========================================= || || 21st December 2022 || || News of Lincolnshire Wildlife || || LNU Website: http://lnu.org/ || ============================================ In this issue..... 1. Information, events, news and requests - mostly local. 2. Wildlife Highlights from Rare Bird Alert. 3. Wildlife reports around the county - contributions welcome... 4. NNRs, RSPB and LWT Reserves/Saltfleetby/Theddlethorpe. 5. Bardney Limewoods NNR - Chambers Farm Wood. 6. Other Reserve Reports - links and highlights. 7. Sending in Bulletin Reports - contributors please read! 8. Contact information - recorders and specialists... 9. Notes about these wildlife reports. 10. Bulletin publicity policy. 11. Events Diary - what's on. 12. ...and finally. Mostly national/international wildlife stories. ============================================ Reports here are open. They are available to county recorders of the Lincolnshire Naturalists' Union; the Lincolnshire Bird Club and Lincolnshire Environmental Record Centre [LERC]. Compare earlier years. Past Bulletins archive [text] from 2009: http://rogerparsons.info/bulletinportal.html Views expressed by contributors are not necessarily those of the Lincolnshire Naturalists' Union or associated organisations. Please copy and paste URLs if/as necessary. ============================================ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1. INFORMATION, EVENTS, NEWS AND REQUESTS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Editor writes: The Bulletin is a bit late this week. Christmas Greetings! Thanks to you all for reading and for contributing to the LNU Bulletin. Your support is important and very welcome. Thanks also go to the LNU Recorders and Specialists, who will welcome species records in 2023. The funeral of Colin Faulkner on Wednesday was a moving tribute to his life and interests, not least his outstanding contribution to the understanding, appreciation and enjoyment of Lincolnshire wildlife. Donna Nook Seal Count: 16/12/22 – seal count: 1255 pups, 334 cows, 308 bulls. Total number of pups born this season so far: 2207. As always, our thanks to the Wildlife Trust staff and volunteers for the time and effort put in this year - in near-Arctic conditions at times! https://www.lincstrust.org.uk/get-involved/top-reserves/donna-nook I have just received my RSPB mailing about the Big Garden Birdwatch. This takes place 27-29 January 2023, so I've pencilled it into the diary! Past issues of Transactions - reminder from Charlie Barnes... A large number of historic issues of Transactions, dating from the early 1900s to the 2000s have recently been un-earthed in the archives. There are no complete runs, but if you are looking for specific issues to fill gaps in your collection or would like to start your own run, these are available free of charge as long as you happy to collect. There is some urgency to regain the space in the archives before Christmas so if you're interested, please email Charlie at charlie@cucaera.co.uk as soon as possible with the issue(s) you're interested in and we can have a look to see if there are any available. Any issues not found new homes will have to be recycled. LNU Meetings: updates for Indoor Meetings 2023 https://lnu.org/meetings/indoor-meetings/ This week's links to Lincolnshire and wildlife-related news stories. COP15: Nations reach 'historic' deal to protect nature https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-64019324 Young Yorkshire photographers scoop national awards https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-64002737 Lincolnshire: Under-pressure hospital trust declares 'critical incident' https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-64044029 Lincolnshire churches replace lead roofs with steel after thefts https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-64052369 Lincolnshire: Dog owners warned after pets rescued from icy water https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-64025567 Brussels sprouts: Record temperature highs and frost hits Lincolnshire crop https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-63978969 Kirton Holme: Fire crews tackle large stack fire on farmland https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-64026119 Lincoln: Police called to children playing on frozen lake https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-63989722 People on frozen water prompts urgent warning from police forces https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-64017204 Nottinghamshire: New beavers born after reintroduction https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-64000732 