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2009 Archive

Newsletter – Autumn – 2009

Dear fellow nature lovers, I hope you are enjoying the special events we, your committee, have put on inside and out since the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust started celebrating 60 years in December 2008. One such event was a Quiz Night in March this year at St. Giles church Hall. Since this was a great success we shall be repeating this in January 2010.

The Diamond Jubilee Year is not over yet until 1st December so we will be welcoming David Robinson O.B.E., on October 12th (PLEASE NOTE THE DATE ON THE NEW PROGRAMME CARD IS INCORRECT) to give us the presentation Sixty years of Nature Conservation in Lincolnshire. David is and has been the Hon. Secretary of the L.W.T. since its early days and his talks are always well presented and full of information, so do try and get to this meeting.

If you do want to know even more about the L.W.T., Ted Smith, the driving force behind the Trust from its inception, has written a wonderful book about the Trust entitled Trustees for Nature. I have myself read the entire volume – not a very difficult scientific read but one that chronicles the history of the L.W.T. plus the nationwide Trust movement. A copy can be purchased from our group sales table, from any of the three permanent Trust shops or by post from headquarters at Horncastle.

I’m hoping you will like the format of the new Programme Cards for the group. These are kindly sponsored once again by John Haith Ltd and we do thank the firm for doing this. The firm’s retail outlet these days is on Grimsby Europarc where you will be allowed 5% off any of the firm’s goods on presentation of our programme card at the shop. Hopefully you as L.W.T. members will not be feeling "the Credit Crunch" too much. It is important that Membership subscriptions are at least maintained at the current level and preferably increased to keep Nature Conservation to the for.

Member's annual subscriptions form the largest item of the Trust’s income – so please keep renewing your membership and supporting the local group. Life membership could be good value for you. May I wish you a pleasant autumn and winter whilst you support us. Our next newsletter should appear in late January or into February 2010.

Jennie Redpath, Chairperson and Membership Secretary.

Have you seen the Painted Ladies dance?

Thank you to all the people who sent in records of Interesting Wildlife. Birds are the favourites. There are regular lists of birds seen by Steve Crossland at Tetney Blow Wells NR, others from Scartho, Cleethorpes Country Park, the Fitties and other places. To see two Cuckoos flying and hear another one must have been a rare treat at Tetney BW.

Swifts definitely breed in Tetney and Keelby and were seen flying in Caistor and Brigg, but are there any other villages with swifts? [ Yes, Waltham - Ed. ] It would be good if we could send even more names of villages in North East Lincolnshire to support the Trust’s effort to survey swifts. They have now all gone back to Africa but if you remember seeing them do get in touch. Photos, sent in by e-mail, are a pleasure to see and a check on identification.

Sid Schofield sent in a photo of a field full of wild salsify, from near Laceby. News of common spotted orchids and southern marsh orchids at the Cleethorpes Sand Dunes Local NR even stimulated Brian Adam, one of our county’s finest nature photographers, to capture some stunning shots. Look out for a moth night with him next summer.

Images arrived of mating red-tailed bumblebees in a garden in Cleethorpes taken by Mark Slater. How rare is that?? It is difficult enough to spot a male bumble! But no one interested in wildlife will have missed painted lady butterflies this year. The media-announced, "millions arrived right across Britain" at the end of May. The last such large migration was in 1996. In a week they had reached the Shetland Islands and then started laying eggs on thistles. By July, wonderfully bright, in peach and rose and orange, the freshly emerged second generation was on the wing. By the time you read this they will be starting an attempted return migration – few will make it before the frosts.

Your gardens are the pits stops for nectar for autumn butterflies: painted ladies, red admirals and large whites (the other regular migrants) jostle with peacocks and small tortoiseshells on the buddleias, Michaelmas daisies and ice plants. They are easy to photograph as they concentrate on feeding.

The number of records or photographs will help us to see if the small tortoiseshell is recovering. Thank you again to all who got in touch. If you forgot or see something interesting, like the last painted lady or the first redwing of autumn, do get in touch so we can add it all to the Trust’s archive.

