was Bracken presumably from the Downs and
Lime from the woodlands on and near the slopes, which decreased in
frequency with man’s clearances as evidenced by charcoal, with oak and
hazel increasing. Cherry and whitebeam pollen were also found but no real
evidence of enough Elm to show the ‘typical’ anthropogenic decline. As
the writers note, their paper confirms the nature of the wildwood of early
Neolithic times and what remains in the Avon Gorge today. White saw
more peat 3 km eastwards at St Philip’s Marsh when the foundations for the
electricity works were being dug (Flora of Bristol, page 15) so the
possibility of further studies remains.

Plant records

The area covered by this report remains that defined by JW White in his
Flora of Bristol (1912); in turn this reflected the scope of interest of the
Society almost from its inception. White described the area as an irregular
right-angled triangle of 720 square miles from Dursley in the north
southwards to the east of Bath to Frome, and thence west to the Severn at
Huntspill, south of Burnham. Following White, the portion north of the
Avon, falling into the Watsonian vice-county of West Gloucestershire
(v.c.34) is designated G. The southern portion, S, falls within North
Somerset (v.c.6). The Flora of the Bristol Region (2000) mapped the
vascular plants of the former administrative county of Avon and therefore
excluded a strip of White’s triangle some 10 miles or so south of Brean
Down; that area is mapped in the Atlas Flora of Somerset (1997). At
present, this report does not include grid references but they may be
obtained from the author or the Society’s library or office bearers of the
Botanical Section.

The plant records are arranged into two broad groups, Natives and
Archaeophytes, and Aliens. Archaeophytes are plants that behave as natives
but were or seem to have been anciently introduced by man. Aliens are
plants found “in the wild” but which are recent introductions. Bristol
botanists have had such a substantial interest in alien plants that failure to
separate the lists would be a disservice. Comments on the categories and the
difficulty of application at a local level are included in BB 2004.

The plant names and the sequence within the two lists are in accordance
with the second edition of the new Flora of the British Isles by Clive Stace

24

(1997) and are therefore compatible with the Flora of the Bristol Region.
Accordingly the Latin names, which necessarily take precedence despite the
standardisation of English names, can now be unambiguously cited without
authors’ names, except for the rare occasions where a record relates to a
species not recorded therein.

Names of the principal contributors of plant records are abbreviated as
below. Un-attributed comments are those of the author.

RLB Richard Bland CML ~ Clive Lovatt
RSC Bob Cropper PM Pam Millman
PH Peter Hilton EN Edward Niblett

CK & MARK Clare and Mark Kitchen AS Tony Smith

NATIVES AND ARCHAEOPHYTES

Ranunculus lingua Greater Spearwort Well distributed in several yards
of rhynes on Clapton Moor, S, RSC, who adds that since its discovery in
1986 it has increased greatly: he therefore doubts its possible native status
there, though it had been collected on the adjacent Walton Moor in 1865.
Ranunculus ophioglossifolius Adder's-tongue Spearwort None flowered
at Inglestone Common, G, in 2005; accordingly the pond was scraped in the
autumn by the conservation body, Plantlife, Dominic Price, through CK and
MARK. Although annual, the seed 1s persistent.

Betula pubescens Downy Birch By the edge of a path in the northern part
of Leigh Woods, Bristol, S, PH. Extraordinarily, there is no record in the
10 km square in the Flora of the Bristol Region, though Atlas 2000 has a
recent one. GW Garlick recorded it in BB 1956 in the (northern) quarries
and on the Leigh Woods plateau. His specimens include one from the
valley beyond the last quarry, determined by EF Warburg, which is
probably the site now recorded. There are some strong trees there.

Atriplex laciniata Frosted Orache In good numbers flowering along the
fore-dunes, Berrow and Sand Bays, S, RSC.

Spergula arvensis Corn Spurrey A patch in an arable field, Stone, G, CK
and MARK, in 2004.

Malva moschata Musk-mallow Tyntesfield, S, with white flowers, RLB.
In the Bristol Flora, White mentions it at Abbots Leigh and Failand and it is
recorded in the Floras of Berkshire, Glamorgan and Wiltshire.

Populus nigra ssp. betulifolia Black-poplar A row of ancient pollards,
Victoria Park, Windmill Hill, Bristol, S; MARK and CK in 2004. Also
Rumex pulcher, Fiddle Dock, but in improved grassland. Old maps studied
by the Kitchens suggest that the pollards survive from a field boundary
predating the park. It was known to White at the bottom of the new Zigzag
under Clifton Down, G, but I have traced no later record than 1914 (Hb.
Bucknall). The Flora of the Bristol Region has only one record of the true

pis

Black-poplar in this 10 km square. An account of the history, distribution
and status of the tree by the late Edgar Milne-Redhead is published in
Watsonia 18, 1-5 (1990). The tree is thought to be native on lowland
floodplains but has been planted too, though much less often than other
poplars. Mr. Milne-Redhead wrote to me (30 April 1983) mentioning a
photograph of a tree at Nailsea by Mrs Sandwith, a tree near Pulteney
Bridge, Bath, and an unconfirmed record near Cheddar. He agreed that two
trees in the foreground of J B Pyne’s painting, Clifton from Ashton
Meadows, 1836, (on display at the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery) may be
this evocative tree: “no other native tree can compare with it in rugged
grandeur” writes Oliver Rackham.

Rorippa palustris Marsh Yellow-cress Railway line, Bristol Industrial
Museum, G, covering 10m by Im, PM.

Cardamine pratensis Cuckooflower A double form on the Tyntesfield
Estate in 2004, S, PM

Erophila glabrescens Glabrous Whitlowgrass Several colonies at Weston-
super-Mare, S, on beach lawns mid way along bay and on walls by the
pavement, RSC. Formerly, Whitlowgrasses were segregated on pod size and
shape. This is now regarded as irrelevant. This one has leaves and stems
which are (as the name suggests) only sparsely if at all hairy. The Flora of
the Bristol Region has but three records but careful search should reveal
more sites.

Thlaspi arvense Field Penny-cress Road verge by lay-by, Rudgeway, G,
BNS Excursion, reported by CK and MARK; also a single plant of Rumex
pulcher, Fiddle Dock.

Lepidium campestre Field Pepperwort Horton Court, G, RLB, several km
from Yate, the nearest site in the Flora of the Bristol Region.

Pyrola rotundifolia Round-leaved Wintergreen 175 scapes in full bloom
at site in Ham Woods, Croscombe, S, RSC, where reported as new in BB
2004. RSC adds that the patch is spreading vegetatively, but there is no
evidence of seed production, and there are no new plants in the quarry.
Anagallis tenella Bog Pimpernel Walton Moor, S, flowering in some
quantity in a field, RSC. White mentions Weston and Clapton Moors,
immediately to the east, but it is mapped here in the Flora of the Bristol
Region.

Agrimonia procera Fragrant Agrimony Leighton Hanging, near Asham
Wood, S (wood border close to where marked Heale Ladder on OS map),
RSC, known since 1995. This rarer species of Agrimony has been known
since 1917 at Asham Wood where it occurs on woodland rides (Somerset
Atlas Flora). It was first recorded in the Bristol area only in 1915 though it
had been anticipated in the Flora in 1912. White’s “only valid excuse” was
that it was briefly described in British floras, though he then gave its
distinguishing features which match those of Babington’s Manual of British

26

Botany, at least from the second edition of 1847 to the ninth of 1904, which
defines the order and content of White’s Flora. None of the five sites then
noted were White’s own discoveries; three were due to HS Thompson, who
wrote to White at the time, “you know how sharp my eyes are’. Is it still at
Miss Roper’s site, Court Hill, Clevedon?

Pyrus pyraster Wild Pear Hedgerow, south of railway, Hallen Marsh, G,
RLB.

Pyrus communis Pear A tall tree, fruiting in 2004, at the bottom of Bridge
Valley Road, close to the River Avon, Avon Gorge, G, PJMN. Mr
Nethercott credibly suggests that this might be the tree seen by White in
1909. The Sandwiths also knew it from 1915 to 1918. However, some time
around 1930, judging from the aged handwriting, White noted on his
specimen of the pear tree collected in flower in 1893, that “this tree was
destroyed a few years later”.

Vicia bithynica Bithynian Vetch Twelve flower spikes in grass near the
sluice, close to the outlet of the River Parrett, West Huntspill, S, a new site,
RSC; also 100 or so on a roadside bank below Shute Shelve Hill, S and a
few plants in roadside scrub just north of the M4 between Yate and
Mangotsfield. Several records in White’s Bristol Flora are associated with
the enigmatic Thomas Bruges Flower. His herbarium (which White did not
cite on this occasion) only has specimens collected in 1862, from a site
between Keynsham and Pensford. They have a rare annotation, “this is the
station referred to by Swayne for his Lathyrus hirsutus”’. Typically, the note
fails to add that Flower himself claimed in 1838 to have confirmed
Swayne’s (mis)identification.

Lathyrus nissolia Grass Vetchling On a grassy drove, Weston Moor, S,
RSC.

Myriophyllum spicatum Spiked Water-milfoil Clapton Moor, S, PM, in
corner of filed overlooked by bird hide.

Epilobium tetragonum Square-stalked Willowherb Tyntesfield National
Trust land, S, PM in 2004, in an area not accessible to recorders for the
Flora of the Bristol Region (ST 5071, as queried in my review in Watsonia,
24 (2002) 116-117).

Epilobium roseum Pale Willowherb A small patch flowering on the north
side of the B4057 road, Great Stoke, Stoke Gifford, G, RSC.

Epilobium palustre Marsh Willowherb Black Down on Mendip, S, RSC.
Recorded here in the Somerset Atlas Flora, but unnoticed there by White
and his co-workers. I have only recently recognised (and collected) it in
damp species-rich ditches in the northern part of Leigh Woods, S.

Viscum album Mistletoe RLB has provided close to 100 mistletoe host
records in the Bristol region in over 50 | km squares not reported in the
Flora of the Bristol Region. In order of decreasing frequency he found it on
Lime, Black Poplar, Apple, Hawthorn and Acacia, with isolated

2/

occurrences on Field Maple (Hallen, G), Silver Maple (Congresbury, S) and
Chestnut (Iwood, near Congresbury, S).

Euphorbia exigua Dwarf Spurge In two places in 2004, arable fields near
the Little Avon, north of Stone, G, CK and MARK.

Geranium robertianum Herb-Robert White-flowered plants near Walton-
in-Gordano church, 8S, EN. White’s Flora has a number of localities and so
does Grose’s Wiltshire Flora. Both refer to it coming true from seed and its
delightful light green foliage. I saw it in the Avon Gorge in 1980 in and
below Burwalls Wood, S, and for some years by the parish boundary wall in
Leigh Woods, S, and also on Clifton Downs at the roadside opposite the
Zoo, G.

Erodium moschatum Musk Stork's-bill Several large plants, at their best
on a grass verge, Southridge heights, the site close to where marked Combe
Farm on the Ordnance Survey map, half a kilometre northwards of the long
established site on Purn Hill, S, where it still thrives, RSC. Also on waste
ground, Crook’s Marsh, close to the estuary three kilometres south of
Severn Beach, where White knew it, G, RLB.

Sanicula europaea Sanicle Weston Big Wood, S, and East Wood,
Portishead, S, EN

Apium graveolens Wild Celery By the river Frome, north-west of
Fishponds, Bristol, G, RLB. This seems to be a first recent record for this
10 km square.

Sison amomum Stone Parsley Tyntesfield Battleaxes field, S, fifty plants,
PM. Also near Saltford, S, RLB.

Centaurium pulchellum Lesser Centaury A few plants flowering in a
damp spot on a grassy path, Weston Moor, S, RSC. In the Bristol Region it
has more commonly recorded on calcareous grassland and rocky cliffs, but
then only rarely. It was found “near the Big Oak” in Leigh Woods, S, by
Rev. Ellman (and later collected by White) in 1915, probably above
Paradise Bottom; but it has never been recorded there since.

Gentianella amarella Autumn Gentian Several large plants in flower on a
ride, Stock Hill Plantation, north-west of Priddy Mineries, S, RSC, who
notes that when he first saw them in 1992, there were several white-
flowered plants. Also a single plant on Walton Common (Down), S, in
2004, where reported by White, and seen there for seven years in a square
additional to those shown in the Flora of the Bristol Region, EN.
Hyoscyamus niger Henbane A single plant at the A38/ M5 junction,
Almondsbury, G, JP Martin, through CK and MARK.

Echium vulgare Viper's-bugloss A single plant on Walton Down, S, in
2004, EN, in a place where it had not been seen for some years. On a
footpath inside the southern edge of Asham Wood, S, RSC, scattered at
intervals over a kilometre, some taller than the one metre allowed in Stace’s
Flora, and one six feet high. Apparently not previously recorded there.

28

Myosotis discolor Changing Forget-me-not A few plants, Tyntesfield
water catch, S, PM.

Plantago coronopus Buck's-horn Plantain At a lay-by on the A38, seen
whilst leading a BNS meeting, Rudgeway, G, CK and MARK. Apparently
new to the 10km square as it is primarily coastal or estuarine in the Bristol
Region, though also occurring in dry grassland.

Kickxia elatine Sharp-leaved Fluellen A single plant appeared in
polytunnel, Landcare Nursery, Old Sodbury, G, PA Wilson, through CK
and MARK. Also below Sheepcombe Brake, Old Down, G, a good quantity
in cut arable field, CK and MARK.

Kickxia spuria Round-leaved Fluellen Tyntesfield National Trust
property, S, a few plants in gravel by disabled parking by house, PM.
Veronica agrestis Green Field-speedwell Two places at Tyntesfield, S, in
2004, PM.

Lathraea squamaria Toothwort Lime Breach Wood, S, and two places in
nearby Prior’s Wood, EN.

Campanula trachelium Nettle-leaved Bellflower Several plants, south of
the clearing in Prior’s Wood, Portbury, S, EN in 2004, perhaps the Portbury
Woods where White records it with white flowers. Also by the Clevedon
Road, by the Westpark wood of old maps in 2005, this latter apparently a
new | km square record.

Rubia peregrina Wild Madder South of Regil, near Chew Stoke, S,
Margaret Webster, through TS, who remarks he has never found it near
Winford, a few km north. A glance at its national distribution shows just
why it was so often remarked upon by old botanical writers at Bristol; for
other than near the south coast it hardly occurs further east. The younger
Withering in 1830 remarked that it can be a low trailing plant, whose
branches seldom exceed six inches in length, or one climbing over the
hedges and attaining a length of many feet, as in Leigh Woods, S.

Dipsacus pilosus Small Teasel In good quantity in 2004 on the north bank
of the Avon, G, downriver from Hanham Lock, CK and MARK. Also on
the south bank, nearby at Eastwood Farm, RLB, within the area recorded by
White in 1892 and 1903.

Cirsium eriophorum Woolly Thistle Ten plants in upper part of field,
Tyntesfield water catch, G, PM. Also on Clifton Down, above the Great
Quarry, G, RLB. The few recent Downs records seem to be casual
occurrences.

Gnaphalium uliginosum Marsh Cudweed Felton Common, S, Margaret
Webster.

Aster linosyris Goldilocks Aster Uphill, S, 28 flowering stems in two
patches (13 and 15 respectively), RSC. English Nature has photographs
taken before 1982 of three colonies here. In 1983 I found a single shoot low
down on the cliffs, appearing dead due to drought. Small transplant

29

colonies were established in 1955 at Burrington and Goblin Combes, both
S, as described in the Flora of the Bristol Region for the other six study
species. They were still present in the 1980’s at least.

Seriphidium maritinum Sea Wormwood Still in good quantity at St
Thomas’s Head, Woodspring Bay, S, RSC.

Senecio vulgaris Groundsel A radiate form, waste ground, Crook’s
Marsh, between Avonmouth and Severn Beach, G, RLB. This was
presumably var. hibernicus, a weedy plant rather than the short fleshy
coastal ecotype mentioned in White’s Bristol Flora under var. radiatus.
Bidens tripartita Trifid Bur-marigold A single plant on the harbour side
of a wall, opposite Canon’s Marsh, the Floating Harbour, Bristol, G, PM.
Baldellia ranunculoides Lesser Water-plantain At least five plants at
edge of rhyne, Clapton Moor, S, PM.

Potamogeton coloratus Fen Pondweed Two clumps in “Rhyne 22” on
Clapton Moor, S, PM with TS, a site not specifically mentioned in the
published floras, though Walton Moor ts.

Cyperus fuscus Brown Galingale RSC, a “site guardian” under a Plantlife
scheme, reports that the site on Walton Moor, S, had became overgrown
and no plants of this protected nationally rare species were found in 2005.
Conservation work is expected in 2006. This annual is known to have a
long-lived seed bank and a temporary absence does not signify its
permanent loss to the Bristol flora.

Carex strigosa Thin-spiked Wood-sedge About nine plants in fruit along
a footpath by the west side of the River Trym, Sea Mills, G, and also
nearby, both in 2004, CK and MARK. This is a new locality though it has
long been known on the Trym.

Carex filiformis Downy-fruited Sedge In a damp depression in a neutral
hay meadow, between Cheddar Moor and Draycott in 2003, S, E
McDonnell. New to v.c.6. A remarkable find of a rare native sedge: for
more information see Somerset Rare Plant Group newsletter no.4.

Poa angustifolia Narrow-leaved Meadow-grass Aust Services, G, CK
and MARK, in 2002, apparently new to the 10 km square.

Poa infirma Early Meadow-grass 20 plants or fewer scattered on corner
of the sea lawns in 2004, Weston-super Mare, S, Paul Green. New to v.c.6.
A remarkable find of what may well be an overlooked species rather than a
recent arrival in the area. It is best known from the Lizard in west Cornwall,
where I have seen it on a village green, but increasingly is being found
elsewhere in warm places on the south and southwest English coasts.
Gastridium ventricosum Nit-grass Noted by PH on a cliff edge at the
“Clifton Down” site, G, in April 2005, presumably as remains from the
prior year. There were about 20 flowering plants with 40 heads there in
September 2005 at the base of a warm but north-facing outcrop, some
metres below where the plant mainly grew during my regular observations

30

from 1978 to 1982. I would welcome information for the intervening
period. In about half a dozen visits from 1992 to 2004, there was no trace
of it. I have not seen it on Black Rocks since 1981. This year there were
about 400 spikes above the cliffs, in the place discovered in 1993 (BB
1994).

Gagea lutea Yellow Star-of-Bethlehem 38 in flower in 2005 as compared
to 71 in 2004 at Stoke St. Michael, S, RSC, who explains that the site (near
where marked Stocker Hole on Ordnance Survey map) was misreported in
BB 2004 as at Murdercombe, S. RSC has visited the site annually from
1995, finding over 250 in flower then, over 260 in 1996 and 135 in 1998,
declining to 34 in 2002. RSC writes that the plants at King’s Stag in North
Dorset typically flower three to four weeks earlier than do the Stoke St.
Michael plants.

Paris quadrifolia Herb-Paris 20 very healthy plants in Weston Big Wood,
S, EN. Plainly long known there but well worth recording. TB Flower’s
herbarium has it from Smallcombe Wood near Bath, S.

Neottia nidus-avis_ Bird's-nest Orchid Folly Wood, near Dursley, G,
RSC, a single flower spike beneath beech close to where a small colony
seen in 1975.

Spiranthes spiralis Autumn Lady's-tresses Ten spikes in own garden,
Portishead, S, EN, in 2004. Large numbers on the lawns surrounding the
National Trust house, Tyntesfield, PM in 2004, and known to Tony Titchen
for many years.

ALIENS

Azolla filiculoides Water Fern Covering a rhyne at Clevedon, S, RSC.
Dominant in rhyne south of White House Rhyne, Pawlett Hams, S, RSC.
Roe’s Somerset Flora records its establishment in Somerset from several
directions since 1931.

Pinus radiata Monterey Pine Two or three large trees in shelterbelt above
Horton Court, G, CK and MARK, in 2004, new to v.c.34, apparently wild
but reportedly planted.

Laurus nobilis Bay Long Ashton, S, RLB.

Nymphaea alba White Water-lily Naish House, Clapton-in-Gordano, S,
EN. Also in a pond at Eastwood Farm, near Broom Hill, S, RLB, (seen
through binoculars from the other side of the Avon), with an un-named
purple Water-lily and Nymphoides peltata, Fringed Water-lily.

Helleborus argutifolius Corsican Hellebore Pavement by tree, Henleaze,
G, RLB.

Ulmus x hollandica Dutch Elm Good re-growth of ten or so trees at the
gorge edge of Clifton Down, G, CK and MARK, in 2004.

Soleirolia soleirolii Mind-your-own-business Growing on a gravel path
near knot garden, Tyntesfield National Trust property, S, PM, in 2004.

3]

Alnus incana Grey Alder Portbury, near the M5 Gordano Service Area S,
RLB.

Chenopodium bonus-henricus Good-King-Henry The Barton, Hawkesbury
Upton, G, JPM, and described as persistent at a known site. White (1912)
knew it by a farm at Hawkesbury there and also at the top of the hill close to
Hawkesbury Upton.

Bassia scoparia Summer-cypress Three plants on the M5 slip road,
Almondsbury, G, JPM. The Flora of the Bristol Region has only one record
(1984, Weston-super-Mare). A paper by SJ Leach and EJ McDonnell in
BSBI News 101 (January 2006) 35-37 shows it in many places late in 2005
on the M5 in Somerset including (in our area) near Weston-super-Mare,
Loxton, Edingworth and Burnham-on-Sea, all S. In a response in BSBI
News 102 (April 2006) PJ Cook reports having seen it in 2003
intermittently as single plants whilst driving between Avonmouth, G, and
Weston, S.

Polygonum arenarium Lesser Red-knotgrass Tyntesfield NT Garden and
Orangery area, S, PM, and not apparently known in the Bristol region since
1930, and then on the v.c. 34 side.

Fallopia baldschuanica Russian-vine On Tyntesfield National Trust land,
S, in 2004, PM and at Combe Dingle, G, rampant, RLB.

Hesperis matronalis Dame's-violet Avonmouth sewage works, G, and
Dundry, S, RLB.

Lobularia maritina Sweet Alison On a wall, Ridgeway, Bristol, G, RLB.
Cyclamen hederifolium Sowbread A small patch at northern end of
Durdham Downs, G, CK and MARK. Also in several places at the edge of
scrub on Clifton Down, G, between Blackboy Hill and Bridge Valley Road,
CML.

Crassula helmsii New Zealand Pigmyweed A large area of a pond at the
Ashton Court Country Club, S, covered by this weed. PM has expressed
concern that this might become a source for accidental introduction in the
area. New to the 10 km square but presumably not considered as “wild”
here.

Sedum album White Stonecrop Tyntesfield National Trust property, S,
PM, in 2004.

Rosa rubiginosa Sweet-briar A single bush in scrub woodland above
south bank of New Cut, River Avon, Temple Meads, G, CK and MARK, in
2004. Considered by the finders to be probably adventive here.

Prunus lusitanica Portugal Laurel Self- sown at Failand and Long
Ashton, S, RLB.

Cotoneaster baccilaris Open-fruited Cotoneaster A self- sown plant by
the Portway at Sea Mills (but the grid reference is for beneath the old
Cook’s Folly), G, RLB. New to v.c.34 and the Bristol region.

32

Cotoneaster frigidus Tree Cotoneaster A fine specimen in Almondsbury,
G, RLB. New to the 10 km square.

Cotoneaster lacteus Late Cotoneaster One or two shrubs at the base of
the cliffs, Horseshoe Bend, below the Portway, G, ACT and PH. The Flora
has a 1991 record at Lamplighters, just to the north of the present site, but
only two others.

Dorycnium hirsutum (L.) Ser. Canary Clover A single bush self-sown at
the base of a wall, on the front between the pier and Birnbeck Island,
Weston super-Mare, S, Paul Green in 2004, det. ML Stephens. New to
v.c.6 and the Bristol region and very rarely reported in the wild in Britain;
there are only two records mentioned up to 1994 in Clement and Foster’s
Alien Plants of the British Isles. There is a photograph of this distinctive
species in Polunin’s Flowers of Europe.

Hippophae rhamnoides Sea-buckthorn Planted in the Cumberland Basin,
G, before 1980; a single small sapling growing from the rock underneath
the Suspension Bridge beside the Towpath under Leigh Woods, S, CML.
Lythrum junceum False Grass-poly Jubilee Drive, Failand, S. PM. First
seen July 2004, and again February 2005, but gone by the summer. Derived
from birdseed.

Oenothera cambrica Small-flowered Evening-primrose I have had
records provided for the Great Quarry, Avon Gorge, G, RLB and at the
Landcare Nursery, Old Sodbury, G, PA Wilson through CK and MARK.
The Flora of the Bristol Region had nine sites and described it as a rare
introduction, with O. glazioviana (formerly O. erythrosepala), a l\arge-
flowered species as the most widespread (it was under Cook’s Folly in 1980
for instance). When it is realised that Oenothera chromosomes engage in a
meiotic circle dance rather than in pairs, the taxonomic difficulties in
naming these plants becomes apparent. O. cambrica has been known at the
Great Quarry or thereabouts since 1867 (St Brody in Bristol Museum
herbarium det Rostanski) but O. biennis and perhaps O. x fallax may also,
by my reckoning, grow in the Gorge from time to time.

Rhus typhina Stag's-horn Sumach Gloucester Road Farm, near Frampton
Cotterell, G, suckering along roadside. Also on riverbank, Windmill Hill,
S, both RLB.

Oxalis corniculata Procumbent Yellow-sorrel Brandon Hill, G, RLB.
Geranium endressii x G. versicolor (G. x oxonianum) Druce's Crane's-bill
A small flowering patch in a shady spot on the south side of the Old
London road, Wetton Hill, Wotton-under-Edge, G, RSC. Only two records
are included in the Flora of the Bristol Region and I doubt its survival on
Clifton Down, opposite Worrall Road.

Fatsia japonica Fatsia One healthy plant in 2004, growing by a ditch in a
small fir wood between Barrow Wood and Barrow Copse, Witham Friary,

33

S, Gill Read, det. A Stevenson. There are only a few British records and
this is new to v.c. 6.

Heracleum mantegazzianum Giant Hogweed By roadside near pond in
2004, Little Sodbury, G; where reported by Miss IF Gravestock in BB
1975, CK and MARK; also still present in quantity | km northwards, at
Horton, G.

Lycium barbarum Duke of Argyll’s Teaplant Hallen Marsh, in a hedge
and on a wall, St Michael’s Hill, Bristol, both G, RLB.

Solanum sisymbriifolium Red Buffalo-bur There is a drawing of this rare
casual species from a specimen collected at Avonmouth in the BSBI’s
newly published Illustrations of Alien Plants of the British Isles.
Apparently in error, the species 1s omitted from the Flora of the Bristol
Region, although found at Avonmouth Docks again by the late AL Grenfell
(BB 1987).

Polemonium caeruleum Jacob's-ladder On the edge of Avon Walkway,
north of Saltford, S, RLB.

Symphytum orientale White Comfrey Hotwells, Lawrence Weston and
Redland, G, RLB.

Stachys byzantina Lamb's-ear Roadside, West Town, Backwell, S, RLB.
The Flora of the Bristol Region has 1984 as the most recent record before
2000.

