LOCAL
NATURE RESERVES
A
Nature
Reserve is defined in Section 15 of the National Parks and Access
to the Countryside Act 1949, as land managed for the purpose:
(a)
of providing, under suitable conditions and control, special opportunities
for the study of, and research into, matters relating to the flora and
fauna of Great Britain and the physical conditions in which they live,
and for the study of geological and physiographical features of special
interest in the area; or
(b)
of preserving flora, fauna, or geological or physiographical features of
special interest in the area; or for both these purposes.’ |
EVENTS
22
October 2011
Friends
of
Lancing Ring
Coffee Morning
Venue:
The Holy Family Catholic Church Hall at Monks Farmhouse in North Road,
Lancing
Time:
10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Lancing
Ring Slide Show (by Ray Hamblett)
Sussex
Woodsman Display
WILDLIFE
REPORTS
December
2011
A
pair of Snow Buntings were
seen near Widewater Lagoon on numerous separate
dates.
5
December 2011
I
felt very privileged to be able to see the courting displays of the Red-breasted
Mergansers in the morning at Widewater
Lagoon.
27
November 2011
TwoSnow
Buntings were spottedon the beach at Widewater
in the morning. The strong wind made it difficult to keep my big lens steady
but I managed to get a few images (photo).
There were Little Grebes
on the lagoon along with a single Teal.
22
August 2011
Under
an overcast sky 200+ butterflies
of nine species fluttered around on Mill
Hill, led by an estimated 90+ Meadow
Browns,
a counted 19 Chalkhill Blues,
66 Adonis Blues
(including four females), about 20 Common
Blues
(including about five females), an estimated
16+
Small Heaths,
one (perhaps the last of the year) faded but intact Gatekeeper,
one (possibly three) Brimstones,
a few Large Whites,
and a Speckled Wood
(in the scrub).
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Round-headed
Rampion
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Carline
Thistle
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On
the lower slopes, a few Round-headed Rampion
were
flowering
and there were more of these delicate blue flowers on the upper plateau.
Mill
Hill Full Report
1
August 2011
On
the lower slopes of Mill Hill, I saw three
of my first second brood male Adonis Blues
of the year. The 20 minute transect
count of 58 Chalkhill Blues
(including
six females). was only a tenth the total of
a good year and below par even for poor years. A half
a dozen second brood Dingy Skippers,
including courting pairs, fluttered into view. This
was more that usual years when only a few are seen. Eleven butterfly species
were seen in under an hour.
Butterfly
Report
28
July 201:
A
targeted search of the slopes and upper glades of Mill
Hill produced 12 Dingy
Skippers, this being by far the strongest
second brood showing I have ever seen. The knock-on effects of the unusually
warm spring may yet produce more unexpected events in the late summer and
autumn butterfly calendar.
Adur
Skippers
14
July 2011
An
Earthquake
of 3.9 magnitude (depth 10 km, poorly
constrained) was felt in Shoreham
at 7:59 am. Its
epicentre was 89 km (55 miles) SSW
of Brighton,
10 km under the English
Channel.
10
July 2011
On
the lower slopes of Mill Hill, the first
male Chalkhill Blue Butterfly
of the year flew about quickly, noted only landing briefly on the yellow
flowers
of Bird's Foot Trefoil
and hiding amongst the leaves of Horseshoe Vetch, Hippocrepis
comosa. Eleven
species of butterfly
were seen in the late morning.
Adur
Butterflies: First Dates
Full
Butterfly Report
27
June 2011
On
a hot and humid morning, I noticed the first
Humming-bird
Hawkmoth of the year flying energetically
around the vegetation at the top of Chanctonbury Drive, north Shoreham.
Adur
Moths
24
June 2011
Parasitic
plants
were very much in evidence on Mill Hill,
with Common Broomrape
added to my local flora list, as
well as Yellow Rattle,
Red
Bartsia and Eyebright.
On
an overcast day, the sun shone briefly and the breeze was still a Force
5. Predictably,
butterflies
were hiding but were still frequently seen with fresh Marbled
Whites and Comma
Butterflies with Meadow
Browns
now seen amongst the eleven butterfly species.
Butterfly
Report
11
June 2011
Environmental
Festival & Adur World Oceans Day 2011
Understanding
and celebrating our marine environment
The
wind
and rain held off for the eleventh
Adur
Environment Festival and Adur
World Oceans Day went well in the marquee on
Coronation
Green, by Shoreham
Footbridge at the High Street
end on the second Saturday
of the Adur Festival. Len
Nevell of the British
Marine Life Study Society was there with the usual exhibition of lobsters
and crabs.
