The Society’s members were invited by David Aldred to share in his “Fascination for Dragonflies”.  The presentation was supported by a wide range of photographic slides showing the life patterns of the many different species.  David focused mainly on local species of which there are about twenty in number out of a national total of between forty and forty five in the country.  Members saw several images including Hawkers, Brown Hawkers, Chasers, Broad - bodies Chasers, Four - spotted Chasers, Common Darters and Damselflies.  These creatures, which are very primitive in their appearance, are known to have existed long before the earth’s current land masses were formed millions of years ago.  David then described the different stages of the dragonfly’s life cycle which excluded any form of courtship in the mating process.  He then described the different positions used during copulation of the various species and how sperm was transferred from the male to the female in each case.  Members then saw the egg laying process leading eventually to the larvae stage.  There are a number of different hosts used, reed and gravel being just two.  This was eventually followed by the emergence of the new dragonfly from the now defunct larvae casing.  There are several threats to the young dragonfly such as spider’s webs, birds and heat.  David’s showed images of damaged dragonfly’s wings which reduced their chance of survival.  Dragonflies might live from 2-4 weeks and feed on flying insects such as midges and butterflies.  They have large compound eyes which give them complete all round vision which enable them to detect small movements from a great distance.  These creatures can fly forwards, backwards, sideways and hover and can change flight direction rapidly leaving no chance for their prey.

At the meeting rocks including an ammonite, spiders, beetles and plant eating insects were viewed, a honeybee was dissected and mosses and liverworts were identified.  A very attractive liverwort was identified – Bifid Crestwort (Liphocolea bidentata), named as such because of its two teeth on the leaf tip.  According to The Liverwort Flora of the British Isles by Paton - it seems that L. bidentata and L. cuspidata are now considered to be one species because the supposed differences in morphology and fertility are inconsistent - but it seems that there are 2 races on grounds of chromosome numbers - L. bidentata having n=9, and L. cuspidata n=18.  However it is not safely distinguishable on morphological grounds.  This is a widespread bryophyte in moist lawns and grassy places, rhizoids can usually be seen where the leaves join the stem but they don’t show in this image.  Under the microscope one or two oil bodies can be seen in each cell.  Also identified was the Waved Silk-moss (Plagiothecium undulatum), a widespread moss growing on acidic soil – the specimen examined had been collected from heathland near a conifer plantation.

The evening’s presentation was entitled “Sustainability – Zero Footprint Living” and was given by David Rhodes, an Architect, from Harrogate.  David’s lecture was mainly aimed at opening a two-way dialogue with Society members over his vision for the future governance of the world.  He outlined the progress of the United Nations’ previous attempts in the past to get to grips with the state of the planet’s environmental future mainly through a series of international conferences.  The first one took place in 1972 and, next year, there will be a conference to be held in Rio de Janiero.  He described Britain’s past historical international importance, from being a global/imperial empire through its industrial revolution to now being part of the Continent of Europe. Britain had now to face up to the fact that it was no longer had a leading international role.  This, David purported, was now an opportunity to consider some dramatic and fundamental change to the position of the United Kingdom.  He proposed that a “new” continent be created which might be called the “Western Isles of Europe” embracing the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands, Scilly Islands, the Isle of Man and the Scottish Islands.  David’s vision for the future was based on the need for the world to be governed on a continent basis and not on an individual country basis.  David Rhodes referred to world-wide population growth which, this week, had reached seven billion.  He said this had doubled in our lifetime.  Furthermore, 51% of the world’s population now lived in city and urban areas whilst 49% were in rural areas of the world.  He commented that most of the rural area population did not use non-renewable resources and thus a dangerous imbalance has now been reached.  He said that we only had one earth and therefore a new kind of world government must surely now be considered in order to mange the decline in the world’s disappearing resources.  He suggested that that he United Nations became the “United People of Earth”.  David’s views generated much discussion amongst Society members.  David then referred to a range of publications he had on display which included a lot of research material some of which was on a “greener” way of living.