Mark Tyszka – Group Records Officer.

Freshney Bog and Town Halt Walk - 16th June 2009

It was a lovely sunny evening on Tuesday 16th June and the birds were singing. 25 people and a dog met at the Green Bridge and our leader was Mick Binnion, who guided the LWT Grimsby and Cleethorpes group on a very interesting walk along Freshney Bog, starting at the green bridge on Laceby Acres.

The walk was in two parts; first we headed south towards Laceby on the footpath along side the river Freshney (now known as Laceby Beck). Once we had all crossed the dyke, we gathered next to the pond situated behind Morrison's.

Numerous plants were identified e.g. Water forget-me-not, star-wort (which means clean water no fish), dog and field roses which are important for dragon flies, who feed on the lava on the pond. There are also no mink present either, which is good for the wildlife.

There were two types of pondweed, common duckweed and ivy-leaved duckweed. The pond is deep, so that means that toads are more prevalent than frogs. There was also amphibious bistort flower present on the pond. Bulrushes were just starting to grow and that would attract the Norfolk moth, it will feed on the seed of the bulrush.

We did not venture into the wood, as there is a pair of spotted flycatchers, (which have returned from Africa), nesting in this ancient wood; we left them alone to respect their privacy. Now we were past the wood and back along side the beck to be pleasantly surprised by the pair of swans and five cygnets on the water.

Swans on the Freshney

On the bank were water vole holes in a line. This is known as a lawn. There will also be holes under the water, but the ones above water gives the voles an escape route for air if the water level rises, but this was disastrous for them in the floods of 2007. We managed to spot one water vole.

On the hill beyond there is stood a lone magnificent English elm tree which has escaped the crippling Dutch elm disease, perhaps because it stands alone and can be seen from a long way off. (It has been one of my favourite trees to watch for the last 25 years).

Lone Elm Tree

We then headed back over the dyke, (helped of course) to the green bridge to re-group and start the second part of our very rewarding guided walk. We were now a party of 20, and no dog. We then walked along the footpath leading to Wybers.

This area is a natural wetland and helps to stop the flooding of the River Freshney in Grimsby town area of Gilbey Road. The marsh area along side the footpath has many dead trees of oak and ash but is inhabited by much wildlife, such as coot, ducks, swans, kingfisher, lesser spotted woodpecker and various insects and dragon fly.

Wybers woods were in old times a duck decoy and would have had artesian wells. Following the river now towards the Willows Estate we recognised red clover, tall mellylot, water forget-me-nots, black medick (which is yellow in colour and important for the common blue butterfly to feed on the black seeds), and also for bees to pollinate. Other plants seen were goats beard and jack-go-to-bed-by-noon.

We crossed the busy main road and followed the river towards the Willows, watching on route many ducks and ducklings of both the tufted and diving duck species. We then turned left over a bridge towards the estate to be watched from overhead by a kestrel hovering to catch its supper before dark, as it was now drawing dusk, and from a tree top a song thrush was in full voice to impress any concert. Reed buntings were swaying on the reeds; sedge warblers were also singing their merry song, a different species to the reed warblers on Laceby Acres.

If small areas of these grasses or reeds are set fire by vandals it actually does the ground good (don’t tell them) as they grow back. The hole in the nearby tree is occupied either by a woodpecker or nuthatch; they seem to alternate from year to year.

We then crossed the road again to head back to the green bridge. Overhead at least ten swifts were flitting to and fro across the sky along with house martins. There were also swifts and martins on Laceby acres. We saw and heard wood pigeons, collared doves, black birds and chiff-chaff, which are ever present in this natural wildlife haven.

We all returned to the green bridge, a little weary, but very much richer in the information that Mick passed on to us, by his never ending vast amount of wildlife knowledge of this area, Freshney Bog.

On behalf of the entire group a BIG THANKYOU Mick. Having lived on Laceby Acres for twenty five years I know it is rich in wildlife: - birds, trees, plants and flowers, but I learnt more that evening than in those years and shall try and appreciate the richness that is on my door step.

