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Ten Years of TVERC!

We recently celebrated our ten year anniversary with a small gathering of past and present

staff and volunteers at Withymead Nature Reserve,

near Goring-on-Thames. Thanks to Camilla’s Mum who baked a special cake for the occasion!

Welcome

It has been a busy Autumn; celebrating our ten year anniversary and working hard on plenty of surveying, data management and data analysis projects. We’ve had two new staff starting (Rachael in July and Lucy in October) and are now fully staffed at last.

The TVERC office has come a long way from it’s beginning in October 2003 with just one part-time member of staff working for what was then called the Oxfordshire Biological Records Centre. We’ve now got eight members of staff and over 1.3 million species records from all over Oxfordshire and Berkshire.

This coming year, we’d like to find out more about what species monitoring is already happening in Berkshire and Oxfordshire, and see how online recording might be a useful way to gather and manage data so you may well hear from Rachael soon.

Hope you all have a great Christmas, and keep those records coming in!

Camilla Burrow Director

Newsletter Winter 2013

OXFORDSHIRE RECORDERS CONFERENCE DATE

PAGE 3

Thames Valley Environmental Records Centre

WE NEED YOUR VIEWS ABOUT SPECIES

MONITORING AND ONLINE RECORDING PAGE 8

Greater Stitchwort

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This year TVERC carried out surveys on 40 existing and proposed Local Wildlife Sites in Oxfordshire. We had a huge amount of support from 14 volunteers who visited 21 of these sites so a big thank you to all those who helped. The data is not all processed yet but there has already been over 4300 species records added. One of the sites surveyed is a former limestone quarry in the Cotswolds. The thin soil has a rich limestone flora

including mouse-ear hawkweed, eyebright, dwarf thistle, fairy flax and the Oxfordshire Rare Plant Register species - basil thyme. The site includes small patches with a more acidic character indicated by the presence of bracken and small amounts of Viper’s bugloss. The site is also important for invertebrates and one of our expert volunteers recorded a very rare bee (Andrena trimmerana).

TVERC helped the Wychwood flora group carry out a survey of Grimes meadow in Witney. The site is unimproved marshy grassland with sedge-dominated swamp communities adjacent to the River Windrush. It is

a Local Wildlife Site which is being managed by the Wychwood Project (Oxfordshire) to enhance its wildlife interest. The survey provides species and abundance information which will be used to monitor the effectiveness of management. Plants recorded included the less common species - slender spike-rush.

We also surveyed a proposed woodland site in the Chilterns, where the landowner is carrying out work to open up the dense beech canopy. The site already has a range of typical ancient woodland plants including wood melick, wood anemone, woodruff, wood sedge, bluebell, wood millet, yellow archangel, wood sorrel and goldilocks buttercup but they are confined to less heavily shaded parts of the site. The on-going work should encourage a more diverse field flora over wider areas. Other interesting invertebrates recorded include purple emperor and silver-washed fritillary at an ancient woodland site in Vale of White Horse. The hoverfly Xanthogramma pedissequum was recorded at Bicester wetland reserve.

Highlights from Local Wildlife Site surveys 2013

Veteran tree on a site near Spelsbury, West Oxfordshire

Former limestone quarry site, West Oxfordshire and inset Viper’s bugloss

Grimes meadow in Witney, Oxfordshire

Proposed woodland site in the Chilterns

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Kidney vetch, common bird’s-foot-trefoil, common milkwort and common spotted orchid in chalk grassland on the Wessex Downs.

Julie Kerans Oxfordshire Biodiversity Officer

Common spotted orchid Hoverfly Xanthogramma pedissequum

Ancient woodland site south of Oxford

The Old Man of the Woods

Sounding perhaps like an episode title from Midsomer Murders this rare fungi was recently spotted by Brian Laney in a hollow of beech woodland in the Rotherfield Peppard area of the Chilterns. This is one of very few records we have for this species and the first time Brian had seen it in the area since 1997. Graham Hawker

The Old Man of the Woods (copyright Brian Laney)

Oxfordshire Recorders Conference

`Long term monitoring’

1st March 2014, 10.00 – 4.00

Oxford University Museum of Natural History Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PW

£10 for students/volunteer recorders, £15 for professionals (lunch not included), Tea/coffee and cake provided. This conference is the annual updating and networking event for species recording and nature conservation in Oxfordshire. The

day will include guest speakers, workshops and an open floor session for updates from individuals, recording groups and organisations on notable sightings, events, courses and new projects.

