Windover Hill 4th October 2011
Wendy and I met 16 members in the lumpy car park at Litlington to climb Windover Hill to see the field gentian. Peter Davys was to have led the walk but had a hospital appointment on the day.
The weather was sunny and warm when we met but soon clouded over and a cool wind got up.
On the track up we saw some chalk plants still flowering. At the top we admired the view, which was all round from the sea to Heathfield mast and along to Firle Beacon with Lewes beyond. On the path through the bushes we saw lots of basil and thyme. Arriving at the open grass areas we found lots of field gentians, some that had already flowered, some that had yet to flower and some in flower but were not open due to lack of sunshine. These grass areas are acid soil layers on top of the chalk, so ling and bell heather were also growing.
After lots of photographing and admiring the view we made the return journey.
Janice Reynolds
The Life of Bats 11th October 2011
Amanda Millar runs a bat hospital in Hurstpierpoint. She told us that this has been a pretty bad year for bat injuries and the number of bats in her care this year has varied from 42 at the moment to 64, including 45 orphans, back in the summer. Many are long term residents and the most common cause of injury is caused by cats; because bats have thin bones this makes them vulnerable and they often suffer from broken fingers and wings. About half have been satisfactorily rehabilitated and released.
She explained that bats are the only true flying mammals which belong to 2 groups – mega and micro. In all there are over 1000 species of bats, about one fifth of all mammals. There are around 200 species of megabats (also known as fruit bats) which live outside the UK. They are related to lemurs and therefore to us. They have an extra claw and fairly big eyes and are able to see in colour. Some species can have a 5 foot wing span.
There are around 800 species of microbats, 18 of which are found in this country. They are agile insect eaters and smaller than megabats. They originate from a shrew like mammal, can only see in black and white and tend to be nocturnal. They have poor eyesight, but excellent hearing. They are also able to echo locate while fruit bats rarely do so. Echo location is usually through the mouth (although sometimes through the nose). This is why they have reduced teeth in the front, so as not to interfere with echo location. They can even detect human hair through echo location. Bats are also an important part of the eco system because they are seed dispersers and pollinators.
Bats are very sociable and very vocal, using different calls according to environment, tending to live in fairly large groups. They are not aggressive and there is no great fighting between species. They exhibit true altruism and will help others not so fortunate by, for example, regurgitating food.
Bats are clean mammals but do carry mites etc. They can carry rabies (a different strain to dog rabies) but the risk is negligible to humans.
Bats usually have one live pup, about one third of their bodyweight, but not necessarily every year. They produce milk. They are very good mothers and use scent and sound of their pups to identify them. The pups have no fear of humans, and have poorly developed wings. Bats like warm places for maternity roosts such as lofts or under tiles. The males usually live separately at this time but they all come together during hibernation. Bats prefer cold roosts in winter when they hibernate and will return to the same roost year after year. During hibernation they tuck themselves into a small space and sometimes stop breathing. From this state they need up to half an hour to be in a condition to fly.
Most species of bats are in decline for various reasons e.g. loss of roosts, changing agricultural practices, use of insecticides and extreme weather. After hibernation they can be in poor condition and a shortage of insects can lead to starvation. Daubenton’s and the lesser horseshoe are doing all right, but all others less so. Sussex is one of the best counties for bats with all 18 species recorded. We can do our bit to help by creating compost heaps and log piles and by planting native trees and shrubs.
After the tea break Amanda brought round a noctule, a pipistrelle and a long eared horseshoe bat – a – a real treat to round off a really enjoyable and informative afternoon.
Susan Painter
Markstakes Common 18th October 2011
10 members and visitors gathered at Markstakes Common, a new venue for the Society, for the annual fugus foray led again by Rosalie Sinclair-Smith.
Although some 40 species of fungi had been found a few weeks earlier, the recent weather had been very dry and Rosalie indicated that fungi may be hard to find. Only 3 had been seen on the previous Saturday. Rosalie gave us an introductory talk and also as usual had brought some examples to show us what we might expect. She also suggested that we look out for dates and initials on the older trees as Canadian forces had been stationed here during WWII and relatives from Canada were interested in finding evidence of their relatives who lost their lives in action.
We set of more in hope than expectation but we did find a number of fungi, getting into double figures by the end of the walk.
Most obvious were fly agaric, found in association with birch trees although they were rather past their best. Also easily seen were bracket fungi on the birch trees including the aptly named blushing bracket.
We also found some earthballs, looking like greenish stones as they had algae growing on them.
We also came across some fungi which Rosalie could not immediately identify. The first was a milk cap; speculation was that it could be Peppery Milkcap. Rosalie tasted some and was not convinced initially but as we walked on the peppery taste imposed itself.
