2005 - Whitby Naturalists

Whitby 

I{aturalists' 

Club 

@-btthy 

sstffitlists' 

Annual Report 2OO5

CONTENTS 

Officers, Recorders and Committee 

The Chairman's Report 

The Secretary's Report 

The Membership $ecretary's Report 

The Winter Programme Organiser's Report 

The Summer Programme Organiser's Report 

The Coach Organiser's Report 

The Less Mobile Group Report 

The Library Report 

lncome and Expenditure Accounts 

The Treasurerts Report 

The Reptile and Amphibian Report 

The Geological Recorder's Report 

The Mammal Recorder's Report 

The Botanical Recorder's Report 

The Entomology Recorder's Report 

The Archaeological Recorder's Report 

The Ornithological Recordefs Report 

The Sea and Shore Life Recorder's Report 

The Fungi Recorder's Report 

Fungus Foray Report 

Page 

numbers 

2&3 

4 

) 

7 

I 11 

L? 

13 

15 

L6,t7 

18 

L9 

26 

17 

3Z 

36 

44 

45 

49 

55 

58

President 

Vice President 

Chairman 

Vicc-Chairman 

Treasurer 

General Secretary 

Committee Secretary 

Librarian 

Membership Secretary 

WHITBY NATURALISTS' CLIIB 

OFFICERS 

Summer Programme Organiser 

Coach Organiser 

Winter Programme Organiser 

Less Mobile Organisers' 

Herbaria Keeper 

Audiror 

Thc Marquis of Normanby 

Mr. E. Butier 

Mr. E. Addison 

Mrs" S. Mott 

Mrs. E.L.'Wamock 

Mrs. M.A. Cookc 

Mrs. A.S. Smith 

Mrs. J. Dawson 

Mrs. E.I. Hall 

Mrs. L. Smith 

Mr. R. A. Cooke 

Mr. E. Addison 

Mr. &.. Mrs. G. Mott 

Mr. M. J. Yates 

Mr. B.H. Nelson

Retiring in 2C05 

Retinng in 7007 

R.etiring in 2008 

Archaeology 

Botany 

Entomolcgy 

Fungi 

Gcology 

Mammals 

Ornithologv 

Reptilcs &. Arnphibia 

Sca &. Shorc l-ife 

WHITBY NATURAI,ISTS' CLUB 

COMMITTEE 

RECORDERS 

Mrs. A. Brewer 

Mr. H. Hoirnes 

Mrs. R" Clarkson 

Mr. G. Mott 

Miss Iv{. Hugili 

Miss M. Readman 

Mr. A. Pringle 

It4iss C. Neil 

Mr. K. Peacock 

Rev. B lX/iliiams 

Mr. M.j. Yates 

Mrs. M. Anilerson 

Miss lvI. Readman 

Mr. H. Nicholson 

Mr.J.R. Thackrah 

Mr" R.A. Cooke 

Mrs. S" Evans 

Dr. F. Walkcr

THE CHAIRMAN'S REPORT 

I find it very difficult to know what to say in my report, as thc club is 

very fortunate in having a first-class nanagcmcnt team whose 

individuai repofts will cover most aspects of the club's activities in 

2005. I r,vill howcvcr takc this opportunity to thank them on yoi.rr behalf. 

T-he ycar has been sornewhat ciisappointing, as we have experienced a 

drop in nembership. This is a problem {ac-cd by many organisations 

and, more importantly, thc difficulry faced getting nrcmbers tr: take up 

vacancies in the running of the organisatic'rn to which tl'rey belong. It 

is difficuit to recruir .voungcr mcmbcrs to the club and as the average 

age of the members increases we are faced with a drop in numbers for 

our sLrmmer walks. Anv idcas l() rcvcrse this trend would be welcorne. 

Thc ciub wrote to Scarborough Borough Council registering our strong 

objectioru to their proposais to ciose many of the Public Toilets in the 

district, but to no avail despite the public outcry. If only we had the 

temperament of the French whose mass protcst would no doubt have 

forced the council to abandon the idea! 

In conclusion I hope that 2006 wi[I see an increase in the club 

mernbership and mort: support for the summer walks. 

ERIC ADDISON 

CI{AIRMAN

THE SECRETARY'S REPORT 

As this is my first year as sccretary, following Ina Thackrah is a very 

hard act, as shc was secretary fcrr rnany years ancl very efficient. I have 

to say thank you to hcr for her hclp ancl advice in thc handing ovcr. 

Tlre year has been a succes$, as ali officers and committcc memLiers 

have heen very helpf'ul" lvlrs A. Smith, the Minutes Secretary has been 

cspecially helpftrl in compiling th{r committee rneeting mintttes ;rnd 

passing thcm tr-r me. 

The ,,vinter l-ccturcs are being r,vcil attendcd in the new hail and the 

pr':blcm of the lindtcd accommcxla'rion st:cms to i:c solved. We must 

also rcmcnrber our iibrary in the KcnJall Rcx:m is stiil ftrr our use. 

'We compiled and distributed the Summer and \(/inter Prograrnmes 

together this year to help with the distribution, but pcrhaps this was not 

a good idea, as some memt'ers had lost or mislaid their 'Sfinter 

Programmes L,cfore the start of the winter session. 

Oncc again our Annual I-unch was a success enjoyeil ty our memtrers, 

the iunch nexl yeai wili again be at the Priory, Snearon Castle on 

February ZZnd20A6, which will be a two-course event. 

We receive quite a lot of information fiom the "Yorkshire Naturalists 

Union". These are available if anycne lvishes to read them" 'Wc are 

affiliated to many clubs whc put out magazines and thesc are availablc' 

Please see h4argaret Hugill to add -votlr name to rhc lists for distribution' 

Scarborough Borough Council and the North Yorkshire National Park 

have put out cluite a lot of infbrmation on the Biodiversity Plan. These 

are availakrle in paper form for members to read, or they can look at 

them on the internet.

The Annual Report relies on the recorders for the compilation of the 

report, and the recorders rely on members to pass on their observations 

to them. Thank you to all the recorders for their prompt contributions. 

Three members retire from the committee in 2006 - Mrs A. Brewer, 

who has completed three years, Mr H. Holmes and Mrs R. Clarkson 

who travc served only one year, as they stood in to complete twct 

positions lcft vacant. Mr Holmes has also carricd out library assistant 

duties in the summer months. 

To conclude - I have cnjoyed the past year as secretary and the 

company of the membcrs at meetings and on the summer outings. 

A POLITE REMINDDR 

MARGARET COOKE 

Our subscriptions are due as from the 1st January and can be paid at 

the lectures flom the ?th onwards. Last year far too many members 

had to be remindcd rhat their subscriprions were due. Please help the 

Treasuret by paying promptly and help your club as well.

THE MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY'S REPORT 

We now have two hundred and thirty members' 

'iwcnty-two new members havc joincd tn so far this year since thc iast 

rcpOrt. 

Twenty-two have rcsigncd 

wr: are sorry to report that five valucd mcmbers havc died' They were 

Mrs. Joan Cave, Mr. Ken Davies, Mr' Noel ]ameson' Captain Bill 

Lowndes and Mr. C'R' Potter. 

Bill's contributions to the club were very much appreciated, and 

especialtry the walks which he and Paddy arranged for us' Noel rvas 

always a wiliing helper, especially with thc coach outings' 

BETTY HALL

2404 

Ocrober 9d 

October i6'l' 

October 2J"i 

Octobe r 30'h 

November 6't' 

Novernber 1i'r' 

1 a 

i$,vernnel ^rl 

^4u ' 

Novcmbcr 27'l' 

2005 

| 

^'l 

Jrnuirry b'" 

]anuary 15'h 

1^-"^-' ? -)tr'l 

tdtaJ4ty LL 

]anuary 29'h 

February 5"' 

February 12"' 

February 19"i' 

rr I rrni 

fcDruary JJ - 

tsr.hrrr:rr\/ ^.tl /h 

WINTER PROGRAMME ZOA4 _ ZOA5 

The Unseen N4oors liom Dawn to Dusk 

lfiidlife and Farming 

Lesbo-. 

EJihlc rnd Poisoncu5 fungl 

Otters in North Yorkshrre 

$f iidl ife Rehabilitation 

The Contribr.rtiorr of Whitby to thc 

De{bnce of the Reaim !900 - 2003 

Conscr'" m itrn of Biodivcrsiry, 

'WoritlwiJc 

A Taste of Sri Lanka and India 

A Taste of Honey 

Britain's Mountain Flowers 

Dormice in Yorkshire 

Birding in Scandinavia 

A walk up KiLimanjarcr 

Annual General Meeting 

Annuai Lunch, lJot Buffet 

Thc Medievai Town of Vhitby 

Mr. B. Lake 

Mr. j. Harrison 

Mr. A. B. Devitr 

lv{r. C.R. Stephenson 

Miss S. Jay 

Mrs. J. Thorpe 

Mr" J. Harewood 

Mr" K. Smith 

Mr. K. Hurchinson 

Mr. B. Hartley 

Mr. V. Jones 

Mr. G. Oxford 

Dr. I. Gloves 

Mr. P. Lindley 

Mr. J.H" Rushton

THE WINTER PROGRAMME ORGANISER.'S REPORT 

November 77th 2004 was the end of an ela. This was the last lectrtre 

to be held in the Kendall Room. In January we moved into the 

museum's new lecture room with every modern facilify for the lecturers 

and very comfortabie chairs. In addition there was increased capacity. 

The increased capacify was needed as the lectures in the New Year 

wefe very well attended and peopie expresseci their delight with the 

new facilities. 

Arnong the iecturers was an old favourite, Colin Stephenson, who can 

always be relied upon to givc an interesting talk on fungi. Another 

interesting lecture was on Dormice inYorkshire. I believe that this was 

the first tirne we had heard a talk on this anirnal and we leamt of the 

efforts being made to establish it in the Yorkshire Dales. 

In October 2005 wc inrroduced a charge of 50p for attending the 

lecrures, which in the past have been free to members. Half of the fee 

u'ill go to the museum as the club's contribution to the cost of running 

and maintaining the new lecture room. 

As usual I shall be grateful for any offers for 

names of any person or organisations who you 

to give a lecture in the future. 

future lectures or the 

think may be prepared 

EzuC ADDISON

SUMMER PROGRAMME 2OO5 

Malr /'h Full Day. The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust. Richard Cooke 

Start 9. am. 'l7ashington 

May 2 l " Forge Valley Nature Trail Rictrard Cooke 

Down hill walk, approx. J % milcs. 

June 4'b \xy'alk along the ridge fiom Hole of Horcum to Mike Yatcs 

May Moss. 

June 18'h Walk in lvlulgrave'Woods, from skelder car park. Michael Hicks 

July Z"d Ellerburn Banks Nature Reserve to Thornton-le- Mavrs ReadnrarL 

Dale. Approx i miles. 

July 16'h Lyke \Wake Valk A1 71 ro Stony Marl ar-rd back Kim Peacock 

to The Flask Inn. Approx.. 3 Yz rntLes. 

july 30'1' Visit to Duggleby High Barn, Settrington. Two John Harrison 

hour tour offarm corLscrvatiorr., and viewing 

Longhom cattle. 

August 13'h Carlin How to Margrovc, along'fhe Street via Margaret Hugill 

Boosbeck, approx3 % miles 

August 2?'r' Ellerby Moor to Hinderwell, visiting the deserted George Featherstone 

nredieval viilage of Newton Mulgrave. Approx 2 

)/+ lniles 

September 3"r Full Day. Ripon and Newlry Hall Eric Addison 

Start 9 am. 

