16 BRISC Recorder News No 103 UK Awards for biological recording and information sharing Following its success in 2015, on Thursday 17th November 2016, we will again be holding an evening reception for the UK Awards for Biological Recording and Information Sharing. This will also be held at the National Museums Scotland between 6 and 7.15 PM. Drinks and nibbles will be served during the event and there are a number of restaurants available locally for dining afterwards. We look forward to seeing you in Edinburgh! The NBN Atlas Scotland has been shortlist- ed for a prestigious award at the RSPB Nature of Scotland Awards 2016 . The shortlist, which was announced on 6th September, represents a cross section of businesses, charities, the public sector and individuals working towards conserving the country’s unique wildlife and natural environment. The NBN Atlas Scotland has been shortlist- ed in the Innovation Category of which there are 6 nominations in total: ● NBN Atlas Scotland ● Cairngorms Scenic Photo Posts ● The Great Trossachs Forest National Nature Reserve ● “Magic Margins” ● The Scottish Code for Conservation Translocations ● Shetland Peatland Restoration Project We understand that this category received a considerable number of high calibre projects, so we are thrilled with the news! Dr Jo Judge, NBN Chief Executive said “We are delighted that the NBN Atlas Scotland has been shortlisted for the ‘Innovation Award’. Building the Atlas has been a truly collaborative project between many partner organisations, and using the Atlas will be a great way of engaging and captivating people with wildlife in Scotland. We are all very excited and are now keeping our fingers crossed for the next stage…!” The winners will be announced at a ceremony in Edinburgh on 24th November. The ceremony will be hosted by wildlife TV presenter Chris Packham as 300 key decision-makers and supporters celebrate Scottish conservation’s outstanding success stories. Until then, fingers crossed! Keeping in touch If you want to receive NBN News updates direct to your inbox, remember that you can sign up to Network News, which is issued on a monthly basis on the first week of the month. Simply complete the online form and that it! https://nbn.org.uk/news- events-publications/latest-stories-from- our-network/enews-sign-up/ The Atlas of Living Scotland is the country’s largest collection of biodiversity information http://www.als.scot/ 1 BRISC Recorder News No 103 www.brisc.org.uk www.facebook.com/BriscScotland Issue No 103 - October 2016 ISSN 0966-1964 Recorder News BIRD LIFE OF THE MUSSELBURGH LAGOONS In 1964, the South of Scotland Elec- tricity Board constructed a 1.7-mile- long concrete sea wall and reclaimed an area of intertidal flats east of the Esk mouth. The wall encompassed four large lagoons which were used to dispose of fly-ash pumped as a slurry from the nearby Cockenzie Power Station. For many years, the whole site was hugely important as a wader roost and the only people who visited this rather bleak site were a few local birdwatchers. Gradually the area was filled in, grassed over and trees were planted, but thankfully plans for a golf course were shelved. The power station closed in 2013 and in the latter years of its life, the ash was still being pumped alternately into the western and easternmost lagoons. Now, the only wet areas are the man-made scrapes which occupy just a small part of the formally extensive site. Wading birds are a key feature of the Musselburgh Lagoons (grid ref NT358735) – they feed on the inter- tidal Firth of Forth and roost on the CONTENTS Bird life of the Musselburgh Lagoons pg 1 Chair and Editors page pg 3 Hawker changes in D&G pg 5 Smart Recording with Guerrilla Tactics pg 7 BRISC Projects pg 9 SBIF Update pg 12 BRISC Conference pg 13 Reviews and Information pg 14 NBN News pg 15
Transcript
16BRISC Recorder News No 103
UK Awards for biological recordingand information sharing
Following its success in 2015, on Thursday17th November 2016, we will again beholding an evening reception for the UKAwards for Biological Recording andInformation Sharing. This will also be heldat the National Museums Scotland between6 and 7.15 PM. Drinks and nibbles will beserved during the event and there are anumber of restaurants available locally fordining afterwards.
We look forward to seeing you in Edinburgh!
The NBN Atlas Scotland has been shortlist-ed for a prestigious award at the RSPBNature of Scotland Awards 2016.
The shortlist, which was announced on 6thSeptember, represents a cross section ofbusinesses, charities, the public sector andindividuals working towards conserving thecountry’s unique wildlife and naturalenvironment.
The NBN Atlas Scotland has been shortlist-ed in the Innovation Category of whichthere are 6 nominations in total:
● NBN Atlas Scotland
● Cairngorms Scenic Photo Posts
● The Great Trossachs Forest NationalNature Reserve
● “Magic Margins”
● The Scottish Code for ConservationTranslocations
● Shetland Peatland RestorationProject
We understand that this category receiveda considerable number of high calibreprojects, so we are thrilled with the news!