Later in the walk we came across an oyster mushroom which Rosalie couldn’t identify. Detectives skills applied after the walk eventually led to Rosalie identifying it as Pleutorus dryinus, the Veiled Oyster. This is an uncommon fungus and was first found through a French fungus book, it not being in Roger Phillips book, one of the standard reference books. Rewarding that it was ultimately identified and turned out to be something one would not expect to see.
All-in-all another successful and enjoyable fungus foray, in spite of the dry conditions.
Chris Brewer
The Seven Sisters Country Park 1st November 2011
Alan Grey was a teacher for 40 years until his retirement and he spent most of his teaching life at Varndean Sixth Form College in Brighton where he taught geography and geology. He said he has always had a great interest in the Seven Sisters Country Park (SSCP) and over the years has accumulated a great deal of knowledge about it which he is more than happy to share.
Shortly after his retirement, he was offered what for him was an ideal position as the Secondary School Leader for School Groups at the Seven Sisters Country Park for the Sussex Wildlife Trust.
Alan told us that his talk would not only cover the SSCP but would also include the area from Seaford Head to the Cuckmere Valley but that he would not be mentioning the recent public consultation on the future of the Cuckmere Valley.
Alan told us that The Seven Sisters Country Park covers an area of 280 hectares of floodplain, downland and coast and then went on to give us a general overview of the various types of habitats in this area. He then showed us a number of photographs and maps of the Valley and the coastline with the Coastguard Cottages (including some old ones and some aerial shots) from which the changes over the years were very evident. The maps also clearly showed, in the area to the west of the meanders, old field boundaries, ditches, creeks and salt marshes. Alan also mentioned that the shingle bank was only put in during the 1970’s when gravel extraction ceased.
Alan then moved on to Seaford Head with photographs looking west and from the south west showing the ‘Great Sussex Stack’ both before and after 1986 – he mentioned that some of the Stack had now gone and that two boys had found a geode there.
Another picture showed how exposed Seaford Bay is to storms and big waves in the Channel and pointed out that the cliffs at this point dip slightly inland but further east they are vertical. It is this variation in the angle of the cliffs that makes it suitable for the breeding kittiwake colony here.
Moving eastwards, Alan included a number of pictures showing the cliff falls including one in 2009 near the Coastguard Cottages. He explained that when looking at the cliffs you can see what are called “dissolution pipes” where the brown soil from the cliff top has fallen to fill gaps left by falling chalk.
The entire area of these cliffs is very vulnerable to falls and the photographs illustrated this very well and also showed the ‘buttresses’ in the chalk cliffs.
The Coastguard Cottages, which are part of our heritage, have been the subject of various protective measures over the years and a photograph taken around 1908 showed just how far away from the cliff edge they were 100 years ago.
Alan then gave us a number of figures relating to the rate of coastal erosion and calculated that the cliffs have receded 40 metres in the last 100 years and that at the time of the Battle of Hastings in 1066 they would have been approximately 400 metres further out to sea than they are now.
He then moved on to the area from Cuckmere Haven to Haven Brow and said that the shape of the beach changes with every tide according to the size of the waves. Long shore drift is very evident and the pebble beach absorbs much of the wave energy. The river mouth was dredged in October 2009 but severe storms lashed the area shortly afterwards in December 2009 re-distributing the dredged material and highlighting the vulnerability of the Coastguard Cottages.
Alan then showed us copies/extracts from a number of historical documents/maps including one from 1698 and ‘Yeakell & Gardners Sussex 1773 -1783’ showing the shape of the meanders and the variations in the mouth of the river over time. We also saw photographs showing how the digging of the Victorian Cut and the creation of the embankment affected the landscape. He also mentioned the ‘Big Storm’ in the autumn of 1999 when one of the dredgers working on the river mouth was lost to the sea.
The Seven Sisters Country Park benefits from several different designations all affording it varying degrees of protection:
1. A Country Park (1971)
2. Part of a Site of Special Scientific Interest (1953)
3. Within an area of outstanding natural beauty
4. Shingle Conservation Area (2008)
5. Voluntary Marine Conservation Area (1980)
6. Heritage Coastline (1973)
7. War Defence Bill (Grade II listed buildings)
8. National Park Status (2011)
The Park is used for recreational activities including canoeing, as an educational resource and for farming and includes a number of important natural habitats as follows: Chalk downland with a high number of plant species, floodplain, salt marsh, marine plants and marine shingle.
The rare and important plants, butterflies, dragonflies and birds found here include: Bee orchid (near the Visitor Centre), red starred thistle, sea lavender, yellow horned poppy, glasswort (on the border between salt water and fresh water as shown on a photograph), birds- foot-trefoil (important food plant for blue butterflies), adonis blue butterfly, various damselflies, ruddy darter and emperor dragonflies, greenfinch, goldfinch, wheatear, grey heron, little egret, great crested grebe, little stint, redshank, dunlin, black tailed godwit, bar tailed godwit, spoonbill and avocet.
