Nosterfield Quarry Part 2: YNU Bryologists 13 Oct 2018

The Bryologists set off - complete with next generation - on 13 Oct 2018 at Nosterfield Quarry. The sand was deposited in a glacial lake. In one part the quarry company had had excavated down to the bedrock of magnesian limestone. We are the Bryology Section of the Yorkshire Naturalists' Union.
(See Part 1 for pictures of lichens fungi and higher plants)

This is Aloina aloides Common Aloe-moss with stiff rigid leaves held in a rosette - found on the floor of limestone quarries . as here on the magnesian limestone area

More searching revealed the nationally rare plant that we had hoped to find:  Aloina brevirostris Short-beaked Aloe-moss

Aloina brevirostris has much shorter leaves and a shorter beak.

Microbryum-waiting for a name for this -Blobby

Didymodon tophaceus -
Olive beard-moss

We had lunch in the area where the quarry had dug down to the magnesian limestone bedrock below the sand. In the foreground there is a tufa deposit where the water runs over the limestone - with Didymodon tophaceus.

After lunch we went into the planted woodland/ screen wind break behind. On a felled log of willow Steven found two shoots of Syntrichia papillosum - The leaves are about 1.5 mm long. Not bad going eh!


Nick then found some Syntrichia laevipila (Small Screw-moss) on another willow which I am sorry I missed


As we walked back along the old medieval boundary wall,




 (where there was abundant Syntrichia intermedia)





 we came across a tree



Where there was lots of Syntrichia virescens at its roots - and some Orthotrichum diaphanum ( bottom left) hair tips to leaves)



 Hmm! the last time I knowingly saw this was in the tarmac by the cattle grid at Kilnsey  in 2014


See more Syntrichia expeditions...

Carlisle Mosses - (Superb Syntrichia part 1)

Kilnsey Mosses (Superb Syntrichia part 2)

On the way home, a km south of the quarry I stopped off at the northern most  henge of the three prehistoric henges.  The Thornborough Henge has been described by David Miles of English Heritage as "the most important prehistoric site between Stonehenge and the Orkneys".  This one is covered by secondary woodland and both ground and trees are covered by ivy.

Thank you Tom, Stephen, Nick, Mark, Mike, Chris for an enjoyable day.
(See Part 1 for pictures of lichens fungi and higher plants)

Nosterfield Quarry - Part 1 - Fungi and lichens - 13 Oct 2018

Tarmac's Nosterfield Quarry Nature Reserve, north of Ripon and West Tanfield was the destination for the YNU Bryologists.

But on this Saturday I got a little side tracked onto lichens and fungi. (I will write a post on the Mosses next) 

Note the splendid patch of Peltigera rufescens at the foot of the entrance notice board.

This was pointed out to me by Mark Seaward who was delighted to find this.  He had made records on the site in July at the Bioblitz. But not noticed it then

The team

In July 2018 there had been a bioblitz with Chris Packham. - They  - Just being pipped to first place for total species recorded amongst 50 places holding bioblitzes over 24 hours that day in the UK, by another quarry site in the south of England






This species of dog lichen has red brown apothecia that are wider than long, and the upper surface is supposed to be slightly tomentose or scabrid. (woolly or rough). It grows on calcareous substrata.





Chris Pennock of Tarmac, told us about the geology. The sand was 80 percent sand - (rather than other grades of particles) because it had been laid down in a glacial lake - (rather than being deposits in river terraces). There is a display inside the visitor centre.

Peltigera rufescens

Coprinus atramentarius  was growing in the car park- 

Chris drove us to the far side of the lake, to the Magnesian Limestone area

Conical waxcap - Hygrocybe conica

In the distance (far distance, to the east, with telephoto lens) - is Sutton Bank

Here is White Spindles - Clavaria fragilis - the bottom half of each unit is translucent stem and the top half produces the spores. It was growing on the  area where magnesian limestone bedrock is being left to colonise into calcareous grassland.

The dog-lichen is Peltigera dactyla, but I wish I  knew the name of this brown grey fungus with white sinuate gills.

Are these maroon blobs along the edge or the lichen thallus the soralia to which the Peltigera keys refer?

There are actually 3 fungi growing within 2cm of each other on this bit of rotten stump. The dark purple one on the left is Ascocoryne sarcoides - Not sure about the other two.

Mike Wilcox introduced me to Brookweed - Samolus valerandi

Beside the ancient wall leading back to the center was some Ballota nigra -  Black Horehound. I had found the leaves of this with a group near Grewelthorpe the previous month.. and they definitely had the same smell. The leaves, not the group.

Now to the bryology..

Nosterfield Quarry Part 2: YNU Bryologists 13 Oct 2018

Field Skills Training Day at St Chads - Lichens - Insects - and more - by YNU - for Leeds University MSc

Hi there 

Want to catch up with the latest in Wildlife Field Skills with the Yorkshire Naturalists' Union (YNU) and this year's Leeds MSc Ecology Course?