Dr Jo Judge, NBN Chief Executive said “Weare delighted that the NBN Atlas Scotlandhas been shortlisted for the ‘InnovationAward’. Building the Atlas has been a trulycollaborative project between manypartner organisations, and using the Atlaswill be a great way of engaging andcaptivating people with wildlife in Scotland.We are all very excited and are nowkeeping our fingers crossed for the nextstage…!”
The winners will be announced at aceremony in Edinburgh on 24th November.The ceremony will be hosted by wildlife TVpresenter Chris Packham as 300 keydecision-makers and supporters celebrateScottish conservation’s outstandingsuccess stories.
Until then, fingers crossed!
Keeping in touch
If you want to receive NBN News updatesdirect to your inbox, remember that youcan sign up to Network News, which isissued on a monthly basis on the first weekof the month. Simply complete the onlineform and that it! https://nbn.org.uk/news-events-publications/latest-stories-from-our-network/enews-sign-up/
The Atlas of Living Scotland is thecountry’s largest collection of
biodiversity informationhttp://www.als.scot/
1BRISC Recorder News No 103
www.brisc.org.uk
www.facebook.com/BriscScotland
Issue No 103 - October 2016ISSN 0966-1964
Recorder News
BIRD LIFE OF THE MUSSELBURGHLAGOONS
In 1964, the South of Scotland Elec-tricity Board constructed a 1.7-mile-long concrete sea wall and reclaimedan area of intertidal flats east of theEsk mouth. The wall encompassedfour large lagoons which were used todispose of fly-ash pumped as a slurryfrom the nearby Cockenzie PowerStation. For many years, the whole sitewas hugely important as a wader roostand the only people who visited thisrather bleak site were a few localbirdwatchers. Gradually the area was
filled in, grassed over and trees wereplanted, but thankfully plans for a golfcourse were shelved. The powerstation closed in 2013 and in the latteryears of its life, the ash was still beingpumped alternately into the westernand easternmost lagoons. Now, theonly wet areas are the man-madescrapes which occupy just a small partof the formally extensive site.
Wading birds are a key feature of theMusselburgh Lagoons (grid refNT358735) – they feed on the inter-tidal Firth of Forth and roost on the
CONTENTS
Bird life of the Musselburgh Lagoons pg 1Chair and Editors page pg 3Hawker changes in D&G pg 5Smart Recording with Guerrilla Tactics pg 7BRISC Projects pg 9SBIF Update pg 12BRISC Conference pg 13Reviews and Information pg 14NBN News pg 15
scrapes. Not only is it a nationallyimportant site in terms of numbers andvariety, it is also simply a great placeto see them. The site is convenientlysituated on the eastern outskirts ofEdinburgh and can be easily bereached by bus, car, bicycle or eventrain. It is this proximity to a popula-tion centre that really highlights thesite’s importance for education andrecreation.
The Musselburgh lagoons site has ahigh level of protection – in fact thehighest possible, in that it forms part ofthe Firth of Forth Ramsar Site. This
status was achieved by virtue of thelarge number of waders that roosthere, and it is secure, undisturbedroost sites that are in such short supplyand are crucial in supporting the birdpopulations involved.
At low tide, waders disperse along themud, sand, rocks and mussel beds
from Portobello east to Port Seton (andprobably beyond). Their feedingregime is dictated by the tides (not dayand night), which is maybe just as wellgiven the alarming level of disturbanceat Fisherrow by dog walkers thesedays. As the tide rises and pushes thebirds inshore, the seawall near theRiver Esk mouth provides a superbviewing platform to look down onto thevarious wader species and offersopportunities to hone your identifica-tion skills!
After Oystercatcher, the most abun-dant waders are Curlew, Redshank and
Bar-tailed Godwit, but there are manymore. At the scrapes, the birds gatherat high tide, and before they settledown to roost, they often bathe andpreen – again a good time to observethe differences between the species.
15BRISC Recorder News No 103
The Flora of Lanarkshire by PeterMacpherson, is the first comprehensiveflora of this Scottish county. Past Presidentof the BSBI, the author was official plantrecorder for Lanarkshire VC 77 for over 35years. This Flora represents decades ofmeticulous research and field work andcontains historical and current records ofplants growing in wild situations across thevery diverse county.
Extending south to the source of the riverClyde, VC 77 includes upland regions,heaths, rivers, lochs and urban areasincluding part of the greater Glasgowconurbation. Over 2,000 taxa, includingnative and alien species, specific to differ-ent habitats are described in addition todetailed analysis of sites of particularbotanical interest.
