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16BRISC Recorder News No 109
The honeybee swarm on the gable soffitJuly 2018
BRISC Committee members
Chris McInerny, ChairEmail: [email protected]
Louisa Maddison, SecretaryEmail: [email protected]
Jonathan Willet, TreasurerEmail: [email protected]
Andy Wakelin, Membership &Web managerEmail: [email protected]
Sarah Eno, EditorEmail: [email protected]
Christine Johnston, Scottish NBNLiaison OfficerEmail: [email protected]
Graeme WilsonEmail:[email protected]
Richard WeddleEmail: [email protected]
Kelly Anne DempseyEmail: [email protected]
Sarah Jayne [email protected]
Francesca [email protected]
COPY DEADLINEFOR ISSUE 110
DECEMBER 15TH
Articles are welcomed but alsosnippets of interesting record-ing news and details of events.Anyone who has received anew and relevant book pleaseconsider writing a review forus.
Please send articles in Word orOpen Office format. Photosare welcomed, best as jpegand less than 800kb in size.Please do not embed them inyour text - its quite hard toextract them!
Please send by email to theeditor.
Recorder NewsCONTENTSRecording a Butterfly with
Conservation in mind…………………….p.1Chair & Editor’s columns……………………..p.4When Wildlife finds you……………………….p.5Where’s Wildlife in Ayrshire?……………….p.6BRSC Conference details…………..………..p.8BRISC Bursary report……………………….p.10SBIF Update………………….………………..p.11NBN News.……………………………………..p.11Events and bits……………….…….…………p.15BRISC Committee…………………….………p.16
Conservation in mind
Barry Prater
If you look at the overall distribution inthe UK of the Northern Brown Argus
you’ll see that,although the butterfly occurs in someparts of northern England, it is prima-rily a Scottish species. Dig down furtherinto the detail and it becomes clear thatthe Scottish Borders is a strongholdwith many known sites both along thecoast and scattered inland and everyyear there is a small influx of people
from the south who wish to see thebutterfly.
However, despite this apparently satis-factory situation, the Northern BrownArgus is in trouble and as well being aUK BAP priority species it is on theScottish Biodiversity List and has beena conservation priority for ButterflyConservation for at least the pasttwenty years. The reason? It is indecline mainly through habitat loss.The caterpillars are reliant on CommonRock-rose
as their sole food-plant and this
Northern Brown Argus in its full beauty
Issue No 109 - Sept 2018ISSN 0966-1964
www.brisc.org.ukwww.facebook.com/BriscScotland
Scottish Charity No. SC024418
2BRISC Recorder News No 109
along with other indicators of species-rich grassland. These habitats arevulnerable to over-grazing (especiallyby sheep), enrichment prior to cultiva-tion, scrubbing over from neglect andtree planting.
So, as a start to addressing theseissues, Butterfly Conservation hasembarked on a survey across theBorders which has the initial aim ofassessing the status of currentlyknown colonies – is the butterfly stillthere, how large is the colony, whoowns the site, how is it currentlymanaged, are there any knownthreats, etc?
Every year some of the better-knownsites are visited to check on how thebutterfly is faring but there are manywhich have not been looked atrecently.
While surveys are ideally carried out inweather conditions when the adults
will be active, the brilliant white eggsare laid on the upper surface of theRock-rose leaves and despite their tinysize they are very conspicuous. So it ispossible to confirm the presence of thebutterfly and that it is breeding even in
poor weather.Indeed some sitesare known onlyfrom therecording of theeggs.
The list of targetsites is long – over150 – but duringJune to Augustthis year around20 local volun-teers have visitedmore than 50 sitesand reports arenow coming in.
Although the data have not beencollated so no conclusions can bedrawn at this stage, some interestinginformation is emerging. For examplethe size of colonies is extremely vari-able both in areal extent and apparentpopulation. One extensive Peeblesshiresite had a count of over 100 adults,while a Berwickshire colony with just ahandful of Rock-rose plants squeezedinto a tiny area on a woodland edgestill revealed over 10 eggs although noadult butterflies were recorded.