World
Oceans Day on Facebook
"The
aim of the event is to introduce the young visitors to the world of the
sea and seashore,
an opportunity they may not get. It is an educational event with an opportunity
for children to participate in the interactive
activities."
Quote
by Andy Horton (British Marine
Life Study Society)
Adur
World Oceans Day Blogspot 2011 et seq.
A shoal
of half a dozen Grey Mullet
were spotted in the shallows as the tide came in
by
Coronation Green
in Shoreham town centre by the River
Adur.
At
Mill
Hill, I saw and photographed my first
Marbled
White Butterfly of the year.
Adur
Butterflies: First Dates
15
May 2011
This
year the expanse of Horseshoe Vetch,
Hippocrepis
comosa, on the lower slopes of Mill
Hill was extremely disappointing. It was already past its prime and
the flowers were only showing about
20% of their usual brilliance after an extended dry spring. The spiral
horseshoe
seed pods were commonly seen. On the lower
slopes the first Dropwort
was seen in flower.
Flowering
Dates of Horseshoe Vetch
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Adonis
Blue (female)
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Dropwort
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The
north-westerly direction of the Moderate Breeze
made conditions poor for butterflies on the
exposed slope of Mill Hill. Almost all of them were hiding or resting.
About 160 Adonis Blues
were
disturbed as it was too cool and overcast for them to be actively fluttering
around. The males were worn and the females looking to lay their eggs amongst
the Horseshoe Vetch.
On the southern part of Mill Hill, I spotted a handful of my first Common
Blue Butterflies of the year.
Full
Butterfly Report
8 May
2011
We
took advantage of the late sunny afternoon to visit Lancing
Ring LNR for the first time. In over two and half hours from 2
:00 pm until 4:30 pm we spotted seven Red
Admirals, one Peacock,
four Brimstones,
six Holly Blues,
one Wall Brown,
one Speckled Wood,
ten Small Heath,
one Small Copper,
15 unspecified Whites
(probably Large Whites),
five Small Blues, 28 Common Blues
(of which 4 were females), and five Brown
Argus.
NB:
The Small Blues and Common
Blues were first of the year records.
Adur
Butterflies: First Dates
Adur
Butterfly Flight Times
7 May
2011
I
did my weekly transect at Mill
Hill in the morning and counted one Holly
Blue, two Brimstone
Butterflies, seven Small
Heath, 23 Dingy
Skipper, 112 Adonis
Blue. Most of these were at the bottom
of the hill, though I did see Dingy Skippers
and Adonis Blue
by the top car park. The hill was covered by Horseshoe
Vetch,
Hippocrepis comosa,
and
I saw a Green Hairstreak,
two Small Coppers,
two Grizzled Skippers
and a Red Admiral.
2
May 2011
The
first Brown
Argus
Butterfly
of
the year in the Adur District was seen at Sompting Abotts.
29
April 2011
Maybe
it was fitting for the morning of the Royal
Wedding there was the emergence of the female
Beautiful Demoiselles,
Calopteryx
virgo,
with three seen of these damselflies on
the outskirts of Shoreham.
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Adonis
Blue
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Beautiful
Demoiselle
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On
a cool sunny day there was a large variety
of April butterflies
with 15 species seen (the most in a day this
year) including my first of a handful of male
Adonis
Blues this year on the lower slopes of
Mill
Hill, together with my first of frequent
Small
Heaths, my first dainty Small
Copper at the northern end of the lower
slopes, my second Green Hairstreak on Brambles in the same area,
27+ Dingy Skippers
and a notable record of Brimstone
Butterflies
mating.
Full
Butterfly Report
17
April 2011
Spring
arrived on a sunny day (14.5 °C)
visit to Mill Hill where the first flowers
of Horseshoe Vetch,
Hippocrepis
comosa, appeared on the lower slopes
with another prostrate downland herb Milkwort.
Thirteen
(easily the most in a day this year) species of butterfly
were definitely recorded
including my first Large White Butterfly,
my first Holly Blue
and the locally scarce Green Hairstreak. Orange-tip,
Peacock
and Brimstone Butterflies
all put in an occasional
appearance.
A small
white crab spider
Misumena
vatia on Green
Alkanet had ambushed and killed a Carder
Bee (bumblebee)
twice its size. On Spring Dyke
I spotted the head of my first adult
Slow
Worm of 2011.
Full
Butterfly Report
Adur
Butterflies: First Dates
12
April 2011
I
could not miss the chance to see the Adders,
Vipera
berus, and they were located*
on
the lower part of Mill Hill about mid-way
along under the scrub at the bottom (west) of the slopes. I saw four separate
Adders,
two were black, one was dark and another was almost silver with the black
triangles. I assume the writhings of the two Adders
were copulation.