Don’t forget that this year’s NBN Confer-ence is being held at the National MuseumsScotland, Edinburgh, on the 17th and 18thNovember 2016.
The theme of the conference is ‘Going withthe flow: Supporting the NBN Data FlowPathway’. As the title suggests, this willfocus on the stages of the data flowpathway across the two days.
The current NBN Conference programme2016 is available online.
We have built in a full afternoon ofworkshops on Thursday 17th November,which are built around the NBN StrategicWorking Groups. You will need to selectwhich workshop you wish to join when youcomplete your registration form. Placesare limited, so please don’t forget to book.
When booking for the Conference,member, non-member and student ratesare available.
For those of you arriving on the Wednes-day before the Conference, NationalMuseums Scotland has kindly offered toarrange guided tours of the exhibits.Space is limited and booking is essential.If you are interested, please email RachelRussell at [email protected] with apreferred start time between 3:00 and5:00pm on Wednesday 15th November.Whilst the time cannot be guaranteed it willhelp the team to plan the tours around thenumber of people wishing to participate.
the southwest, the fascinating case of SandLizards Lacerta agilis introduced to theisland of Coll, and the alien Alpine NewtIchthyosaura alpestris which is nowcommon at a number of sites, mainlyaround Edinburgh, adding to the need tolook carefully at all our smaller newts tocorrectly determine their identity. Scotlandis also visited by four species of sea turtle,one an annual visitor, the other three lessoften encountered. Appendices coverconservation, a site guide and exotics.
This is a significant new work on animportant part of our vertebrate fauna.Running to 312 pages, the standard ofpresentation is all that you would expectfrom Harry Scott at Pica Design. Thanks togenerous sponsorship, the book is availablefree to download as a pdf fromhttp://www.glasgownaturalhistory.org.uk/books.html and a (paid for) hard-copyversion which will be printed later can beordered from [email protected].
As a publication available firstly in anelectronic format, it is a pity that hyperlinkswere not included, at least from thecontents and index pages to the speciesaccounts and chapter heads to save a bit ofscrolling. Notwithstanding, very stronglyrecommended and the maps shouldencourage readers to help fill in some of thegaps.
References
McInerny, C. J. (2016). The closer you look,the more you see: surveying reptiles atLoch Lomond. No.102, 1-2, 5-6.
Book ReviewThe Amphibians and Reptiles ofScotland by CJ McInerny and PJMinting (2016)The Glasgow Natural History Society
A quick question: how many Scottishamphibians and reptiles do you know?
Common Frog , CommonToad , Adder ,Common Lizard … Slow-worm , maybe a couple ofnewts? Few people will realise there are asmany as 16 species (plus exotics). Frogsand Toads are probably familiar enough,though even they can be confused fromtime to time. The others will be much lessfamiliar.
The heart of the book comprises accountsof each of the Scottish species divided intosections on identification, current distribu-tion (with a map and histograms of distri-bution by altitude), habitat, annual cycle(with bar chart), history in Scotland, whereand when to see the species, diet, popula-tion, threats (and legal protection) and,helpfully, an indication of current gaps inour knowledge. Throughout, it is illustratedwith first-rate photographs of the animalsand their habitats. The book draws on theliterature and a great deal of originaknowledge and research by the authors –there was a taster of McInerny’s work in arecent issue of this newsletter (McInerny2016). As such it is right up to date andthoroughly focused on Scotland.
As well as good accounts of the commonerspecies, recorders will be interested toread about our rarest native amphibian,the Natterjack Toad Bufo calamita,confined to a few sites along the Solwaycoast, Grass Snakes Natrix natrix, also in
3BRISC Recorder News No 103
The Chairman'sColumn
Well it isn't quite mylast column as Isuggested in the lastRecorder News, butsoon there will beanother author of this
section. Autumn is certainly in the air withthe first of the skeins of Greylag Geeseflying over my house today. The leaves areturning and the insect-eating birds aremigrating. The Large White caterpillars arestill munching on my uncovered Kale, butyou have to let them have something tomunch…
The BRISC Conference and AGM is nearly amonth away. It doesn't seem like we werein Grantown-on-Spey for the last one. Ihope that the discussion on the conferencetopic of Local Nature Conservation andBiological Recording is as good as we hadlast year. Local sites and local recording domake a difference and this sort of data wasused to compile the State of Nature Report:http://www.rspb.org.uk/Images/StateOfNature2016_Scotland_1%20Sept%20pages_tcm9-424988.pdf It is gettingharder for government to ignore that theirpolicies are actively harming biodiversity.
