Lancing Clump and meadows (map)
Click on the map for a larger image

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Lancing Ring and Meadows: 

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Nature Notes

WILDLIFE REPORTS

Link to Nature Notes 2005

Mid-December 2004
The lichen Ramalina farinacea photographed by Ray Hamblett on Lancing Ring is a species only be to be found in areas of low pollution. 
NB: This does not actually seem to be entirely the case as the lichen has been seen by me near very busy road embankments (e.g. the Pixie Path next to the Mill Hill Cutting, Old Shoreham).

 

Photograph by Ray Hamblett (Lancing Nature)

Lancing Lichens
Adur Lichens

12 November 2004
The leaf litter under Lancing Clump made a sodden carpet through which scores of large mushrooms were scattered. They had a white stipe, a pronounced ring with membrane that occasionally touched the cap rim, and brown gills with a pale cream with brown blotched cap that measured up to 14 cm across. The stem when the vegetation was cleared seemed as long as the cap was wide. The stem detached quite easily. It seems to be a large species of Agaricus. 
 

There was less fungi than last month: Shaggy Pholiota were noted with wider caps (unless this is another species), a dried out Parasol under the trees (they are usually in the meadows), a few Puff Balls, King Arthur's Cakes, bracket fungi and a few small brown-gilled meadow mushrooms. 
Lancing Fungi

Movement was lacking underneath the trees, the occasional scurry of a Grey Squirrel or black and white flash of a Magpie through the trees, and near the dewpond, there a mixed small (less than a dozen) flock of mainly Blue Tits, but including one Great Tit. The flashes of blue were clear in the sombre surroundings. 

11 November 2004
Four or five Red Admiral Butterflies danced around Lancing Clump in pairs.

Report by Brenda Collins on the Lancing Nature Smart Group

Adur Butterflies Flight Times

8 November 2004
Fircroft Avenue in north Lancing produced a mixed selection of Pholiota and Common Ink Cap mushrooms. 
Picture Portfolio

Report by Ray Hamblett (Lancing Nature)

4 November 2004
Both Kestrels and Sparrowhawks can be seen over and around Lancing Clump and it is often difficult to tell the difference. This bird is a hovering Kestrel.

A Kestrel over Lancing Clump
Report and Photograph by Brenda Collins

This small (25 mm cap diameter) mushroom in the following images was seen in the meadows.
 

It looks past its best and it has not been identified. This mushroom is probably Bolbitius titubans.

Report and Photographs by Brenda Collins

24 October 2004
A single Common Darter Dragonfly was seen on the sun bathed perimeter of McIntyres Field in the afternoon. There was also a variety of fungi on the Beech wooded verge of Manor Road adjacent to the park. A largish mushroom on a long stem was found amongst the grasses and a brown older one which may be a Bolete.
Link to the Photographs

Report by Ray Hamblett (Lancing Nature) on 
the Lancing Nature Smart Group and on 
the Fungi of the British Isles (Yahoo Group)

Lancing Fungi

20 October 2004
After the recent rain, the western slopes of Lancing Ring were so slippery that walking was much slower than usual with ordinary flat soled shoes and not proper walking boots. 

Western Slopes of Lancign Ring
Landscape Panorama by Ray Hamblett

A dozen plus Harebells were still in flower amongst the long grasses.  There were handful small (up to 16 mm cap diameter) white mushrooms and one smaller brown mushroom amongst the grasses as the first spots of rain began to fall. 
 

No new fungi were discovered in the woods. The slugs appear to have eaten or about to eat some of them.
Fungi Special Report

18 October 2004
Perpetual rustlings in the upper branches of the Beech and Sycamore indicated that the Grey Squirrels were active.
There was lots of rotting timbers left behind, some of which supported fungi. It would need an experienced mycologist to identify the species of the fruiting bodies of the variety of mushrooms and toadstools on Lancing Clump and the numerous others that are found in the meadows.
 