Several sites appear to be threatenedby either gorse or bracken invasion tothe detriment of the Rock-rose. Whereremedies to this or other problems areclear and practicable then contact has
15BRISC Recorder News No 109
EVENTSButterfly Conservation Trust 10th anniversary and Members DaySaturday October 6th, Conference Centre, BattlebyDetails: www.butterfly-conservation.org
Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI)Scottish Members ConferenceSaturday 3rd November, Royal Botanic Gardens, EdinburghDetails: www.bsbi.org/scotland
Forth Naturalist & HistorianAnnual Conference: The Ochils - A Special PlaceSaturday November 10th. Stirling UniversityDetails: www.fnh.stir.ac.uk/
TWIC (Wildlife Information Centre)Autumn Conference Saturday November 10th at Melrose Corn ExchangeDetails: to follow www.wildlifeinformation.co.uk/recording_conferences.php
NBN Conference - The NBN in a Changing Climatedetails see page 14
Inner Forth Landscape InitiativeStill have several events between now and end of the yearwww.innerforthlandscape.co.uk/
OTHER ITEMS
BCT Identify a Butterfly - online toolwww.butterfly-conservation.org/butterflies/identify-a-butterfly
Royal Botanic Gardens Kew - State of the World’s FungiA report and a fascinating website with wonderful photographswww.kew.org/state-of-the-worlds-fungi
14BRISC Recorder News No 109
We have had some species experts whohave volunteered themselves to review thelists of their species groups against thesenew criteria for which we are very grateful.However, we still need more! To find outwhich species groups we still need toreview, please visit:
nbn.org.uk/news/experts-needed-for-species-groups/
NBN Stakeholder Group – opportunityto get involved
Do you want to play an active part in therunning of the NBN Trust? Are you able touse your individual experience to thinkstrategically?
If so, we still have some places left if youwould like to join our new NBN StakeholderGroup. nbn.org.uk/news/nbn-stakeholder-group-places-left/
If you have already expressed interest inthe Group we will be in touch with youagain in the next couple of months.
NBN Conference 2018 – places arefilling up!
This year’s conference is taking place onWednesday 21 and Thursday 22 Novemberat the Albert Hall in Nottingham. Thetheme is: “The NBN in a Changing Climate”.
Bookings are still open and you can findmore information about the speakers andthe new Network Knowledge Exchangesessions on the NBN website:nbn.org.uk/news-events-publications/nbn-conference-2/nbn-conference-2018/
NBN Trust AGM
The NBN Trust AGM will be held onWednesday 21 November 2018, inNottingham as part of the NBN AnnualConference. The main items for votinginclude:
▪ Confirmation of the NBN TrustAccountants
▪ Voting on NBN Board of Trusteesmembers continuity of service
▪ Special Resolution – amendment tothe Articles of Association.
All members of the National BiodiversityNetwork are eligible to vote except forCorporate Members and NBN Trustees.
For more information on how to vote, visit:nbn.org.uk/news/nbn-trust-agm/
UK Awards for Biological Recordingand Information Sharing 2018
The nominations have now closed and theAward ceremony will take place onWednesday 21 November in Nottingham.
Each of the six Award winners: GilbertWhite Adult, Gilbert White Youth, DavidRobertson Adult, David Robertson Youth,Lynne Farrell Group and Adult Newcomer,will receive their prizes that day.
We are indebted to our sponsors, Opticron,Paramo, the Field Studies Council (FSC),Nature Photographers Ltd, NHBS andBritish Wildlife Publishing.
3BRISC Recorder News No 109
already been made with the landmanager to encourage changes to beput in place.
What happens next? The survey needsto continue at least through 2019,which will hopefully allow the bulk ofthe remaining sites to be visited. Inaddition, some work will be done todiscover new sites – based onexploring areas where Rock-rose hasbeen recorded. This has alreadyhappened to a limited extent in 2018,with some successes. As the surveygets completed a dossier of sites willbe prepared and this will be promotedthrough agencies such as the planningauthority and forestry organisations sothat the information can guide futuredevelopments and avoid the destruc-tion of or damage to Northern BrownArgus colonies.
Conspicuous egg of Northern Brown Argus
So the future has opportunities formore people to contribute to thesurvey work with the prospect ofmaking a real difference for this impor-tant species. For many of us this isthe butterfly of the Scottish Borders.
