Greetings to all 'cybernats' who may be visiting this 'site' for the first time. There follows a report of the 1998 autumn conference of the Suffolk Naturalists' Society(SNS) which was held in Ipswich. These events typically attract an audience of around 300 people and they feature speakers from both the scientific and popular domains of the natural sciences. The day-long conferences are held on a Saturday in late October and ticket prices are usually kept low enough to provide access to all but the most impoverished naturalist.
The theme of the Society's 9th annual conference was that of 'migration' and it was entitled 'Going Places'. It was generously sponsored by English Nature and supported by numerous old friends including Suffolk Wildlife Trust (SWT) and the British Trust for Ornithology. In spite of the rain and gales that lashed the courtyards of the Ipswich School Conference Centre complex, the speakers at the event basked in the usual glow of a radiant enthusiasm generated by the assembled crowd. 1998 proved to be one of the most interesting conferences we have staged with astonishing images of migrating trees and networked fish being featured. Bob Stebbings and Lord Cranbrook introduced the speakers and led the proceedings:-
Nigel Marven: the first speaker, is the kind of individual who makes the wildest of dreams of some of the top wildlife broadcasters come true. For a field naturalist it was a little bit disquieting to learn how many of the now famous clips from the classic television wildlife programmes were contrived, thanks to the imagination and technical abilities of people like Nigel Marven and his crews. Clever stuff - (Barn) Swallows in polythene tunnels and all sorts. Seeing is believing, but viewing may not be, but that serves us all right; we should have been out there seeing what really happens in the natural world for ourselves.
Ian Woiwod: of Rothhamstead Insect Survey outlined some interesting observations about the movement of various flying insects including butterflies and moths, locusts and aphids. Identifying movements of insects over land masses is clearly a mind boggling challenge. Much has been discovered by relating the activity of easily recognised species to that of target species once a pattern of migration has been correlated. A detailed understanding of weather patterns and air flows at various altitudes are clearly essential in this branch of entomology, as are the practicalities of barrage balloons and vacuum cleaner technology. An unusual application of radar also featured in the studies. The speaker questioned what insect 'migration' was and referred to the ultimate definition - one which left most people puzzled.
Chris Wernham: from the BTO took the audience along a well worn path, describing some incredible journeys made by birds around the globe. Surprises were in store for those who have turned their attention to some of the more mundane 'resident' species which also have some travellers tales to tell. There were hints that more information from the Ringing and Migration Section may be in store but it will probably take the publication of the BTO's Atlas of Migration before we are much the wiser.
Colin Ferris: some of the best slides of the day were arguably presented by this speaker. At face value the concept of migrating trees is a 'mind yer head' job. However; the seeds and pollens of trees are highly mobile things; an observation that cannot be made about the respective parts of higher organisms. The speaker described in particular the progressive migration of the sessile oak throughout history, with birds carrying acorns onward and pollen disabling rival oaks downwind by creating weak hybrids. The audience was left with an impression of a Pandora's Box of potential for genetic fingerprinting in the field of biological recording.
Julian Metcalfe: must have produced a few long faces among the ornithologists when he demonstrated how a plaice recovered 80 miles from its release point had in fact travelled many times more than the distance between the two locations and for much of the journey had travelled in completely the opposite direction. The key to the research had been the deployment of electronic tags which were able to log pressure and temperature readings at regular intervals. The downloaded information was cross-referenced by computer against known sea temperatures and tidal pressure values to produce an accurate account of the fishes itinerary. Currently under development is another miniature tag which could be downloaded via a satellite connection after it has made ¼ million similar readings. The Centre for Environmental Fisheries & Aquaculture Science(CEFAS) is definitely 'going places' - watch out Blue Tits!
Steve Piotrowski: rounding off the day, spoke as the person who must rate as the foremost authority on the birds of Suffolk. He analysed the history of migration studies in the county and outlined recent developments in local bird recording and ringing activity. The impact of environmental factors on survey results, particularly that of coastal light pollution were examined in detail. Of particular interest was the work of the Landguard Bird Observatory and some of the significant developments that have taken place there and records that they have yielded. The speaker described the need to promote nature study especially among young people to provide a succession of recorders in the future. Educational facilities and limited access for the general public is being provided at Landguard Bird Observatory for these reasons. Steve is currently working on an avifauna for Suffolk which the SNS expects to publish in the not too distant future.
When time permitted there were lively question and answer sessions when individual members of the audience had opportunities to question the speakers.
What you read later in the subsequent papers from the speakers (Transactions 1999) may not be a true reflection of the people behind the names, or, indeed, everything they actually said on the day! You must be there to get the best from these events. Next year the theme of the Conference will be '1,000 Years of Natural History' and who knows what it will turn up. Book your place early and we will look forward to seeing you all there in October 1999 at the Ipswich School (more details later in White Admiral).
Eric Parsons