MORE FOOD FOR THOUGHT

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/6108414.stm

http://www.naturenet.net/articles/congreve/index.html

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/wildflowers-bees.html#cr

http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8125000/8125339.stm

http://www.ceh.ac.uk/news/news_archive/2009_news_item_14.html

FOOD FOR THOUGHT!

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/africa/05/10/biodiversity.loss.report/

A Skircoat-found chrysalis

Produced this.
I.d. anybody?
Closest I can get is a species of swift ?
It survived the attentions of the curious fingers of a four year-old granddaughter .

Rhododendron

We may have to get used to a new name for our out of control R. ponticum. A new study says that our 'wild' Rhodo in this country is such a mish mash of hybrids that it should be called Rhododendron x superponticum.

See article http://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/RHS-Publications/Journals/Hanburyana/Hanburyan-issues/Volume-5--June-2011 and click on the 'naturalised rhododendrons' link.

Quote: "Differs from wild R. ponticum in that it is
extremely vigorous and invasive and has a wider range of corolla and
corolla-spot colour".

Soil Hill

A visit to Soil hill this morning produced just a few birds.
3 kestrel
1 Stock dove
3 Skylark, 1 singing
a few mipits. Jackdaw, Crow

Lots of swallow activity at Cock Hill Gate Farm (SE071304).

The top is becoming quite green now, lots of growth,
worth following its progress. The down side is its
becoming even more hazardous to walk over as the
bricks and wire are hidden.
I expected a pond or two, none seen on top, just
water in the ruts and on the path.

Geology Meeting

There will be a meeting of the YGS/WYGT Yorkshire Rock, Fossil and Mineral Day on Saturday September 24th at the National Coal Mining Museum, Wakefield.

West Yorkshire Geology Trust Site link

and National Coal Mining Museum link

We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible on
September 24th.

Document link on this Blog http://calderdale-wildlife.blogspot.com/p/yorkshire-geological-society.html (YGS page)

Regards,

Alison Tymon
Yorkshire Geological Society
West Yorkshire Geology Trust

Walk This Saturday 20th August

SATURDAY AUGUST 20th 2011

Discover rural Lightcliffe and Till Carr with Miss B. Kirk. Meet top of Stoney Lane at 10:30am for a 10:45am start.

Meet at SE139253 Map

What's going on?

A scene in my shed.

Can anybody tell what is happening in this picture. Enlarge to see. A bit blurred - it was a hurried photo.

Amphibius Bistort

Amphibius Bistort (Persicaria amphibia) at Oats Royd NR, Holmfield.

Red Admirals and Peacocks

There were 2 Red admirals and 3 Peacock butterflies together on Buddleia in the garden today. They were all very fresh specimens.

Evening Walk to Highroad Well Moor, Thursday August 11th

There will be an evening walk this Thursday 11th August to Highroad Well Moor.
The walk is easy but uneven. 
Meet at the junction of Vicar Park Road and Paddock Lane, Norton Tower at 6:45 pm for a 7:00 pm start. Easy parking.   Map

Horse Chestnuts

I have seen the damage to Horse Chestnut leaves, caused by the leaf miner, in other parts of the country. The trees look drab as all the leaves turn papery yellow as they are eaten from the inside by the grub.

I can't say I have noticed any problems locally (have you?) until the other day when I noticed a Horse Chestnut in Todmorden with similar blotchy leaf symptoms.

The leaf miner doesn't kill the tree but can severly weaken it and make it more susceptible to the effects of Bleeding Canker, which is killing thousands of HC's in England.

We have lost many Horse Chestnut trees in Tod from this bleeding canker and it could soon become quite a rare species.

This Tuesday's Talk

A reminder that our next talk on AUGUST 9th at the Central Library, Halifax @ 7:15pm

Hugh Warwick, zoologist and author of "A Prickly Affair", recounts his life with hedgehogs. (Book signing session after).

This is a special meeting of the Scientific Society and we expect this to be a well attended evening. Hugh is a national expert on hedgehogs and he is travelling from Oxford to give this talk.

Walk this Thursday August 4th

There will be an evening walk this Thursday to Oats Royd NR, Holmfield.
Meet at the Junction of School Lane and Riley Lane for an easy pleasant walk to this Nature Reserve. We will try to relocate the Helleborine. Easy parking. Meet @ 6:45 pm for a 7:00 pm start. NOTE all evening walks in August will start at 7:00 pm
Parking Map

Yellow Birds Nest

This plant was seen near Todmorden by Michael Sykes.

Sunny Vale

There will be a walk this Thursday to Sunny Vale 28th July 2011 Map

Meet in Halifax Old Road, Hipperholme (the road behind the pet store west of the lights) at 7:15pm for a 7:30 start for a walk to Sunny Vale.

