Parish Magazine Article November 2024

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Jays by Michael Blencowe for Sussex Wildlife Trust

 Each autumn a lot of my conversations go like this: “This morning I saw a weird pink and blue bird on my lawn.” Me: “It’s a Jay.” “There’s a parrot on my bird table!” Me: “It’s a Jay.” “I’ve just seen…” Me: “It’s a Jay”. Spotting such an exotic looking bird in the back garden gets even my most wildlife-averse friends reaching for the Blencowe bird identification hotline. Yet despite looking like it has flown in direct from the jungles of Costa Rica, the Jay lives in Sussex all year round. For most of the year it withdraws to the woodlands and leads an elusive life amongst the leaves. But in October it is time for the Jay to step out of the shadows.

Jays look fabulous. With extravagant pink plumage, a drooping black moustache and a snazzy electric blue flash through the wings, it’s no surprise that the eminent Sussex naturalist, W.H. Hudson, called it ‘the British Bird of Paradise’. Surprisingly, it’s a member of the crow family. But while the related Ravens, Rooks, Crows and Jackdaws all wear black funereal feathers, the Jay obviously didn’t get the memo about the dress code! Gather the Crows for a family portrait and the Jay stands out like Danny La Rue in full drag amongst a crowd of coal miners. But, when the Jay opens its beak, it reveals its family heritage. The song of the Jay is a rough, rasping, nails-down-the-blackboard shriek, which would make any Crow proud.

The reason we see more Jays in the autumn is because they are busy. Jays are nuts about acorns and at this time of the year their favourite food is in plentiful supply. But the Jay is a clever bird. Aware that there are lean times ahead it starts making a long-term investment for surviving the winter. With up to nine acorns jammed in its beak and throat, the Jay flies far from the woodlands and hides these nuts in nooks and under dead leaves. With an impressive ability to remember exactly where he has stashed them, the Jay will return, and tuck into these life-saving larders in the cold days of winter. I’ve employed a similar strategy many times at parties! Faced with a full buffet at the start of the night, I hide a few piles of crisps and vol-au-vents behind curtains and cushions to help me get through the evening.

One Jay can store up to 5000 acorns in a season. Not all are remembered and retrieved and from these lost acorns, mighty Oaks grow. I often wonder how many of the huge Oaks we see in Sussex were originally planted by Jays. Through the centuries these birds have been architects of the English countryside: a landscape created by the forgetfulness of a pink crow.

Sussex Wildlife Trust is a conservation charity for everyone who cares about nature in Sussex. Founded in 1961, we have worked with local people for over half a century to make Sussex richer in wildlife. We rely on the support of our members. Please consider joining us. Your membership will help us challenge decisions that threaten wildlife, care for more than 30 nature reserves, and inspire the next generation about the wonders of the natural world. It’s easy to join online at sussexwildlifetrust.org.uk/join

 

Our Rivers – the work of the Environment Agency

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Ferring Conservation Group had an interesting talk on Friday [27 September] from local resident Damon Block, a senior officer in the Environment Agency, about the organisation’s work managing the state of our rivers and coastal waters.  Damon had begun there as a Water Bailiff, supervising fishing on our local rivers – still an important task of the Agency and a source of income from rod licences.  Now he was looking after all the Sussex rivers from the Ouse to the Ems on the Hampshire border, for water quality, flood control and ‘abstraction’ by farmers for irrigation.

Water quality was gauged by the species of invertebrates of various kinds that could tolerate different levels of contamination and oxygen deprivation, as well as chemical testing. The problems arose not only from discharges and run-off but also from invasive plant species like Crassula and Himalayan Balsam, which could choke streams and destabilise banks.

The Ferring Rife, he said, was fairly easy to manage – quite a small catchment area, with few discharges, good flood defences, no fishing but plenty of wildlife. It had been good to see  Water Voles getting established there. Other rivers like the Arun and the Adur were more complex both in their needs and threats, and the opportunities they offered for better habitat creation and the reintroduction of species like the otters on the Rother tributary.

Sussex had a good stock of fish in its rivers – eels were abundant here while declining nationally, and Sussex sea trout were the biggest and best in England. He explained that river trout and sea trout were the same species but had chosen different ‘lifestyles’ at an early age. Scales from these fish were, under a microscope, like sections of trees – showing measurable growth rings, evidence of how and where they had lived and spawned, and another good indicator of water quality.

A very interesting and enjoyable afternoon.