Sept 27th 2018 - The sun comes out and a dozen experienced members of the Yorkshire Naturalist Union turn up ready to lead training sessions in the annual YNU training day for the the new batch of c.35 Leeds MSc Ecologists for the first day of their course.

I come, handouts prepared, and twigs gathered en route, ready to teach my group of four about lichens
(There is a more detailed the background to this event where I describe the Training Day in 2016)

There are  eight groups  - from Hoverflies to Hyemenoptera, from Lepidoptera to Lichens. 

Each of the eight groups also visits Clare and Mark from the  North & East Yorkshire Ecological Data Centre, who give a talk on recording systems and centres (See picture below)








We go out outside into the warm Leeds' sun to visit my favourite Ash tree just outside the St Chad's Center.  It yielded 10 species in 2016, and it is still  here with its its lichens in 2018: all the species are indicators of, or are at least tolerant to, high nitrogen compound pollution: - This year we notice seven:-
Xanthoria parietina, Xanthoria candelaria, Physcia tenella, Phaeophyscia orbicularis, Parmelia sulcata, Ramalina farinosa and a species of Lecanora.

Xanthoria parietina is the bright orange one in big patches, with orange fruiting bodies - cups - like lemon curd tarts.  

It is pronounced "Zan Thor Ear" . say it: "Zan Thor Ear"

It has a host of English Names (e.g. Maritime Sunburst Lichen, Common Orange lichen, and my favourite name for it: Bird Perch Lichen).  Here is a picture of it from Settle

"Xanthous" is an English adjective meaning yellow - eg yolk yellow and comes from the the Greek Xanthos meaning yellow.

The ruler on the left shows centimetres
divided into millimetres.

The other very abundant very common lichen we see is a much tinier grey foliose lichen called Physcia tenella which you can read about here

While we are here, who appears, but Mike Willison of the Green Team at St Chads. He is able to tell us more about the churchyard and how it is managed for nature, and the new replacement bird-boxes.  I have obtained copies of the nature trail leaflet and the Geological Trail leaflet to show the students

We discover the old wooden benches next to the cricket pitch have now been replaced by brand new wooden benches - so we miss out on seeing a couple of lichen species there. Hey ho. Perhaps in another twenty years...

However the little roundabout in front of the church has cement kerb-stones and has several bright crustose species:-




including Lecanora dispersa  - jam tarts with a white rim (amazing what you see under a hand-lens.. or Olympus Tough TG4 camera)




In the next picture you see orange fruiting bodies (on a dark background thallus ) which is  Caloplaca holocarpa 
and the grey one top left half is Aspicilia contorta


We eat lunch on the grass on the slope next to the church and notice the Field Woodrush (Luzula campestris) an old meadow species.
We look at Lepraria incana on the Old Oak Tree in the corner of the churchyard. It likes shady places. 

We find the Porpidia tuberculosa (Cigarette-Ash Lichen) on a tombstone as in the previous two years. The dark spots are soralia (one soralium, two soralia). The upper cortex (skin) of the lichen has holes, and a sort of powder made of fungal threads and associated algae come out and are blown away and can thus spread the lichen.




In the churchyard we meet others looking for wildlife. This group is looking for Hoverfly larvae in the grass cuttings compost

Next:
Andy Millard points out a Bumble bee's nest - the Common Carder - which has been disturbed, maybe by a fox

The Bees, Wasps and Ants Recording Society say:
Nests are made above-ground in tall, but open grassland, under hedges and piles of plant litter. It may occasionally use bird boxes and holes in trees. It is one of the carder-bees: these bees gather moss and dry grass to make the covering of the nest. Nest sizes are fairly small, with 60-150 workers (Løken, 1973; von Hagen, 1994). The life-cycle of the nest is remarkably long, with workers still present in September and October in some cases.

Then in the wood beyond we meet the  Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)  group -  collecting caterpillars that drop from branches



We progress to the field beyond with a tennis court and big beech tree - but the lawn has just been mown and fallen branches in the wind last week that may have had good lichens on them have been removed.

Back in the centre the Lepidopetera group try and work out what the caterpillars are.




And the Hymenoptera group examine their bees, wasps and other insects



See pictures from 2017 here (stored on Flickr)

I realise I haven't told my group quite everything there is to know about lichens, so invite them to visit the Website of the British Lichen Society.

I wish them good luck at Malham Tarn Field Centre which they will be visiting the following day - and tell them to look out for field courses there (and at other FSC centres) where they can learn specialist subjects - In some subjects and cases they can get student discounts/bursaries if they apply. Most people go to Field Centres independently - you don't just have to go with a school of university.


Malham run a Day course on Lichens and a Long weekend Course.