Editor’s additional note:
The Scottish Borders has a very energeticand friendly Lepidoptera recording group,always happy to share their knowledge.There are excursions, and events as well asconservation projects as described above.We are also trying to keep the long runningButterfly Transect on Murder Moss goingwith volunteers. More are always welcome.
Contact us through Barry above, theeditor orwww.butterfly-conservation.org
A good bank of flowering Rock-rose
4BRISC Recorder News No 109
Chairman’sColumn
Chris McInerny
What an extraordi-narily settled and hot
(even very hot!) period we experiencedduring the spring and summer this yearin Scotland. It will be fascinating to seehow this continental-like weather willinfluence the life cycles of plants,insects, birds, reptiles and otheranimals that we all observe and record.
The 2018 BRISC annual conference isat the Kelvingrove Museum, Glasgowon the 13 October. It will focus on“Recording Urban Wildlife”, and wehave a number of excellent speakers,including presentations by Cath Scott(Glasgow’s grassland water voles),Scott Ferguson (Seven Lochs Volun-teers) Suzanne Burgess (Glasgow’sBuzzing) and Fiona Weir (Connectingcommunities to nature). We have a slotfor short talks by students who havereceived bursaries to attend BRISCsponsored courses. These are always ahighlight.
Please take a look at the fullprogramme and the booking and travelinformation on pages 8-9. There willbe a short Annual General Meetingfollowed by an afternoon of choiceactivities in Kelvingrove Park.
We very much look forward towelcoming you to Glasgow.
Sarah Eno
I apologise for thelack of variedmaterial in thisissue.The summer
has whizzed by and despite best intentionsI have not managed to chase upcontributions. However, I am veryappreciative of articles people havesubmitted, sometimes at the last minute.
One of BRISC’s successful activities is theawarding of small bursaries to assistlearning and development in natural historyrecording. These only happen due to thegenerosity of the donors - the GlasgowNatural History Society (GNHS), ScottishNatural Heritage (SNH), the Malloch Societyand not least, an anonymous donor.
This year nine bursaries were awarded andthe first two reports can be read starting onpages 10 - 12.
I managed some botanical tetrad surveysfor the BSBI Atlas and also couple ofpotential Local Biodiversity Sites as well assurveying the Northern Brown Argus areas,on some of the hottest days. My gardenwildlife has been very visible. Excitedbuzzing at the east end of our house turnedout to be a honey bee swarm which muchto our delight squeezed into the soffitspace. They joined two other insectcolonies already in this gable end - a TreeBumble Bee nest t at the bottom and at thetop was a wasp nest.
BRISC CONFERENCE RAFFLEWe would much appreciate any giftsfor the Raffle to held at theconference.
13BRISC Recorder News No 109
SBIF update at September 2018Christine Johnston
The SBIF Review Working Group hasbeen continuing with preparation of itspaper on recommendations and adetailed business case for the biologicalrecording infrastructure in Scotland.The work is nearing completion andover the last few months the SBIFAdvisory Group has provided commenton the emerging sections. It isexpected that the final document willbe published before the end of 2018.
After publication work will continue oncommunicating the recommendationsand other outputs of the Review to keystakeholders through talks and articles,and invitations to contribute to relevantevents and newsletters are welcome.Development work will also focus onplanning for the next stages which willinclude looking at funding options andidentifying priorities and opportunitiesfor potential early adoption of ourrecommendations.
Details of the Review and all highlightreports and approved papers are sharedpublicly on the Scotland pages of the NBNwebsite:
nbn.org.uk/about-us/where-we-are/in-scotland/the-SBIF-review/
Follow @sb_info_forum on Twitter forinformal news on #SBIFReview and sign upfor the NBN’s monthly Network News forupdates at:
nbn.org.uk/news-events-publications/latest-stories-from-our-network/enews-sign-up/
NBN UpdateSeptember 2018
NBN Atlas Scotland StakeholderEngagement Day
A successful stakeholder engagement daywas held for the NBN Atlas Scotland on 21June at the Battleby Conference Centre,near Perth. Twenty-three stakeholdersfrom across Scotland attended to sharetheir views on the future development anduses of the NBN Atlas Scotland.
