Male Eider on Rochdale Canal at Walsden.

Kathy and I had superb views of this beautiful duck this afternoon. (Sunday 2.3.14)   Pictures over on Calderdale Birds Blog. (Link at the top.)

I don't remember any previous records for this species in Calderdale.

A rare grass

Just counted hundreds of last year's now dead plants of Fern Grass Catapodium rigidum at the Copley Valley Development site. It's an annual. Not in Murgatroyd(1994) and considered very rare by Wilmore in the WY Plant Atlas.

It grows in disturbed, calcareous soil and is a very distinctive little grass. I'm happy to show it anyone down there.

There are good pics of it on the New England Wildflower Society website.

A couple of interesting plant sightings

Had a walk around Cromwell Wood and Marshall's yards yesterday.
Finally found the Witches Butter Fungus with its parasitic fungus attached that Alison G and Peachysteve discovered in Calderdale. (See Mycology Blog .)

We also found a self generated Japanese Holly Fern Cyrtomium falcatum at the base of a drystone wall at Southowrham; a good-sized plant a few years old. I've seen this happen once before at Todmorden, when a small plant appeared in wall mortar but didn't survive when transplanted. It is known for "going wild"
in Europe and America.

Something I've never seen is Juniper berries ripen in Calderdale (These are at Barkisland.). There's no wild Juniper here, but many in gardens. The pictures show ripe and unripe berries which I assume will ripen next year if we get another hot period as last year. I've often seen the green berries before, but never the shiny black ones. The nearest wild junipers I've seen are on the Old Man of Coniston Fell in the Lake District.

Is this a fungi?

This lovely raspberry looking fungi is not one I have seen before. It was on a dead branch of a Wych Elm. Can anyone identify it?

Is this statement true?

I have read a book published in 1930, advocating roadside planting of trees and suggesting suitable species, published by Country Life for the "Roads Beautifying Association".

It contains the following statement:- "It must be confessed that the English population is lacking in the primary instincts necessary for the creation and maintenance of agreeable surroundings to a greater extent than any other nation in Western civilisation".

Has anything changed in 84 years?

Foot Note: (posted by Bruce)

Andy C has added this in comments. Thanks Andy - very encouraging!

Look at Andy's LINK

FIGHT WILDLIFE DISEASE

The March edition of Wildlife magazine has an article with the above heading.

www.gardenwildlifehealth.org is the website of a national project run by the Zoological Society of London, BTO, RSPB and Froglife, that monitors wildlife disease outbreaks to help fight future declines.
It has launched the website along with a hotline ( 020 7449 6685)

for us to report dead or ill animals, especially, birds, amphibians, reptiles and hedgehogs. You can fill in a simple form, and in the case of carcasses the project's vet may be in touch to arrange a postmortem examination.

Some of the diseases the GWH researchers are worried about are avian pox in great tits, Trichomonosis in finches and sparrows, lungworm and ringworm in hedgehogs and Chrytridiomycosis in amphibians.

The symptoms can be found on the website where there is also advice about what to do and a map of the disease outbreaks around the country. One thing it asks us to look for is skin blisters on newts in garden ponds, so those of us with ponds and are lucky enough to have newts may want to do this.

Snowdrops 08.02.14

A great photograph taken by Michael.

Petasites fragrans - 07.02.14

Found by Michael.

Winter Heliotrope (Petasites fragrans).

Great News for Swifts in Halifax Town Centre

I suggested to Alex Liddell of LDN Architects that while they were building a new library, they might as well incorporate some Swift nest boxes in the walls. This was last year, and yesterday I heard they are going in !
He is sourcing some from www.swift-conservation.org.

I know the new library project is very unpopular with many library users, but it has been voted on by elected members of the Council and passed, so we have to work from the position we are at.

I had support over the Swift nest boxes from Carole Knowles and Andrew Pitts, senior managers with the Council at the meetings I attend along with other library users. We are called the Library Reference Group.
I also got them to consult Hugh Firman, Conservation Officer.

We are having some native plants among the landscaping and log piles to support invertebrates to encourage a variety of birds.

The library is planned to be ready in 2016.

View from Winding Road.