Jane Drinkall

Legbourne Wood Walk - 27th June

Legbourne Wood is one of the few remaining ancient woodlands and the largest of the Trust's Nature Reserves, managed by Andrew Hutton. On a cloudy but warm afternoon thirteen people met in the car park for the Reserve. Andrew was not available but Vivienne Booth stepped in and did a splendid job of leading us.

She told us that Legbourne Wood is a wood that is "coppiced with standards". Oak and ash grew tall to provide timber, and the hazel was cut or coppiced at regular intervals to provide small wood. In past times the practice was more widespread. Forty or more years ago the railway line ran through from Louth to Mablethorpe.

Vivienne told us that when she moved into her house at the bottom of the lane she saw the last of the working engines. When it was the railway line, each side of the track was banked up. Over the years since the trains stopped running, the tree canopy spread across the path.

When the reserve was bought by the Trust, Andrew Hutton did an enormous amount of work clearing down the middle to make a walkable path. If a grant could be secured Andrew Hutton would like to clear the sides to show the banks again where orchids once grew, and nettles are abundant at the moment.

We took a circular walk around the wood and on the way we saw 42 different species. The trees were oak, ash, hazel, silver birch, hawthorn, ivy, field maple and wild privet. When we first arrived we heard chaffinch and chiff chaff. While walking we also heard wood pigeon, blackcap, robin, blackbird, gold crest, pheasant, bullfinch and blue tit.

As we walked Vivienne said she would give £1 to the first person to spot a woodpecker's hole. Dilys Newton spotted it first and said that she was embarrassed to accept the pound as nearly everyone saw it just after her so she gave her winnings to the collection for Trust funds!

The flowers were numerous and Vivienne was very knowledgeable on the subject. Several others had wildflower books with them and helped with the identification. We saw wild honeysuckle, herb robert, germander speedwell, hogweed, buttercup, white clover, dog rose (my particular favourite), and purple toadflax, also spear thistle, meadowsweet, birds-foot trefoil, bulrush, bugle, enchanters nightshade (what a wonderful name), stitchwort, skullcap, avens, little wood violet, meadow vetchling, dock and wild strawberry. They are quite tiny compared to commercial strawberries but I sampled them and they were delicious!

Although we didn't see them, roe deer and muntjac deer also inhabit the wood. The muntjac is also known as the barking deer. We did see their tracks however. Several butterflies were seen including meadow brown and ringlet. The wood has one of the largest heronries, but this is cordoned off to discourage people as it might scare the herons away.

We finished our walk back at the car park and while we were standing there, swifts and whitethroat were seen and heard and also a painted lady butterfly. We all thanked Vivienne for a most enjoyable and informative afternoon walk.

Jackie Kirk

Messingham Sand Quarry Reserve - 18th July 2009 2 p.m.

The Reserve has been created by the excavation of sand, which has left a series of lagoons of differing depths with fringing beds of reed bush. It also has an open space of heathland with heather. A group of fifteen gathered at the car park to be greeted by a chilly wind and a sky threatening rain.

John Davison led us, with the help of John Petyt and Eddie Gaunt (chairman of Scunthorpe & Brigg group) and our first excitement was a lesser stag beetle. A branch had been cut down for health and safety reasons and there were two of the beetles inside it. Several of us took a photo of it.

Lesser Stag Beetle

As we set off, a weasel darted across the path and most of the group missed seeing it as it happened so fast. The weather started to warm up and we were guided along the marked path. An enormous amount of plants was spotted. This included bird's-foot trefoil, evening primrose, greater bladderwort, purple tufted vetch, rose bay willow herb and lesser trefoil. (We were told that this is the official shamrock). There were some orchids, though they were past their best. They were dune helleborine and marsh helleborine. There was some field horsetail, (a weed of lawns) which is rich in silica and used to be used for scouring saucepans! There were buckthorn plants, the food of the brimston butterfly.