A Copper beach twig was viewed and it was observed that on one side were a cluster of maybe two hundred eggs thought to be a butterfly; we will wait to see what happens. The people studying mosses identified a Sphagnum specimen, collected in Scotland, as Sphagnum  capillifolium subs capillifolium .  Capillifolium means ‘hair leaved’ describing the narrowness of the leaves on this species. Also called Acute leaved peat moss/Small red peat moss. Images show a spore bearing capsule after loosing its lid. A specimen of Glasswort from a salt marsh in Norfolk was dissected to reveal the flower parts still immature. A week later the two anthers and tufted stigma had emerged from under the leaf flap but at the meeting these had to be coaxed out with a gentle squeeze. This was identified as the common glasswort Salicornia europaea.

This year’s bat walk took place at Raygill Fisheries in Lothersdale.  Members of the Society explored the areas around the fishing ponds and the old quarry areas.  The meeting place was the café at the fisheries where Chloe Bellamy and Chris Scott, two research students from the Faculty of Biological Sciences at Leeds University, gave a talk and handed out literature on the bats that might be seen.  Chris and Chloe answered a number of questions before they distributed bat detectors to members of the group.  The forecast had not been good earlier in the day, however the evening was dry with very little breeze.  The bats were slower to appear than on previous walks but as the group walked through the tree lined area on the old Colne road pipestrelle bats were seen and heard.  The two children that were part of the group were intrigued by the sounds that they were able to hear with their detectors.  Daubenton’s bats were heard and seen over the lower fish pond.  Chloe used a large torch to pick up the bats feeding.  It was explained that Duabenton’s catch their insect prey with their feet.  Chris thought that there was an active roost near by.  The evening concluded with a welcome cup of tea at the café.

Les Barnett, President of both the Bradford Urban Wildlife Society and the Bradford Botany Group, described his longstanding interests in the abbeys of Yorkshire and their wild flowers.  He showed members a selection of books on herbal gardens and a personal collection of pressed wild flowers which he had collected as a youth.  These were followed by a colourful collection of tea towels all of which had designs based on wild flowers, herbs and spices. These were passed around members for closer examination.  There then followed an audio visual slide presentation which took the form of a tour around the gardens of some of the eight abbeys, mainly Cistercian, in Yorkshire which had been subjected to varying degrees of destruction during their dissolution in the 13th and 14th centuries   These included KIrkstall, now surrounded by urban development and Bolton Abbey on the banks of the River Wharfe.  Mr. Barnett showed how the walls of these ancient monuments provided the conditions which had encouraged the growth and profusion of wild flowers. He described how the monks had planted herbs in their gardens, many of which had medicinal and culinary uses, and some of these original plants could still be found thriving today on their original sites.  Mr. Barnett reflected that some of the authorities responsible for the upkeep of some of the abbeys had created a manicured, parkland landscape and also removed from the remaining stonework the wild flowers that had been growing there.

A slide presentation was given to members by Mr. Robert Greaves who is a Fellow of the Institute of Carpenters (F.I.O.C).
The presentation commenced by showing historical maps of Skipton, the earliest being a map by Crow dated 1757. This identified ancient plots of land and buildings which, still today, influence the street layout of modern Skipton.  Mr. Greaves showed maps of Burford in Oxfordshire from the same era which showed many similarities with Skipton’s High Street. Members where shown examples of a wide range of joints used by carpenters which were key elements in the construction of many of the framed buildings in the town. Examples of scarf joints, bridle buts and face keys have been identified in many of Skipton’s well-known buildings, particularly such popular places as The Red Lion, The Coffee Mill, Woolly Sheep (The Brick Hall)and The Cock and Bottle.  Mr. Greaves described how old pieces of building timbers have been re-used and re-designed and continue as visible architectural features in many of Skipton’s unique heritage of wooden frames buildings. Mr. Greaves produced a display of several joints he had constructed and older timber joints. Members raised several questions which Mr. Greaves was pleased to answer. Jean Kendrew, the Society’s President thanked Mr. Greaves for an interesting and informative presentation. This meeting was held in the Schoolroom of St. Peter's Church due to the recent flooding of the church.

