Management of the Malvern Hills

A talk by Jonathan Bills, Conservation Officer of Malvern Hills Conservators

We are extraordinarily fortunate to live in an area of outstanding natural beauty. Whether we use the hills for walking, cycling, horse-riding, hang-gliding, grazing livestock, or just for admiring from our living room windows, we have a duty to look after the Malvern Hills for ourselves and for future generations.

Malvern Hills 2007 © Richard Sheppard

Jonathan Bills outlined the history of the Conservators, starting in 1884 when the Malvern Hills Act established them as a body to counteract the negative impact of tourism, enclosure, and encroachment of commons. Quarrying went on for a long time after that, and was only finally stopped in 1962. A photograph taken in the 1930s showed how different the Hills looked from nowadays, with hardly any erosion on the tops, and far fewer trees.

He talked in great detail about the character of the hills, and how decisions these days have to take into account the conflicting interests of all the people using them. Commoners’ Rights, the Highways Act, SSSI regulations, and the Wildlife and Countryside Act may all conflict. The Conservators aim to manage through partnerships with the graziers, farmers, contractors and volunteers who work on the hills, and also with social groups like the Malvern Hills Gliding Club. At present they are developing a Land Management Plan, considering what is important and what they want to achieve over the next 30 years.

The question of the cable car was raised and those present had the opportunity to voice their opinions. In the meantime, we were reminded that the Malvern Hills Act promises to “keep the hills open, unenclosed and undeveloped”.

The next meeting of the Malvern Group will be at 7.30 pm on September 4^th, at the Lyttelton Rooms in Church Street. Harry Green will talk about Insect Curiosities of Worcestershire.

Alison, Malvern Local Group

Notable Trees of the Malvern Hills: a Talk by Peter Garner

This was one of those inspiring talks which makes you stop and think; most of us walk on the Hills regularly and think we know them well, but you suddenly realise that there are places you haven’t been, and many things you haven’t noticed.

Peter Garner shared his detailed knowledge of the Hills and the trees which grow there, with humour and great enthusiasm. There are over 50 species of tree on the Hills but Peter chose to describe 20 in the talk, with many beautiful pictures, taken in all seasons of the year. Some interesting facts emerged, for example: mistletoe grows only on non-native trees and hybrids; the only non-poisonous part of a yew tree is the red fleshy fruit; ash dieback disease was less apparent in 2013 than 2012 and is possibly less of a threat than originally thought. 

Black poplar is scarce nationally, but common on Castlemorton Common, although there are only male trees (the females were cut down years ago because the fluffy seed contaminates corn). A few surprises were picked out, like the fig tree in Little Malvern Quarry, the holly with yellow berries, and the whitebeam in the Dingle.

Peter linked his tree knowledge with other wildlife especially birds. The redwings and fieldfares love the crab apples on Westminster Bank, the stock doves like to nest in the black poplars, and the ring ouzel visits one particular rowan tree on North Hill.

The next meeting will be on April 3^rd at 7.30pm at the Lyttelton Rooms. Mike Wilkes will talk about the Wildlife of the Cloud Forest and the Galapagos Islands.

Alison, Malvern Local Group

Amphibians of Worcestershire and Beyond

A talk from Alan Shepherd, Principal Ecologist of Worcestershire Wildlife Consultancy.

Thursday 2nd January 2014.

Sadly, amphibians in the UK are declining in numbers. Alan Shepherd explained that this is largely due to loss of suitable habitat, but there are also prevalent diseases, some of which have been introduced by non-British species, brought in by humans.

In certain areas however, there are still plenty of amphibians inhabiting our ponds. The common frog can still be found in most places, though it is not as common as it used to be. We are all familiar with their spawn and tadpoles; only a tiny percentage of these survive, as almost everything else eats them. The tree frog is probably extinct in Worcestershire now (there were some in the Wyre Forest up to 3 years ago). The common toad is an explosive breeder, laying its eggs in long strings, which are not eaten by fish, because they are toxic. Otters and mink have the knack of skinning the adult toads to avoid the poisons. Natterjack toads live in a few specialised UK sites, but none locally. There are three kinds of newt in the UK: smooth, palmate and great crested, and we were shown the detailed differences between the three. We are lucky to have many great cresteds in Worcestershire, and they are protected by law under the Wildlife and Countryside Act.