Booking required, please contact Sally Jeffery, 01865 815451 or tverc@oxfordshire.gov.uk to complete a booking form.

Weevil found in Berkshire

The Berkshire

Invertebrates Group

(formed in 2013 as an

expert resource for

recorders) has been busy

collecting new records.

This Sitona waterhousei

Walton was collected

from Moor Green Lakes

Local Nature Reserve

back in 2011 and has

just been confirmed as

the first record for

Berkshire (VC22).

Jon Cole, Berkshire Invertebrates Group

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Data from recorders is at the heart of what we do at TVERC. Most of our records are sent in on a casual basis, but we also have data sharing agreements with individuals, groups and organisations who agree to send us their data annually. In return TVERC provide them with services and support, we currently have agreements with Bucks, Berks & Oxon Wildlife Trust, Berkshire Ornithological Club and RSPB Otmoor Reserve to name a few. But we’re keen to increase the number of agreements we have with the local recording community so we continue to receive high quality data but also to foster closer links and provide tailored support. Some of the services we could provide include;

A data search of our records, this could include a map to highlight the location of important wildlife sites or species of interest.

Advice on how to collect, manage and present data. Computerisation of existing data or access to facilities to enter the

data yourself. Access to surveying equipment and materials. Training in identification, recording software, online recording. Guidance on land management to benefit biodiversity and monitoring. Advice on funding sources for community projects.

Rachael Potter Data Assistant

Data Sharing Agreements

Introduction - Lucy Lush

I recently joined TVERC as Projects Manager so I wanted to take this opportunity to introduce myself. Prior to this I was doing a PhD at the University of Hull on the functional ecology of interactions between wild and domestic herbivores. I was looking at brown hares and rabbits in pastures and the effects of livestock grazing on their habitat and foraging choices. This meant spending a lot of time in fields measuring grass and filming hare and rabbit behaviour at night time using thermal imaging technology, as well as some radio tracking and diet analysis.

Before embarking on my PhD I was the Biodiversity Manager for Greater Manchester, as part of what used to be the local biodiversity partnership, working on a range of projects in the North West. In particular, I was involved in setting up and obtaining funding for the North West Brown Hare project, Greater Manchester Quarries project and helping to establish a local mammal group. Mammals have always been a particular interest of mine and I was lucky enough to spend some time in Africa collecting data on black rhino in Kenya as part of my MSc in Conservation Biology from Manchester Metropolitan University. That was my second visit to Africa having been a volunteer researcher in South Africa radio tracking and collecting data on cheetahs, wild dogs and leopards. More locally I have also worked for consultancies carrying out a range of ecological surveys for great crested newts, bats and water voles. I’m now looking forward to exploring Oxfordshire and Berkshire, and working with many of you on current and future projects.

Lucy Lush Projects Manager

Woodland Archaeology Day

The Chilterns Woodland Project are running a

training workshop with John Morris on Friday 21st

and Saturday 22nd March.

Booking essential - Cost £35 per person

For more information contact

Tel 01844 355503

email woodlands@chilternsaonb.org

If you think a data sharing agreement could benefit you or your recording group please contact us and we will be happy to discuss details of our services and provide advice on what is most

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We know that a myriad of recording takes place in Berkshire and Oxfordshire, mainly by volunteer recorders. Our database shows that almost 70% of species data is collected by volunteers, either as part of a recording group, as an individual or by volunteering with a wildlife charity such as BBOWT. Some of this surveying is “monitoring”, such as repeated butterfly transects, wintering wildfowl bird counts, breeding bird surveys, rare plant population monitoring and dormouse monitoring. This monitoring data is very useful for assessing change and DEFRA have recognised the key role that volunteers play in collecting this information. So Natural England has asked TVERC to talk to volunteer recorders about species monitoring. We’d like to get a full picture of what’s currently going on, who’s doing it and where. We’ll also be working with recorders to identify if additional could be beneficial, which sites would be suitable, what methods are best and what help is required. As a starting point we’ll be sending out a questionnaire to voluntary groups and recorders to gather some information about species monitoring with some questions about online recording. We would appreciate if you could spare a moment to send us your views. If we haven’t been in touch with you, but you have some information, do give us a call or send us an email. We’d also be happy to come along to one of your recording group’s meetings.