We saw a great number of butterflies. These included a painted lady, comma, male gatekeeper, brown hawker, small skipper, meadow brown, green veined white and tortoiseshell. We also saw damselflies and blue tailed damselflies, as well as yellow and black striped caterpillars of the cinnabar moth on the ragwort. (For anyone interested, I have the full list of species.)

We arrived at one of the hides on the reserve and spotted swans, grey lag geese, mallard, lapwings, great crested grebes and coot among others. The path is three quarters of a mile round and we heard crickets on one part of the walk.

The time seemed to go by very quickly and even though we spent nearly three hours there we agreed that we could have spent a lot longer as there is so much to see. Both Julie, who gave me a lift, and I, had to go at that point, as we had to get back home. Eddie was also leaving at the same time, but the two Johns were still along the path with some of the group. We asked Eddie to give our thanks to them all for a very interesting and excellent afternoon.

Six-spot Burnet Moth

Jackie Kirk

A Novice's Journey into Wildlife

I was not brought up with wildlife. I lived in a terrace house with no front garden and a concrete back yard. We lived just off Gilbey Road near the River Freshney, but the only wildlife I can think of, as a child, is some sparrows in the back yard. The nearest I got to wildflowers was when playing in what we called the "cow field" at the back of the house. It was bordering a bridge over the railway. I took some lovely purple flowers home to my Mother, but she said "They are weeds."

I now know they were rose bay willow herb and I tend to look for them wherever I go. I didn't think about wildlife as I got on with my life, grew up, married, had children and grew older.

One day when shopping in Sainsbury's supermarket, a man persuaded me to join Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust on a direct debit. Even then I didn't really think much about it, except that it seemed like a good cause.

When we moved from a terrace house to a bungalow, we gained a garden and I started watching sparrows and two blackbirds that visited. I put out bread for them. For a retirement present from work I was given a birdbath. After reading Lapwings magazine one particular time I said to my husband that the indoor meetings sounded good and that we should go along and see what happened at them. The rest, as they say, is history.

After a time, at the A.G.M., a call was put out for committee members so I decided to give it a go. I was elected and I am now secretary of the Grimsby/Cleethorpes group and enjoying every minute. I learn something new every day. I roped my husband in and he makes the tea and coffee at our meetings and came along on the Freshney Bog walk.

I have been to Far Ings. We spent an afternoon and had a picnic overlooking the lake and watching the birds. My husband likes us to walk along the river as well so that he can watch any boats going by. I recently enjoyed the walk at Legbourne Wood (see Jane Drinkall's piece) and on another day went with R.S.P.B. friends to Bempton Cliffs.

There we saw razorbills, guillemots, puffins, fulmars, gannets, herring gulls, kittiwakes, collard doves, rock doves, stock doves, skylarks, swallows, swifts, meadow pipits, blue tits, house sparrows, and jackdaws.

Our bird-watching friend, Phil, pointed these out to me. I must say I recognised the blackbird and the puffins, but not the others. We were quite privileged to see the puffins as their numbers are declining I am told. I now have the excitement of five goldfinches visiting my garden. This is the first year I have seen any.

Whisby Lake

Recently Dave and I decided to go to Whisby Nature Reserve. I had become interested after hearing Adrian Royston, the Education Officer there, talking about it at the Trust A.G.M. last October. It was beautiful sunshine when we got up so we made sandwiches and a flask of coffee to take with us.

It started spotting with rain as we left but we had our waterproofs with us so carried on. On the way, we seemed to go through three cloudbursts! The windscreen wipers would hardly take the water away and Dave slowed the car down considerably.

After a while it stopped and it was fine when we reached Whisby. As we got into the car park, the rain started again. It was a thunderstorm with hailstones so we ate half of our sandwiches in the car.

By that time the rain had stopped and the sun had come out so we bought a parking ticket and set off on one of the way marked paths. The first thing we saw was a heron sitting on an outcrop on 'Dave's Island' on the lake. How appropriately named, even though it is for Dave Bromwich.

