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One of the highlights of this meeting were 4 Painted Lady butterflies, presumably newly arrived migrants, on the banks of the Severn near Guscar Rocks. Among the birds seen were: Whimbrel, Lapwing, Cormorant, Dunlin, and Shelduck. There were some spectacular drifts of English Scurvy Grass (Cochlearia anglica) in the saltmarsh channels. The meeting was cut short by a thunder storm.
English Scurvy Grass (Cochlearia anglica), May 2005 (J Bailey)

This was a very productive meeting in terms of species recorded. Birds included, Wood Warbler, Blackcap, Treecreeper, Nuthatch, Goldcrest and many other woodland birds. Also Tree Pipit and Mandarin. There were beautiful displays of bluebell and wood spurge. Hundreds of violet ground beetles were to be seen along the forest track, most of them dead, and there was a bird pellet (possibly that of a crow) shiny with elytra. A few St Mark’s Fly appeared when the sun eventually came through. Finally, the group saw two fallow deer.

This is the time of year to see the rare wild flower Mousetail (Myosurus minimus) a diminutive annual member of the buttercup family, where the centre of the flower bears a passing resemblance to a mouse’s tail. It likes heavily trodden places such as gateways and round cattle troughs and all four Gloucestershire colonies are in the Severn Vale where there is occasional winter flooding. A new site for Mousetail was discovered on today’s GNS walk.

Mousetail habitat, May 2005 (C Butters)

Mousetail (Myosurus minimus), May 2005 (C Butters)

Birds recorded included: Green Sandpiper, Curlew, Lapwing, Snipe heard calling but not drumming. There was a good variety of warblers – Lesser Whitethroat, Sedge Warbler, Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff. The group also encountered Reed Bunting, Shelduck, Mute Swan, Cuckoo and Barn Owl. There were some Smooth Newts present and masses of Cuckooflowers in the meadows.

Some of the highlights of the meeting were:

2 female Wheatears, one in each of two different ploughed fields east of the horse paddocks, near the Golf Club House.

On Postlip Warren, i.e. the slope above the Washpool, there were 4 Ring Ouzels of which the group had excellent views.

Other birds noted were: 2 Red-legged Partridges; several Yellowhammers and Sky Larks singing; one Swallow was seen by a group member just before we were assembled at the car park; male Kestrel; female Sparrowhawk and at least 2 Buzzards.

Some of the highlights of the meeting were:

Lake 68c from the new hide:
Great Crested Grebes, Shelduck, Shoveler, Wigeon, Teal, Redshank, Snipe, Cetti’s Warblers, Chiffchaffs, Long-tailed tits, Bullfinch, Reed Buntings.

Lake 68a:
Grey Herons in the heronry, Mallard, Gadwall, Wigeon, Pochard, Tufted Duck, Goldeneye.

Lake 95:
5 Little Egrets, Mute Swan, 5 or 6 Shelducks, numerous of Shoveler and Teal, Peregrine Falcon, many displaying Lapwing and Redshank, many Reed Buntings.

New frogspawn at Waterhay Car Park.

As luck would have it, there were many Sand Martins and Swallows moving through on the following day!

Many GNS members will have visited the new developments at the GWT Coombe Hill reserve in the last year. The creation of areas of open water and a network of ditches have done much to further enhance the biodiversity of this already rich area. Over the weekend of 29/30 October the visitor facilities, including a new hide, were introduced to the public and the pictures on this page record the event. Many thanks to Juliet Bailey for the photos taken at the official opening on 29 October.

Chris Beardsmore about to cut the withy arch with the representative of site sponsor Grundon.

Guests enjoying their guided tour of the new facilities.

Gordon McClone of GWT and Brian Smith of Severn and Avon Vales Wetland Partnership using unconvention transport to return from the hide.

Birds over the reserve – mainly Canada Geese.

The Moss Group – Peter Martin (county bryophyte recorder), with Juliet Bailey, Cathy Beeching, Libby Houston, Claire and Mark Kitchen, and Richard Lansdown – visited Ban-y-Gor wood (ST536967) on 1 November 2003. Ban-y-Gor is a Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust reserve of steep woodland and shaded cliff on the banks of the Wye near Chepstow.

In total, 49 species of moss and 12 species of liverwort were recorded.

The outstanding plant found was the very local Marchesinia mackaii, which in places covered areas as large as 1 sq m. At times this was the only bryophyte on the rock faces and was clearly a pioneer in areas of relatively new rock fall.