The SBIF group working on the Review ofthe Biological Recording Infrastructure inScotland has begun and from what I heardat the meeting recently, it looks like quite anundertaking. There will be lots of talking topeople involved in biological recording. It isonly a review but it is doing something newand its findings on what sustainable datamanagement structures and volunteersupport Scotland requires should be difficultto ignore We will of course keep youinformed.
EditorialA little BRISC business tostart: as mentioned inthe last issue of BRISCnews there will be threeissues in 2017 – January,May and September.Note also that annual
membership runs from April 1st; the individ-ual rate is still £15 p.a.
Now the meeting / conference season isupon us with many groups - Butterflies,BSBI, Bats, holding their annual events overthe next few months. If you don't getnotification as a member of something, dogoogle their websites as such conferenceswelcome new people and are also fantasticplaces for learning and meeting people.
Not least of these we hope you will attendis the annual BRISC conference. This yearthe subject is 'Local Nature Conserva-tion and Biological Recording' with mainspeaker Dr Alison Hannah. The conferenceis in the handsome Linlithgow Burgh Hall,Saturday 29th October. Full details andbooking information can be found on page13.
Many thanks to this issue’s contributors.There is an inspiring article from the OuterHebrides Recording Group and a welcomereview of the recently published Amphibiansand Reptiles of Scotland by Chris McInernyand Pete Minting on pg 14.
Sorry no room for BRISC contacts list - seethe website or previous issues!
DEADLINE FOR NEXT ISSUE
January 20th 2017
Articles in Word & photos in jpeg prefera-bly, please. Email to: [email protected]
Birdwatchers know the site as a Meccafor birds; and so do Sparrowhawks andPeregrines. The mass eruption of thewader flocks may be a good tactic, buta surprise visit can often catch a waderunawares. A Sparrowhawk is as adeptat picking up a Snipe as it flashes overthe scrapes, as a Peregrine is stoopingout of the sky and grabbing a Knot. Ifthe birds you are looking at suddenlylook skywards and freeze – look up.They are better at spotting somethingthan we are!
Waders are seen at Musselburgh inevery month. A winter populationfrequents the area from November toFebruary; spring passage is March toMay; then autumn passage is evidentfrom late June through to October.
You will see few waders in mid-June,but as the end of the monthapproaches, the number of Redshanksrapidly increases from just one or twobirds to tens and then many tens. Atfirst it’s just failed and non-breedingbirds, but locally bred, young birds startappearing at the scrapes towards theend of July. Young Redshanks,Curlews, Oystercatchers and Dunlinsare first, but then juveniles from thefar-distant breeding populations ofKnots, Bar-tailed Godwits and Turn-stones make their appearance. Theymay have flown over 2,000 miles in justa few days to get to Musselburgh.
Returning to mid-summer, a few non-breeding Bar-tailed Godwits remainthrough the summer. These are one-year-old birds that don’t venture northto breed, but choose to stay and moult
on the Forth. July also sees a signifi-cant number of adult Black-tailedGodwits passing through – somethingthat has definitely become morefrequent with the establishment of thescrapes (and highlights the previouslack of vital, freshwater habitats on thesouth Forth). Again, it’s failed and non-breeding adults that pass through first,later accompanied by the juveniles.These are Icelandic birds en route totheir winter grounds further south, andmany only stay at Musselburgh for afew hours to rest, before continuing ontheir way. An excited, vocal flock of 50birds can drop out of the sky and begone again a couple of hours later.
With this continual turn-over of birds,the total numbers using the site isdifficult to estimate. It’s easier withobvious flocks like Black-tailed Godwit(and other scarcities), but the turnover in passage Oystercatcher, forinstance, is unknown and the published‘monthly peaks’ are probably massiveunderestimates of the totals. Suffice itto say that the 2,000 birds you see oneweek are almost certainly not the same2,000 you may see a week later. Rari-ties also give an indication as to howlong individuals stay at the scrapes.Although this varies, a ball-park figurewould be something like one to threedays.