Camilla Burrow Director

Species Monitoring

Sources of protected & notable species records

Wildlife enthusiasts who use the internet may have noticed the great number of website and apps springing up for online wildlife recording. These sites allow registered users to input their sightings and at the same time view and manage their records on the internet.

We would like to encourage groups and individuals who regularly record wildlife to use online recording, if they think it would suit them, as we hope it will be a simple and enjoyable way for recorders to enter and manage their sightings that will also make it easier for them to share the records with TVERC.

We would like your involvement so we can develop an online recording system that best meets the needs of recorders in Berkshire and Oxfordshire. We’ll be sending out a questionnaire to voluntary groups and recorders (it will be combined with some questions about species monitoring) and we would greatly appreciate it if you could spare a moment to send us your views. If we haven’t been in touch with you, but you have some information, do give us a call or send us an email. We’d be happy to have a chat about what online recording could offer you or

your recording group, either over the phone or by coming along to one of your meetings.

Camilla Burrow Director

Online Recording

What are ‘protected and notable’

species?

Some species of wildlife are protected by UK and also

sometimes European legislation because of their rarity or

historical persecution. These species are called

‘protected species’.

The Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) is the

public body that advises the Government on nature

conservation. The JNCC has produced a list of UK

species and their conservation designations. Species with

conservation designations, but no legal protection are

called 'notable species'.

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A number of Local Wildlife Sites have been surveyed across Berkshire from large reservoirs of importance to birds in the east of the county to roadside verges rich in plants and insects in the west.

The beginning of the season found us surveying woodlands to capture the early spring plants, then as the cold and wet subsided into warm summer days we were out surveying the grassland and meadows before the annual hay cuts.

This year we confirmed the continued existence of a rare plant: tower mustard Arabis glabra. Plantlife note only 25 sites in England. It is considered to be facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild, so subsequently classified as Endangered and included as a Priority Species on the UKBAP.

We aim to survey LWS on a 5-10 year rotation but unfortunately with ever increasing pressure on budgets this becomes more difficult so we have to identify and prioritise surveys. Budgets aside, with over 700 sites covering 8% of the county it is still like painting the Forth Bridge! Over the winter months we hope to bring our LWS ownership database up-to-date alongside last known survey and key criteria of designation for each site. To raise awareness of the importance of LWS we will gradually contact all owners detailing how their LWS site contributes to the local and national picture for wildlife. So if you own or manage (or know anyone who does) a LWS please get in touch so we can update our contacts and send you the latest summary of your site and when we anticipate next survey will be.

Helen Miller Berkshire Biodiversity Officer

Berkshire Local Wildlife Sites update

Tarmans copse and Molly!

Happy Valley

Tower mustard growing on tarmac.

Oxford Festival of Nature Sunnymead Park and

Cutteslowe Community Centre

Friday 6th & Saturday 7th June.

There will be a wide range of activities run by locally-

based wildlife experts, including bat walks, tree trails,

crayfish traps, wildflower identification, worm

charming and moth trapping. The site includes a park

which is being managed to encourage wildlife. The

park is in desperate need of ecological records to

help the City Council plan how it is managed, and so

the Festival will include a 24-hour BioBlitz to help

this to happen.

For more information or to get involved, contact

Dom McDonald at Science Oxford. 01865 810 000,

info@scienceoxford.com

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A Shared Vision for Biodiversity

This year saw a break from tradition for the Berkshire’s Recorder’s Conference in that we held a joint event with the newly formed Local Nature Partnership. TVERC hosted the morning with talks from local groups:

The Berks and South Bucks Bat Group spoke of their mission to fill every 1 km grid square in the counties with

at least one bat record. Wokingham Veteran Tree Association high-lighted the value recording has on involving and bringing together

the local community. Berkshire Mammal Group is embracing social media to raise the profile of mammals and recording with a goal

of producing a Berkshire Mammals Atlas in the future.

The newly formed Berkshire Invertebrate Group high-lighted how a local group can benefit from association with a national group (British Entomological & Natural History Society).

The LNP hosted the afternoon with an introduction about the LNP followed by talks from both a local (Fobney Nature Reserve) and strategic (Biodiversity Opportunity Areas; a Strategy for Delivery) perspective. After tea workshops were held that generated much discussion and debate. All in all a good day was had and the mix of local recorders and those involved in biodiversity and recording in a professional capacity certainly raised some interesting discussions, bringing together the diverse community of those interested in the natural history of Berkshire.