If you want to try your hand at identification, the images can be found on the following web page. Click on the text and wait for the images to slowly appear.
Fungi Special Report

16 October 2004
On a mild October day under an overcast sky, there was a typical and wide selection of the usual fungi from large to small mushroom and toadstools in the Beech wood at Lancing Clump and amongst the meadows. 
Fungi Special Report

Lancing Fungi Gallery (by Ray Hamblett)
Lancing Fungi (by Andy Horton with guest photographs)
 

Katherine Hamblett heard the chirping of a male Dark Bush Cricket, Pholidoptera griseoaptera, with a distinctive yellow abdomen. This is a common insect but it is not heard so often. A large Fox was seen in the long grass on the  farmland north of McIntyres Field. The green leaves of Horseshoe Vetch were spotted in a very small patch at the eastern end of the chalk pit enclosure. The frequent and diminutive Common Mouse-ear was in flower occasionally but most buds were closed. 
Lancing Clump Flora (Autumn 2004)
 

A Common Lizard with a regrown tail was discovered in the meadows of Lancing Ring.   Report and Photograph by  Brenda Collins

7 October 2004
There was a group of Long-tailed Tits on the edge of the wood over looking the muddy dewpond and a Kestrel flying over the western side of the hill as I came down to Halewick Lane on the west side of Lancing Ring Nature Reserve.

Report by Jan Hamblett (Lancing Nature)

This large Agaricus mushroom in the leaf litter on Lancing Clump looked and smelt extremely appetising. The large cap, which was left in-situ, measured 14 cm in diameter. The stem did not seem to be robust enough for the edible Horse Mushroom, Agaricus arvenis, more like the nauseous (if eaten) Yellow Stainer, Agaricus xanthodermis. 
The ring matched that of the second mushroom.
 

Edibility was not the case of the handful of dried out Parasol, Macrolepiota procera, mushrooms in the meadow which were already beginning to attract the flies.

Lancing Fungi Gallery (by Ray Hamblett)
Lancing Fungi (by Andy Horton with guest photographs)

Butterflies in flight were a few each of Speckled Woods on the bridlepath and in the wood, Red Admirals everywhere and Small Whites nearer the houses. 
Adur Butterfly List 2004
A few Common Darters and a single blue male Emperor Dragonfly flying up the bridlepath were the only two species of Odonata seen. 

A hawk flew out of Barton's Wood, soared, and then stopped in flight, and I expected it to hover like a Kestrel, and as it stalled in mid-air, the tail feathers fanned showing a distinct white band, before it glided off. I do not know it was a Kestrel (more likely?) or a Sparrowhawk? 
Grey Squirrels were seen on several occasions underneath the main Lancing Clump and in other wooded areas.

6 October 2004
The following butterflies were seen on Lancing Ring and the surrounding meadows: 1 Red Admiral, 1 Clouded Yellow, several Wall Browns, 4 Small Heaths (this is both the first record received from both the Lancing Clump meadows and for the month of October), many Whites and many Speckled Woods. Six species is notable for October. 

Report and Identifications by Brenda Collins on the Lancing Nature Smart Group

30 September 2004
Venomous Adders are seen occasionally in the Lancing Ring meadows. 

The are reports of these snakes being killed on Lancing Manor allotments. Deliberate killing of the only British venomous snake is illegal under the Wildlife and Countryside Act. 
 

Report and Photographs by
Brenda Collins
 

There were large fresh Parasol Mushrooms stood out in the Lancing Ring meadows, attaining a width of at least 25 cm in diameter. 
Report and Photographs by Brenda Collins

Parasol Images
Fungi of Lancing

22 September 2004
There were two Grey Squirrels seem separately in the trees at the top of McIntyres Field. They are not so frequently seen in these woods as would be expected. Just a solitary butterfly fluttered in the Strong Breeze from the long grass to the east of the Chalk Pit in Lancing Ring Nature Reserve. It was probably a Meadow Brown. The dark blue of the Migrant Hawkers were seen over the bridleway. The were a handful of both Swallows and House Martins swooping over the arable fields to the north of McIntyres Field. 