Projection of the new library built or "wrapped" round the old spire of the Square Chapel that burnt down. Square Chapel Centre for the Arts is on the left and Industrial Museum on the right.

You can view all the projections of the new building in the current library on asking.

Badger lovers see post below (This one is the Society's upcoming events for February.)

Thanks Bruce for flagging up our brilliant speaker Alison Tymon (at the top) who is travelling down from Berwick-upon -Tweed where she now lives to bring us one of her favourite talks with slides. Alison is still very much involved with the Yorkshire Geology Trust.

It will be of interest to gardeners, farmers and developers as well as geologists and naturalists.

Please note, the usual meeting room is needed for Calderdale Election meetings, so by kind arrangement with the library staff we will be in the Children's Library; first right after entering the front door of the Central Library, Northgate, Halifax.

All welcome; our meetings are open to the public, with a voluntary donation to Society funds. (Suggested £2, or £1 members.)
________________________________________________________________________________

February Walk: 22nd Feb at 1.30pm near Hebden Bridge.
Most of our walks and outdoor events are open to the public, but for reasons of conservation this one is for members only. Also to say thank you for being loyal members. Please email or call me on usual number(s) to arrange meeting-up.

Coffee and cake in Hebden Bridge after?

It is an easy walk of about 1 mile round trip along a green lane and through a wood to look at the White Butterbur, Petasites albus; only known from two other sites in Calderdale, and rare in Yorkshire.

It was  not originally a native, but is not invasive, and attractive, if fleeting in its flowering. It looks beautiful in this situation by a rill of water. I photographed it flowering on 3rd March, so given this mild winter, it should be out on this date. (See picture below.)

There is another Butterbur relative, Petasites fragrans, or Winter Heliotrope, even rarer in Yorkshire.
This is possibly still at the point of its introduction by some Victorian gardener at a church opposite the Fire Station at King Cross, Halifax. There has been some car park development, so it may no longer exist here.

It flowers with a gorgeous fragrance, but low to the ground, so is easily missed.

White Butterbur; rare in Yorkshire, three sites only in Calderdale.

PETITION RE BADGER CULLING IN CALDERDALE

http://Www.ipetitions.com/petition/save-calderdale-councils-badgers-from-culling

Badger culling could come to Calderdale!

If you would like this to be avoided please sign the petition and give your opinion to the council.

The culling of badgers is cruel. There are other ways to do this if badgers must be controlled. Science has proved that this is not the way to go. 

The Scientific Society feel that individuals should have the chance to voice their opposition.  Members may have varying views on the cull and by posting this the Society is not voicing the opinion of the Society as a whole.

Walk Report

Last Saturday, 25th January, the Mosses and Liverworts walk went ahead in Hardcastle Crags. There were 5 of us on the walk including an employee of English Nature invited by Johnny Turner, the Brylogist who was leading us. (Johnny has recently been welcomed as a member of Halifax Scientific Society.)

A liverwort - Plagiochila asplenioides

Liverworts were not my favourite plants for many years as a gardener, having to weed them from the compost around plants in pots, until I learned that many of them are as attractive as mosses, and all grow in their own particular habitat. The one above carpets rocks in damp, shady woodland. It needs slightly less acid rocks. I didn't realise how frequent these are in Hardcastle Crags.

The moss - Dicranum majus - the one I find most attractive of the many we saw. This one was at the base of the top dam at Gibson Mill.

Johnny uses common names whenever they exist, for instance Catherine's Moss, which was also there, named after Catherine the Great of Russia, who claimed it was her favourite moss. 

Among birds we saw were the reliable Dipper on the top dam, along with 8 Mallards, which never used to frequent Hardcastle Crags. Perhaps they are trying to escape the mink of lower waters.

At the two Heron's nests high above Midgehole Road I witnessed a change-over on the nest as I walked up from Hebden Bridge, showing that at least one pair are incubating eggs already. 

We passed by a large and beautiful Tsuga, probably Tsuga heterophylla, the Western Hemlock, a conifer from North America, I had never noticed before, at the top side of  Hebden Hey. It was raining heavily by then, so I didn't take a photograph. 

It was a brilliant field meeting despite the rain that came on at the end, and a subject I think many people would get a lot of satisfaction from, with a good introduction as we had, and a little study. 

