Calderdale Priority Species meeting - 7th March

The next Biodiversity Action Plan Priority Species workshop will be held on Thursday 7^th March at the Mytholmroyd Countryside Office, above the library – please arrive at 7.15pm for drinks ready for a 7.30pm start.

The meeting is open to all with an interest in taking action to conserve Calderdale’s species of conservation concern and will include a round up of progress over the last year and discussion groups to agree plans for 2013.

Please pass on as appropriate.  If you intend to attend , it would be helpful if you would let me know your main interests to help plan the discussion groups.  

I hope to see you there,

Regards,

Hugh

Crocus Sweep Today

The Crocus in question is the Autumn Crocus Crocus nudiflorus. Spring is a good time to search for the patches, as the leaves that come up then are often more prominent than the blooms. Calderdale is particularly well endowed with it, though it is still elusive. This is a patch of leaves that hasn't produced a bloom in autumn in the three years since I found it. It's on the edge of the Ryburn stream, on the left bank, 69 paces down from the footbridge at Kebroyd. The leaves are grass-like, but have a pale central stripe. 

I've produced a booklet for the Halifax Scientific Society  - "The Mystery of the Autumn Crocus".

Old farmsteads around Calderdale often bear long-lapsed invitations to "Teas", often on the stone slab roof, but I've not noticed this one before on a rock by the footbridge at Kebroyd. Looks like there was an arrow underneath the sign.

This Red Fox was hunting in a field, where it might have found worms or small mammals, but it didn't seem to eat anything. It was midday ! Must get a proper camera with manual focus.

The next two are of Rough Hey Wood, near the old railway track to Ripponden/ Rishworth.

They show how holly Ilex aquifolium is colonising rapidly under the oaks Quercus petraea and sycamores Acer pseudoplatanus, as can also be seen in Park Wood, Elland and other places. I think this is just re- balancing of the normal situation, where holly makes a secondary layer. Being evergreen, it can get the sun's energy before the deciduous trees leaf out.

It was probably removed centuries ago to feed stock in winter (they eat it when it's crushed) and to create "greenwoods" where grass was the ground cover, which was grazed. Ref. the title of the poem "Under Milk Wood". Greenwood as a surname was originally confined to Calderdale.

 For fungi seen on the walk see the Calderdale Fungi blog.

Help please

Can anyone recomend a book / map or is there a web site for the Calderdale way..and if any one has done it how long does it take...

Species Updates

Chris Sutcliffe, Calderdale Council's area countryside officer is currently updating species lists of all flora and fauna recorded at the sites listed below.

Ogden Water

Any info on any species in any of the following areas would be very helpful in shaping future management.

Beacon Hill

Beechwood Park

Brackenbed

Cunnery Wood

Long & Scarr Woods

Mixenden/Wheatley Valley

Ogden

Shelf Hall Wood

Snake Hill

Sun Wood, Shelf

Chris would be grateful for any information received.  A simple species only list will be good, but if you can supply dates as well, then that would be a real bonus.

Many thanks

Please reply to   chris.sutcliffe@calderdale.gov.uk

Chris Sutcliffe

Area Countryside Officer

Calderdale Countryside Service

Communities Directorate

Ancient woodland may have lost out

In this blog from the Woodland Trust, it seems in the Government's response to the Forestry Report, Ancient Woodland is not to be allowed to stand in the way of development. http://wtcampaigns.wordpress.com/2013/02/18/thunk-on-the-glass-ceiling/

"The areas of investment will be research in mitigation and compensation…."

It's like Wilfrid Pickles in "Have a Go",  'Give him the money Mabel'  (Only people of a certain age will understand this reference.)

First Butterfly

Things must be stirring;  Tortoiseshell butterfly flew onto our picnic table today at Sunnybank, Todmorden and basked in the sun.

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Not the best photo in the world, but this male Great Spotted Woodpecker visits my garden several times a day to feed on my home-made suet block. 

Pithya vulgaris

Michael Sykes took this picture of the rare fungus Pithya vulgaris, common name "Fir Disco", which was shown at last nights meeting of the Halifax Scientific Society. 