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NEWS AND EVENTS

16 September 2004
Community and Leisure Services Adur District Council Committee meeting
Management of Mill Hill and Lancing Ring
The Adur Councillors rejected the Management Plan for Lancing Ring involving grazing. 

17 August 2004
IMPORTANT PUBLIC MEETING
Management of Mill Hill and Lancing Ring
Lancing Parish Hall, South Lancing
7:00 pm

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WILDLIFE REPORTS

8-9 September 2004

Migrant Hawkers can be seen over both the urban areas and the downs in autumn. 
 

To appreciate these mating dragonflies in more detail, it is best to click on the images for a large view. 

Report and Photographs by Brenda Collins

6 September 2004
A Common Lizard is seen on Lancing Ring near the cemetery on the south-western side.
Image (Link with other photographs by Brenda Collins)

Report and Photograph by Brenda Collins

4 September 2004
On a sunny day, a short visit to Lancing Ring via the Mill Road entrance and through the butterfly meadow was not enhanced with a wealth of butterfly sightings but dotted with incidents. A Common Blue here and a Meadow Brown there. I saw ten blues at most including one Small Copper and four Meadow Browns with just a single Red Admiral. 
Short of time we pushed on to the dewpond which was a pitiful state, despite recent rain, just a muddy puddle remained in the reed covered water hole. Unsurprisingly not a single dragonfly darted over the stagnating morass. The round trip was completed via the Chalkpit where a small glimmer of excitement was provided by a male Wasp Spider, Argiope bruennichi in it's orb web draped in the Brachypodium (Tor) grass. 
A longer visit may have been more productive but this brief late summer visit was short on highlights. 

Report by Ray Hamblett (Lancing Nature) on 
the Lancing Nature Smart Group

Adur Butterfly List 2004

30 August 2004

A Brown Hawker (dragonfly) was seen  just west of the cemetery below Lancing Ring. This is the first record on these Nature Notes web pages.

Report and Photograph by Brenda Collins

 
A Small Copper Butterfly is seen and photographed by Brenda Collins.
Link to Photographs

29 August 2004
A Roe Deer was spotted in a crowded McIntyres Field (to the east of Lancing Clump) on a day when I nearly stepped on an Adder. Autumn Ladies Tresses Orchid, Spiranthes spiralis, were in flower in the chalkpit. 

Report by Jan Hamblett

28 August 2004

This superb shot of a Painted Lady was captured on camera by Brenda Collins.

17 August 2004

A Chalkhill Blue Butterfly and Clouded Yellow Butterfly are photographed on Lancing Ring meadows. 
 

An Adonis Blue Butterfly is recorded and both males and females are photographed, the first time this butterfly has been recorded from the Lancing Ring meadows. 

Report by Brenda Collins

15 August 2004
Butterfly Walk on Lancing Ring
Brianne Reeve led the walk which started at 11:00 am, 30 minutes later than planned because of the continual rain and was of restricted duration and length, just skirting the meadows to the west of Barton's Wood, and never even approaching Lancing Clump itself, and in between the repeated showers, the walk was not noted for its butterflies, it was nevertheless interesting in a lot of respects. 
 

Noteworthy observations included a handful of Brown Argus Butterflies, the first time these had been observed in these meadows: they appeared grey in flight (more like a Small Blue) and all the butterflies observed lacked the white in the lunules underneath the orange rim spots on the upper wing (which occur on the very similar female Common Blue Butterflies, which appears orangey or blue-brown-blue in flight). 
Brown Argus Identification Notes
Brown Argus ID notes from Mill Hill
 

Brown Argus	Female Common Blue

Other things of Interest were a few Wasp Spiders, Argiope bruennichi, with the female in the centre of the web and the smaller male nearby, and in an area where they had not been seen before; a Magpie Moth, and at least six other species of common butterflies.
Adur Wasp Spiders
Adur Butterflies
 

The very best sight was left to last when Ray Hamblett discovered a Common Toad in a hole, in the middle of a flowery meadow. 
 