As well as listening to three interestingspeakers, everyone worked together tocreate and prioritise a wish-list of around40 development suggestions. The processprompted much discussion, which wasextremely useful. The suggestions willnow be taken to the NBN developmentteam and the NBN Atlas and NBN AtlasScotland steering groups to discuss,prioritise and identify the next steps intaking them forward.nbn.org.uk/news/nbn-atlas-scotland-stakeholder-engagement-day-review/
Experts needed for species groups!
We are pleased to have published the newsensitive species policy for the NBN Atlas.This was written in conjunction with manyNetwork members who have helped toshape and solidify the NBN’s position onthe display of sensitive species, and thecriteria that define them.
12BRISC Recorder News No 109
Bugs’ at FSC Malham Tarn Field Centre,led by Sharon and Peter Flint.
Though aquatic hemiptera are just onegroup of freshwater invertebrates, theyare incredibly diverse. Where before Ihad thought there was simply a lesserwater boatman and a greater waterboatman and that was that, I wasamazed to discover that there are, infact, several species of both which alllook almost identical until examinedunder a microscope! Over the twodays I absorbed a plethora of anatom-ical terminology which had looked likea different language to me before; and
had refined the art of handling andmanoeuvring tiny, delicate bugs under-neath a microscope (almost).
Both the course and my traineeshiphave allowed me to become moreconfident in using biological keys toidentify and to record invertebratespecies. Most importantly I have
learned that it is okay to makemistakes and that not always being
able to get down to species level isperfectly acceptable. Every recordcounts, even if it’s just recording ‘waterboatman’ or ‘dragonfly’!
Throughout the rest of my traineeship,and hopefully in my future roles, I willcontinue to encourage schools andcommunity groups to get involved inbiological recording through citizenscience whether its recording bugs intheir local pond or birds in their backgarden. I will also continue to improvemy own identification skills not only tosatisfy my own curiosity when I spotsomething crawling around in mygarden but so I can confidently recordit as well!
Lesser Water Boatman
5BRISC Recorder News No 109
Sadly, they are a declining species inthe UK, so may not be around for muchlonger, however they can be found inEurope, the Near East and North Africa.
So the moral of the story is keep youreyes open and you you might beamazed by the wildlife that finds you.
For more information seescotlandsnature.blog/2017/05/04/meet-the-secretive-large-velvet-ant/
Or to learn more about velvet ants (andother bees, wasps etc) go to the Bees,Wasps and Ants Recording Society BWARSbwars.com/
When Wildlife Finds YouAndy Wakelin
There I was in July happily watchinglarge red damselfly and common darterwhen a fritillary flew past. “Darkgreen”, I thought, but after taking afew photos, the underwing patternshowed it was a High brown (
)!
Where was I? Kiroughtree forest nearNewton Stewart and about 75 milesfrom the nearest known colony inCumbria. How did it get there? Acci-dental transport, bred and released orjust flew – take your pick. Hopefully,there will be further sightings there inthe next few years.
Six weeks later I was walking in GlenEsk by Loch Lee and as I sat down totie my boot lace I saw what looked likea beetle struggle through the grass infront of me. I grabbed some photosand checked the ID when I got homeand it looked like a large velvet ant(Mutilla europaea). A quick email toNESBReC and the ID was confirmed byDr. Jenni Stockan of the James HuttonInstitute. She had found them in Aber-deenshire in 2017 and they had nobeen seen in Scotland for 30 years.
They are not ants but parasitoid waspspreying mainly on bumblebees andhoneybees. As the females are wing-less they could be mistaken for ants,but the photo shows how much smallera “normal” ant is.
in centre and ‘normal’ antabove
6BRISC Recorder News No 109
Helen Embleton
It’s almost two years since the formerDumfries & Galloway EnvironmentalResources Centre (DGERC), evolvedinto the South West Scotland Environ-mental Information Centre’s (SWSEIC).This was facilitated by the expansion ofthe records centre to include Ayrshirevia the ‘Where’s Wildlife in Ayrshire?’project.
The Project has created a recordscentre in Ayrshire to provide a focalpoint to engage and support localpeople/groups in wildlife recording,undertake data collection/managementand to enable curated data to informenvironmental decision-making.