Male Palmate Newt © Rosemary Winnall

How can we help our amphibians? We can refrain from dumping our rubbish in or near ponds and streams.  We can take more care over what we pour down the drains. We can dig and maintain ponds in our parks and gardens. Even a small one would soon be inhabited.

The next Malvern Group meeting will be held at the Lyttelton Rooms at 7.30 pm on February 6^th. Rob Allen will talk about South Worcestershire Reserves, including Hollybed Farm Meadows.

Alison, Malvern Local Group

The natural history of Christmas, by Michael Leach.

Michael, a zoologist, wildlife photographer and author, recently made a short TV film on the natural history of Christmas. His researches led to his 27th and latest book and this illustrated talk, in which he examined some of our long-held beliefs about the origins of our Christmas customs.

Robin © Jason Curtis

Every winter we stir puddings, send cards, decorate our homes for Christmas, eat mince pies and Brussels sprouts, but just where do these customs come from? Michael explained why holly and ivy are associated with Christmas, the pre-Christian roots of hanging up mistletoe and that turkeys never did come come from Turkey. He told us why our favourite Christmas bird is the robin and looked at the origin of the Yule log.

Holly and ivy's connection with winter dates back ten thousand years. As they were the only trees in the woodland to retain their leaves it was believed that they harboured the last remnants of the sun and were taken indoors to protect the precious light through the dark winter days.

After the winter solstice the lengthening of the days and the return of the sun were marked by many festivals, the chief of which in Roman times was Saturnalia. This festival was used as a 'cover' by the persecuted early Christians for the celebration of the birth of Jesus on December 25th.

The relatively recent ideal of a white Christmas is believed to originate from Dickens' novels because before he was sixteen, Dickens experienced an unusually high proportion of white Christmases due to climatic conditions at the time.

The Father Christmas legend is thought to have originated in Scandinavia. "All Father" would enter smoke holes in huts and leave food for the people who were struggling through the long, cold winter. Flying reindeer may have resulted from hallucinations caused by the supplementing of a meagre diet with magic mushrooms.

Michael's thoroughly entertaining, topical and thought-provoking talk provided a welcome start to the Christmas season.

The next meeting is on January 2nd at 7.30 pm at the Lyttleton Rooms, when Alan Shepherd will give a talk: Amphibians of Worcestershire and beyond.

Malvern Local Group

Mushrooms and Toadstools

When we arrived at the Lyttelton Rooms on Thursday we were confronted by the most amazing array of fungi laid out on a large table, all beautifully labelled with common and Latin names. Diana Bateman from the Worcestershire Fungus Group then gave us a fascinating and at times humorous talk on fungi in general; her enthusiasm for her subject was infectious.

We all come into contact with fungi every day of our lives, whether we like it or not. Bread contains yeast, even fabric conditioner contains fungal enzymes. Fungi are often useful, breaking down detritus or having beneficial medical effects. Some are edible and some are not; Diana emphasised the importance of being absolutely 100% sure of identification before eating any mushroom! Fungi divide into several distinct groups, for example the amanitas (agarics), the chanterelles, the boletes, puff-balls, and Ascomycetes (including truffles). The fly agaric with its striking red cap and white spots has become the typical mushroom of fairy-tales. Our most poisonous fungus, the deathcap, is also an amanita, and is said to have been the cause of the death of the Emperor Claudius.

In the lively question and answer session which followed, there was much debate why we have rather lost touch with mushrooms in this country, unlike our fellow Europeans who are much more fond of collecting wild mushrooms and eating them. Perhaps it is the connection with witchcraft handed down from medieval times. There is even a theory that ergotism (poisoning caused by the consumption of infected bread) was behind the mass hysteria of the Salem witch trials.

Fly agaric on Peachfield Common, Malvern.