More links in "..and finally ..." at the end of the Bulletin. Please stay informed on Co-19 and 'flu advice. Adapt appropriately to future advice at indoor meetings and in the field. If you have any event postponements or changes please let us know. Thank you for all the interesting news links, wildlife information and useful species reports. Please keep them coming. Roger old.museum@yahoo.co.uk - note - my best address for emails. Please join the Lincolnshire Naturalists' Union If you are not yet an LNU member please consider the possibility of joining. Click for the application form. If you are a member, please remember to give the LNU a "plug " to others. https://lnu.org/join-the-lnu/ Weather Forecast https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/ https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/warnings-and-advice/uk-warnings#? 26 December - 4 January "Frequent wintry showers affecting northern areas on Monday, these becoming confined to the Northern Isles, where very windy too. Elsewhere, some sunshine, but an area of cloud and rain, with a small chance of snow on its northern edge may return from the south for a time. For the following few days, probably a fairly windy and changeable period of weather, with rain, and some snow at times, interspersed with colder, brighter spells. Around the turn of the year, uncertainties in the forecast increase, but a ridge of high pressure may bring a quieter interlude for many with more widely colder conditions, overnight frost and crisp, sunny days. Some wintry showers are also possible, especially in coastal areas." For Astronomers and Sky-watchers SpaceWeather/com says: CHRISTMAS COMET ALERT: Newly-discovered Comet ZTF (C/2022 E3) is approaching Earth for a close encounter next month. It's already within range of telescopes, and the New Moon makes Christmas weekend a good time to look. https://spaceweather.com/ Perseverance: Nasa Mars rover to lay down rocks for Earth return https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-64006377 Dart: Asteroid deflection experiment boosted by debris https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-63995869 Cosmic Links... for more http://rogerparsons.info/cosmic.html Stellarium - open source and very useful https://stellarium.org/ Len Pick Trust Owl-box Camera A pair of owls is in residence. https://www.lenpicktrust.org.uk/owl-project Hedgehog Advice https://hedgehogcare.org.uk/ https://www.hedgehogstreet.org/ Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust Area Groups webpage Please let me have your "plugs" for coming events. https://www.lincstrust.org.uk/get-involved/area-groups *** Boston Area Group LWT *** Gill Walsh writes: Talk - Gibraltar Point, Birds and Migration by Kevin Wilson Thursday 12th January at 7.30pm Centenary Methodist Church Red Lion Street Boston PE21 6NY Admission is free but there will be a retiring collection. Refreshments will be served in the interval Non members welcome *** RSPB Grimsby Local Group *** The RSPB Grimsby website https://group.rspb.org.uk/grimsby/ The RSPB Grimsby Local Group: The next 'car share' trip is not until February 2023 - details will be available at a later date Martin Francis Group Leader - RSPB Grimsby Local Group" *** RSPB Lincoln Local Group *** THE RSPB Lincoln website https://www.lincolnrspb.org.uk/events.htm INDOOR MEETING Thursday 12 January 2023 meeting, Shetland: Britain's Northern Edge by Jack Perks. After spending a month living in Shetland, Jack was able to see and photograph its fantastic wildlife, from puffins, gannets, skuas, divers and orcas. Sponsored by Carol Harvey in memory of her husband Alan Harvey. 7.30 pm in the Robert Hardy Building, Bishop Grosseteste University, Longdales Road, Lincoln LN1 3DY. Admission charge for RSPB members and students £4, for members of the public £5, please pay on the door. Fiona McKenna Committee member RSPB Lincoln Local Group STAYING SAFE Please copy and paste URLs if/as necessary. Bird flu: What is it and what's behind the outbreak? https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-63464065 Defra advice to the general public is to leave corpses alone and report the findings - but that landowners should dispose of birds themselves. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/bird-flu-latest-situation-avian-influenza-prevention-zone-declared-across-great-britain Lyme Disease reminder https://www.hse.gov.uk/agriculture/zoonoses-data-sheets/lyme-disease.pdf Road works and hold-ups https://roadworks.org/ Met Office Severe Warnings https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/warnings-and-advice/uk-warnings Met Office Severe Weather E-mail Service - sign up. http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/about-us/guide-to-emails EasyTide http://easytide.ukho.gov.uk/EasyTide/EasyTide/index.aspx Environment Agency Flood Warnings - Lincolnshire https://flood-warning-information.service.gov.uk/warnings?location=lincolnshire Environment Agency Flood Information/Floodline - sign up https://www.gov.uk/sign-up-for-flood-warnings ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2. WILDLIFE HIGHLIGHTS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ *** Bird News from Rare Bird Alert *** Rare Bird Alert has kindly given permission to reproduce their pager reports. A big thank you from us all. Readers interested in a pager - have a look at the RBA website: http://www.rarebirdalert.co.uk/ For RBA's excellent articles: https://www.rarebirdalert.co.uk/RealData/Articles.asp Sorry about the slip back to "/11" last week - corrected here! 13/12 Caspian Gull at Middlemarsh Wetlands, west of Skegness Cattle Egret on A52 verge near Spanby, south of Sleaford Hen Harrier male over fields north of North Somercotes 14/12 Cattle Egret in field opposite Windmill Farm caravan park, Baston Fen 4 Waxwings in trees by river, Spalding Cattle Egret , 6 Common Cranes, Short-eared Owl, at Willow Tree Fen WSW of Pode Hole, WSE of Spalding 19 Tundra Bean Geese flew west over Temple Wood 15 Snow Buntings on beach, Lapland Bunting, 2 Hen Harriers, Gibraltar Point Bewick's Swan offshore, flew south, Winthorpe 13 Snow Buntings on beach, ringtail Hen Harrier, Saltfleetby 4 Waxwings at Peaks Parkway/Weelsby Road junction, Grimsby 15/12 2 Short-eared Owls at Tongue End along River Glen, Baston 2 Bewick's Swans both ads at Stowgate south of Cranmore Drive in field, Crowland Cattle Egret, 4 Common Cranes, Hen Harrier ringtail, Willow Tree Fen WSW of Pode Hole, WSE of Spalding Bewick's Swan with Whooper Swans, Deeping High Bank, Deeping St Nicholas 8 Russian White-fronted Geese at River Witham mouth in prison fields, Cut End Long-eared Owl along Mill Road then flew and landed in adjacent dense scrub, Gibraltar Point Lapland Bunting flew north over north shore, Skegness 16/12 Cattle Egret, 4 Common Cranes, Bittern, Willow Tree Fen WSW of Pode Hole, WSE of Spalding Great Northern Diver flew north past, Gibraltar Point 3 Snow Buntings, Cleethorpes 17/12 Scaup 1w fem, east pit, Tallington Lakes Black-throated Diver along The Haven, Cut End. Hen Harrier, 15 Snow Buntings on beach, Gibraltar Point 4+ Waxwings, Healing, NW of Grimsby 19 Russian White-fronted Geese [4 ads] off Marsh Lane in field near Winter's Pond, south of East Halton Skitter 2 Water Pipits, East Halton Skitter 18/12 Great Northern Diver, Cut End Snow Bunting - the flew towards Goxhill Marsh, 19 Russian White-fronted Geese in field near Winter's Pond, East Halton Skitter 19/12 Cattle Egret in sheep field opposite Windmill Farm caravan park, Baston Fen Cattle Egret , 4 Common Cranes, at Willow Tree Fen WSW of Pode Hole, WSE of Spalding 20/12 Cattle Egret in sheep field opposite Windmill Farm caravan park, Baston Fen Cattle Egret , 4 Common Cranes, at Willow Tree Fen WSW of Pode Hole, WSE of Spalding 21 Snow Buntings on beach, 2 Hen Harriers, Water Pipit, Gibraltar Point 3 Waxwings in trees between Crook Bank car park and beach, Saltfleetby/ Theddlethorpe Dunes 31 Snow Buntings on beach, Saltfleetby Great Northern Diver juv, Covenham reservoir 2 Waxwings by Rock Foundation along Heneage Road, Grimsby Iceland Gull juv at Novartis Ings, Pyewipe, then flew west 21/12 Cattle Egret in sheep field opposite Windmill Farm caravan park, Baston Fen 8 Common Cranes - 7 roosted, one flew west, Cattle Egret , Willow Tree Fen WSW of Pode Hole, WSE of Spalding Hen Harrier, Frampton Marsh Hen Harrier flew north past, 12 Snow Buntings on beach, Saltfleetby 8 + Velvet Scoters with Common Scoters off Sea View car park. Mablethorpe 11 Water Pipits, Alkborough Flats ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 3. WILDLIFE NEWS FROM AROUND THE COUNTY ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Roger Goy Column Remembering Roger Goy's wildlife information work and drop-in sessions. Roger died on 6th March 2009 at the age of 61. Find the Grid Reference - don't forget - it's important Grab a Grid Reference: https://www.bnhs.co.uk/focuson/grabagridref/html/index.htm UK Grid Reference Finder: http://www.gridreferencefinder.com/ *** Links "not to be missed" *** Please copy and paste URLs if/as necessary. Gibraltar Point Bird Observatory blog: http://gibraltarpointbirdobservatory.blogspot.co.uk/ Lincs Bird Club: https://www.lincsbirdclub.co.uk/site/index.php/sightings/latest-news Butterfly Conservation - Lincolnshire Branch: https://butterfly-conservation.org/in-your-area/lincolnshire-branch/ Which moth species might be on the wing tonight in your area? https://butterfly-conservation.org/moths/whats-flying-tonight Atlas of the terrestrial and semi-aquatic Mammals of Lincolnshire by C. J. Manning, LNU Mammal Recorder. Download /print off. https://lincsnaturalist.files.wordpress.com/2021/06/mammalatlas.pdf VC54 North Lincolnshire Plant List - LNU Paul Kirby has produced a list of all the vascular plant & stonewort taxa with records on the MapMate botanical database for VC54, North Lincolnshire, at the end of January 2017. Download this on: https://lnu.org/specialists/vascular-plants/ Record Pool - recommended by Ashley Butterfield An easy way to record your amphibian and reptile species records. https://www.recordpool.org.uk/index.php ROAD KILLS? PLEASE LET US KNOW. Every drive is a transect! Hedgehogs? Badgers? Otters? Reports welcome. *** County Wildlife Reports From Readers *** Thanks to our regular contributors across the county. Much appreciated. We rely on readers to send in their observations and welcome records from everyone, experts or beginners. Please keep your reports coming. BARDNEY - The Green TF120694 R & A Parsons w/o 18/12/2022 Blue Tit 2+ Great Tit 2 Goldfinch Pied Wagtail Blackbird Robin Wren Starling Jackdaw 8 Carrion Crow 1 Woodpigeon 8 Collared Dove 2 Blackheaded Gull 20+ 20/12 Raven, possibly 2, heard over church - not seen. GRIMSBY TA265095 Joyce Attia 20th December 2022 9th December. Bitterly cold, birdbath frozen solid, poured boiling water on it but it froze almost as soon as it landed.  Great tits and blue tits on feeder. 10th December. I bought a nyger seed feeder and some seed to try to encourage the goldfinches back. 11th December. Freezing fog all day. Great tits and bluetits, house sparrows, male blackbird on the ground. 13th December. Usual tits, a robin, 6 starlings. 14th December. A bird hopping up garden path, looks as if speckled breast, I haven't seen a thrush around here for years, by the time I grabbed my binoculars it had gone. Robin and tits on feeder, dunnock on the ground, no sign of gold finches yet. 17th December. A bit warmer but not thawing yet. Female blackbird hopping up path, it wasn't a thrush. Male and female house sparrows, dunnock, blue tits. 20th December. Thank goodness it's warmed up. Plenty of activity this morning. Bluetits, great tits, robin, female and male blackbirds, a pair of collared doves, a woodpigeon and some feral pigeons. They've pushed the bird feeder over and wrecked it. Added to which, next doors cat has been visiting and leaving little piles of poo. Does anyone know of a good cat repellent? HORKSTOW SE987179 Jenny Haynes 14 December 2023 Update on the starlings - large numbers have been flying over, going towards the Humber bank at sunset this week. Roosting in the reed beds, I expect. 16 December 2022 Four lapwings spotted flying south. Their call alerted me. Not seen lapwings here for many years. SOUTH RESTON TF403831 Adrian Marklew 18/12/2022 Feeding on Bramley apple windfalls in the garden: Plenty of Black birds, male and female. Magpies. Collared doves. This morning a flock of 50 + Fieldfares came in. Thrush family. WOOLSTHORPE BY COLSTERWORTH SK 92/23 Jane Ostler December 13th – 20th 2022 Have begun to check on trees surveyed in Woolsthorpe ten years ago. So far I have found the following are gone:- A line of cherry trees alongside the playing field and six alongside the road to the village hall – the latter six were for ‘safety reasons’. Oldest sycamore tree in parish growing at bottom of garden but overhanging neighbours property - also deemed unsafe. Mature silver birch and several other garden trees felled when property developed and replaced with tall fence. Roadside maples and ash felled when new crescent of houses built This was before concern over ash. Along the nature trail most of the mature ash have signs of disease An old planting of fruit trees by the estate is of considerable interest – a pear and an apple planted in each estate house garden still includes a healthy Bramley apple tree with mistletoe on its trunk. I am checking again the age of these trees and the new owner of the house in which this one is measuring the girth so I can check how it has grown in the last ten years. Of the others one has been felled and two which have been looked after being pruned and propped up have finally died but left to crumble in situ. Plenty more work to do on this project. Before the frosts came the shaggy parasol fungus produced large fruits in a garden which remained as frozen sculptures until they collapsed in the thaw. However in our garden the winter velvet shank (Flammulina velupites) has reappeared at the base of a trees stump. Goldcrests have visited the Larch tree as they do each winter. Blackbirds are exceptionally abundant in several gardens. A Jack Snipe seen this week in the field alongside the Rundle ( the local name for the spring fed stream which flows into the River Witham). The water in this doesn’t freeze. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 4. NNRs and NATURE RESERVES ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust's policy on Coronavirus, Covid-19 includes details of LWT reserves and other advice and information: https://www.lincstrust.org.uk/coronavirus Gibraltar Point Bird Observatory blog: http://gibraltarpointbirdobservatory.blogspot.co.uk/ LWT Reserves List: https://www.lincstrust.org.uk/get-involved/nature-reserves-list RSPB Frampton Marsh: http://www.rspb.org.uk/discoverandenjoynature/seenature/reserves/guide/f/framptonmarsh/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SALTFLEETBY THEDDLETHORPE DUNES NNR including DONNA NOOK http://www.lincstrust.org.uk/reserves/saltfleetby-theddlethorpe-dunes https://www.lincstrust.org.uk/get-involved/top-reserves/donna-nook Visitor Leaflet - Natural England http://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/publication/38015?category=59026 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Saltfleetby-Theddlethorpe Dunes NNR Report 14th – 20th December 2022 Contributors: - Peter & Janet Roworth, John Walker, Matt Blissett, Ruth Taylor, Owen Beaumont, Phil Hyde, Geoff Williams and Chris Atkin Daily news and wildlife sightings: Note: The very cold weather continued until late evening of the 18th when slightly milder conditions were noticed but this became more evident on the 19th when very mild south-westerly air flow increased the temperature dramatically to give a maximum of 13.5 degrees centigrade. 141222 - 8 lapwing feeding on the saltmarsh and 2 groups of whooper swans, 4 and 7 flying overhead. 42 skylark on the saltmarsh at Brickyard Lane along with 12 reed bunting. Out from Crook Bank were 100 skylark, 80 yellowhammer, 1 snow bunting, 2 stonechat and 2 jack snipe. 70 kittiwake flew south offshore. A Polish colour ringed grey plover on the beach at Crook Bank, where 24 common snipe flew N/NW and 65 lapwing flew in-off the sea throughout the morning. Out from Rimac were 12 snow bunting, 2 pintail and 80 linnet. 151222 - 22 stock dove on the saltmarsh at Brickyard Lane where 250 redwing were feeding in dune scrub. 2 woodcock between Brickyard Lane and Crook Bank, 1 at Sea View and 1 at Churchill Lane. Goldcrests seen at Rimac and Brickyard Lane. 3 bullfinch at Sea View and a few hundred mixed thrushes flew north in the morning. 161222 - At least 80 wigeon flew out of a large creek on the saltmarsh, 14 lapwing flying south. 8 redpoll flew north with thrushes in the morning. Sparrowhawk, peregrine and barn owl over Rimac saltmarsh in the afternoon. 46 magpie left roost at MOD. 25 whooper swan went to roost on a frozen Rimac lagoon at dusk. 171222 - Counts from a very cold WeBS included: 163 teal, 380 wigeon, 22 shoveler, 2 gadwall, 24 common snipe, 2 grey plover, 1 water rail, 1 woodcock and 20 snow buntings. 300 wigeon and 100 teal on Saltfleet Haven. On the foreshore/outer dunes between Churchill Lane and Mablethorpe North End were 80 yellowhammer, 70 skylark, 2 peregrines, marsh harrier and a stonechat. Lapwing continuing to come in-off the sea and move north, with 100 noted by early afternoon. 340 curlew regularly coming to roost on the foreshore. 181222 - Colour ringed lapwing, orange flag/white/black // yellow/yellow/BTO, on Sea View washlands. This is the same bird which was ringed on the Berney Marshes, Norfolk on 27/4/2018. It stayed during the summer on the washlands, paired up and fledged 3 young. It was last seen on 3 July 2022. 191222 - Paradise lagoon: 2 pintail, 46 shoveler, 5 teal, 15 black-headed gulls on the 80 percent frozen surface. Dunnock in song near Sea View. 2 bullfinch feeding in hedges/scrub around Sea View. Water rail heard from Churchill Lane car park, c 320 starlings and 44 linnets over Rimac saltmarsh, herd of 42 mute and 23 whooper swans on field of oilseed rape Theddlethorpe. C4300 pink-footed geese regularly roosting on foreshore. 201222 - Pair of bullfinch amongst a good mix of redwing, blackbirds, reed buntings and chaffinch in the scrub near Sea View. Paradise lagoon now ice free. Amongst the ducks were 3 gadwall. 