Septenrber 10'h Mny Br:ck to Falling Foss. Fungus Foray. Mr. Colin 

Recorder of Mycology, Scarborough Field Stephensor.r 

Naturalists' Societv. 

The outing on June 4,h was aitered to Sand-dale to observe Fly Orchids 

10

THE SUMMER PROGRAMME ORGANISER'S REPOtrTT 

Once again the programme was both interesting and varied. Thc 

weather was not "100 per cent" kind to us, lcaving us with some very 

r,ver walkcrs on three occasions. 

A sprecial walk, "Listening to the Nightjar", lvirs also rained oft, much 

tc fhc disappoinrrnent of members. 

Attendance has caused somc conccnl and there was a suggestion to 

reduce the numbcr of r,r'alks. Afrer discussicn in committec ir was 

decideri that the nurnber of walks shoutrd remain unchangerJ. 

I *'ish to express my thanks to the leaders for the input they have 

extended to the programme. 'Wittrout thcm wer could not carry on. 

All that is left fol me is to appeal to our waikers - "{Jse it or we lose it". 

LAURA SN'{ITH

THE COACH ORGANISER'S REPORT 

The summer programme outings, on Saturdays, comprised nine halfdays 

starting at 2.pm. and rwo fuil days srarring at 9 am. The outing 

arranged 1ot 4,t' June was altercd frr:m Hole of Horcum to Thomton-ie- 

Dale. The contract with Coastai and Country Coaches lvas as arranged. 

The programme for 2006 will be as last ycar nine half-days with a 

rnarimum cost of !4 and trvo full days with the cosr [o be arranged. 

I wish tc thankJeanJameson, Margarer Hugill and other club members 

who hclped to makc the programme a success. 

APOLOGY 

ruCI-IARD COOKE 

\fith regrct the proposed Ni.ghtlar Walk arranged for Tuesday July J,r' 

at 8"30 pm. did not take place, due to inclcment weather. 

Fourtcen rnembcrs arrived at tire venue, Harewood Dalc Forest, by 

their- own transport. 

The organised leader did not arrive and the parw was abortecl at 

9.30.pm. 

The committee wishes to apologise. 

IL

THE LESS MOBILE ORGANISER'S REPORT 

gtt June 2005 

Th" firrt ouring of 7a05 - it was a beautiful warm sunny day, and we 

visited Kirkicatham Old Hall, which now houses a museum. Members 

explorerl the rnuseum and grounds prior to taking tea and biscuits in 

the little caf€. It was clisappointing to visit the owls after they had been 

fed, as they were rather lethargic - we agreed we wouid goearlier next 

time. \ile rook some photographs under a shady tree and watched a 

gloup of modern dancers from Durham University, the liveiy music 

"aai"g ro rhe enjoyment of the afternoon. \we then drove to saltburn 

to follo* the tradition of eating ice crearn and a walk along the pier - 

sadly the ice cream kiosk was closed but we rounded off a pleasant 

afternoon, driving home along the coast road in the evening sunshine' 

//"alune20A5 

It was a miserable gioomy

we could see out to sea, whcrc some of thc 'Tall Strips' were heading 

towards \fhitby. They iooked magnificent in full sail. The weather was 

kind all day - arriving back in'Whitby at six o'ciock to find it bathed in 

cvening sunshinc. 

1" September 2005 

Stokesley was our destination for the final trip in 2005. Members 

srrolled round the town in pieasant autumn sunshine. I-Iappily the 

town has kept its traditional cobbied srreets and 'Olde !il'orldc Charm'" 

Cur next stop was Strikcs Garden Centrc and after afternoon tea we 

lookcd at the great variety of plants and shrubs - we were ternpted tcr 

makc purchases. Roger then drove home via Kildaie; the moors were 

at their best, the heather still very colourful, making a perfect end to 

an enjoyable day. 

'We are considering starting at 1.30.pm and perhaps going on longer 

outings next year. .r)fe have a very enthusiastic gloup and we hope it 

will continue for manv vears. 

I4 

GEOFF & SHEILA MOTT-

THE LIBRARIAN'S REPORT 

As usual I spcnt half the year in France aird returned here for the 

winter season. 

The li.brary works largely on a selt-servicc basis, the ke-vs being availahle 

ar the Museum desk and a book providcd ter rccordings of horrowings. 

'T'his method with occasional help from Harold tr-{oimes, or other 

inrcrcstcd Lrersons, kceps tire systern working smoothly. 

In the winter months I spcncl several hours in tire lihrary and this 

enabies me to check the ccnditieirr of L,coks, ciassifi, nr-.w adciitior.rs to 

th,c bookcase and h,ring any paper work up tc date, 

I-ast wintcr with the help of Mike, rny husband, I started to check our 

Archivc Collection against the Catalogue ' this is a sior,v job and 

hopefully will be finishcd this rvinter:. First results were very ericouraging 

- nothing rnissing, but some additional itcrns needing to bc added 

to tlic catalogue. 

trt is very easy to overlook our bookcase now we use the new iecture 

roorn. if you are interested in rir-rr lccturcs I can guilrantee you would 

find something to interest you in our collectii:n" Piease use itl 

Assisiant Lihrarian's R eport 

IEAN DA\fSO]"] 

We havc a wonderful iibrary of i:ooks ranging flom Archaeology to 

Zootrogy to suit all tastes, trut they are very nruch undei-used. Theretore 

I would iike to suggest that every member makes that extra effort 

tt-. check *'hat we have in their p;rrticular interest and takes out at icast 

one hook (and hopefully rnore) be{i-rre the next report becotnes dur:. 

HAROLD HOI-MES

WHITBY NATURALISTS' CLUB 

INCOME ACCOUNTS -YEAR ENDING 3i.10.2005 

2004 

g316.rz. 

t1070.00. 

t5.00. 

f,546.44. 

s54.00. 

Balance in Bank 

Subscriptions 

Donations 

Lunchcon Tickcts 

Raffle 

Door Collection 

Transfer from Halifax 

Cheque not cleared 

Credit 

Income 

Expenses 

Halifax Account 

Balance on 31.10.04 

Interest after Tax 

Transfer to Nat.'W'est Bank on 30.06.05 

Interest on closing account 

16 

2005 

t358.14. 

f i 154.00. 

951.00. 

r566.00. 

t46.00. 

L7r.55. 

f,t697.4r. 

s3939.r4. 

530.00. 

f,30.20. 

s3999.30. 

Lr772.30. 

L77Z7.AA. 

91661.31. 

L70.66 

51681.97 

f,ra.44 

Lr697.4r.

WHITBY NATTIRALISTS' CLUB 

EXPENDITURE ACCOUNTS -YEAR ENDING 31.10.2005 

zoa4 

[219.00" 

LZn.7A 

194.t7. 

f,14.05. 

t280.00. 

f,115.50. 

f,80.00. 

f,47..81. 

i450.00. 

t4.80 

Subscriptions to kindred bodies 

Printing of Annual Report 

Printing of Sumrner and Winter 

Programmes 

Photo coplrng 

L.ecture Fees 

lnsurance 

Christmas Gratuities to Museum Staff 

Stationery and Sundries 

Sneaton Castle Luncheon 

including one guest 

Rebate on luncheon tici

THE TREASURERS REPORT 

As rhis is my last reporf as Treasurer, I would like to thank ail of{icers 

and committcc membcrs for their support over the thirteen years. I am 

pleascd to bc able to say that Mr" Owcn Marshall has agrced to take 

over. 

'We h:rve had:r successful ycar on the whole, unfortunateiy the summer 

outings got in thc red, tlie bal:rnce coming out of the ftlnds. 

ir was agreed at the committee meeting that we put all monies into one 

bank. Thc secrctary and myself went :lnd opened a savings account at 

t1-re National Westminstcr Bank, transferring fl,500 from the current 

account. As yet I have nLtt received the paying in hook. 

'We have a good balance to start off a new year with. 

My gratefui thanks to Mr. Nelson for auditing the books. 

l8 

EFFIE \I/ARNOCK

THE REPTILES AND AMPHIBIA RECORDERS REPORT 

INTRODUCTION. 

This is my first report and I have much to [eam' 

I volunteered for the job towards the e1d o{ 7004 for three reasons' 

Firstly, I have always liked crecpy crawlies ald slithery animals and it 

seemed a good opportunity to leam more about them' 

Secondly, there are very few native British species of either reptiles or 

amphibia (crnly six of each) so it strouldn't be roo difficuit to mug up 

r:n rhe subject. 

Thirdly, in 2004 I encounrered b,oth frogs and siclw worms in our own 

garcien, and saw common li.zarCs sunbathi.ng for rny first dme in 

Lngland. Thc lizards were ar Fen Bog in Norfol.k. One of the frogs rvas 

,*i^*1r1g in our downstairs loo and was rescued just i1 time: I have 

no iilea how it got there! I have seen slow worms occasionally in the 

garden in the 26 ycars we have lived here. We usually spot them when 

we

undisturbed or unridy parts of the garden such as an r:ld-fashioned 

ssmpost heap or wood pilc. Skrw worms' prey includes smali slugs :rnd 

they do no damage to thc garden and are of course non-poison6us. I 

h:rve ireard tl-r:rt, as they are caten bv hedgehogs, You wiii not have both 

in your garden at tftc samc tiine. I wouid be glad if any one couid 

confirm or deny this. They are r:ften beautifully coloured, brown, 

copper or gold and very shiny. The young have iongitudinal dark 

srripes along the sides of their body, which femaies oftel keep into 

adulthood. I had the misfortune to injure a slow worill oncc with the 

iawn mower arid I felt a terriblc sensc of dcsclation to see its coiours 

and brightness fade as it diecl" 

The common of viviparous lizard (laccna viwipara) is widcsprcrd on 

the rnocrrs in our area but is iess likely to be for-rnd in girrdens' They are 

srnali (only about 6 inches or less) and vely secretive as well as fast' so 

rhat often only one pefson of the party on a waik will catch a fleeting 

giimpse. Their colour and pattern is variable. Most animatrs are 

basicallv brown but occasional individuals arc yellclw or greenish or 

black. The young are always dark brown. C)ccasionally people mistake 

a newt in its dry phase for a common lizard btrt, so long as you are 

carcfui of that mistake, if you report "a ltzard" (unless it is a young 

escaped crocodile) I wiil log it as iaccrta vivipara. 

The adder (viperaberus) is kn6wn ro inhabit the moors and I think we 

are priviieged to havc it. I will not describe it as it is so weil kno"rryt 

exccpt to say that wiriie the textbooks say it is up toZ feet long most of 

the oncs I have seen are srnaller than that. 'fhey yery rarely come into 

gardens and although they are poisonous they seldom bite humans. 

The grass snake (nrttrix ntttrix) is the only other native snake but it is 

said to be rare norlh of the Midlands" I have never seen one in the wild. 

It is larger than the addcr (dependlng on age of course) and spenrJs 

rnost of its time in or around water. it is not poisonous and its favourite 

prcy specics are frcrgs and toads. It is very fast moving and you are 

ZO

unlikely to see one but please tell me if you do. It usually has a yellow 

or white mark on its neck. If you get close enough to see, it has round 

irises while the adder (and all other poisonous European snakes) have 

siit irises like a car. 

Any other snakes must be escaped or abandoned pets or zoo animals! 

IvfEMBERS' REPORTS OF REPTILES 

Slow worms. A siow worm was reported at Ellerbum Banks Nature 

treserve, Thomtondale in june. 

A large slow worm was seen at the bottom of Firz steps on the Ruswarp 

trod in August. 