Lamiastrum galeobdolon ssp. argentatum Garden Yellow- archangel The
Flora of the Bristol Region had eleven records but admitted it was under-
recorded. RLB adds five sites, Arnos Vale, Blaise Castle, Easton (Bristol)
and Lawrence Weston, all G, and Clevedon, S. It has occurred in Leigh
Woods, S, near the Warden’s cottages, since before 1980.

Cerinthe major L. Greater Honeywort One plant in 2004 on disturbed
soil at the bend in the lane north east of Stockwood, S, Ian Green, det. ML
Stephens. New to v.c.6. A very rare casual: up to 1994 there was only one
British record (and that in a garden!) and it does not appear in the vice
county census catalogue of 2003. It is a familiar annual member of the
borage family occurring in cultivated or waste ground in the Mediterranean
area with glabrous white-spotted leaves and drooping yellow tubular
flowers, normally red at the base. It is pictured in many wild flower
guidebooks including the new Flowers of Crete.

Syringa vulgaris Lilac In a hedge, Ashton Vale, S, RLB.

Linaria arenaria Sand Toadflax About 300 plants on Berrow Dunes in
2004, J Lidgate, det. A Hepworth and IP Green. New to v.c.6. It was
planted on Braunton Burrows over a hundred years ago and is established
there. It has few other British sites.

Acanthus mollis Bear's-breech By the side of a lane, Long Ashton, S,
RLB. The Flora has only two records, both for the 1980’s.

34

Leycesteria formosa Himalayan Honeysuckle Horfield and Pitch and Pay
Lane, Bristol, G, and Long Ashton, S, RLB. Also in a garden Failand, S,
but not planted, PM. This plant is proving to be increasing, or more frequent
than reported in the Flora of the Bristol Region, with 14 sites reported in the
survey period.

Lonicera nitida Wilson's Honeysuckle Temple Meads, G; Easton-in-
Gordano, Failand, Long Ashton and Portbury, S, all RLB, extending the
distribution in the Flora of the Bristol Region.

Centaurea montana Perennial Cornflower On a wall, Cote Lane,
Henleaze, Bristol, G, RLB.

Lactuca virosa Great Lettuce Tyntesfield NT Garden and Orangery area,
S, PM.

Pilosella aurantiaca Fox-and-cubs Broom Hill, G, RLB.

Arctotheca calendula Plain Treasureflower On Glastonbury wool tip in
1971, AC Leslie, in his herbarium, and only reported in 2005. New to
v.c.6.

Erigeron karvinskianus Mexican Fleabane Hotwells and Sea Mills, both
G, RLB.

Conyza sumatrensis Guernsey Fleabane Several plants in the Great
Quarry, Avon Gorge, G, PH. Hitherto only noted (to 2000) in southern half
of the region at the Royal Portbury Dock, beside the M5 motorway and at
Weston super-Mare.

Calendula officinalis Pot Marigold Three or four flowering plants in
November 2004, banks of the Litthe Avon River between Berkeley and
Stone, G, CK and MARK. Also near Temple Meads Railway Station, G,
RLB.

Galinsoja parviflora Gallant-soldier Thousands of plants in October 2004
in an old walled garden being cultivated for organic vegetables, Leigh Court
Farm, S, PM.

Arum italicum ssp. italicum Italian Lords-and-Ladies Roadside near
Tickenham, near abrupt bend in road at Stone-edge Batch, 8, RSC. Not
recorded in this 10 km square in the Flora of the Bristol Region, but the new
BSBI Atlas has a contemporary one.

Pistia stratiotes. _Water-lettuce A number of plants in a ditch, Burnham
Level in 2002, S, Phil Brewin, det. S Parker. New to v.c.6. Perhaps better
known as Nile Cabbage, and a significant pest of open water in Africa. In
Britain, it is a rare casual and not included in the standard floras and
checklists.

Juncus tenuis Slender Rush _ Several plants fruiting on path, Leighton
Hanging, by Asham Wood, S, RSC

Cyperus eragrostis Pale Galingale A garden escape on a wall and
pavement, Frome Valley Road, Begbroke, Stapleton, G, TS. This is a

35

second recent record for the region. (Previously found by AL Grenfell and
CML around 1981 on the railway between the Floating Harbour and the
Avon, G.)

Gaudinia fragilis French Oat-grass South of Bishop's Hill Wood,
Wickwar, G. in a semi-improved grassland cut for hay. New to v.c.34.
Subsequently CK and MARK found it in several nearby fields.

Polypogon viridis Water Bent Forest Road and Stoke View Road,
Fishponds, Bristol, G, TS, on pavements and beside walls. These are
additional sites to those in BB 2001 and 2002 for this increasing alien grass.
Anisantha madritensis Compact Brome Avenue and Castle Roads, Walton
St Mary, Clevedon, S, in 2004, CK, MARK and LH. This marks a westward
extension of the reported range (Walton and Weston-in-Gordano). I found
the var. ciliatus with hairy spikelets by the roadside there around 1982 but
never in the Avon Gorge. Hubbard (Grasses, 1984) suggests the variety is
introduced.

Echinochloa crus-galli Cockspur In a short paper on the occurrence of
this grass on roadsides in southern England (BSBI News 101 (January
2006) 37-38) SJ Leach reports a number of sites in the southern part of our
area on the M5 near Burnham-on-Sea, Brent Knoll, Banwell, Woolvers Hill
and Portbury, all S. As he points out, it is better known as an occasional
birdseed casual on pavements.

Setaria viridis Green Bristle-grass Grove Road, Fishponds, Bristol, G, in
pavement cracks, TS.

Sorghum halapense Johnson-grass Whapping Wharf, Bristol, G, CK and
MARK in 2004. The Flora of the Bristol Region has only four recent
records.

Ornithogalum nutans Drooping Star-of-Bethlehem Still at Wickwar, S,
where naturalised since about 1870. RLB noted just three clumps in 2005
with 11 flowering spikes.

Muscari armeniacum Garden Grape-hyacinth Five additional sites have
been provided by RLB: Hallen, Henleaze, Horfield, Lawrence Weston and
Sea Mills, all G. Eight sites are mapped in the Flora of the Bristol Region,
but none close to Bristol itself.

Allium trigetrum Three-cornered Garlic A single plant on the southern
edge of East Wood, Portishead, S, EN in 2004. Also at Combe Dingle, G,
RLB in 2005.

Galanthus nivalis Snowdrop At Tyntesfield, S, RLB.

Iris germanica Bearded Iris Avonmouth sewage works, G, RLB

Crocus tommasinianus Early Crocus Well naturalised in Little Sodbury
churchyard, G, CK and MARK in 2004.

Gladiolus communis Eastern Gladiolus Lawrence Weston, G, RLB; only
three records in the Flora of the Bristol Region.

36

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank all contributors mentioned for their interesting records,
and the Editor for assistance and patience. I remain grateful to the Society
and its Botanical Section for their delegation of this historic task to me and
for the opportunity to make good use of my previous and rejuvenated
researches. But let all readers join me in acknowledging the debt to my
predecessor. As I was completing the report on 20 June 2006, Professor
Arthur J Willis, scholar and naturalist, passed away.

The middle Holocene woodlands of the Avon valley:

palaeoecological evidence from Deanery Road, Bristol.
H.M. Tinsley and K.N. Wilkinson

Abstract.

Palaeoecological investigations of a buried peat bed from Deanery Road,
Bristol, revealed that the organic sediments accumulated in a freshwater
marsh environment close to the River Avon. Around 5174 BP (4220-3790
cal BC), when the peat began to form, the marsh was surrounded by alder
woods with lime woods occupying the drier land beyond. The marsh later
appears to have been subject to a period of flooding by brackish/salt water,
which brought clay to the site and may have been the trigger for a reduction
in the fringing alder woods. Following this episode, freshwater conditions
seem to have been re-established, but there is some evidence for further
tidal flooding towards the end of the period of peat accumulation around
4594 BP (3550-3050 cal BC). The pollen diagram also records changes in
the dry-land woodland over time: initially these were entirely dominated by
lime, but subsequently lime declined somewhat, although it still remained a
co-dominant with oak. The record for microscopic charcoal provides
evidence of anthropogenic activity in the area and this may have been a
factor in the decline in importance of lime. This pollen diagram provides the
first evidence for the history of the forests of the Bristol area prior to the
historic period. These forests were the precursors of the ecologically
important woodlands which remain today in the Avon Gorge.

Introduction

The history of British woodlands in the present interglacial (the Holocene)
has largely been established through pollen analysis of sediments, combined
with radiocarbon dating (Roberts, 1998); a vast amount of data now exist in
the form of pollen diagrams which reveal a detailed picture of the variation

a7

in the character of British woodlands over time and space. However, the use
of pollen analysis to reconstruct past vegetation depends on finding deposits
which preserve pollen. Peats and lake sediments are ideal, and in some
cases acid soils may also preserve pollen (Moore, Webb & Collinson,
1991), but it is rare to find suitable sites on areas of limestone geology.
Lack of acidic, anaerobic sediments in the Avon Gorge has meant that there
have been no previous palaeoecological studies of the botanically rich and
interesting woods that clothe the valley sides today and are included within
the Avon Gorge National Nature Reserve. Such sediments are also lacking
in the immediate area to the south and east of the Gorge where the city of
Bristol has grown up; the peaty marshlands which once occupied the bottom
of the Avon valley have long since disappeared under urban development.

The ancient status of some areas of the Gorge woodlands has, however,
been established by studies of their modern ecology (Rackham, 1982;
Lovatt, 1989). In Leigh Woods in particular, the canopy layer contains
Tilia cordata (small-leaved lime), and the other native British lime Tilia
platyphyllous (large-leaved lime) also occurs (though very rarely) (Green,
Higgins, Kitchen & Kitchen, 2000). The presence of native limes (as
opposed to the widely planted hybrids) has been identified by Peterken
(1981) as one of the characteristic indicators of ancient woodland in
England. Many of the small-leaved limes show evidence of past coppicing
and in some cases pollarding; some giant coppice stools exist indicating
very long-lived trees (Rackham, 1982). Other floristic indicators of ancient
woodland include Sorbus torminalis (wild service-tree) and the rare
endemic whitebeams (Sorbus spp.) for which the Avon Gorge is famous.
Rare ground flora indicators usually confined to ancient woodland include
Convallaria majalis (lily-of-the-valley) and Aquilegia vulgaris (columbine)
(Lovatt, 1989; Green et al., 2000). On the basis of field survey, Rackham
(1982) suggested that the original wildwood of the area was probably
dominated by lime with some oak and hazel and occasional ash and elm, but
this has remained uncorroborated by direct palaeoecological evidence.
However, in the Spring of 2000 a buried peat bed was discovered in the
course of redevelopment of an area close to Bristol Cathedral, 3-4 km from
Leigh Woods. Buried peats have not previously been found in the course of
archaeological fieldwork in central Bristol and therefore this site offered a
unique opportunity for palaeoenvironmental reconstruction. Radiocarbon
dating established that the peat was some 5500-6000 years old and this
offered the possibility of using pollen analysis to reconstruct the woodland
of this part of the Avon valley in the middle-Holocene and, potentially, to
compare its floristic composition with the ‘modern’ ancient woodlands of
the Avon Gorge.

38

The Deanery Road site

The site of the buried peat bed is close to the junction of Deanery Road and
Anchor Road, Bristol (ST 58129 72626). Archaeological evaluation and
subsequent excavation in the redevelopment area was undertaken by
Cotswold Archaeology on behalf of Beaufort Western Limited (now Crosby
Homes (Special Projects) Limited). A geotechnical survey comprising 10
boreholes was carried out at the site in March and April 2000 by
Geotechnical Engineering Ltd; this revealed a sequence of estuarine and
alluvial deposits up to 5m deep lying beneath 4m or so of ‘made ground’. In
the south-eastern part of the site, peat was found between 7.1 and 8.2m
below ground level. In order to investigate these deposits further, and
particularly to examine the buried peat in detail, three additional boreholes
were drilled in January 2001 under archaeological supervision (CAI — CA3
on Fig. 1). The cores were described and CA2 was chosen for detailed
palaeoenvironmental analysis and radiocarbon dating (Wilkinson, 2002).
Sediments containing organic material occurred between 7.20 and 8.22m
below ground surface, the upper part of this sequence comprised an organic
clay, which became peaty below 7.38m, with a further clayey band around
7.86m below the ground surface. Below 8.09m the peat became
increasingly silty. Sub-samples for pollen analysis were taken from the
peaty sediments. Two samples of organic material were sent to the
Radiocarbon Dating Laboratory at the University of Waikato, Hamilton,
New Zealand and the results established that the peat bed dated from
5174461 BP (4220-3790 calendar years BC at 95.5% confidence according
to the INTCAL 98 curve [Stuiver, Reimer, Bard, Beck, Burr, Hughen,
Kromer, McCormac, van der Plicht & Spurk, 1998]) (WK 10946) at its base
to 4594463 BP (3550-3050 calendar years BC) (WK 10947) at the top.

Pollen analysis

Ten samples from core CA2 were prepared for pollen analysis using
standard techniques (Moore, ef al., 1991). The pollen sum used exceeded
500 land pollen grains at each level counted, with the exception of the
lowest sample from 8.21m where the pollen concentration was very low and
a total of only 311 land pollen grains was reached in the count. Spores of
ferns and of filamentous green algae were counted outside these totals. The
preservation of the pollen was somewhat variable, but overall it was good.
Pollen types generally follow Bennett (1994) and plant nomenclature is
according to Stace (1991). (A Pollen diagram which accompanied the
article could not be redrawn to fit. Ed ). Two assemblages are recognised,
Deanery Road (DR) | and 2, these are not pollen assemblage zones sensu
stricta (Birks, 1986), but are drawn to facilitate description and
interpretation. The main features of the two zones are summarised below:-

59

DR1. (8.22m—-7.90m) Alnus-Tilia assemblage

Date at 8.15m: 5174461 BP (4220-3790 cal BC)

Tree pollen forms between 71% and 82% total land pollen (TLP)
in this assemblage. Alnus (alder) is the dominant tree taxon with
Quercus (oak) and Corylus-type (hazel). Tilia (lime) forms 14-
16% TLP. The principal herbaceous pollen types are Cyperaceae
(sedges) and Poaceae (grasses). A range of flowering herbs is
present, all at values of <1% TLP. Chenopodiaceae (goosefoot
family), a taxon associated with both disturbed ground and
halophytic environments, is represented at values of <3% TLP.
Pollen of wetland and aquatic taxa forms <5% TLP+aquatics. Fern
spores, including Pteridium (bracken) and _ Polypodiaceae
(polypody fern), form between 15% and 32% TLP+ferns; they are
most frequent in the basal sample.

DR2. (7.90m -— 7.20m) Quercus-Corylus assemblage

Date at 7.32m: 4594+63 BP (3550-3050 cal BC)

Tree pollen is somewhat reduced compared with DR1, fluctuating
between 55% and 74% TLP. At the start of the zone Alnus declines
markedly. Tilia declines more gradually to around 5% TLP above
7.85m. Quercus and Corylus-type increase gradually at the start of
the zone, but fluctuate somewhat. Herbaceous pollen increases
slightly, principally Poaceae which peak at 25% TLP in the middle
of the zone, and Cyperaceae which peak at 18% TLP at 7.50m. The
start of the zone is marked by a peak in Chenopodiaceae which
reach 11% TLP at 7.86m, then fall to values of <3% TLP before
rising to 6% TLP at the top of the zone. Wetland and aquatic taxa
peak at 10% TLP+aquatics at 7.50m. Otherwise, the range and
frequency of herbs is similar to DR1. Fern spores are present
throughout the zone at values slightly lower than those of DRI.

Middle Holocene environments of the central Bristol Avon

valley

From the evidence presented in the pollen diagram it is possible to
reconstruct both the immediate environment in which the peat bed
accumulated and also the vegetation of the wider valley. The site itself
appears to have been a damp hollow close to the Avon, surrounded by trees.
The deepest sediments examined contain a significant component of
inorganic silt, which suggests some active water movement at the site prior
to the development of the marsh, and this also accounts for the low pollen
concentration in the basal sample. Peat accumulation began around 5174 BP
(4220-3790 cal BC), at the transition between the Mesolithic and the
Neolithic periods. In zone DRI the high frequencies of alder pollen suggest

40

that the marsh was fringed by wet alder woodland and beyond this,
probably on higher ground, there were extensive dry land woodlands
dominated by lime, with some oak and hazel and occasional elm and ash.

The marsh itself supported a vegetation of grasses (Poaceae) (possibly
Phragmites, common reed) and sedges (Cyperaceae), with some bur-reed
(Sparganium). There appear to have been some pools of open water, with
aquatic communities that included Alisma_ plantago-aquatica (water-
plantain), Lemna (duckweed) and Samolus valerandi (brookweed), as well
as the filamentous green algae Spirogyra. The range of other herbaceous
pollen taxa, found at low frequency, include types which might have grown
on the marsh, such as Brassicaceae (cabbage family — includes water-
cresses and cuckooflower) and Ranunculus acris-type (includes buttercup
and spearwort etc). Some other taxa are more likely to have been associated
with edge of the carr woodland, for example the Caryophyllaceae (pink
family — including red campion), Apiaceae (carrot family — hedge parsley
etc) and Fabaceae (pea family — vetches etc).

Another group of herbs represented at low frequency in the pollen diagram
is associated with disturbance; this includes Plantago lanceolata and P.
major (ribwort and greater plantain), Rumex (sorrels and docks), Lactuceae
(dandelion family and related Asteraceae), Solidago virgaurea-type (daisy
and related Asteraceae) and Artemisia (mugwort). These herbs thrive on
disturbed ground and their presence in pollen diagrams is often associated
with anthropogenic activity (Behre, 1986). However, in the case of
waterside or estuarine situations (such as the Avon valley) disturbed ground
could very well result from natural processes of erosion, producing unstable
soils. The occurrence of occasional grains of cereal-type pollen might
appear to be a stronger link with anthropogenic activity, but this pollen
taxon, which includes all the cultivated grasses, also includes Glyceria spp.
(sweet grasses), which are freshwater aquatic or marsh grasses that could
have been growing close to the river.

The presence of quite significant amounts of pollen of Chenopodiaceae
(goosefoot family) in the peat bed, particularly at the start of DR2, is
interesting in relation to the position of the site close to a tidal river. The
Chenopodiaceae is a large family with members growing in a wide range of
habitats, including disturbed ground and salt marshes. It is very difficult to
distinguish pollen of different species of Chenopodiaceae and this has not
been attempted here, but in view of the location of the site, it seems likely
that the Chenopodiaceae pollen originated from salt marsh plants such as
Suaeda maritima (annual sea-blight) or Atriplex portulacoides (sea-
purslane) which grow today on the marshes of the Avon estuary (Green et
al., 2000). Solidago virgaurea-type is another pollen taxon which includes

4]

some species associated with salt marshes such as Aster tripolium (sea
aster), and this also peaks at the start of DR2, at a level where clay particles
were noted in the peat. It seems likely that the site was influenced by an
incursion of tidal waters at this stage, which brought in fine mineral
material and resulted in the spread of halophytic communities. However,
this did not result in elimination of all the freshwater marsh plants (water-
plantain, for example, continued to be present) but it may well have been
the factor which triggered the decline in alder woodland around the marsh
which marks the start of zone DR2. This ecological response to
brackish/salt water flooding is similar to that recorded in a pollen diagram
from the Somerset Levels (Sweet Track F Site), where a decline in Alnus
pollen occurred prior to the flooding event which resulted in the deposition
of the Lower Wentlooge Clay (Coles, Hibbert and Orme, 1973) (since dated
to 5210 - 4800 cal BC [Tinsley, in press]). The high Chenopodiaceae
values are not maintained throughout DR2, which suggests that the salt
marsh phase was short-lived and that the marine incursion was relatively
brief (although there is as yet no dating evidence to give a time scale to this
event); however the alder woods did not recover their former extent.

Between 7.75m and 7.31m the deposits are entirely organic and contain no
clay; there are increased frequencies of pollen of freshwater aquatics such
as Typha latifolia (bulrush) and Sparganium emersum-type (bur-reeds,
lesser bulrush), and peaks in the counts for the filamentous green algae
Spirogyra and Mougeotia, which are associated largely with freshwater
conditions (van Geel, 1986). However, at the top of the pollen diagram,
above 7.3m, there is a renewed increase in the frequency of
Chenopodiaceae pollen and this again correlates with increasing clay in the
sediment, suggesting another episode of flooding by salt or brackish water.
The peat at Deanery Road is very compressed; the radiocarbon dates
indicate that it formed over a minimum of 240 years but a maximum of
1170 years. It is therefore possible, given the resolution of the pollen
sampling, that other short-lived marine incursions may have taken place
which have not been picked up.

The reconstruction of the dry-land woodland of the Avon valley in the early
Neolithic, beyond the marsh and surrounding alder carr, requires some
consideration of differences in tree pollen production and dispersal. Wind-
pollinated trees such as Corylus (hazel) and Quercus (oak) produce
markedly more pollen than Tilia (lime), which is insect pollinated; the
pollen grains of hazel and oak are relatively smooth and light and travel
easily on the wind, those of lime are large and sticky and are shed close to
the tree (Faegri and Iversen, 1992). As a result, the percentages of lime
pollen recovered from a site will markedly underestimate its importance in

42

the former vegetation of the area. Work by Andersen (1970) suggested that
pollen percentages for lime needed to be corrected by a factor of x 8, in
order to be compared directly with oak. Greig (1982) summarized evidence
for the past importance of lime in the mid-Holocene forests of Britain and
Europe, using Andersen’s correction factor. The pollen sum used by Greig
excluded alder and hazel; if the data from zone DRI at Deanery Road is
recalculated in this way, corrected values for lime pollen are between 80%
and 90%, and according to Greig (1982) corrected values of Tilia pollen
>60% indicate lime as the major forest component. It is clear, therefore, that
the dry-land woodland around Deanery Road at 4220-3790 cal BC was lime
dominated, with oak and hazel present as associated species.

These dry-land woods began to change soon after the start of Zone DR2,
this can be seen from the gradual decline of Tilia pollen in the upper part of
the pollen diagram. This occurs after the fringing alder woods around the
marsh were reduced, allowing increasing pollen of oak and hazel to reach
the peat surface. The decline in lime does not appear to be related to the
changes in the wetland woods, it is a more gradual reduction than that of
alder, with lime declining from 14% TLP at the end of DRI to 5% TLP by
the middle of DR2. Using Greig’s correction calculations previously
referred mentioned, this gives a corrected value for Tilia pollen in DR2 of
between 40 and 60% suggesting (according to Greig, 1982) that lime
formed about half the tree cover by the time the upper part of the peat bed
was forming. Compared with the woods of zone DRI, lime had therefore
undergone a significant decline. It is possible that this had an anthropogenic
cause: a lime decline is a widely recorded feature of mid/late-Holocene
pollen diagrams from England and Wales, although the dates at which it
occurs vary. In Wales it has been linked with Bronze Age human activity
(Walker, 1993). On the Somerset Levels a decline in lime occurs in the
Neolithic, after the first evidence for sustained human impact on the dry-
land forests of that area, around 3600 cal BC (Caseldine, 1988). The date
for the start of the decline in lime at Deanery Road lies somewhere between
4220 cal BC and 3050 cal BC (the extreme limits of the dates from the top
and bottom of the peat bed). Despite the decline, lime remained an
important forest component along with oak in the woods in the Avon valley
until at least 3550-3050 cal BC; indeed, it was probably widespread in the
South Gloucestershire and North Somerset area. A pollen diagram from
Walton Moor in the Gordano valley, North Somerset, has values for lime of
around 10% total pollen (uncorrected for low pollen productivity) in the
mid-Holocene (Jefferies, Willis and Yem, 1968), and pollen evidence from
a buried land surface on the Avon Levels of South Gloucestershire, dated
between 3300-2200 cal BC and 2930-2460 cal BC, suggests that lime was

43

an important component of the woodland. (Carter, Jones and McGill,
2004).

The evidence of microscopic charcoal throughout the peat bed suggests that
people were present in the area while the marsh sediments were
accumulating at Deanery Road. Generally, the charcoal frequencies are
fairly low so human activity may not have been intense. However, at 7.76m
there is a peak in charcoal and it may well be significant that this occurs
when lime is declining, supporting the view that this change in forest
composition was a consequence of a gradual opening up of the lime
dominated woodlands as a result of human activity during the Neolithic.
Another feature of early Neolithic pollen diagrams, which is even more
widespread and consistent than the decline in lime, is a decline in elm
pollen. This is seen throughout north-west Europe around 5000 BP (c.3700
cal BC) and has been linked with both human activity and the spread of
pathogens; Rackham (1986) has suggested that Neolithic woodlands which
had already been opened up by coppicing may well have been more
susceptible to the spread of elm disease. That said, there is no obvious elm
decline horizon in the pollen record from the Deanery Road peat bed. Elm
pollen frequencies are low throughout and it is clear that elm was only a
minor contributor to the early Neolithic woodlands of the Avon valley. On
the Somerset Levels, to the south, the first major decline in elm has been
dated at a number of sites to around 3600 cal BC, though some dates are
earlier than this (Caseldine, 1988). The low values for Ulmus pollen in the
earliest peat at Deanery Road (4220-3790 cal BC) suggest that the initial
elm decline had either already taken place in the area by this time, or that
there were only limited numbers of elm trees in the Avon valley woodlands
even prior to the first impact by Neolithic farmers. There is a temporary
increase in U/mus pollen in the middle of DR2 at Deanery Road, this occurs
after the decline in Tilia pollen, and it may simply indicate the freer
flowering of a small population of elms as the lime woodlands were opened

up.

As a result of continued human activity during the later prehistoric period
and historic times the lime dominated woodlands of the Avon valley were
greatly reduced, so that all that remains today are the patches of ancient
woodland on the steep slopes of the western side of the Avon Gorge at
Leigh Woods. The present Avon Gorge woodlands include Prunus avium
(wild cherry) and rare species of whitebeam (Sorbus) and it is interesting to
note that both Prunus and Sorbus pollen are recorded at very low frequency
in the Deanery Road pollen diagram.

44

Conclusions

The buried peat bed at Deanery Road represents the sediments of a
freshwater marsh which started to form some 5500- 6000 years ago, in a
hollow surrounded by alder carr, at the side of the tidal river Avon. The
marsh appears to have been subject to occasional small inundations of
brackish water, probably at particularly high tides. One of these events was
of higher magnitude, causing the deposition of clay on the marsh surface
and resulting in the demise of the fringing alder woods. The pollen diagram
from the peat bed also provides a record of the woodland which grew on the
drier, higher land around the site. It has demonstrated a link between the
woodlands which grew in the valley of the Avon in early Neolithic times,
and those which persist in the Avon Gorge today. As Rackham (1982)
predicted, the pollen data show that lime was indeed the dominant species
in the original wildwood of the area, and it was associated with oak and
hazel. These lime woods appear to have been exploited by local populations
and as a result the composition of the canopy layer changed, with oak and
hazel increasing at the expense of lime. The palaeoecological analyses from
the Deanery Road site are important in the context of the Bristol area. They
provide the first evidence of the pre-settlement vegetation of the Avon
valley in the city region and form a record of the history of the Avon valley
woodlands in the early part of the Neolithic period.