Brianne Reeve pointed out the considerable amount of Tor Grass in the wild flower meadows, as well as the other pretty and not so pretty native plants. 
 

Robin's Pin Cushion A plant gall Photograph by Brenda Collins	The sour berries of the Sloe are characteristic of the  southern hedge with Elderberries and Blackberries

Butterfly List:  Meadow Brown, Wall, Speckled Wood, Common Blue, Brown Argus, Large White, Small White.

Addenda:
A Small Heath Butterfly needs to be added to the above list. This is another first for Lancing Ring on the Nature Notes (although they have been found to the west of Lancing Ring before). 

The Harebells were in flower in a meadow on the western slope of Lancing Ring (but the walk did not reach this area). 
More Images of Lancing Ring (by Brenda Collins)

Another Addenda:
There were a handful of Small Heaths around and an equal number of Clouded Yellows. 
Link to Image

Addenda Report by Brenda Collins

Adur Butterfly and Large Moth List 2004
Adur Butterflies

1 & 10 August 2004
A Wall Brown was photographed amongst other butterflies in a meadow near Lancing Ring. 
 

They are flightly and restless and are hard to capture in the camera lens. 

Report and Photographs by Brenda Collins

 

29 July 2004
A very pretty little butterfly, the Small Copper is widespread but usually only seen in ones and twos.

This one was photographed on a Lancing Ring meadow by Brenda Collins.

27 July 2004
Common Blue Butterflies are often common during their flight periods on the Lancing Ring meadows. 
Adur Butterflies Flight Times

The mating pair were photographed by Brenda Collins. 

Speckled Wood Butterflies are to be found in any wooded area and are a regular butterfly amongst the trees on Lancing Ring and in Barton's Wood. 

Report and Photograph by Brenda Collins

20 July 2004
A sea mist rolled over the meadows and there were a few spots of rain. This did not promise to be very good for butterflies and only four Marbled White Butterflies were seen, three of them in the long grass immediately to the east of the Chalk Pit and none were observed in the meadows where 6-spot Burnet Moths were emerging from their cocoons.
The medium sized brown bird that whirred into flight with a group of six Magpies looked like a Partridge, but no red could be seen on this bird. 
Adur Butterfly List (including the Database)
Adur Butterfly Database (17-31 July 2004)
Adur Burnet Moths
 

In the clump itself there were many broken branches and at least one felled tree, but no immediate signs of fungi. 
There were no damselflies or dragonflies by the dewpond which had just a small pool of water. 

19 July 2004

A splendid study of the Gatekeeper by Brenda Collins

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19 July 2004
Community & Leisure Services Committee meeting
Adur District Council
Adur Civic Centre

Lancing Ring leisure interests on the agenda

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15 July 2004
Slow Worms inhabit the south-west corner of Lancing Ring Nature Reserve.

 

Report and Photograph by Brenda Collins

10 July 2004
Small Tortoiseshell Butterflies were in much smaller numbers than usual this year. One was photographed in north Lancing. 

Report and Photograph by Brenda Collins

25 June 2004
Red Admiral Butterflies danced over fallen branches on the ground in Lancing Clump but no large trees were felled in the gales of two days ago. A Grey Squirrel ran down the trunk of a large Beech; squirrels are rarely seen on the Clump. In Barton's Wood and the bridlepath approaches to the Clump from the east, there were half a dozen Speckled Wood Butterflies and a handful of Small Tortoiseshell Butterflies.
A Green Woodpecker flew over the chalk pit with a straight and dipping flight. 
 