Nigel Pickering, a deerstalking expert from Burton in Kendal, gave an illustrated lecture entitled "The Real Life Bambi family".  Mr. Pickering's informative talk covered the life of deer in the British Isles at this time.  This included distribution, identification and their habits.  There are only two native species of deer to the British Isles, Roe (common in Yorkshire) and Red.  Fallow deer are believed to have come in with the Romans.  Muntjak, Sika and Chinese Water Deer are all more recent introductions.  With the exception of the Muntjak, (now very wide spread throughout Britain) who breed all year round, the deer shed their antlers in February.  The new growth starts almost immediately and the velvet covering is shed in August.  The rut starts in autumn, and the young are born in June.  After the talk, members were able to examine various deer skins, antlers, and skulls.

Members and visitors were welcomed to the annual Edward Greenwood Memorial Lecture for 2010 which was given by Ian Court who is a Wildlife Conservation Officer with the National Park.  His presentation was entitled “Birds of the Yorkshire Dales”.  This informative lecture which was illustrated by photographs of wild birds and their habitats, Ian explained his role which involves both the protection of wild life in the National Park whilst encouraging people to enjoy the Park’s facilities.  He went on to describe how the Park offers a wide range of habitats, from heather moorlands to limestone escarpments and includes many specially protected areas.  The grouse moors provide a home for birds of prey such as Hen Harrier, Peregrine Falcon and Merlin, in addition to other endangered species such as Black Grouse and Golden Plover.  Ian explained how banning of the use of poisons had helped to protect birds of prey.  Buzzards are a particular success story in the Park and the Peregrine Falcon nesting site at Malham Tarn attracted thousands of visitors last spring. Other birds to be found in the Park include Curlew, Snipe, Raven, Ring Ouzel, Dotterel, Snow Bunting, Lapwing, Red Shank, Whinchat, Stonechat, Pied Flycatcher and Wood Warbler. Some of these are resident species and others migrant visitors.  The wider effects of climate change and hunting are reflected in the numbers and types of migrant birds now seen in the Dales.  One important aspect of Ian Court’s work is to encourage co-operation between environmentalists and farmers.  Grants were available to compensate farmers for preserving the habitats of birds and other animals through changes in farming practices.  The talk gave rise to many questions and a lively discussion followed Ian Court’s presentation about the future of the wild life in the National Park and it’s sustainability.

This year's bat walk was from Kildwick Church up to the old vicarage and then along the Leeds Liverpool canal.  25 people, including a number of children, took part.  The meeting place was Kildwick Parish Rooms, here Chloe Bellamy and Chris Scott, two research students from the Faculty of Biological Sciences at Leeds University, gave a talk and handed out literature on the bats that might be encountered.  Chris and Chloe answered a number of questions before they distributed bat detectors to members of the group.  The evening was slightly windy but dry.  On the walk up to the old Vicarage pipestrelle bats were both seen and heard, via the detectors.  At one point a possible roost was observed with a number of bats seen coming from a chimney.  Along the tow path of the canal Duabenton’s bats were heard once the frequency on the detectors had been adjusted.  A bat was then seen ‘working’ it’s patch and was clearly heard feeding.  This was described by Chris as a ‘raspberry’ like sound.  It was explained that Duabenton’s catch their insect prey with their feet, and this is the activity that brings about the sound.  The walk finished at around 23.30.  It was agreed that a lot had been learned and that the weather had allowed the group good opportunities for observation.

A group of Cross Hills Naturalists’ viewed the summer sunrise recently from the vantage point of Earl Crag, at Sutton.  The very high cold wind and low cloud on the horizon did not help the identification of the more distant hills.  Curlews were calling and Kestrels were seen hunting along the edge of the crag which was lit by the muted colours of the sunrise.