  

We have just done our annual cleaning of the dozen nestboxes and 2 of them had been occupied by wasp nests. Some of the cells still have emerging (dead) wasps.

Our design of the box shows it is hinged for opening at the front, rather than the top. The box is thus easier to clean and inspect and the top can then be made watertight with roofing felt. Hinged roofs are a phaff to make and can now simply be nailed down.

The front hinge is just a nail at either side of the top of the front 'door'.  The box is loosely hung from a large head nail via a similar size hole at the back of the box. The flange of the nail head stops the box falling, yet the box can easily be lifted off the nail for inspection or repair. The 'door' is held shut by a single protruding nail through the side, in an oversize hole for easy removal by hand.

Help save our Ancient Woodlands

Biodiversity Offsetting: Please sign this petition and help save these irreplaceable woodlands and all the species that live there.

Why is this important?

Our Ancient Woodlands have evolved over hundreds of years and cannot simply be replaced by new plantings of trees, no matter how many trees are planted for every one destroyed in an ancient woodland. Read more and please sign here:-   https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/save-our-ancient-woodlands

Walk to explore Mosses and other Bryophytes in Hardcastle Crags Saturday 25th January

Meet expert Johnny Turner to see new discoveries and follow in the footsteps of the old botanists in this scenic valley long known for its Bryophyte flora. Johnny is a brilliant communicator.

Meet by the warden's hut in the Midgehole top carpark at the bottom of the valley. 10.30 for 10.45. The National Trust charges about £3.50 for parking but there are buses from Hebden Bridge. Donation to HSS welcome, suggested £1 members £2 non-members under 16s free. Bring packed lunch, a damp-proof sitting sheet and dress warmly for a non-strenuous ramble. (Approx. 3 miles.)
A hand lens would enhance the experience and any spares would be greatly appreciated.

Hardcastle Crags

Migrant Bat

http://www.bats.org.uk/news.php/233/tiny_bat_crosses_the_north_sea

Crimsworth Dean 15-01-14

Whilst Peachysteve and I were having a walk through Crimsworth Dean we came across this pair of Mallards which appeared to be asleep and did not make any movement whilst we passed by with the dogs - Basil and Lace. At the time we did not notice that they had one eye open as they were on the far side of the dam and Steve used the zoom on his camera to capture them. Peachysteve mailed me later after doing some research and said that they were in a state of unihemispheric sleep, where one cerebral hemisphere sleeps whilst the other remains alert and this is widespread in birds and in just a few aquatic mammals. This is an evolutionary process that protects birds from predators and aquatic mammals from drowning. 

Hazel catkins

At the weekend I noticed in Todmorden that the Hazel 'lamb's tails' catkins were already opening to shed pollen. Notice also the tiny scarlet female flowers.

Bramblings at Sowerby Bridge

Peachy Steve got these superb shots of a male Brambling in Dodge Royd Wood on 5th January. The flock was feeding on beech mast on towards the Triangle area.

You can see how the the head feathers are black closer to its skin, and will give it the black head in spring when the grey feather tips wear off. This is a common way of changing colour in birds' plumage. It avoids them having to grow a new set of feathers.

A Good walk for the New Year !

Annual New Year Bird Count                             HALIFAX SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY   Est. 1874

         

Wednesday 1^st January 2014  10.30am at  Clay House, West Vale,  Elland.

Approx. 7 miles walk. Muddy and uneven paths in places, through North Dean Woods and, weather permitting, to the Ladstone on Norland Moor. (Recently shown in “Last Tango in Halifax”.)

In 2013 we saw only 14 species of birds due to inclement weather, but we may be luckier this year. Some brief stopping is inevitable to enjoy birds / views, etc. Bring warm gear and provisions.

Contact leader, Steve, on 0771 500 5379 to confirm or email steve.blacksmith@gmail.com

First event of many in our special 140^th year.  Please ask for a complimentary copy of the programme of walks and talks, or see tab at the top of this blog.

Stonechat I found on Norland Moor today.   

Walks and talks  -  suggested donations to HSS funds £2 non-members or £1 members.