There are oak trees on either side of the paths and I think a foxglove tree plus lots of others too. The lakes were gravel pits before the nature reserve came into being. We stopped off in one of the hides and got out the binoculars.

I spotted two swans, some coots and moorhens and what I identified later as a common tern. I think some of the others were Canada geese and black-headed gulls, as well as other types of gull (I told you I was a novice). While in the hide a dragonfly landed very close. Looking at the pictures it was a common darter. That is the first time that I have been close up to a dragonfly and could see its delicate paper-thin wings. So exciting!

We decided to go back to the Natural World Centre and claim the free cup of coffee that came with our parking ticket (See the Lincswildlifetrust.org page on Whisby Nature Reserve). We sat overlooking the lake and enjoyed the coffee but I can't say that we enjoyed the flies. There seemed to be hoards of them in the café and the doorway.

We then went downstairs to see the exhibition. It was an excellent display showing for example, what happens to things we recycle, and a video about Vinnie the water vole. The time flew by and the centre neared closing time.

We went back to the car to eat the rest of our sandwiches. We then set off again on another path around the lake. As we walked along we had to be very careful, as there were hundreds of tiny frogs and toads on the path. Some were heading towards the lake and some were heading the other way. I have never seen so many and they were so tiny that at first I thought they were large beetles of some sort until I looked closer.

It was a circular walk with benches on the way, which were most welcome. We saw lots of brown butterflies, but not close enough for me to identify. It started to rain again, but not too heavily, and we put on our waterproofs. We had most enjoyable visit, and were only sorry that our camera battery had died so we couldn't take any photos.

Jackie Kirk

Newsletter – Summer – 2009

Hello – this is Jennie Redpath, your Chairperson and Membership Secretary. I hope you are enjoying the events that our Group are putting on in this, the Trust's Diamond Jubilee Year. Following last year's successful BLUE MOON Concert that Ray, Helen and John Goodchild did for us when we filled St. Giles Church, Scartho and made over £240 profit for the Trust's funds.

Ray and his companions are in concert again for us on
AUGUST 22nd at New Waltham Village Hall.
PLEASE SUPPORT US AGAIN THERE.

We have also tried a new venture just recently – a Quiz Night, which was well attended and again made a handsome profit for the L.W.T. Light refreshments were included in the £2.50 ticket and Trust Sales and Literature were on view; also the highly successful raffle was held.

SO LOOK OUT FOR ANOTHER QUIZ NIGHT, POSSIBLY IN THE AUTUMN.

It is with some sadness on our part that Ray Hume will be stepping down from the committee as Secretary in April. Ray was elected as secretary in April 2006 and has served us well taking the minutes at Committee Meetings and doing what, I hope you will agree, is an excellent job editing our Newsletter. We do wish Ray all the best in the future in his very busy professional life as a musician and teacher. However Ray will not be leaving us completely and will be back again especially for that Concert in August.

WE WOULD WELCOME ANYONE ONTO THE COMMITTEE WHO CAN MAKE A CONTRIBUTION
TO THE RUNNING OF THIS GROUP – SO DON'T HOLD BACK!

Major Clixby Fitzwilliams, a Life member of the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust died at the end of February at the age of 92. Our Group held a very successful Garden Party at Major and Mrs Fitzwilliams' home during July 2001 and we do thank Norah again for that big undertaking, plus we send her our Sympathies on the death of Clixby. Our Treasurer, Julie Wood, represented the Group at the Thanksgiving Service for Major Fitzwilliams at Healing Parish church on March 9th.

CAN I SAY IF YOU HAVE A LARGE GARDEN
SUITABLE FOR A GARDEN PARTY,
DO GET IN TOUCH? THANKS.

And, finally, since the last Newsletter went to press I am happy to report that the Grimsby & Cleethorpes Group was the first of the sixteen area groups to make a donation to Headquarters during the Diamond Jubilee Year, which started on 2nd December 2008.

