Five members plus the leader met in the car park, where maps were issued and a brief description of the site was given.Great Martin's Hill Wood has a variety of habitats ranging from heathland on the dry, acid infertile soil of the plateau, through woodland (mainly coppiced chestnut and Corsican pine) to marsh and fresh water springs which form in the deep valleys that cut through the plateau from north to south. Lying partly in two parishes, Bentley and Capel St. Mary, it is one of several remaining pieces of ancient woodland in this area that still retain some boundary banks and characteristic associations of ancient woodland plants.
This was the venue on 26 May, a beautiful sunny day, when 14 members including 5 of the Society's recorders met to record as much of the fauna and flora as possible.
After a short introduction which described the varied terrain, maps were issued and members set off to pursue their own specialist interests. Excluding ferns, botanical recording produced a list of 113 species of flowering plant. A number of these were reported in field meeting notes presented in White Admiral 46. Other plants of interest included Climbing Corydalis claviculata, Heath Speedwell Veronica officinalis and Early Hair grass Aira praecox (CJH).
Mosses totalled 46 and some species like Tetraphis pellucida and Leucobryum glaucum were reported to be more abundant here than elsewhere in the county. Four liverworts were recorded, one surprise being Pellia endiviifolia normally found in more basic habitats.
A number of lichens were noted, the most interesting of which was Cladonia caespiticia found on the coppiced stools of sweet chestnut. A good Parmelia flora was discovered on oaks (CH).
Over 40 species of beetle, most of which are common have so far been identified. Seven of these are nationally local. The most interesting find was the nationally notable Feather-winged beetle Nossidium pilosellum, which was discovered in some numbers (DN; SG).
Diptera species reported total 34 and include Tipula maxima, the largest of the British craneflies (AH; JG).
Lepidoptera were very evident - Speckled Yellow moths Pseudopanthera macularia flew up from underfoot almost everywhere. Thirty other species of moth were also recorded. Butterflies were few in number; five species were seen including Holly Blue Celastrina argiolus (TP; NS).
Thanks to Chris Hitch (CH), Richard Fisk (RF), Justin Gant (JG), Stuart Gant (SG), Alan Hubbard (AH), David Nash (DN), Tony Prichard (TP) and Neil Sherman (NS) who kindly supplied their records and notes from which this report is compiled; and to Carol Gurney for giving us the opportunity to explore throughout the wood.
Colin Hawes (CJH)
Ipswich Golf Club, which lies to the east of the town, is a mix of woodland, heathland and wetland habitats. The central woodland and marshes were the focus of this visit.
Five members plus the leader met in the car park, where maps were issued and a brief description of the site was given.
Then, in strong winds, with occasional sunny periods and the threat of showers, the group, which included the Society's recorders for moths and diptera headed downhill to the wooded valley to begin the walk.
We followed the route of the 'Woodpecker Walk'; a nature trail created for the benefit of the golf course members. Along the way various plants of interest were pointed out, including Opposite-leaved Golden Saxifrage, Common Valerian, Bugle, Southern Marsh Orchid, Climbing Corydalis, Aspen and Common Twayblade.
Not many birds were seen, Garden warbler, Reed warbler, Green woodpecker and Great spotted woodpecker all being noted on their calls.
With two moth recorders present, 14 species were found along the walk with Small White Wave (associated with Hazel coppice) and the longhorn Nemophora degeerella the most notable of these.
Diptera were also well covered with 20 species recorded. Tipula maxima, the largest British cranefly species was seen, along with the unusual looking Snake fly Raphidia notata.
The history of the decoy ponds and management of the site were discussed. Time was also spent in one of the Club's polytunnels where gorse and heather are grown to plant out on the site, not to look at the plants but to catch and identify all the flies and moths trapped inside!
Overall, all enjoyed the walk, and were impressed with the variety of habitats to be seen within such a small area.
Hopefully, next year this will be a venue for a recorders meeting, - the Golf Club are keen to find out the range of flora and fauna present on their land. With the threat of housing development all around, this site is becoming an important oasis for wildlife.
