Bioblitz Day

Our Bioblitz was a success! A huge thank you to everyone who came along, those who walked passed and had a chat, and our event leaders and event organisers. It was great to explore the wildlife hidden and homed in the meadows together. 

We’ve pieced together all our findings from all Bioblitz sessions. This information has kindly been given to us from the event leaders, including our fabulous special guests and our own FoBM members. 

Let’s see how they got on…

Moth ID

After setting up a state-of-the-art moth trap in Anna’s garden late on Saturday evening (kindly lent to us by our moth-expert Robin), the team were keen to see what creatures had gathered by Sunday morning. We were amazed that an outstanding 50+ species of moths were caught in the trap overnight.

Moth List for Park Street/Bartonsham Meadows:  Anna Gundrey and Robin Hemmings 8th August 2021

47 + Species found, including:

  • Ruby tiger
  • Magpie
  • Small magpie
  • Common rustic
  • Rosy rustic
  • Rustic
  • Vines rustic
  • Canary-shouldered thorn
  • Lesser broad bordered yellow underwing
  • Dusky thorn
  • Silver Y
  • Common footman
  • Mother of pearl
  • Brimstone
  • Gold spot
  • Cloaked minor
  • Dog’s tooth
  • Sallow kitten
  • Bright line brown eye
  • Large yellow underwing
  • Blastobasis sp.
  • Spectacle
  • Common wainscot
  • Setaceous Hebrew character
  • Heart and dart
  • Lime-speck pug
  • Shuttle shaped dart
  • Ermine moth
  • Spilonota ocellana
  • Double lobed
  • Flame shoulder
  • Clay
  • Copper underwing
  • Lychnis
  • Light brown apple
  • Codling
  • Gold triangle
  • Common plume
  • Common grass-veneer
  • Meal moth
  • Straw dot
  • Dark arches
  • Iron prominent
  • Diamondback
  • Riband wave
  • Celypha lacunana
  • C. striana

Bird Walk

Sunday morning’s bird walk was led by FoBM committee members Dick and Bill (who is also chair of Bartonsham History Group), as well as Susanna from the Hereford Ornithological Club. The children enjoyed whistling around the paths and spotting different bird species. 

Here’s a list of birds Dick put together from the walk:

  • Blackbird
  • Blue tit
  • Buzzard
  • Carrion row
  • Chiffchaff
  • Cormorant
  • Goldfinch
  • Great tit
  • Herring gull
  • House sparrow
  • Magpie
  • Mallard
  • Mute swan
  • Swallow
  • Wood pigeon
  • Wren

The number of species spotted was disappointing. This was probably down to the weather conditions on the day which was quite overcast with blustery winds causing moulting birds to take refuge.

On an exploratory walk four days earlier when the weather was sunny and warm the following birds were also spotted:

  • Black headed gull
  • Buzzard
  • Coal tit
  • Dunnock
  • Great spotted woodpecker
  • House martin
  • Lesser black-backed gull
  • Moorhen
  • Robin

Missed this walk? Catch us on the next one…

Our expert bird-spotters are hoping to lead another bird walk around the meadows in early October, where they hope to spot some winter visitors such as field fares and goosander! 

Keep an eye on your inbox and our social media for more info soon.

Wildlife Walk

Our afternoon session was run by in-house ecologist Anna Gundrey and special guest Tim Kaye from Hidden Herefordshire. Passers-by were fascinated by Tim’s quirky Nomadic Museum of Natural History on wheels, also known as the smallest natural history museum in the world! The wildlife find of the day was the Wasp Spider (Argiope Bruennichi), found by Poppy Wilkins, pictured below. They are usually only found in the south of England so it is a very notable find!

Here’s some more information about the important work Tim and the rest of the Hidden Herefordshire team are doing:

This project’s focus is upon developing and increasing Herefordshire Biological Records Centre (HBRC)’s digital capacity and audience to enable the natural heritage of Herefordshire to be far better recorded. With low human population the county is a wildlife hotspot, yet this is not reflected in the recorded data. The project will empower the next generation of naturalists to go out and record this undiscovered heritage, establish an online presence for HBRC and place biodiversity firmly on the map.

Species list for records dated 08/08/21 for Bartonsham Meadows

Scientific Name Common Name
Lasius fuliginosusJet Black Ant
Halictus rubicundus
Bombus lucorum/terrestrisWhite/Buff-tailed Bumblebee
Bombus lapidariusRed-tailed Bumblebee
Apis melliferaHoney Bee
Insects: Bees, Wasps & Ants
Scientific Name Common Name
Forficula auriculariaCommon Earwig
Earwigs
Scientific Name Common Name
Tyria jacobaeaeCinnabar
Autographa gammaSilver Y
Insects: Moths
Scientific Name Common Name
Pieris rapaeSmall White
Insects: Butterflies
Scientific Name Common Name
Sphaerophoria scriptaLong hoverfly
Tephritis formosaTephritid fly
Insects: Flies (Diptera)
Scientific Name Common Name
Propylea quattuordecimpunctata14-spot ladybird
Batophila rubi
Rhagonycha fulvaBlood Sucker
Amara lunicollis
Harmonia axyridisHarlequin ladybird
Gastrophysa polygoni
Insects: Beetles
Scientific Name Common Name
Palomena prasinaCommon Green Shieldbug
Miridius quadrivirgatus
Insects: Bugs
Scientific Name Common Name
Agriope bruennichiWasp Spider
Theridion sisyphium
Enoplognatha ovata
Araneus diadematusGarden Orb-Web Spider
Spiders, Harvestmen & Pseudoscorpions

Related Upcoming events…

Mark Coker will be talking about his book Crow Country, Sept 9 7.30 Tarrington Village Hall for Herefordshire Ornithological Club

Want to get more involved with Friends of Bartonsham Meadows? Come along to our first public meeting as a Community Association!

Our membership scheme is launching soon! We are hosting our first online public event as a committee to present our project and offer our membership programme. We’d love as many of our supporters to attend as possible. Expect presentations from members of our committee to give an overview of our aims as a lobbying environmental group. We have invited the Church Commissioners and their agents to present their plans for the site and answer questions.

The online event will take place on Monday 13th September, 7pm. Sign up here.

Keep an eye out for our next Bird Walk in early October and more information about reptile surveying!

Herefordshire Wildlife Trust City branch Online Talk: Wild Plants in Urban Environments. Thursday 4th November, 7:30pm - 9:00pm.

“We walk, stroll, and run down our city streets, most often without noticing the wealth of wild plants beneath our noses. Join the Hereford City Branch of the Hereford Wildlife Trust for a Zoom talk by Dr. Mark Spencer, who will take us on an urban wild plant safari. A well-known forensic botanist, Mark Spencer is also keen to make us aware of the wild fungi, lichens, and plants which pop up through our pavements, through the cracks in walls, and along our kerbs. To find out more about Mark Spencer, have a look at his website and show reel at www.markspencerbotanist.com

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