Acknowledgements
The analytical work referred to in this paper was commissioned by

Cotswold Archaeological Trust, on behalf of their clients Crosby Homes
(Special Projects). The authors would particularly like to thank Mark
Collard of Cotswold Archaeology for facilitating the work, Vanessa Straker
of English Heritage for advice both on and off site and Julie Jones for
comment on the manuscript.

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Sons. :

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glacial history of the Gordano valley, North Somerset. New Phytologist, 67,
335-348.

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The Avon Gorge Edited by A.E. Fry. Special Issue 1. Bristol Naturalists
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Moore, P.D., Webb, J.A., and Collinson, M.E. (1991) Pollen Analysis. 2nd
Edn. Oxford: Blackwell Scientific Publications.

Peterken, G. (1981) Woodland management and Conservation. London.
Chapman and Hall.

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46

Stuiver, M., Reimer, P.J., Bard, E., Beck, J.W., Burr, G.S., Hughen, K.A.,
Kromer, B., McCormac, F.G., van der Plicht, J. and Spurk, M. (1998)
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1041-1084.

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Pipeline: Sediment, stratigraphic and palaeoenvironmental data from the
Avon Levels. Archaeology in the Severn Estuary, 14 (in press).

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The Flora of the walls of Bristol
R.L.Bland 11 Percival RD BS8 3LN richardbland @blueyonder.co.uk

Bristol is a city of ancient walls. Most are built of limestone, some of
pennant, a very few of brick, but all are set in mortar. Some are capped with
copper slag, or have square blocks of slag included, as this was cast for the
purpose by an enterprising copper smelter in the 19the century. The slag is
usually totally un-weathered, and supports no plants. Most walls date from
the 19" century, but a few are much older. All walls have a life history,
which begins when they are new built, and have no flora on them. They
gradually acquire more plants, and, unless they are then cleaned and re-
pointed, or rebuilt, as will certainly happen if they are retaining walls, they
are eventually taken over by ivy, and then by trees, usually Ash or
Sycamore, whose expanding roots force the wall apart and eventually
demolish it completely, so that its course can only be followed as a heap of
stones. Every type of wall in that long process can be found in Bristol,
including many that began life as field boundaries before the city expanded,
a few of which may have been dry-stone walls. There are many differences
between walls that affect the plant-life on them. The most important is the
distinction between retaining walls, where there is access to water at all
times, and boundary walls, which can dry out. Many walls are part retaining
and part boundary. There is also a clear difference between the top surface
of a wall, which is the easiest site for plants to colonise, and the vertical
surface. The top of a retaining wall may be the surface of the soil it is
retaining, in which case I have ignored the plants on it. The amount of sun

47

that a wall receives is affected by the way it faces, and by the shadow that
affects it. In a town many boundary walls have only one face that can be
observed, and I never included the plants on the garden face of walls. Plants
of the walls built to retain waterways, especially where the water is saline,
have their own special species.

This survey was done in 2002 and 2003, and analysed by 1-km squares to
obtain information about the frequency of occurrence of different species.
This seemed a better idea than using the individual wall as the basis for the
frequency analysis, because walls differed so much in length and type, and
using 1-km squares enabled the results to be compared with the general
frequency of the species in the Flora of the Bristol Region published in
2000. 46 of the 115 1-km squares of the city were visited, and are shown on
the map which shows the number of species found in each square. The
survey concentrated on the older parts of the city where walls are most
frequent. Square ST 5772, in Clifton, produced the most species (96). More
modern areas often use only hedges to divide properties, though some retain
walls from former field and road boundaries. Interestingly the development
at Bradley Stoke, outside the city boundary, has turned back to having walls
as a security feature, though they are too new to have much flora. A total of
206 species were found. Grasses and sedges were excluded from the survey,
with the exception of Pendulous Sedge. All species are given their English
name, using Stace, 1997. They include a number of escapes from
neighbouring gardens, and a surprising number of trees and shrubs. A few
groups were not identified to species level- particularly Dock, Currant,
Rose, Strawberry, Hawkweed, usually because the plant was too small or
not flowering to enable more accurate identification. They are identified by
the addition of sp. to the name. All the tables give the percentage frequency
of the species concerned

I defined a species as “rare” on Bristol walls if it occurred in 10% or less of
the squares visited. Using this definition 110 species were rare and 96
relatively common. Of course more detailed work in some of the squares in
which I spent less time might have altered that figure a little, but it
emphasises an important point. Almost any species, however improbable,
may be found on a wall for the simple reason that on most walls there is
little plant competition, and if a seed lodges in a wall, it may germinate. I
was able to compare the frequency with which plants occurred with the
frequencies on the walls of the Chew valley which were surveyed by RM
Payne in 1989. He surveyed 140 square kilometres, and selected 305
individual walls, so that there was at least one in each 1km square, on which
he found 291 species, including grasses. Of these 114 species only occurred
on one or two walls. For purposes of comparison I used a figure of 5% or

48

less to define “rare” wall species in Chew valley, because his figures are
based on the proportion of walls on which a species was found, not the
proportion of squares. His study did not identify the sites of the walls, so
that it is not possible to compare the two exactly. In the tables below where
a there is a zero percentage figure it means the species was present, but on
less that 1% of walls. A blank indicates absence.

Thirty of the Bristol “rare” species were aliens of garden origin, having
jumped over the wall and begun a journey that might lead to the pavement
and then the gutter, and, from there, the world. As the spread of “alien”
species 1s a major cause of botanical change it is important to record when
and how a plant moves from the safety of cultivation to the tough world of
survival in the wild. Thirty species were tree or shrub seedlings, planted by
Jays or Squirrels, deposited by birds feeding on their berries, swept on to
walls by wind, or simply fallen on to the wall top. Such trees rarely survive
the drought of summer, but, when they do, they can destroy a wall faster
than any other plant.

Map. An outline of the city of Bristol, with the number of species observed
on walls in the squares visited.

49

Only 21 species were present in more than 50% of the squares. Below I
subdivide the species found into a variety of different groups.

a) Wall specialists.

There were 21 species that specialise in walls as a habitat, many of them
rarely being found in other habitats apart from rock faces, pavements and
gutters. Unsurprisingly ten of them were in the top 25 commonest wall
species. They are listed in frequency order in Table 1, and compared with
their frequency in Payne’s survey of Chew Valley walls. Ivy was the
commonest species of all, though frequently it is an invader of a wall from
the ground below rather than growing in it from seed. It is also a major
destroyer of walls, partly because once it reaches the top a very heavy
flowering head is produced, which can readily cause capstones to topple,
partly that its roots run through every interstice. The Ivy-leaved Toadflax
was as frequent, a very early coloniser of walls, which has one of the
longest flowering periods, typically 42 weeks of the year. Three of the four
ferns, Wall-rue, Hart’s-tongue and Maidenhair Spleenwort, are next in
frequency. Hart’s-tongue tends to occupy the darkest and dampest sites, and
is happy on brick walls. Rustyback is the rarest of the common ferns, only
present in 46% of squares, and it must be a bit more choosy about its
habitat.

The two closely related alien Bellflowers, Adria Bellflower, the deeper blue
and more bell-like flower, and Trailing Bellflower, lighter and more star-
shaped, share with Ivy-leaved Toadflax a very long flowering season. (See
colour plates) Adria can usually be found in every week of the year, but
Trailing has a brief dormancy between late February and early May. Both
bring a dramatic splash of brilliant blue in mid June. Their tiny seeds, and
the ability of their roots to find any weakness in the masonry, ensures their
spread, but to my surprise they were only found in around 60% of squares.
They can totally dominate a wall on occasion. That is also true of Red
Valerian and Yellow Corydalis, both also present in around 60% of Bristol
squares, both also in flower in almost every week of the year, both with
very tough and resistant root systems that make them almost impossible to
remove without rebuilding a wall. The combination of the three colours
ensures that many walls can be startlingly colourful in mid summer. It is
interesting that all these four species were more or less unknown in the
Chew Valley study. Why the urban environment suits them so well is a
mystery.

Pellitory-of-the-Wall has tiny reddish flowers which become tiny reddish
fruit, and it is hard to tell when it has ceased to flower. It seems to like the

50

shadiest walls. It too was absent from Chew. Wall Lettuce is mainly
associated with the tops of walls rather than the vertical surfaces that all the
previous species populate, and can be found in bloom from early June to the
end of October. It is the most delicate of all the “dandelion type” flowers.
The remaining nine species, including Wallflower and three Stonecrop
species, were all distinctly infrequent both in Bristol and Chew.

Bristol Chew
Ivy-leaved Toadflax 96 46
Ivy 96 a2
Wall-rue 89 AQ)
Hart's-tongue 80 23
Maidenhair Spleenwort 67 28
Trailing Bellflower 65 0
Adria Bellflower 61 |
Red Valerian 61 6
Yellow Corydalis =, 4
Pellitory-of-the-wall 50 2
Wall Lettuce 46 30
Rustyback Fern 46 8
Wallflower 15 |
Wall Speedwell 13 1]
Polypody LS 13
Biting Stonecrop 1] 11
Black Spleenwort el |
Navelwort 2 6
Reflexed Stonecrop 2 3
White Stonecrop 2 0
Fairy Foxglove 2 0

Table | Wall specialists listed by percentage frequency

b) Wet wall species.

The walls of the city docks, the walls that line parts of the New Cut and
Avon estuary, and the walls that confine the Frome and Trym in some areas,
have a distinctive flora, listed in Table 2. The esturine walls have salt
tolerant species, especially Sea Aster, Wild Celery, Hemlock Water-
dropwort and Sea Plantain, and a few had Greater Sea-spurrey . The fresh
water walls usually had Gypsywort, and a few had Himalayan Balsam and
Water Figwort, as well as Alder trees mentioned below. Of these species
only Gypsywort and Hemlock Water Dropwort occurred in Chew.

51

Bristol Chew

Gypsywort 20 i
Wild Celery 15

Sea Aster 15

Sea Plantain lel

Hemlock Water-dropwort 9 6
Greater Sea-spurrey a

Water Figwort 4

Himalayan Balsam 2

Table 2 Wet wall species, listed by percentage frequency.

c) Trees and shrubs

There were 53 species of trees and shrubs, 31 alien, including at least four
Cotoneaster species, and 22 native. Only 24 of these species were found in
the Chew Valley, and there Elder was much the most common. They are
listed in Table 3.

The most frequent by far was the Butterfly Bush (Buddleia), whose tiny
seeds can lodge anywhere. It was almost unknown in the Chew Valley
study. Elder, Ash, and Sycamore were the next most frequent, and this
suggests that the two quite different methods by which they seek to spread
their seeds are equally successful. These three species most often grew in
the tops of walls, where seeds had lodged, and were also responsible for the
destruction of walls as their expanding roots sought water at the base of
walls in dry seasons. They were also three of the commonest tree species
that featured on Chew valley walls. Almost as successful was Wall
Cotoneaster, and other Cotoneaster species, which also are usually found on
wall tops, presumably originating in bird droppings. Firethorn, Hawthorn,
Holly and Yew, all similarly spread and with similar sized fruit, were all
much less frequent, and are perhaps more fussy about the conditions in
which they will germinate. Seedling Elm and Silver Birch were common,
but rarely achieved any size. Holm Oak was present, often on vertical faces,
in 17% of squares. These trees derive from being planted by Jays. They are
very tough and survive well. Common Oak was only found once, and the
difference is perhaps caused by the smaller acorn of the Holm Oak, and the
fact that it produces a far heavier crop in most years. Common Alder was
common on dockside and river walls, as their seeds float, and settle in any
convenient niche.

52

The Duke of Argyle’s Tea Tree, an uncommon alien sometimes used in
hedging, can readily get into walls, and come to dominate them as it does at
Netham in particular. The same is true of Tutsan, which dominates a wall at
the top of Redland Hill to spectacular effect. Forsythia, Kerria and Jasmine
often penetrate walls from gardens, and send out shoots. These plants are

essentially suckers.

Butterfly Bush
Ash

Sycamore

Elder

Wall Cotoneaster
Silver Birch
English Elm
Flowering Nutmeg
Snowberry
Common Alder
Holm Oak
Firethorn

Lilac

Rose of Sharon
Hawthorn

Forsythia

Franchet's Cotoneaster

Tutsan

Yew

Holly

Cherry

Kerria

Norway Maple
Goat Willow
Lawson’s Cypress

Currant sp

Table 3 Tree and shrub species listed by percentage frequency

Bristol
76

oOo —

Wild Privet
Rowan

Barberry sp
Hedge Veronica
(Hebe) sp

Summer Jasmine
Laurel

Hazel

Bay

Himalayan Cotoneaster
Common Fig

Fuchsia sp

Garden Lavender
Oregon Grape
Rosemary

Duke of Argyle's Tea Tree
Wilson's Honeysuckle
Wych Elm
Gooseberry

Dogwood

Italian Alder

Grey Alder

Winter Jasmine
Common Oak

Grey Willow
Cotoneaster X wateril
Horse Chestnut
Wayfaring Tree

a

Bristol

Ny vi viv wv f+ fF fF HF HF HF HF HL HH HB HB NN NAN rN

Nw WN

NO wv

iw)

co)

wo oS OS S&S

SO. - OS OF OF oS eo oS

—

d) Species present in Bristol and absent in Chew valley.

48 species were present on Bristol walls that were not found in Chew
Valley at all. They are listed in Table 4. All but six of them were found in
fewer than 10% of squares, including 20 aliens that were mostly garden
escapes. The six species that were more widespread were led by three aliens
that are all very common in Bristol, but rare outside it. They were Canadian
Fleabane, present in 39% of squares, Green Alkanet, present in 33% of
squares, and Blue Fleabane, present in 28%. In the Flora of the Bristol
Region all three species are only present in 9-12% of squares, and it is
probably the existence of so many walls in Bristol that encourages their
presence. Mexican Fleabane is another alien that has colonised many city
walls. It is a very pretty little plant, which comes into flower in May and
lasts until December. It produces copious tiny seeds, but they are not very
mobile, so that it has so far only spread to 15% of squares. I suspect it is
expanding fast. Two other species are present in more than 10% of squares,
Ploughman’s-spikenard, normally a plant of limestone rocks, and Wall
Rocket whose yellow flowers can be found between April and November.

Canadian Fleabane 39 Field Madder 4 Pot Marigold 2
Green Alkanet 33. Fox & Cubs 4 Wineberry 2
Blue Fleabane 28 Greater Knapweed 4 Spotted Dead-nettle 2
Wall Rocket 20 -Harebell 4 Greater Periwinkle 2
Mexican Fleabane 15 = Wild Madder 4 Blue-eyed Mary 2
Ploughman's-spikenard 11 = Wild Marjoram 4 Alexanders 2
Foxglove Y) Vervain 4 Buck’s-horn Plantain 2
Ivy Broomrape 9 Corn Salad sp 4 Common Centaury 2
Sweet Alison q Senecio cv sunshine 4 Dog’s Mercury 2
Goldenrod 7 Spurge sp 4 Fennel ys
Beggarticks 4 Lady's-mantle 2 Hedge Mustard 2
Canadian Goldenrod 4 Golden Alison 2 Common Knotgrass D)
Japanese Anemone - Californian Poppy 2 Red Bartsia Z
Evening Primrose sp 4 Cypress Spurge 2 Violet sp 2
Spread Yellow Sorrel 4 Corsican Hellebore 2 Wood Sage 2

4 D 2

Wild Carrot Fly Honeysuckle Purple Loosestrife

Table 4 Species present in Bristol and absent in Chew valley.

54

e) Species present in both Bristol and Chew Valley.

i) Aliens. Seven alien species, listed in Table 5, were found in both sites,
though all were far more frequent in Bristol than Chew. Snow-in-Summer
has creeping stems that root readily in any surface, and it frequently escapes
garden limits. Aubretia commonly falls over the garden wall and seeds into
the outer face. Welsh Poppy is hard to establish in a garden, but once
present is impossible to get rid of, and though the heavy seeds simply fall
around the plant, something seems to transport them vertically to wall tops,
whence they spread to vertical surfaces. Rosa sp were fairly frequent in
Chew, presumably mostly Dog Rose, much less so in Bristol, where they
can be any species.

Bristol Chew
Snow-in-Summer 37 2
Aubretia 17 2
Aster sp 15 |
Welsh Poppy iS |
Columbine 13 l
Balm 9 0
Rosa sp 4 10

Table 5 Alien species present in both Bristol and Chew

ii) Species rare in both Bristol and Chew
20 species were infrequent in both surveys and are listed in Table 6.
Procumbent Pearlwort prefers pavement cracks to wall surfaces.

Bristol Chew Bristol Chew
Rough Hawkbit 9 4 Cat’ s-ear Z +
Ox-eye Daisy 9 y Common Mallow 2 3
Hedge Bindweed Q Teasel pi 3
Procumbent Pearlwort 9 0 Black Medick Ps Z
Great Mullein 7 I White Clover 2 |
Raspberry 7 0 Grey Field-speedwell 2 l
Perforate St John's-wort 7 0) Creeping Cinquefoil Z I
Mouse-ear-hawkweed 4 3 Smooth Hawk’s-beard 2 0
Greater Celandine 4 2 Enchanter's-nightshade 2 0
Strawberry sp 4 l Common Figwort 2 0

Table 6 Species rare in both Bristol and Chew

35

iii) Species common in Bristol and rare in Chew.

There are 20 of these species, listed by their Bristol frequency in Table 7.
Nine of them are present in more than 30% of Bristol squares, and thus
form a prominent part of the Bristol wall flora, and it is not easy to explain
why they should be so infrequent in the countryside. They include Rosebay
Willowherb, Hemp Agrimony, Prickly Lettuce, Wood Avens, Snapdragon,
and Purple Toadflax. Hawkweed sp are also frequent, as are Pendulous
Sedge, and Oxford Ragwort.

Bristol Chew
Traveller's-joy 43 2
Rose-bay Willowherb 43 2
Prickly Lettuce 6) 0
Wood Avens 37 4
Hemp-agrimony 35 5
Annual Mercury 33 Zz
Field Bindweed 33 5)
Snapdragon 30
Purple Toadflax 30 0
Hoary Willowherb 26 =)
Mind-your-own-business 26 0
Oxford Ragwort 26 0
Bittersweet 24 4
Hawkweed sp 22 1
Petty Spurge 20 2
Feverfew 17 4
Great Willowherb V7 4
Pendulous Sedge Ike l
Greater Plantain 13 Ys
Mugwort 13 0
Selfheal eh 0

Table 7 Species common in Bristol rare in Chew

iv) Species Rare in Bristol and Common in Chew

There are eleven species that were rare in Bristol but common in Chew.
They are listed in Table 8 in order of their Chew frequency. Cow Parsley
leads the list. It is a very common plant of wall edges in the countryside, but
not as widespread in urban areas, which may account for the difference.
Bristly Oxtongue however is widespread on waste ground in Bristol, and its
relative absence from walls, given its wind-borne seeds, is odd. The same
might be said of both Groundsel and Prickly Sowthistle. Creeping

56

Buttercup was highly exceptional in Bristol, but relatively frequent in
Chew.

Bristol Chew
Cow Parsley 4 30
Bristly Oxtongue 2) 21
Hairy Bitter-cress 7 19
Groundsel 9 14
Creeping Buttercup vi 10
Prickly Sow-thistle 7 )
Forget-me-not sp Z )
Red Dead-nettle + Gi
Hogweed + 6
Common Chickweed Z 6
Ground Elder 2 6
Table 8 Species common in Chew, rare in Bristol, listed by Chew

frequency.

v) Species common in both Bristol and Chew.

There are 21 species that are relatively frequent in both surveys. They are
listed in Table 9 by the extent of difference between Bristol and Chew. The
proportion of squares in which each species is recorded in the Flora of the
Bristol region is also listed. The most striking feature of this list is that it
includes a substantial proportion of the most widespread plants in the
region. Fourteen of the species were found in more than 80% of squares in
the Flora of the Bristol Region. Equally striking is the fact that all except
two species are far less widespread on walls than they are in other habitats.
In other words they appear on walls, most often on their top surface, simply
because they are very common species, but they are ill-adapted to wall life.
There are two exceptions. Smooth Sow-thistle was just as widespread on
walls as in the wider environment, being present in 74% of each, but it was
far more widespread on Bristol walls than in Chew Valley. Secondly Broad-
leaved Willowherb is more widespread on Bristol walls than in Chew valley
or in the wider environment. Cleavers was the one species that was far more
common on Chew Valley walls than it was on Bristol ones.

af

Bristol Chew Flora Difference

Broad-leaved Willowherb 83 a 42 62
Smooth Sow-thistle 74 24 74 50
Ragwort 52 6 78 46
Bramble 78 35 95 43
Male Fern 39 6 63 33
Herb Robert TZ 45 89 26
Dandelion sp 7 78 ay) 100 21
Dock sp 26 10 87 16
Ribwort Plantain 30 16 94 14
Spear Thistle 20 A. 94 12
Autumn Hawkbit 15 8 50 * |
Nipplewort 28 Zi 78 7
Creeping Thistle 1] 6 96 5)
Yarrow 1] ii 9] 4
Garlic Mustard 13 12 84 ]
Common Nettle 52 53 97 -|
White Dead-nettle 13 19 78 -6
Cleavers 1] 45 96 -34

Table 9 Species common in both Bristol and Chew, listed by difference
between the two

The flora of walls in other areas of England.

I have collated data from five earlier studies that include the frequency of
species on walls, though only the Kent’s study of Middlesex in 1961 and
Payne’s of Essex in 1978 were based on substantial samples. The three
earlier studies examined up to nine common species, and cannot be
compared effectively with the others. I have deleted grass species from the
list because I did not include them in my study. Table 10 shows the average
frequency of the 29 species recorded elsewhere arranged in order of the
difference between this study and the average of the three most recent
studies. It is apparent that only nine species lie outside a difference of plus
or minus 20%, which, given the variety of dates and methods, suggests
broad similarity. The top nine species appear to be commoner in Bristol;
Ivy, Ivy-leaved Toadflax, Broad-leaved Willowherb, Buddleia , Wall-rue,
Dandelion, Bramble, Herb Robert and Sycamore. There are also of course
another nineteen species present in over 30% of Bristol squares that are not
mentioned in these other studies at all. It is intriguing that this list only
includes six of the 21 species that I would regard as wall specialist. Clearly
there is room for further studies of wall flora.

58

Author —Rishbeth
County Cambs

Author

County

Date

Sample size
Ivy

Ivy-ld Toadflax
Bd-l Willowherb
Buddleia

Wall Rue
Dandelion
Bramble

Herb Robert
Sycamore

Sm Sow-thistle
Hart’ s-tongue

Grose Woodell
Wilts Durham

Maidenhair Spleenwort

Rustyback
Canadian
Fleabane

Silver Birch
Bittersweet
Elder
Snapdragon
Nipplewort

R Willowherb
Nettle

Oxford Ragwort
Bracken
Male-fern

Wh Dead-nettle
Pro Pearlwort
Groundsel

Cow Parsley

Cleavers

JR DG
GC W
1948 1957
na 18
78
25 56
50
29 83
50
13
44
63
17
25
15
67
16
56

Kent
Middx

25

20

pa

Payne

Essex

DHK
M
1961
500

I

Payne

Avon

IZ

Bland
Bristol
RMP RLB
A BS
1989 = =2002
305 46 km
a2 86
46 81
2 60
2 49
40 60
a7 67
35 46
45 45
1] 33
24 46
25 29
28 2]
30 28
14
I3
12
37 2a
| y)
21 13
2 17
53 pe |
i
0
14
19 6
0 4
14 6}
30 I
45 e)

13
lee

Table 10 Wall species in other surveys, listed by the difference between
Bristol and the average of the other studies.

Sb

G) The significance of Bristol’s wall flora.

One of the striking features of the Flora of the Bristol Region is the way the
flora of the city of Bristol appears to differ from the flora of the rest of the
region. There are a variety of species which are far more frequent within the
city than outside it, and vice versa, and this stands out as a distinctive
feature of the Flora maps. There are a variety of possible causes of these
differences. The habitats in rural areas are often very similar over large
areas- they may be arable fields with hedges, grass fields, broad leaved-
woodland or coniferous woodland, and in a few areas saltmarsh. The flora
may vary with underlying geology, and remnant rare plants may linger in a
variety of sites that for whatever reason have not been affected by human
activities. The city by contrast is in every way affected by human activity,
retains little of its original flora except in a few specific sites such as the
Avon gorge, or the Avon estuary, and habitats vary extremely rapidly from
place to place. Many areas of the city are uncultivated, and the wide variety
of habitats gives opportunity to many species, especially aliens from
gardens or commerce, which are absent elsewhere. And walls are a very
important part of this habitat variety, often a site free from the competition
of other plants where seeds can readily germinate, and sometimes establish
themselves permanently. Clearly many of the plants found on Bristol walls
are common plants found in all habitats. But many more are species for
whom Bristol walls provide a special opportunity unavailable on the same
scale elsewhere. They are a vital and fascinating part of the city flora.

References

Grose D 1957 Flora of Wiltshire

Kent DH 1961 Flora of Middlesex walls. London Naturalist 40 29-43
Myles SL 2000 The Flora of the Bristol Region

Payne RM 1948 Flora of walls of SE Essex Watsonia 12 41-46

Payne RM 1989 Walls of Chew Valley Proc SANHS 231-242
Rishbeth J 1948 Flora of Cambridge Walls J Ecol 36 136-148

Stace C 1997 New Flora of the British Isles (Qa Edn)

Woodell SR 1959 Durham walls BSBI 257-273

60

A note on Mistletoe hosts.
R.L.Bland 11 Percival RD BS8 3LN richardbland @blue-yonder.co.uk

JW White mentions 14 tree species upon which he had recorded Mistletoe.
He notes only one or two records for 7 species, with the implication that the
rest are relatively common. He says Mistletoe is particularly common in N.
Somerset orchards. In the 2000 Flora it is present in 306 one-km squares,
20% of the region, and it is most common in S Gloucestershire. The
orchards of N Somerset have largely vanished. It is not easy to explain its
absence from so much of the area when its four commonest host species,
hybrid Black Poplar, Apple, Common Lime, and Hawthorn (in that order)
are far more widespread. Unfortunately the Flora under-records all planted
tree species, so that, while Hawthorn is recorded in 97% of squares, the
recorded proportion of the other three species is small, but is a fraction of
reality. There are very few records of bird species actually eating Mistletoe
berries, and it is plain that the vast majority of the ripe berries simply fall
from the plants in spring. On the other hand I have found Mistletoe on
several quite young trees, aged ten years or less, though I have failed to
keep any notes on this. It ought to be possible to age a Mistletoe plant itself.
Its initial growth is very slow, taking three or four years to establish. Once a
tree becomes a host Mistletoe spreads within it. I have never seen a tree
apparently killed by mistletoe, and only once seen dead Mistletoe on a tree.
The implication is that the rate of spread is very low, and that a major cause
over time of distribution change is the death or felling of host trees.

I have recorded Mistletoe in 107 Ikm squares, mainly in ST46, ST57,
ST58, ST68, and ST69, some of them new to the Flora. I have kept a note of
the host species by one-km square, in order to discover some order of
preference. It seems to be the case that it is easier for the seed to gain a
foothold in some species than others, which is probably related to the nature
of the bark, but also to the frequency with which the species occurs.