Seven
species of butterfly were seen on a pleasant
day with the sun shining in a bright blue sky with fluffy cumulus
clouds.
These
included my first Dingy Skipper
of the year on the lower slopes of Mill Hill.
Full
Butterfly Report
11
April 2011
At
Mill
Hill I was rewarded by a fantastic display
by at least four Adders.
A large brown female was mating with a 'white' adder. A black
Adder then appeared but decided not to interfere.
The pair disappeared into the bushes, then two black
Adders twisted about each other while rearing
up to determine dominance. All this occurred in the same spot..
10
April 2011
I
called in at Mill
Hill again. There was a 'flutter' of butterfly
enthusiasts: John, Chris, Neil Hulme, Richard,
Dan and Cherie plus a gentleman from Scotland.
The Grizzled Skippers
were joined by an equal number of Dingy
Skippers. Peak flight time was 2
to 3 pm. The Dingy
Skippers were involved in aerial combats with
themselves and Peacocks.
A black Adder
with a light coloured companion also put in an appearance.
29
March 2011
A
careful examination of the Pancalia
micro-moths on the lower slopes of Mill
Hill revealed some (17) to be the Scarce
Violet Cosmet, Pancalia
schwarzella, (ID confirmed by Tony
Davis, and the first Sussex records since
1931) rather than the common species Violet
Cosmet, Pancalia
leuwenhoekella. The latter species
has a white band on its antennae.
I
also found a nationally scarce carabid beetle
Licinus depressus which has specially
adapted jaws to feed on snails.
25
March 2011
At
least 22 scarce Barred Tooth-stripe Moths,
Trichopteryx
polycommata, were
spotted on Privet
on Mill Hill.
Full
Report
23
March 2011
A
half a dozen adult Wall
Lizards, Podarcis
muralis, skittered
rapidly over the south-facing flint wall of the Old Fort, Shoreham
Beach, in the weak sunshine. They were my first reptiles seen this
year.
22
March 2011
Four
species of butterfly
were out in the sunshine:
6+
Peacock
,
3+ Brimstone,
one Comma
and
at least one Small Tortoiseshell,
with three of the species seen on Mill Hill.
Adur
Butterfly List 2011
20
March 2011
A
spell of brief sunshine brought a Peacock
Butterfly out of hibernation, flighty
and in good condition, my first butterfly
of the year visited Sweet Violets
on the verges of the Waterworks
Road, Old Shoreham. I also recorded my
first beetle, a very small Paederus
littoralis
seen under a plastic cap on southern bank of the Mill Hill Cutting, with
a slightly larger small spider of the genus
Pardosa
(probably).
A few Queen Buff-tailed Bumblebees
were seen on the outskirts of Shoreham.
Adur
Butterfly List 2011
Bumblebees
2011
Later,
in the early evening, I recorded by first wild fish of the year a 5-Bearded
Rockling on the kelp-covered shore by
Brooklands, west Lancing, plus my first crab, a very small Velvet
Swimming Crab.
Full
Report
A
Brimstone
Butterfly was seen on Lancing
Ring.
17
March 2011
A
Common
Seal,
Phoca vitulina,
ventured up the River Adur as far as just north
of Cuckoo's Corner and rested on a sandbank. This unusual sighting occurred
in 2009
(in October) as well.
More
Reports of the 2011 Seal
BMLSS
Seals
8 March
2011
My
first butterfly of the year was a Comma
found basking on a warm south facing fence in south Lancing.
Adur
Butterfly List 2011
27
February 2011
The
first frog spawn
of the year was noted in my tiny garden pond in Corbyn Crescent, Shoreham.
12
February 2011
My
first Common Frog
of the year was spotted in the lane by my house in Steyning.
The
pink masses are believed to be appendages to the reproductive organs.
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25
January 2011
The
Elm
Trees in Rosslyn Avenue, Shoreham, finally
succumbed to Dutch Elm Disease
and were felled.
Original
Diagnostic Report
4 January
2011
Low
clouds obscured a partial Solar
Eclipse which occurred in Sussex after
the sun rose over the horizon between 8:00
am and 9:30 am.
1
January 2011
The
first four legged wild mammal of the year was a Fox
in Corbyn Crescent, Shoreham, by the twitten
on the way home from the pub. About 8:00 am
I was awoken by the yapping of the Herring
Gulls, but I could not see them from my
window. A cacophony of Starlings in
the Sycamore Tree in Corbyn Crescent were the first birds recognised from
their silhouettes in the bare branches, followed immediately by a closer
view of a Collared Dove.
Adur
Nature Notes 2010
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