Slow worms, including young were also reported to be living in a garden 

in Sandsend. 

Common lizards, A dark green lizard was seen on a rack near Danby 

on a warm day in May. 

In early June another lizard described as "green" was seen at Fen Bog. 

In mid-June a more brownish lizard was seen by one (only) member of 

the party on the Naturalists'rvalk to Mulgrave Woods. This was orx the 

gorse heath at the beginning of the walk before we reached woodland. 

On the same weckend at least seven were counted together beside the 

uid raiiway line at Sandsend on a Yorkshire Naturalists'Union outing. 

In August alb,ard was seen on moors near Hutton-le-Hoie. 

Adders. A dead adder was seen squashed on a track near Glaisdale in 

r:atly Junc. 

Also during June mcmbcrs of the botany group saw two adders at Pond 

Hill near the Flask Inn. A single adder on Fylingdales moor and tn'o at 

'Wheeldale moor were also reported. 

Gmss snakes. None was reported.

GENERAL INFORMATION ON AMPHIBIA' 

One specie of frog, tw6 spccies of toads and three of newts are native 

tu moinland Britain. In addition, there are some colonies of water 

frggs (edible and marsh frogs) in the Soutfi of Engiand, which were 

introiluced cluring the iast ccntury. They are spreading slowly but I do 

not expect to have reports t-'f them in Yorkshire for rnany years' 

The cornmon frog (rma tempornria) ts classified as a "ttror.vn frog", 

one of eight brown iiogs in Europc. Actually they are verry variable in 

colour and grey, olivc, grcel, veltrow and white may be fould as well 

as bri.rwn. They are often spcttted with dark pigment and their 

undersides may be orange, yell6w or white. They usually hibernatc 

and breed in water but spend much of thc rest of the year on dry land, 

which is why they are ais6 ctrassificd as 'terrestrial frtlgs". They afe easy 

to conf,rse with othcr species of brown frog but as nonc of the othcrs 

arc narive to Britain I can safely log all repofts of frogs as fal1n 

temporaria. 

The cornmon road (bufo bufa) .If you only get a glimpse of the anirnal 

it is easy to coufuse a ficig and a toad: rhey are about the same size and 

rhe colouring lies within a similar rangc of variation. Points of 

diffbrence to look for include the well knowr, knobbly or warty skin of 

rhe toad. A toad's skin still /eels soft though. A toad's back legs are 

slightly shorter than a fr6g's which causes it to walk more than hop 

(akhough they can and do hop). Thcy hunt at nigirt and often spend 

rire day hiding in

i shall not describe newts as I am sure il is not rrcccssary. We have 

three species, the common or smooth newt (crlrurus uulgdris), the 

northern crested newt (rrdCurus cristatus), which is the largest of the 

three and rare, and the paimate newt (triatrws helveticus). The 

palmate is the smallest of the three bur difficult to tell at a glance fi:om 

the srnooth newt. As they are iess likely tc' occut than smooth newts 

in our area I shall assume that reports of "newts" are of smcoth nelvts 

unless yoli specifi/ one Of rhe gttrers. Af rimes of the year when ncwts 

are living on dry laml their skin is dry and trfien described as velvcty. 

Pcgple whc, expect nc$'ts to be alwavs wet maY thcn think thel' have 

encountered a different animai such as a lizard. 

MEMBERS' REPORTS OF AMPHIBIA. 

Frogs. Frogs are tire earliest of our amprhibia to breed every spring and 

scveral mem-bers reporterl hogs in ponr.ls in February' There were 

breeding frogs in a plncl in Sieights on the 1l"t'. They wt3le not ail seer, 

to be mating so carly .hut I lnderstand that the males arrivc first in 

ponds and they may havc been waiting for females to arrive' If ycu 

remember we had some mild weather {bllowed by an extrerrrely colci 

spell from the 1?,r' ro the 25*' of Fcbruary during which the frogs 

disappeared. On thc 26,n between 20 and 30 were reported in the pond 

near the old allotments near Mayfield rohd, behind the new trcruses. I 

counted at least 50 there on March 7'r'. Some desultory mating behaviour 

was appafent. Thcy werc all a dark oliveArorrrrrish color.rr' Not all 

trogs were seen in ponds even in the spring: one member repe''rted a 

distincdy "green" frcg sitting crn a galden path in Whitby" 

After mating frogs leave the ponds and can be scen almost anywhere. 

An adult was seen in a pond in Aislaby in May and on the same date 

onc was aiso seen in a garden in the West Cliff area of \ilhitb,v. InJune 

one was seen bv somc membels on one of the club walks in woodland 

(Muigrave woods). Also in late June I saw a small adult frog at the 

lrottcim of a clear stteam on the rnoors between Littlcbeck and the 

main road (A 169). It was very paie, almost white in colour and lay still 

with all its limbs splayed out. I thought it was dead but it moved ofl 

fast enough when distr-rrbed.

In late August during an evening of torrential rain after dry weather I 

was in Fry.rp Dale and as darkness fell largc numbers of frogs and toads 

appeared on the road. 

Toads. I assumc all reports arc of the common toad. Toads brced 

slightly later in the spring rhan frogs and I understand that times are 

earlier in the south. I saw many rather small olive green toads in ponds 

in Northern Francc in rnid-March and a month later in mid-April a 

pond in Goathland was reporred to he "full of toads". The French 

roads at least were completely fearless of humans and could be photo' 

graphed and even picked up. They were male corrrmon toads; I saw no 

females. h,{aies spcnc{ three or more weeks in the breeding ponds but 

females mate, iay their eggs and leave after only a few days. 

Two toads wcre rcportcd to have made a home in a pile of turves in a 

garden in'S7atcrstead Avenue in April. A toad was reported in a 

garden in lburndale and was identiiied as a toad because it appeared to 

be livi.ng in a permanent home during the summer. 

During August in the downpcur referred to above toacls appeared first 

in the rain but I think by the time darkness fell they were outnumbered 

by frogs. 

Newts. A smooth newt "ilias seen in a nond in Aislabv. 

CONCLUSIONS. 

Our repriics and amphibians are all small and hard to see. I am surc 

rnany nrorc arc living among us than have been reported; for example 

for mairy years the club has had reports of toads in the old gas works 

ponds but I was unable to verifu their existence this year. I bet they 

were stili there though. 

It is as important to know of a lack of animals where they used to be as 

i.t is to have reports of sightings. For this reason I have to mcntion lwo 

cases of failure in frog devek-ipment. In a garden in the'$Uest Cliff area, 

where frogs usually brccd successfully, frogspalvn harched but later all 

tadpoles inexpiicably died. The second case occuned in our chairman's 

)4

gafden in slcights, where radpoles remaincd undeveloped al1 summer 

aod .,,-,t until October did a few of them develop itrto frogs. I can offcr 

no explanation and know of no precedent for ti-ris; perhaps anothcr 

mernber can help. 

I hope X can persuade more mernbers t1; repolt sightings of rcptile s and 

rrnphibio. I am sure therc must hre rnorc than one newt in North 

Yorkshire! 

If reporteC sightings Co incrcase ilcxt ye;ir (ptreasc make an effort!) it 

will nct mean that mrmbers of animals have necessari-ly increased but 

it wili be interesting to l1ote the hahitars of varicrus com"mon creiltures 

anri important to notc any disastcrs as weti as reccrding the existence 

of ;rny rarities. 

SUE EVANS

THE GEOLOGICAL RECORDER'S REPORT 

Nodules And All That 

The grey nodules (morc properly called concretions) that we find 

sticking out of the Jurassic clifrs that buttress Whitby are often rhc 

source of our best fossils. If we look up at the sea cliffs we can see bands 

of thesc oval grey shapes running alorig the exposure. These nclduie 

beds must extend some distancc inland, for they formed on the floor o{ 

the vanished Tethys Ocean in the da-vs before the Atlantic and North 

Sca were rwinkles in the Earth's eye. 

Thc Tethys was a wann sea, for it once occupied that part of the globe 

whcre the Indian Ocean now sits: the continents which bordered the 

Tcthys have also brokcn up and re-formed into what we have today. 

Somc scraps of the Tethys rcm:lin; The Black Sea, The Caspian and 

the Aral Sca are all said to be remnants. But I wander ofr the pointl 

Concretions build when elements set free by thc decay of organic 

matter react rvith minerals in the deposited mud of the sea floor. 

Layers of new compounds grow .slowly around the organic 'seed'. The 

'seed' may be a chunky ammonite or a group of trny molluscs or a mere 

scrap of she1l and flesh. Usually it is the hydrogen sulphide set free from 

decaying proteins which, by reacting with free ferric ions in the warer, 

begin to form thc concretion. The nodule will continue to grow until 

the right chemistry is availablc. Eventually that layer of seafloor will be 

buried and subjecred to pressurc. Fossils which havc not given rise to 

nodule growth will be crushed flat whilst those fossils within nodules 

are protected because of the great hardness of the concretion. 

Cliff erosion drops them onttl the shore; the sea wears thenr down and 

brcaks them open so that we find thcrn in various statcs of decay 

scattered around our feet; we pick thcm up, tum ttrem over and over 

and may notice the trace of a fossil. They are heavy because they are 

rich in Iron Pyrites. Strike them with a hammer and you might smell 

LO

sulphur. Bc very carcful if you decide ro open one, for shards will fly off 

which are razor sharp and as hard as steel; you must have eye 

protection. They are best opened {}om the narrow end. The chance o{ 

frnding a decent fossil in a nodule? Open ren and you may get onel 

THE h4Ah,{MAi. RECORDERS REPORT 

FIARRY NICF{OLSON 

In August this year I paici a rzisit to the Otter Trust at Bowes' ncat 

Bamaril Castle and it was very reassuring to hear about thc work of th;.s 

organisaricn, which breeds British otters regularly in captivity and 

releases the young animais into the wild every year to save the o[ter 

from extinction. Over a hundred have been sct frce at this centre and 

ttre other centres in Suffolk and Cornrvatrl. The Trust works closely 

with English Nature and certain County \fildlife Trusts' Pubiic 

sripport has been growing for any iegislation likely to plotect otters and 

othlr wetland wildlife; and much invaluable work is undertaken with 

young visitors about thc conservation of otters and all wildlife associaterl 

with tvetlands and other areas on the iive wlldlife feserves u'hich 

the Trust operates. The initial breeding programmcs have to be 

carefully ilevcioped, taking into account suitable sites and the lengthy 

perioel to buikl up stocks which is a consequencc of the ottet's low rate 

of reprod.rction common in many carnivores at the top of their food 

chain" Juvenile mortaliry can he high in the wild. Each litter is up to 

three cubs so the maximurn potendal is probably six cubs per bitch. 

The cubs grow slowly in the holt and are fed there by thc fernaie. At 

ren weeks rhe cubs begin to follow their mother and to play rough and 

tumble games. At this stage thcy are eating fish regularly but continuc 

to suckle unril they are three months o[d. The otter is rather a silent 

animai, atthough it can make a varieqr of noises, of which the most 

well-known is thc so-called wl-ristle, an ultra high-pitched squeak 

which carries a long way and which is a contact cail.

Preparations for a successful relcasc include the insertion of a tiny 

AVID microchip under the skin 3f each otter dcstined to be set free. 