The species, and the percentage of the total species-squares that they
represent, is shown in Table |. I have found it on 12 species, of which eight
are recorded by White. He had it on another 6 species on which I have yet
to find it. There could be several reasons for the difference over a century.
White’s work was the product of thirty years of record-keeping rather than
just two winters. The tree species structure of the region has altered a little,
as Elm has declined, at least as a substantial tree, and the variety of trees
planted in streets has changed. Clearly the substantial orchards of the past
have vanished.

61

But White had only two records for Common Lime, and does not mention it
in Penpole Woods, or Ashton Park, with which he was familiar, where it
proliferates today. By implication he found it regularly on Ash, Aspen and
Elm, on which I have never seen it. The differences in status are listed in
Table |. There is a moral here. The process of botanical change is subtle
and continuous, and to understand it our recording methods must be the
same.

c
Common
R

Table | Mistletoe hosts by frequency

Communication
S. M Taylor, Hon. Archivist, 10 Cheddar Close, Nailsea, BS48 4YA

Items left by the late A. C. K. Fear, a BNS member from 1937 to November
2005 — and an inveterate hoarder of paperwork — triggered reflections on
how the flow of information between the Society and its members has
developed over that period. Until 1946, members paid a subscription to the
Society with an extra sum for each Section they wished to join, and it was
the task of a Section Secretary to keep his or her members informed of
indoor or outdoor events. Following the reorganisation in that year, all
members became members of all Sections, and every full member received
a programme card twice a year, listing the winter or summer meetings of the
Society and its Sections, and a (nearly) monthly circular, a practice we still
follow. Those who declared a particular interest in any Section paid also
one shilling (five new pence) per Section, to cover the cost of sending out
details of programme changes etc. Postage for “printed papers” was then
one (old) penny.

Circulars in the War years, from late 1939 tol1945, revealed signs of
austerity. The Ornithological Section met in members’ homes, and in view
of the ‘blackout’, when all lights visible outdoors were forbidden, chose to
meet at or near the full moon, to make walking or cycling easier. The
German ‘blitzes’ of November 1940, also making use of the full moon, led

62

to a speedily communicated decision to change back to darker nights. With
petrol strictly rationed, excursions were made by train, so that locations as
well as nourishment were limited. Thus in September 1941 members
visiting Bitton were advised that “Professor Gordon hopes to arrange for the
party to be supplied with cups of tea but regrets that food will not be
obtainable”, while a year later those going to Farrington Gurney were
bidden to “bring sandwiches etc for tea”, and on an excursion to the
Radstock area, “Tea will be provided at the Lamb Inn, Radstock, bring your
own food and sugar.” Collection of paper for salvage was a major patriotic
duty; in June 1942, members who were contemplating giving copies of the
Proceedings for salvage were asked to check first with the Librarian as
stocks of some parts were low.

There are traces too of the fact that food rationing continued in Britain for
seven years after the War. For a general field meeting to the Providence
area of Long Ashton in April 1947, the circular announced, “Tea (1/6d) at
the Jubilee Inn, Flax Bourton, at 5 pm. Cakes should be brought if desired”’.
An all-day visit by coach to the Quantocks in June 1952 (“provide your own
lunch’) would cost 12/- (60 p) including tea at St Audries Hotel at 5 pm; a
boiled egg for tea could be obtained for an extra sixpence.

By the 1960s, conditions had improved, and the words “a cream tea will be
taken” delighted those planning to visit Dunster, Dunkery, Horner and
similar Exmoor spots. Both general and ornithological outings would end at
the Horner tea gardens, except on one occasion when through use of the
informal but efficient Women’s Institute communication network, the W. I.
at Exford produced an excellent tea for over 40 birdwatchers in their hall.

R. Bassindale, lecturer in the University Geology Department, was the
Society’s Honorary Secretary for many years. From time to time he would
circulate what he called his “Comic Cuts”, containing any changes to
arrangements, as well as a discursive and enthusiastic account of each
forthcoming meeting. (For younger members, “Comic Cuts” was a
children’s picture comic, appearing weekly from May 1890 until 1953.
Brainchild of the press baron Alfred Harmsworth and modelled on his adult
“Titbits”, it was the first of many imitators. Its title became a generic term,
often mildly derogatory, for any routine report.)

As an example, his circular dated February 24, 1948 (a single white
foolscap sheet, typed on both sides) gave details of dates and times when
our Library would be open, and notes on all the March meetings. The
General Meeting was to see four diverse films. The briefest notice, on the
Geological Section’s meeting, read thus:

63

“Mr Donovan, who is a member of the University Geology
Department’s staff, was in East Greenland last summer and will be talking
of the expedition of which he was a member. A talk from the man who was
there is always interesting and members can be assured of an authoritative
and interesting account.”

After a reminder that the Society was about to change to its summer
calendar, for which Field Secretary Miss M. D. Hiley would be sending out
notices, came these verses, attributed to Anon - most probably “Bass”
himself.
“Winter
In winter time we can’t have walks, Instead we gather to hear talks;
Very rarely the talk is frightful, Much more often, it’s delightful.
Summer

“What is life if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare?’

Thus runs the creed of B.N.S. - What ‘joie de vivre’ they possess!

They study nature in the raw And learn to love it more and more.

Each wayside flower, each blade of grass Must be examined ere they pass.

(Especially when the road seems rough, Since Naturalists are not so tough).

In summer time they leave their beds, Throw off their crutches, raise their heads;

In panamas and shorts and things. They make a picture fit for kings.

You can discern them by their dress — Say, “Yonder goes the B.N.S.!”

‘Tis then we look at rocks and flowers, And walk about for hours and hours.”

From 1948 general notices appeared on pink paper, so that they could be
readily spotted amongst other documents — the Pink Sheet was born, and
continued as the main ten-times-a-year source of information for over
fifteen years.

Coach trips were an essential feature of our post-war outdoor programme,
as few possessed private cars. For all-day trips, members were sometimes
provided with two or three pages of notes on the botanical, entomological,
ornithological, geological and sometimes archaeological features they might
encounter. The Geological Section was best at this (its subjects were
unlikely to be out of bloom or to have migrated) and often provided a
booklet of 16 or 20 pages, made up of four or five folded foolscap sheets,
containing details of interesting features, together with a sketch map and,
sometimes, diagrams of rock sections.

Occasionally, being a Section Secretary could have far-reaching results.
Igor Loupekine, son of Russian émigrés, acquired a first-class degree in
Geology at Bristol in 1943 and was made an assistant lecturer in the
Department and thus a junior colleague of “Bass”, who forthwith drafted
him as Secretary of our Geological Section, a post he retained even after
1947 when, now with a doctorate, he was appointed to a full lectureship.
Ten years later he left Bristol, the BNS and the Section Secretaryship to
become Senior Lecturer and then in 1960 Professor of Geology at the Royal

64

East Africa Technical College, Nairobi. Here, with a colleague, he set up
the successful Geological Club of Nairobi, modelled closely on the BNS,
whose members made important discoveries.

In 1957 an additional method of communication appeared, direct to the
public. Our Council, concerned to raise membership, sought via April’s
Pink Sheet a volunteer to act as Publicity Secretary. The task was assumed
by an energetic young member who had joined in 1951; as part of his task
he wrote a column for the weekly Bristol Observer on the Society’s doings
and other items of current natural history interest, under the pen-name of
“Timothy Grass”, which continued until the paper ceased publication in
1962. In 1997 the same member, Brian Frost, still energetic though no
longer young, succeeded Miss Sheila Garden as Circulation Secretary,
responsible for the distribution of all our publications. In 2005 he also took
on the role of Honorary Secretary, involving frequent communication with
all Council members, made easier as most of them use electronic mail.

In the 1960s the present writer, then Secretary of the Ornithological Section,
would from time to time prepare “Occasional News”, a foolscap sheet
crammed on both sides with notes on birds and other natural history topics.
These were typed at home on a “skin” and reproduced after hours on the
Roneo duplicator in his employers’ Research Library, the Librarian having
arranged an adequate supply of paper. C.S. Carlile, for many years the
Society’s Honorary Secretary, had retired to the country but when
increasing infirmity brought him back to Bristol he became Circulation
Secretary, inserting Bulletins into envelopes pre-addressed by others by
means of the Society’s sometimes temperamental Addressograph machine.
He had mildly complained that folding and inserting the extra page was
onerous, so thereafter newly minted sheets were taken by bicycle during the
afternoon to his flat near Durdham Down. While he “put the kettle on” the
writer proceeded with envelope stuffing, and being Carlile’s junior by at
least 40 years, had much of it finished by the time tea and biscuits arrived,
and so was able to regain his workplace in good time to go home.

Eventually the Pink Sheet proved inadequate to hold the required
information and in May 1964 it was replaced by the Bulletin. Originaily
edited by Brian Frost, this was at first limited by cost to two, rarely three A4
sheets folded to make a booklet of eight or twelve pages. Its strikingly
yellow paper soon earned it the title of Yellow Peril. As time passed and
finances improved its colour paled, its size grew and its content expanded to
include reports of field meetings, news of library acquisitions, Tree Watch,
Phenology and other matters of interest. In April 2003 it assumed its present
discreet pale buff aspect. The Bulletin has matured, and become a “good
read”.

65

In the mid-1980s the Society moved into the electronic age with adhesive
address labels printed from a computerised data base, so that the dreaded
Addressograph could be retired. Then, in a millennial leap forward, in 2000
we acquired a presence on the World Wide Web, where matters of interest
and significance can be found. What does the future hold - Bulletins on our
mobile phones and iPods? “Beam me up, Scotty!”

Bristol & district Invertebrate report, 2005
R.J. Barnett
City Museum & Art Gallery, Queen’s Road, Bristol BS8 1RL
ray_barnett @bristol-city .gov.uk

Introduction

2005 seemed a fairly quiet year, perhaps because there was very little
immigration of insects from the continent compared to some years. The
winter was mild until February when there was a period of colder weather,
but nothing out of the norm. The mild period over Christmas 2004 led to
bumble bee activity very early in the New Year as noted by Robin
Williams, Lyndon Roberts and Mary Hill, for example, in sites ranging
from central Somerset through Bristol to Gloucester. The spring was rather
cool, windy and damp although the rainfall was not heavy. The earliest
Orange-tip butterfly noted was on 2™ April by Mike Johnson at Blagdon
Lake. The summer continued in a similar vein to the spring and the autumn
too was unremarkable.

Of note was the reappearance of the Glanville Fritillary at Sand Point where
it had been introduced originally in the 1980s and seemed to have died out a
few years ago. It is quite likely that the butterfly was reintroduced from
captive stock although no one has admitted to such a deed. The Small
Pearl-bordered Fritillary continued to hang on in the region at Sandford,
although Kurt Vickery reported numbers down on 2004. The odd example
of the Marsh Fritillary cropped up again possibly due to releases of captive
stock although remnant native populations may feasibly still be present.

Comment in the press remarked on the paucity of social wasps nationwide.
The cold snap in February may have been to blame, catching out many
queen wasps as they emerged from hibernation. This followed a very good
year for such wasps in 2004. In contrast to common species of wasp, the
Hornet had a good year locally and was reported from a couple of sites
somewhat away from the known woodland site at Wetmoor in South
Gloucestershire. This may suggest that this splendid insect is having a

66

2,

Trailing Bellflower

-leafed Toadflax

PO ARI Re tau

Maidenhair Spleenwort

Mistletoe on Rowan and on Lime

Blue Sow-thistle

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48

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Emperor Dragonfly and imago

Common Blue (D Davies)

'

Comma on Fleabane (D Davies)

A female Blackcap has its appearance changed by Phormium pollen (R Symes)

Swallow (D Davies)

Mandy Leivers and the Society stand at the Harbour Festival

David Cope

resurgence in the region. The queen Hornet emerges later from hibernation
than other social wasps and so presumably escaped the frosts of February.

One highlight of the year was the publication of a new identification guide.
A photographic guide to the shieldbugs and squashbugs of the British Isles
was produced by two local experts: Martin Evans and Roger Edmondson,
both of whom live in Bristol. It is to be hoped that this book, with its
excellent colour photographs, will stimulate more recording of these often
ignored insects. Of the 43 species listed, over half can be found in our
region.

My thanks to all who have submitted records directly to the Society and
particularly to Robert Cropper, to the Bristol Regional Environmental
Records Centre (BRERC) and to the Bristol Wildlife e-group. I have listed
separately records of note from Robert Cropper for 2004, received too late
to be included in last year’s report. The importance of receiving, not just
the records picked out here, but those of perhaps less noteworthy species
cannot be understated in terms of monitoring the ever changing status of the
invertebrate fauna.

Scientific nomenclature follows that given in Bradley (2000), Brooks
(1997), Chandler (1998), Duff (1993), Fitton et al (1978) and Potts (1964).

Additional species of note to the 2004 report

Insecta

Orthoptera (grasshoppers and crickets)

Great Green Bush-cricket Tettigonia viridissima (L.) Leaze Drove,
Bleadney, Somerset ST486449 — 491447 (vc 6) 31 July 2004 R.S. Cropper,
a very good colony in rough fields. (Our largest cricket and found in
occasional colonies often fairly close to the Estuary.)

Hemiptera (true bugs)

Tortoise Bug Eurygaster testudinaria (Geoff.) Shapwick Heath, Somerset
ST422408 (vc 6) 22 May 2004 R.S. Cropper, two on Carex nigra heads.
(Widespread but local in damp places. Care must be taken to separate it
from the similar but rarer E. maura.)

Lepidoptera (butterflies)

Marsh Fritillary Max Meadows, Winscombe, North Somerset ST407574
(vc 6) 31 May 2004, R.S. Cropper, a singleton seen.

67

Coleoptera (beetles)

Hydroglyphus geminus (Fabr.) Long Sutton, Somerset ST483260 (ve 6) 19
June 2004 R.S. Cropper, several in a shallow pool in a limestone quarry. (A
Nationally Notable aquatic species found in drainage ditches and ponds
locally in Somerset.)

Hydroporus memnonius Nic. Long Sutton, Somerset ST483260 (ve 6) 19
June 2004 R.S. Cropper, one in a shallow pool in a limestone quarry.
(Although not Nationally Notable, another scarce species in Somerset found
in the same habitats as the previous species.)

Rhantus frontalis (Marsh.) Catcott Heath, Somerset ST4041 (ve 6) 3 July
2004 R.S. Cropper, one in a rhyne. (A Nationally Notable species of
brackish and freshwater on the Levels.)

Hymenoptera (bees, wasps and ants)

Bombus sylvarum Cock Hill, Somerset ST378387 (vc 6) 7 August 2004
R.S. Cropper, found at this site where had been seen previously in 1992 and
1994. Also seen nearby at ST375388 21 August 2004, where, as at Cock
Hill, seen at Centaurea nigra. A further site on the north bank of the
Huntspill River, West Huntspill, Somerset ST294457 (vc 6)14 August 2004
R.S. Cropper, a number of workers and males on Centaurea nigra.

Species of note in 2005

Insecta

Odonata (damselflies and dragonflies)

Keeled Skimmer Orthetrum coerulescens (Fabr.) A bog on the south side
of Blackdown-on-Mendip, Somerset ST477567 (vc 6) 9 July 2005 R.S.
Cropper, a few in flight. (In Somerset, previously only known from a few
sites on the Blackdown Hills in the south and from Max Bog on the
northern edge of the Mendips (first reported at the latter site in 1994 by J.P.
Martin). A species associated with acidic bog.)

Orthoptera (grasshoppers and crickets)

Stripe-winged Grasshopper Stenobothrus lineatus (Panz.) Leighton
Hanging, Somerset ST705445 (vc 6) 11 July 2005 R.S. Cropper, several
stridulating males on rocky limestone slope — a new 10km record. (A local
species in the region.)

Rufous Grasshoppper Gomphocerippus rufus (L.) South Drain, Ashcott
Heath, Somerset ST445399 (ve 6) 28 August 2005, a single stridulating
male in grass on the banks of the drain (An atypical habitat and therefore
possibly of casual occurrence, normally associated with dry calcareous
grassland.)

68

Hemiptera (true bugs)

Tortoise Bug Eurygaster testudinaria (Geoff.) Pond edge close to
Clarkencombe Wood, Ashton Court, North Somerset ST550715 (ve 6) 12
June 2005 R.J. Barnett, one swept from the pondside vegetation.
(Widespread but local in damp places. Care must be taken to separate it
from the similar but rarer E. maura.)

Thyreocoris scarabeiodes (L.) Crook Peak, Somerset ST35 (vc 6) 5 May
2005 Martin Evans and Roger Edmondson. (A rather local species of
shieldbug.)

Sciocoris cursitans (Fabr.) Crook Peak, Somerset ST35 (vce 6) 5 May 2005
Martin Evans and Roger Edmondson. (A rather local species of shieldbug.)
Troilus luridus (Fabr.) Chantry, Somerset ST7146 (ve 6) 11 July 2005 R:S.
Cropper, one on trees in disused quarry. (A species of trees and bushes and
so less commonly noted that some of the other shieldbugs.)

Zicrona caerulea (L.) Crook Peak, Somerset ST35 (vc 6) 5 May 2005
Martin Evans and Roger Edmondson. (A local species found where leaf
beetles occur in numbers which form a prey item.)

Scolopostethus pictus (Schill.) Thornbury, South Gloucestershire ST ? (vc
34) April 2005, M. Lush, one found in a blown down bird’s nest. (A rare
species associated with dry vegetative matter where it is thought to feed on
fungal hyphae.)

Lepidoptera (butterflies)

Essex Skipper Thymelicus lineola (Ochs.) Trooper’s Hill, Bristol
ST628733 (vce 34) 2 July 2005 R.J. Barnett, one in long grass. Shapwick
Heath, Somerset ST423411 (vc 6) 23 July, R.S. Cropper, visiting blooms of
Lathyrus sylvestris, a new 10km square record. (Probably still increasing
and extending its range in Somerset and Gloucestershire. )

Chalkhill Blue Lysandra coridon (Poda) Uphill, North Somerset ST3158
(vc 6) 20 August 2005 R.S. Cropper, several flying. (Still in existence at
this site but a species which could easily disappear from the old “Avon”
area.)

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary Boloria selene (D. & S.) Sandford Quarry
ST4259 (ve 6) 2005, Kurt Vickery. Also several seen freshly emerged at
the same site on 31 May 2005 R.S. Cropper. (On the verge of being lost
from the old “Avon” area.)

Marsh Fritillary Euphydryas aurinia (Rott.) Bathampton Down Golf
Course, Bath & NE Somerset ST768651 (vc 34), reported to BRERC. One
adult seen, a wandering individual or release?

Glanville Fritillary Melitaea cinxia (L.) Sand Point, North Somerset
ST3265 (vc 6) 7 June 2005 P. Bowyer, one photographed. (Thought to
have become extinct at this site but sightings this year indicate either a
resurgence of a residual population or new introductions have taken place.)

69

Wall Lasiommata megera (L.) Crook Peak, Somerset ST35 (vc 6) 5 May
2005 Martin Evans and Roger Edmondson. (A species whose numbers
fluctuate from year to year but always locally distributed in our region.)
Grayling Hipparchia semele (L.) Brean Down, Somerset ST2858 (vc 6)
18 July 2005 R.S. Cropper, in very good numbers. Crook Peak and
Compton Hill, Somerset ST3955 (vc 6) 24 July 2005 R.S. Cropper. (A
butterfly which seems to be declining at the present time.)

Lepidoptera (micro-moths)

Stigmella aceris (Frey) Chew Valley Lake, North Somerset ST ? (vc 6) 7
August 2005 R. Andrews, mine in Norway Maple. (Has become much
more widespread in the British Isles in recent years.)

Antispila treitschkiella (Fisch. von Rosl.) | Chew Valley Lake, North
Somerset ST ? (vc 6) 21 August 2005 R. Andrews, mine in dogwood.
(Poorly recorded in the region.)

Nemapogon clematella (Fabr.) Chew Valley Lake, North Somerset ST ?
(vc 6) 26 August 2005 R. Andrews. (A species which feeds on fungi as a
larva.)

Caloptilia populetorum (Zell.) Trooper’s Hill, Bristol ST628733 (ve 34) 18
June 2005 Bristol & District Moth Group. (A very local species in southern
England of birch woodland, possibly the first record in our region.)
Digitivalva pulicariae (Klim.) Redding Pits, Winford, North Somerset
ST535 38 (ve 6) 29 April 2005, Bristol & District Moth Group, one
confirmed by genitalia prepn (M. Bailey). (Poorly recorded in the region.)
Batia lambdella (Don.) Trooper’s Hill, Bristol ST628733 (ve 34) 18 June
2005 Bristol & District Moth Group. (A specialist on gorse, this is the only
known site in the region at present.)

Acompsia cinerella (Cl.) Tucking Mill, Bath ST765616 (vc 6) 22 July
2005, Bristol & District Moth Group. (Poorly recorded in the region.)
Cochylis nana (Haw.) Trooper’s Hill, Bristol ST628733 (vc 34) 18 June
2005 Bristol & District Moth Group. (A local species of birch woodland.)
Evergestis pallidata (Hufn.) Tucking Mill, Bath ST765616 (vc 6) 22 July
2005, Bristol & District Moth Group.

Pyrauta ostrinalis (Hb.) Crook Peak, Somerset ST35 (vc 6) 5 May 2005
Martin Evans and Roger Edmondson. (Very similar to the commoner P.
purpuralis. )

Pyrausta cingulata (L.) Crook Peak, Somerset ST35 (vc 6) 5 May 2005
Martin Evans and Roger Edmondson. (A local species of calcareous
grassland.)

Sitochroa verticalis (L.) Trooper’s Hill, Bristol ST628733 (ve 34) 2 July
2005 R.J. Barnett. (A local species of disturbed grassland.)

70

European Corn-borer 9 Ostrinia nubilalis (Hb.) Pilning, South
Gloucestershire ST556849 (vc 34) 24 June, 28 June & 2 July 2005, J.P.
Martin, at light. (The records would suggest a breeding population rather
than immigrant examples.)

Phlyctaenia perlucidalis (Hb.) Pilning, South Gloucestershire ST556849
(ve 34) 19 June 2005, J.P. Martin, at light. (An unusual species in the
region, possibly only the second record.)

Assara terebrella Durdham Downs, Bristol ST564746 (vc 34) 9 July 2005
Bristol & District Moth Group, one at light. (The first record for the region,
a local species in the south of England where Norway Spruce grows.)
Nephopterix angustella (Hb.) Whitchurch, ST66 (ve 6) 29 August 2005
R.Andrews, one found in garden moth trap. (A local species.)

Lepidoptera (macro-moths)

Silky Wave /daea dilutaria (Hb.) Leigh Woods, Bristol ST5673 (vc 6) 2
July 2005 S. Ogden, 6 seen on the Leigh Woods side of the Gorge. The
Gully, Durdham Downs, Bristol ST564746 (vc 34) 5 July 2005 R.J. Barnett,
many in evidence in the evening and seen again at the light trapping
evening on 9 July, Bristol & District Moth Group. (Only known from the
Avon Gorge and two sites in Wales, a Red Data Book species.)

Vestal Rhodometra sacraria (L.) Portbury Wharf, North Somerset ST47
(vc 6) 18 August 2005, H. Taffs, one in flight in daytime. Pilning, South
Gloucestershire ST556849 (vc 34) 27 October 2005, J.P. Martin, at light.
(A regular migrant seen in most years.)

Chalk Carpet Scotopteryx bipunctaria (D. & S.) Leigh Woods, Bristol
ST5673 (vc 6) 2 July 2005 S. Ogden, 3 seen on the Leigh Woods side of the
Gorge. (A Nationally Notable species of concern nationally, still present at
a couple of sites in the region including the Avon Gorge.)

Royal Mantle Catarhoe cuculata (Hufn.) Tucking Mill, Bath ST765616
(vc 6) 22 July 2005, Bristol & District Moth Group. (A very local species
which seems to be mainly found around Bath in our region.)

Pauper Pug (or Fletcher’s Pug) Eupithecia egenaria Herr.-Schaff. Leigh
Woods, Bristol ST562731 (ve 6) 25 May 2005 S. Ogden, very fresh
specimen, identification confirmed by R.J. Barnett. (A Nationally Notable
species found in the Wye Valley and a few places in East Anglia and the
Midlands. Only the second time it has been confirmed at Leigh Woods but
there is likely to be a solid resident population. )

Annulet Charissa obscurata (D. & S.) Durdham Downs, Bristol ST564746
(vc 34) 9 July 2005 Bristol & District Moth Group, one at a light trap.
(Very local in the region.)

vA

Hummingbird Hawk-moth Macroglossum stellatarum (L.) St Andrews,
Bristol ST5974 (ve 34) 19 April 2005 feeding at Aubretia. Knowle, Bristol
ST67 (vc 6) 27 May 2005 H. Johnstone. Claverton, Bath ST76 (vc 6) 25
August 2005 A. Mears. (A spectacular migrant which can appear in
numbers in some years and has recently been shown to occasionally over
winter in this country. )

Red-necked Footman Atolmis rubricollis (L.) Trooper’s Hill, Bristol
ST628733 (vc 34) 18 June 2005 Bristol & District Moth Group. Durdham
Downs, Bristol ST564746 (vc 34) 9 July 2005 Bristol & District Moth
Group. (A local species which has been doing well in recent years.)
White-line Dart Euxoa tritici (L.) Pilning, South Gloucestershire
ST556849 (ve 34) 23 July 2005, J.P. Martin, at light. (A coastal speciality
and seldom recorded in our area unless very close to the Estuay.)

Dog’s Tooth Lacanobia suasa (D. & S.) Pilning, South Gloucestershire
ST556849 (vc 34) 28 June 2005, J.P. Martin, at light. (Another species not
recorded far from the coast.)

White-point Mythimna albipuncta (D. &S.) Timsbury, Bath & NE
Somerset ST659587 (vc 6) 11 September 2005 M. Bailey, one found in
garden moth trap. (An occasional migrant.)

Delicate Mythimna vitellina (Hb.) Timsbury, Bath & NE Somerset
ST659587 (vc 6) 25 May 2005 M. Bailey, one found in garden moth trap.
Whitchurch, ST66 (vc 6) 26 May 2005 R.Andrews, one found in garden
moth trap. Burnham, Somerset ST ? (vc 6) 12 September 2005 A. Slade.
(An occasional migrant.)

Old Lady Mormo maura (L.) Pilning, South Gloucestershire ST556849
(vc 34) 9 August 2005, J.P. Martin, at light. Wick Golden Valley Local
Nature Reserve, South Gloucestershire ST703731 (ve 34) 19 August 2005
Bristol & District Moth Group, one at light. (A local species noted for
entering aestivation in mid-summer and therefore sometimes found in
tunnels and similar places at roost.)

Scarce Bordered Straw Helicoverpa armigera (Hb.) Berrow, Somerset
ST35 (ve 6) 12 September 2005 J. Packer. (A fairly regular migrant.)