And me? I was pleased to see the trees: Aspen and the Turkey oak on our walk round and to see the Bombus pascuorum.
I do hope my four students will go away and teach others how to recognise the two most common foliose lichens we found - 
Xanthoria parietina  
and Physcia tenella 

Settle Community Christmas Day Meal 2018 - All Welcome

Settle Community Christmas Day Meal -  for people in Settle and Villages around - will take place again this year at St John's Church

See Pictures of Settle Community Christmas Day Meal 2015 when we catered for 50 people from Settle and villages around (including a couple of "Meals on Wheels" type deliveries)

Adults £10, children £5.00 - (Bursaries also available for anyone who needs to come for free) . Free transport also available.

Also just come for tea at 3pm if you wish.

Here's the programme

Settle Community
Christmas Day
Meal 2018

 Christmas Day at the Settle Community Christmas Day Meal at St John’s Church Hall, Settle.

We hope people will arrive at 11.45 am for a cup of coffee/ fruit juice (i.e. between 11.30 and 12.00). The programme will be along the lines of the following:

11.45: Arrive; Coffee/fruit juice etc

12.00: A few carols

12.30: Lunch

2.00: Activities:

Pass the Parcel

Party Pieces etc

3.50pm: Tea

4.30 to 5pm Depart

Party pieces / poems (A session where participants who have brought one will recite/read their favourite poem or party piece.  If you would like to bring a poem to read that would be great) Tea (a piece of Christmas cake and cheese and mince pie or sausage roll) will be served about 4.00pm.  We will be giving lifts back home to those people who have asked for one between 4.30 and 5pm.

If you have any questions or dietary needs please let me know. 01729 822138 (We usually have at least two people who are vegetarian and possibly one who has gluten free food)

Best wishes

Judith Allinson

and the Settle Community Christmas Day Team

Adult Caddisflies

On 23 Aug 2018  Craven Conservation Group had "An insect day at Broadrake Farm". We looked at "Bycatch" in the moth trap.

I took some Caddis-flies round for Sharon Flint to identify.

Potamophylax cingulatus 

Here is a Potamophylax tying to escape, crawling onto Sharon's book.

Potamo (Greek) = river
phylax (Greek) = guardian, sentinal
cingula (Latin) = girdle. belt

Limnephilus sparsus  

Limnephilus sparsus  

Limne (Greek) = lake or pond

philus = loving

sparsus = scattered

This now increases my life list of adult caddis flies from one to three.

The first one I have remember seeing is

Limnephilus lunatus

Limnephilus lunatus

Limnephilus lunatus has a half moon shaped transparent area at the end of the wing.

See https://www.ynu.org.uk/Caddisflies  for more information on Caddisflies

The Permian Bockram Breccia - rocks newer than Carboniferous near Westhouse

Wheyyy - not just pretty flowers and sedges and lichens in this blog.  

Today it's geology..

I am going to write up how I learned that there are rocks newer than Carboniferous around here..

Roger and Liz Neale led an excellent day for Craven Conservation Group on the special rock formation which shows up in the stream bed near their house.

The Permian Brockram breccia





Here is what I wrote for a press release:

Craven Conservation Group were led on an exciting trip to see the “Permian Brockam Breccia” exposure at the gill below Fellbeck Farm near Westhouse on Sunday 12th August. 

The fact that the stream was (almost) dry meant the group could explore the sunken stream bed. 

Twelve members and friends attended the day led by Roger and Liz Neale of Bank House, Westhouse. 

Roger gave an introduction to Local geology in the morning and the group helped him sort specimens and look at how different types of local rock were used in different parts of the building.

Oyster Mushrooms, Horsehair Fungi and Field Mushrooms were spotted on the walk.

Roger had run the event the previous day for Cumbria Wildlife Trust- Kirkby Lonsdale Group

Roger explained how

Breccia is rock that is made out of angular pieces of rock that have been cemented together with sand.  At the base of the hills at this end of Craven - e.g. Ingleborough - are ancient sandstones/slates. On top of these are rocks formed in the Carboniferous period:  limestone, then the Yoredale Series (sandstone, shale and limestone layers) and then millstone grit at the top.  In the next geological period, the Permian, (which began 289.9 million years ago) desert conditions prevailed. There was a huge fault (cliff) maybe 6000ft high. In the desert occasional flash floods brought a jumble of sand and rocks over the limestone cliff. Some of the cracked rocks got cemented together to from the breccia, now called the Permian Brockram.

 oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The next meeting of Craven Conservation Group is An Insect Day at Broadrake Farm (Near Ribblehead  SD 740792) on  Thursday 23 August, 2018.   10am - 4pm. We plan to open the moth trap at 10am.
Find and record species around wildlife pond, meadow, limestone outcrops, mosses, grasses and trees. Enjoy wonderful views! Bring a picnic or tea/coffee refreshments available, toilet facilities.
(to book parking please phone 015242 41357)  Location: Broadrake, Chapel-le-Dale, Ingleton, LA6 3AX Age: Accompanied children welcome  www.craven-conservation-group.org.uk

--