5 pintail flew overhead. 2 raven flew north over Elm House Farm in the morning, where a lone barnacle goose and 200 wigeon were feeding on the grassland. 372 brent goose flew from Saltfleet Haven onto arable fields locally, with a pale-bellied brent and 88 juveniles among the group. Other local reserves 161222 – Donna Nook seal count: 1255 pups, 334 cows, 308 bulls. Total number of pups born this season so far: 2207. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 5. BARDNEY LIMEWOODS NNR These cover a huge area. Records from them are one of the main inputs to management planning and the protection of rare/scarce and critical species. Reports always welcome. The history of the Lincolnshire Limewoods https://www.forestryjournal.co.uk/features/19111877.lincolnshire-limewoods/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Forestry Commission visitor advice: https://www.forestryengland.uk/article/coronavirus-visitor-guide Butterfly Conservation Lincolnshire Branch. https://butterfly-conservation.org/300/lincolnshire-branch.html Chambers Farm Wood - Butterfly Garden https://butterfly-conservation.org/in-your-area/lincolnshire-branch/chambers-farm-wood-butterfly-garden Lincolnshire Dormouse Group You can get in touch via lincsdormousegroup@gmail.com Gemma Watkinson writes: Winter coppicing dates 2022-2023 Sunday 15th January Saturday 11 February Sunday 12th March Throughout the winter we meet at 10am at the Wood Centre at Chambers Farm Woods. We carry out coppicing in the woodland and box maintenance and cleaning, and always welcome new volunteers. Tools are provided. If anyone wants to know more, they can get in touch at lincsdormousegroup@gmail.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The NNR includes the following sites: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Chambers Farm Woods (comprises Ivy Wood; Little and Great Scrubbs Woods; Minting Wood; Hatton Wood, Hatton Plantation and Minting Park; and also three areas of grassland: Little Scrubbs Meadow and extension), Small Meadow and Big Meadow. Since all have their own management plans, please give the actual location when reporting). College Wood; Cocklode & Great West Woods; Hardy Gang Wood; Newball Wood; Rand Wood; Scotgrove Wood; Southrey Wood and Wickenby Wood. Many of these include both areas of ancient woodland or important grassland. Many are also designated Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Records which provide a six-figure grid reference are of particular value to the Forestry Commission. Other woods included in the NNR but without public access: Stainfield Wood; Stainton & Fulnetby Woods (access by public bridle way only). ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 6. OTHER RESERVE REPORTS AND HIGHLIGHTS. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Links to "Other Reserves" are welcome. Coastal Wildlife of North East Lincolnshire https://www.discovernortheastlincolnshire.co.uk/things-to-do/nature-and-wildlife/ South Humber Heritage Trail, Alkborough Flats - LWT leaflet - downloadable https://www.lincstrust.org.uk/sites/default/files/2018-04/south_humber_heritage_trail_alkborough.pdf New haven for wildlife on shores of Humber Estuary in North East Lincolnshire https://thelincolnite.co.uk/2022/08/new-haven-for-wildlife-on-shores-of-humber-estuary-in-north-east-lincolnshire/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 7. SENDING IN BULLETIN REPORTS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The purpose of the Bulletin is to encourage biological recording in Lincolnshire. We aim to increase the number of people reporting observations to Recorders. The Bulletin is a FREE service. We ask you to provide reports, questions, news or relevant articles from time to time. Descriptive pieces are welcome. You don't have to stick to lists! P lease help us to help you. When sending in reports please follow this layout to save re-editing: Place Name: IN CAPITALS with Grid Reference if you have it. Your Name: Real names please, not aliases. Put it in each time, for each location Date: Species list [Alphabetical?] & numbers [and observations?] e.g. Blackbird - 24 [And please, no home-grown abbreviations. Species Names in full.] Bulletin mailing times vary, depending on what I am doing. It usually goes out on Wednesdays/Thursdays in time for the weekend. Please e-mail in contributions as early as possible, to: old.museum@yahoo.co.uk ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 8. CONTACTS AND USEFUL WEBSITES ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CONTACTS LIST Please