Coleoptera (beetles)

Dicheirotrichus gustavi Crotch West Huntspill, Somerset ST2945 (vc 6) 27
April 2005 R.S. Cropper, two females from beneath a stone at the top of the
saltmarsh. (A local species of saltmarsh along the Severn estuary coast.)
Summer Chafer Amphimallon solstitialis (L.) Durdham Downs, Bristol
ST564742 (ve 34) 9 July 2005 R.J. Barnett, several in flight at dusk. (Local
and much less common than the Cockchafer. )

42

Garden Chafer Phyllopertha horticola (L.) Gordano Valley National
Nature Reserve, North Somerset ST435729 (vc 6) 15 May 2005, R.J.
Barnett, three swept from vegetation along the cinder track within few
metres of each other. (Found on light or sandy soils but locally in our
region.)

Prosternon tessellatum (L.) Trooper’s Hill, Bristol ST6273 (ve 34) 2 July
2005 R.J. Barnett. One swept. (Few records from Somerset and
Gloucestershire. )

Tillus elongatus (L.) Durdham Downs, Bristol ST565746 (vc 34) 9 July
2005 R.J. Barnett, one at light. (A rare species whose larvae prey on
longhorn beetle larvae. Not recorded in Gloucestershire or Somerset for
many years. A Nationally Notable species.)

Opatrum sabulosum (L.) Brean Down, Somerset ST2958 (vc 6) 16 April
2005 R.S. Cropper, one found in sandy turf. (A Nationally Notable species
which is very local in Somerset but has been found at this site previously on
occasion. )

Sulphur Beetle Crteniopus sulphureus (L.) The Gully, Durdham Downs,
Bristol ST564746 (ve 34) 5 July 2005 R.J. Barnett, several on flower heads.
(A coastal species of a distinctive yellow colouration. )

Arhopalus rusticus (L.) Durdham Downs, Bristol ST565746 (vc 34) 9 July
2005 R.J. Barnett, one at a light trap. (An introduced species where
conifers grow, thinly scattered in the Bristol region.)

Cryptocephalus aureolus Suff. Trooper’s Hill, Bristol ST629732 (ve 34) 2
July 2005 R.J. Barnett. Several swept. (A Nationally Notable species of
dry flowering meadows.)

Chrysolina oricalcia (Mull.) Near the Gully, Durdham Downs, Bristol ST
564 747 (vc 34) 5 July 2005 R.J. Barnett, one swept in the evening from
umbel close to the Circular Road and on the edge of the wooded area that
leads to the top of the Gully. (A Nationally Notable species is very rare in
Somerset and Gloucestershire and has not been recorded from this site
before.)

Hymenoptera (bees, wasps and ants)

Hornet Vespa crabro L. Rangeworthy, South Gloucestershire ST68 (vc 34)
May onwards, W. Moss, nest in garden bird box, followed successful Blue
Tit brood in same box. (Apparently expanding from the known site of
Wetmoor (Lower Woods), a very local species still in the region.)

Bombus humilis (Ill.) Long Sutton, Somerset ST483260 (vc 6) 6 August
2005 R.S. Cropper, good numbers seen in disused quarry visiting Cirsium
eriophorum, Lotus glaber and Lotus corniculatus. (A second known site in
Somerset for this declining species. Great care must be taken to avoid
confusion with B. pascuorum and B. muscorum. )

(fe

Bombus sylvarum (L.) Following the discovery in 2004, found again on the
north bank of the Huntspill River, West Huntspill, Somerset ST294457 (vc
6) in 2005 on 27 August R.S. Cropper, several at Lotus corniculatus. Also
Long Drove, Walton Heath, Somerset ST454388 (vc 6) 13 August 2005
R.S. Cropper, two at thistles. (A rare and declining species of concern.)
Ectemnius sexcinctus (Fabr.) Post Office, Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset ST 30
49 (vc 6) 21 July 2005 R.S. Cropper, one found dead. (Not a common
species and mainly found in southern England.)

Diptera (true flies) |

Volucella inanis (L.) Cornwall Road, Bishopston, Bristol ST585757 (ve 34)
18 August 2005 R.J. Barnett, one roosting in bedroom immediately above
roof with wasp’s nest. (Until a few years ago this species was largely
restricted to south east England but has since undergone an expansion in
range and is now firmly established in the Bristol region.)

Volucella zonaria (Poda) Cornwall Road, Bishopston, Bristol ST585757 (vc
34) 27 August 2005 R.J. Barnett, one seen entering wasp nest presumably to
oviposit. (A well known resident of the city of Bristol which may becoming
commoner. )

References

Bradley, J.D. (2000) Checklist of lepidoptera recorded from the British
Isles. (2" edition, revised). D.J. & M.J. Bradley, Hants.

Brooks, S. (1997) Field guide to the dragonflies and damselflies of Great
Britain and Ireland. British Wildlife Publishing, Hants.

Chandler, P. (1998) Checklists of insects of the British Isles (New Series)
Part 1 Diptera. Royal Entomological Society, London.

Duff, A. (1993) Beetles of Somerset. Somerset Archaeological & Natural
History Society, Taunton.

Fitton, M.G., de V. Graham, M.W.R., Boucek, Z.R.J., Fergusson, N.D.M.,
Huddleston, T., Quinlan, J. and Richards, O.W. (1978) Kloet & Hincks, a
checklist of British insects, part 4. Hymenoptera (2"" edition, revised).
Royal Entomological Society, London.

Potts, W.H. (1964) Kloet & Hincks, a checklist of British insects, part 1.
Small Orders and Hemiptera. (2" edition, revised). Royal Entomological
Society, London.

74

Bristol Mammal Report 2005
David P. C. Trump
Windrush, West End Lane, Nailsea, Bristol BS48 4DB
e-mail: d.m.trump @tinyworld.co.uk

Introduction

The intention of this mammal report is to be a wide-ranging review of the
records and studies of mammals in and around the Bristol area and to report
on significant issues and events affecting British mammals in 2005. The
number of one-kilometre squares in which those species were positively
recorded is given in brackets after the scientific name, followed by the
number of one-kilometre squares for 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001 and 2000.
Where no grid reference was provided, the record is not included in this
total. The former county of Avon covers an area of approximately 1300
square kilometres, and so the number of | km squares for which records
have been received gives an indication of the abundance of each species.
Where given, all grid references are for the 100 km grid square ST. The
differences between the years is likely to be due to changes in numbers and
locations of recorders rather than changes in mammal abundance or
distribution. Provided the submitter of a record gives permission, all
records are submitted annually to the Bristol Regional Environment
Records Centre (BRERC).

Insectivora (Hedgehogs, Shrews and Moles)

Hedgehog Erinaceus europaeus (39 1-km squares for 2005, 26 for 2004,
26 for 2003, 45 for 2002, 38 for 2001)

53 records from 39 |-km squares. There were 48 road casualty records in
2005, in every month except January, February and December with the
majority being in May (13 records). There were six road casualty
Hedgehogs from a single 1-km square (ST4670) — Queens Road, North
Street, and Silver Street in Nailsea.

is

(90-00

& 2005
100+") ee f 2004

4 fF) 2003
@ 2002
w 2001
2000
Om 1999
@ 1998
O 1997

P May 9 1996
Jan Mar May Jul Sep Nov

Figure 1. Number of Hedgehog Road Casualty Records per Month 1996-

2005.

Ten years of data and 535 records of road casualty Hedgehogs show two

main peaks, a smaller peak in May when most Hedgehogs have emerged

from hibernation and a larger peak in July/August when the young of the

year disperse (Fig. 1). Hedgehog road casualties have now been recorded in

every month of the year except February.

Recorded by RB, PC, BF, S&JG, JM, J&SP, JR, CS, DT, MT, DW, LW.

lee ee EN

The Hedgehog was the South West gardeners’ favourite creature according
to a survey carried out by Wild About Gardens, a joint project organised by
the Wildlife Trusts and the Royal Horticultural Society (Avon Wildlife
Trust Wild Times December 2005).

Mole Talpa europea (90,63,56,63,69,151)

97 records from 90 1-km squares. The vast majority of records were of
mole hills, generally the only evidence that moles are in a particular area.
Recorded by RB, PC, JR, TBS, DT, RW.

Common Shrew Sorex araneus (6,2,5,4,3,1)

Six records from six 1-km squares. Records ranged from one killed by a cat
in Stapleton, one found in a dustbin in Pilning, a sighting in a garden, a road
casualty to two caught alive in Longworth traps at Clapton Moor Nature
Reserve.

Records from PC, JP, JR, TS, DT.

Pygmy Shrew (0,0,6,4,0,0) No records for the year.

Water Shrew Neomys fodiens (0,2,2,2,0,0) No records for the year.

76

Chiroptera (Bats)

Greater Horseshoe Bat Rhinolophus ferrumequinum (5,0,1,1,0,1)

Eight records from five 1-km squares. Hibernation counts of 48 (January),
49 (February) and 67 (December) from ochre mines near Banwell, 58 from
caves near Banwell in January and one from Black Rock Quarry also in
January. Six (including a ringed female) in a priest hole in a Gordano
Valley church in April, with emergence counts of six and nine from the
same location on two evenings in May.

Records from LD, LR.

Lesser Horseshoe Bat Rhinolophus hipposideros (7,0,4,9,0,3)

14 records from seven |-km squares.

Hibernation counts in January of three and four at Ashton Court, two at
Black Rock Quarry, 27 at caves near Banwell, 23 in ochre mines near
Banwell and eight at Brockley Combe; 38 in ochre mines near Banwell in
February and 10 in Brockley Combe in March; 37 in ochre mines near
Banwell in December.

Emergence counts of 58 and 104 from Clarken Combe Lodge in May, of
117 and 112 from Upper Langford in June and 45 at Leigh Court in July.
Records from LR, JW.

Whiskered Bat/Brandt’s Bat Myotis mystacinus/brandtii (0,1,1,0,0)

No records for the year.

Natterer’s Bat Myotis nattereri (0,1,3,1,3)

Single record of a maternity roost in Wraxall in July.

Record from LR.

Bechsteins Bat Myotis bechsteinii (0,1,1,0,0) No records for the year.
Daubenton’s Bat Myotis daubentoni (2,0,2,1,0) No records for the year.
Serotine Eptesicus serotinus (1,0,2,2,0,0)

One individual foraging at Clapton-in-Gordano in May.

Record from LR.

Noctule Nyctalus noctula (4,4,4,3,1) No records for the year.

Leisler’s Bat Nyctalus leisleri (0,0,0,1,0) No records for the year.

Common Pipistrelle Pipistrellus pipistrellus and Soprano Pipistrelle
Pipistrellus pygmaeus (9,6,5,12,4+,3)

Nine records from nine |-km squares. A number of Pipistrelle droppings
were found on the floor of the fishermen’s hut near Herriot’s Bridge, Chew
Valley Lake in May. Bat boxes at Tickenham Nature Reserve (Avon
Wildlife Trust) were checked in October. Two of the four ‘standard’
wooden boxes contained one & two Pipistrelles respectively. Three of the
13. Schwegler boxes had bat droppings in them. Approximately 40
Pipistrelles were seen in a roof roost in Backwell in July. An amazing 435
were counted out of a maternity roost at Chew Stoke also in July. All the
other records were of small numbers of bats flying over gardens between
May and September.

of.

Records from D&GB, KG, PL, JP, J&SP, JR, LR, DT.
Nathusius’ Pipistrelle Pipistrellus nathusii (0,0,0,0, 1,0)
No records for the year.

Brown Long-Eared Bat Plecotus auritus (0,1,1,0,0)
No records for the year.

BATS IN THE NEWS

Bats indirectly made the headlines in the Weekend Post (Bristol) of 9"" July.
‘Dark Ages — a plan to install lights to make a lane (next to Narroways
Millennium Green Nature Reserve) safer for children walking to school has
been attached by environmentalists — who say it could harm bats and
moths’.

‘We were here first’ (Western Daily Press 2" May) — the presence of a
colony of Bechstein’s Bats in woodland adjacent to the site of a proposed
development of 500 new houses in Trowbridge is on hold pending further
research on the potential impact of the development.

Potential purchasers of Springhead Farm, Upper Langford near Churchill
were advised that one of the barns belonging to the property already has
some sitting tenants in the form of a colony of Lesser Horseshoe Bats (“At
home down on the farm’ Bristol Evening Post property supplement 8" July).

Lagomorpha (Rabbits and Hares)

Brown (European) Hare Lepus europaeus (10,6,24,10,11,34)

11 records from 10 1-km squares. A pair were seen mating in a field near
Stowey in March (with a third hare in an adjacent field). Three were seen
together in a field at West Littleton in June.

Records from RB, PC, EN, J&SP, LR, DT, DW.

Rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus (76,68,52,36,19,105)

76 records from 64 1-km squares.

Records from RB, PC, EN, J&SP, JR, ST, DT, MT, RW

Rodentia (Rats, Mice, Voles and Squirrels)

Brown Rat Rattus norvegicus (7,9,9,13,6+,17)

Seven records from seven 1-km squares. Rats caused concern in the
children’s playground next to Tesco in Nailsea (‘Rat plague forces the
closure of playground’ Bristol Evening Post 19" August). Residents of
Derham Park in Yatton complained to North Somerset Council about
increasing sightings of Rats in their gardens (We’re being taken over by rat
plague — headline in the Clevedon Mercury 17" November). Other records

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from West End Nailsea, Clevedon, Stapleton, Bishop Sutton, Pilning and in
Bristol.
Records from JR, TS, DT, DW, RW.

For the first time in 30 years a Puffin chick was seen emerging from a
burrow and for the first time in 49 years Manx Shearwaters successfully
fledged on the island of Lundy. This follows a three year £60,000 campaign
to eradicate rats (both Brown Rats and Black Rats Rattus rattus) using
poison baits (BBC Wildlife 23 (9) September 2005).

Grey Squirrel Sciurus carolinensis (83,62,59,37,50,77)

113 records from 83 1-km squares.

Richard Bland has been counting Grey Squirrels on a weekly basis in his 1|-
km square local patch (ST5673 centred on Clifton) for the past five years.
His results are summarised in figure 2. These show a very sharp increase
from about weeks 36 to 40 (mid September to mid October) with numbers
then declining to ‘normal’ levels by week 48 (late November). This peak is
likely to coincide with the autumn dispersal of that year’s young together
with some of the adults (Corbet and Harris 1991).

Figure 2. Cumulative weekly grey squirrel counts for ST 5673 for the years
2001-2005
Records from RB, JB, PC, JM, EN, JP, J&SP, JR, DT, MaT, RW.

‘Squirrels on rampage’ (Clevedon Mercury 6" October ). Grey Squirrels
got into the Old Council Chamber at North Somerset Council and knocked
paintings off the walls and caused minor damage to cables in the ornate
wooden council chamber resulting in some committee meetings being
delayed.

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Water Vole Arvicola terrestris (2,1,2,2,2,0)

Records from two 1-km squares. One was seen swimming across a rhyne at
Avonmouth, with burrows seen in the same locality. At least one individual
was seen at Bleadon.

Records from RB, LR.

Bank Vole Clethrionomys glareolus (3,1,5,6,1,4)

Records from only three 1-km squares, two killed by a cat at Stapleton and
individuals live-trapped at Clapton Moor Nature Reserve in June and
November.

Records from TS, DT.

Short-tailed Field Vole Microtus agrestis (3,1,5,7,2,2)

Three records from three |-km squares. One seen feeding under a bird
feeder in Nailsea, the other two records were of cat kills (a cat in Stapleton
killed four field voles in February!).

Records from J&SP, JR, TS.

Common Dormouse Muscardinus avellanarius (0,0,1,1,0,?)

No records for the year.

Lincoln Garland and Michael Woods reported on Highways Agency
Dormouse surveys along the M4, M5 and A303 corridors (Garland and
Woods 2005). Sites were surveyed by erecting dormouse tubes in scrub and
plantations, and where hazel was present, checking fallen shells for the
distinctive gnaw marks of Dormice. Evidence of dormice was found at
eight sites (seven of the sites were not previously known about) along the
Mé4, M5 and A303, with a mean size of 4.8ha (range 0.8-20ha), a population
estimate range of 3-12 individuals at the poorest site to 80-200 animals at
the best site. A mean of 45% (range 2-100%) of the habitat was on the road
verge itself. They concluded that:-

Road developments have been responsible for the severance of hedgerows
and woodland. Fragmenting Dormouse populations and inhibiting their
dispersal. However, plantation and scrub along motorways can also provide
important permanent habitat for dormice and as a means of dispersal
between populations that are on the same side of the road.

Dormice are thought to be under-recorded in many areas and in particular
along road verges. Motorway and trunk road plantations usually consist of
a wide variety of different native shrubs and trees providing a sequence of
foods for dormice during the changing seasons. Bramble is also very
abundant along road verges and is a key source of food and cover for
Dormice.

Contiguous roadside plantation and scrub as small as 1 ha can constitute the
principle component in the habitat of some dormouse populations, although
such sites probably support sink populations dependent on continued
immigration for their long-term survival.

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Although Dormice are reluctant to cross small gaps in hedgerows and
woodland within their established home range, they do appear capable of
crossing minor roads and grassland with only patchy scrub during dispersal
along road verges.

Minor roadside tree and shrub loss resulting from soft estate management
and minor road works can potentially result in disturbance and fatalities of
dormice and fragmentation of their habitat.

Wood Mouse (Long-tailed Field Mouse) Apodemus _ sylvaticus
(7,3,9,5,7,6)

Records from seven |-km squares. An amazing 18 individuals were live-
trapped in the roof of a house in West End, Nailsea and released c. 3 km
away. As far as is known none returned! Four individuals were live-
trapped (in Longworth live-capture traps) in hedgerows at Clapton Moor
Nature Reserve in June and 46 individuals trapped in the same hedges in
November.

Records from:- EN, J&SP, JR, TS, DT, MT).

Harvest Mouse Micromys minutus (1,0,0,0, 1,0)

A single record from a Longworth trap at Bleadon Level in December. This
is the first Harvest Mouse record since 2001.

Record from LR.

House Mouse Mus domesticus (3,1,3,1,4,3)

Three records from three 1-km squares (Nailsea, Stapleton and Pilning).
Records from JR, TS, DT.

Yellow-necked Mouse Apodemus flavicollis (0,0,0,1,0,0)

No records for the year.

Small mammal studies

A small mammal trapping exercise was undertaken at the Avon Wildlife
Trust’s Clapton Moor Nature Reserve in November as a follow-up to a
similar study undertaken in 2002 (Trump 2003).

120 Longworth live-capture traps were set in the same six field
margins/hedgerows as in 2002. The traps were set to catch for two nights
with all individuals caught being uniquely marked so that they could be
identified if recaptured. 48 individuals of three species were trapped (Wood
Mouse, Bank Vole and Common Shrew). This compares with 52
individuals of five different species (the same three as 2005 with the
addition of Field Vole and Pygmy Shrew). As in 2002 , the vast majority of
captures were of Wood Mice (96% in 2005, 79% in 2002).

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Wood Bank Vole Field Vole Common
Mouse Shrew

OD Oct-02 O Nov-05

Figure 3. Small mammals trapped in hedgerows/field margins at Clapton
Moor Nature Reserve autumn 2002 and 2005

Cetacea (Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises) and Pinnipedia

(seals)

Harbour Porpoise Phocoena phocoena (0,1,0,0,0,0)

No records for the year.

Grey Seal Halichoerus grypus (5+,0,0,1?,0,0)

At least seven records from at least five 1-km squares. One at Portbury
Wharf in March, one at Littleton Pill in July, one at Redcliff Bay in August,
individuals seen off New Passage on four occasions between August and
October and of course Whitby the Seal who was seen by hundreds of people
on the Avon and in Bristol Docks between August and September.

Records from RB, MD, GH, Severnside —email group, TBS.

Whitby the Seal

In August and September, readers of the Bristol Evening Post followed the
antics of Whitby the Seal as he/she swam up and down the River Avon in
Bristol. The first report was on 11 August when a ‘black seal’ was spotted
‘climbing across rocks on the river bank and scaling a weir’ on the river at
Netham. The following day, a series of photos were published of Whitby
(Where is Whitby Going?), named after Whitby Road in St Anne’s where
the seal was seen climbing up over ‘Wetham Dam’, sic, ST646726. The
seal was thought to have been seen up as far as Hanham. Another photo of
Whitby appeared on 16 August (Playful Whitby’s ‘as happy as Larry’), this
time as he/she followed a narrow boat along the Feeder Canal before
disappearing near Totterdown ST601718. The harbour master told the
owner of the narrow boat that a seal had also been reported from the
‘harbour’. At 08.30 am on the same day a seal had been seen up as far as
Willsbridge Mill, 6 km upstream ST660700.

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A dead seal was reported to have been found washed up on the beach at
Portishead on about 17 August. ‘Whitby still alive’ — a report in the
Evening Post on 23 August said that Whitby had been seen swimming up
the River Severn near the Second Severn Bridge. The next report was on 6
September ‘Whitby the seal may have been spotted again’ when a seal was
seen swimming down the river at Pill ST525762. At the same time there
were reports of a seal getting into Sharpness Docks on the River Severn at
high tide. The seal became trapped in the dock and was caught by port staff
before being released back into the river. The harbour master reported that it
was rare to get seals so far up-stream with sightings only every couple of
years.

Grey Seal Halochoerus grypus sightings are occasionally reported to BNS,
the latest being on 7 July 2005 when one was seen off shore at Whale
Wharth at Littleton Pill (ST 5891). A seal pup was also apparently found
‘abandoned’ on Steep Holm this summer. It was ‘rescued’ and taken to a
wildlife rescue centre in Somerset. Prior to this in November 1997 a Grey
Seal was seen close off shore at Severn Beach (ST5384). One was seen off
the landing beach at Steep Holm (ST2360) in August 1998. In 1999 one
was seen at Northwick Warth (ST5487) in August and one at New Passage
(ST5486) in September. In 2002, one or two seals were seen off Severnside.

In the 1970s(’?) a Grey Seal was rescued from the floating harbour in Bristol
and spent many years living in Bristol Zoo.

The Atlas of Mammals in Britain (Arnold 1993) has records of Grey Seals
from two 10 km squares in the Bristol area, one in the Weston-super-Mare
area (ST36) and one from the Bristol Avon (ST57). Interestingly there are a
number of records of Common Seal Phoca vitulina from further up the
Severn Estuary from 10 km squares ST59, SO60, SO70 and SO71.

The well known Millerd’s Map of Bristol, 1688, clearly shows a Grey Seal
swimming among Swans in the Bristol Docks area.

Carnivora (Carnivores)

American Mink Mustela vison (2,1,0,2,0,3)

Two records from two |-km squares, both in the Chew Valley Lake area.
Records from CVL Birding, DW.

Stoat Mustela ermina (4,0,1,3,4,10)

Four records from four 1-km squares (Portbury, Chew Stoke, Abbots Leigh
and Walton Moor).

Records from LR, TBS, DT, DW.

83

Weasel Mustela nivalis (7,4,6,7,3,10)

Seven records from seven 1l-km squares. Most records were of single
animals running across roads and tracks.

Records from PC, LR, Severnside e-mail Group, DT, DW.

European Polecat Mustela putorius (1,0,0,2,2,?)

A Polecat was found run over on the B3114 in Chew Stoke in April. It was
confirmed as a true Polecat by Johnny Birks of the Vincent Wildlife Trust.
The first confirmed Polecat record since 2002.

Record from RE/DW.

Otter Lutra lutra (364+,28+,19+,25,2+,24)

Three records from 3 1-km squares. Lots of Otter tracks seen at Damery
Bridge in January, one seen at Chew Valley Lake in November and
footprints seen in the sand below the ‘old’ Severn Bridge at Aust in
December.

Records from AB, CVL Birding, JK.

Otters in North Somerset - summarised from the North Somerset Otter
Group’s newsletters produced by James Field of the Avon Wildlife Trust —
issues 18 (spring 2005) and 20 (winter 2005).

The survey in November (2004) went well with several successful records
being sent in (12 sites surveyed). Recent spraint was found at Puxton along
the Old Bridge River. Three recent spraints at Nailsea Ford and also recent
activity along the Old Yeo rhyne.

Most of the other records were old spraint. Two along Tickenham Boundary
rhyne, two along the Land Yeo/Middle Yeo at Tickenham and also activity
from the River Kenn area.

The Backwell wardens reported the only fresh spraint along the land Yeo.
There were also two records of mink activity lots observed along Rickford

Brook and one along the Old Yeo rhyne.

Returns in February 2005 were lower than usual (due to problems in
distributing survey forms) but some recent activity was recorded along the
River Kenn. Other signs of activity from the Congresbury Yeo. No spraint
found but footprints seen at Puxton along the Old Bridge River. 12 sites
were surveyed in August with eight positive for Otter signs.

Danger to Somerset’s Otters - from the North Somerset Newsletter 21
Spring 2006.

‘“Somerset’s fragile otter population is under threat from illness spread by a
foreign parasite. In the last twelve months, a _ tiny flatworm
(Pseudamphistomum truncatum) has been found in post mortems on six
dead Otters found in Somerset. That equates to around 10% of the estimated
population, leading conservationists at Somerset Wildlife Trust to fear this
could be the biggest threat to the species for decades. The parasite is
believed to have been spread by ornamental fish imported from Russia and

84

Eastern Europe. Scientists think the fish might have escaped from ponds
and spread the worm among Otters and Mink in the Somerset Levels. To
date, the parasite appears to have been contained within the county but
experts are worried it could spread to other areas and species. The worms
live in the gall bladder and can cause liver damage and jaundice. In rare
cases, the disease has been known to affect people.

Initial research into the discovery of the worm in dead Otters was published
in Veterinary Record in July 2005. Evidence came from autopsies on the
bodies of dead otters sent to the Wildlife Veterinary Investigation Centre, in
Cornwall, from all over southern Britain.

“We are very alarmed by this and worried for the Otters on the Somerset
Levels, said SWT Otter Group chairman James Williams. “The parasite
does not appear to be killing the Otters, in that there are other causes of
death. It may be weakening them but we don’t think it’s a fatal disease.
What we need is more research to discover whether this is a major problem
or not. (From Somerset Wildlife Trust’s website

We have had no positive evidence of Otters being affected by the disease on
the North Somerset Levels and Moors — please, if you or anyone you hear
of, finds a dead or injured Otter, please let Avon Wildlife Trust know —
Olly 9177270.

Otters on the Bristol Avon in 2005 - information summarised from Simon
Reece’s Bristol Avon Otter Survey newsletter of February 2006.

Bristol Frome

Three Brooks Lake (6281) — spraints.

By Brook

Fountain Wood weir (8475) — spraints and digging; Common Hill weir
(8374) — spraints and digging; Box Mill (8268) — spraints; Middle Hill
Gauge (8168) — spraints; Shockerwick Bridge (8068) — spraints; Bathford
Bridge (7867).

Corston Brook

Upper Lake (6964) — spraints; A4 Road Bridge (6965) — spraints; Railway
bridge (7065) — spraints and digging.

Mells Stream

Edford Wood (6648) — spraints; Mells Bridge (7248) — spraints; Mells Pond
(7348) — spraints.

River Avon

Lockkeeper, Keynsham (6569) — spraints.

River Boyd
Old Mill Weir (6871) — spraints.

85

River Chew

Coley Reservoir (5855) — spraints; Shrew Bridge ( 5756) — spraints; Hollow
Brook Lake Bridge (5860) — spraints and padding; Denny Lane and Flume
(5761) — spraints and padding; Stanton Drew Bridge (5963) — spraints and
padding; Bye Mills (6163) — spraints and padding; Publow Bridge ( 6264) —
spraints; Old Bridge and Weir (6464) — spraints; Woollard Bridge (6364) —
spraints.

