Introducing...
In November 2009 a group of naturalists met at Risley Moss and Cheshire Active Naturalists (CAN) was born.
The aim of the group is to further the understanding & enjoyment of the County's wildlife through training & recording. The membership boasts some of the most experienced active naturalists and is proud to support the local records centre, rECOrd, in its quest to collect, validate, and disseminate data for the purpose of conservation. ...read more of this
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Spring on Hold
Two weeks ago Cheshire was ready for the spring awakening; frogspawn had arrived, newt eggs had been found, songbirds were throbbing their sweet melodies and even reports of common pipistrelle bats leaving their roosts to go roaming in the gloaming had reached the welcome ears of naturalists, but alas, winter has arrived again and reminded us all that erratic weather patterns may be a regular feature to our lives now. Time, and maybe just a short time, will reveal what impacts this instability to our seasons will have on wildlife.
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NEW COUNTY RECORD
Keroplatus testaceus
CAN member Philip Brighton has had an excellent find in his kitchen at his home in Croft; a beautiful specimen of the fungus gnat Keroplatus testaceus. This insect is normally confined to old broad-leaved woodlands but Philip thinks that an old rotting logpile may have provided the required habitat. This is a really exciting find as not only is it a new site and a new county but it perhaps shows the value of gardens for wildlife. Threats are known to include the 'tidying up' of woodlands for aesthetic and/or health and safety reasons. The ability for a woodland fly to find suitable conditions in a suburban garden is encouraging. Please keep your eyes peeled for this animal
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Canal Tunnel Vision
Ever wondered what lives in a canal tunnel - so do some of the CAN members, and they're determined to find out so they've planned to take a slow boat through the 1200 metre structure at Dutton very shortly. Watch this space.
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Alpine Newt Found At Sutton
One of the most unusual finds on a CAN event was discovered on the Nature of Industry event when the group was visiting Sutton, near Frodsham. Ralph Atherton and Clive Washington just happened to mention to Andy Harmer (County Validator for Amphibians) that they'd found a newt under some driftwood whilst they were looking for beetles. Andy expressed surprise as they were on a virtual island with no ponds, only terrestrial habitat. On showing the pic to Andy, he nearly fell off his rock... "Alpine Newt". The group hurriedly refound the animal. This animal was found in a remote place that was around mile from any dwelling!
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Speckled Bush-cricket - The Sequel!
CAN member Paul Quigley read our first article regarding a Speckled Bush-cricket being found at Rocksavage. He familiarised himself with the insect as he considered that Norton Priory Museum and Gardens, Paul's place of work, had great potential for this beast. On Sunday, 26th August, Paul noticed a marigold with a green insect sat on top of it and hey presto; the second record for Speckled Bush-cricket. This is obviously too much of a coincidence that the only two sites for this animal is where CAN members have been stood....are they all over the place?? Keep your eyes open...
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New Species for the County
A Speckled bush-cricket was found by the CAN chairman Clive Washington during invert surveying at Rocksavage Nature Reserve.
Read More
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Aliens in Cheshire!
by Clive Washington
A few years ago I had been surprised to find a flattish yellow sluglike creature, about two inches long, under a stone in my garden. A bit of research showed that it was the Australian flatworm, Australoplana sanguinea, an alien species which appeared in the UK (in the Scilly Isles) in 1980, but has since been found across the country. There is some concern about these flatworms as they are earthworm predators, and DEFRA advice is to trap them with flat refuges and destroy as many as can be found. They are listed on schedule 9 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act, which makes it an offence to deliberately release them into the wild. This winter I've seen a few more, in the same spot in my garden, but this time I had my camera to hand and was able to observe the creature closely. Reminiscent of a leech, it stretches its head end out and waves it over the surface in a search pattern, looking, presumably, for its prey, or indications of it. After a few minutes it must have found some sort of trail because it turned round through 180 degrees and headed directly towards a worm-hole in the soil substrate. It disappeared down the hole in about a minute, presumably in search of its prey, and didn't emerge in the half-hour that I watched afterwards. The following evening I encountered two more, which are now in a moss-filled pot in my office, waiting for a suitable experiment to suggest itself!
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Adder Sighting After
Seven Year Absence
A CANARG member visited this site following the push to find Adder in Cheshire this year. The site was regarded as still favourable but no Adders were seen. Dave Morris, the National Trust warden was probably the last observer of Adder at this site in 2007 but he hadn't given up hope that they were still present and sure enough in September 2012 a lady walking at Bickerton observed and then photographed a female Adder as it crossed her path.
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Natterer's Bat
Photographed Gleaning
Three bat roosts have been found in sandstone crevices in North Cheshire this month (Nov) by CAN members. A photo set-up away from the roost, but within one of the entrances to a network of sandstone chambers caught Natterer's Bats gleaning in leaf litter.
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Mammal Trapping & Bat Walk
Event - Saturday 22nd September 2012
A unique opportunity to see a part of Cheshire closed to the public. The site is unique, containing a series of dammed pools cutting through mature woodland and flanked in places with vertical sandstone faces. The Bat walk will be led by Cheshire's very own Pat Waring, a Bat expert and trainer.
There are hardly any records for mammals around this site so the aim is to have a good time surveying and then supply the records to rECOrd, the Local Records Centre. We are likely to see, hear or find evidence of a good cross section of mammals but 10 - 15 species is a reasonable prediction.
The event will run from approximately 6pm until 10pm on the Saturday and meeting at 9am on the Sunday morning, followed by breakfast at a local cafe. Please bring warm and waterproof clothing, sensible footwear.
Please contact
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should you wish to book on.
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Soldierfly recorded after fifteen year absence
A couple of Soldierflies were caught in a malaise trap at Rocksavage last week. Oxycera rara was one type and the other was the Three-lined Soldierfly Oxycera trilineata, an insect that according to rECOrd has only been recorded in the county on four previous occasions, the most recent being sixteen years ago.
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More of
Lesser Silver Water Beetle
Hydrochara caraboides
Another Lesser Silver Water Beetle RDB1 pond was discovered in Cheshire in July bringing the northern cluster up to around 61 ponds. This was a typical LSWB pool, consisting of cattle-poached edges and a floating raft of vegetation. It's aquatic bedfellows included beetle Hydaticus seminiger, Liopterus haemorrhoidalis and Great Crested Newt.
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