Samples viewed at the meeting were liverworts, grasses, fungi, insect, and mistletoe.  Alder flys were seen this month and a wing section was available on a mounted slide.  Thallose and leafy liverworts were viewed. A young man had fleas whilst a more senior member produced sheep dung.  The chicken flea was distinguishable from others by the number of prongs on the toothed combs around its neck. The bulbous buttercup is identifiable by its turned back or reflexed sepals. Grasses were identified with the help of grass books by Hubbard and also Francis Rose.  A thallose liverwort was identified as Riccardia chamedryfolia but confirmation would require viewing the fat bodies in a fresh sample. Sheep dung with orange spore capsules was examined. One capsule was flattened on a slide and viewed at high magnification. The internal spores were measured at 11um diameter.

The meeting had a full room with ten members and visitors bringing a wealth of samples.  A display of Hymenoptera, mosses, crystals, precious and semi precious stones, grasses, rushes and flowers, Coltsfoot and Common mouse-ear.  Under the stereo microscope are shown images of Field Wood - rush, Luzula campestris flowers, the six outer chestnut brown perianth segments surround the six twisted yellow stamens, the central stigma is shown with its three way split tip . The Great Wood - rush, Luzula sylvatica, an altogether bigger plant has very similar flowers but in these images the split tip starts much lower giving longer separate ends.  The hornet Vespo crabo was caught in the southern uk in 2003, more local (Bingley) are the mining bees, Andrena cineraria and Andrena fulva.  A sample of Common mouse – ear, Cerastium fontanum, from Keighley reservoir was identified by its membranous and hairy sepal edge. Sweet vernal grass was photographed in – flower in Sutton-in Craven churchyard.
It was noticed that coltsfoot was seeding or had finished in Sutton but still in early flower at the higher altitude of Keighley reservoir. This regression was also seen in the grasses.  An Orchid bud was opened to display its beautiful flower; the stamen-pollen structure was detached from the upper fangs by touching it with a grass stalk to which it adhered as it would to an insect visitors head or thorax. Semi-precious stones were viewed, artifacts were seen and surface marks but no conclusive agreement was reached on much of what was seen! Any gem experts welcome.

Slides were viewed of spider parts showing distinguishing features. A feature of Tegenaria is the plumose hairs giving its legs an extra hairy appearance. Lung book openings and epigynes of Tetragnatha montana were clearly visible with the specimen prepared with sodium hydroxide and stained with solar phenol blue.  Vaucheria, a yellow-green algae had been found in a horse trough at Elslack. When fresh, it is green, but after 24hrs it had yellowed. Asexual and sexual reproduction had been completed by the time of the meeting but the Vaucheria algae reproduce in spring by two methods:-
1. Sexual.  The tip of a lateral branch is isolated by formation of a transverse septum, the uninucleate protoplasts in the tip then change into biflagellate, gametes being released through an opening in the apex. The tip region and the lateral branch curve are seen in the image here. Meanwhile, if it can be bothered, the female Oogonium develops alongside the isolated tip of the lateral branch. In this specimen two oogoniums were seen on every branch. When the oogonium is mature an opening is made in the outer wall and gametes can enter to fertilize the single nucleate oogonium egg. This is now termed the Zygote.   The original algae filament dies away. The zygote can be dormant for several months before germination and new growth. The images here are most likely in the very early zygote stage.
2. Asexual via zoospore.  The tip of the main filament is cut off by formation of a septum, the internal protoplasts form a single body with a multi flagellate exterior. This zoospore ruptures from the filament tip and when it comes to rest the flagella disappear and two or three filaments emerge.
The two liverworts discussed here look very similar at a distance.  The image of Lunularia cruciata shows the easily identifiable half moon gemma cups.  Similar, is Concephalum conicum, this image was from a sample from the side of Steeton beck by Steeton War Memorial. The Concephalum thallus is similar to the above but has no gemma cups. This image shows a male peduncle extending which will open in umbrella style shedding mobile gametes. The peduncle cellular structure is fully formed in winter; shaft elongation is by cell expansion not multiplication. This sample on a cool windowsill has extended by ~ 3mm/day and is expected to reach 3-6 cm before opening. 
A new moss book was viewed with many positive comments from the group: Mosses and Liverworts of Britian and Island – A Field Guide  ISBN  978-0-9561310-1-0