It's not just about waders and thescrapes though; Musselburgh’s inshorewaters are prime habitat for sea ducks,divers, grebes and auks. One speciesstands out as a Musselburgh speciality– the Velvet Scoter. Rarely can you getas close to these northern, black-and-
Programme 0930-1000 Arrival and registration 1000-1010 New Chairman's welcome. 1010-1040 Local Nature Conservation sites and local recording. . 1045-1100 LRCs and local sites. 1105-1120 Bio Recording on your local site. 1125-1140 LNC Sites and Councils. East Lothian Council. 1145-1200 SBIF Update. 1200-1230 4 Bursary talks. 1230-1400 Lunch
BRISC AGM 1330 - 1400 1400 Official Goodbye and briefing for Field Visit to Linlithgow Loch. 1410-1630 Field Visit 1630-1700 Last tea & coffee and Departures
Costs: Student £15; member £35; non-member £40
Booking: Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/brisc-conference-agm-tickets-27759854472 or Email: [email protected] at time of printing: Trains: Edinburgh to Linlithgow - Depart 0833 or 0845. Glasgow Queen St. to Linlithgow - Depart 0815 or 0845. Linlithgow to Edinburgh - Depart 1717 or 1740. Linlithgow to Glasgow Q. St. - Depart1709, 1735 or 1756. From Stirling check www.scotrail.co.uk Buses: Regular services to Stirling, Falkirk and Edinburgh.
composition and abundance, the specieschange”. We know of other studentsworking in various ways in ecological orconservation related works. So bursariesare good value!
GNHS & BRISC welcomes applicationshowever, for the less studied taxa. There isa huge range of courses available betweenthe 17 Field Studies Centres spread acrossGreat Britain and Northern Irelandhttp://www.field-studiescouncil.org/centres.aspx. There are also anumber of recording schemes or LocalRecords Centres (see www.brisc.org.uk forlinks and bursaries) which offer occasionalintroductory courses, usually free.
TWIC Autumn Conference &AGM November 2016
Sea Change? A Conference on MarineRecording and Conservation
Date: Saturday 26th November,10:30 - 16:30
Location: Bo’ness Town hall, Falkirk(EH51 9NJ).
Details: Talks will highlight some of theexcellent work undertaken by marinerecording schemes and citizen scienceprojects to improve knowledge of marinespecies in our area as well as some of thechallenges associated with managing andconserving marine biodiversity.
Cost: FREE, including buffet lunch, butbooking is essential as numbers will belimited.
Getting there: The nearest train stationis at Linlithgow and from there it is a shorttrip on the bus (Bus No. 45) to Bo'ness.There is also free on-street parking
SBIF UPDATESince the alignment of SBIF with NBN inApril this year it has been full steam aheadwith planning the review of biologicalrecording infrastructure in Scotland.Underpinning the review is the fundamentalaim and original vision of SBIF: ”Highquality species and habitat data will becollected and managed through a sustaina-ble, co-ordinated and integrated local andnational framework of organisations,partnerships and initiatives. These data willbe available to ensure Scotland's biodiver-sity, ecosystems and people benefit”.
We have a list of objectives which include:to build the energy and confidence of keystakeholders; to establish what funding andother income sustains the currentinfrastructure and what sources maycontinue to be available, or become availa-ble, in future; to identify where improveduse of technology can help reduce duplica-tion of effort and increase the efficiency ofthe biological recording infrastructure; andto consult stakeholders on the infrastruc-ture that they and their sector need to meettheir requirements. The consultationprocess will be starting in late October.
The background to the review and moreinformation can be found athttps://nbn.org.uk/about-us/where-weare/in-scotland/review/. Please sign up tothe NBN’s Network News (athttps://nbn.org.uk/news-events-publications/latest-stories-from-ournetwork/enews-sign-up/ to be keptinformed of this and other news from theNetwork.
There will be a full report by Ellen Wilson,chair of SBIF, at the BRISC Conference onthe 29th October.
5BRISC Recorder News No 103
white sea ducks as you can off theMusselburgh seawall. Some CommonScoters are usually mixed in (theirnumbers tend to peak in summerrather than winter). If you are luckyyou may get sight of the rare SurfScoter. But it would be a red letterday to get one of those close in!
Rarities add spice to the Musselburghbirding experience, with more rarevagrants turning up here thananywhere else of comparable area insouth-east Scotland. Rare waders,terns and gulls are identified eachyear, with Wilson’s Pharalope, White-rumped Sandpiper and Western Sand-piper coming to mind.
And I haven’t even mentioned theShort-eared Owls that were such afeature of the winter of 2015/16…
The site is managed by East LothianCouncil and promoted as both a‘Leisure Park’ and a Nature Reserve –and visitor pressure on the area canat times be detrimental to wildlife.Nonetheless, the partnership betweenScottish Power (the previous occu-piers of the site) and the Council hassuccessfully produced the scrapes andits ‘hides’, and plans have been on thetable for many years for additionalwildlife habitats. Fingers crossed,these will materialise soon.