Each of these chips has an individual number to keep a chcck on the 

6tters' movements. Their habitat is closely monitored and checks are 

made on modern farming methods to avoid any site damage' 

As the Mammai Trust reported earlicr this year, since 1995 otter 

numbers have becn increasing but the salne cannot be said for the 

Wiler Vole (also kngwn as rhe W'ater Rat), which is the UK's most 

rapidly declining mammal. Its disappeararrce fiom rivers and canals 

has been blarned gn agricultural intensi{ication and hunting try 

American rnink. J'ire Trust has callecl for a fu1l protectrion of the 

species, identificd by tlreir {urry tails and srnaller eyes atrd ears than 

orclinary rats, and they are trelieved to have declined hy 95"h since the 

early nineties. 

Bafiger numbers have also been increasing according t0 the Mammal 

f'rust. However the Norrh Riding Badger Group reported in April that 

there had been "a suddcn incrcase in road casualdes on just about 

every main road in'Whitby" during the preceding month. 'fhe same 

newsietter reported badgers as 'under shed squatters'. The reporf 

continued, "tffhy do lone, displacecl badgers always burrow under 

sheds in people's gardens? Is rhis purely a'lThitby phenomenonJ (Jne 

such case was a fellow we thought we'had exorcised last year when wc 

(with thc green light from DEFRA) had closed a sub-shed-sett with 

some large paving slabs. Howcver severatr weeks ago we had a cail fiom 

Che householder to repoft that a new entrance had been established 

frcrn another posirion. It must be a pretcy good site from the badger's 

point of view." 

It is pleasing to note that the Mammal Trust is campaigning for the 

pine marten - Britain's second lalest carnivore after the i,vildcat - to be 

given a higher pri6rity rhan its current Species of Conservation 

Concern statls. There were leports in 2004 that the elusive tree-top 

anirnal might havc returned to the North Yorkshirc Moors a{ter some 

sightings were reported. In February this year the Tmst erected nesting 

boxes and ser up baitcd rubes to catch hair, which would later bc DNA 

28

analysed to confirm thcir plesence in the area. '!(/c await pttsitive 

developments. 

I am very hnppy to repoff that the folkrwing mammal species have been 

sighted during the year and grateftrl thanks are due to all rnembers who 

have handed in records during tirc ycar. 

BA.DGER (Meles meles) one dcad on bcrrch at Sanilsendt4lI0l04; ane 

dead on Pickering-lWhitby road near Holc of Horcum 1/5; a yourlg one 

tcund drorvned in a water butr in a garden on Frospcct ttrlIl2T 16; twtt 

tound dead ncar the ald gasr,vorks hy the River Esk in June (possibly 

dehrldrated); one dead on thc side of thc road between the Flask Imr 

and Pcrnrl I{i118/?; onc iiead young on tire Littlebeck-Ugglebarnby road 

24n. 

One in Iburndale garden iooking for food 4/1; male and fcmale secn in 

Sleights back garCen eating sandwiches 7 17; badgers reported in cliff 

face opposite Mooriands and also seen'attacking garclens' on various 

dates in September. 

BANK VOIE (Clethnonamys glareolas) circa twenty in garden in 

Sler.ghts, had been trapped and thcn releascd . mid-Octobcr to mid- 

Ntrvembcr 2404. 

BAT (species not identificd) reportcd in garden in '$7est Cliff A-"enue 

Sfhitby 31/7. 

BRO$'tl FIARE (Ixpus capensis) one sighted near Egton 70ft4104; 

one ncar Goldsbororryh 2U2. 

DEER (species nor identified) one at Foss Plantation 7314; two on the 

grass top of West Chf{ 116; one in field between Garden Centre and 

CasrbZ717. 

FALLOW DEER (Dwnadwr,a) two in field near Eskdale Gates Farm, 

Slcights 1lfilA4; and two in Muigrave Woods tr52.

FIELD VOIE (Microtus dgresris) one dead near Danby 2313' 

FOX (Vulp es vulpes) one by 'Ioli House on Thc Carrs, Sleights IT III; 

one dead on road by tsar Farm, Saltersgate 29lll; one crossing Blue 

Bank ncar Littlebcck julction 25112; one in Newton Muigrave woods 

13i1: one dead on Scarbgrough road 2116; one dead on Glisbgrough 

road2216. 

GREY SQUIRREL (Sciurus curolw-rcnsia) one crossing road on The 

Carrs, Briggswath lTlIIN4; eleven in woods at Falling Foss, 13/1; 

group in oak tree in garden in Coach Road, Sleights 1419. 

HEDGEH OG {Erinareus euro[saeus) dead onc on road in Sleights 3i5; 

two in carr Hill Lane, Sleights 1716; one in garden in carr Hili Lane, 

Sleights 2Bl5; one dead on road side at Egton Bridge 517;baby hedgehog 

near Staithes 13/B; one live and one dead by Sleights Post Office 

16ftata5. 

}{OUSE MOUSE (Musmusculzs) ten in trap at house in Coach Road, 

Sieights 315;over two dozen caught throughout the ycar in trap in 

house in Carr Hili Lane ,Sleights. 

OTTER (Lutralutra) one seen playing on the boulders near Saltwick 

Nab 1?/10104; one sccn on pa\remcnt on The Carrs near Ruswarp 2518" 

PIPISTRELLE BAT (Pipistrellus pipistrellus) three seen flying near 

house on Birch Avenue, Slei"qhts 4/8. 

PYGMY SHREW (Sorex minutus) one caught in a mousetrap at The 

Batts, Bogg Hall, Whitby 9/8. 

RABBIT (Orycnlag.ts umicalus) one approachrng Lealholm on road 

frorn Houlsyke 815; one on hillside near WheeLdale 1415; two on 

Wheeldale High Moor 1715; six seen in Upper Esk Valley 2319.

Bittcrcress should be called 'Popprng Cress' because as a weed in my 

garden the seedpods explode as I pull the planr up and scatter the seeds 

far and wide ready for next year. 

On the same walk in Forge Valley, we passed the ruins of Ayton Castlc 

where in the nearhy ficld were a feu' specirnens of Meadow Saxiffage 

{Sraifraga grw,**l"ata) with irs lovely pristine white flowers about 20 to 

30 mrn across. Latcr, growing on the limestone walis of the village of 

\ilest Aytrrn, we saw a c.lose reiative, Rue-leaved Saxifrage (Saxifraga 

tridactylites). The flowers of this plant are oniy about 5 mm across with 

notched petals but the plarnt is easily recbgniscd by its three-lobed stem 

leaves from which it gers its scicntific species name - tri-dactyl * three 

fingered. The plant oft.en ha.s a reddish look to its stcm and leaves, 

presuinably becausc the red anthocyanin shor,vs through in its very dry 

habitat. In West Ayton it shares the walls with a more prolific planr, 

Common \Uhitiow-grass (Erophila vema) which has flowers of a simiiar 

size but has most obvious and attractive seed cases which split to show 

a septa like rniniature Honesty piant. 

1 l-rad to change the waik that i led this year at the trast noment. My 

reconnoitre, a few days beforehand, showed that lviay Moss (said to tre 

one of the largest hanging-bogs in England) was exceptionally dry and 

there was no sign of my target plant, Bog Rosemary (Andromed.a 

palifoiia). Tree-felling nearby may be involved in the lower water level 

but my concern was for the safery of the $oup as the bog had dried into 

grassy hummocks likely to cause ankle damage. Instead we went tc) 

Sand-dale to see the Fiy Orchids (Ophrys insectifera) and weren't they 

splendid? In perfect condition for photography. On a later walk, one 

of the photographers reminded me of the great advantage of digital 

c.ameras; he had taken over 20 shots which allowed him to choose the 

best fcw and discard the rest at no extra cost. The walk up to Sanddaie 

had been particularly rich in wild {lowers such as Common 

Rockrose (Haliar*lwmLltn TLLln;'rnulanwn), Common S torksbill (Er'o dium 

cicat ariwn), D ove' s - foo t Crane's - b lll (G er aniurn mollej and Fid dleneck 

{Ansinckia nticrantha). This latter plant is aptly named because the 

tiny yellow flowers are in a tcrminal cluster on the stalk, which is curlecl 

back like the top of a violin. 

33

Mavis Rei-rdman took the club to 6ne of my favourite places on the 

North Yorkshire Moors - Ellerburn Banks. Although I cor.rldn't make 

it on the day tiue to a botany trip to Cairngorm l did a'recce' with 

Mavis eariier in the week. The-limestone-rich soils in lhe reserve 

oroduce a superb display of flowcrs. Besidcs the thorrsands of Common 

Snotted Orcirids (Darnlorhizt fuchsii), Mavis ha.l already found the 

Greater Butterfly Oichid (Platanthera chlarmtha), - which was 

unfortunately going over but some ditrigent searching further acloss the 

nearlcrw foun

ia 

'ff 

':"i; 

Swan Goose - anser cygnoides -seen 

on the NATS trip to Washington Wildfowl 

Park: a far-eastern species on the 

Endangered List 

Brambling - fringilla montifringilla 

individuals were seen in Whitby, this 

example was photograPhed in 

Lincolnshire 

Young Sparrowhawk - acciPiter 

nlsus - which became 

temporarily trapped inside a 

greenhouse in Whitby 

r;1li.il, - 

',' ,' .i .. " ''i-.,' 

$"'|,:i:'i: '.' ', 

, r,'.1 tti' 

,,rM'. 

Layer of nodules in the cliff shales at 

Sandsend

n \< 

Xio 

6-l 

-o

Juvenile Adder - vipera berus - at the site of the Alum Works, Ravenscar 

Seen on a National Trust guided walk 

Picture Credits are listed at the end of the Report 

Badger - meles meles - seen in Ruswarp, evening in June

Dryad's Saddle fungus - 

polyporus sguarnosus 

Pale Tussock moth caterpillar - 

cal I ite ara p u d i b u n d a (d asych i ra 

pudibunda) 

Collared Earth-Star - 

geastrum triplex 

Comma butterfly - 

polygonia c-album - this example has 

damaged wings

ROE DEEF. (Caprer:lus capreolu.s) young one scen near house in 

Mulgrave 'Woods l4lfiN4; three at Estbcck, Sandsend feeding on 

plants 5llll04; dead one on \fhitby-Pickering road near Hole of 

Horcunr l5lfilA4; one crossing road near Priory Park, Grosmont, 

25lOlA4; five crossing road berween Stape and \i.{/heeldale Moor 

LWO|A4; four on ridge top in Mulgrave'Sfoods L6l2; one at Grosmont 

7514; rwo in Eskdaie crossing road 19/5. 

SHREW (species not identified) one dead on road, bctw'een Lockton 

and Hole of Horcr-un 2216. 

STOAT (Mustela ermina) one seen crossing road near Hawsker 14/2; 

one on Lealhoim Moor 6/6; orc crossing road near Egton Bidge 517; 

one at Key Grccn, Egton Bridge 3/10. 

WEASEL (Mustela nivutis) one crossing \fhitby-Scarborougtr road at 

pond Hill 5lLllj4; one in garden in \fhitby 2915; one crossing road at 

Boggle Hole 9/1C. 

WOODMOUSE {Apademus sylv ailttcus} 

in lbumdale, eating hirdseed Zl3; orre 

house in Pannal Close,\ffhittry, 8/8. 

two seen on garden hut roo{ 

eating peanuts in garden of 

RICHARD THACKRAT{

THE BOTANICAL RECORDER'S REPORT 

Spring was very late to arrive in 2005. January and February wcre mild 

sunny months, with thc ycar making an excellent start, but a cold snap 

with snow showers in March held the plants back. Further cold 

weather stopped growth and for the rest of the year the plants were t\Mo 

to three weeks later than normal. Just bcfore the bad weather in March 

i visited thc bank-sides below Old Mulgrave Castle to see the 

spectacular display of Snowdrops (Galanthus niqtalis) which appear 

every year. Do gt'r and see them! it was on the way down the path to 

Sandsend Beck that I discovercd a plant not recordcd in the area 

before, \X/hite Butterbur (Petasites albus), It is presumably a garCen 

escapc (possibly from Mulgrave Castle) hut it is well naturalised in tire 

lvet woodland and a nice addition to our local flora. 