River Frome

Spring gardens (7749) — spraints, padding and digging.

Siston Brook |

Londonderry Wharf (6669) — padding.

Otters were seen at various locations during the year; including at Claverton
Island on the River Avon upstream of Bath and on the River Avon
downstream of Bath

Badger Meles meles (48,37,31,50,42,77)

53 records from 48 1-km squares. 47 road casualty records, from every
month except November and December (12 in April).

Records from the following RB, AB, JB, PC, EN, JP, JR, LR, DT, MT,
DW, LW.

1998

aye

m 1996

Figure 4. Number of Badger Road Casualty Records 1996-2005

86

Ten years of Badger road casualty figures with 366 records to date show a
large peak around March/April (peak breeding season) with perhaps an
indication of a smaller peak in August (dispersal of young) (Fig 4). There
are few records between November and January. This is the time of year
when Badgers are at their least active with the pregnant females
underground in their setts prior to giving birth to cubs between January and

March.
Since records of road casualty badgers were recorded on a regular basis
(from 1996), a number of ‘hot-spots’ are apparent.

Number deaths

o
A369/M5 at Portbury

3 Minor road near West Littleton

A further 49 1-km squares had 2 road casualty Badgers and 133 1-km squares had | road
Table 1. Numbers of road casualty badgers per 1-km square (1996-2005)

87

The results give an indication of the most hazardous places for Badgers (and
for road users) but are likely to be biased towards the routes driven by the
regular badger road-casualty recorders. This is particularly true of the roads
around Nailsea, the M5 and the A370 where your county mammal recorder
lives. Nevertheless, 23 badger road casualties along a 5-km stretch of the
A370 between Cambridge Batch and Bower Ashton in 10 years is
something that the Highways Authority may need to consider taking action
over. The erection of Badger-proof fencing along the road verges or the
construction of Badger tunnels (and wildlife under or over passes) could be
considered.

Which were the most dangerous roads for badgers in 2005?

Name/Number figures in brackets)
Bes ie he ag
Crossing

M4
Falfield to Loxton 1 (1)
Avonmouth to Batheaston

A37 Temple Meads to Farrington 1 (1)
Gurney

Falfield to Churchill 1 (1)
Corston to Hallatrow

A362 Farrington Gurney to (1)
Radstock

Clevedon to Portishead l

B3128 Bower Ashton to Stone- 3
edge-batch

Pensford to Clevedon
Shirchampton to Pilning
| Unspecifiediroads | ‘Chew Valley area, sae
Various locations
ee ee |

Table 2. Numbers of road casualty badgers on roads in the former county of Avon in 2005
(and 2004 in brackets).

88

The most hazardous roads appear to be the A403 (Avonmouth to Aust) with
five road casualty badgers reported, the A370 (Ashton Gate to East Brent)
and the B4055 (Shirehampton to Pilning) both with four.

Jeff Rawlinson once again reported on the nocturnal activities of Badgers in
a large rural garden at Pilning (5585). Figure 5 summarises the numbers of
Badgers seen in his garden throughout 2004 and figure 6 summarises the
same information for 2005. Only half the number of badgers were seen in
2005 as compared with 2004. Detailed Badger counts ceased in early
August 2005 — hence the apparently abrupt departure of Badgers from the
garden. Food (peanuts) continued to be taken from mid August until the
end of the year although in declining quantities.

0)

Figure 5. Numbers of Badgers seen in a Pilning garden in 2004.

0

Figure 6. Numbers of Badgers seen in a Pilning garden in 2005.

89

Hounsome and Delahay (2005) investigated the impact of Badger predation
on ground nesting birds. They reviewed 110 published studies of Badger
diet or badger predation of birds throughout the range of their range from
Ireland east to Japan and from Sweden south to Spain. Bird remains were
recorded in 2038 cases out of 36699 samples of badger faeces and
stomachs. The overall percentage frequency of bird remains was 5.5% for
all the studies combined and 7.9% for UK studies. The remains of 45
species of 11 different orders were recorded. Whilst the percentage
frequency of occurrence of birds in badger diet increased significantly with
latitude, there were no significant seasonal differences. The authors were
unable to assess whether badger predation has had an impact on bird
population at a national scale.

Whilst observing a group of Badgers in an area of rough ground near
Plymouth, David Dixon started to notice patterns in their behaviour,
particularly in relation to phases of the moon (BBC Wildlife 23 (9)
September 2005). The dominant male and female badgers in the group
would scent-mark more often at times of a new moon than at other times.
He also noticed that the female’s attitude to the male members of the group
varied depending on the phase of the moon. This ranged from tolerance or
indifference when the moon was new to hostility when it was full. The
majority of the mating events he observed were during the lunar ‘dark
phase’ (last quarter to first quarter), suggesting that the Badger reproductive
cycle is strongly influenced by the lunar cycle. Badgers also tended to be
more active on ‘dark phase’ nights. However, their principle prey the
earthworm, is more influenced by damp weather conditions than by the
phase of the moon.

Fox Vulpes vulpes (47,38,48,39,35,71)

67 records from 47 1-km squares.

Foxes found within the ‘City and County of Bristol’ boundaries in the
following 1-km squares:- 5668, 5673, 5675, 5677, 5773, 5778, 5780, 5873,
5876, 5974, 5975, 6071, 6074, 6075, 6076.

Records from RB, JB, PC, PF, HN, EN, JP, HP, J&SP, JR, DT, DW, RW.

Artiodactyla (Deer)
Red Deer Cervus elaphus (0,0,0,1,0,1)
No records for the year outside deer parks and deer farms.

90

Roe Deer Capreolus capreolus (33,26,33,27,20+,51)

35 records from 33 1-km squares. Groups of three or more seen at the
following locations:- 3 at Portbury Dock in March, 5 (2 bucks, 3 does) at
Widcombe in February, 4 (2 bucks, 2 does) at Bishop Sutton in March, 3
(doe and 2 fawns) at East Wood, Portishead in July, 5 at Walton Moor in
June. Records from RB, PB, AB, JB, PC, ML, EN, HP, J&SP, LR, DT,
DW.

‘Firefighters battle to save deer’ (Bristol Evening Post 5" May). Avon Fire
and Rescue Service and the RSPCA spent three and a half hours rescuing a
Roe Deer buck from the River Frome between Wellington Road and the
Easton roundabout in Bristol. Unfortunately it had to be put down as it was
injured.

Fallow Deer Dama dama (0,1,1,0,0,0)

No records for the year outside deer parks.

Chinese Muntjac Deer Muntiacus reevesi (2,3,1,?1,0)

Two records for the year, one at Damery Bridge in January and a road
casualty at Shortwood in May.

Records from AB, AJ.

Mammal casualties on avon roads in 2005
Richard Bland counted dead mammals, mainly Rabbits, on local roads in
Avon in 2005. There were some sharp differences in rates in different
months, September being the worst - one casualty every six miles,
compared with one every 98 miles in March (Table 3).

Miles Miles/casualty

Table 3. Road casualties per mile for different months in Avon, 2005

‘A’ roads in the region had an overall rate during the year of one casualty
per 8 miles, whereas local motorways had one per nine miles.

Road Miles/casualty
casualties

Table 4. Avon Road casualties per mile on ‘A’ roads and motorways.

il

The national average for the July-October period surveyed by the Mammal
Society on roads that were not urban or motorway was one death every
eight miles. The majority of road casualties were Rabbits. Table 5 shows the
rates for each species on local roads (non urban, non motorway) in Avon.

Species

Table 5. Casualties by species in Avon, July-October 2005

Richard Bland spent three days in the Yorkshire Dales in August, and the
casualty rate there was very high. Rabbits were very common and there
was disease (myxomatosis?) prevalent. Between 17th and 20th August he
travelled 173 miles on Dales roads and counted an incredible 364 dead
mammals, 354 of them Rabbits, a rate of one casualty every 0.5 miles.

The journey to Scotland and back, 640 motorway miles, in August, as part
of the same holiday, produced 64 casualties (10 miles per casualty).

National mammal surveys

The population estimates for British mammals made in 1995 (A review of
British mammals, JNCC, Peterborough) have been revised following on
from the many technological advances made over the past 50 years or so.
Amongst the mustelids the Badger population has been revised downwards
from 275,000 to 175,000 (the high figure was based on too many adults per
sett) and Mink numbers are also much lower having dropped from 110,000
in 1995 to 36,950. This decline is thought to be due to the continued
recovery of the Otter whose numbers have increased from 7,350 to 12,350.
The Polecat population has increased from 15,000 to 63,200 (the 1995
population was based on conservative distribution data). Deer populations
have increased for most of the species present in the UK; Chinese Water
Deer numbers have increased from 650 to 2,100 (the UK holds an estimated
25% of the world population of this species), Muntjac have increased from
40,000 to 128,500, Fallow Deer from 100,000 to 128,000 and Sika Deer
from 13,000 to 26,600. Numbers of Roe and Red Deer have been revised
downwards to 300,000 and 316,000 respectively.

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Domestic cats Felis catus are responsible for the deaths of a number of
small mammal and bird species (a number of records each year are for
‘what the cat brought in’). A study by Philip Baker and colleagues at the
University of Bristol attempted to quantify the impact of domestic cats on
prey species in a area in north west Bristol. Questionnaires were sent to all
3494 householders in a 4.2 km* asking them to record numbers of
individuals of each species the cats brought home. 1243 questionnaires were
returned and it was estimated that 19% of households in the area owned
cats. This equated to a ‘predator density’ of 229 cats/km*. Five mammal
(Common Shrew, Grey Squirrel, Wood Mouse, Bank Vole, Common Rat),
10 bird and one amphibian species were recorded. The mean predation rate
was 21 prey/cat/annum and the most commonly recorded species was the
Wood Mouse. Predation on birds was greatest in spring and summer,
probably reflecting the killing of juvenile individuals. The impact of cat
predation on Robins Erithacus rubecula, House Sparrows Passer
domesticus and Dunnocks Prunella modularis was thought to be higher than
the annual productivity for these species and would warrant further
investigation.

Legislation

There are plans to give the Water Vole full protection under the Wildlife
and Countryside Act 1981. At present the water vole’s habitat is protected
but the animals themselves aren’t (BBC Wildlife News 23 (3) March 2005).

Exotics/beasts/former native species

Big Cats

Reports of large beast/cats/panthers/leopards/pumas etc roaming the
countryside attacking livestock continue to circulate in the press but as yet
there have been no confirmed sightings.

‘Farmers are left shocked as mystery beast strikes — savage attack on calf
points to existence of large predator on loose’ (Western Daily Press 2”
May). A farmer from Hewish near Weston-Super-Mare found the remains
of one of his calves in a field together with a large footprint ‘on a different
scale to that of his large dog, a bull mastiff-American pit bull cross’. A
‘black cat’ was also sighted at Lower Weare, near Axbridge.

Wild boar Sus scrofa

A small population of feral Wild Boar continue to roam the woods around
Staunton in the Forest of Dean (‘They’re so tame, if they stay here someone
will shoot them’ The London Times 29" January). Another small
population lives in woodland immediately to the south of Ross-on-Wye
(Phil Herritty pers com).

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European Beaver Castor fiber

On 28" October, despite a few legal issues, five hundred years after they
became extinct in Britain, Beavers are once again to be found in
Gloucestershire. Six beavers from Bavaria (or Bulgaria according the
Times) have been released into a fenced 100 acre site at the Lower Mill
Estate, Somerford Keynes in the Cotswold Water Park (‘Battle of the
beavers’ — Daily Mail; ‘Battle of Beaver Creek’ — Western Daily Press;
‘Beavers making a comeback after a 500-year absence’ — the Times online).

Siberian Chipmunk Tamias sibiricus

Siberian Chipmunks were on the loose in Hampshire after escaping from a
privately owned country park. Anything up to 70 individuals were thought
to have escaped following an attack by a Mink. It was thought that the Mink
had entered the chipmunk’s cage through a hole that had been deliberately
cut (BBC Wildlife 23 (13) Dec 2005).

Acknowledgements

My thanks to all those who provided records and information for this year’s
report: Richard Bland (RB), Paul Bowerman (PB), David & Gill Brown
(D&GB), Alan Burberry (AB), John Burton (JB), Paul Chadwick (PC),
Chew Valley Birding web-site, Martin Duckworth (MD), Laurent Duverge
(LD), Roger Edmondson (RE), P G Farmer (PF), James Field (North
Somerset Otter Group), Brian Frost (BF), Keith Giles (KG), Steve & Jane
Gillard (“S&JG), Phil Herritty, George Hockin (GH), Adrian Jowett (AJ),
Jonathan King (JK), Philip Leach (PL), Mandy Leivers (ML), Joan Marsh
(JM), H New (HN), Edward Niblett (EN), John Phillips (JP), Helen Phipps
(HP), John and Sue Prince (J&S P), Jeff Rawlinson (JR), Simon Reece
(Bristol Avon Otter Group), Lyndon Roberts (LR), Severnside e-mail
Group, T B Silcocks (TBS), Tony Smith (TS), C Stillman (CS), Sam
Trebilcock (ST), David Trump (DT), Mary Trump (MT), Matthew Trump
(MaT), Jacquie Warren (JW), David Warden (DW), Ruth Williams (RW),
Len Wyatt (LW).

References

Arnold, H.R. (1993). Atlas of Mammals in Britain. ITE research
publication no. 6. HMSO London.

Baker, P.J., Bently, A.J., Ansell, R.J. and Harris, S. (2005). Impact of
predation by domestic cats Felis catus in an urban area. Mammal Review
35 302-312.

Corbet, G.B. and Harris, S. (eds). (1991) The Handbook of British
Mammals (3 edition). Blackwell Scientific Publications.

Garland, L. and Woods, M. (2005) Dormice on Road Verges. Ecology and
Environmental Management — In Practice. 48 1-6.

94

Hounsome, T. and Delahay, R. (2005) Birds in the diet of the Eurasian
badger Meles meles: a review and meta-analysis. Mammal Review 35 199-
209.

Trump, D.P.C. (2003) The Barn Owl Tyto alba, field margins and small
mammals. A study of barn owl corridors and the population dynamics and
habitat use of small mammals at Clapton Moor Nature Reserve, North
Somerset. Unpublished MSc Thesis, Napier University, Edinburgh.

Clevedon Toad Patrol

Andrew Town andrewtown3 @hotmail.com

Location.

The patrol area covers Norton’s Wood Lane [aka Clapton Lane] from its
junction with Harley Lane [aka Walton Drove] westward towards Clevedon
for approx one mile. It also includes about one third of a mile of Harley
Lane northwards from the junction. This provides cover for the main
migration route but it has been noticed that toads do move in limited
numbers over a wider area along both Norton’s Wood and Harley Lane and
also along the B3124 Clevedon to Portishead Road. Presumably at one time
toads migrated to the rhynes from all sides of the Gordano Valley.
Background.

This crossing has been patrolled for many years. I have some records going
back to 1991. This year I have taken over the role of co-ordinator from
Dorothy Wright who filled the role for a number of years. Dorothy took
over following many years work by Mike Chamberlain.

The migration route.

The toads move down from Norton’s Wood on the south side of the lane to
the rhynes in the Gordano Valley on the north side of the lane. A favourite
spawning ground seems to be the Portbury Drain that runs west to east
through English Nature’s Gordano Reserve [SSSI]. The drain in effect
follows the route of Norton’s Wood Lane 300 yards lower down in the
valley. This 300-yard journey is over grazing land, horse paddocks and
some gardens. It is not known how far up into the woods the toads live. The
wood extends along the length of the lane to a depth varying from 400 to
700 yards. The main barriers across the route seem to be stonewalls along
the north of the lane that are up to 4 feet high.

Good numbers of toads have been recorded all along the patrol area on
Norton’s Wood Lane but there has been a noticeably greater density in the
central third of a mile. Numbers have been lower on Harley Lane and it is
often not clear to and from where they are moving.

95

Measures used to help save the toads.

We organize crossing patrols, we make people who live on the lane aware
of the toads habits, and we place ‘Toad crossing’ warning triangle road
signs at four points. These signs seem to have good collectors’ value. We
have lost three of the four this year. This seems pretty much par for the
course. We put Notices in the Black Horse pub at the west end of the lane
asking customers if they would help save the toads by using the alternative
route to and from the pub during the migration period. We put an article in
the local press asking local people to avoid or take extreme care on the lanes
after dark during the migration

Traffic on the lane

The lane is busiest during ‘rush hour’ as residents return from work, people
working in the area go home and a small number of commuters use the lane
as a cut through to avoid heavy traffic around the M5 and in parts of
Portishead and Clevedon. Even then it is only spasmodic with perhaps a car
every few minutes on average. Outside this period traffic is light with less
than double figures an hour maximum. After seven it can become very
light. Many of the local residents are aware of the toads and drive carefully
to avoid them or even stop to help them across. Most of the traffic is
considerate and supportive of our activities. It seems inevitable that some
traffic is inconsiderate and a very small number can even be aggressive.

The patrollers

This year a rota has been organised with 20 volunteers. Many of the
volunteers are North Somerset Wildlife Wardens or members of other
wildlife groups. There is also a number of local residents who contribute
considerable amounts of their time whenever possible. The total volunteer
effort is estimated to be in excess of 500 hours

The patrol process

We tried to have patrollers out on the lane by dusk, which is when the toads
begin to move on suitable nights. In the early part of the migration in
January this was around 4.30pm. Obviously as the season progressed dusk
became later. The length of the patrol depended on the numbers of
patrollers available and also on the amount of toad activity. On very busy
nights some patrollers stopped out for 3 or 4 hours and sometimes
handovers were organised in advance or by mobile phone contact. In order
to learn more about movement timings and patterns and to try to develop a
predictive model we patrolled the lane on all ‘suitable’ nights wherever
possible.Patrols did not take place on cold nights. Generally a temperature
of 5°c or below was seen as too cold. Initially short visits were made to
confirm this assumption. Otherwise patrollers visited the lane on most

96

nights. The patrol process involved patrollers walking the lane with torches,
picking up toads and moving them across the road to safety. An alternative
method used by some patrollers or in some circumstances was to drive
slowly down the lane and move the toads from the car. Buckets came in
useful to help rescue greater numbers more quickly at times of mass
movement or when traffic was busy

Health and Safety issues

An obvious hazard of patrolling a narrow country lane in the dark and often
in poor weather conditions is the risk of being hit by a vehicle. There is also
the related risk of being a hazard to traffic. Other risks include falling or
tripping in the dark and possible risk of assault. Some measures taken to
manage these risks were: -wearing fluorescent jackets including the issue of
jackets to those not owning their own, the use of good torches to light the
road and also provide warning to motorists. One rechargeable torch was
purchased from funds from Nailsea Town Council and used on a rota basis,
carrying mobile phones, the issue of patrol notes including H & S
instructions, instructions that patrollers must not operate alone but work at
least in pairs, person under 18 must be in the direct control of a responsible
adult, the erection of toad warning road signs along the lane

Summary timetable, 2005

The first toad movement towards the valley was on Jan.6"", the last on Mar
29"". The first spawn record was on Feb 21“, and the first tadpole on April
18'". The first returning toad was on March 14", and the last on June 28".

Numbers migrating to the rhynes

Chart | Toad totals counted annually 1991-2005

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In 2005 we counted 1014 toads, the highest since 1992 . However counts
are influenced by the number of nights and total hours patrolled, the pattern
of toad movement and the effectiveness of the reporting and recording
systems .Precise records of males and females are not available. There were
certainly more males. Records we have suggest something like a 5:1 ratio.
As the migration progressed there was an increasing incidence of ‘aplexus’
pairs but not in any great numbers.

Males often ‘squeaked’ when gently picked up. More so on warmer nights
when they were more active. On a number of occasion males clasped very
tightly on to a gloved finger when picked up and were sometimes difficult
to remove.

Newts
We also recorded 157 newts. All the ones that were positively identified
were palmate

Death rates

On the migration to the rhynes this year we recorded 126 dead toads against
a total of 1014, which gives a death toll of 12.4%. However this % should
be regarded with some caution. Toads that have safely crossed the road but
have not been seen by patrollers do not of course appear in the records.
Whereas those that were killed during the same period will probably be
recorded, as they will still be on the road when the patrollers next cover that
area. In effect this means that the % of deaths to total numbers crossing,
whether recorded or not, is probably considerably lower than 12.4%
Records for 2003 and 2004 indicate death tolls of 23% and 20% but on
much smaller totals. Earlier years records suggest that the death toll
proportion reduces as the total numbers recorded increase.

It is not possible to be precise on the reasons for this reduction in death toll.
I would surmise that it is a combination of two effects. The first being a real
increase in survival from increased levels of patrolling. The second being
more accurate counting and record returns of total numbers again influenced
to some extent by patrol levels

98

The pattern of migration

250,

200}

150}

Chart 2 Daily Toad counts Jan 8 to March 30 2005

Downwards migration started 6/1 and finished 29/3. This means that the last
of the stragglers were still heading to the valley 3 months after the first
movement.

There was a small steady movement up to 20/1 when we found a then
record number of 60 on the one night. A cold spell with temperatures below
6°c prevented any further movement until 29/1. Temperatures then rose
again for two weeks during which the main volumes migrated. On 1/2, 4/2,
5/2 and 10/2 we recorded 82, 216, 56 and 220 respectively. Then followed a
prolonged cold spell with temperatures quickly falling below zero during
the evening for four weeks. All migration activity ceased during this time.
Just when we thought the migration might be finished a spell of milder
humid weather produced a final flurry with 88 records on 15/3 and 124 on
16/3. Apart from 1 stray toad 29/3 the records of downward migration
ended with 8 on 19/3.

29

Factors affecting volume of movement.

It is also fairly clear that toads, being basically cold-blooded animals cannot
physiologically be active at low temperatures. Below 6°c they are inactive.
Above 6C a number of factors may have an impact on likely movement
across the road and the volume involved.

Humidity is usually expressed as a % relative to humidity saturation at a
given temperature. As air temperature rises so does its capacity to hold
moisture. So air at 10°c holds more moisture at a given humidity % than air
at 6°c with the same humidity reading. The combination of temperature and
relative humidity can be crucial. Also it is important to differentiate
between humidity and damp/wet weather. Wet nights will have high
humidity. On the other hand one of our high recording nights was dry and
bright and satd to be unsuitable for toads. Surprisingly humidity records for
that night showed 86% against other similar nights below 70%.

Wind direction and speed. There could be a wind chill or desiccation
influence that impacts movement.

The natural trigger that causes toads to move. There may be a communal
factor at work, as on some warm damp nights there is only one single toad
and on others over 200.

The distance the toads have to move to reach the road and the speed of
movement. It seems that the greatest volume of movement is around or
within a couple of hours of dusk which may suggest that they either live
close to the road or complete their journey over more than one night.

The conditions on previous nights. There seems to be a suggestion in the
patterns that activity builds up over a number of consecutive suitable nights

Predicting volumes

Temperature and humidity seem to be the two most relevant factors to use
in analysing volume data. Hard information is available for these from a
local Portishead website that Mike Thomas has built, and it seems clear the
main indicator is a combination of temperature and humidity. The best
correlation with the numbers recorded is obtained by multiplying the
temperature by a factor of 0.75 for 50% humidity, 1.0 for 75% and 1.25 for
100% humidity.

100

250

i?) | |
200 L
OQ
& 150
a
9 100 z
2 50 . =
04 a = T r t
7 8 9 10 11 12

Temperature x Humidity index

Chart 3 Toad numbers Feb 2nd-12th in relation to Temperature x humidity
index
Spawning
In order to investigate the spawning grounds I obtained a permit from
English Nature to enter their restricted access Gordano Valley Reserve. The
main spawning area seems to be the Portbury Drain, a very slow moving
drainage rhyne, that runs through the reserve parallel to Norton’s Wood
Lane in an easterly direction. I found the first spawn on 21/2. This was
despite being in the middle of a prolonged very cold spell with no sign of
any migrating toads for the previous 10 days. By 28/2 there was
considerable quantity of spawn along most of the drain. Again the nights in
the period between 21/2 and 28/2 were very cold with no toad movement on
the road. In fact at the time of my 28/2 daytime visit most of the drain was
covered in ice.

The main concentration of spawn was in the section running below
‘Greenacre’ and the adjacent horse paddock. This is close to the stretch of
the lane where the greater numbers of toads were found. I had some
reservations about the quality of water in parts of the drain. There appeared
to be an oily scum covering much of the surface in parts. However English
Nature arranged for the Environment Agency to check water quality and the
result was very positive.

Parts of the drain used for spawning were quite shallow — less than 450mm.
Most of the spawn was laid in horizontal strings wrapped around plants
close to the surface rather than hanging vertically down through deep water
Despite information suggesting that toads and frogs prefer different habitats
for spawning, frogspawn and toad spawn appeared together in most of the
spawning areas. Perhaps that is because there restricted habitat in this area. I
wondered if they had perhaps chosen to spawn in the same places for the
same survival reasons that groups of frogs lay communal spawn.

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The return migration

The first returning toad was found Mar 14". Between then and 29th we
found small numbers of returning toads amongst the stragglers still heading
for the rhyme. After the 30th we found only returning toads. The recorded
numbers returning were small and spasmodic over a prolonged period from
Mar 14th to June 28th. The maximum recorded in any one night was 21 but
most records were in single figures. The total recorded was only 138, 800
fewer than on the outward journey. There are a variety of explanations for
this. Many of the nights were dry. Dusk occurs later in May and June and
the return may continue overnight in the warmer conditions. The number of
patrols is reduced in May.

However I believe enough of a watching brief has been kept to know that
large numbers have not returned during the first couple of hours after dusk
on suitable nights. Most visits have found no more than a handful during the
period after dusk. Within an hour or two of dusk there appears to be little
activity but of course we have not had cover throughout the night. The lack
of any squashed carcasses during the period of low records would also add
to the confidence that we have not missed any mass movements. I would
surmise that the return has been in dribs and drabs over a prolonged period.
Certainly the return has extended for more than three months since the first
spawning. Whilst it is generally suggested that toads leave the water once
they have spawned they certainly seem to take their time returning to the
woods. During this return process the traffic has been much lighter later in
the evening and death rates appear low. Contrary to popular expectation we
found a small number of ‘aplexus’ pairs on the return journey. In July a
very small number of adults were found on the road. These seemed to be
coming out from the wood side of the road. It may be that these were
coming to the road to feed on the very plentiful supply of slugs and snails
on the road at night.

Toadpoles and young toads

Despite regular visits to the drain there was no sign of any emerging
toadpoles until April 18th. That was almost two months after the first
spawn. This is somewhat longer than the ten days suggested by the BBC
Natural History website. It may have been affected by the lengthy spell of
cold weather, but frogspawn had hatched and the tadpoles dispersed long
before the toadspawn hatched .

102

On April 18th the eggs had just started to take some shape with spasmodic
movement but the developing poles were still attached to the spawn strings.
They were attacked by both water boatman and a diving beetle. By April
22nd the poles were swimming freely close to the surface and on May 9th
the surface of the drain was black with thousands of poles. By June 7th the
toadpoles had grown considerably but there was no sign of any leg growth.