Further information can be found athttp://www.the-soc.org.uk/whatson/local-branches-2/lothian/
Hawker changes in Dumfries &Galloway
If you live in SW Scotland, CommonHawker is a good name for
. They can be watched at count-less lochs and ponds, from the highestat 710 m in the Moffat Hills to justabove sea level at more easily accessedsites such as Kirkconnell Flow and theAlmorness Peninsula, both in Kirkcud-brightshire. Twenty years ago, the onlyplace where you had to check hawkerID was in Galloway Forest Park, forAzure Hawker . Now,we have four hawkers: so you have tolook more carefully at anydragonfly!
I first saw Southern Hawker (photo above) here in 2003, at
woodland pools on the edge of a bognear Canonbie, and have seen them atthe same spot many times since.They’ve been recorded in 22 tetradsacross the three vice-counties, but aremostly in Dumfriesshire, which is hard-ly surprising, as the species has been
expanding its range from NorthernEngland. Some of these records are ofwandering individuals away frompotential breeding sites, but they arealready showing their adaptability. Thephoto shows a small, shallow gardenpond so thick with decaying vegetationthat I could hardly use my colander,but managed to dig out two fullygrown larvae on 8 July 2016. I hadvisited because Karen Millar photo-graphed a female ovipositing here, ather home near Lockerbie, in 2014. Lastsummer, the owner of a much largergarden pond near Ecclefechan, easternDumfriesshire, counted 100 exuviae,but watched many of the emergents
being snaffled up by Reed Buntingsand Grey Wagtails. This summer, shedidn’t see a single adult or find anyexuviae. Migrant Hawkerhas been moving northwards, from SEEngland, for the last century. It
Barbara (right) with Karen Miller at her gardenpond where Southern Hawker breeds.
(Photo Richard Mearns)
reached South Cumbria in about 1999and the north of the county in 2003.One was possibly seen in Dumfriesshirethat year and certainly in 2004. They’venow been recorded in 16 tetrads acrossDumfriesshire and Kirkcudbrightshire,but not yet in Wigtownshire, with themain concentration in the coastal stripbetween Dalbeattie and Southerness,one of the most odonata-diverse partsof the region. Last year, Bob Merrittfound the first larva, in a ditch atMersehead RSPB Reserve. Later in theseason, I watched a male, perched onthe hedge along the main path, atvirtually the same spot.
The known distribution of odonata inthe south-west has changed rapidlysince 1996 when the
, Merritt etal, showed 13 species, all of whichbred. The new atlas by Steve Cham etal (2014) shows that 21 species havenow been recorded. New additionsinclude Banded Demoiselle and KeeledSkimmer, both well established, thoughhow long they have been here is uncer-tain – they may well have been over-looked for many years. Emperor is notrecorded every summer, but hasoccurred sporadically right across theregion since 2003 and Broad-bodiedChaser has been seen several times:both may breed in the future.
However, despite the greater diversity,it’s not all good news. As climatechange allows more species to movein, it’s likely that we will lose AzureHawker, an arctic-boreal dragonfly onthe very southern edge of its range.
11BRISC Recorder News No 103
I have been inspired to be more active notonly with the newly formed Stirling Mammalgroup but also my local group for theLothians, taking my newly learned skills andputting them into practice. I thoroughlyenjoy the small mammal trapping side ofthings and would like to carry out smallprojects within my local area.
Not only that but I have also recentlybecome an Ecologist, my first full-time rolethat doesn’t just consist of bat activitysurveys. After completing the course, I nowfeel more confident in my role at work andwill now be able to use my newly formedskills in mammal identification through theuse of field signs when out carryingfieldwork.
All in all the course was immensely useful.I am grateful for the opportunity to partici-pate. Whether it’s for work or just for fun, Ican now record mammals wherever I am.
Glasgow Natural History Society/ BRISC Bursaries - then & now
Bursaries developed from a series of arti-cles The Scotsman newspaper ran, invitingreaders to send in records of wildlife thatthey came across and found interesting.This involved BRISC in answering so manyquestions that a potential paid post gotturned into offering bursaries to help withtaxonomic training. From two bursariesoffered in 2009 it has grown to seven in2015. However, the numbers of bursariesavailable in any year, depends on thegenerosity of GNHS, BRISC and other spon-sors (and more welcome).
Bursaries are currently offered towards acourse in natural history, often ID trainingin a particular taxon in order to encourage
field recording and then mobilisation to theNBN or to relevant schemes. Since 2009,forty-six people have studied 22 differenttaxa including Dragonflies, Leafhoppers,Mammals, Aquatic invertebrates, Lichens,Freshwater Algae and a range of botanicaltaxa. Bryophytes has been the mostpopular with Harvestmen & Spiders secondbut Diptera has had one intrepid student.(Full list can be seen on BRISC website).