After the club's trip to the Wildfowl Trust irr early lv{ay, our first iocai 

outing took us down Forge Vailey along the River Derwent starting 

lrom'Oid Man's Mouth' car park. All aiong the stream grows Large 

White Bittercress (Cardttrnine mtma\ which is quite an uncommon 

plant nationally but which is reported to grow in 116 of the 400 

two-kilometre squares in the North Yorkshirc Moors Flora. This plant 

is very similar to its sister, the Cuckoo Flower (Cardamine pratensis) 

also callcd lv{iikmaids and Lady's Smock. However, insteacl of having 

pinkish flowers and yellow stamens, Large \fhite Bittercress has pure 

white flowers and very noticeable violet anthers on its starnens. The 

petais of Large \fhite Bittercress are always greater than 6 mm, which 

separates it from its two smaller and common sister plants, Wavy 

Bittercress (Cdrdmnine tlexuosa) and Hairy Bittercress (Cardamine 

hirswa). These iatter two piants are coffectly separated by their 

number of stamens,'Silavy h:rs six and Hairy usuaily has four, seen with 

a hand lens. However, habitat is also a good guide bccause 'SUavy 

Bittcrcress usr:ally grows in wet places, stream-sicles, ditches, etc. 

whereas Hatry Bittcrcress is a plant of cultivated and waste ground, 

usually drier. Certainly one should not use hairiness as a character 

because Wavy Bittercress is distinctly puhcscent. I think that Hairy 

12

ser-asidc agrcement? This ficld is actually a sitc t'rf archacological 

importance- as well irs hotanic iltlpoftance. Back in the Btonze Age; tire 

fi.id *", lscd as a trurial sitc, prr*ahiy because of the easily dug soiis' 

by tribcs who interred tireir deacl in the upright/vertical position' There 

are saiel to be over 1000 graves and onc local LJnivcrslty Archacclogical 

Departmclt has already trierl to do onc ';f those eiei:tro-magnetic 

suryeys of ttie ficrld we sce on 'Tilnc T"eam' bur. the restilts are being 

upser by rhe elecrricity pylons nearby. I hopc to takc the \Xliiitby 

N"t*rnlirt, to sec altr the pianis next ycrar if tr can get thc apprt'rpriatt 

pennissi.on frc-rn] ti.re {iwners. 

Our local author and ciub memtrer Nan Svkes has prc'tduced anothet 

book, wh.icir I i-reartily reccrnmcnd t{r our rnembers' Tl-ris is 

,'$iliLltlowers of rire ]dcrth Yorkshire Ccast'. Tiris describes the irabitats 

cif our {:Oastlilte and ttrerr reprgrluces photogrlrphs cf about 400 of ogr 

krcal plants as wcll as some excellent lanclscape shots of our area' T[re 

pl"rrt, are afranged in a useftrl 'key' ordcr bascC t;n thc nunrber of pctals 

nr"r.l ryp* of flowering iread. The book uses photographs obtafuled from 

a digltal calnerir, which irave a far better deptl'r cf field than lldfashioned 

fi.lm camer:rs i'ts wctl as an :rhiliry til cilpc with poorer hght 

conditions. 

Ttris is cbvior-rsl,v thc way {r--,rw,.rrcl iiut prr:sutnably one needs an 

expensiye carflela to gct g1rod rcsufus. Now, whcre did I put thgse keys 

that open itF th{l padiocks i)n ilv walletl 

MIKE YA'fES

ENTOMOLOGY RECORDER'S REPORT 

This ycar I have had to rely more on reports of sightings than on rny 

owrl otrservations, as I was out of circulation having a knee 

replacement, so thank you to those who sent me information. 

'Silhile I was in hospitai and feeling very cut off from my usual interests 

I was pieased that the patient in the next bed was starting treatment 

wirh rnaggt-.ts. I knked this rreatmcnt up on the Internet and lcarned 

that rhe wound cleansing ability of maggot medicine has heen noted 

for centr"rries. Now that there :rre antibiotic resistant strains, maggot 

therapy lras bccome useful again. There were at least 25,000 

trcatments in rhe U.K. in the iast decade. The right maggot for the job 

must be chosen, i.e. a happy, brungry, blow f1y maggot. Five to tcn 

maggots are placed on each square centimetre of the wound, rvhich is 

then covered with a protective dressing which allows the maggots to 

breathe" In the next 48 to 72 hours they dissolve the dead tissuc iry 

secreting digestive juices, then ingesting the liquifiecl tissue and 

bacteria. In doing this, the maggot grows from 2mms to neaily 10mms. 

The patient told me that she fclt no discomfort and that the trcatment 

was successful. 

MOTHS. 

There r.veren't many moth reports but trvo of them received a mention 

in the \Thitby Gazette. 

The first, in early February, was of three Herald moths hibematurg in 

a jet minc in Guisborough Woods. 

In mid-bfarch I had an exciting report of a Narrow-borciered Bee 

Hawk rnoth in a garden. This moth hasn't often becn recorded in 

Yorkshire. 

On June lB,n a Ruby Tiger and a Cinnabar moth \4/ere seen and rhe last 

week inJune brought three sighrings of the Hurnming bird Hawk moth 

in \X/hitby and in Ruswarp, rvith a note and photo in thc Gazette 

showfurg its long proboscis. Another was reported in niid- October. 

The Gazette had another report and photo on July 8th, ti-ris time of a 

Poplar Hawk moth. 

36

^il ; ;.ry airy hospital bathrooni remained 

TtrisyearonlyoneLargeYetlowUnclcr-wingwasseen'onJrrlyZ1". 

Three smali moth, 

unidentifiecl although one was piobably onc of the Plume moths' 

LllllLlctrLurLlt ""'-'*".^: 

1 ! tleighm 

:-^'..,^t^.1 ftr-,m I 

bus 

Quite a largc morh was tecovered from a snldel'; *:111^l-rl.-*. 

,,r tl.e 

x.ilr"""'5:;;;;;1" tt was almosr l*:rnuly the palc **r 

:t lll: 

Dark Arch., ,nnrh (,Apmneu monogiyphc), which is one of our 

commonest motlts. 

trn a T.V. progranme "Dcep Jungle" in lv{ay' two interesting foreigil 

moths were shown. o.e was a parasitic moth, which drank fluiil from 

hrrnran eyes, irnd the other had a proboscis tl'Lz inches iong' trn 1862 

f,)arwirr hat-l been scnt a specinren of an orchid (Angraecwn 

sesqrilteduie) hom M*Jognu.o, 4rat the only i-nsect capabie 

"r-rr1 'h.',,rghr 

o{poliinatirrgitn'u.th"*,u*"kintlofhawkrnoth.Thisbeliefwas 

ridiculedbyentomc'logists,butDarwirlwasthentoldthattherewasa 

rnoth in Madagasca."',th a prclboscis rrf exactly the right length, 

(Xutthopar. *orgonJ p'aedicta)" The programme crew found both 

orchid and mottr- 

CA,TERPILLARS. 

A11 the caterpillars ,"pu't"d were of the distinctive yellow and 

To'l*' 

black ones of rhe Cin^lba, moth bei*g ftrunci on Ragwort on Jr-dy 2 7.n and 

thc *\X/.,o1h n"o.' *i*rplltar of the Grr,len Tiger motir on August 27th' 

In thc october .h.rr"l-, magazilre ,,Link", it w*s reported that an 

Eieptrrant Hawk *;;h t""'pi[n' had been found and feci well with 

willoiv hcrb till it t,,"'*d i"to a chrysalis' i hope to hear of its safe 

emelgenceasamothaboutJuncncxtyear.Thisi'salalgecaterpiliar, 

green at first, then brown with "Eyc spots". Its trunk-likc snout givcs 

ititsname.whenclisrur|reilthisisretracteelintorheeye-Spo[region 

whicLr thcn sweils |.lO *f'rtf. the whole front end swaYs menacingly from 

side to side' 

t failed dismally to identifii a very l-rairy caterpillar described to rne on 

the 'phone i" S.pt.*ber' partly because without seeing it I thought it 

coulil only he a "'lvoolly bear". Fortunatcly' a photo arrived and when 

I saw it, it rvas so rlisiinctive that it was easy to name as the Palc 

Tussock moth.

It rnay be illustrated in this report, and if so, you will see how unusuai 

it was - up to 45mrns long with long yellow hairs and four yellow "pads", 

described in one book as "likc shaving brushes" with a recl "spikc" near 

the rear end. The ground colour and the colour of the hairs can vary 

considerabiy but thc red spike makes i.dentification easier. 

At onc time they were very abundant in hop gardens, where they were 

known to the pickers as "Hop dogs"" The caterpillars feed openly in 

late sumtner and autumn on various deciduous trees especialiy Beech. 

On rare occasions "mass attacks" may take piace as happencd ir-r 

Dcnmark in August 1940 when 170 hcctares of wood were completelv 

defoliated. 

BUTTERFLIES. 

Sixteen species were recorded this year, two fewer than last 1-ear, but 

new this year were two Speckied\Voods in June and one on Sept 10'r', 

and a Dingy Skipper in June. 

The last record in 7AA4 was c'rf two Peacocks flyrng inside a band 

practice room in Scarborough, followed by one on lvlarch 23r'1, two on 

April 2.a and one on April 2 L". Then no more reports until eight on 

September lQttr, and one on October Jti', with others a little earlier. 

A Srnall Tortoiseshell flyrng out of a garage on February 3"t was this 

year's first rccord, followed by one filot-,g out of a greenhouse in Robin 

Hoocl's Bay on February 16't'' 

One on March 21" and one on March 25,h in my dining room nearly 

{inished this yeat's records, with no large numbers appearing later as 

they usuaily do. There w:rs just one on my Buddleia on July 3rd, one in 

a garden on August /.4, and two on a biue bush Caryopteris. 

Very few Red Admirals were seen, only one on Septembcr 1?th, two on 

September J{th, and two on October 1". Only one Painted Lady was 

seen, on August 18't'. 

There was one early Comrna on March Z3'd and onc on April20't'. A 

lovely trrightly coloured one scemed to welcome me home from 

convalescing in Newcastle by landing on my Lleylandia hedge on 

August 25,n and there was one later reported on October 12*,. 

Jd

Greater nurnbers of Orange Tips were reported this ycar starting with 

singlcs on April 20,r, and the Z 1,,. Nine in one place were scen on May 

12,i'with a male and a female at a diffcrent plerce. At ieast thrce rvere 

seen on May 15,r' and one on tfuc 22"a. An unusualLy late sightirrg was 

reporred on August Z9'n. 

Rcports ol'"Vthites", (sornc nol differentiating between Large and 

Smali) , startcd in N{ay - rtvo on 1 | rn, four on 15th and two on the 22"0. 

Three on May 2?,h rvere reported as "Ycilorv Sinail'Whites". I looked 

these up in rhe nevr "Butterflies of Yorkshire" book edited b-v 

H.M.Frosr, whicir said "Around ftrrry varieties of the Small'!ilhite have 

'heen ciescrihed, rvilh a very ycilow fOrm which in tlight might bc 

mistaken for a "Pale Cbuded Yeilow". There werc sporadic reporrs in 

June and from a \{rhirbV Hospital window sorne could be seen on 

suitablc days. Other pcoplc said there had been lots of 'Whites up to 

AuEust 31"" 

Two unspccified Blues rvere secn on May Z9th, and two Common blues 

were rcpor[ed, one on June l8't' and one on June 28'n. 