Despite a number of visits to the rhynes, surrounding areas and periodic
checking of the lane there has been no sightings of young toads. The dense
overhanging vegetation along the rhynes in summer; the difficulty of access
to the land on the lane side of Portbury Ditch; the lateness of nightfall in
summer; or the spasmodic nature of my visits could explain this. The nature
of the migration of young to the woods remains a mystery.

Media Interest

2005 was dubbed ‘the year of the volunteer’, and the patrol featured in:-
The BBC ‘Ican’ website, a Guardian article on ten unusual ways to
volunteer , a Radio 5 live telephone link radio interview and Radio Hereford
and Worcester live telephone link interview .

An exhibition of fossil marine reptiles at Frome Museum,

Somerset.
Simon Carpenter simon.carpenter @bristolswpct.nhs.uk

During the summer of 2005, the writer displayed some of his fossil marine
reptile collection at Frome Museum, Somerset. These fossils had all been
found in the Upper Jurassic, Lower Kimmeridge Clay of Westbury,
Wiltshire at the Lafarge clay quarry. The exhibition represented over 14
years of collecting fossils from the site. A number of rare and well-
preserved reptiles have been found by him including the remains of
pliosaurs, plesiosaurs, ichthyosaurs, crocodiles and a turtle. Some of this
material has been donated to Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery and now
forms part of their research collection. The most important donated
material includes a metriorynchid crocodile skull, one of only a very few to
be found from the English Kimmeridgian (Upper Jurassic) and the 1994
pliosaur (Pliosaurus brachyspondylus). This represents one of the most
complete pliosaur specimens of its kind to be found in England and was
excavated by a team of geologists from Bristol Museum and Art Gallery
and the University of Bristol. The specimen was donated by Blue Circle
Cement Plc (now Lafarge Plc) to Bristol City Museum where it is
undergoing its final preparation and conservation.

103

Until the exhibition at Frome Museum, much of this material had not been
seen by the public, although some of it had been the subject of research by
staff and students at Bristol University.

The rocks that contain the bones of marine reptiles at Westbury, Wiltshire
form part of an extensive layer of marine clay deposited during the Upper
Jurassic Period over 154 million years ago. It occurs over much of Britain
(and northern France), but is seldom seen except on coastal cliffs and during
quarrying activities inland. It is called the Kimmeridge Clay after the
Kimmeridge area of Dorset, where is well exposed. During this period,
much of southern England was covered by a shallow, subtropical, muddy
sea inhabited by a multitude of living creatures including many different
kinds of fish and reptiles as well as abundant invertebrate animals especially
the coiled molluscs called ammonites.

The writer is a keen amateur geologist and fossil hunter who has been
collecting fossils since he was a boy. He was awarded the Geological
Collector of the Year award in 1991 and the R H Worth Prize for 1996 by
the Geological Society of London for outstanding achievements by an
amateur geologist.

As well as being a very avid collector of fossils from the South West of
England, the writer has been involved in expeditions to collect dinosaur
remains from Alberta, in Western Canada and marine reptiles from the
Nevada desert region of the Western United States. Both expeditions were
led by palaeontologists collecting fossils for Cinicinati Museum in Ohio,
America.

The writer continues to collect marine reptile fossils from Westbury,
Wiltshire and at the time of writing has just discovered another rare and
important metrioryhnchid crocodile skeleton The exhibition at Frome
Museum was generously sponsored by the Geologists’ Association Curry
Fund, the Bristol Naturalists’ Society and Wiltshire Geology Group.

The writer would like to express his thanks to Lafarge Plc for their
continuing co-operation and support of collecting activities at their quarries.

The writer currently holds the post of President of the Geology Section of

the Bristol Naturalists’ Society and has recently held the position of
President of the Society.

104

Profiles of local naturalists 1.

Martin Evans
I was born 16" July 1952 in Weston-super-Mare, but grew up in the nearby
village of Banwell. Living only a few hundred yards from the nearest
woodland and fields, there was always plenty of wildlife in our garden, so I
developed an interest in natural history from an early age.

My earliest memories of insects were of jam jars full of Seven-spot
Ladybirds collected from the Lonicera hedgerow that was planted around
the garden at the front of the house and capturing Large and Small
"Cabbage" White butterflies in the vegetable garden.

My parents were both from the Mendips and had a good knowledge of the
commoner plants, birds and animals that we saw on our Sunday afternoon
walks. They encouraged me to have an interest in what I saw around me and
gave me a basic natural history knowledge.

I was given several of the "Observer" natural history books, as well as a
number of other bird, flower and insect guides. From these I can remember
identifying the Great Green Bush-crickets that callied from the runner beans
in the garden and finding a colony of Chalkhill Blues near Banwell Quarry
(sadly they are long gone).

When I was about eleven I swapped a Grass-snake I had found for some
guppies and platies. This started a life long interest in tropical fish. My
father bought a tank around this time and also became a keen aquarist.

I left Churchill Secondary Modern School when I was sixteen (after just
taking a few CSE's) and started a Mechanical Engineering Apprenticeship at
Westland Helicopters in Weston-super-Mare. I left home not long after this
and was married by the time I was nineteen.

I then started working part-time in a tropical fish importers and at the end of
my Engineering Apprenticeship worked in the aquarist trade full time.
During the next twenty years I also worked for another tropical fish
importer and a third retail shop, as well as becoming self employed for a
while breeding tropical fish.

During the mid-1970's I went back to Westland Helicopters for a couple of
years working as an aircraft inspector. It was here that I met the late Dixie
Dean. Dixie and I became good friends and for the next ten years visited a
different natural area every Sunday morning. Dixie was keen on
photography and I had bought a camera to photograph tropical fish. This
common interest got us into moth trapping and photographing them.
Although our Sunday trips still carried on, we then also moth trapped every
other night of the summer.

105

In the mid-1980's I decided to spend a year getting some education, so I
studied GCSE English Language and A-level Biology.

I then spent a year coppicing, fencing, buiding walls, paths and steps for the
Avon Wildlife Trust. At the end of the year I applied for their horticulture
course that they were running. They said I should apply for a Horticultural
Degree place at Bath University. This was on a Wednesday. On the
following Monday I was starting my degree in Horticulture specialising in
Land Management.

I managed to mould the course to my interests, so that I was the one that did
the seminars on water gardens and nature reserves, and so that my thesis
was on alien plant escapes in Britain and my taxonomic study was on
European Speedwells Veronica spp. (wild and cultivated). I obtained a 2.1
Honours.

I spent a lot of the first summer after university collecting plant records with
Tony Smith as part of the Avon Flora Project (which was later published as
an Atlas). This detailed recording work was new to me, but prepared me for
future survey work.

In the eary 1990's Ray Barnett (at that time Assistant Curator of Natural
History at Bristol Museum) set up the Bristol and District Moth Group and
Dixie and I became members. In 1994 I started volunteering in the museum
with Andy Pym, entering moth records into a card database. When Andy
left the museum Roger Edmondson carried on the work with me and I
ended up editing the newsletter for the next six years.

Gradually the card database was computerised and I built a database
specifically for the Bristol and District Moth Group records. By this time I
was employed part-time at the Bristol Regional Environmental Records
Centre (BRERC) and was later asked to convert the moth database into a
database for all British species (not just moths). This database became the
main BRERC database. Over the next nine years I worked on end to end
contracts at BRERC; working the summer in the field on surveys and during
the winter on database work and computer mapping of records. I also
worked as a private contractor often with Janet Boyd for bodies such as
South Gloucestershire Council, Avon Wildlife Trust, the National Trust,
Butterfly Conservation and others.

In the early 1990's Roger Edmondson joined me on the field surveys at
BRERC where we worked until the summer of 2004.

In November 2002 I launched my website WildGuideUK.com. The idea
was to try and make use of the vast number of photographs I had taken and
at the same time help others to identify insects. The site allows you to
compare similar species on screen pointing out the sometimes minor

106

differences. I mainly avoided the groups such as dragonflies and butterflies
which are well covered in books and elsewhere on the internet and
concentrated on less well known insects such as bee-flies, micro-moths,
shieldbugs and grasshoppers

On leaving the record centre in 2004 Roger and I decided to use some of the
12,000 insect pictures that I had taken to illustrate some field guides. We
travelled around the south of England that year photographing mainly
shieldbugs and grasshoppers. We published "A Photographic Guide to the
Shieldbugs and Squashbugs of the Britsh Isles" in January 2005.

That summer we continued taking photographs of grasshoppers and crickets
(by now we had over 3000 digital Orthoptera pictures) not just in the south
of England but also visiting the Isle of Man and Jersey to get the rarer
species. The book should be completed during the summer of 2006.

In the meantime I have just completed building a new tropical fish breeding
room and will be specialising in the breeding of South American Loricarids
(suckermouth catfish). There may be a future book on that subject as well!

The arrival and spread of the Long-winged Cone-head
Conocephalus discolor (Thunberg) in Somerset and the

Bristol district, 1995-2005.
Robert Cropper, 14 Rosewood Close, Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset TA8 1HG

The Long-winged Cone-head Conocephalus discolor (Thunberg) is a small
bush-cricket of the family Tettigoniidae. It is an attractive, graceful insect
of a delicate green colour, with a brown dorsal stripe on head and pronotum
and brown wings. Its stridulation is a faint, high-pitched hissing which is
produced almost continuously in warm weather during late summer, and
although only audible at close quarters, it is easily heard on a bat detector
tuned to 22kHz. In this it differs from its close relative the Short-winged
Cone-head C. dorsalis (Latreille), which sings at a much higher frequency,
around 43kHz.

Before 1970, this species was an extreme rarity known from a few localities
on the south coast of England, including a well documented site at
Chapman’s Pool, west of Swanage in Dorset. Here, in 1969, B.C. Pickard
and Miss S. House found unusually long-winged specimens and noted that
the colony had undergone an enormous increase in size (Ragge, 1973).
Following these observations, it became evident that the insect was

107

spreading inland and becoming increasingly common throughout Dorset
and the New Forest. By the early 1990’s this spread had accelerated and
several localities were known in Wiltshire. It was likely to be only a matter
of time before C. discolor was added to the Somerset list.

On 13th August 1995 the first stridulating male was located on a roadside
verge at Witham Friary (ST764418) and on 17th August a second was
found at Knole, near Long Sutton (ST488252), also on a lane-side verge in
rough grass. On 27th August the first breeding colonies were confirmed
along country lanes at Henstridge (ST702202) and Templecombe
(ST716225 — 728228) the latter site being quite extensive. A brown-form
female was found at Henstridge. On 2nd September three stridulating males
were located in a rough field at Evercreech, this being the most northerly
record at that time.

On 31st August 1996. a single male was stridulating at Lollover Hill,
Compton Dundon (ST477325) indicating continuing spread. By now the
species was well established in the Yeovil area, and a record from Cricket
St. Thomas (ST364084) on 29th September was the start of an assault upon
the Chard-I]minster-Crewkerne triangle.

On 30th August 1998 stridulating males were found in Frome (ST769465)
and Standerwick (ST816508), indicating an advance from the east and, by
the 1999 season, several breeding colonies were known on East Mendip.
The species could now be regarded as common in south and south-east
Somerset and was still on the increase.

It was in 1999 that the first records were made from the Bristol region. On
21st September J.P. Martin discovered a small colony at Bathampton
Meadows Nature Reserve (ST782671) and on 25th September a large
colony was found scattered over a wide area at Hengrove Park (ST592683).

Many localities are now known in the Bristol and Bath area — by 2003 the
species was spreading westwards along the River Avon with records from
Saltford, Swineford and Corston, also along the A368 where it occurred in
many spots around Marksbury, Hunstrete, Compton Dando and Woollard.
On 11th August a large colony was located in a rough field at Draycott
(ST478512) the first record for the main mass of Mendip, but so far this
remains an isolated site.

By September 2004 Portishead had been reached with colonies in at least
three separate spots and in 2005 new records were made at Failand

108

(ST513700 and 504707) 24th September, Stone-edge Batch (ST462718)
24th September, Bishop Sutton (ST583604) 25th September, Chew Valley
lake (ST554594) 25th September and in several sites in ST56 — Chew Stoke
- Chew Magna, Chew Valley Lake to Limeburn Hill 2nd October.

Further south, the westward spread continues with colonisation of the
Bridgewater and Taunton areas and a record from Wollavington Bridge
(ST345436) on 2nd October 2005 indicates that the coastal belt has almost
been reached.

On 19th August 2001 a breeding populatin was discovered around an
overgrown pond at leechpool, north of Yate (ST709856) and a single male
was heard at Westerleigh Common (ST6982) — these are the first records for
West Gloucestershire (vice-county 34).

The main habitat is rough ungrazed grassland whether this be downland,
uncut meadows, field edges or roadside verges. It does not seem to favour
the low-lying areas of the Somerset Levels, although it readily colonises
the surrounding hills. Whether this is due to competition is not yet known,
but would seem likely.

There is nothing to suggest that this spread will not continue. The
remarkable range extension of this fascinating and resourceful little bush-
cricket surely has to be one of the most incredible phenomenon in British
entomology in the last thirty years.

(Unless otherwise stated, all records are my own.)
Reference:

Ragge, D.R. (1973) The British Orthoptera: a supplement. Entomologist’s
Gazette Vol. 24 No. 3.

109

Climate Change in Bristol
R.L.Bland. 11 Percival RD BS8 3LN richardbland @blueyonder.co.uk

The issue of climate change, once the preserve of specialists, has become a
very political topic. The evidence for climate change can only come from
meteorological records, and I publish here a continuous series of mean
maximum temperatures from 1881 to 2005 in order to provide detailed and
accurate information to inform the debate. Other evidence, particularly any
derived from alterations in the populations or distribution of species, may
reflect temperature, but is also the consequence of a very wide variety of
other factors.

In the broadest sense we live at what is likely to be the end of an
interglacial, as it 1s some 12,000 years since the last ice age ended, and
previous inter-glacials have tended to last around 10,000 years, a very brief
period compared with -the length of ice-ages. There is no detailed
understanding of the mechanisms that end ice-ages, or indeed of those that
start them, though clearly complex feed-back processes must be involved.
Glaciers in the Alps and Norway are the local remnants of the last ice age,
and have been slowly retreating throughout modern times. Greenland is still
covered by the sort of ice-sheet, up to 2km thick, that once covered the
whole of Britain. The thawing of that ice resulted in a rise of sea level, the
creation of the North Sea, and the English Channel. The weight of the ice
was such that it pressed Scotland down, and it has been rebounding from
that ever since, and the south east of England has been sinking. The
subsequent climate of Britain can be reconstructed from peat deposits, tree
ring data and other sources, and it has clearly swung between colder and
warmer periods in the past 10,000 years. The invention of accurate
thermometers in the 17thc enabled more precise measurements to be made,
and there is a detailed temperature series of sorts from 1697.

In Bristol modern maximum and minimum records have been kept since
1881, and the first were published in that year in this journal. There were
made from then until 1916 at Clifton College, and from 1920 to 2002 at
Long Ashton Research Station. Since then I have used the figures published
daily by the Times. I have used the mean maximum temperature rather than
the mean temperature partly because that is what is quoted in the Times,
partly because, although nigh-time temperatures clearly have an influence
on the environment, especially if they fall below freezing, it is the impact of
day-time temperatures that has the greater significance for plant
development. The hottest year (1921) since 1881 had a mean maximum
temperature of 15.6C and the coldest (1892) 12.1C. The standard deviation

110

was (..7C, or 5% of the average of 13.8C. Chart | shows the fluctuating
figures, listed in Table | at the end.

1900 1920 1940 1960 1980

Chart | Annual mean maximum Bristol temperatures, 1881-2005

A long term trend is the best way of making sense of such violent
fluctuations. Ideally this would be at least 50 years long, as climate change
is a gradual process, but Chart 2 shows a 20 year moving average applied to
the annual figures. It makes it clear at once that temperatures were rising on
trend from 1880 to 1950, but that then a cooling trend set in, which has
recently begun to be reversed. It is unfortunate that the series did not start
earlier than 1881 as it is clear that the late 19c century had a series of
spectacularly cold winters which were commented on in general in an
article in this journal by GF Burder in 1890, and it is likely that the earlier
part of that century was warmer. If that is so it is entirely possible that the
annual trend temperature has swung from around 13C up to 14C and back
again over the past two hundred years or more. It is also fairly clear that
there is no close correlation between these figures and human industrial
activity or consumption of coal or oil.

111

13:24
1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000

Chart 2 Twenty year rolling average annual maximum temperature.

Seasonal Change

The annual pattern has not been the same as the seasonal one. The
three charts below show the twenty year trend figures for the four
seasons. Winter is defined as December to February; Spring, March
to May; Summer, June to August; and Autumn, September to
November. The winter of 2005 is thus December 2004 to February
2005.

Winter The mean since 1881 is 7.7C. The series peaked in 1930 and
fell to 1970. Since then they have warmed by 0.5C back to just above
the long-term mean.

112

igo :

6.5
1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000

Chart 3 Winter, twenty year running mean 1900-2005

Spring and Autumn. The values of these two seasons overlap, so they are
on the same chart. Spring, mean since 1881 13.0C, grew steadily warmer
from 1900 to 1963, and then became steadily colder to 1990, since when it
has climbed back to the average value. Autumn, mean since 1881 14.1C,
grew warmer to 1950, held level at 14.5C to 1968 and then became a little
cooler. In 2005 it was just above the long term mean.

nent

1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000

Chart4. Spring, lower line; autumn, upper line; twenty year running means,
1900-2005

113

Summer Mean since 1881 20.1C. The twenty year mean peaked in
1953, and then cooled sharply to 1974. There has been no trend since
and in 2005 the figure was 20.1C, the same as the long term mean.

=

5 eo a ee: a

205. =

20 : tet ie my — x bt

19.5
1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000

Chart5 Summer. Twenty-year running mean 1900-2005

The table below lists the annual average figures, derived from the
sources I have quoted. The series between 1910 and 1920 , which
were not available from Clifton college, and which I have failed to
find elsewhere are derived from the national Central England mean
temperatures, adjusted for the normal difference between those
temperatures and Bristol mean maximum. These figures are thus
less precise and less reliable than the others.

114

1880

1890
12.9
1900
13.8
1910
13.8
1920
14.2
1930
13.9
1940
13.9
1950
13.6
1960
13.8
1970
13.7
1980
13.6
1990
14.3
2000
14.1

1881
13
1891
226
1901
13.7
iii
14.8
1921
1.6
1937
13.3
1941
13.6
19ST
13.8
1961
14.2
197]
13:9
1981
13.5
1991
12:9
2001
A330

1882
to
1092
V2
1902
13
igi2
14.2
g22
Het
1932
13.5
1942
13.7
1952
13.6
1962
12.8
1972
13.3
1982
14.3
1992
13.1
2002
14.2

1883
12-5
1893
14.4
1903
13.4
1913
14.5
1923
1359
1933
14.4
1943
14.6
199s
14.2
1963
12.3
1973
14
1983
14.4
1993
12.8
2003
Lo

1884
14
1894
13.4
1904
13.3
1914
14.5
1924
13.6
1934
14.5
1944
14.2
1954
13.5
1964
13.6
1974
13.4
1984
14.4
1994
13:0
2004
14.3

1885
122
eg
13.0
1905
13.2
1915
13.5
1925
13.9
1935
14.0
1945
14.7
1995
14.1
1965
gS
1975
14.4
1985
13
1995
14.7
2005
14.3

1886
13

1896
13.4
1906
13.8
1916
13.6
1926
14.1

1936
13:0
1946
13.6
1956
13.3
1966
13.6
1976
14.4
1986
aie:
1996

13

1887
13.3
1097
13.3
1907
13.1
1917:
12.0
1927
13.9
1937
14.0
1947
14
1go7
14.5
1967
Vos?
aA
13.6
1987
13.3
1997
14.6

1888
12:3
1898
14.1
1908
13.7
1918
13.8
1928
14.5
1938
14.4
1948
14.6
1958
13.7
1968
13.3
1978
13.6
1988
13.8
1998
14.1

Table | Annual mean maximum temperatures, 1881-2005

Lik

1889
12.9
1899
14.8
1909
12.6
1919
127
1929
14.2
1939
14.1
1949
15.3
1959
ee
1969
as Re,
1979
129
1989
14.6
1999
14.6

Obituary

David Winston Cope
1945 — 2005

David joined the Bristol Naturalists’ Society in 1982 and was
President of the Geology Section of the Society until his death on the
18 August 2005. He was an accomplished geologist,
geomorphologist and soil scientist.

Born on the 26 November 1945 at Leek, Staffordshire, he attended
Leek High School, achieving 8 O levels and 3 A levels, including
geography and geology. The Headmaster of Leek High School
presented David with a book prize for his achievements at school in
geology — so his interest in the subject had started when he was a
young man. He graduated from Manchester University in 1967 and
went on to join the Soil Survey of England and Wales and was based
at the Burghill Road office in Bristol until 1975 and then at Long
Ashton, Bristol until 1991. During this time numerous Soil Survey
maps, publications and reports bear his name as author or co-author.

As a soil surveyor he was enthusiastic and diligent and on
completion of one of his publications, the Wilton Map and Record,
Prof. Walter Russell wrote to David’s regional officer, Derek
Findley, with congratulations on the quality and insight of the
survey. In the 1970’s David made a large contribution to the
mapping of peat thickness in the Somerset Moors. His understanding
of the peat soils was second to none. 1979 saw the start of the1:1/4
million National Soil Map, in which he mapped much of Somerset,
Gloucestershire and Wiltshire, as well as part of Cornwall.

In 1991, David left the Soil Survey, working as a self-employed
subcontractor for the Survey and other organisations until his death.
David was also secretary of the South West England Soils
Discussion Group, of which he was a founder member.

David never married and remained a quiet private person. Without a
family and its associated commitments he was able to devote his life
to his interests in soils and geology. At one time he was asked to

116

undertake forensic work with soil samples to help solve a murder in
Wiltshire. This was dramatised on Channel Four in 1993 and had the
actor playing him look at a particular type of soil and pronounce to
the watching millions “King Norton series”.

David had not enjoyed good health for some time before his death,
but despite this he still made a huge effort to continue his support of
the Society. He was a regular helper at geological site clearance
projects arranged by the geology section and would always put more
than his fair share of effort into the digging and was always good
company. He will be sadly missed by the Society and particularly
the members of the Geology Section.

David collapsed and died while undertaking field work in Wareham,
Dorset and was not discovered for 2 days. He died doing the thing
he enjoyed doing most.

Simon Carpenter, friend of David and fellow member of the Bristol
Naturalists’ Society.

A. C. K. Fear

1914-2005
Arthur Charles Kitchener Fear was born on 8 December 1914. He
died on 17 November 2005, in his 68th year as a BNS member, a
record seldom if ever surpassed. As a small boy he showed
intellectual promise, buying and avidly studying second-hand books.
He won a scholarship to Cotham Secondary School, and went on to
take a science degree at Bristol University. Career openings were
scarce in the depressed mid-1930s and he hesitated between entering
the ministry - he was a devout Anglo-Catholic - and a career in
horticulture. In 1936 he came 34th of the 238 (45%) who passed the
RHS’ General Examination in Horticulture, but found employment
with a firm of Accountants, though gardening remained a life-long
interest.

Called up to the Army in 1940, he went via Porton Down and
Glasgow to Tunisia and Italy. Demobilized, he worked in the
Zoology Department of Bristol University from 1946-48, taking
various courses in Zoology and Marine Biology. He then obtained a
post at Bristol Cathedral School, where for many years he variously

iy

taught Botany, Zoology, Geography, Geology and Archaeology, finally
moving to Worcester Technical College to teach Earth Sciences until he
retired in 1980 aged 65.

Fear joined the Society in 1937. After the War he met fellow-member Mary
Clench, a mathematics graduate. They married in 1947 and a daughter
Margaret Jane (Maggie) was born in 1953. He and Mary served a term on
Council from 1949, and in 1950 and 1951 Mary served as Joint Assistant
Hon. Secretary, along with Miss M. H. Rogers (our President, 1958-9).
Fear served on the Field Committee and led expeditions both General and
Geological, including at least one all-day excursion jointly with Mary. He
exhibited at Geological Section and Society exhibition meetings; in January
1949 the Section Secretary, Igor Loupekine, wrote, “I am, of course, once
again counting on you to produce something spectacular ... .” One display,
“Items of Geological Interest in the Bay of Naples’, reflected the delight in
Italian geography and geology kindled by his wartime service.

He made many extended walking tours in France and especially Italy, with
his friend Philip Boulder. Sadly, in 1976 he was called home by the news
that his beloved Mary had died, following a hip fracture caused by slipping
on wet leaves at Chew Valley Lake. His final Italian backpacking tour, at
the age of 80, lasted over five weeks.

His thirst for information lasted all his life, and he would join courses even
in subjects he knew well. In 1951 he enrolled in evening classes for the
London External BSc in Botany and Zoology, at the then Merchant
Venturers’ Technical College (the writer and his fiancée were in the same
class), and when the Botany lecturer fell by the wayside he took her place.
He amassed a large library of books on natural history, geology and
topography, especially relating to Italy and the SW of England. Almost to
the end of his days he collected cuttings and articles on natural history
topics, which he filed meticulously, leaving 309 box files.

As his health declined Maggie abandoned her London career to look after
him, aided by a faithful carer. Increasing infirmity demanded 24-hour care,
and finally in June 2005 he entered a Nursing Home, where he died.
Friends described him as a devoted and generous father, a cheerfully
firm teacher, a courteous and gentle man of deep intellect, with a
subdued mischievous streak, and a pleasure to know.

S. M. Taylor, Hon. Archivist

118

A.J. Willis
1922-2006

Arthur Willis was born in Sherborne, Dorset and brought up on a farm. He
was educated in Bruton, Somerset, and because a lecturer in Botany at
Bristol University from 1947 to 1969. He became a member of the Society,
and in 1958 wrote the first of several botanical articles on the vegetation of
the Gordano valley. In 1959 he became Editor of the proceedings. In 1963
he contributed an article on the Mosses of Leigh Woods, and in 1965 he
took over the writing of Bristol Botany after the sudden death of Noel
Sandwith He continued the tradition of updating the information in JW
White’s flora of 1912, which had been maintained since White’s death in
1930, by Mrs Cecil Sandwith and her son.

In 1969 he moved to become Professor of Botany at Sheffield, a post he
retained for 18 years, but returned annually to Gloucestershire partly to
carry out a survey of roadside vegetation near Bibury which he maintained
for 48 years. This survey was originally designed to monitor the impact of
different weed-killing and mowing regimes on the flora, but the detailed
phenological data from the control patches is now in demand as evidence of
the impact of climate change, as it is the longest series anywhere run by the
same individual at the same site uysing the same methodology. He also
continued to write Bristol Botany for the Society until 2003, and his
formidable memory for botanical detail ensured that the reports read as if he
were an active resident of the area. The continuity of tradition in Bristol
Botany over ninety years must be unequalled. He contributed important
articles to the Proceedings in 1970 on Dr Arthur Broughton, in 1989 on the
vegetation of the Avon Gorge, and in 1990 of the development of Berrow
Dunes.