Spiders were under the microscope at the February meeting.  Specimens on slides were compared with whole specimens with regard to the common identification features.  Often the power of a stereo microscope used to view a whole specimen is not enough to see features clearly, which are easily seen under the more powerful but shallow depth of focus of the compound microscope, e.g. to see if a foot is two or three clawed when disguised by hairs.  Whole spider specimens or parts can be slide mounted in a flat style for viewing under the compound microscope.  The specimen after being stored in 70% Iso – Propyl Alcohol (IPA) must first be gently warmed in 10% sodium hydroxide until the alcohol stops bubbling out; this must be done slowly to avoid rupturing the soft abdomen.  The solution is then cooled and warmed several times to allow full impregnation into the body.  The spider is put in water for 24hrs, then briefly into vinegar, this neutralises the alkali.  The spider should then be warmed and cooled in clean water; this allows the dissolved internal contents to be expelled.  The soft exoskeleton can now be placed on a slide and another slide placed on top to flatten the specimen.  The two slides are tied together with cotton thread and placed in 100%IPA for 24 Hrs.  Quarter parts of slides can be used which saves space.  When the thread is cut away the specimen is fully flat and dehydrated and can be mounted as desired.  The whole specimens at the meeting were viewed in shallow glass vessels under 70%IPA. 100 mesh glass beads were used in the vessel to hold the spider in a desirable orientation.
Literature used:
Collins Field Guide – Spiders.
The Country Life Guide to Spiders.
FSC 197 keys to The Families of British Spiders.
Biology of The Spider - RF Foelix.
British Spiders - Locket & Millidge.

Members examined several fungi samples were brought including Slippery Jack Suillus luteus a pored yellow fungus found in association with pine, in this case Scots pine.  The skeleton of a common lizard had been brought to an earlier Naturalists meeting and had made its way to us.  A small liverwort specimen from Ferncliffe road in Keighley turned out to be Lunularia cruciata.  Figwort stem which had been previously been wax embedded, cut into sections and slide mounted were de-waxed and stained using the WA3 stain.  Hand sectioning was attempted on the polypore fungi Slippery Jack.  The cap has a thin outer sticky coating over the yellow bulk tissue with pore tubes on the underside.  Hand sections through these tissues found that the outer coating was so mucal it merely smeared over the bulk tissue.  Success was achieved with transverse sections of the pore tubes as shown.  These are stained with Acridine red as used in WA3.  Also from the Slippery Jack the round club like cystidia were photographed.  Fungal spores were examined from an unidentified mushroom and these were decided to be without warts.  Before compiling this newsletter discussions took place with a member of the West Yorkshire Fungus Group who kindly let us use his picture from their meeting on the same night showing spores with warts.

Click here for slides

David Hodgson, a member of the Craven Pothole Club, focused his presentation on a series of caves near Arncliffe in Littondale.  Evidence indicated that, thousands of years ago, these underground chambers and passageways had all been connected.  The Victorians in the mid 19th century, were some of the first people to explore the area and, through a series of slides, it was possible to identify some of them as members of local families by their names being inscribed on some of the cave walls.  Mr. Hodsgon described a brooch (now in the British Museum) which had been found in a cave and thought to be about 2,000 years old.  Irish Deer antlers had also been discovered as well as some human bones.  Some of the underground passages were half a million years old and many of them were mostly dry except during floods explained Mr. Hodsgon. A key focus of the presentation were the Tissue and Herald moths to be found in Scoska Cave and into which Mr. Hodgson had spent many years researching, often in conjunction with the Natural History Museum.  The Tissue moth, whilst rare across the region, was actually in some abundance in this cave and no-where else.  Only one had been recorded in Yorkshire yet 176 were discovered in Scoska.  Tissues are said to vary in size but Mr. Hodgson said he had only found two distinct sizes.  These moths spend 9 months hibernating in the cave.  He continues to research into why this cave is so important to the Tissue moth.  A wide range of bats can also be found in certain of the caves such as Duabenton’s, Brandt’s, Whiskered and Brown long-eared.  Research was being carried out into the parasitic mites that are carried by bats.  Mr. Hodsgon also showed a picture of a store of hazelnuts left in a cave by woodmice.  Stoneland cave contained a large chamber with hundreds of fine stalactites suspended from the ceiling like fine chandeliers.  Mr. Hodgson described how he was working in co-operation with the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew regarding the wide range of fungi that existed underground.  Members heard how medical research was beginning to identify natural products from mammals such as bats including Draculin which came from vampire bat and contained anti coagulant properties.  Another benefit aimed at the visually impaired stemmed from bats’ special skills in echo location.  This was biomimicry which is leading towards the development of sensors being built into walking sticks which would warn the person holding the stick that they were approaching an obstacle in their path.