copy and paste URLs if/as necessary. Lincolnshire Naturalists' Union LNU Website: http://lnu.org/ LNU Twitter feed: https://twitter.com/LincsNaturalist? LNU Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/lincsnaturalists/ LNU e-mail: info@lnu.org Downloads of LNU books are available on: https://lnu.org/publications/books/ LNU webpage on the Officers and Executive Committee https://lnu.org/about/officers-executive/ Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust https://twitter.com/LincsWildlife Lincs Bird Club Website https://twitter.com/Lincsbirding LBC County Bird Recorder Phil Hyde - County Recorder, Lincs Bird Club recorder_south@lincsbirdclub.co.uk The Sir Joseph Banks Society https://twitter.com/sirjosephbanks Lincolnshire Bat Group website http://www.lincsbatgroup.co.uk/ Butterfly Conservation Lincolnshire Branch https://twitter.com/BC_Lincolnshire Lincsbirders https://twitter.com/lincsbirders Lincolnshire Chalk Streams Project https://lincolnshirechalkstreams.org/events/ South Lincolnshire Flora Group https://bsbi.org/south-lincolnshire-v-c-53 The Wolds Fungi Group Contact Paul Nichol via email pnichol20@gmail.com Lincolnshire Dormouse Group Contact: lincsdormousegroup@gmail.com FIGHTING WILDLIFE CRIME Wildlife Crime https://www.lincs.police.uk/advice/advice-and-information/wc/wildlife-crime/ SPECIES IDENTIFICATION AND RECORDING Please copy and paste URLs if/as necessary. LNU Recorders and Specialists: https://lnu.org/specialists/ Downloads of LNU books are available on: https://lnu.org/publications/books/ Recording with "irecord" https://www.brc.ac.uk/irecord/ irecord is recommended by the LNU as an appropriate platform for on-line recording. LNU Sawflies, Bees, Wasps and Ants Recorder Dr. David Sheppard Willing to examine specimens or check photos. Bear in mind only a relative few of the 300+ species in the county are identifiable using photos. d.a.sheppard@btinternet.com Lincolnshire Mammals Chris Manning, Chris.LincsDeer@gmail.com Spiders, Pseudoscorpions, Harvestmen Imogen Wilde Regional Co-ordinator (RC) and Mentor for Lincolnshire for the British Arachnological Society (BAS). Email: Imogen@imogenwilde.co.uk Amphibians and Reptiles Ashley Butterfield The Lincolnshire ARG (Amphibian & Reptile Group) Email: LearningOutdoors@btinternet.com Local Bat Helpline Grounded bats, bat problems, advice and information. Contact Annette Faulkner on 01775 766286 Email: annettefaulkner@btinternet.com Bat rescue instructions: If you find a grounded bat please don't try and release it. Put it in an escape proof box . Remember, a pipistrelle can get out of a hole the size of your thumb nail. Wear gloves or use a cloth to pick it up with, and phone us on 01775 766286. We'll do the rest. Confidential Bat Records You may send confidential bat records direct to Annette Faulkner on: annettefaulkner@btinternet.com Slug ID Help Chris du Feu will help with slug identification. Tel: 01383 669 124 Email: chris.r.dufeu@gmail.com Non-Marine Molluscs Alex Pickwell is the LNU Recorder for Non-marine Molluscs Email: mrapickwell@gmail.com When asking for help: Please give the the very best information you can provide. If you are not sure, ask what is needed from you to confirm identification. Photographs are helpful but not every species can be identified from a photograph. When asked for further details, get back to them promptly. Don't forget a thank you for the help. That is always welcomed. USEFUL WILDLIFE LINKS Please copy and paste URLs if necessary. Lincs Environmental Records Centre Greater Lincolnshire Nature Partnership (of which LERC is a part) http://www.glnp.org.uk/ Greater Lincolnshire Nature Partnership newsletter: If you would like to keep up to date with the Partnership, follow the link below to subscribe to our newsletter or connect with us on social media. https://linktr.ee/GLNPnature Contact in case link does not work: Emily Todd: emily.todd@glnp.org.uk Natural England http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/ InsideEcology - Online Magazine for Ecologists, Conservationists and Wildlife Professionals https://insideecology.com/ NHBS - Should you need natural history equipment or books: https://www.nhbs.com/ NHM - Final report on LoveLincsPlants This report along with previous progress reports can be viewed/ downloaded from the LNU website. https://lnu.org/lincolnshire-plants-past-and-future/ Collections Dataset - LNU "historic specimens" All of the LNU specimens that have been processed and digitised to date can now be viewed here: http://data.nhm.ac.uk/dataset/lincs-plants The Flora of Lincolnshire by Joan Gibbons - downloadable