Many thanks Michael

More pictures on our fungi blog  scroll down to 30th January 2013 or direct to the post here.

Hibernating Moth

This moth was found in Shelf on a piece of PLY on Saturday. Any ideas as to species?

Now identified as a Herald.
Thanks Nick.

Read the Government's Forestry Policy Statement

The government has just released its full statement on its response to the independent Forestry Panel report. Just click on the link in this Woodland Trust newsletter.  It makes a good read. http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/en/campaigning/our-campaigns/panel/Pages/forestrypanel.aspx?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=wt_newsletter_feb2013

38degrees.org.uk - online campaign good news

Dear Steve, Yesterday, after months of deliberations – we have the final, official word from the government that they will do what more than half a million of us asked them to – and protect our nation’s forests for good. Congratulations! We’ve really, truly, won. It was a political defeat, and victory for people power they never saw coming. Click here to see how we made it happen, and then share this image on Facebook: https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/forests-timeline-share In late 2010, the government announced a plan to introduce a new law to allow all publicly owned woodlands to be sold off in the future. The government might have expected a few predictable protests, but there was nothing predictable about what happened next. 538,107 people signed the 38 Degrees petition More than 100,000 of us contacted our MPs We funded an independent poll, which found 84% of the public wanted our forests in public hands Thousands raised nearly £60,000 to pay for ads in national newspapers More than 30 local campaigning groups sprung into action around the country Over 220,000 of us helped spread the word on social media When the government finally did admit they got it wrong, they promised to set up an independent forestry panel to advise them on what should be done next. Again, 38 Degrees members sprang into action: 34,000 of us wrote to the panel to tell them what we wanted for our woodlands’ future - more that 80% of all the responses they received We gathered in places all over the England, to take pictures and discuss our ideas A big group of 38 Degrees members brought all our ideas, as well as our top three priorities, to a public meeting with the panel in September 2011 And the Independent Panel on Forestry was critical. They found the government had "greatly undervalued" the benefits woodlands provide for people, nature and the economy. They then called for forest policy to be held in public trust for the entire nation, shielded from political interference – with one member saying, “the tree cycle is wholly different to the electoral cycle.”[1] So here we are today, more than two years after our campaign began – and the government has at last, quietly issued an official announcement confirming that they won't try selling off England's forests again. That means we’ve done it. Our forests are safe, for good. It’s thanks to all the people who fought so hard – including over half a million 38 Degrees members – that our beautiful forests and woodlands are now safe for generations to come. Click here to share the good news, and tell others how people power saved our forests: https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/forests-timeline-share Together we should all feel incredibly proud about the part we played in saving England’s wonderful forests and woodlands. Please forgive the long email – but moments like these don’t happen every day. Again, thank you. David, Hannah, Belinda and the 38 Degrees team P.S: 38 Degrees takes no money from government, political parties or corporations – and with very little budget we hold politicians accountable 365 days each year. If you’d like to make a financial contribution to that, please chip in here: https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/start-your-direct-debit NOTES: [1] The Guardian, “No sell-off of forests, promises Caroline Spelman”: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/jul/04/no-sell-off-forests-spelman

Egg Collector

Keep your eyes open for this fellow.
Terrence Potter from West Yorkshire.
He is a convicted egg collector and you may well see him on your travels. This follows an earlier report on the Bird Blog - we now have his picture.

Link to report and picture here.

The new HS2 rail link and the habitats it will effect!The Wildlife Trusts HS2 report

Help Save The Bees

Bees around the world are dying off and Europe’s food watchdog just said certain pesticides are part of the problem. We’ve got 48 hours before key meetings -- let’s get a 2-million-person swarm to save the bees.Click below to take urgent action now: 

Please sign this petition  HERE   to help save the worlds bees.

Green Woodpecker

One was calling a little in the oakwood below Albert Promenade as I walked up Woodhouse Lane yesterday at dusk.

Heralds in Bare Head tunnel.

Some of the nooks and crannies in the tunnel go back further than arm's length making it impossible to get close to some of the moths with the camera so I was quite happy with this image on full zoom.