(Report written by Ed Miller)

Sussex Wildlife Trust parish magazine article      October 2024

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 Shakespeare’s Starlings 

 Three Act Tragedy

Hey y’all, I’m mailing in this month’s article from my vacation at Bodega Bay on the foggy Pacific coast of California. It may be all organic coffee, art galleries, surfer dudes and flip-flops but this quaint coastal community is notorious for being the location for a most sinister film: ‘The Birds’ (1963). Alfred Hitchcock has long gone but flocks of the film’s stars still sit ominously perched on telegraph wires as if unaware that the portly director yelled “cut” 56 years ago. But unlike the local hummingbirds, phoebes and chickadees these particular birds look reassuringly familiar to me. They are Sturnus vulgaris, the European Starling, the same species we see wheeling around Brighton’s West Pier in their dramatic amoeboid murmurations. And, like me, they don’t really belong here. The Starlings are here thanks to Henry IV. Well, ‘Henry IV Part 1’ to be precise.

Act I: London, 1597. William Shakespeare scribbles the word ‘Starling’ in his epic tale of power and treachery. With that feathered flourish of his quill, Shakespeare would unknowingly be the author of an ecological catastrophe that would play out until the present day.

Act II: New York, 1877. Enter stage right Eugene Schieffelin, a socialite who would later be remembered as “an eccentric at best, a lunatic at worst”. He chaired the American Acclimatization Society, a group which, despite their nationalistic sounding name, were very keen to welcome foreigners. In fact, their aim was to import animals of economic or cultural interest from the Old World to the New. Schieffelin, a big fan of Shakespeare, had a dream: to populate America with every bird mentioned in Shakespeare’s writings. And so the bard’s birds were boxed up in England and brought to New York where Skylarks, Pied Wagtails, Bullfinches, Nightingales, Chaffinches and many more were ‘liberated’ into Central Park. The majority of them died. But on March 6, 1890, 60 Starlings (a bird mentioned only once by Shakespeare) were released in Central Park and they fared better. Much better. Today there are around 200 million of them across the United States.

 Act III: United States, present day. The story of Schieffelin’s Shakespearian motivation may just be an urban legend but the legacy of his misguided American Acclimatization Society is very real. Today European Starlings are widely vilified by Americans as aggressive pests that have destroyed precious ecosystems and turfed out native species. Which is pretty rich coming from a bunch of invasive Europeans who have been doing just that for the past few centuries! And since then there have been many who have appeared hellbent on dismantling this country’s environmental regulations which protect wildlife, the landscape and our planet. But sure, let’s blame the birds. As Mr Shakespeare (almost) once wrote, “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our Starlings, / But in ourselves”.

Parish Magazine Article September 2024

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Wasp Spider by Michael Blencowe for Sussex Wildlife Trust

I never thought I’d say this, but I’ve fallen in love with a spider. And coming from a lifelong arachnophobe that’s quite a claim. Whereas every other spider species sends me screaming in utter terror, the Wasp Spider has melted my heart. They are gorgeous. I met one on the South Downs last weekend and, hypnotised by her beauty, I spent hours with her; lying in the grass, staring lovingly into her eight eyes.

Wasp Spiders’ rotund abdomens are delicately patterned with exotic black, yellow and white stripes. Every Wasp Spider looks subtly different – as if each has been individually hand-painted. Their eight legs wear stripy black and white stockings – the sort favoured by the Wicked Witch of the East. This stripy, waspish appearance has given the spider its name and is used as a defence mechanism to ward off predators who equate this colouration with being stung.

They’re a relatively new resident in England. The first British Wasp Spider was found near Rye in 1922. Since then they have slowly spread across Sussex and you can find them in any areas of grassland. Here inside their long grass lair, they weave their silky circular webs which – like all spider webs – are a masterpiece of arachnoid architecture. As if proud of her accomplishment the Wasp Spider autographs her web with a unique silken squiggle. The actual purpose of this thick zigzag flourish (the ‘stabilimentum’) is a mystery; although some believe it reflects UV light, luring in pollinating insects who mistake the web for a flower.

Male Wasp Spiders don’t have it easy. Physically they lack any snazzy patterning and at 5mm are a third of the size of their hulking female counterparts. And when it comes to spider sex, she dominates the male too. During mating she turns her lover into lunch. So, as the female lies enticingly in her web, the male approaches her with understandable trepidation. It’s all about timing. After she slips out of her old exoskeleton and into something more comfortable, her fresh body is temporarily soft – and so are her jaws. This is her Achilles heel, an opportunity for the male to jump in, do his business and get out before being eaten. This sort of pressure would affect any fellas’ performance, but the male Wasp Spider has a trick up his eight sleeves: he can detach his sexual organs, leave them inside the female and scarper.