LNU book For the Geologists... Please copy and paste URLs if/as necessary. Suggestions for Geology news, events or useful links always welcome. BGS Geology Viewer https://geologyviewer.bgs.ac.uk/ Lincolnshire Geodiversity Group https://www.lincswolds.org.uk/discovering/geology-1 Geology - the Collection https://www.thecollectionmuseum.com/explore/geology Geology of the Lincolnshire Wolds https://www.lincswolds.org.uk/special-features/geology The Geology of Lincolnshire - downloadable LNU book BGS webpage: Earthquakes around the UK last 60 days http://www.earthquakes.bgs.ac.uk/earthquakes/home.html BGS British geology maps - now free to explore on web http://www.bgs.ac.uk/opengeoscience/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 9. NOTES ABOUT THESE WILDLIFE REPORTS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ We do our best to ensure accuracy in our reporting. However, records are sent in by a variety of reporters; from complete beginners to professionals. They may vary in reliability and occasionally may be difficult or impossible to verify. If further information is needed please contact: old.museum@yahoo.co.uk Bulletins are sent to Recorders at Lincolnshire Environmental Records Centre [GNLP] , Lincolnshire Naturalists' Union and Lincolnshire Bird Club. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 10. BULLETIN PUBLICITY POLICY ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ We sometimes withhold details of rare or endangered species. Please point out any sensitive or "tricky" reports of this kind. Sensitive data should go directly to county recorders, please. When sending in reports, e.g. unusual plants, please report any sensitive news directly to recorders. Not the Bulletin. We don't want to spoil things with untimely or unwise publicity. Thank you. Please respect the interests of wildlife and site owners if you report on national networks. Interest in wildlife is not a licence to act irresponsibly or thoughtlessly to landowners, who may well be partners in important conservation work. [Remember: Views expressed in the Bulletin do not necessarily reflect the policies or opinions of the LNU or associated organisations. In particular this applies to such agencies, especially charities, taking a political stance.] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 11. LNU EVENTS DIARY ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ *** LNU Events - Important updates *** We will post any changes to LNU events in the Bulletin; the LNU Twitter feed; LNU Facebook page and LNU meetings webpage. Please refer to the LNU website for details of any Zoom arrangements for watching online. LNU Meetings: updates for Indoor Meetings 2023. https://lnu.org/meetings/indoor-meetings/ The changing nature of the Covid situation may mean alterations or cancellations at short notice, so check back regularly and keep an eye on Twitter and Facebook for updates. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 12 ...AND FINALLY... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ *** MailFails Last Week *** aarbon ....and finally... Charities with a mountain to climb as donors drop https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-64000793 Trees store 'twice as much carbon' as once thought https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-64028694 Cattle introduced to first RSPB New Forest woodland reserve https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-64011640 Wildlife boost planned in Staffordshire nature reserves takeover https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-stoke-staffordshire-64004099 Environment targets are job half-done, say charities https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-64007245 Puzzling methane rise in 2020 linked to pandemic lockdown effects https://www.newscientist.com/article/2351739-puzzling-methane-rise-in-2020-linked-to-pandemic-lockdown-effects/ Earthworms may have declined by a third in UK, study reveals https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/dec/19/earthworms-may-have-declined-by-a-third-in-uk-study-reveals Country diary: Raptors are always the most visible creatures up here https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/dec/19/country-diary-raptors-are-always-the-most-visible-creatures-up-here Archaeologists say find near Stonehenge is ancient goldsmith’s toolkit https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/dec/16/archaeologists-find-near-stonehenge-ancient-goldsmiths-toolkit ----------- ~ THE END ~ ----------- (..until next week!) Roger Parsons old.museum@yahoo.co.uk http://rogerparsons.info/