The pair below were hibernating above our heads on the ceiling at around 7 feet up.

Meet the Boss!

This is a resident Mandarin duck, Aix galericulata, that lives with a raft of  Mallards. It is a feisty male, that fights for it's share of food, that is usually thrown over by local residents. It has a great personality and definitely thinks he's the ring leader, I just wish he could find a suitable partner. It can be seen on Cragg Brook, below the foot bridge, between The Shoulder of Mutton and Streamside Close, Mytholmroyd, on most days. 

A Tissue,...Triphosa dubitata

I found this today in Bare Head tunnel ,at the top of Shibden Valley,It over winters as an adult in tunnels and caves and this is the first time it has been recorded in calderdale since the early part of last century...also in the tunnel were 12 Herald moths(below).Click on image for a better view..... ,

Help with fungus id

I came across these beauties while walking through Lumbutts Clough this morning but I have no idea what they are. Any help appreciated - thanks.

First Bumble Bee out and skeins of Pink Footed Geese

Charlie Streets reports a bumble bee out on his allotment at Skircoat Green.

Also a massive movement of Pink Footed Geese overhead. All day yesterday and also last Thursday and Friday. As they are mostly going west I think - it's a guess - they are being disturbed on their Norfolk feeding grounds (arable fields) possibly by ploughing or maybe shooting, and are going over to the Lancashire plain for some peace.

First Snowdrop

They say it is about 10C outside and it feels very mild. It's not near any artificial heat source like a house -
Kensington Rd. Halifax.

Twite update for 2012 - good news at the end.

Though only one birder reported a small breeding colony, there were a few passing groups of Twite in small numbers, at Swalesmoor (above Boothtown) and Soil Hill (near Ogden) notably. (per Dave Sutcliffe.)

Swalesmoor is at SE088276 and Soil Hill is at SE077314.

The RSPB did not organise monitoring of breeding colonies using volunteers this year.

Charlotte Weightman, for the RSPB, continued with the reinstatement of flower-rich meadows project in Calderdale, as in previous years, appealing desperately for volunteers to help complete the seeding of the last fields in between the copious rain of this wettest year on record for England and Wales. Well done to Charlotte and her asistants! Sorry I never got round to lending a hand this year.

Male Twite at Rishworth in April 2011. Would  anyone like to  provide a better picture?

Unfortunately the spread of ryegrass monocultures in Calderdale continues. I notice it particularly in the Greetland/ Stainland Dean area, which could be all down to one wildlife-blind farmer. (They often rent fields at distances from their home farm.) Are there any other black-spot areas  for Twite, flowers and insects anyone has noticed ?

I was invited to monitor Moselden Head Quarry by Marshalls (Hx) Ltd for Twite as they were about to resume quarrying. In 7 visits from March to August I confirmed only one singing male on a wire near the entrance to the quarry on 24th April.

The fields over the road from the entrance are planned to be upgraded for flowering plants to help Twite, though they already support a great many dandelions. This land is owned by Marshalls who have consulted Natural England. Several times flocks of up to 40 Carduelis sp. could be seen and heard feeding here in the mist and rain, but were thought to be all Linnets. I did this as a voluntary job for Marshalls.

Numbers built up at one site in Calderdale, (Derby Delph Quarry,) to about 100 Twite in October. This was to feed on niger seed provided for them. They seem to use the site as a pre- and post-breeding gathering area, according to Tim Walker, who provides the seed and monitors birds there. They must have had a pretty OK breeding season, just as the Tree Sparrows did at Jay House lane.

Waxwings in Brighouse

Here is a short film of waxwings in Brighouse today.

Filmed by Chris Burns. LINK to film

Fungi at Newt Corner, Cromwell Bottom

Here are a couple of fungi seen at Newt Corner, Cromwell Bottom on Saturday 15th Dec 2012

This Bracket was smooth underneath.

Possibly Artist's Bracket, Ganoderma applanatum. 

Jelly Ear

Auricularia auricula-judae ?

The palest I have ever seen

(can you see the cat)?

Frost melts

But while it lasted, Michael went out with his camera.

Blake Dean was transformed into a winter wonderland.