On Chase End Hill and Midsummer Hill at the moment, there are masses of parasol mushrooms, some of them the size of dinner plates. There is a lovely patch of fly agaric on Peachfield Common. Appreciate their beauty  -  and don’t kick them down!

The next meeting of WWT Malvern Group will be on at 7.30 pm on Nov 7^th at the Lyttelton Rooms, when the biking birder, Gary Prescott, will talk about his visits to all the RSPB reserves in Britain.

Alison Uren, Malvern Group

Otters

Dr Daniel Allen gave an extremely informative and thought-provoking talk on otters to the Malvern local group recently.

There are 13 otter species and his particular interest is the relationship between man and otter, which differs markedly around the world. Some communities have discovered that otters can attract tourists to their country while others use tethered otters to help them to catch fish. Traditionally, otters have been valued for their skins and sensitive education is required if this activity is to be reduced.

Daniel's talk concentrated mainly on the one UK species; the British Eurasian otter. He described how our attitudes to the otter have changed over the years. They had traditionally been seen as vermin and there was much organised otter hunting between 1830 and 1880 - this led to the animal being raised for the hunt. Undoubtedly, this kept otter numbers up until the 1960s when the hunting community observed that, probably because of river pollution, numbers were depleted and there was a call to protect them. It was not until 1978 that the otter was designated a protected species in the UK.  Following this, conservation and river clean-up measures have pulled them back from the brink of extinction. Unfortunately, there are now many instances of otters raiding garden ponds and some of the angling fraternity would like otter numbers to be controlled.

Determining the number of otters in the UK is extremely difficult. They are rarely seen and one has to rely on signs such as spraint (poo), fish remains or road kill. Between 1979 and 2010 the number of these signs has increased but because otters can travel 50 – 60 km, even over land, it is difficult to relate signs to individuals without DNA testing. It is estimated that there are around 7000 otters in Scotland and 3000 in England & Wales.

Our next meeting is on September 5th at 7.30 pm, location TBD. Howard Drury will talk about The Wildlife Garden.

Derek, Malvern Local Group

A house, a garden & a village

Beefly

To most of us, insects are just irritating pests but after Bill Indge’s most enthusiastic and enlightening talk his audience was converted. Compared to mammals and birds, insects are relatively easy to find and study but there are around 23,000 species in the UK, many of which don’t have common names. Using excellent photographs, Bill took us through the seasons, concentrating on insects that can be seen in and around Alfrick.

Pied shieldbug

In winter one is mainly limited to studying insects that reside in buildings such as cluster flies, mosquitos, green lacewings, harlequin ladybirds, daddy long legged spiders and silverfish. As the year progresses and the weather warms insects become much more prolific and it is noticeable that certain insects are attracted to particular plants. Hogweed attracts earwigs, thick-kneed flower beetles, soldier beetles and many spiders including the crab spider while nettles are the favourite of moths, aphids, hoverfly larvae, bush crickets and nettle weevils. It has been shown that some plants benefit from the insect’s presence: the teasel produces a greater mass of seed the more insects that it traps. In autumn, insects cause tree galls, particularly on oak, and the horse chestnut leaf miner causes early leaf degradation in those trees as well as smaller seeds (conkers) with poorer germination potential. At this time of year, shield bugs and crickets become more common.

Dung fly

One tends to think that insects have it all their own way but that is far from the truth. Many are parasitised by the larvae of other insects and many suffer from fungal infections, particularly if they cluster together. Insects also provide the main diet of certain bird and mammal species.

The next meeting is on May 2nd at 7.30 pm at Malvern Evangelical Church. Dr Daniel Allen will talk about otters and we look forward to seeing you there.

Derek, Malvern local group

All photos (c) Bill Indge

On the Wild Side

It is easy to get excited about tigers, gorillas and polar bears but has it occurred to you that the wildlife in our cities can be just as enthralling? 

