‘Working with the Grain of Nature’ a biodiversity strategy for England was launched on 24 October 2002 at the London Wetland Centre, Barnes by the Rt Hon Margaret Beckett MP, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The Strategy seeks to ensure biodiversity considerations become embedded in all main sectors of public policy and sets out a programme for the next five years to make the changes necessary to conserve, enhance and work with the grain of nature and ecosystems rather than against them.
The Invertebrate Conservation Trust, the Arachnological Society and Anglian Water have produced a Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) for Rosser's Sac Spider found in Tuddenham, Lakenheath and Chippenham Fens. A PhD Studentship has been established to study it.
English Nature has produced a new leaflet highlighting the plight of Britain’s lowland heathland – which is now more rare than rainforest. Heathland Ecologist, Isabel Alonso is quoted in the January 2003 edition of English Nature Magazine as saying, “Britain holds 60,000 hectares, or 20%, of all lowland heathland in the world, but for too long, heathland has been seen as little more than wasteland, prime areas for urban development and forestry.”
Lowland heathland: a cultural and endangered landscape outlines why lowland heathland is important for wildlife and what we need to do to conserve and restore it. The booklet is available from English Nature’s Enquiry Service, tel 01733 455100.
Spring 2003’s first frogspawn in England was recorded on the western tip of the Cornish peninsula on 23 December 2002. (Information from www.phenology.org.uk)
Peter Ling attended the January meeting of SNS Council to discuss the role of Publicity Officer.
The AGM is in Ipswich this year on April 5th at the Holiday Inn 7.30pm, in a different room from the one we usually use - the Windmill Room.
The Members Evening will be on 21st November at 7pm at the Holiday Inn, Ipswich.
The Conference will be on Saturday October 18th 2003, 9.00am-5.00pm
North Warren nature reserve saw its highest ever-recorded count of Silver-studded Blue butterflies in 2002, with the first butterflies on the wing on June 19th. The Sandlings Butterfly and Conservation Group discovered two new colonies during its 2002 monitoring survey.
An SWT survey of 35 different farmland plots in Suffolk, carried out three times during the 2002 breeding season, failed to find Tree Sparrows in any of the sites. UK numbers have fallen by 95% since 1970 – more than any other bird.
The jumping spider, Pseudeuophrys obsoleta, whose priority habitat is coastal vegetated shingle, has recently been discovered at the northern end of Orfordness at Slaughden. Previously it was found at Shingle Street and Orford Beach. SNS Chairman, Paul Lee who is Spider Recording Scheme organiser for the British Arachnid Society, confirmed the identification. The jumping spider, which is 2.5-3.5mm long, is a highly skilled predator that can jump many times the length of its own body to catch insect prey.
Bob Markham, White Admiral’s Geology correspondent, has written “Sutton Hoo, Through the Rear View Mirror, 1937-1942”. The Sutton Hoo Society publishes it. The book tells the human story of the dig that uncovered the archaeological treasures.
Please send contributions to the Editor, David Walker by June 7th 2003. All items will be considered for publication.
Material for Suffolk Natural History (Transactions) 2003 should be sent to the Editor, Martin Sanford, c/o Ipswich Museum by 1st April 2003.
We stopped supplying zip files of the magazine for download, with issue 53.
This is because the service was very infrequently used and it saves space on the server.
If you miss downloading however please e-mail me, Adrian Chalkley
I will decide whether there is sufficient demand for an alternative method.