Alan concluded his talk with a ‘straw poll’ asking the members of our Natural History Society how we would best like to see the future of the Cuckmere Estuary - the vote was overwhelmingly in favour of letting nature take its course and increasing the area of salt marsh.
Although this area is well known to all of us, Alan’s presentation enhanced by his knowledge of geology and of the Seven Sisters Country Park together with his excellent photographs and historical records gave us all a deeper understanding and appreciation of this wonderful area.
John East
Wetland Restoration 15th November 2011
We have done bad things to our wetlands over the years admitted Fran as she opened her talk. But the SWT is working to remedy the situation, particularly by protecting the water vole, black poplar tree, and the otter, all endangered species. It’s not easy or simple as otters predate on water voles! Otters, which are entering Sussex from Kent and Hampshire, are bio-accumulators and indicate the health of our environment.
Wetlands (any contained water from a puddle to a salt marsh) serve humans as well as wildlife through provision of flood storage and drinking water, and shape the landscape. They are teeming with wildlife. Frogs have inhabited them for 200 million years; dragonflies for 285 million years. Reed-beds are particularly important for nationally rare birds, especially the bittern.
Worryingly, after recent droughts, our wetlands are very dry. We have lost around 60% of our wetlands in the last 20 years and they now cover only 5% of Sussex. Our water stress in the overcrowded South-east is equivalent to Morocco’s.
What can we do? We can learn from the past and protect our landscapes, restore and re-wild rivers, restore floodplain meadows and develop living landscapes through connectivity. Our individual water footprint is 150 litres a day. If each of us used just one litre less a day, that would make a significant difference. Garden ponds, by storing CO2, are vital for wildlife and the environment.
In response to a question, Fran finished by saying that the iconic, but artificial, Cuckmere Valley has the potential to be the only natural estuary in the SE, and a valuable store of flood-water. Its future is in the hands of us, the local population.
Jenny Wistreich
Adventures in the Outdoor World 6th December 2011
Michael Blencowe is the community wildlife officer for the Sussex Wildlife Trust, a job he greatly enjoys, but said that he was giving his talk in a personal capacity. He began 2011 with the realisation that this was going to be an important year for him – he was going to turn 40, was getting married and was possibly going to lose his job. It was in January that he discovered a book called “The Outdoor World” written by William Furneaux in the 19th century. Michael noticed that many of the common species referred to in this book are quite rare nowadays and he decided to make a list of some of them that he would like to see during 2011.
What followed was an amusing account of working through the list, beginning by trying to track down the female mottled umber moth which he has never seen. He took a torch to shine on the base of trees, hoping to spot males and follow their path. Unfortunately, he had no luck. A friend discovered a female but she had gone before Michael arrived and so he is still looking.
Next on his list was the death watch beetle. He thought this would be easy as there were bound to be some in his house. Unfortunately, they were all wiped out by pest controllers before he saw them, but he has now seen one elsewhere.
While on honeymoon north of the border in April he went looking for the pine marten. Apparently they love jam sandwiches so he put some on a bird table and waited at dusk. Nothing. He even tried putting a haggis on the bird table. Nothing. One morning there were signs of pine marten poo but no pine marten. He also hoped to see the ptarmigan, but again found only the poo.
Michael then tried to see the quail which he has never seen despite being quite widespread. They migrate from Africa to Britain. Although he heard one in the High and Over area he did not see it. Next on the list was the field cricket which is very rare. In May/June he heard it, and found holes but no sign of a field cricket. It must have heard vibrations from his footsteps and had disappeared.
Michael then tried unsuccessfully to track down the caterpillar of the goat moth. This was common when the book was written but is now rare as there are few goat moth trees around now. However he did succeed in seeing a puss moth caterpillar.
Next was the stag beetle, once common but now confined to localised areas such as Henfield and Ringmer. As apparently they love ginger he made an avocado mayo salad with ginger and was rewarded by finding one in Henfield.
Michael then wanted to see the purple emperor, the biggest moth in Sussex and one of the hardest to see as it tends to frequent the tops of trees. He was hoping to see one on the ground and, as suggested in Furneaux’s book, he used ox liver which had matured for three weeks as bait (the revolting smell apparently attracts them). After no success he attached a fake purple emperor to a helium balloon and walked around, but although a purple emperor flew close by it did not land.
Another failure was to see the death’s head hawk moth. Next Michael explained that despite having had a fear of spiders since he was four years’ old he had put the fen raft spider, the largest in Britain, on his list. He had never seen one before but was successful in seeing one at close quarters inside the reeds at Pevensey Levels.
So ended a highly entertaining and informative talk. We look forward to the next part of Michael’s adventures in tracking down the rest of the subjects on his list.
Susan Painter