Notable absences for study include Strand-line and Marine species and habitats,Aquatic Plants, Amphibians and Reptiles,many of Beetle groups such as Ladybirds,Carabids etc; and there a gaping hole forsoil-living organisms such as Molluscs andCrustaceans and especially Nematodes andAnnelida.
We know less about what happens tostudents: what careers you take up,whether you continue to record formally orcasually and whether your records eventu-ally go to the NBN. It would not besurprising if many students actually had toor chose to go in other directions as theyleave student life.
However, Ali Murfitt who went on a weeklong Grasses ID course Kindrogan FieldStudies Centre in 2011, says “I went asalmost a complete beginner to grasses.After a week, my brain was melting but anew world had awoken, and suddenly Iwas noticing 'hairy knees' , pointed ligulesand glumes all over the place! Jokes asidethis course gave me a firm grounding ingrass identification which has been invalu-able in the years since. Almost immediate-ly I completed a number of grassland fungisurveys, and the course helped me to notemore detail about the habitat in which thefungi grew. It continues to be useful nowin my role as Site and Community Officerat Borders Forest Trust, where asgrassland converts to woodland, the
10BRISC Recorder News No 103
Mammal Identification
I recently attended a Mammal Societycourse led by the John Haddow, famous inthe bat world. However, bats were putaside for the weekend as we venturedthrough time, learning about the variety ofterrestrial mammals (native and non-native) found throughout Britain.
From tracks and signs to specimens galoreand small mammal trapping to analysis ofowl pellets, I can now identify mammals,other than bats, using a variety oftechniques previously unknown to me. Alack of equipment is no longer a problem,recording mammals is so simple, especiallywith the number of recording tools andapps at our fingertips.
Now I’ve dabbled a little in small mammaltrapping before and a bit of badger survey-ing here and there, but my focus hasmainly been on bats. So I was delighted
when I received my certificate in BasicMammal Identification, stating that I haddemonstrated competence in British landmammal field identification skills by passingthe written assessment with distinction.With that in the bag, there’s a whole heapof things I now feel confident to go out anddo and to contribute to the recording ofmammals.
Preston Montford Field Centre in Shropshire(also run by Roger Morris and Stuart Ball)running from the 1st-5th August 2016.
The course was well attended and it wasgood to spend time with people who wereinterested in learning more about flies. Aswell as inspirational classroom sessions andlectures we were able to get out (despitethe rain) to collect specimens from aroundthe grounds at Preston Montford and alsofrom Loamhole Dingle near Ironbridge.
It was fascinating observing Roger andStuart identifying Diptera in the field anddemonstrating how to collect specimenswhich were then identified under themicroscopes back at the centre. We learnedhow to confidently take specimens to familylevel using a key, and once we had all gotto grips with that, we progressed on togenus and species.
There were lectures on collecting, preserv-ing, pinning and recording specimens andfor the technically-minded there was asession on photo-stacking aimed at thoseinterested in photographing pinned flyspecimens.
The course has given me confidence tobroaden the range of Diptera families I canidentify, many of which I had previouslydecided were too difficult to attempt.Hopefully I will now be able to add more tothe knowledge of which species are presenthere on Orkney and to inspire others tolook more closely at flies and record whatthey see here.
Many thanks to BRISC/GNHS and NorthlinkFerries for contributing to the cost of theferry journey.
7BRISC Recorder News No 103
In 1996, on a BDS outing at SilverFlowe with Bob and Betty Smith andDavid Clarke, the group easily foundlarge numbers of Azure Hawker larvaeand watched adults. By 2007, Davidand other experienced odonatists werefailing to find any larvae. JonathanWillett has spent eight days searchingfor larvae during the last eight yearsand this season, on 30 May, found one– the first recorded since 2001. Theyseem to be barely hanging on.
With such rapid developments, andonly a handful of local dragonflyrecorders, if you visit the region,please be sure to send your records tothe Scottish Recorder Betty Smith orto DGERC, http://www.dgerc.org.uk/so that we can track changes in statusand distribution.
Smart Recording with Guerrilla TacticsThe biological recording community is currently devoting much of its attention todeveloping national systems to organise and optimise the flow of biological data. One ofthe smallest biological recording organisations in Scotland, Outer Hebrides BiologicalRecording (OHBR), has been contributing to this debate, although our primary concernis the collection rather than the flow of the data.
In 2014 a preliminary biological audit, based on the records available from NBN for theOuter Hebrides, confirmed the extent of the under-recording in the islands. It highlightedthe significance of the serious gaps in our knowledge of the species composition anddistribution of most of the major taxa. It also supported our contention that for manytaxa in VC110 the NBN distribution maps were often more of a reflection of recordingactivity and reporting than regional biogeography.