This year’s topic was “Save Our Birds of Prey” which was presented by David Tompkins, a volunteer worker for the Royal Society of Protection of Birds (RSPB), who is based in Leeds.  Mr. Tompkins, using an RSPB slide presentation, briefly described the history of the protection of wild birds which started in the 16th century with King Henry VIII in order to protect his falconry activities.  Over the centuries towns and cities have become cleaner and tidier and thus scavengers, such as Red Kites, became extinct in this country.  The fish in our seas, lochs and lakes provided food for both the Osprey and the White Tailed Eagles.  This need brought them into direct conflict with human beings and to their extinction here by the early 1900s.  Society members learned that there were currently 15 protected birds of prey, including the Merlin and the Sparrowhawk.  There was now only one Golden Eagle in the Lake District.  But there are several successes in protecting these threatened species including the re-introduction of Red Kites (7 UK sites), including their successful re-introduction at Harewood House near Leeds which produced over 100 chicks. Both Osprey and White Tailed Eagle now delight visitors to various sites across the UK.  Mr. Tompkins said that the protection of certain birds under various UK and European laws is difficult to both monitor and enforce.  There are still a minority of unscrupulous people who persist in killing birds by poisoning, trapping, shooting, stealing eggs or trampling on young birds.  Amongst the techniques used in the dealing with these crimes are CCTV and Police Wildlife Officers.  However, persecution still persists in many parts of the UK.  The taking of Racing Pigeons by Peregrine Falcons and Sparrowhawks is still a big issue.  Recent research has shown that this amounted 4% of Racing Pigeons.  A debate took place amongst members concerning the continuing illegal killing of certain birds of prey by a small minority of landowners and their gamekeepers.  This is contrary to current legislation.  The debate demonstrated some of the political and emotional feelings that surround the subject.  The RSPB is committed to working with landowners and other interested agencies, finding new approaches to arrive at sensible and enforceable ways of protecting birds.  An example is the providing of food at feeding stations for Hen Harrier, on some shooting estates, during the most vulnerable times for Red Grouse chicks.

Eight members viewed various specimens, the liverwort Conocephalum conium caused some discussion as it looked very close to Marchantia polymorpha but shows no gemma cups. Images of flora from a trip to Embsay reservoir were viewed and identified.  A full pinned male specimen of the dragonfly, Broad Bodied Chaser was examined and mushroom spores of Shaggy Scalycap were stained with meltzers stain and viewed under the compound microscope at x 400.  Attempts were made to view cystidia on the mushroom gills which were finally brought into view by gently tapping a cover glass over the gill which was placed on a slide and flooded with meltzers stain. The cystidia of the Shaggy Scalycap are described as clavate with a mucronate apex.
Ref:  Encyclopaedia of fungi of Britain and Europe - Michael Jordan

At the September meeting of the Microscope Group Mother-in-law tongue leaves, fern spores, flesh fly feet, a bumble bee sting and plant gall sections were examined using a portable microscope.  In addition, mosses and liverworts were identified from a wall in the Grass Wood area.Autumn is the season of rust fungi.  These often appear as discoloured blotches and spots on the upper surface of plant leaves.  The culprit is found on the underside in the form of “rust-coloured” pustules. Here is a fine example found on the leaves of the Sloe (Prunus spinosa).  This is known as the teleuto spore stage. The spores are uninucleate and are covered with prickles (echinulate), not very clear in the photographs.