I always assumed that jettisoning his genitalia allowed the spider to survive, but almost every mating session ends in death for the male. Scientists have found that after this self-imposed castration, the spider’s sexual organs keep on fertilising the female and block other males’ attempts at mating. The spider sacrifices his own life to save his member and ensure he becomes a father. Wow, what a way to go.

Sussex Wildlife Trust is a conservation charity for everyone who cares about nature in Sussex. Founded in 1961, we have worked with local people for over half a century to make Sussex richer in wildlife.

We rely on the support of our members. Please consider joining us. Your membership will help us challenge decisions that threaten wildlife, care for more than 30 nature reserves, and inspire the next generation about the wonders of the natural world. It’s easy to join online at sussexwildlifetrust.org.uk/join

Our Big Butterfly Count

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Finally our third attempt at doing our bit towards the Big Butterfly Count went ahead on Wednesday 31st July, albeit around the Rife rather than Cissbury.
14 members met at the footbridge, and under the nominal lead of Graham Tuppen, enjoyed a warm wander around the field, lagoons and Rife path, counting butterflies. Overall we spotted 52, with Gatekeepers again the most numerous. Others were Large and Small Whites, Speckled Woods, Red Admirals, Meadow Browns, a Comma and a Wall Brown, plus 2 Silver Y Moths.
We were surprised not to see more varieties and numbers, but it seems our count reflected the national picture of a poor year for butterflies.
6 of us finished the morning with a visit to the cafe at the Country Centre.

The Long Walk Home – 26 July

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After a gap of several years Michael Blencowe returned to Ferring Conservation Group to regale members and visitors alike with tales of his epic walk of 348 miles from his current home in Sussex back to his childhood roots in Devon.

Now a freelance naturalist, author and wildlife guide, Michael felt compelled to complete this walk after suffering what he was told to be a heart attack, which thankfully turned out to be a false alarm. Michael has a unique ability to educate and entertain us all at the same time and in March 2023 laden with an enormous rucksack containing 15 maps, numerous blister packs, a jar of Bovril etc, and with the aid of walking poles, he set out on the first leg of his journey walking from Small Dole to Amberley. Blistered feet were a big problem for Michael and set in soon after departure, so Michael’s blister packs were soon depleted.

Along the route Michael visited the charming 13th century church of St Andrew’s in Didling known as the Shepherd’s Church nestled in the South Downs in an isolated spot – it has no electricity supply and is lit by candles. When a shepherd was buried, traditionally a piece of sheep’s wool was placed in his folded hands – this was to ensure that at the Pearly Gates, St Peter would understand that the shepherd was often absent from church as he had to tend his sheep.

Michael delighted in the wildlife that he encountered along the route including Yellowhammers, boxing Hares, Redwing, Fieldfare and Peregrine Falcons to name but a few. On reaching Dorset on Day 10 with over 100 miles covered, Michael woke to find a thick layer of snow had obliterated many landmarks making his journey difficult to navigate. As the snow melted and with a splendid view of the Jurassic coastline visible he made his way inland to the town of Bridport. The South West Coastal Path lay 14 miles away towards Lyme Regis and then a further 10 miles into Beer and his home county of Devon.

It was around this time that Michael decided to exchange his large backpack for a much smaller version which made his walk through to Dartmouth much easier. Seeing much of the Gorse in bloom lifted Michael’s spirits as he continued his journey to the town of Salcombe and in doing so completing approximately 300 miles. Passing the Start Point Lighthouse at Kingsbridge, then through Bantham, Bigbury with views of Burgh Island, Ermington, Elburton and Yealmpton and finally arriving at his childhood home in the city of Plymouth – 22 days and 348 miles later. With great relief he had achieved his goal but he did note that the journey back to Michael’s home in Sussex by car took only 4 hours.

Graham Tuppen presented the Nature Notes slot after the usual break for refreshments by showing members a series of excellent photographs including a Cinnabar moth on a Ragwort plant, a Cricket on a Marigold flower and the beautiful wild flower bed in the Glebelands recreation ground (all of the wild flower beds in the village have been exceptional this year). A photograph of the blue flax flowers growing in the fields of Chatsmore Farm plus a six-spot Burnet Moth on a Round-headed Rampion plant. There were also reports of Little Egrets and Herons on the Ferring Rife, together with sightings of Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Long-tailed Tits and a Buzzard.

A planning update was delivered by Stephen Abbott to conclude the meeting, with no further planning applications submitted.

The additional house in the garden of 44, Ferringham Lane had been refused by Arun DC and an Arun proposal to increase the number of beach huts along this stretch of the coastline is under consultation with the relevant Parish Councils, including Ferring.

