LAKESIDE NORTH HARBOUR WILDLIFE NEWSLETTER APRIL A newsletter is produced at the end of each month.

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1 LAKESIDE NORTH HARBOUR WILDLIFE NEWSLETTER APRIL 2011 A newsletter is produced at the end of each month. There are also three notice boards with some up to date information about the wildlife around the site. You are welcome to respond to the newsletters by lakesidenorthharbour@highcross.co.uk MEETING POINT FOR GUIDED WALKS Meet Rohan for Guided Walks each Wednesday at 1230 in the Atrium of the 1000 Lakeside Building. If the time is inconvenient please let us know by or leave a message at the information desk

2 Weather Most days have had a cold dry start, warming up by the afternoon. One impact of this has been to encourage trees to produce more blossoms, providing more nectar for the insects. In turn there are more insects and wild flowers about, some about 2 weeks earlier than usual. The warm weather has made the ground hard and dry, and many trees and wild flowers may suffer unless there is some rain. So much for April showers. Birds Looking out across the lake you may notice that there are only a few Black-headed Gulls around. This is because many of them are nesting around the cliffs or on house roofs. Many of our ducks, Moorhens, and Coots have paired off and mated and the colourful male birds are now redundant, and take no further part in the rearing of the young. The Swans have definitely decided to nest here. Swans pair for life. The Penn bird has established her nest in an area, deep in the reeds, and is hopefully sitting on eggs. The Cob is busy moving about patrolling the area, ready to fight off any competition from other swans. The Cob, apart from guarding his territory, will help with the incubation and the rearing of the signets. Many of our song birds are in good voice, including our various Warblers, Black-cap, Whitethroats, and the odd Chiff-chaff, that visit our site each year. They usually fly in from West Africa. Our local birds such as the Blackbirds have been busy, and I think it is quite likely that many are already rearing one brood. Others such as Great and Blue tits have been very busy calling or gathering nest material. Greenfinch, and Chaffinch can be heard in the trees, and it is likely that they are nesting. Dunnocks and Wrens are also to be seen in the shrubby areas and reeds around the lake.

3 Insects We have had a good number of spring butterflies. One of the most interesting is the increase of the Orange-tip butterfly. This species is very difficult to take a snap-shot of because it is a very busy flying from plant to plant. It lays its eggs singularly on its food plant, which is Garlic-mustard, Ladies-smock, or Honesty. The eggs are white at first, but later turn orange. They hatch out into slim green larvae. They tend to be cannibals, so if you rear them they should be kept apart until they pupate for the winter. Speckled Wood Speckled Woods are also about. This species is brown with creamy speckles. It prefers shady woodland glades, or edges of hedgerows, and lays its eggs on coarse grasses. They hibernate either as larvae or pupae. There are two broods. Because of this it is possible that they have a better chance of survival. The Holly Blue is also doing well at the moment. It is the only blue butterfly about at the moment, and is the blue that you often see in your garden. This species hibernates as pupae under Ivy, emerging in the spring as a mature butterfly. This species is double brooded. The first brood lays on Holly, and the second on Ivy. Small White can be seen throughout the site. Both these species hibernate as pupae. The Small White is the main species responsible for ravaging our vegetable crops. It lays its eggs on the cabbage leaf, and the green pupae completely consume the leaves, before pupating in a hollow or crevice of a tree. They have 2-3 broods a year. The Green-veined White can often be mistaken for a Small White, but it is not interested in our vegetables, and prefers Garlic Mustard. This species can be identified by its heavy veined wings, especially in the male.