Eleven members of Cross Hills Naturalists’ Society enjoyed a day in the Ribblehead area, starting at the railway station where leaders Jean Kendrew and Allan Butterfield talked about the building of the Settle-Carlisle railway.  Members looked at the exhibition at the station and afterwards visited the Natural England nature reserve at the nearby quarry.  The flora and ferns which had colonized the quarry were examined before members walked above the quarry face to look at the remains of what is thought to be a farmstead from Viking times.  From this vantage point good views of the surrounding landscape were observed, as was Ribblehead viaduct and sites of the shanty towns built during the construction of the railway in the 1870s.  Some members returned via Ingleton and enjoyed the floriferous roadside verges on the way.

A recent bat walk through Sutton Clough organized by the Cross Hills Naturalists’ Society was judged to be a success. The weather was warm and dry after a deluge of rain the previous day.
Altogether 23 people, including several children, and parents met at the Sutton Senior Citizens Social Centre for a preliminary chat by Chloe Bellamy and Chris Scott, two research students from the Faculty of Biological Sciences at Leeds University.  Chloe and Chris, who lead the walk, are researching into the behaviour and characteristics of bats. They distributed a number of bat detectors to members of the group.
The party entered the Clough just as the light was beginning to fade and, from the start, the detectors were clicking and identifying the presence of numerous bats flying rapidly above. Chloe and Chris were able to offer advice and guidance to the group as they walked further into the Clough.  “We were pleased that there were so many bats foraging around and, on occasions, within feet of us” said Chloe “We have been able  to confirm that the group had identified numerous common pipestrelles and a number of Myotis bats which would have been be whiskered or Brandt’s bats. During an earlier visit we had picked up brown long-eared bats, but their calls are very quiet and perhaps we missed them on the walk. The roar of the water in the Clough causes bats some confusion”.
After further stops along the way, at about 11.30pm, the Group returned back to Sutton. The organiser of the walk and the two leaders both agreed that it had been rewarding to have made contact with so many bats and that the children in the group had shown a high degree of interest.

The third annual foray to control the invasive, exotic plant Himalayan Balsam in Holme Beck between Cowling and Glusburn began with an afternoon's activity by members of the Cross Hills Naturalists Society led by Madeleine Beaufoy.  Himalayan Balsam is a serious threat to native plants and river banks, so its eradication is important.
It was decided to continue with the clearance of areas around Carr Head, where it was satisfying to note that the stands of balsam were, following active measures for the past two years, gradually diminishing.  There was, however, plenty to do.  The two groups worked with a will, clearing stands among the undergrowth of the banks and completely routing the invasion of Carr Head Lane roadside where six bags of wet and therefore viable roots were brought away.
All agreed, over refreshments, that the afternoon had been very well spent.
Should anyone wish to help in this on-going activity,please contact Madeleine Beaufoy  01535 633349.

Marjorie Burnett and Jean Kendrew led a field meeting recently to Dale Head Church and Stocks reservoir.  A considerable time was spent in the churchyard admiring the profusion of summer flowers and afterwards time was spent in the church looking at the displays showing the work involved in the reservoir construction.  Some members walked from the church to Stocks reservoir in order to look at the rich roadside verge vegetation.  After lunch members visited the hides from which Greylag, Canada and Barnacle Geese were seen, some with juveniles.  Cormorants, Shelduck, several Herons, Oystercatchers, Redshank and Common Sandpipers were some of the other species observed.  Joyce Boden thanked the leaders for a very enjoyable visit.

