============================================ || || Wildnews Bulletin - 14th August 2024 || News of Lincolnshire Wildlife || LNU: http://lnu.org/ || || Please email Editor on: philporterento@outlook.com || ============================================ 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. 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; Lincolnshire Bird Club and Lincolnshire Environmental Record Centre [LERC]. Compare earlier years/months. Past Bulletins archive [in text format] 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 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Editor writes: I hear that there were some fantastic auroras this week in the clear skies that many of us enjoyed – I just wish I had the fortitude to stay up and travel to a proper dark sky location to take advantage! Spotted Redshanks seem to have been widespread at our coastal hotspots this week, always a rewarding species to see, especially in the numbers present at the moment. Many of our correspondents are evidently taking well-earned holiday breaks or suffering from the slow dog-days of hot weather when little seems to be happening in their local environment so I’m going to recommend a natural history book that I have read over and over, and which deals with aspects of wildlife conservation across the world through the lens of biogeography, describing why islands are magical and why habitats and ecosystems suffer more than you might imagine by being fragmented by our civilisation. ‘The Song of the Dodo’ by David Quammen wears its nearly 30 years well and its 700 pages are available at some very low prices on line. No pictures, but keep your laptop/device handy to look up the species as you go. A very entertaining read. Phil Porter's email is: philporterento@outlook.com Roger Parsons' email is: old.museum@yahoo.co.uk BTO's tracked Cuckoos - some already south of the Sahara! https://www.bto.org/cuckoos *** This week's mostly-local news stories: *** Fresh hope for bird with bizarre 'crex crex' call https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwy332e4lyno Three sentenced for hare coursing offences https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c75nnpn6gqko Lincoln 'Wonky House' saved after fundraising https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cr40lqw3g40o Sanctuary sees influx of 'difficult' parrots https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crlrkn79pelo Weever fish warning after people stung in resort https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c785wpnnlzpo New Grimsby community garden vandalised https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce38lqy8337o *** Weather News and Forecast *** https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/ https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/warnings-and-advice/uk-warnings#? East Midlands weather forecast Thursday 15th August - Sunday 18th August Headline: Less hot. Early rain and drizzle, brighter spells later. Thursday: Dry with sunny spells at first, although gradually clouding over with strong winds developing. Perhaps some rain for the evening. Still warm or very warm and becoming humid again. Maximum temperature 26 °C. Outlook for Friday to Sunday: Any early rain on Friday soon clearing, with winds easing. Dry with some sunny spells and mostly light winds for the weekend. Temperatures nearer normal for the time of year. UK long range weather forecast Sunday 18 Aug - Tuesday 27 Aug A mobile westerly pattern is expected to continue over the weekend and into next week. Low pressure systems will track eastwards, probably near to the north of Scotland, with associated frontal zones periodically moving east over the country. This means cloud and rain will move in from the west at times, occasionally accompanied by breezy conditions and the possibility of unseasonably windy spells. Either side of weather fronts there will be spells of sunny or clear weather. Most of the wet weather will tend to be focused in the west and northwest, with longer drier spells further south and east. Temperatures overall will be close to average for August. There is just a chance of short-lived very warm conditions returning to parts of the south and east at times. *** For Astronomers and Sky-watchers *** Northern lights illuminate skies as far south as Cornwall https://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/articles/cp35j2w74ewo Meteor Season: There are several Meteor Showers this month: The Delta Aquariids meteor shower is active from 12 July to 23 August https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/delta-aquariid-meteor-shower-2024-when-where-see-it-uk The Perseid meteor shower is active between 17 July and 24 August https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/perseid-meteor-shower-guide-uk-when-where-to-see This Week's Sky at a Glance: https://skyandtelescope.org/observing/sky-at-a-glance/ Night Sky - highlights: https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/blogs/astronomy Full Moons: https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/full-moon-calendar Meteor shower dates: https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/meteor-shower-guide BBC Sky at Night Magazine website: https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/news *** EVENTS *** *** Lincolnshire Naturalists Union Field Meeting *** Horncastle Riverscape Enhancement Project – Sunday 18th August 2024 Horncastle 11.00 for 12.00 start and finish about 16.00. Meeting point at Tesco picnic area adjacent to the river (details below), car parking is available at Tesco car park for a small charge. Habitats: River corridor. Leaders: Luke Hartley 07399 322211 hartley026@gmail.com and Paul Scott paul.scott@joseph-banks.co.uk Grid reference: TF 34930 35810 What3Words: astounded.feelers.sleeps nearest postcode: PE20 1NA *** South Lincs RSPB Group *** Jeremy Eyeons writes: The South Lincs RSPB Group's details of their 2024 "Seal and Birdwatching" cruises aboard "The Boston Belle". There are twelve cruises organised for 2024, ending on 24th October. Full details on this website, including ticket prices, booking arrangements, sailing times and dates etc. Booking is essential. https://group.rspb.org.uk/southlincolnshire/ STAYING SAFE Please copy and paste URLs if/as necessary.... The Heat-health Alert Service - sign up. https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/warnings-and-advice/seasonal-advice/heat-health-alert-service Bird flu: 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 - look at the RBA website: http://www.rarebirdalert.co.uk/ For RBA's excellent articles: https://www.rarebirdalert.co.uk/RealData/Articles.asp 5/8 Alkborough Flats, Pectoral Sandpiper ad on flash by River Trent, 2 Garganey. . Deeping St James, Glossy Ibis 1s on East Pit, Deeping Lakes. Frampton Marsh, Curlew Sandpiper, 2 Wood Sandpipers. Gibraltar Point, 3 Wood Sandpipers. Mablethorpe, Caspian Gull flew north past. 6/8 Alkborough Flats, Pectoral Sandpiper ad on flash by River Trent. Deeping St James, Glossy Ibis 1s on East Pit, Deeping Lakes. Frampton Marsh, Little Stint, 6 Curlew Sandpipers, 7 Spotted Redshanks. White-winged Black Tern, Wood Sandpiper, 7 Spoonbills. Gibraltar Point, 3 Wood Sandpipers and Scaup juv. on Tennyson's Sands. Willow Tree Fen, Common Cranes flew north over. 7/8 Alkborough Flats, 2 Garganey. Anderby Creek, White-rumped Sandpiper ad, 2 Wood Sandpipers. Frampton Marsh, Black-winged Stilt unconfirmed report, 5 Spotted Redshanks, 20 Spoonbills. 5 Curlew Sandpipers., Wood Sandpiper. Gibraltar Point, 3 Wood Sandpipers on Tennyson's Sands, fem Scaup, Spotted Redshank., Pied Flycatcher in plantation, Saltfleet, Curlew Sandpiper. 8/8 Frampton Marsh, 4 Curlew Sandpipers, Wood Sandpiper, 2 Little Stints. 15 Spoonbills, 16 Spotted Redshanks on scrape. Freistion Shore, Little Stint. Gibraltar Point, Cory's Shearwater flew past, Roseate Tern on beach at north end of reserve, Curlew Sandpiper, 3 Spotted Redshanks. Scaup juv. 7 Spoonbills. 9/8 Alkborough Flats, 4 Spotted Redshanks, Pectoral Sandpiper on Trent Flash. Anderby Creek, 3 Curlew Sandpipers and 5 Wood Sandpipers. Deeping St James, Glossy Ibis on East Pit, Deeping Lakes. Frampton Marsh, 17 Spoonbills, 2 Little Stints.9 Curlew Sandpipers north of Sea Bank Vewpoint, Wood Sandpiper. Freiston Shore, Little Stint. Gibraltar Point, probable Long-tailed Skua flew north, 3 Wood Sandpipers on Tennyson's Sands. 10/8 Alkborough Flats, Garganey fem from Prospect Hide, 2 Spotted Redshanks Deeping St James, Glossy Ibis 1s on East Pit, Deeping Lakes. East Halton, Wood Sandpiper juv north of Winter's Pond. Frampton Marsh, 17 Spoonbills, 9 Spotted Redshanks, 14 Curlew Sandpipers on lagoon, 3 Wood Sandpipers, ad Garganey. Gibraltar Point, 5 Spoonbills at Greenshank Creek. 2 Wood Sandpipers on Tennyson's Sands, Spotted Redshank Reed's Island, Lesser Yellowlegs on south side from Humber Bank. just west of cement works. 11/8 Alkborough Flats, 150 Common Scoters flew west over. Hubberts Bridge, possible Vagrant Emperor Dragonfly west of Boston. at South Forty Foot Drain between station and Tesco. Deeping St James, Glossy Ibis 1s on East Pit, Deeping Lakes. Frampton Marsh, 2 Curlew Sandpipers, 11 Spoonbills, Osprey north over. 26 Spotted Redshanks on scrapes below sea wall., 3 Wood Sandpipers. Gibraltar Point, Pied Flycatcher at West Dunes., 2 Wood Sandpipers on Tennyson's Sands, Spotted Redshank 12/8 Alkborough Flats, 7 Spoonbills, 2 Cattle Egrets. Anderby Creek, 2 Pied Flycatchers, 3 Wood Sandpipers flew south. Deeping St James, Glossy Ibis 1s on East Pit, Deeping Lakes. East Halton, Spotted Redshank. Frampton Marsh, Wood Sandpiper.1+ Curlew Sandpiper, 25 Spoonbills, 1 Spotted Redshank. Freiston Shore, Spotted Redshank. Pied Flycatcher Gibraltar Point, 15 Spoonbills on Tennyson's Sands. Huttoft Bank Pit, Pied Flycatcher. Mablethorpe, Caspian Gull juv, 3 Black terns flew south.. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 3. WILDLIFE NEWS FROM AROUND THE COUNTY ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 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/ 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 observations and welcome records from everyone, experts to beginners. Please keep your reports coming. BARDNEY - THE GREEN TF120694 R + A Parsons 13/8/2024 Skywatching at 3am I noted several bats flying low across the front of the house at the level of my face. They were echolocating around 20kHz which suggested they were a group of Noctules. https://www.bats.org.uk/about-bats/what-are-bats/uk-bats/noctule BARDNEY GARDEN TF117700 Phil and Mary Porter 11th August 2024 Blue and Great Tits, and Chaffinches comprise most of the activity at the feeder, with the odd Greenfinch now and then. Although we hear them in the vicinity, Goldfinches have deserted our garden now that we are reducing quantities of food. A Blackbird is feeding a fledged youngster but this year, overall breeding success seems to have been virtually negligible despite early favourable feeding opportunities. Robins seem to have done a bit better in that department. Mary has noticed a leaf-warbler in the parties of tits but we have a lot of dense shrubs and small trees and it remains unidentified. Butterflies include 4 Peacock, 1-2 Red Admiral, 1 male Brimstone, 6 Small White and Holly Blue. There are several early-stage shield bugs on our single Nasturtium plant which to me look most like Woundwort Shield-bug, but it seems more likely that they would be Brassica Shield-bug on account of this plant attracting species that normally favour cabbages owing to the similar pungency of the leaves. (In fact, the only Large White caterpillars we have seen this year are on Nasturtium as well). The difference apparently lies in the exact shade of the pale areas according to Bugs UK. Whatever the bugs are, they consume leaves and flowers, and I saw an adult of Brassica Bug in the garden some weeks ago. 12th August 2024 A mystery was cleared up after Mary had heard calls of a begging bird of prey over several days in an area behind new houses in our road. One of the residents told us it was a buzzard fledgling that they see often. The importance of fresh water to garden birds was underlined when Mary replenished a wide birdbath just outside our French windows. A family of House Sparrows came down and spent five minutes splashing around. Later a group of Long-tailed Tits settled in one of our apple trees and did some sterling work ‘debugging’ the branches accompanied by the furtive leaf-warbler. Finally, Mary heard a Bullfinch somewhere just beyond the garden. BARDNEY, WOOD LANE TF115695 Phil and Mary Porter 11th August 2024 As usually seems to be the case, the local Jackdaws had congregated on the wires, about 100-strong. We were pleased to see two kestrels in one of the larger trees. We also saw 2 Muntjac which strolled away in front of us. BOSTON, STANDISH GROVE PE21 9EA Heather Bishop 12th August 2024 at about 9.30pm It was hot so all the back doors and windows were open, so I went out to close them. A big brown moth was flying around the kitchen frantically, its wings going so fast it was a blur. Managed to trap it in the window (glass/cardboard) and husband ID'd it with the LENS app on his phone. The Old Lady moth. Freed it outside in the dark. (Picture supplied Ed.) FISKERTON FEN TF083718 Phil and Mary Porter 9th August 2024 The pathside grassland and drain bank were bright with Tufted Vetch, Common Fleabane, Purple Loosestrife Common Knapweed, and lesser quantities of Bird’s-foot Trefoil, Red and White Clover, Wild Carrot, Wild Angelica, Upright Hedge-parsley and Musk Mallow, but there were very few accompanying insects as has come to be expected this year. Oddments of Peacock, Red Admiral, Speckled Wood and Meadow Brown occurred. We identified single Brown Hawker and Black-tailed Skimmer. The pit held 20 Mallard and a Gadwall. HORKSTOW SE987179 Jenny Haynes 13 August 2024 The bats have been active around my house for the past four days. Still not many butterflies, although we did see two large whites on 10 August. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 4. NNRs and NATURE RESERVES ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LWT Top Reserves: https://www.lincstrust.org.uk/get-involved/top-reserves LWT Reserves List: https://www.lincstrust.org.uk/get-involved/nature-reserves-list RSPB Reserves: https://www.rspb.org.uk/days-out/reserves ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 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 http://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/publication/38015?category=59026 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Saltfleetby-Theddlethorpe Dunes NNR Report 7th – 13th August 2024 Contributors: - Peter & Janet Roworth, John Walker, Matt Blissett, Ruth Taylor, Owen Beaumont, Cliff Morrison, Kev Wilson and Dean Nicholson. Thank you to all other contributors. Daily News and Wildlife Sightings Note: Maximum temperature at Sea View on the 13th was 28.5 degrees centigrade, the hottest day this year. 070824 - Paradise lagoon 2 green sandpiper, 1 black-tailed godwit, 2 greenshank, 6 dunlin, 18 lapwing and 51 redshank. A small southerly movement of swift mid-afternoon. Adult curlew sandpiper and osprey Saltfleet Haven. 