On December 8th we were delighted to welcome the Trust's new Chief Executive, Paul Learoyd, to our Indoor Meeting. Paul accepted a cheque form our Treasurer, Julie Wood, for £300 towards the Trust's General Fund. In these 'Credit Crunch' times it is even more necessary to underline the fact that the Trust is dependant on its Membership's financial giving. I do hope nobody has been put off by us imposing a £2 entrance fee at our indoor Meetings since last October. This has increased our funds considerably and we do hope you still think that you are getting a good evening's entertainment, etc. Before the end of the year we hope to make an even bigger donation to Horncastle.

Thank you.

Jennie Redpath

HAVE YOU SEEN THE WILDLFE THIS SPRING ?

Despite all my waiting and preparation, Spring always catches me unawares. The temperature or the amount of sunshine is no guide. Birds seem to start to sing earlier and looking more beautiful; plants flower when it is still cold. For the first time in many years I managed to find wild Sweet Violets before they were over – now I know five more places near home where they still grow.

By the time you read this in June, flowers will be everywhere, but don’t assume they are all ‘common’. If you start making a list of 10 plants in flower, at least one will be less common than the rest!

The challenge in June is to find a wild Red Campion, wild Forget-me-not (blue), Common Toadflax (like yellow snapdragon) or Bird’s-foot Trefoil (Eggs-and-Bacon) and if you are lucky a Common Spotted Orchid. And if you find a field of Creeping Buttercups with more than five petals, do let me know – we can help a man at Aberystwyth to develop a method of estimating the age of pastures!

What about a Hare or Deer or a Cuckoo or Skylark? In Keelby we are having a campaign to preserve our Swifts, by putting up Swift nest boxes. Can you report any villages where you see Swifts?

[ Yes, Waltham. We get the 'Devil Birds' every year, screaming overhead! 8-) Ed.]

But if you think you have found something special, send me a picture of it by e-mail or ring and I will come to look at it with you. Please note down: What, When, Where and How many you saw.

Cowslips will be in flower at the end of May and Common Spotted Orchids the last week of June.
If interested in viewing these at Eastfield Road Reserve please ring Mark Tyszka, or e-mail:
mark dot tyszka at tiscali dot co dot uk

N.E. Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust & R.S.P.B. Wildlife Explorers enjoyed a Christmas party in the chapel schoolroom at Tetney on Saturday afternoon 6th December2008. This event was run by Group Leaders, Clifford and Eileen Jukes and Chris Hill, with a lot of help from members' parents, especially Ian Jukes and Hazel Stanton. Balloons added a festive touch, together with Christmas music.

Games played included bats and moths, two team games run by Hazel and 'Guess who was under the Cover.' The children then tucked into a wonderful selection of party food provided by the parents. Passing the parcel, musical chairs, a balloon game and stoat and pheasant followed this. It all went very quickly and a good time was had by all.

Clifford Jukes

The Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust held a guided walk around the Tetney Blow Wells reserve on Sunday afternoon, 18th January, led by wardens Clifford Jukes, Rob Tasker and Ian Lees. It was superb afternoon, cold but sunny.

Excellent views of barn owl and kestrel were obtained and a great spotted woodpecker was heard drumming on several occasions. It was a most enjoyable walk, attended by about 20 people, including 4 children. A collection of £32.25 was taken for Trust funds.

A guided walk by Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust was held around Tetney Blow Wells on Sunday afternoon, 15th March. It was a splendid, mild afternoon, and it proved more popular than anticipated, with about 70 people attending. The group was divided into three parts, led by wardens Clifford Jukes, Barry Whitehead and Ian Lees. Everyone enjoyed excellent views of a barn owl hunting over the meadows.

Lapwings were calling in adjacent fields and a hare was seen. It really seemed as though spring had come. A collection was made for Trust funds of £62.07. At the end many people took advantage of the hot drinks and biscuits sold at St. Peter & St. Paul Church to help its funds. This kept the two church volunteers, Eileen Jukes and Chris Hill, very busy.

Clifford Jukes

Make sure you keep up to date with Trust information and events by visiting the website:

http://www.lincstrust.org.uk/

for county information.