Allan Butterfield led a small party of Cross Hills Naturalists’ Society recently viewed the sunrise from the vantage point of Earl Crag, Sutton-in-Craven.  The fast moving low clouds cut out long distance views but gave glimpses of iridescent clouds high in the west.  They noted the flowering fuchsia bush which was first noticed 20 years ago. The party recorded Curlew, Pheasant, Skylark, Meadow Pipit, Lapwing, Little Owl, Wood Pigeon, Magpie, Linnets and Crow.

Mosses, liverworts and grasses were the main areas of study, some sections were cut from the grasses and these were compared with publicised photograph.  It was decided that staining was really essential to allow the vascular components and tissues to be clearly differentiated. Grass stems and panicles were photographed from samples collected from the local area, False Oat grass is common, along with Cocksfoot, Yorkshire Fog, Meadow Foxtail and Crested Dog’s- tail, several Bromes were also viewed. The image, Fig1, shows the inner membrane lip or ligule and also the curved and pointed auricles. Fig 2 shows a Meadow Foxtail spike with wavy yellow stigmas and pink / mottled stamens just starting to split and shed their pollen.  From amongst the bryophytes a liverwort was photographed showing the characteristic double leaf tips.

At the end of May, nine members of Cross Hills Naturalists’ Society enjoyed an afternoon walk on the north side of Glusburn valley, led by Allan Butterfiled.  The layout of the allotment award of 1778, imposed on the earlier farming patterns, was discussed and architectural details on some of the buildings were noted.  The earlier enclosures at West Closes were viewed along with field gates, post and rail, and lime gates.  On the return journey the well defined river terraces were viewed at Birks where lime working and burning had taken place from the glacial drift.  Curlew, lapwing, bluetit and heron were observed during the afternoon.

At the 2009 May meeting of the Microscope Group members studied mosses and liverworts from Ingleton.  A hedgehog pellet was also looked at and new natural history publications were discussed and examined.

At the April meeting of the Microscope Group several mosses from Spittle Ings were identified by a group of members.  Other people examined moths, ants and spiders.  The species list produced by Adrian Norris, of slugs and snails taken to the Society’s last Winter meeting was circulated.  The display at BrackenHall Countryside Centre, Baildon, by Bradford Botany Group, was publicised amongst the members present.

Slugs and Snails - March 2009

Slugs and Snails were on the agenda for the Nats’ final lecture in their Winter Programme.  The evening’s slide presentation was given by Adrian Norris who is the Recorder for both the Yorkshire and National Conchological Society of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Mr. Norris began by demonstrating the many references to pearls and shells in the world of classic art and romance such as the Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli. He also informed members how important snail slime was in the production of cosmetics and was actually sold in the some countries as a face cream! The Horn of Plenty is also a well recognised icon and is based on a  sea shell.
The method of observing and recording snails was described by Mr. Norris and he showed members a series of grid maps known as the National Atlas of Snails. The number of snails reduced the further north in the U.K. and this was due to the production of soot into the atmosphere particularly in industrial areas such as Sheffield. Snails do not like soot!   Malham was a local area which was well observed and records fed into the regional and national data.
Mr. Norris then referred to the eating of snails as a delicacy but revealed that if the dish contained green sauce then we were, in fact, eating common garden snails (cornu aspersum).  In return, snails like beer, said Mr. Norris, and showed a picture of a bottle bank delicately laced with the trails of several snails who had obviously found some dregs of beer.
Global warming was now clearly affecting the migration of snails. U.K. snails were slow movers but new arrivals to our shores moved much faster and this was leading to some kind of competition between the different species. Other problem areas included the fast growth of zebra mussels in the Great Lakes in the U.S.A and the damage they can cause crops all over the world. A totally white “Ghost Slug” had been found in the Bristol area and its origins are completely unknown. And, of course, said Mr. Norris, snails were the hosts of liver fluke in sheep.
Mr. Norris demonstrated his presentation throughout with slides of the many species of slugs and snails that inhabit our world – some as small as a pinhead.
Some snails are becoming extinct and, with so few observers and recorders, it was likely that the reasons would never be known.

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