Iain Green has been a wildlife photographer for 15 years and has discovered surprises in the most unexpected places. Most of his talk was about the wildlife to be found in London. A few escaped rose-ringed parakeets in the 1960s have bred happily and there are now estimated to be 10,000 of them in the city. Over Rainham Marsh you can see owls, lapwings, kingfishers, large flocks of black-tailed godwits and even occasionally hoopoes. In Deptford Creek there are grey wagtails, black redstart and thousands of flounder fry in the water. Everyone knows that foxes flourish all over London but did you realise that south London is one of the best places in Europe to find stag beetles? Peregrine falcons nest in tall buildings, including one pair on Charing Cross Hospital. Dolphins, porpoise and seals are often seen in the Thames.

Most amusing of all were Iain’s fabulous photographs of the wildlife to be found in the garden of 10 Downing Street; ducks have nested on the back lawn, two kestrels have made their home on a drainpipe and the fledglings oversee the politics of the nation, a fox regularly passes by the night policeman and takes no notice of him.

The next meeting is on April 4^th at 7.30 pm at Malvern Evangelical Church. Bill Indge will talk about Alfrick, A Village and its Insects. 

Alison, Malvern Local Group

Searching for British orchids

As a welcome break from this winter weather, John Tilt gave us a hint of summer in a most interesting talk, accompanied by some stunning photographs, on his search for the 51 British orchid species. Finding the smaller ones in long grass is no easy matter as some, such as the musk orchid, are only 5 cm tall. However, common spotted orchids can be present in large numbers and the lizard orchid grows to a height of 90 cm.

Orchids are extremely dependent on ground fungi. Their seeds are tiny, like clouds of dust, providing little protein, so specific fungi are necessary for their germination. The widespread use of fungicide in gardens and the countryside has, therefore, been a real threat. Orchids are protected by law but those that are illegally removed rarely survive because of this fungal dependency. In culturing British orchids, Kew Gardens is doing much to ensure that rare species do not become extinct.

Orchids have three petals; the markings on the lower one, the lip, aid identification that otherwise can be very difficult, particularly as some species readily hybridise.  Orchids grow most often in calcareous, flower-rich meadows and, therefore, these meadow-types need protection.

early spider orchid (c) John Tilt

 John described a number of sites around the country, each with its own orchid species. Early purple, common spotted, heath spotted and less common species can be found in Worcestershire at Grafton Wood, Trench Wood, Hipton Hill, Castlemorton Common, Bredon Hill, Big Meadow (Knapp & Papermill) and Eades Meadow. A little further afield are Cleeve Common, Hornsleasow Meadow, Cricklade Hill and Fish Hill. However, the orchid capital of the UK is Kent where the rare lizard and monkey orchids can be found as well as fly, man and lady orchids.

In conclusion, there is much that is not understood about this beautiful plant and more recordings and biological records are needed.

The next meeting of the Malvern Group is at 7.30 pm on Thursday March 7th at Malvern Evangelical Church. Iain Green, wildlife photographer, will give an illustrated talk: On the wild side: from Downing Street to our local high street.  We look forward to seeing you there.

Derek, Malvern Local Group

Mistletoe Miscellany

Apologies for the belated posting of this write up of our December meeting.

Jonathan Briggs, who has studied mistletoe for 30 years, gave a most interesting and amusing talk on this peculiar shrub. There are about 1500 mistletoe species worldwide but his talk concentrated on “our” mistletoe, Viscum album.  It is unusual in that it is a hemi-parasitic, evergreen shrub that grows on deciduous trees; mostly on apple but also on lime, hawthorn and poplar. It is the only native white-berried species in northern Europe. Because it does not grow on the ground, it forms a spherical growth and each branch bifurcates every year to give an exponential growth. It's such a unique shrub and has attracted myth and legend through history. It has pagan associations and is rarely seen in churches although it is common in churchyards.

In the UK, mistletoe is found predominantly in Worcestershire, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Somerset. It grows in much of Europe but is not found in northern countries. England is on its northern edge and it is rare in Scotland. Despite growing in orchard counties, its connection with orchards is in question and its success in these counties may be due to climatic conditions. Mistletoe’s preferred growth areas may be moving to the north and east, perhaps caused by climate change.