Since October 2016 we have beenworking hard to engage with local wild-life conservation organisations,recorders and the general public to
raise awareness of the importance ofrecording our wildlife throughoutAyrshire. We have been overwhelmedby the interest in the project, trainingcourses and support we have receivedfrom everyone – a huge thank you toeveryone in our Ayrshire recordingcommunity who have assisted!
During the project we have provideddeveloped a new website, includingonline recording forms. We have alsoprovided 34 training courses to trainapproximately 300 people to recordAyrshire’s fantastic wildlife! Ourcourses have taken us all overAyrshire, we have worked with bothbeginners and very experiencedrecorders to learn more about manydifference species/taxa including:amphibians, reptiles, butterflies, drag-onflies, wildflowers, hoverflies, bats,
Badgers, East Ayrshire (Donnie Briggs)
Adders (John Donaldson)
11BRISC Recorder News No 109
yellow hue with flowers that lookmangled. There were so many timeson the course when I or the others inthe group exclaimed ‘So that’s what itlooks like!’, when we were shown aspecies we’d only ever seen in booksbefore and were confounded by theappearance of the living thing.Attending a course like this is thereforeso useful as a starting point or anadvancement to the next level ofrecording.
Later in summer I’ll be looking for thevarious helleborines and lady’s tresses,species which were not in flower inJune. I’ll first visit known sites forthese to get my eye in by seeing thethings themselves and then keep aneye out for them when I go recordingin future.
And that’s part of the real value ofcourses such as these; as well asshowing me what to look for it hascertainly piqued my enthusiasm forrecording and the provided guidanceover how to submit my records to thecorrect place.
Brilliant BugsJoanna Lindsay
As a TCV Natural Talent trainee workingwith Buglife, I am fascinated by theamazing world of invertebrates! Prior to mytraineeship I had always found the diversityof insects and other inverts trulyextraordinary but I was lacking in depth ofknowledge and basic identification skills forthese groups. Consequently I jumped at thechance spend a year learning from people
at Buglife with the knowledge and skills Idesired to learn.
Although a generalist at heart with a desireto learn something about everything, alarge part of my traineeship is focused onfreshwater invertebrates. I assist with apublic engagement project called‘Marvellous Mud Snails’ which aims to raiseawareness of the rare Pond mud snail
( ) and the importance offreshwater habitats for invertebrates ingeneral.
Over the first few months of the train-eeship my knowledge of freshwaterinvertebrates gradually improved butwhen I was told of the bursaries BRISCwere offering for studying under–recorded groups I knew it would be agreat opportunity to delve deeper andrefine my identification skills.
Thanks to support from BRISC and SNHI was able to attend a weekend courseon ‘Identifying and Recording Water
Water scorpion
10BRISC Recorder News No 109
BRISC PROJECTSBURSARY REPORTS
Wild orchids of ScotlandAnthony McCluskey
In June 2018 I attended thecourse at
Kindrogan, led by Martin Robinson andfunded through a bursary from BRISC.I was already interested in orchids andfelt comfortable with most of thecommon species as well as a few of themore scarce species which are foundclose to where I live in Highland Perth-shire.
One of the key points that I took awayfrom the course is that orchids are apromiscuous bunch with little respect
for the tidy groupings that we call‘species’! Within the spotted orchids,the genus, hybridsbetween species are regularly found.In some cases we can make good,educated guesses of the likely parentspecies, especially when those parentsare still present at the site. Orchids caneven hybridise between genera and onthis trip we found at least one likelycross between a Heath Spotted Orchid,
and HeathFragrant orchid, !Delightfully breaking all the rules.Then there are the sub-species, andMartin showed us several sub-speciesof the Early Marsh Orchid
These need to be seen inreal life to appreciate the colour differ-ences as they are hard to reproduce inbooks.
So where does all this leave myrecording efforts? Thankfully, I feelmore confident and interested inrecording orchids than ever! I don’tfeel put off when I find a plant that
the usual species character-istics. And I now know what to expectwhen looking for some of the rare, orjust under-recorded, species. Indeed,some are most likely vastly under-re-corded. Tiny gems like the LesserTwayblade, , are oftenfound underneath patches of heatherwhere we don’t normally look fororchids. I’ll also now know to lookfor the Coralroot Orchid,
along the banks of lochs andponds; they hardly look like floweringplants at all, being parasitic and there-fore having no leaves, and a sickly
Heath Fragrant Orchid
7BRISC Recorder News No 109
badgers, small mammals, moths, wild-flowers and rocky shore ecology.