4 Peacock Butterfly after hibernation. This butterfly used to be very common all over the country, but unfortunately many factors clubbed together to cause a drop in numbers of this species, along with many others, such as Small Tortoishell, Comma, and the Brimstone. Both the Peacock and the Small Tortoishell lay their eggs in clusters on the back of young nettle leaves. The larvae are black with spines and peppered with white dots. The Small tortoishell are smaller and slightly green at first, becoming black later. Both of them live in groups and when threatened they lift their heads in unison to try and frighten a predatory bird. They both winter as an adult butterfly. One cause may be Global Warming, as these species are more adapted to cooler springs and summers. They are adapting though. Other factors include intensive use of chemicals, removal of hedges and trees, and loss of habitat due to land development. Recently though the indication is that there are more trees and hedges being planted now, instead of wooden fencing. Some of the general public are becoming more conscious of the need to leave a wild area in their gardens. Also many farmers are being more careful with the use of chemicals. Small red Damselfly Female Blue-tailed Damselfly Can you see the Small Red Damselfly? I was unable to get any closer. I have not seen this species on the site before. Two were seen around the Ornamental Pond, along with a Blue-tailed Damselfly. Our Blue tailed Damselflies appeared during the 3 rd week in April, and their numbers are high as usual. Dragonflies will be about in Mid May.

5 7 Spot Ladybirds 7 Spot Ladybirds are well and truly about on trees and plants covered in honeydew deposits from aphids. Bumblebees Our Bumblebees are also in good evidence. My initial concern about the White-tailed Bumblebee was dispelled, after seeing them about during this month. The Buff-tailed, and Red-tailed Bumblebees were also in good numbers. All these bees live in small colonies either underground, or in holes in trees, but will also take over bird-boxes if they get the chance. The Queen survives the winter carrying the eggs, which she hatches out in the spring. They hatch out into smaller versions of the Queen, and forage around collecting pollen to feed the nest which has drones and a new Queen. These bees are very unlikely to sting unless severely provoked, as they can only sting once. Trees and Shrubs Many trees and shrubs come into blossom at this time of year. But if you notice, they do not all blossom at exactly the same time. This is so that different insects can be around to feed on the flowers, and pollinate them. Wayfarer Tree in blossom Wayfarer tree flower head This Vibernam has soft delicate flowers with a strong scent. It is quite suited for growing in your garden, either as a standard or as a hedging tree. Small insects such as Bees and Hoverflies enjoy the scent of this blossom. Hawthorn tree in full flower. Red version of Hawthorn tree These trees are sometimes known as May trees due to their time of flowering. They have a distinct scent which attracts insects including Bees and other insects.

6 Cherry Tree in full blossom There are a number of Cherry trees around the site, all of which are providing an attractive display. Many of the sites insects such as Bumble-bees, and other insects, enjoy this blossom. It is interesting to note that the fruit is already forming on most of the Plum and Cherry trees around the site. Elm flowers seen in February. Elm seeds in April. Elm trees produce plenty of seeds, but unfortunately there is either a shortage of male trees, or poor fertility of the seeds, because they never produce any saplings. This is why they can t build up any resistance to Dutch Elm disease. Propagation is by suckers or cuttings only. An Elm tree seed.

7 Black Alder tree with its young brown leaves will soon turn green. Ash Tree in full flower These flowers show their flowers as purple, then sprouting these pale green flowers. They also hang on to their seeds until early spring. Ash trees are also one of the last to leaf up. This is the effect of Willow blossom being blown by the wind along the area running alongside the motorway.

8 Wild Flowers Bluebells on the canal bank in car park Pink and White bluebells These bluebells have always put up a good display on this canal bank after the daffodils have finished. Out of interest, these bluebells are not English ones, but Spanish in origin. This easy to spot because of the much larger, wider leaves and flower stems, larger bulbs, and the way that the flowers hang. They still provide an attractive display though.

9 White Campion Red Campion These attractive wild flowers can be seen all over the country, and we have some on our site. Their real habitats are lush meadows. Sometimes the Red version is more of a pale pink. Hemlock-water-Dropwort Yellow Flag-Iris Hemlock Water-Dropwort is a very common tall bushy plant found on the banks of waterways. As its name implies it is highly poisonous, but it is also a good plant for small insects such as Cardinal Beetles, and many butterflies. Yellow-Flag-Iris is another very common water plant that stands tall with its attractive flowers. I would advise against planting this in your garden pond unless you have plenty of room, Common Comfey Garden Sorrel Common Comfey is a very common flower in our gardens, and in the countryside, with its white, pink, or blue flowers. It is both attractive and useful both in the garden for the compost because it contains plenty of nitrogen, and in herbal medicine, where it is used to heal broken or sprained bones. It was called Knitbone or Boneset in many of the old herbal books. Garden Sorrel is not its proper name, but it is a member of the Wood Sorrel family, often grown in people s gardens. The stems have a very sharp taste, and can be used as flavouring. Its wild version is a small bright white flower, often found in ancient woodlands before the bluebells are out