In the first quarry (old tractor) the bryophytes on the boulders were luxuriant. A Ctenidium was found that looked different from the normal Ctenidium to the extent that those who knew Ctenidium could not recognise the plant. I thought that this was the variety fastigatum and I sent the specimen to Gordon Rothero (BBS recorder of mosses). He was not that convinced. He said he had just received a specimen very similar from Cliff Townsend (once of Gloucestershire) which Cliff had named var. condensatum, which Gordon also rejected. I am not convinced about our plant and hope to have a look at more specimens of C. molluscum some time.

Near the bottom of the path there was the very slender Amblystegium confervoides (formerly Platydictya). This was on the top surface of a stone and it made Amblystegium look robust by comparison! This has not been seen for about 60 years in Gloucestershire and is therefore officially re-recorded. A specimen has been lodged with the BBS herbarium.

In the first quarry there was Hylocomium brevirostre on the boulders along with the local Eurhynchium striatulum (formerly Isothecium). On the rock faces above was the minute liverwort Cololejeunea calcarea. The red carpet of liverwort on a decaying log was Nowellia curvifolia. Scapania nemorea was quite common on the more sheltered rock faces, a liverwort I have not seen further to the east in the Cotswolds.

Plenty of commoner bryophytes were found. Trichostomum brachydontium was extremely common on cracks in the rock face or ledges often growing with Eucladium verticillatum – which is unique in the moss flora in having rounded teeth only at the base of the leaf. These are visible with the hand lens (x20). It is always a pleasure to see Schistidium ! We found 2 species – most of the plants seen were S. crassipilum with a few scraps of S. apocarpum. Unusually, there was a tuft of S. crassipilum on a tree next to the river. The tuft was about 2m. above the ground. I have seen in the past some strange assemblages of bryophtes on trees close to active quarries. Here the dust settles on the trees and odd things are found on them such as Tortella, Didymodon etc.. The tree here did not seem like that. I do not know whether dried dust from the riverbank might get blown onto the trees to produce a similar situation.

This visit was part of series of visits to survey the bryophyte flora of Gloucestershire nature reserves. Anyone is welcome to attend the meetings, no experience necessary. Contact Peter Martin (petergmartin@waitrose.com) for details of future meetings.

Ban-y-Gor Wood is a Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust reserve, and is open at all times. Casual visitors are requested to keep to the main path.

This list covers what in the end was a short walk into the reserve, starting at the old quarry at ST540968, then proceeding along the lower rock faces at ST541968 then finally briefly down the path to the river at ST542970.

Mosses

Amblystegium confervoides(NVCR)

Amblystegium serpens var. serpens

Anomodon viticulosus

Atrichum undulatum

Barbula convoluta

Barbula unguiculata

Brachythecium rutabulum

Bryum capillare var. capillare

Calliergonella cuspidata

Cratoneuron filicinum

Cryphaea heteromalla

Ctenidium molluscum var. molluscum

Dicranella heteromalla

Dicranum scoparium

Didymodon fallax

Didymodon sinuosus

Didymodon tophacea

Encalypta streptocarpa

Eucladium verticillatum

Eurhynchium praelongum

Eurhnchium striatulum

Eurhynchium striatum

Fissidens dubius

Fissidens taxifolius var. taxifolius

Fissidens viridulus

Homalia trichomanioides

Homalothecium sericeum

Hylocomium brevirostre

Hypnum cupressiforme var cupressiforme

Isothecium alopecuroides

Isothecium myosuroides var. myosuroides

Mnium hornum

Neckera complanata

Neckera crispa

Orthotrichum affine

Plagiomnium undulatum

Polytrichum formosum

Rhynchostegiella tenella

Rhynchostegium confertum

Schistidium apocarpum

Schistidium crassipilum

Thamnobryum alopecurum

Thuidium tamariscinum

Tortella tortuosa

Tortula muralis var. muralis

Trichostomum brachydontium

Ulota bruchii

Zygodon conoideus

Zygodon viridissimus var. viridissimus

Liverworts

Cololejeunea calcarea

Cephalozia bicuspidata

Frullania dilatata

Lejeunea cavifolia

Lejeunea lamacerina

Marchesinia mackaii

Metzgeria furcata

Nowellia curvifolia

Pellia endiviifolia

Plagiochila asplenioides

Plagiochila porelloides

Scapania nemorea