We have also created Citizen Scienceprojects specifically designed to appealto anyone with an interest in nature toprovide an easy way to get involved inwildlife recording.
Mobilising old records, collecting andcollating new records has been a hugetask during the project. We have justadded the 100,000th Ayrshire recordinto our database and we still havemany other records to process. Wehave also established data sharing withvarious organisations to help ensurethat our records can be put to best use.
The final three months of the projectwill concentrate on uploading morerecords, promoting and distributing theCitizen Science materials, finalising,publishing and promoting our wildliferecording toolkit for local communities.
We are also planning our end of projectconference will be held in November –further details will be posted veryshortly on the Where’s Wildlife inAyrshire? Facebook page.
Even although our current project willfinish at the end of November 2018,SWSEIC will continue to act as the localenvironmental records centre coveringAyrshire and Dumfries & Galloway andwill collate and share records for thearea.
The project is funded by AyrshireLEADER 2014-2020 Programme, theHeritage Lottery Fund, East AyrshireCouncil, North Ayrshire Council, SouthAyrshire Council.
Keep up to date with as at:
www.facebook.com/whereswildlifeinayrshirewww.facebook.com/swseictwitter.com/wildayrshire
Helen EmbletonWhere’s Wildlife in Ayrshire? ProjectOfficer, South West Scotland Environ-mental Information Centre
Moth trapping at Stevenson Beach LNR
8BRISC Recorder News No 109
BRISC Annual Conference and AGM 2017
Recording Urban WildlifeSaturday 13th October 2018
Kelvingrove Art Gallery, Glasgow, Scotland G3 8AG
Programme
0930-1000 Arrival and registration1000-1005 Chairman's welcome1005-1045 BRISC Bursary talks - 10 minutes each
Anthony McCluskey OrchidsCatherine Cumming LichensLogan Johnson BryophytesGillian Simpson Beetles
1045-1110 Cath Scott (Glasgow City Council) Glasgow’s grasslandwater voles
1110-1130 Tea and Coffee1130-1200 Suzanne Burgess (Buglife) Glasgow’s Buzzing – meadow
creation projects in Scotland1200-1230 Scott Ferguson (Seven Lochs, Glasgow) Seven Lochs
Volunteers - keep counting1230-1245 Fiona Weir (RSPB) Connecting communities to nature -
Giving Nature a Home in Glasgow and Edinburgh1245-1300 Anthony McCluskey (Butterfly Conservation) The Urban
Butterfly Project
1300-1400 Lunch and raffle draw1400-1430 BRISC AGM and update on SBIF1430-1440 Conference close and briefing for field visit1440-1630 Field visit to Kelvingrove Park (RSPB)1630-1700 Depart
9BRISC Recorder News No 109
Aspen identification workshop and citizen science project
RiverLife: Almond & Avon and Eadha Enterprises invite you to attend anaspen identification workshop, natural history presentation and walk at10am on 13th October at Whitburn Community Education Centre(EH47 8EZ) and Blaeberry Woods.
This event marks the beginning of an exciting new project across theAlmond and Avon catchments. The project involves the identification ofAspen stands across the two river catchments, propagation of local Aspenby schools and Scout groups and the planting of native aspen to improveriparian habitat.
At the end of the day you will be allocated a geographical area (at least1km square) to carry out your own Aspen search.
To reserve a place or get more info please contact LukeEmail [email protected] or phone 07907 211199
Costs: Student: £10; member £20; non-member £25.
BOOKING by Eventbrite (its a big help if you can book by 7th October)eventbrite.co.uk/e/recording-urban-wildlife-tickets-47732962576?aff=ebdssbdestsearch or search for BRISC atwww.eventbrite.co.ukor email: [email protected] for other payment options.
TravelSubway: Nearest underground station Kelvinhall. Seehttp://www.spt.co.uk/subway/Trains: Regular services from around Scotland. Seehttps://www.scotrail.co.uk/Buses: regular services from around Scotland. Seehttps://www.travelinescotland.com/buscoach-operators
RAFFLE - please bring something for a prize