Horse Chestnut by Michael Blencowe for Sussex Wildlife Trust

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Far, far away in the south-east corner of Europe, the Balkan Mountains tower over the landscape. Their valleys were once home to the fearsome Thracian tribes, who made empires tremble when they rode screaming into battle on their wild horses. But even more ancient battles were being fought deep in these majestic mountains.

Here in the Balkans, there grew a strange and mighty tree. Its huge seeds were encased in spiky armour and its leaves were like giant hands which cast shade all around. But this tree had been cursed. Each year a plague of tiny moths would attack the tree, their caterpillars would burrow inside every leaf. Green leaves turned to brown, leaving the tree apparently lifeless and defeated. Yet each year the tree would return with renewed green vigour, and each year the moths would attack with the same resolve. And so, for centuries the tree and the moth remained trapped in the Balkan Mountains, locked in their epic, age-old battle.

Then one day men came from the west, discovered this magnificent tree, gathered its seeds and planted them in their world. And so it was that the branches and the empire of the Horse Chestnut spread across Europe’s parks and gardens. People admired it and reclined in the shade of its broad palmate leaves. Schoolboys used its seeds to fight their own playground battles. The conker tree had conquered the continent. Here in this new world the curse of the moth had been lifted and the Horse Chestnut flourished. Meanwhile, the tree’s nemesis, not a particularly strong flyer, remained imprisoned in the remote valleys of the Balkan Mountains for centuries, more myth than moth. Then, one day, the modern world arrived. Construction workers building roads through the mountains were unwittingly building the perfect means for the moth to escape and spread. Now all it needed was a lift. So, the moth stuck out its six thumbs and hitched a ride.

Incredibly, the moth, just 5mm long, was able to disperse by grabbing on to passing vehicles. And so, like the ferocious Thracian tribes, the moth rode into battle. Screaming along highways, motorways, and autobahns on Volvos, Citroens, Fiats and Fords. The ancient battle spilled out from the Balkans as the moth was chauffeur driven to every Horse Chestnut tree in Europe. The Horse Chestnut Leaf Miner moth was first discovered, identified and named in Greece in 1984. Twenty years later, in 2004, an innocent motorist pulled off the A27 in to the University of Sussex car park, unaware they had brought a sinister stowaway into Sussex. Since then, every Horse Chestnut in Sussex has been moth-eaten. Look to the leaves and you’ll see the great Balkan battle raging right on your doorstep.

Ends

Sussex Wildlife Trust is a conservation charity for everyone who cares about nature in Sussex. Founded in 1961, we have worked with local people for over half a century to make Sussex richer in wildlife.

We rely on the support of our members. Please consider joining us. Your membership will help us challenge decisions that threaten wildlife, care for more than 30 nature reserves, and inspire the next generation about the wonders of the natural world. It’s easy to join online at sussexwildlifetrust.org.uk/join

Knepp Wildland Estate presentation – 28 June

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Leaving behind a career in IT and Telecommunications, Mark McManus decided to venture down a very different path and indulge his passion for wildlife as he became an Assistant Warden for the RSPB’s Pulborough Brooks Reserve and then a Ranger for the South Downs National Park Authority.

Mark now happily imparts his vast knowledge to the many visitors on safari tours around the Knepp Estate and is very much a member of the team there. He came along to Ferring Conservation Group’s June meeting to update members with the latest news of this trailblazing rewilding project.

In the twenty or so years since Knepp began rewilding, extremely rare species have thrived including Turtle Doves, Nightingales, Peregrine Falcons and Purple Emperor butterflies as well as more common species. Moving away from intensive farming has demonstrated how natural regeneration has created new habitats from grassland and scrub to open-grown trees and wood pastures attracting wildlife from far and wide.

Without free-roaming grazing animals, Mark explained the emerging scrub would soon turn into closed-canopy woodland. Over the years the physical disturbance created by grazing animals stimulated a complex mosaic of habitats allowing a more open form of wood-pasture. Although as many ancient breeds as possible were introduced, Tamworth Pigs were substituted for Wild Boar and Exmoor ponies were established for their hardiness and ability to thrive in all sorts of habitat. Roe, Fallow and Red deer roam freely alongside Old English long-horn cattle.

Mark explained that one of the Knepp Estate’s priorities is to liaise with neighbouring landowners to encourage them to allow strategic wildlife corridors, such as in the Chichester area, which links the South Downs National Park with the coastal harbours. This will allow wildlife to move freely across the county.

Two beavers were released into a licensed enclosure in February 2022. Since then, they have had an astonishing impact on their environment, creating impressive dams, building up their lodge and coppicing the surrounding woodland.