Eight people turned out for the gentle walk around Cromwell Bottom (part way round only) tonight.
The orchid we think is broad leaved helleborine was at its best. There were 11 spikes, from small to about 50cm.
The Yellow Birds Nest (Monotropa) was also flowering and had about 20 spikes. This is a saprophytic plant, containing no green chlorophyll.
The Round leaved Wintergreen was also in full flower.
Unfortunately the Common Twayblade which we have known from there in good quantity at this time of year was not showing at all.

Tree disease getting closer

Following the Phytopthera ramorum (known as Sudden Oak Death) in Rhododendrons at Shibden last year, there has been an outbreak of this tree disease in the Peak district this year.

Today, the Forestry Commission have said 25 acres of Larch trees will have to be felled at Churn Clough on the slopes of Pendle Hill because they have been found to be infected. These are the only outbreaks in England to occur outside the South West and the FC expect more will be found.

Although (so far) our native oaks have not been found suceptible, it seems Bilberry and other heathland plants are at great risk.
Rhododendron ponticum is a sporulating host for this disease and it should be a great worry that our area has lots of this plant. I am surprised the government hasn't made it a priority to fund removal of this pest before the Ramorum affects our moors.

Evening Walk

I am leading a gentle walk to Cromwell Bottom Local Nature Reserve this Thursday 21st July to see whatever we can find, but especially plants. We will be going to Newt Corner, then back via the canal bank, without going round the whole of Brookfoot Loop.

Meet at 7.15 pm for a 7.30 pm start. The walk will be about 1.5 to 2 hours.
Meeting place, the Anglers' Car Park, behind Cromwell House. (Brick building with clock on the Elland-Brighouse road.)

All welcome.

Lister Lane Cemetery (link) Sunday 17th July 2011

There will be a gentle walk to the Lister Lane cemetery, Halifax this Sunday July 17th. This site is packed with wildlife and is open to the public (see link for times). Meet outside Calderdale College, Francis Street at 12 noon until 3pm for a stroll around the site. Easy parking.

Tree Sparrows & Swallows

Still some nesting activity on the barn at Woolrow, Brighouse today.
One bird appeared to be removing a fecal sac, and another seemed to be taking more nesting material in through the gaps in the stonework.
Also a few House Sparrows mingling with the T S's.
Plus, over 50 Swallows were disturbed by a couple of Kestrels hunting nearby.

Cromwell Bottom last week

One of the Mint species

Thanks to Charlie and Philip - these appear to be Nail Galls

Shield Bug, Possibly Pentatoma rufipes ???

Common Spotted Orchid

We had a visit to Cromwell Bottom and found Spotted Orchids and an unidentified plant of the Mint family also the shield bug possibly Pentatoma rufipes, If anyone can confirm or otherwise what species then please let us know, and also what appear to be eggs on leaves - any ideas?

Small Skippers etc

We have dozens of Small Skipper butterflies on our grassland at Sunnybank, Todmorden. Also similar numbers, or more, of Common Blue damselflies in the same habitat.

Also seen a Southern Hawker dragonfly just emerged from pond in same area and its case next to it.

Birds still nesting and new plants turning up.

Found a Dunnock's nest today with four young with their flight feathers about half grown.
It was an easy one to find, on the evidence of both adults leaving the shrub one quite soon after the other. It is a Skimmia bush, very unprickly and near a path. I'd be surprised if they survive the crows and magpies.

Also in the same area, in the garden of a part-built house, a foxes earth dug into the side of a pile of soil which is high with weeds. I had seen a fox slinking away from there last week in the middle of the day. There are cubs about now. A very small one was killed on Wakefield Road at Copley.

In my garden, a juvenile blackcap panicked in my wide-open greenhouse and couldn't find the way out. I caught it with a large net and showed it the door.

Care must be taken about loose-hanging netting in the garden. I had to cut a chunk of netting out with a blue tit tangled in it. It was so badly tangled I had to take it inside and sit at the table and slowly cut it out. This was so it didn't escape from me with net still round its legs.

On the subject of plants, I have been informed that the Yellow Bird's Nest is appearing again near Todmorden Railway Station, the second year it is known to have been there. There is some at Cromwell Bottom LNR as well, and a new orchid species has been shown to me there. We are fairly sure it is Broad-leaved Helleborine, Epipactis helleborine.

Banded Demoiselle

Original message from Mike Stead

I had a great sighting of a Banded Demoiselle today - maybe not that unusual for Calderdale, but the first time that I've been able to make a clear identification !

It was in the long grass opposite the Old Mill pub ,East of Brighouse, next to the Calder.

Mike