Thanks to Ipswich Golf Club for allowing the walk to take place and to Tony Prichard and Alan Hubbard for providing their records.
Neil Sherman
Conservation Officer Ipswich Golf Club
The day consisted of a morning meeting for Recorders at which a number of issues affecting recorders and their work were discussed and an afternoon field session around the Marshland estate. We are most grateful to the owner, Mel Glazer, for kindly providing a meeting room at Marshland House and for guiding us around in the afternoon. Mel has only recently taken on the estate which had in the past been used for shooting and had very little access. The area contains a mix of different semi-natural habitats including heathland and quite large fragments of ancient woodland with a lot of old oak pollards (not unlike Staverton Thicks). In some parts of the woods a bewildering array of ditches and banks, some with large trees growing on them was seen; whilst some probably mark ancient boundaries, others may be the result of more recent disturbance from when the estate was used by the military in WW2. There are also several open grassy fields, and arable reversion on the light soils provided habitat for good numbers of nectar plants like Viper's Bugloss. Near the house Adrian Knowles pointed out a patch of the scarce plant White Horehound (Marrubium vulgare) which might be native there, although it also occurs in this area as a casual. A large old stag-headed oak was admired and a big bracket fungus noticed on the trunk. We had no fungus recorder with us at the time, but I have since had reports that the endangered Oak Polypore (Buglossoporus pulvinus) (a Biodiversity Action Plan priority species) has been found in good numbers there.
Seven County Recorders were able to attend and lists for Lichens, Butterflies, Moths, Beetles, Orthoptera and Hymenoptera were made on the day and have been deposited at SBRC. Some recorders have retained specimens for identification purposes and, as with any specialist recording, it may be several months before everything found on the day is named. Several people remarked that with such a large site it was really only possible to get a quick impression of the important habitats and that they would need to do repeat visits at different times of year to build up a more comprehensive picture of the fauna present.
Martin Sanford
The few members who attended spent an enjoyable sunny, summer's day exploring the geology of the large pit at Vale Farm (TM 318457).
Possibly formed for the extraction of coprolites for fertiliser, and later used as a source of road/track-making material, parts of the pit are now obscured by vegetation, and the base of the crag exposure has become covered with a large amount of talus.
Nevertheless, enough of the red crag was visible to see evidence of bedding and current-bedding, as well as drifting and churning shown by the fossil shells.
Changes since deposition were also noted, for example staining - resulting from the oxidation of iron compounds, decalcification, deposition of calcite, and ironstone formation. Unbroken Arenicola? worm tubes were found, pointing to the stable conditions which followed deposition.
Specimens collected from the richly fossiliferous beds included polyzoa (coral), crustacea (barnacles and crab claws), 12 different species of mollusc, and teeth from cartilaginous fish (shark and ray). Echinocyamus pusillus, the minute sea urchin characteristic of this pit, was found in abundance.
Footnotes
The exposure is probably an enlargement of the once 'small pit, near Vale Farm, Shottisham' referred to by H.E.P. Spencer in his Geological History of Suffolk (p.168).
Alyssum alyssoides, the rare alien plant once naturalised in the sandy soil at this site was not seen.
Colin Hawes
This butterfly transect produced a total of 24 species in 2000 but could not be walked in 2001 because of foot and mouth restrictions. These had been lifted by the time the walk took place and the five members present were able to record 17 species, including a Grayling, 7 Brown Argus and 16 Small Heath. No less than 23 Wall were also recorded and other species were: Common Blue, Holly Blue, Comma, Speckled Wood, which has colonised widely in the last two years, Essex Skipper, Large, Small, and Green-veined White, Small Copper, Red Admiral, Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown and Ringlet. A family of four kestrels were also noted.
The leader explained the mechanics of walking a butterfly transect at the start and also emphasised the need to obtain current records of butterflies and other wildlife in case this beautiful, unspoilt area was threatened in the future
Richard Stewart
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