Mistletoe (c) Jonathan Briggs

There are only a few birds that will eat the berries: mistlethrush and blackcap are the most common. Blackcaps are the most efficient propagators of the seeds as they don’t eat them but wipe them from their beak onto a branch, from where the seed has a good chance of germinating. Trees are killed if too much mistletoe is allowed to grow on them because the nutrients are diverted away from the host. Its management is important so it is marketed around Christmas time, when there is a strong demand for it and the berries are approaching their best. However, the male non-fruiting shrub should also be removed.

We hope to see you at our next meeting on 7th February when Peter Garner will be talking about Notable Trees of the Malverns.

Derek, Malvern Local Group

A Taste of the Falklands

king penguins

By popular request, the first talk of 2013 was given by the chairman, Margaret Vernon.  A year ago, in January 2012, she was invited by friends to go to the Falkland Islands, where she was promised exceptional experiences of the amazing wildlife there. The collection of photographs and videos shared was truly stunning.

After an 18 hour flight from Brize Norton with the RAF, she landed at Mount Pleasant Airport and immediately started exploring. The bird life is the main attraction of the islands and at that time of the year the resident penguins are joined by many summer visitors including black-browed albatrosses. The white-rumped sandpipers had travelled all the way there from the Arctic, and two-banded plovers, steamer ducks, imperial shags and South American terns were in abundance. 

The penguins are the stars of the show however and there were many amusing close-up pictures of them daring each other to swim, jumping the rocks, feeding their chicks and running around on the white sand beaches. 

rockhopper penguin

A helicopter trip to Bleaker Island led to an encounter with enormous sea lions; dolphins and elephant seals were spotted playing in the sea around Carcass Island. 

Life on the Falklands is tough and basic and the wind howls ceaselessly across the landscape. The San Carlos cemetery is a moving reminder of the war of 1982. Let us hope that the residents of the islands, including the wildlife, will be forever left in peace.

The next talk will be at 7.30 pm on February 7^th at Malvern Evangelical Church. John Tilt will talk about Searching for British Orchids (a change to the published programme). 

Alison, Malvern Local Group

The Magic of Moths

“Butterflies are beautiful but moths are boring”. This is the common perception of moths but how wrong we can be!   The first photograph Patrick Clement showed the Malvern local group on Thursday night was of the emperor moth, bluish-grey on the forewings with bands of white, black and orange, yellow on the underwings, and brilliant black, yellow and blue eyespots on all four wings.

Admittedly, there are some rather boring brown jobs among the moth family, including the clothes moths which are never popular! However, many common moths are very attractive indeed and have equally beautiful names: brimstone, green silver lines, small elephant hawk, lilac beauty, clouded silver, large emerald. All these moths are attracted to lights and can easily be caught in a moth trap. Traps come in various designs but are basically a bright light over a box with a narrow opening; the moths enter the opening and can’t find the way out, so they can be studied the next morning and then released. A treacle mixture smeared on a tree will also attract certain types of moth.

Elephant Hawk-Moth (c) Rosemary Winnall

 All moths and butterflies are Lepidoptera; wings covered with scales being one shared characteristic. It is commonly thought that all moths are nocturnal, but in fact there are many day-flying moths, like the chimney sweeper, humming-bird hawk moth and scarlet tiger. There are about 2,500 species of Lepidoptera in the UK but fewer than 60 of these are butterflies. There are 900 species of macro moth and 1,400 micro moths, some of which can only be distinguished by dissection of the genitalia. In the UK, butterflies have a club tip to their antennae, whereas moths generally have feathered antennae or a simple hair-like structure with no club tip.

Patrick Clement had many stunning photos of rare moths, secretive females with no wings, parasitised caterpillars, micro moths with amazing colours and a few surprises like the barn owl sitting on a moth trap. Even the leaf miners were fascinating, with each species leaving different mine patterns. The evening was a wonderful insight into an under-appreciated world.

The next meeting of the Malvern local group is at 7.30 pm on October 4^th at Malvern Evangelical Church when we can't wait to hear John Robinson will talk about the Natural History of the Wyre Forest. 

Alison Uren, Malvern local group