Small Heaths wefe reported frorn Mulgiave'Woods on March Z3'a and 

"lots" in Ellerburn Bank bJature reserve gn June 28th, then just one on 

jtrne 30th and tq,'o on SeptemberZQtn' 

Aiso in thc Elierburur Bank feserve onJunc /$th, were "lots" of Ringlcts. 

Onc was secn on June J0't', rwo on july' 3'a and s

BEETLES 

Early this year I had a few enciuiries about Ladybirds. The B.B.C. 

Springwatch Survey had postcards falling out of magazines to record 

sightings, including the ?-spot Ladybird' This may have madc people 

rnorc aware of Ladybirds, and sorne, findrng small Z-spot Ladybirds, 

quite logically wondcred if they would grow into the larger 7"spot. The 

answcr is "No". 

Sr',me books arc mislear{ing, as thcy tlon't make clcar the different stzcs 

of the species. 

Thcre are twenry-four species, which would normally be thought of as 

British. They pass through three stages - egg, larva, and pupa before 

rcaching thc adult stage; rhis cy'clc raking a ycar in many species- 

Eggs are laid in Spring or early Summer near a colony of aphids, and 

rake 7-4 days to hatch dcpending on the amhient ternperature. 'fhe 

larvae feed over the next month or so, the timc again varying with the 

temperaturc and the number of aphids available- Diring this stagc 

they shcd thcir skins three times before pupating. One or two wceks 

later the adult emerges. The elytra (wing cases) are a plain vcry light 

yellow or orange at first. The adult colours and spots may take several 

hours or cven days to deveiop. In those having a red background 

colour this gradually deepens ovcr weeks or months, so newlv emerged 

adults can be distinguished from those which have ovet'wintered, as 

chese are a inuch deeper shade of recl 

Most adults emerge in urid - to late summel and feed ftlr several weeks 

be{ore going to their hibemating sites in Scptember or early October. 

lv{aring mostly takcs place in the spring and the number of eggs lai-d can 

vary with the sort of aphid eaten. Although some species of Ladybird 

are very variablc in colour and pattcrn, once they have developed this 

colour and pattern it will not change any further except for darkening 

with age 

The August edition of the British Vildlife magazine had an article 

about the Harlequin Ladybird, a new invasive species. It is a voracious 

eater of aphids but also preys on native Ladybird trarvae. Although thcy 

eat a lot of aphids, tirat good point is spoilt by them eating other 

beneficial insects and some soft fruits. 

40

It has been reported from numerous ltx'.ations, nlostly in S. E. England, 

but also in Devon and the Isle of \fight. They don't have a hibernation 

period so typicaliy they have two gcnerations a year. They are 

larger than most other species of iadybirds and arc irighly variable in 

coiour. I wiil look out fbr {urther reports of ttreir progrcss. 

The first report I recreived this year was of a 2-spot l-actryhird on Marcir 

ZL"a and four rnore were seen in a housc cln April 29't'and outside, one 

on May 13* and two on May 29'n. 

A puzzling report was on Marcir 24* of a smail ycl1ow Ladybird witir 

white spots. This coulci prissibly be the Crearn spot Ladybird or the 

18-spot LadyLrird but a variant of the 10-spot Ladybird would be smalicr. 

On April2!tr probabl.e Carpet bcctles wcre seelr in a house and on May 

15,r a Cream spot Ladybird was sccn on clovcr. 

Soldicr bcetles (Rhagonycha fulua) wcre secn on May 29't' and June l* 

and on Junc 19't' an Orange Ladyblrd {Halyzitt 16-guuata) was seen. 

A Whirligig beetle was seell in a puddle on the Moors. 'fhese beetles 

are so-called bec.ar.lse thcy spend most of their adult lives skirnming 

round and round on the surface of still or slow-moving watcr. Their 

cycs are dlvidectr into two parts, which several books say is so that the 

uppcr parr can see over the surt'ace of the water and thc lorver part see 

undcr the water. A.D.Simms in "lnsect Natural l-{istory" says that this 

uray be corrcct bur more evidence is nceded, as divieJecl eyes are present 

irl s()nte non-aqtraric insectr, 

i was pleased to receivc a postcard clated August 9't'reporting sightings 

of Scxttn beetles {Necrophorus) sp. flying and resting aiongside the 

{orest pati-1. Grcen Tiger beetles {Cicindela canpestris) were comrnon 

thcre atiri :.rt rn()thcr site. 

Anotirer Green Tiger beetle was reported on August 18tt'. 

The last report was on October 16,n whcn thc Rove beetle ' tire Devil's 

Coach Horse - (Ocypus olens) was seen crossing a patl-r. My Beetle 

book says they are frequently {ound on tbotpaths and roads. 

Since Marr 2003 I have been keeping an eye on some Figworr plants 

anel tireir weevils in Sleights. This year there werc no rveevils when I 

6rst looked on May i5.r., but from May 22"4 there wcre weevils, and

from June 5.h some slimy black larvae as well. My last visit was on July 

3,d when both nere sfill there. I didn't see any cocoons this -vear and 

the plants would have been dead by the time I was home and mobile, 

so I just have to hope they appear again next year' 

MISCELLAN]ECUS INSECTS. 

A tot of Burnble bces-Buff tailed and Orange tailed were about on April 

Z9*'r.vith Hoverflies. 

Cn May 14,t'St. N{ark's flies welc .scen. They were named becauSe they 

often appear closc to St' Mark's Day " April25't'. 

A reddish damselfly was seen on May 2?,r. and a brownish one on May 

3C,t'. 

My Buddle1a Globosa attracted a iot of Bumble trees and Drone flies on 

june 17't'. 

An insect picked off a car on Junc 25'r' turned out to be a Hop 

Lacewing (Hemerobius humr,tlinus) one of our commonest Lacewings. 

An Ernperor Dragonfly was seen on June ZB't' and on August 8'h an 

Ant's nest was seen on the edge of a coniferous forest. 

I was told about a \fasp nest above my bay window on August 18't'. 

This is the third tr've had in f

The name arosc from the fact that the fcmalcs - the sex most often met 

with - are wingless and are more or tress covered with soft trair. In "The 

'Wasps, Ants and Bees of I(atsonian Yorkshire" 2A07, rhey are listecl 

with solitary'V7asps whose larvae parasitise various Bumble Bees. 

In "Bees, \Uasps, Anrs and Allied Insecrs" 1932 by Edward Srep, it 

says, "The egg appears to be inserted in the Bee larvn which is then 

eaten by the Mutilla larva. The rnaies - with wings.on cmergence from 

thcir cocoons leave the IJee nest to {becl at flowers such as Brarnble, hut 

the female remains for a tirne consumi.ng the be es' stores of honcy. At 

times it has hccn found tliar tirere are more Vclvet Ants rhan Bees in 

a nest due io most of the Bee broocl fiaving been destroycdl" 

43 

MARJORIE ANDERSON

ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORDERS R'EPORT 

Soon after writing last year's fepoft, trvo spectacular discoveries were 

announccd, ,rn. of wortrclwide importance, thc other very local' Thc 

frrrmer was the uncovcring on the lndonesian island of Flores of the 

rcmains of a female crcarurc only three fcet high, dating from 18,000 

years ago. This being was idenrified as human or quasi'hurnan, and the 

discovJry challengei accepteci tleories about the er,'olution of the 

human race. The significance of the discovery has subsequently beerr 

challengcd, ancl the debate is likely to go on for some time in scientific 

circles us to *hether this was a mutanr or real evidence of a dirninutive 

,p*.i*, Predictably, there has been talk of 'hobbits' and 'the *'ee fblk'' 

The correct n?lme is homo floresiensis' 

The more local discovery was a by-product of the devastating fires on 

the moorlancl in the summer of 2003. These laid bare mtrch material 

iong conccaled, and the most remarkable find was a piece of carved 

sanrlsrone from the Btonze Age somc 4,000 )iears ago. It was thought 

possibly to have been some klnd of n1ap. There was controvelsy as to 

w[ether this should be giver-i a place in Whitby Museum or retlrned 

to the m0ors. 

The pages of the YarkshirePosr reveal an on-going controvcfsy ovel the 

p*r."i*A threat to Thornborough Rings tirrough quarrying' This is an 

irr,,. ,"1-,*r. pubiic 'pinion is important, and while clearly warrn feelings 

have becn aroused, there is a casc to be made on both sides. 

BARRIE \YILLIAMS

T}IE ORNITHOI-OGICAL RECORDER'S REPORT 

Dtrring November and December 2004, iikc other years, there were 

many birds passing over and flocking in fields and on the shoreline 

between Saltwick ancl Sandsend. Lapwings, Goidcn Plovers, Oystcrcatchers 

and other waders were no exception, recordings of as rnany as 

three to four hundred were often sighted. 

Passing into 2005, on thc 7,r,February, fivc hundred Oystercatchers 

were seer] at Saltwick. 

All wintcr a Chiffchaff and a Blackcap were seen and heard at Sleights; 

both thcsc species ncrrnaliy migrate to the South-1West of England for 

the rvinter. Alsc unusual Blackheatled Gulls were seen in almost 

summer plumagc in eariy February. 

@ Many specics were seen on many dates in many places in \Uhitby, 

Sleigirts, and Esk valley alreas, which inciuded Blackbirds; Blue tits; 

Coal tits; Great tits; Greenfinches; Goldcrcsts; Grouse; Partridgc; 

Pheasants; House mzrrtins; Sand martins; Swailows; Thrushes; Kestrel; 

Sparrowhawk; Swifts; House sparro\.vs; connorants; lnany spccies of 

gulls and waders. I{erons wete often seen on thc wcir ail summcr at 

Ruswarp. 

o Jftr' h'{arch, eleven Flooper Swans fiyuttg south (the wrong 

dire ction for the tin're of vear). A Short-eared Owl on the moors. 

* lJr,t March, A Short-cared Ow[ at Lealholm; Lapwings nesting 

off the Pickering -'l7hitby 

Road; also a Curlew sightcd. 

r Jrh lr{ay, Yellowhammers at Goathland. 

o l/rr. fuIay, first Swift seen at Sleights; Redpoil on the old railway 

track, !ilhitby; a Cuckoo heard at Ewecote; \ilillow'Warbler at 

Ugthorpe. 

r |Jth May, Brambling in full plumage in Highficld Road; 

Goosander in the river at Perry's Garden Centre. 

c l$tr. May, Bullfinches at Upper Eskdale; Goshawk at Upper 

Eskdalc also at \festerdale. 

45

o l8th May, Bullfinches at Upper Eskdaie; Goshawk at Uppcr Eskdale 

also at Westerdale. 

o {Q,t'June, a Cuckoo was heard at Casdeton and Comrnondale. 

o l8,h June, Red-legged Partridge at Sandsend reporrcd by Yorkshire 

Naturalists' Uruon; three young Jackdaws at Pannai Close. 

c /i'a June, A nesr of Dunnocks at Pannal Ciose; Yellow hamrners at 

Guistrorough Road, Whiib),. 

o 6,h July, two young thrushes rn a Sleights garden. 

c /l"rJuly, four hundrcd to five hundred Kirtiwakes nesting on cliffs 

at Skinningrove. 

t 24h September, a Heron by the river Esk at Casdeton. 

o lJtr,septenrirer, Peregrinc at Selly Hill reported by Mrs Broderick. 

r Septenrber and October, rwenty Goldfrnches often sighted in the 

Upgattg Ravinc and the Mulgrave Rcrad area. 

o JLh October, many l-ong-tailed tits at Sandsend. 

o 15m October, Marsh tit in a garden in Highfield Road, 

. 17*"Or:tober, Reed bunting in a garden in Sieights. 