The most productive butterfly area were the meadows to the south-east of Lancing Clump where the Marbled White Butterflies fought over the Greater Knapweed and Kidney Vetch flowers. In a small area near the southern hedgerow at least 30 of these butterflies could be seen in a radius of two metres, and the estimate was over 100 Marbled White Butterflies for a larger area, but they were not present in these numbers all over the meadow so a total estimate could not be ascertained. There were a handful of Meadow Browns, Common Blues, Small Tortoiseshells and Skippers. I think these were all Small Skippers, and the one successful photograph is shown on the right. (ID confirmed. Look at the underside wings.) The cocoons of the Burnet Moths were noticed on the grasses and tall plants. 
Skipper ID Page
Adur Skippers
Adur Butterflies
 

Buff-tailed Bumblebees were frequently seen, taking the whole meadow they were common with numbers well over a hundred. A few seemed to be the larger Vestal Cuckoo Bumblebee, Psithyrus vestalis, Queen shown in the photograph above.

ID  by Matt Smith

Cuckoo bees lay their eggs in the nests of bumblebees and their larvae are fed and looked after by the bumblebee workers. 
This is one of the most common cuckoo bees. It has a yellow collar band, and a white stripy tail, with small yellow side patches at the top of the white tail. Its wings are browner than the wings of bumble bees.

from Mrs Smith's Bumblebee page

Adur Bumblebees

In the arable field to the north of Lancing Clump in the dip or coombe there was a band of medium height grasses like Cocksfoot on the southern side of the coombe and thousands of red Common Poppies on the incline to the north of the base of the coombe. Despite this the flying insect life was exiguous; amongst the grasses there were few herbs and just a couple of Meadow Brown Butterflies were observed. 
Image

23 June 2004
The fine weather has comprehensively come to an end with Fresh Gale Force 8 south-westerly winds gusting to Strong Gale Force 9. The maximum wind speed on Shoreham Beach was recorded at 60 mph (Storm Force 10)

18 June 2004
A cooler day with a 60% cloud cover, we took an early evening walk on the Lancing Ring area. The Brambles are in full flower and attracting numerous bees to feed on the nectar. Among the shrubbery Elder, Viburnum and Honeysuckle are in flower. In the ankle high regrowth of Dogwood and meadow plants a caterpillar discovered crawling over the Dogwood is one of the Burnet moth larva, but which one, the 6-spot, Zygaena filipendulae?
In the south eastern corner of the lower meadow I disturbed two or three Meadow Brown Butterflies and a single Marbled White fluttered lazily into the air and settled a little further off.
Lancing Caterpillars (including image)

Report by Ray Hamblett (Lancing Nature) on UK Leps (Yahoo Group)
and Lancing Nature Notes

6-Spot Burnet Moths (Adur)

Common Blue Butterfly with Germander Speedwell 
Photograph by Ray Hamblett

 

14 June 2004

On Lancing Ring and meadows there were a handful each of the following butterflies: Common Blues, Meadow Browns and Speckled Woods. There was also the Longhorn Moth, Nemophora degeerella.

Report by Ray Hamblett (Lancing Nature)

Lancing Butterflies

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

25 May 2004
The first Common Blue Butterflies appear on the Lancing Ring meadows. About ten were seen in the best butterfly meadow south-east of the clump, but there was likely to have been many more hiding in the grasses and vegetation.

Report by Ray Hamblett (Lancing Nature) on the Lancing Nature Smart Group

Image of Female
Adur Butterfly List 2004

5 May 2004
The small blue flowers in McIntyres Field are the common Germander Speedwell, often regarded as an unwanted weed in town gardens. The large field of Cowslips was prominent again east of Hoe Court Cottages down towards the Sussex Pad and the Coombes Road. 
Adur Levels

16 April 2004
Butterflies were in flight in the sunshine with the air temperature reaching 16.9 ºC. There were a handful of amorous Small Tortoiseshell Butterflies, at least three bright yellow Brimstones, half a dozen solitary Peacock Butterflies, at least three Small Whites and my first Holly Blue Butterfly this year. 
Adur Butterflies
Adur Butterflies Flight Times
 

Blackthorn Arch into Barton's Wood from the west	Lesser Celandine decorates the sunny glades in Barton's Wood

Birds were singing in the scrub, the white blossom of Blackthorn (Sloethorn) noticeable in contrast to the yellow Gorse. One small bird with a black head (not covering its eye) and a grey breast was particularly noticeable and these must have been Blackcaps and I was surprised to see a dozen or more in Barton's Wood near the eastern car park (P).
The diminutive violet plant in the meadows is often Ground Ivy, although they should not be confused with Sweet Violets.