Newsletter – Spring – 2009

SCRUB BASH at EASTFIELD ROAD NATURE RESERVE Saturday 17th January

A very big thank you to the six energetic helpers who came. About 35 Ash and Elder regrowth from previous years had no chance - loppers and bow saws made short work of them; they became neat piles of brash (nimble secateurs!) and stout stakes and branches for extending the protective the dead hedge.

Large Hawthorns and the roadside hedge in the Entrance Meadow were pruned back and an awkward Plum tree was felled and chopped up. One brave soul, with thick gloves, tackled the prickly job of cutting out the Hawthorn coppice growing from stumps making them ready for removal in spring.

In the sunshine we admired golden Gorse, brilliant orange fruit of Stinking Iris, black and white Candle Snuff Fungus on old stumps, all the time supervised by two Robins. The ant hills slumbered on.

All finished by 1.00 o’clock – that’s 21 volunteer hours for the Trust.

THANK YOU
from Mark Tyszka

A Wonderful Evening in August

What are "Burnished Brass", "Ruby Tiger" and "Flame shoulder"? Read on...

Well what a pity only three people turned up for this most enjoyable of evenings out in one of Grimsby's neighbouring villages on the 3rd of August 2008.  We had a fascinating evening watching - have you guessed it yet? Yes - moths coming to the light which had been especially rigged up for the occasion.  Brian Adam brought out his illustrated books on "the wee creatures" and got us trying to indentify the trapped species. However even Brian at times was uncertain of some of them there being so many, it seemed at least to me, which looked alike. 

By 11 p.m., twenty one different species had come into the garden including the three above named and others such as "Dark & Light Arches," "The Rustic," and many more.  When we got a little chilled the three of us were welcomed into the house with the two grandsons (who obviously were learning to be moth experts) for warming refreshments.

The following morning Brian phoned to say one hundred and four moths were in the trap overnight  including nine different species from the previous evening.

We do thank our host, his wife and two young grandsons for entertaining us so well on a lovely evening weather-wise.

Jennie Redpath

Colin and Norma Rushby attempting to identify moths.

A Summary of outdoor activities last September/October

Sunday 7th September:
A splendid warm and sunny afternoon saw thirteen people enjoying a guided walk around Tetney Blow Wells. This was led by Barry Whitehead and Clifford Jukes. Flowers included fleabane, water violet and water forget-me-not. The only butterflies were speckled wood and green-veined white.

Saturday 27th September:
North East Lincolnshire Wildlife Watch joined forces with the R.S.P.B. Wildlife Explorers' Club to meet at the Meridian car park, Cleethorpes, on this warm sunny morning. They were taken for a beach walk, led by Watch helper Barry Whitehead, assisted by group leaders Clifford and Eileen Jukes, Mary Orphanoudakis and Chris Hill.

They walked out to the old wrecks, with stops along the way, first to look at small fish called gobies in a shallow channel, then to see lugworms and ragworms dug up by Barry. The children found a variety of seashells: razors, mussels, cockles, oysters, tellins and scallops. These are the food of several bird species such as oystercatchers, which could be seen feeding away in the distance.

The waters around the wrecks were rich in life with large numbers of shrimps and flatfish. Barry used his very large shrimping net to catch some of these for the children to see close up. It was disturbing to see a number of quite large crabs caught up in bits of old fishing net attached to the wreck and one parent worked patiently to release them, saving them from a slow death from starvation. Two sand mason worms were seen nearby.

The group retreated to the car park well before the tide started to turn. A very interesting and informative time had been enjoyed by all and Clifford thanked Barry on behalf of the group for all he had done to make the event such a success.

Saturday 18th October:
Another outing with the Wildlife Watch and R.S.P.B. Wildlife Explorers' groups took place on this fine sunny afternoon. Meeting at Tealby, the children were led again by Barry, Chris and Clifford on a walk to Walesby and back.