. 19,n Octcrber, a Jay eating ant-s in the Carr Hill Lane area. 

. T4eOctober, *rec Rcdwings in St. Andrew's Road. 

o 26a Octc.,trer, about one hundred and thirty geese flying south over 

Whitbyveryhigh. 

. Z8,t'October, two hunclred and ffi gecse flying over \X,tlutby. 

o 30,t' and 31" Octcrber, A Ring Ouzel was siglrted in a garden in 

Stainsacre. 

Other birds recorded 

C-nreen'Woodpeckers aiong most of the Esk valiey, Sandsend, Briggswath, 

Rtiswarp Carrs and'S(est Bamby; 

Great Spotted \ff/oodpeckers at Briggswath, W'est Bamby and Crow \focxl, 

Dar-rby; 

C'rey \fagtails, sighted at Sleights, ltzlulgrave old casde walls and1hornton 

Bcck; 

Pled Wagtails, two at Perry's Garden Centre; 

Yeliow Wagtail spotted at Carr Hill Lane (this species could have been on 

its way tc-l win[er inAfrica).

Srvans 

A pair of mutc swans on the River Esk at Ruswarp haci a hard time with 

their nest after being {looded cut. On the 16u'May Mrs. Kate Leaf 

rcporred two cygne ts had hatched out" Thc pen had laid a total of nine 

eggs and was stili sitring" 

Lealhohn 

After a very bail storm, which destroycd quite a lor of trees and 

branches, a visit to l-calhclm ancl Crow Vocdo l)anby on January 27d', 

was rvi:ll worth the timc spent. I3y the bridge at Lealholm we spotted 

five Treecreepers and slr Fied \X/agtaiis" On tire way to Crow\ilood we 

saw a Green \X/oodpecker and at the feeding station in Crow Wood 

ttrcrc was a pai.r

Nightjar 

Our evening visit to Harwood Dale Forest on the 5*' July arranged with 

Brian Walker (Forest Enterprise) had to be cancelled due to heavy 

rain. Up to this date it had been thc wettest day of the ycar. Better 

luck in 20061 There are about two hundred hreeding pairs in the 

North York Moors National Park; thev can be found in woodland in 

the latc summer evenings, such as Harwood Dale, Wykeham and 

Dalby Forest. 

Our clubr is a member of the Yorkshire Naturalists' Union who cornpile 

an annual report of rare and scarce birds in Yorkshire. Copics are kept 

in our library in the Kend:rll room. The Norrh York Moors has rnany 

birds classed as scarce incltrding Merlin, Hobby, Goshawk, Hcn Harrier, 

Peregrine and Barn Owis. 

\7hen you see birds, please look at thern. They might have spent their 

whoie iife here, perhaps forty years (like Fulmars), or could just be 

passing by on their way to Africa or Antarc.ticar or just visiting from thc 

sea to ncst. 

Thank you to everyone who has reported bird sightings in the pastyear. 

48 

RICHARD COOKE

THE SEA AND StrIORE RECORDER'S REPORT 

This year again has seen somc cxr-itemcnr on thc shore. trn February 

we had the spectacle of part of thc Abbcy Headiand giving way, with 

something cf the order of 500 tonnes of rock and rutrble falling to the 

beach. Reportediy, rhis was rhc biggest clifT fall in Whitby for overr five 

years. 

March rcvealed thc grucsunie rrmaitrs o[:r nrutilatcJ propp,,fuc corpsc 

at Sandsend. A large chunk had been bitten fron thc anirnai's throat. 

Thcrc havc becn nlany other reports of sirnilar grisLy discoverics all 

along tl-re east coast. It scems clear they are the victims of attack by 

large predators, thoughr by s.rme to be sharks. Since falling numbers 

are being reported for many shark populations in the North Sea, it is 

rather baffling that there should be so many more apparent attacks 

than usual over iecent months. The jury is stiil out on this and more 

work needs to l-',e done to solve the problem definitively. 

I have received only tirrcc rcports frorn menrbers on.sea and shore life. 

Brian Nellis noted l"arge numbcrs of dcad salrnon on the banks of the 

Esk in a dozen places through Arncliffc.\{zoods in December; possihly 

tirey had bcen washed up after spawning. 

Masses of Dead lv{en's Fingcrs wcre seen by Mavis Readrnan krw down 

on the beach at Skinningrove whilst she was on a geological cxcursion 

witir 'Iees Vaiiey \)ilitdli{b Trust in July. So handlike werc thcsc 

cre:]Lures that Mavis at {iist mistook them for rubber gloves. They are, 

in {hct, colonial cnidarians, distarrt relatives of sea anemone s, and more 

distantly jellyfish. They would have been thrown onto thc shore from 

cleeper water after heavy $/eather. The English name for this animarl is 

rather more apt than ttre officiai zordogical name of Alcyonium. This is 

derived from the Greek Halkuon and refcrs to the mythical kingfishcrlikc 

Halcyon whicir reputediy nested on the sea and while doing so

magically calmed the weather and the waves-hence the term haicyon 

days. The zoologists of two hundred years ago who namcd the genus 

were steeped in classical lore, and thought the colonial masses of 

,\Icyonium rcsemhled the descriptions of the tangled nest of the fabled 

bird, and in fond conceit namcd the genus so. They did redeem 

themseives, however, in providing the apt digitatum as the trivial 

epitlret, so that thc speciesl name in f'rll is Alcyaniwn diEtatu"tn. 

Deacl Men's Fingers form cpntinuous mats with their colonial lobes 

projecring from rocks, or any hard substrates, including man-made 

structures such as piers or drllllng rigs. They can accclerate corrosicn 

on metal structures, and as fouling organisms they increase drag in 

moving vessels. The colonies are found from just bclow the lowest tide 

leve1s to depths clf 50 metres ot morc. The colonies arc usually pale 

veilow or white, and as th"ey waft and sway in the currents look for all 

the world like fore sts of cadaverous hands. Each colony consists of sea 

anemone-like polyps, called zooids, linked togcther in a gelatinous 

mass supported by a loose skclcton of lirnestone spicules. Each zooid 

has eight feathery tentacles, which collect detritus falling through the 

sea. Alcyonium is a soft coral allicd to the sea pens and sea fans. Unlike 

the tropical corals it does ltc)t folm reefs since it is unable to concfetc 

its spicuies together to form a massive, rocky skeleton. 

Alryonirnn colonics are an important part of the marine fauna as they 

form a large part of the biomass of suspension ' feeding cornnunitics' 

They play a role in trapping carbon, by cxtracting carbonic acid 

(dissolved carbon dioxidc) from the watcf and using it in reaction with 

calcium to build up their skeleton, In this way they contribute to 

reducing levels of frcc carbon dioxide, and reducc *re acidity of the se a 

water. They are sensitive to high temperatures, and die away if the 

water becomes too warm. This is, of course, a "double whammy" since 

their loss io the environment meatls that less carbon dioxide is trappcd 

and the greenhotrse effcct of the increased carbon dioxide leads to 

further global warming which in turn reduces the populations of the 

50

corals. They are also important ecologically in providing the only fooii 

source {br certain other invertebrates such as thc nudibranch moilusc 

Tritrmiahombergi. These will disappear as wcll lt Alcyanirun is lost from 

the North Sea. 

The ttrirri repoft was from Eric Addison, who sighted a common scal 

in *re Upper Htrrbour on the 19*,of October. 

Fishermen and m:rrine scientists frequently seeil1 io be in dispute as to 

hurnan impact on the North Sea. For example, a recent DEFRA, report 

clairns that fish popuiations arc being adversely affected by overfishing, 

while fishermen dcny this, claiming that mrnttrcrs of some species, sr.tci-t 

as haddock, are at ir thirry-year high. The scienri{ic cvidence does secm 

to show that year by year stocks of fish are being forced further and 

further nofth as the North Sea has experienced arl averagcl 

remperaturc risc of one degree C over the last twenty-five years. As the 

cooler water specics move out, specics prefcrring warmer water, like 

Red Mu1let, are moving in. Researchers at tl"ic Lowestoft Aquacuiture 

Laboratories and the University of East Anglia found that twenty-cncr 

species had changed distribution in line with the increase of sca 

renlperature; eighreen of these had moved very much {urt}ier north: 

the cod and hacldock popuiations had moved over one hundred 

kilomerrcs north. These workers are exffemely concerned that some 

fish popuiations, already overexploited, wiil be put at risk as thcsc 

effects kick in more strongly rvith changes in overall climatic pattcrns. 

If thc alterations in rhe flow of thc Gtrlf Stream, already beginning, 

st:lrt to accelerate, then the ecosystem may enter mto :l process (]f 

interaction with meteorologv and hvdrology amounting to positive 

ibe.iback. The hundred-kilornertrc shift of these two species sLiggcst 

that rnanagement programmes will nccd to be very resfi:ictive if the 

dirninlshed southerly populations are to iecover to a reasonable levcl. 

As rhcy shift north many species also seek out deeper water, perhaps 

searching for c,:oler conditic-rns. Six species including cuckoo ray and 

pXaice travc stayed in their original latitudes, but have moved deeper. 

5l

The researchers fear that ecosystems afe fragmenting with predafor 

species becoming separated from their prey as the smaller prey species 

with their shorter life-cycles move north more quickly than the larger, 

slower -growing predators. 

It rnay be thar species not m()ving tlorth are able to deal with the 

changes in temperature and acidity, which infornied t*servers almost 

universally considcr to bc the result of hurnan activi.flr. The less 

optinristic possibiliry is that their immobllity is the result of their l-raving 

highly specialised habirat rcquirements which have not yet been 

discovcred by science, and which are not ft;u1d further north, so that 

as climate change continues they will become exlinct' 

Some workers are worried that if trends continue, by 2050 commerciai 

species such as bltre whiring and redfish will have gone completely, 

tiiough thcy may be replaced by bib and other species found at present 

in more southerly waters. Cr:rtainly some exotic catches are already 

being rnade like the rainbow wrasse caught this year on the Bsscx coast- 

Forms that are usualiy found off the Cornish coast such as pilchard and 

sea hass are appcaring in larger numbers in the North Sea. The 

numters of scluid now in our waters is bccoming unreal according to a 

Nortl-rumberland fisherman quotecl in The Guardian. 

It is r,ot just fish thar are showing change. The Intemational Council 

for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) report that plankton populations 

arc also affected. Up to the 1970s the phytoplankton had a pattem o{ 

spring and autumn peaks in numbers ("blooms"). Front thc 80s these 

blooms havc merged into a more continuous production in numbers- 

This has led to gleater amounts of these algae treing present in recent 

years with the proportion of diatoms decreasing while that of dinoflag' 

ellates has increased, thereby provicling more food at the base of the 

food wcb. Populations of planktoni.c crustacea too are changing. There 

has been a huge drop in rhe numbers o{Caldnus finmarchiclttsr one of the 

most imnortant food sources for commerciallv valuable fish' At thc

-1. 

I 

samc tirne numbers o{ C. helgolutdicus, which is smaller and less 

palatable to fish, have increased in proportion. C.finmarchfcus prefers 

cooicr watcr, and C. helgolandicu.s w?lrmer water. Links have been made 

from this to falling numbers of cod anC flatfish. 