26 March 2004
A occasional burst of laughter from a Green Woodpecker came from somewhere in the budding woodland canopy near Lancing Manor allotments (4). Nearby the first Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly of the year basked in the sunshine.

Report by Ray  Hamblett (Lancing Nature) on the Lancing Nature Smart Group

13 March 2004
Signs of spring were apparent in a sunny 10° C. Sweet Violets,Viola odorata, were in full flower on several areas of woodland floor and the air was filled with birdsong. In the open a Skylark, Alauda arvensis, held centre stage, whilst in the woodland the noisy Great Tits had command. 

Report by Ray  Hamblett on Lancing Nature Notes

26 February 2004
McIntyres Field, Lancing Ring Nature Reserve
A solitary Redwing was seen in the understorey of a wooded area between urban housing and a foraged wildflower meadow known as McIntyres Field. Briefly we caught sight of a Great Spotted Woodpecker at the top of a large tree before it took flight over the field to another group of trees on the opposite side.
A flash of coloured feathers in trees at the top of the meadow was enough to draw our attention to a Jay close to a dead tree peppered with holes.
The fungus Peziza vesiculosa was discovered on discarded hay at the western woodland margin of McIntyres Field, Lancing Ring Nature Reserve (east) about two-thirds of the way up the slope.

ID by Jean J Wuilebaut

Report by Ray & Jan Hamblett (Lancing Nature) on 
the Lancing Nature Smart Group

Fungi of Lancing Ring
Lancing Nature Notes (by Ray Hamblett)
Adur Fungi: Fruiting Bodies (Monthly Guide) 

10 February 2004
A migrant (probably) Chiffchaff was reported from Lancing. The exact location was not given but this small bird inhabits the Lancing Clump Nature Reserve during the summer months. It is often recognised by its call. 

Hearsay Report by Betty Bishop

Link to Nature Notes up to 2003
 

Aerial Map
Lower Adur Levels (MultiMap) including Lancing Clump and Mill Hill
 
 

EMail Address for sending in wildlife reports from the lower Adur valley
Only a selection will be included and only reports with the name of the reporter

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Mill Hill (Link)

History of Lancing (Ray Hamblett)

Lancing Ring

Lancing Ring & Mill Hill Information 1 (requires Acrobat Reader)
Lancing Ring & Mill Hill Information 2 (requires Acrobat Reader)
 

 
Adur & the Downs: Protected Sites
Adur Butterflies
Adur Valley
Adur Valley Wildlife
Birds and the Law UK
Butterfly Conservation Society
Chalk Rivers Biodiversity (JNCC)
Cornwall (Geomorphology, Eclipse etc.)
Dungeness, Kent, England
Findon Village
Fungi of the British Isles (Yahoo Forum)
Ivy: Friend or Foe
Lancing College
Lancing & Sompting
Lancing Nature Notes (by Ray Hamblett)
Orford Ness:  Coastal Ecology of a Shingle Bank (excellent references)
Ralph Hollins Nature Pages  (Chichester Harbour area)
Rye Harbour Nature Reserve
Rockpooling Page
Seashore Page
Shingle Coast  (Coastal Fringe of Shoreham Beach)
Shoreham-by-Sea Wildlife Page



South Downs Way (by Allen Pollard)
Sussex Archaeology & Folklore
Sussex Archaeological Society
Sussex Archaeological Society  EGroup