There were some striking views of the three commonest birds of prey of the area: buzzard, kestrel and sparrowhawk, and a green woodpecker’s unmistakable laughing call was heard. The constantly blowing cool wind probably accounted for the lack of butterflies - a single small tortoiseshell was the only one seen.

As they passed Risby they came upon a flock of a very large breed of sheep – the Lincolnshire Longwool, and shortly afterwards they had good views of a herd of red deer. Sadly the latter were farmed, ie: being raised for human consumption, and therefore not allowable as a true wildlife sighting!

In the churchyard at Walesby the children were asked to look for various lichens on the gravestones and church walls with a view to trying to match them to coloured identification charts. Afterwards, at a swifter pace, everyone returned to Tealby. A most enjoyable walk with excellent views all around!

Sunday 19th October:
Twenty-seven people turned out for another walk around Tetney Blow Wells. Once again Barry and Clifford were the guides.

Visitors were informed about the geology of the area and told a little about the history of the watercress beds, before being shown round the reserve. Few birds were in evidence on this windy afternoon but a number of late-flowering plants were to be seen, including water forget-me-not, creeping thistle, lesser knapweed, hogweed, red campion and water violet.

CJ

Saturday, 18th October:
This turned out to be a bright day, though with a cold wind which was not enough to deter twenty-one adults and two children from arriving for an afternoon visit to Linwood Warren, a Lincolnshire Trust reserve, just outside Market Rasen.

For a small village it boasts a nationally known horse racing course and next to that, a local golf course. It is opposite the golf course that Linwood Warren is situated on a minor road leading to Legsby. It is a beautiful and peaceful reserve, having open grassland and mixed woodland. The open areas are kept that way, courtesy of a small herd of colourful cows.

Apart from the natural beauty of the site, there is a stark reminder of darker times. The army used the site for practicing digging out trenches before doing it, ‘for real’ in the horrors of a World War. Although not easy to find now, it is still possible to see the remains of their endeavour.

Our purpose for being there, was to seek, find and identify, fungi. We were met, as usual, by the reserve warden, Brian Oxburgh and then we were introduced to our leader for the expedition, Ray Halstead.

His daughter, Rachel, was there to help her dad by noting what was found, (thirty-three identified species) and filling a basket with samples to be taken home for further analysis (or to eat!!) None of the gathered mushroom hunters was prepared to accept the title of, 'expert,' not even our leader.

My interpretation of, 'expert,' is someone that knows a bit more than those around them. Ray, our leader, obviously was a cut above the rest of us. The group's ability ranged from one very knowledgeable person through those with a smattering of knowledge. I don’t remember anyone admitting to knowing nothing!

Mushrooms and toadstools have become synonymous with edible (mushrooms) and poisonous (toadstools). It would be a serious mistake to take this literally, as some mushrooms are highly toxic.

I still prefer the mushrooms nestling between the bacon and fried egg, on my plate, to come from my local store or shop, as I know they are cultivated (Agaricus bisporus). They are unique, in that they are not plants and do not contain chlorophyll, and so cannot photosynthesize their food.

What you see above ground is the, 'fruit' or reproductive part. If you get fungi growing in your garden, try teasing the soil up and you will find fine white threads running through it. This is the main part of the fungus. The mushroom is the equivalent of a flower on a plant.

When the flower dies off it produces seeds for the next generation of plants. Likewise, the mushroom produces millions of spores. Try tapping a puffball and watch the fine powdery spores jetting out.

If your knowledge of this subject is limited, I’ll bet you would recognise at least one mushroom, the 'fly agaric' (Amanita muscaria). This has appeared in children’s books since time immemorial. We all know that the bright red cap with white spots is the favoured resting place for fairies and toads, don’t we? [ N.B. It's poisonous.]

Nobody I know has actually seen them but then they are nocturnal! Sadly, many of the mushrooms were past their best or had been trampled by the cows but if you want to learn more about these amazing growths, keep your eyes open for a Fungal Foray near you. You will be glad that you went.

Looking for fungi at Linwood Warren - photo by Malcolm Crawford

Accounts of previous years' events have been transferred to:

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