RESULT:
We didn't see the Stonechat, Reed Bunting or winter thrushes, but we did get 18 species, four more than last year on 1st Jan 2013.
Some were in the home garden before setting off, and on the way to the meet, but all countable for a day list. These lists just give an idea of bird diversity on a rainy day in winter 2013-2014, and may be interesting in the future.
Five people who attended saw:
Coal Tit
Blue Tit
Great Tit
Chaffinch
Blackbird
Carrion Crow
Magpie
Feral Pigeon
Black-headed Gull
Woodpigeon
Jay
Robin
Grey Wagtail
Dunnock
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Treecreeper
Common Gull
Jackdaw
Mammals: Grey Squirrel(1) Roe Deer(3 together) Rabbit signs.

We completed the planned route, then three of us enjoyed drinks including pints of Wainwright Ale in the Star at Lindwell (Greetland).

Roe Deer barking

Sat here at my laptop at home in Skircoat I heard a repeated, monotonous bark in the dark garden or the wood. At first I thought it was a fox, but it got louder and it didn't sound quite like a fox.

I did a search for "Roe Deer barking" and there is a u-tube clip of one making exactly same noise in the daytime in someone's garden.

There is some danger of male deer being aggressive to people when they are rutting.

It's the male fox that barks. The vixen lets out a blood-curdling scream worse than anything in a horror film!

A female Roe deer from Shibden Valley

First record of a snake skin being picked up in Calderdale - but probably not a native snake.

Readers may remember a while back I posted a picture (below) of a skin a snake had sloughed at Ogden, which was passed on to Hugh Firman who kindly passed it on to me. I sent it to Matt Wilson, a Herpetologist with Manchester Museum, but his disappointing verdict is below.

At least one exotic snake has been photographed by a golfer on the course there. (an American Pine Snake I believe.)

EMAIL FROM MATT.

Hi Steve,

"I received the snake skin in the post today and I've had a chance to have a close look at it. It is very difficult to tell because there is only a small part intact and this is around the ventral scales which doesn't give too much to go on. 

However, it is certainly not an adder, nor do I think it is a grass snake. Adders have very obvious keels on their scales when examined closely and so usually do grass snakes. There is a small chance it could be grass snake because looking at some skins I have from Yorkshire show that not all of the scales are keeled, particular those surrounding the larger belly scales. But I can say with about 90% certainty that it is likely to be some kind of common North American species, likely a large example of a Corn snake. Pity as I was really hoping it would turn out to be an adder.

Still don't rule out adders being up at Ogden. "

Update on new library/ new higher rent for existing library

(Peter below is representative of the Halifax Antiquarians)

Dear Peter and Steve

Just a quick note to update you on the position regarding the meeting room at the new facility and storage of your Societies’ collections.

We have received both of your submissions – for which many thanks. We’ll be taking them forward to the next Project Board which is on Friday 17^th January 2014.

If you have any queries meanwhile please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

I look forward to seeing you both next Thursday for the Reference Group Christmas meet.

Kind regards

Carole

Carole Knowles

Library Services Manager

Communities Directorate

Neighbourhoods

Calderdale MBC

Harlequin ladybirds

I'm not sure whether Harlequin ladybirds are becoming more common in our area but here is a link to an article about a parasitizing wasp. Pity it doesn't explain why the wasp mostly avoids the Harlequin. http://planetearth.nerc.ac.uk/news/story.aspx?id=1563&cookieConsent=A

****** Xmas Social Time ******

I hope as many members as possible will join in with the Xmas Social on Tues 10th December at 7.15pm at the Central Library, Halifax. Any former members or friends looking in are invited too. Please pass this invitation on to friends and family, even if they may not want to join the HSS.

The refreshments are tea and coffee plus delicious cakes, etc bought or home made and kindly brought to share.
At the AGM in November I appealed to have AS MUCH HOME BAKED AS POSSIBLE, rather than bought, to avoid buying palm oil, which can come from palm plantations on newly-felled rainforest land. If you can't bake anything, please feel free to bring your favourite shop-bought goodies.

We need to have a group look at our library, and start some serious thinking about what we need in it. The Council has said that we are likely to have only half the space we have now when the new library is built. This job obviously can't be completed on the night of the Social.

There are displays of items from our collections, table sales for funds, etc.

Looking forward to seeing you there.

Steve,
Chair      :-)