Sea marnmals are not cxempt trom changes either. Risso's Dolphin, a 

primariiy warmer water specics, accoun[ed for more than ten per cent 

oi ceta,ceans seen in a survey hy hlewcastle University's Marine 

Labi'rratory last year. T'his ciolphin is usually found off the southwesr 

coast and hardly cvcr in the Nr:rth Sea - that is until very rcccnr years" 

It is thought that rhey are pursuing squid migraring up fionr rhe English 

Channcl. One of the iargest sightings of wLrales and dolphins'i,as ir pod 

of tw' hundred and fifty whitc-Beakcd Dolphins abour thirty miles otT 

Tyncmouth. This is another species prefl'rring wanner warers. 

The latest information I havc on fish stocks comes from a prcss release 

issued by ICES on i7 October 2005.It provides a very mixed picrure of 

good and bad news. Sharks, skates and rays appear to be in rrouble. 

spurdog a'd porbeaglc are in poor condition; spurdog in particular are 

deplctccl to an ali-rirne low and rhe srock is thought to bc in danger of 

coilapse. ICES are recommending a zcro catch of this species, along 

with porbcagle, ccmmon skate antl thornback ray in the North sea. 

converscly, som.. shark specics are lncrcasing; these inclutle lesser 

spotted dogfish and smoorh hound. Haddock are srili plenriful 

(estimated 266,a0a tonnes this year) rcsulting ftom the large number 

spawned in 1999. Holvcver, frr;m 2000 onward spau,ning ievels have 

been below average so catch levels will &rll unirss there is another bie 

spawning year soon. 

cod stocks on rhe other hand remain well below the levels 

rccommcnded as a minimum, and ICES advise rh;]t none should be 

caught commercially. Plaice and sole arc said to need rcduction in 

catch. Efforts should be made to allow piaice spawning stock to 

increase and prevent any decline in sole sparvning stock. Sand ccls, on 

5l

which so many sea bird coionies rely, are below the minimum 

recornrnended level of 600,000 tons at about 450,000 tons. Fisheries 

are closed for this species this year, and ICES recommend that they 

should remain closed until there is significant recovery in thc stock. - 

That is good news for birds at least. 

For anyone with access to the internet there are many interesting sites 

where you can get up.to-date information abotlt what is happening 

around our coasts. Two usefui ones are The British Marine Life Stuitry 

Society's website $,ww.glaucul.orq.tlk, and the rather more technical 

ICES website u'ww.igeg.dk. 

54 

PAUL \ilALKER.

THE FUNGI RECORDER'S REPORT 

As the Recorders Reports are always written in October' there ate 

often specie, of fr,,gi telating to late autumn which are not included' 

'Worth a mention t; il" '"tpo"' I feef is the n*9'hv:l Deceiver 

{Laccaria urnethystea)Lu'-'d in Dalby Forest late in October 2004' whilst 

I was researchlng a waik for whitby Naturalists the following sulnmel' 

Itiscertainlyaclistinctlvecolour'darklilac'butnotaseasytoseein 

the leaf littcr as you might think' Apparently it is edrble but lacks 

{lavour, but who realiy would want to *"i" p"'p1"-coloured mushroom! 

Aiso present' during'that walk' was the Common Ink Cap {coprinus 

{Ififfinentdrius), which clcspite its name' is not so common as the Shaggy 

i.,t C"p, the one which looks like a judge's wig' 

Lateautumn/winterprcsentedsome"smaliandweird"ftrngi'suchas 

Coral Spot (necrri a 'tnnabar*a) on twigs in my composlhean which 

rverehastihtransferrecltothedustbin'IrnightaddlCandlesnuff 

fungus txylarknypoxyfonl was f

It is not crften possible to meet up with organisations like the Yorkshire 

Naturalists' Union when you have to use public transpoft but, in June, 

I rvas al-.ic to spend a whole day lvith them, as the mceting point was 

Sandsend. I can thoroughly recommend a day in their company as, 

around tea-time in Sandsend village hall, the relevant recorders gavc 

iists of, and sometimcs showed spccimens oi what had been found that 

day. A couple, increditrly kr-rowicdgeable about fungi, innoduced me 

to wh:rt were then unknown to me, narnely rusts, rnoulds and smuts, a 

world w'here thc microscopc is indispensatrle, and to which they were 

taking their specirnens home with thcm. June not being a good time cf 

vear for fungi was a good timc to study these rather lesser-known types. 

The aftcrnoon was spent with the botanists and that was equally 

fascinatfurg. 

My new-found knowlcdge rvas put into practice whilst walking out my 

Naturalists' walk to Ellerburn Banks a week before the actual outing. 

Going past a field of wheat on the track down to Eilerburn Church, 

some of the heads of the wheat appeared to havc tiny, sooty-looking 

growths on them. I am almost sure this wzrs Ergot (clunticeps purpureu). 

I had heard of this bcfore in contaminated flour; I did not know it srew 

on the living seed head of the wheat. 

On one of \Uhitby Naturalists' summer walks, I was given :n excellent 

photograph of Dryad's saddle (polyporus squunosus) by Sue and 

Richard Evans. These are very large brackct fungi growing out cf thc 

trr.rnks of living trees. In mid-August, a friend asked me to come ancl 

look at a "mushroom" under thc hedge in hcr garden in Kingfisher 

Drive. It was one I l-rad not seen before (nothing umrsual in that) 

called Parasol mushroom (microlepiota procera). Having sccn one, o{ 

course qrrite a few more "[urned up" during the summer. On another 

Naturaiists' walk which included the village of Newton Mulg'r'ave, a 

certain field could have fed us all as it held quite a number of varyinglyshaped 

Giant Putfballs (Langennannia" gigmrtea). These are cdible 

whilst young and white inside. Later, like all the puffballs, they dry, 

turn brown, split and the spores (the puff) escapc.

Towards the end of September, whilst recce'inga walk fbr the Ramblers, 

I was expecting to see some fungi which grew in conjunction with 

conifer trees at a favourite site on the Quaker's Causeway near 

Commondale, and became very disorientated as I could not even see 

the small plantation which has been so productive in ycars past. It had 

been cut down and newly fenced off and presurnably planted once 

again. After only a year, it was surprising how few fungi there were and 

I had tcr be content with Brown Birch Bolete (leccinum scabrurn) arvJ 

Stinking Puffball (Iycoperdan foetidtxn). it was quite spiny but not spiny 

enough for the Spiny Puffbail. There used to be quite a variery of the 

Boiete-type fungi on the edge of this small wood. i shali have to lcxrk 

clscwhcrc! 

Onc of the best days for fincling fungi was eariy in October during a 

ramble in Dalby Forest. This forest is always good in aurumn/winrer 

and it did not disappoint this day. There was Slippery Jack (suilhu 

luteus), Dog Stinkhorn {mutinus cminus), Straw Cup Fungus (Iteziza 

uersicuktsa), Common Ganoderrna (ganoderma adspersunr), Brown Roll 

Rim (paxlilas involutus), Stinking Puffball again, ancl the very prety (if 

you like that sort of thing) Sulphur Tuft (hrpholoma faicuiare) which 

is very yeliow, grows in large clumps and is hard to miss seeing - one of 

my favourites! 

Just to indicate how much I don't know, let's finish with Colin 

Stephenson's list compiled in one day at Maybecks. He found rnore in 

that day than I found in a yearl !7e are so forruna[e to have him lead 

our fungi walks in the aurumn. 

57 

MAVIS READMAN

ASCS|ltYCCr'FtA 

HEMIASCOMYCETES 

Taphrina 

DISCOMYCETES (Cup tvpe fungi) 

Leotia 

*&$iDl0[4YCOTti'JA 

HYMENOMYCETES (Toadstools) 

Amanita 

Amanrta 

Amanita 

Boletus 

Canlharellus 

Collybia 

Coftinarius 

Codinarius 

Gymnopilus 

Hypholoma 

Lac€ria 

Laclarius 

Lactafius 

L actarius 

Leccrnum 

Leccrnum 

Mycena 

Mycena 

Paxillus 

Pluteus 

Russula 

Russula 

Russula 

Russula 

Russuia 

Russula 

Russula 

Russula 

Russula 

Russula 

Xefocomus 

FLINGUS FORAY TO MAY BECK 

10,t'September 2005 

fulva 

mus€ria 

Fibescens 

edulis 

cibarius 

bulyracea 

decipiens 

de ebutus 

penetfms 

fasciculare 

amethystea 

prcxima 

€mpnoralus 

glaures€ns 

notopus 

vers€olor 

gaiericulata 

involutus 

boudieri 

aerugrnea 

alropurpurea 

clarcfiava 

cyanoxanlna 

densifolia 

ioelens 

fragilis 

maitei 

ntgfr6ans 

ochroleuca 

badtus 

58 

on Alnus fruits 

with Quercus 

wiih Betula 

with Betula 

with Beiula 

with Fagus 

with Betula 

with Betula 

with Betula 

with Quercus 

on llex 

on Queres 

wlth Quercus 

with Beiula 

wirh Quercus 

wilh Betula 

wilh Qre:Tus 

with Betula 

with tsetula 

on Quercus 

on buried deciduous wood 

with Quercus 

on Fagus 

with Betula 

wilh Quercus 

with Betula 

with Quercus 

with Quercus 

with Quercus 

wlth Beiula 

with Fagus 

with Quercus 

with Quercus 

with Quercus

APHYLLOPHORALE TYPE FUNGI {BfACKEIS) 

Daedaleopsis 

Ganoderma 

Piptcporus 

HETEROBAS!DIOMYCETES {JEIIiES) 

Calocera 

Dacrymy@s 

GASTEROMYCETES (Puirballs) 

Caivatia 

Ly6operdon 

Phallus 

UREDINOMYCETES (Rusts) 

Puccinia 

Colin R Stephenson 

Recorder ftr Myrclogy 

Scarborougb Field Naturalists' Society 

mnfragosa 

adspersum 

betulinus 

pallidospathulata 

stillatus 

exipuliformis 

nigrescens 

impudlcus 

menthae 

Fungus found round Margaret's lawn was an earth star - Geaslrum striatum 

on fallen Betula 

on Alnus gluiinosa 

on Betula 

on lallen deciduous wood 

on fallen deciduous wood 

with Betula 

path side 

path side 

on M.aquatic

I 

COb{I}LG ATTRACTIONS 

ANNUAL LLINCH 

TO BE HELD AT SNEATON CASTLE 

ON 

WEDNESDAY 22"A FEBRUARY 2AA6 

12.30 FOR 1 P.M. 

THIS WILL BE A TWO COURSE LI-INCH 

TICKETS AT 99.50 PER PERSON 

OBTAINABLE FROM MRS MARGARET COOKE 

OR MRS EFFIE WARNOCK

Scarborough Field Naturalists' Society 

Brambling (centre page right): Graham P. Catley Nyctea Ltd. 

Earth Ster (centre page left): J.R. Crellin (www.floralimages.co.uk) 

Sparrowhawic (centre page righr): John Richardson 

PaJe Tr.rssock morh caterpillar (cenrre page lefr): Bernard Hornsey 

atker lthotograplu: Richard Evans 

COMING ATTRACTIONS 

ANNUAL LUNCH 

TO BE HELD AT SNEATON CASTLE 

ON 

WEDNESDAY 22nd FEBRUARY 2006 

THIS WILL BE A HOT TWO COURSE LUNCH 

TICKETS 99.50 PER PERSON 

OBTAINABLE FROM MR.S MARGARET COOKE 

OR MRS EFFIE WARNOCK 

52

2005 - Whitby Naturalists

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?