10 Conservation The gardening team have been very busy cleaning up the lawns, edges, and hedges, and plenty of maintenance around the site. Where the soil was placed on top from where they were improving the drainage, they have planted some grass seed. A team from Cruise Amour have offered to help sort out our Ornamental Pond. They have already helped to clear out the surface scum and clean up some of the plants. Although they were hampered by a nest of mining bees in the front of the pond, a lot of work was done. The willows were cut back to improve access around the pond, and a lot of muck and weed was removed, and deliberately left on the side of the pond so that the insects can return back into the pond. We also netted some Tadpoles in a jar and took a picture of them. It was difficult because they were moving around in the jar, but you can just make out the back legs. Later in May they plan to plant up some of the area round the pond, and the pond with bog type plants. Because the pond dries up in August, it limits the type of plants that can be planted.

11 Hampshire Wildlife Trust Early in April we had a meeting with the Hampshire Wildlife Trust and discussed several ways in which we could raise awareness about the Wildlife Trust, encourage people who work at 1000 Lakeside to take part in our regular wildlife walks, and also maybe think about coming along to one of the Trust s many guided walks and events. Week commencing 23 May is National Wildlife week and, in conjunction with Hampshire Wildlife Trust, we will celebrate this in the Corner of the Café. The Wildlife Trusts offer everyone the chance to get involved during Wildlife Week, an annual programme of events to celebrate the diversity of the UK s natural heritage and to raise awareness of conservation issues. It s a chance for everyone to engage with wildlife by taking part in local Wildlife Trust events and activities. The schedule is as follows:- Monday Hampshire Wildlife Trust - have already set up a display today to promote the work of the Wildlife Trust. If you happen to be in the Café Monday or any day next week then please take a look. The display will remain in the Café until the end of next week. Tuesday Sponsor a Butterfly Sponsor a butterfly for 5. All funds raised go to The Elizabeth Foundation, a national charity supporting infants and pre-school aged children with hearing loss and their families. Wednesday Special Wildlife Walk Meet Rohan in the usual place of the 12:30pm to go on a tranquil walk and be shown all the lovely wildlife around the building. Thursday The Portsmouth & District Bee Keeping Association In association with the Southern Coop. They will be installing 4 bee hives on one of the islands on the 1000 Lakeside premises. They will be here to advise on membership of Portsmouth & District Beekeeping Association. It is open to all persons interested in beekeeping and any activities associated with beekeeping. Friday Hampshire Garden Plants Locally based company specialising in garden plants that encourage our wildlife to survive. They are a couple of Ladies called Marion and Barbara and they will be more than happy to give any advice on plants that you wish to know. If you ve been inspired by recent Wildlife programmes on TV and are looking forward to the start of BBC s Springwatch at the end of May, then the Hampshire Wildlife Trust can help you get the most out of your local wildlife and wild places. Hampshire Wildlife Trust are running all sorts of events during the spring and summer months, where you and the whole family can enjoy the wildlife on your doorstep, including a special walk in order to honour their 50 th anniversary. You can start by looking at their website or give them a call on for your own free copy of our wildlife events programme.

12 They have also just launched a photographic competition, Get out There!, as part of a series of events and activities to celebrate the Wildlife Trust s 50 th Anniversary. The winning entries will be used to produce their 2012 Wildlife Trust Calendar. They are looking for as many people as possible to get involved and submit their wildlife pictures. They want entries from anyone and everyone; there are no categories as the aim is to get people out and about to enjoy the vast amount of diverse wildlife and wild places in the county. The competition is online based, and all photographs can be entered using the online flickr group which can be accessed via the Hampshire Wildlife Trust s website