He was a very important national figure, revising Sir Arthur Tansley’s 1923
Practical plant ecology, and he was editor of the Journal of Ecology’s
Biological Flora, which issue by issue carries a detailed study of a particular
species. He was fascinated by the ecology of dunes, and in 1997 produced a
classic study of them with John Packham. He worked with botanists in
Egypt to produce three volumes on the plant life of that region. His
enthusiasm was boundless, and his encouragement of others will be greatly
missed by plant enthusiasts around the world.

C Lovatt, R Bland

ihe,

Society Business

President and Council for 2005

The following officers and members of Council were elected at the AGM on January 242004.
They are the Trustees of the Society.

Officers

President; Mr. R Barnett.

Vice Presidents Mrs A Hollowell. Mrs A Wookey

Hon Secretary: Mr B Frost Hon. Treasurer; Mr. S Fay.
Hon. Librarian; Mrs. AF Hollowell Hon. Editor; Mr R Bland
Hon. Membership Secretary; Mrs AM Wookey. Hon. Archivist; | Mr SM Taylor
Hon. Distribution Secretary; Mr B Frost. Webmaster; Mr. D Strawford
Hon. Bulletin Secretary; Mr. DB Davies. BRERC Rep Mr T Corner
Publicity. Ms M Leivers & Miss M Morris

Section Officers.

Geology; Mr. S Carpenter, Ms S Flint

Botany; Mr A Smith, Mrs. P Millman

Invertebrates; Mr R Barnett, § Mr AG Smith.

Mammals; Mr DPC Trump

Ornithology; Mr. RL Bland, Dr. M Hill.

Ordinary Members.
Mr.R Muston. Mr. NJWray. Mr. HG Morris. Mr M Johnson

REPORT OF COUNCIL FOR 2005

The aims of the Bristol Naturalists’ Society for 2005 were “The promotion of education and
research into natural history, including geology, with special reference to the Bristol District;
and the promotion and conservation of the British fauna and flora, and protection of
geological and geomorphological sites”.

The Society’s activities consisted of sectional and general, indoor and field, meetings. The
Society’s specialist sections covered Botany, Geology, Invertebrates and Ornithology, and
there was an informal Mammal group. General Field Meetings had been running at a loss, and
in future, Sections will be asked to host meetings with a wide natural history interest. The
preparation and distribution of the Society’s publications, and the maintenance and
development of its Library, consumed the greater part of Society’s income, and those activities
were managed by committees that worked to plans and budgets agreed by Council (the
Trustees).

During the course of the year a new President was elected, as well as two new Vice-Presidents,
and a new Secretary, Treasurer, Editor, and Publicity Officer.

The Society received welcome publicity early in September, three times in the Bristol Evening
Post, as well as on local television news, local teletext, and the internet. This was due to the
fact that a Blue Plaque was unveiled to celebrate the life and work of Adolph Leipner, who was
a co-founder of the Society in 1862. He was also its first Secretary for 31 years, as well as
having a period as President. The plaque unveiled on the 8th of September on the wall of a
former home at 47 Hampton Park, Redland, Bristol, also commemorated the fact that he was
the founder of the first University of Bristol botanic garden more than 120 years ago. The
President and Secretary, and other members, represented the Society at the unveiling. The
plaque states:- ‘Adolph Leipner 1827 — 1894. Professor of botany. Co-founder of the Bristol
Naturalists’ Society. In 1882 he created Bristol University’s first Botanic Garden at Woodland
Road. Lived here from 1870 to 1894’.

120

Education
26 talks and 42 field meetings were organised by the Society during 2005. These offered an
interesting and informative programme of activities concentrating particularly, but not
exclusively, on the Bristol District. There were:-
e 6 General talks
5 Geology talks and 5 Geology field meetings
7 Ornithology talks and 15 Ornithology field meetings
2 Invertebrate talks and 5 Invertebrate field meetings
6 Botany talks and 16 Botany field meetings
| joint General/Botany field meeting

The Society publicised its meetings to members and to visitors with the help of its website, a
monthly bulletin, occasional press releases and poster publicity displayed in public places,
particularly libraries. As always, particular emphasis was placed on the encouragement of new
members.

Publications

Volume 64 of Nature in Avon, was delivered to the printers in September, and sent out to
members in October. The members of the Publications sub-committee express their thanks to
Richard Bland for taking on the role of Editor this year and for producing Volume 64, in
addition to all his other work for the Society.

The Avon Bird Report arrived in mid December and was distributed to members in January
2006. The second late year is deeply regretted by AOG, and it is fully intended to get back to
an October date in 2006. The Editor, Harvey Rose, and his team are particularly to be
congratulated on the wide range of articles.

In addition to the main two publications, the Committee is greatly indebted to those who
produce and manage the other means of promoting the activities of the Society and to those
who arrange and carry out distribution of hard copy.

David Davies has continued to produce the ever larger monthly bulletin. At a cost of 30p per
member per month it is remarkable value and continues to act as an invaluable means of
informing the membership.

David Strawford continues to manage the Society’s website. The question of whether
it was appropriate to include photos was discussed during the year. Although
desirable, the difficulties of obtaining copyright, maintaining the site, limitations
imposed by the website host (Bristol City Council) and the increased length of time to
download the site for those without broadband resulted in the idea not being
progressed as yet. It was decided that unless, and until, we found someone with the
time and expertise to create an independent website for the Society, we would leave it
unchanged. The problem of ensuring that it was appropriately updated continued.
Brian Frost had managed to keep the postage costs of the society within strict limits despite the
ever increasing weight of the Bird Report. R. J. Barnett

The gift of two computer floppy discs to the Society by Philippa Foster of 5D Illustration was
much appreciated. The illustrations on these could be used freely in our Bulletins and on our
Website, so long as due acknowledgement was made to her.

Library

The Library Committee worked to the Library Plan for 2005, agreed by Council. In the course
of the year an Index to all articles in the Proceeding since 1865 was created, and added to the
computer, which, in addition to the index to all journals, also now holds details of 1150 books.
The year’s work was completed well within the budget agreed by Council. In promoting the
Library, reports of new accessions were featured regularly in the Bulletin, and an Ornithology
Section “Open Day” was held in October. Committee members continued to staff the Library
from 12.30pm to 1.30pm on Wednesdays, and from 10.15am to 12.00pm on Saturdays

Journals were obtained by subscription or exchange, or were donated. Atropos, a new
entomological journal, was taken on trial. Books purchased included the latest New
Naturalists’ series on Northumberland, Fungi, The Sea Shore, and Peter Marren’s The New

12]

Naturalists. Three bird books, A Time to Fly, Birds, Scythes and Combines, and The Skylark,
and Land Snails of the British Isles, Wild Boar in Britain, and Britain’s Orchids were
purchased. Ten Defra reports on topical subjects were given to the Library, and one member
gave a large collection of unwanted older books, many of which were sold to members in aid
of the Conservation fund. Special name plates were added to donated items accepted into the
collection.

Access to the Library was made available to others, particularly to the University of Bristol and
to staff of Bristol’s City Museum. The Society thanks the Head of Museum Services, Bristol
City Council, for continued use of the Library room, and for the assistance given to members
during the year by Museum staff, and welcomes the continued use made of the Library by
Museum staff.

The Library Committee met on 4 occasions. The Society thanks the Honorary Librarian, Mrs.
A.F. Hollowell, and Committee members Mrs. A.M. Wookey, (Chair), Mr. R.L. Bland, Mr.
R.G. Symes Mr. B. Tizard, Mr. D.P.C. Trump, Mr J Webster, and Mr. D.A. Wilson. for their
time and assistance during 2005.

Library statistics for 2005 (2004 in brackets)

Visits:- 33 members (37 in 2004) made 253 (332) visits to the Library. 1 (6) of these visits
were made by new members. 7 visits were by members of the Museum staff. 253 (256) items
were borrowed.

Journals:- 17 journals were received by subscription, 27 by exchange.

Books:- 10 books were purchased.

Donations:- 4 books, 54 issues of journals, and 11 pamphlets/ off-prints and reports, were
accepted.

Donors:- We were indebted to Mr. R.J. Barnett, Dr. R. Bradshaw, Dr. M. Hill, Mrs. A.F.
Hollowell, Mr. P.J.M. Nethercott, Mr. R.G. Symes, Mr. D.P.C. Trump, Mr. D.A. Wilson, Bath
Natural History Society, Bristol Environmental Records Centre, the International Geosphere

Research and Conservation

Records of observations made by members as part of both local and national recording
schemes were submitted to Bristol Regional Environmental Records Centre (BRERC), and
formed the basis of the biota sections of the Society’s Proceedings (Nature in Avon). Surveys
included botanical, mammal, invertebrate and ornithological recording schemes. Members of
the Society assisted with data entry at BRERC.

The Society maintained close local links with The City Museum & Art Gallery, which housed
its Library, with Bristol University (especially the Earth Sciences Dept.), with both the Avon
and Somerset Wildlife Trusts, VOSCUR (The Voice of Bristol’s Community and Voluntary
Sector), Avon Gorge & Downs Wildlife Project and with Bristol City Council. Regionally the
Society continued its link with the South West Naturalists’ Union, were represented on the
Downs Management Plan, and continued to be represented at meetings of the Leigh Woods
Advisory Committee. The Society is now a partner in the Avon Biodiversity Action Plan, and
both the North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Baps. Here the Society’s main role is
assisting in the monitoring process, and acting as adviser at meetings. Nationally it has been
involved with the British Trust for Ornithology, Botanical Society of the British Isles, the
Woodland Trust, and Royal Entomological Society. The Society also continued to be
represented at meetings of the Leigh Woods Advisory Committee.

Botanical Section

At the AGM on 24 Jan the Officers and Committee were re-elected: President: Mr A.G.Smith,
Hon.Secretary/Treasurer: Mrs P. Millman.) Committee Members: Ms L. Houston, Mrs
C.Kitchen, Mr M.Kitchen, Mr C.Hurfurt, Mrs M.Webster., Ms M.Wood, Mr T.Titchen.
Section Meetings

Five meetings were held with talks and fourteen field meetings mainly led by members of the
committee.

12

Mark and Clare Kitchen
argaret Webster

ark and Clare Kitchen
Tony Smith, Pam Millman

A tree gazer in Madiera Tony Titchen

Following a varied program of lectures in the winter we have had an interesting season on
Field Botany. We have been taken to a wide range of habitats starting with woodlands in the
spring including a well-supported meeting on Mosses. Finding scarce agricultural weeds was a
challenge taken up by Mark and Clare Kitchen on one meeting. The Felton Common meeting
led by Margaret Webster was an important recording meeting to monitor its wildlife value as it
lies adjacent to Bristol Airport. Future developments could pose a threat. Pam Millman led our
first meeting to the National Trust site at Tyntesfield where we are recording plants in the
estate for the first time since access was not possible for the Flora of Bristol. We were
accompanied by the Estate Warden. Wetland species including several orchids were
encountered on Max Bog and later on Clapton Moor we worked on identifying tricky
Pondweeds (Potamogetons) and Stoneworts. We always encourage less experienced members
at meetings and help them to improve their identification skills.

On 23 July the Section organised a Field Meeting by coach to Westonbirt Arboretum, led by
Tony Titchen. This was the Sections contribution to a General Society Field Program. The
meeting was very well supported. We continue to send records to BRERC. Members are
involved with both the Somerset and Gloucestershire Rare Plants groups.

We should like to acknowledge the work of Dr Clive Lovatt in editing Bristol Botany.
Members will find his section in Nature in Avon well worth reading.

Pam Millman

Geological Section

In addition to a programme of indoor lectures, held at the Earth Sciences Department of Bristol
University, the Geological Section continues to be involved in several ‘hands on’ geology
initiatives. The biggest being the annual ‘Rock and Fossil’ event which took place on the
Bristol & Bath Railway Path in August. This event provided an opportunity to engage with the
public, to tell them about the regions fascinating geological heritage, and to promote the
activities of the Society. This event was undertaken in collaboration with the Bath Geological
Society and the West of England Geologists’ Association. It was estimated that over 500
members of the public stopped to find out more, and several local newspapers ran the story in
their publications.

Simon Carpenter, acting President of the Section, after the untimely death of David Cope in
August, had an exhibition of his fossils at Frome Museum during the summer. This was
supported with funds from the Society, and other organisations.

David Cope joined the Society in 1982, and was President of the Section for much of this time.
He was an accomplished and dynamic geologist, geomorphologist and Soil Scientist. During

123

the early part of his working career, David worked for the Soil Survey, based in Bristol. He
was responsible for writing several Soil Survey Memoirs and contributing as co-author on
many more.

A full obituary on David can be found elsewhere in the Proceedings.

Invertebrate Section

The Section is a very active hub for a great range of organisms, not just confined to showy
butterflies and brilliant dragonflies. Regular meetings with Bristol Moth Group, Somerset
Invertebrates Group, and many other British recording groups from slugs to sandhoppers, bugs,
beetles and plant hoppers ensure that the rich fauna of the Region is listed nationally. This year
has included finding rare bugs on Crooks Peak, the Poldens, Thornbury and Troopers Hill. In
the Avon Gorge, the Gully and the Downs, rare moths and nationally notable beetles have had
first regional records or exciting re-finding of rarities. Following an interesting lecture in the
winter season the Section visited the Invertebrates House at Bristol Zoological Gardens to
study the Captive Breeding Programmes for the Mole Cricket and the New Forest Cicada.
News of notable finds were summarised monthly in the Bulletin of the Society.

Ornithology Section

At the 2005 AGM, held on January 21st 2005, Richard Bland was elected as
President, on the understanding that he would remain in post for 2 years only; Mary
Hill was re-elected as Secretary and Treasurer.

Mike Taylor retired from the committee and was thanked for his contributions. Present
committee members happy to be re-elected were - Joyce Callard, Angela Levinson,
Ann and Richard Crawford, Ed Drewitt and Paul Farmer. Several other people had
been asked to join the committee, but none felt able to serve.

A feed back sheet, circulated at the AGM, proved very helpful in indicating the types of
meetings that people preferred and giving suggestions for future lectures. Following a
suggestion at the AGM, and a long voting process (to allow everyone to have their
Say), it was decided that lectures should begin at 7.30pm in future (rather than at
7pm).

In 2005 there were 6 lecture meetings, | fieldwork meeting and 15 field meetings. They are
listed below. The meetings were reasonably well attended - the numbers at field meetings are
always very weather dependant and, perhaps more significant, the numbers at lecture meetings
(average 30.5) were down on those of recent years (averages 40.2 in 2004; 38.5 in 2003; 47.3
in 2002). We are very grateful to all our speakers and field meeting leaders.

Field work Members were involved in the following surveys

The national Breeding Bird Survey, which monitors all common species annually and covered
195 local squares this year, the Waterways Survey, the Heronry Survey, WeBBS counts of
Waterfowl and Waders, BTO Woodland Breeding Bird Survey, Avon Quinquennial Rookery
survey, BTO overwintering warbler survey, The BTO Tawny Owl Survey, The Atlas Trial
Winter Fieldwork Survey, the Nest Record Card Scheme, and the National Ringing Scheme.
They also participated in BTO Garden Birdwatch, Bristol Birdwatch, and the society’s own 30
year old Winter Garden Survey.

They continued to monitor wintering Blackcap and Chiffchaff populations, and winter
populations through the Winter Bird Counts.

Involvement with Local Authority.

The results of BBS work is sent to the four Unitary authorities Environmental
departments, and in Bristol is used as part of the annual Quality of Life audit.

Bristol Birdwatch is part of the work of the Local Agenda 21 Biodiversity committee,
which has revealed the substantial role played by gardens in sustaining the City's
biodiversity.

124

Lectures, 2005; 6 lectures and 1 Field work meeting, and 15 fieldwork meetings

Willams
Blanc
Chew valley ringing Group

Mammal Group

The Group had a relatively quiet 2005. Records of mammal sightings from the Bristol area
together with other items of mammal interest continue to be gathered and are reported on in the
Mammal Report published in the Proceedings. Links continue to be maintained with BRERC
(to whom all verified mammal records are submitted electronically), the Avon Bat Group, the
Avon Wildlife Trust and the Mammal Society. A second mammal training day was held in
November at the Wildlife Trust’s Clapton Moor Reserve (organised as part of the North
Somerset Levels and Moor Project run by the Wildlife Trust).

Promotion and Publicity

Posters announcing forthcoming meetings were produced on a regular basis and those and
membership leaflets were displayed, particularly in libraries. Press releases were also issued to
promote the events run by the Society. The Society’s display was updated and in order to
promote the Society’s activities and to attract new members, stands were taken at various
events including the University of the West of England Freshers’ Fair, the Bristol Festival of
Nature, and the University of Bristol Alternative Careers Fair. Publications produced by the
Society were offered for sale, and although the revenue from these was small, the main benefit
of attending was to promote the aims of the Society, as was the giving out of Membership
Leaflets.

Organisation, Membership, and Management of the Society’s Funds.

The Bristol Naturalists’ Society is an unincorporated association, registered charity no. 235494.
The Society’s activities are governed by the Rules, adopted in 1971, and amended in 1993 and
1999. All involved with the running of the charity in 2005 were volunteers, there were no paid
officials. The time provided by volunteers was considerable, and was crucial in the success of
the Society. It was necessary to employ the services of an auditor. The officers and members
of Council were elected by members of the Society at an Annual General Meeting, held on
Saturday, 22nd January, 2005. The names of those proposed by the previous Council had been
circulated to all members in the December 2004 issue of the Society’s Bulletin and no further
names were proposed by members. Those elected, together with the officers of Sections,
served as the Trustees of the Society for 2005. Members were also elected to the Publications,
Library, and Hector Hockey Fund Committees. Council and Library Committee meetings
continued to be held at Clifton College.

The Society’s official address was Bristol Naturalists’ Society, c/o The City Museum and Art
Gallery, Queen’s Road, Clifton, Bristol, BS8 1RL. The Society’s main bankers were Lloyds
TSB, 58 Queen’s Road, Clifton, Bristol BS8 1RQ and CAF Bank Ltd., PO Box 289, West
Malling, Kent. ME19 4TA. The Trustees’ powers regarding investment etc. are prescribed in
the Society’s Rules. Monies representing the Memorial, Conservation and Library Funds and
an Ornithological Section Special Fund, were held in a CAF Bank account. The funds were
available to support projects as decided by Council. These included the Dave Clark Memorial
Fund, the Chew Valley Ringing Station, the preparation of a book on Orthoptera, and the

23

sponsoring of a film about the move of the University of Bristol Botanic Garden to a new
site.

The Hector Hockey and Milton Funds were held in Income Bonds and a National Savings
Account. Grants from the Hockey Fund were governed by the Rules of that Fund. Council
had agreed previously that the monies designated as the Milton Fund would be used to support
“Hockey” applications also, and both funds were involved in 2005. Sections had individual
bank and building society accounts holding sufficient funds to cover running costs.

Accounts for 2004 were approved by the Trustees, and subsequently sent to the Charity
Commission, who were also given details of all of the Trustees, as they had requested. All
Trustees of the Society were given a copy of the latest issue of the Charity Commission booklet
‘Responsibilities of Charity Trustees — A Summary’.

A presentation of an engraved Bristol Blue glass vase was made in March to Professor A.
Willis in recognition of his authorship of Bristol Botany in the Society’s Proceedings for 40
years. During the year the Society’s Calendar was brought up to date and expanded in detail,
giving a clearer picture of events, and requirements for its management by the Trustees.
Members also presented a slide projector was given for use at meetings.

Regretfully the deaths were reported of Mr M Brooks, Mr D Cope (whose obituary will appear
in the 2005 Proceedings), Miss E Fleure, Mrs P Foster, Ms E Jones, Mr A Kelly, Mrs D
Peddle, Mr P Thomson, Mr R Vaughan, and Mrs B Wright.

At the end of 2005 Society membership was 552, a decrease of 55 on the previous year.
Thanks

The Society is indebted to the large number of its members who gave their time freely to
support the activities of the Society and in some cases generously donated funds to the BNS.
This help was much appreciated by the Society and was vital in helping the BNS meet its many
objectives. Special mention must be made of members of the Society who continue to save the
Society substantial postal charges by delivering Society publications by hand. The Society
acknowledges with gratitude the facilities and support given by the Earth Sciences Department,
University of Bristol, and Mr Mark Moore, Headmaster of Clifton College; for the use of their
premises for meetings, and Ms. Kate Brindley, Director of Museums, Galleries and Archives,
Bristol City Council, for continued support of the Society Library located within the City
Museum & Art Gallery.

Plans for the Future

The Council of the Society for 2006 will be appointed on the 21st January 2006, and those
Trustees will be responsible for that year’s strategic planning. It is hoped that some of the ideas
that came from the ‘Ideas’ meeting held in July 2004, and in the Report of that meeting “Are
we getting it right?’, can be acted upon. It is also hoped to publish revised Society Rules, as
well as its Procedures, bringing them up to date.

126

Accounts for 2005

BRISTOL NATURALISTS' SOCIETY

INCOME (Incoming resources)

Membership Subscriptions

Opening (Subscription) Debtors

Gift Aid

Bequests & Donations
Trading

Sections Income
Interest Received
Miscellaneous

Total

EXPENDITURE
(A) Direct Charitable
Meetings

Books & Periodicals (Library)

Proceedings Production
Avon Bird Report
Bulletin Production
White Sheet Production
Distribution Costs
Subscriptions

Publicity

Grants

Special Funds Expenditure
Sections Expenditure
Fundraising Costs
Total

(B). Administration
Print & Stationery
Postage & telephone
Software
Subscription refund
Insurance

Audit

2005

7,682.00
-638.00
1,140.28
469.15
TiO
0.00
1,191.74
0.00

835.18
558.44
1,668.96
1,387.41
1,240.84
66.50
1,197.46
0.00
214.27
3,050.00

W227
100.94
0.00
0.00
223.24
0.00

le

9,942.67

10,219.06

2004

9,297.00

1,623.00
992.00
1,655.00
1,179.00
44.00
14,790.00

538
553

3,417
902
66
814
45
951
52
4,246
23325
702
14,609

160
145
161

61
21g
a7

Miscellaneous
Sections general
Total

Operating Surplus (Deficit)

144.68
0.00

BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31 DECEMBER

2005

ASSETS

Current Assets
Prepayments

Debtors

Investment Accounts
Bank (Lloyds)

Bank (CAF)

Bank & Cash (Sections)

LIABILITIES
Creditors
Subscriptions Received in Advance

Accrual (postage)

Total Assets less Total Liabilities

CAPITAL
General Fund
Designated Funds
Milton

Memorial
Conservation
Library
Ornithological
Restricted Funds
Hector Hockey

Notes 2005

322.45

11,055.93
4,584.59
23,834.47
224.81
40,022.25

201.50
420.00
621.50

10,472.69

35859:28
14,060.35
426.64
2,299.74
1,085.40

5,200.65

128

641.13

-917.52

2004

2499
11427

27161
41087

769

769

10089
24852

1,291

Notes

1 Prepayments

Meeting Rooms
Insurance

Periodicals

National Savings

Opening Balance
Adjustment

Interest Received

T/f to Lloyds (Grants)

Closing Balance

CAF

Opening Balance
Transfer from Lloyds

Interest Received
Transfer to Lloyds
(Grants)

Transfers (Grants)
Transfers (Donations)

Closing Balance

Sections

Opening Balance
Transfer from General
Fund

Interest Received
Transfer to General
Fund

Net Expenditure

Closing Balance

MemorialConservation Library Ornithological
Fund Special Fund

128.00
89.45
105.00
Hector
Hockey
Fund Milton Fund
(Restricted)
5377.00 6,029.00
10.26 10.26
148.39 231.02
-335.00 -415.00
5,200.65 5,855.28
General
Fund Fund
0.00 13,727.44
5,000.00 0.00
106.34 532.91
0.00 -200.00
1,000.00 0.00
-144.00 0.00
5,962.34 14,060.35
Ornithology Field
122293 376.65
100.00 0.00
0.00 0.32
0.00 -376.97
-167.90 0.00
55.03 0.00

129

Fund
1842513 2,212.93
0.00 0.00
40.51 86.81
-600.00 0.00
- 1,000.00 0.00
144.00 0.00
426.64 2,299.74
Geology Botany
67.14 115.83
0.00 100.00
0.00 0.00
0.00 0.00
-32.59 -80.60
34.55 135.23

1,039.96
0.00
45.44

0.00
0.00
0.00
1,085.40

5 General Fund

Opening Balance
Debtors

Creditors
Unreconciled item
Sections

Bank (Lloyds)

Closing Balance
Bank (Lloyds)
Bank (CAF)
Sections
Prepayments

Creditors

Movement

Activity 2005

To National Savings Funds
Paid from Lloyds A/c
Sections expenditure

Paid into Lloyds A/c
Transfer from Sections
Interest received

To Designated Funds
From Designated Funds
Debtors movement

Creditors movement

130

2,498.71
-768.50
20:52
682.55
7,656.43

4,584.59
5,962.34
224.81
322.45
-621.50

-20.52
-10,139.45
-281.09
12, 267229
-376.65
106.66
-144.00
1,000.00
-2,176.26
147.00

10,089.71

10,472.69

382.98

382.98

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7

INSTRUCTIONS FOR AUTHORS

The editor welcomes original papers or short notes on the natural
history of the greater Bristol region for consideration for publication in
the Proceedings. All papers for consideration should reach the editor by
the end of November for publication in the following year. All Society
Reports and Biota should reach the editor by the end of February in the
year of publication.

Whenever possible, text should be submitted electronically in Word.
The data for graphs should be sent in Excel, and any other illustrations
should be submitted electronically.

The Editor welcomes digital photos of any natural history subject taken
in the region, whether relevant to an article or not. They should be of
the largest pixel size possible.

References should be listed at the end of the text, in alphabetical order
of the first author's name, and should take the following form. (with
book and journal title in italics and first line hanging).

Book: Author (Date). Title. Place of publication: Publisher. - e.g.

Rackham, O. (1986). The history of the countryside. London: J.M.
Dent.

Clapham, A.R., Tutin, T.G. and Warburg, E.F. (1952) Flora of the
British Isles. Cambridge at the University Press.

Paper: Author (Date). Title. Journal Name, volume (part), page nos. -
e.g.

Ross, S.M. and Heathwaite, A. L. (1986). West Sedgemoor: its peat
stratigraphy and peat chemistry. Proceedings of the Bristol Naturalists'
Society, 44, 19-25.

The copyright of all newly published material will belong to the Bristol
Naturalists' Society, whose Council may authorise reproduction.

VOLUME 65 (2005)

CONTENTS

2 Editorial

3 Weather 2005 — Richard Bland

6 Phenology 2005 - Richard Bland

16 Gordano Valley NNR —Tony Robinson

20 Bristol Botany — Clive Lovatt

37 Holocene woodland — HM Tinsley

47 Flora of Bristol walls - Richard Bland

61 Mistletoe — Richard Bland

62 Communication - SM Taylor

66 Bristol Invertebrate report - Ray Barnett

75 Bristol Mammal report-David Trump

95 Clevedon toad patrol - Andrew Town

103 Fossil marine reptiles.- Simon Carpenter

105 Local naturalists - Martin Evans.

107 The Long-winged Cone-head - Robert Cropper
110 Climate change in Bristol - Richard Bland

116 Obituaries. David Cope. ACK Fear. AJ Willis.
120 Society Business

Inside back cover - Instructions for Authors

Rerum cognoscere causas - Virgil