Helen Miller Berkshire Biodiversity Officer

Helix pomatia is commonly known as the Roman snail in Britain because it was believed to have been introduced during the Roman occupation. It has a shell with 5 or 6 whorls which can grow to 50mm in width and 45mm in height. So it is considerably larger than our familiar garden snails. It is widely distributed throughout western and central Europe and can (allegedly) be found 2,100m above sea level in the Alps! However, in the UK it is found only in the south and west of the country, mainly in undisturbed grassy or scrubby areas. Here it is mainly under threat from habitat loss and was recently added to the list of species legally protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act, so it can’t be injured, killed, collected or sold (i.e. for eating). So if you come across one of these impressive beasts, please do get in touch with us and let us know (including exactly where you saw it and when). The snail in the picture was found by Arthur McEwan James, who works as part of an Oxon County Council team keeping rights of way clear, on the bridleway at the southern edge of Swalcliffe Common in the north of Oxfordshire. We’ve been wondering whether it’s debating whether or not to upgrade to a smart phone!

Ellen Lee, Data Services Officer

The Roman Snail (or Escargot anyone?)

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Director: Camilla Burrow Projects Manager: Lucy Lush Data Services Officer: Ellen Lee Data Services Officer: Graham Hawker

Oxfordshire Biodiversity Officer: Julie Kerans Berkshire Biodiversity Officer: Helen Miller Administration: Sally Jeffery Biodiversity Data Assistant Rachael Potter

TVERC The Thames Valley Environmental Records Centre (TVERC) is one of a national network of Local Records Centres. It aims to: collect, collate and make available information to help people make sound decisions about our natural environment and hold all available information about the plants, animals, wildlife habitats

and important wildlife and geological sites in Berkshire and Oxfordshire. Thames Valley Environmental Records Centre is a ‘not for profit’ operation run by a partnership of the following organisations:

Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust, Bracknell Forest Borough Council, Cherwell District Council, Natural England, The Environment Agency, Oxford City Council, Oxfordshire County Council, Reading Borough Council, Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Council Slough Borough Council, South Oxfordshire District Council, Vale of the White Horse District Council, West Berkshire District Council, West Oxfordshire District Council, Wokingham Borough

Council.

TVERC c/o Oxfordshire County Council, Signal Court,

Old Station Way, Eynsham, Oxon OX29 4TL

If you wish to email any member of staff please use firstname.surname@oxfordshire.gov.uk. For Helen please use helens.miller.

Grahame Hawker Being a Grahame Hawker, perhaps I was always destined to become involved in conservation. From “Nature Boy” at school to Senior Park Ranger for Early Town Council via a detour into a degree in Horticulture, an MSc in the USA, returning to the UK as Horticultural Officer for Norwich Council, then a voluntary post with BTCV leading to work for Earley. I sit on the steering group of the Berkshire Local Nature Partnership and I am chair of the Wokingham Biodiversity Forum. I have also established the Earley Environmental Group and Local History Group, resulting in the publication of three books. I’ve helped set up the Padworth Environmental Group and the Berkshire Moth Group. In addition, I chair the conservation and recording committee of the Upper Thames Branch of Butterfly Conservation. My spare time is spent studying for the Environmental Conservation diploma at Oxford University, recording butterflies and moths, constructing a butterfly and bee garden in Brimpton Churchyard, and assisting in the production of a recently published micro-moth book for Berkshire.

Graham Hawker I ended up in Oxfordshire through a year’s placement at the now defunct Weed Research Organisation at Yarnton while a student (at Bradford) and returned there for a while after finishing my degree. I then volunteered at BBONT as part of the habitat survey team which is where it all began for me. While essentially being a botanist in truth I am a habitats person. I ended up as team leader and then off to the Nature Conservancy Council, back to BBONT, and then I was an ecological consultant. I worked mainly for Councils on surveys and some strategic reports. I also did a fair bit of database work for John Campbell at the Oxfordshire Biological Records Centre and was always keen on the data side. Working so closely with habitat and site data meant I had absorbed far too much information than is good for you. TVERC was perhaps the opportunity I was always looking to put it to good use. And now I’ve absorbed quite a lot of Berkshire information as well.

Graham Hawker Data Services Officer

A field guide to Graham(e) Hawkers As Graham Hawker I have been often mistaken for Grahame Hawker.

To help out here is a short guide, the spelling and hair should help as well!