Mark took pride in announcing that in addition to Knepp becoming home to the first 2 nesting pairs of wild Storks to breed in the UK for over 600 years in 2020, last year the project has gone from strength to strength with 9 successful nests.

It is hoped that the potential reintroduction of Wildcat and Pine Marten will be possible in the future.

Graham Tuppen then presented the Nature Notes session with photographs of Wall Lizards spotted at West Worthing railway station and a tree completely covered in webs made by the caterpillars of Ermine Moths seen by the roadside at Long Furlong. Graham then showed a beautiful photograph of a field of Native Field Poppies and Phacelia also in the Long Furlong area. Bee Orchids were in bloom at Highdown Gardens while Common Spotted Orchids, Wild Thyme and Birds Foot Trefoil were seen at Cissbury Ring, together with Wild Carrot, Ladies Bedstraw and Yellow-rattle.

To conclude the meeting Stephen Abbott updated members on the latest planning news advising that the planning application submitted on behalf of Greystoke Manor care home for a two-story extension had been withdrawn. Also, the application for an additional house at 44 Ferringham Lane is yet to be decided.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Coppicing presentation – 31 May

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The ancient skill of coppicing was the fascinating subject that Clive Cobie covered at the Group’s May meeting to enlighten members and visitors. Clive is the Centre Manager for Shadow Wood near Billingshurst – a 63-acre bluebell wood in the heart of the Weald Downlands.

Clive explained why this traditional form of woodland management serves two important functions: to provide a renewable source of wood for fuel and fencing and to allow selected trees space to grow to full maturity for subsequent cropping as timber. A very useful effect is that this procedure also lets in light to the woodland floor, allowing plants and flowers growing there to regenerate along with their dependent wildlife – the word ‘copse’ denotes a wood that was once coppiced.

Coppicing means cutting the tree down to ground level to allow new shoots to spring up from the base. This practice stimulates the trees natural power of regeneration as it encourages the tree to produce new poles of wood year after year. Clive explained that as the years go by a coppiced tree will start to form a stool and shoots will be thrown up from this and should be cut back to within 5-8cm of this wood. The most suitable trees for coppicing are Chestnut, Silver Birch and Hazel which should be cut on a rotation of 7 years.

After a break for refreshments Graham Tuppen filled the popular Nature Notes slot with news of sightings of Early Purple Orchids during a visit to Patching Woods. Graham had also spotted Common (smooth) Newts in his garden supposedly from his next-door neighbour’s pond. Graham showed two impressive photographs by Peter Phelps of an adult Cockchafer and a Common Toad, with Peter Dale managing to photograph an Azure Damselfly by the Ferring Rife, where there had also been a recent sighting of a Water Vole, which was welcome.

Stephen Abbott concluded the meeting by updating the audience with news of local planning issues. The Call-In submission to the Secretary of State was not successful for the 47 houses approved to be built on the land adjacent to Kingston Lane, East Preston. The 3 houses proposed for a garden behind Ferring Nurseries has been rejected, along with an additional dwelling at the back of 4 Sea Lane. A planning application for a two-storey rear extension to Greystoke Manor care home has also been submitted.

 

 

 

Broadwater and Worthing Cemetery presentation – 26 April

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Ferring Conservation Group’s April meeting had a very interesting, and well-presented talk on the History and Wildlife of Broadwater Cemetery – one of Worthing’s oldest burial grounds, now a nature reserve but still visited by family members of those who were buried there in its latter years. ‘Friends of Broadwater Cemetery’ document its history (which goes back to 1861) and, in cooperation with Worthing Borough Council, maintain its extensive grounds in a way which preserves and encourages the wide range of wildflowers, birds and other animals, and butterflies.

Debra Hillman, the Chairman of the ‘Friends’ talked about the early days of the cemetery and some of the well-known local people buried there, including the naturalists W H Hudson and Richard Jefferies. Less well known were the 115 victims of the Worthing typhoid epidemic of 1893, to whom there is a common memorial. But the old Chapel, with its splendid interior, is a listed building.

Paul Robards leads the work on keeping the cemetery’s extensive grounds tidy and removing the ivy which quickly grows over the headstones, hiding the inscriptions and the stories they tell. He is also a lifelong naturalist and does everything he can to preserve and encourage the abundant wildlife – which includes slow worms, many songbirds, and a wide variety of butterflies. He showed some excellent photographs to illustrate his talk, and Conservation Group members were encouraged to join one of the Cemetery Tours, on the first Saturday of every month in Spring, Summer and Autumn,

The Group held its AGM later in the meeting. Pete Coe was elected Chairman, David Bettiss as Secretary and Ed Miller has taken over as Membership Secretary.