Map showing distribution of Migrantand Southern Hawker, September
For a very small biological recording group,operated by volunteers with extremelylimited financial resources, to begin tomake a significant difference to the
required careful consideration of thevarious options, the formation of a strategicplan and eventually the implementation ofSmart Recording.
Naturalists and scientists have been visitingthe islands since the late 19th century andtheir observations on the flora and fauna ofthe Outer Hebrides are scattered through-out the scientific literature, secreted inpublished and unpublished governmentreports and museum collections. Themajority of these sources are not easilyaccessible and only a tiny percentage of thedata has been extracted and incorporatedinto the BRC or NBN databases.
Employing historical data and informationderived from even the more recent scientif-ic literature to fill gaps in our biogeographi-cal knowledge is fraught with problems butit can make a contribution to the compila-tion of systematic checklists and provide animpetus to investigate new sites and taxa.Therefore, whilst these sources of informa-tion have an important contributory role,their value is probably diminished by thetime and effort required to locate, accessand extract the material.
A more pro-active approach was toorganise a programme of fieldwork tosurvey under-recorded areas at 1 km gridsquare level using a recording team. Withinformation from the biological audit andlocal knowledge, the base-line data for theprogramme and rapidly confirmed thehypothesis that, with the exception of a fewwell known sites and the resident recorders’‘home squares’, there was a high probabili-ty that selected sites would yield a signifi-cant number of new records to add to thedistribution maps of a wide range ofspecies.
Biological recording in the Outer Hebridesis best described as ‘challenging’. Thearchipelago compromises 119 islands andcontains over 4000 freshwater lochs in aland area of 3,070 sq km. With a limitedroad network and ferry service, large areasof the archipelago are extremely difficult toaccess, a situation compounded bytopography and climate. Therefore thechoice of survey sites is constrained bygeography and topography and as thescheduling of field work is dictated by theweather, recorders have to be prepared togo anywhere at very short notice and beprepared to tackle anything from a peatbog to an uninhabited island (guerrillatactics).
The programme of targeted recording isnow in its second year and fulfilling its aimof increasing the annual number ofrecords, and expanding the geographicalcoverage of the datasets. This co-operativeapproach is very popular with OHBRrecorders; it has enhanced the socialcohesion of the group and helped todevelop and expand their range of skillsthrough mentoring and team work. Thesmall size and commitment of the team hascontributed to the success of theprogramme, however, with only 12 activerecorders, our ability to increase the
master class in stoneworts and aquaticplants by Nick Stewart"
9BRISC Recorder News No 103
BRISC PROJECTS
BURSARY REPORTS
Introduction to the families ofDiptera
Whilst volunteering at Orkney WildlifeInformation and Records Centre I often getasked to identify invertebrates, particularlyDiptera, which I have a keen interest in.These are often under-recorded on Orkneyand having completed an MSc in BiologicalRecording I am familiar with using keys toidentify various invertebrate families.However, until I attended a HoverflyWorkshop last year, run by Roger Morrisand Stuart Ball from the Hoverfly RecordingScheme, I had not really tackled fliesbefore. Since then my interest has grownand I have recorded several new species toOrkney, often with identification help out-with the islands.
But I felt I needed to expand myknowledge if I wanted to make any differ-ence to Diptera recording on Orkney so Iwas pleased to receive a BRISC/GHNSbursary enabling me to attend a course at
Microscopes at the ready - class hard at work
number of taxa recorded is limited. Eachindividual has a specialist interest, andalthough they have all been prepared tolearn how to identify new taxa and improvetheir existing skills, there are still somewhere we have been unable to make anysignificant progress. Still, if an entomologistcan develop an interest in aquatic plantsand a mycologist can become enthusiasticabout marine algae and mollusca, perhapsthere is still time for someone to becomepassionate about coleoptera.
Targeted recording, raising publicawareness, developing links with visitingresearch teams, compiling systematicchecklists and providing training opportuni-ties is the key to the success of OHBR’sSmart Recording programme. Targetedrecording may not be an appropriatemethod of data collection in other locations,but the application of an integrated strate-gic approach to organising data collectionmay be more widely applicable. OHBRadvocates the need for diversity in biologicalrecording and this applies to data collectionand support for local recorders.
Biological recording is changing rapidly andwhilst we are pre-occupied with reviewingorganisational systems, data managementand the implementation of new technolo-gies it should be remembered that even themost sophisticated system of data flowrelies on the input of high quality data.Knowledgeable and experience biologicalrecorders are a valuable resource and theability to utilise their skills to provide highquality data depends on developing aninfrastructure that is responsive to theirneeds and understands what is required toput dots on the map in the right places.