080824 - At least 152 curlew on edge of saltmarsh near the Haven, also in area 4 knot, 4 turnstone, 5 common terns, min 160 sandwich terns and several peacock butterflies flying in off the sea. 090824 – A red kite south over Brickyard Lane and juvenile bullfinch in dune scrub. 200 sandwich tern roosting at Crook Bank. 3 green sandpiper, black-tailed godwit and snipe Paradise Lagoon. Wheatear near bird hide at Elm House Farm. Single kingfisher on Great Eau. Butterflies – 17 peacock Churchill Lane. At Rimac c400 greater water parsnip counted on upper washland ditch. 100824 - Cattle egret at Sea View washlands. 3 green sandpiper and 2 snipe Paradise Lagoon. 2 wheatear Elm House Farm and 3 roe deer on cut field. Short-eared owl Saltfleet Haven. 110824 - Two whimbrel calling over saltmarsh. 96 ringed plover Churchill Lane foreshore The NNRs first recorded wasp spider by easy access trail Rimac. Butterflies – 30+ wall brown, 3 small heath, 3 small copper, 30+ common blue, 2 brown argus, 2 brimstone, 3 small tortoiseshell, red admiral Sea View to Rimac. Brimstone and holly blue at Sea View. 120824 – Single hobby over Elm House Farm and 25 golden plover. 130824 - Single humming bird hawkmoth, holly blue and brimstone at Sea View. Green woodpecker at Sea View. Donna Nook 110824 – Single hobby. 120824 – On the managed realignment area 612 Redshank, 85 dunlin, 5 greenshank, 1 wood sandpiper, 1 whimbrel, 2 snipe, 4 curlew, 398 golden plover, 1 ruff, 1 black-tailed godwit, 1 yellow legged gull, 1 peregrine, 8 kestrel, 2 buzzard, 1 marsh harrier, 2 pied flycatcher and 5 yellow wagtail. 130824 – Banded demoiselle and peregrine. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 5. BARDNEY LIMEWOODS NNR ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ These cover a huge area. 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 - gardening dates and times: Next date: 20th August 2024 https://butterfly-conservation.org/in-your-area/lincolnshire-branch/chambers-farm-wood-butterfly-garden Lincolnshire Dormouse Group Gemma Watkinson writes: This summer, as there are forestry works being undertaken by Forestry England over the summer at Chambers Farm Woods, we will have limited access to the woods this year, and things may need to change at short notice. To manage visitor numbers, we are going to need to limit non-licenced visitors to around 10 people, and will require those who are interested in joining each session to email through to 'sign-up' no later than a week before each session. Please email lincsdormouse group@gmail.com if you are interested in joining us. The last summer date we so far have approved with FE for nest box checks is: Saturday 17th August As always for the summer sessions, we will meet at 9.30am, and this will be outside the wood centre in the car park, but this may need to change. The number of adult dormice found in July was down on the June count, at 7 males and 9 females, but there were 8 litters of young. All but 3 of the females had a litter with them and there were 2 pairs of grey, eyes-closed young without an adult. Some of the litters were not counted or weighed, to avoid disturbing the mothers, but there were at least 19 young. There were no sightings in Ivy Wood West or Minting Far End, but the previously marked individual 'Frank' was seen again in Minting Triangle. Also found were lots of moths and slugs, a few bees and wasps, four brown long-eared bats, two woodmice and a shrew. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 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. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Discover Woodland Trust woods near you- including the best woods for walks, wildlife watching, family fun and heritage. https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/visiting-woods/woods/#=undefined&view=map Lincolnshire County Council - Local Nature Reserves https://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/coast-countryside/nature-reserves Links to "Other Reserves" are welcome. Your suggestions, please. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 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 or via iRecord. https://www.brc.ac.uk/irecord/ 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! Please 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 may vary. It usually goes out on Wednesdays/ Thursdays in time for the weekend. Please e-mail in contributions to the editor as early as possible. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 8. CONTACTS AND USEFUL WEBSITES ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ *** Links "not to be missed" *** Please copy and paste URLs if/as necessary. CONTACTS LIST Lincolnshire Naturalists' Union LNU Website: http://lnu.org/ LNU Twitter feed: https://twitter.com/LincsNaturalist LNU e-mail: info@lnu.org Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust: https://twitter.com/LincsWildlife Lincs Bird Club: https://twitter.com/Lincsbirding LBC County Bird Recorder: recorder_south@lincsbirdclub.co.uk The Sir Joseph Banks Society: https://twitter.com/sirjosephbanks Lincolnshire Bat Group: 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/ Lincolnshire Chalk Streams Trust: https://lincolnshirechalkstreamstrust.org.uk/ South Lincolnshire Flora Group: https://bsbi.org/south-lincolnshire-v-c-53 The Wolds Fungi Group: Contact Paul Nichol via email: nichol20@gmail.com Lincolnshire Dormouse Group: Contact: lincsdormousegroup@gmail.com Wheels For Life https://www.activelincolnshire.com/wheels-for-life-bike-donation-lincolnshire 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: 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 When asking for help: Please give 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 the recorder promptly. Don't forget a thank you for the help. That is always welcomed. Local Bat Helpline Grounded bats, bat problems, advice and information. Contact Annette Faulkner on 01775 766286 Email: annettefaulkner@btinternet.com Confidential Bat Records You may send confidential bat records direct to Annette Faulkner on: annettefaulkner@btinternet.com NHBS - Frequencies of British Bats https://media.nhbs.com/equipment/British%20Bat%20Frequencies.pdf Bat Identification https://www.bats.org.uk/about-bats/what-are-bats/uk-bats/ Dragonfly Identification help https://british-dragonflies.org.uk/odonata/species-and-identification/ Slug ID Help Chris du Feu will help with slug identification. Tel: 01383 669 124 Email: chris.r.dufeu@gmail.com USEFUL WILDLIFE LINKS Please copy and paste URLs if necessary. Lincolnshire Badger Group https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100093647842292 Email: lincolnshirebadgergroup@hotmail.com Lincs Environmental Records Centre: http://www.glnp.org.uk/ Natural England: http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/ NHBS Natural history equipment or books: https://www.nhbs.com/ The Flora of Lincolnshire by Joan Gibbons: downloadable LNU book Atlas of the terrestrial and semi-aquatic Mammals of Lincolnshire: downloadable LNU book *** For the Geologists *** Please copy and paste URLs if/as necessary. Geological Society News: Key moments in the evolution of life on Earth captured in fossils. https://www.geolsoc.org.uk/news Lincolnshire Geodiversity Group: https://www.lincswolds.org.uk/discovering/geology-1 Geology of the Lincolnshire Wolds: https://www.lincswolds.org.uk/special-features/geology The Geology of Lincolnshire: downloadable LNU book UK Fossils in Lincolnshire https://ukfossils.co.uk/category/lincolnshire/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 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 the editor: Bulletins are sent to Recorders at Lincolnshire Environmental Records Centre [GNLP], Lincolnshire Naturalists' Union and Lincolnshire Bird Club. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 10. BULLETIN PUBLICITY POLICY ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 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 unwise or untimely 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. [Views expressed in the Bulletin do not necessarily reflect the policies or opinions of the LNU or associated organisations. In particular this applies to agencies, especially charities, taking a political stance.] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 11. LNU EVENTS DIARY ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ *** LNU Events *** https://lnu.org/meetings/ https://lnu.org/meetings/indoor-meetings/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 12 ...AND FINALLY... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ National and international stories Reservoir of liquid water found deep in Martian rocks https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/czxl849j77ko Startling genome discovery in butterfly project reveals impact of climate change in Europe https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/aug/11/genome-discovery-butterfly-project-impact-climate-change-europe-moths Things just got weird: skinks provide a window onto how evolution works https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/news/2024/august/skinks-provide-a-window-onto-how-evolution-works.html Down into the ocean's 'twilight zone' with Boaty McBoatface https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy849kzep98o Rarely seen Titanic artefacts kept in secret warehouse https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1vd9k33r00o Plan to restore west Wales' Celtic rainforests https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4gddwvz88lo 'Beautiful' rainbow sea slug found in rock pool https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cg79zg53r4zo *** Mail Fails *** Hazel Allen - Undelivered Mail Returned to Sender ----------------- ~ THE END ~ ----------------- (..until next week!) Roger Parsons old.museum@yahoo.co.uk http://rogerparsons.info/