WILDLIFE OF NESS: A BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOT

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1 WILDLIFE OF NESS: A BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOT Philip Putwain University of Liverpool and Ecological Restoration Consultants Carl Clee Liverpool World Museum

2 Acknowledgements Barbara Allen and Frances Lee for fabulous photographs; the whole group of Wilderness volunteers and the 60 Bioblitz experts who undertook the species audit last June 2014 Tim Baxter Ness Botanist Gill Haynes Ecological Restoration Consultants Agnes Escudier Ex-Volunteer, editor Nature Trail booklet

3 Cheshire countryside wildlife desert: view from Beeston castle

4 Contrast domestic gardens with farmland

5 Domestic gardens are an important resource for biodiversity Total area of domestic gardens in UK: 433,000 hectares Total area of National Nature Reserves: 90,000 hectares Gardens comprise 19-27% of the entire urban area in 5 cities: Sheffield 23% 14% ponds; 48% trees > 3m tall Accounts for 25% of all trees outside woodlands

6 The Importance of Ness Botanic Gardens: Biodiversity Hotspot Whole of Ness Botanic Gardens is a biodiversity hotspot for Wirral and west Cheshire Important for bees, insects generally, small mammals and butterflies, good habitat for birds and bats Habitat for amphibians and aquatic invertebrates

7 Ness Gardens: diversity of habitats Woodland Ponds Herbaceous bordersd 64 acres = 26 ha

8 Diversity of habitats blend horticultural and ecological Wildflower Meadow grassland Bare ground and rock: open habitat

9 Ness Botanic Gardens habitat features Individual trees - Black PoplardBlack Ancient hedgerow adjacent to sunken lane many tree species

10 The Wilderness Project

11 Aims of the Wilderness Project AIM 1: Creation of wildlife friendly habitats that demonstrate best practices of sustainable development and landscape management AIM 2: Use of the area to add to the visitor experience and interpret science, conservation and wildlife management AIM 3: Management of the woody plant collections to promote their worldwide conservation and scientific importance

12 Creation of the wildflower meadow after deep ploughing in March starting point The plough has two mouldboards in order to achieve the full inversion Subsoil revealed: low soil fertility low phosphate

13 Deep ploughing March 2008 Archaeology checked Max plough depth cmx

14 WILDFLOWER MEADOW FIRST SPRING AND SUMMER 2008 Cornfield annuals dominant 98% of meadows present in 1930 s in the UK have now disappeared 23 species sown now over 100 recorded July 2008

15 JUNE 2009 Ness meadow becoming more grassy Papaver rhoeasp Viper s bugloss Common field poppy Echium vulgare

16 JULY 2010 Ness meadow Wild carrot becoming more abundant Daucus carota Perennial plants becoming common

17 2011 June ox-eye daisy Leucanthemum vulgaree July musk mallow Malva moschata

18 April 2014 cowslip Primula veris 2014 May 2014 yellow rattle Rhinanthus minor

19 Natural Colonisation by Common Spotted Orchid First appeared in 2014 Dactylorhiza fuchsii

20 Meadow management Cut, bale and remove hay in August Cut up with disc harrow in September Video

21 Recent developments Bee Hotel Hedgehog home

22 The Bioblitz what is it the aims Bio means life and Blitz means to do something quickly and intensively. A Bioblitz is a collaborative race against the clock to discover and record as many species of plants, animals and fungi as possible over a defined time period. A species audit snapshot th June At Ness Botanic Gardens, this period was about 21 hours from 8.00pm Friday to 5.00pm Saturday. Drawback species and seasonal changes rare visitors

23 Bioblitzz Ness Botanic Gardens divided into a set of compartments Relates roughly with different types of habitat

24 Gardens identification base To assist in-the-field ID results and transfer to RECORD

25 Entering data on the day team from RECORD (Cheshire Biodiversity database)

26 Collecting specimens - methods Close inspection hand lens

27 Suction collecting of insects close to the ground - video

28 Aquatic invertebrates - video

29 Pea Mussels Ian Wallace Liverpool World Museum

30 Bioblitz audit results - summaryz 2208 records; 929 species Data compiled by RECORD Based on number of records

31 Insect species summary

32 Fungi Flowering plant Lower plant Mammals Birds Reptiles and Amphibians Fish Insects - Bees, ants and wasps Insects - Beetles Insects - Bugs Insects - Butterflies and moths Insects - Caddisflies Insects - Dragonflies Insects - Earwigs Insects - Lacewings Insects - Mayfly Insects - True Flies Snails and slugs Spiders Other invertebrates Total species count 250 Species total

33 Bioblitz results Invertebtrates solitary bees - Red Mason Bee Bee habitat exposed sandstone outcrop and old brickwork Predatory digger waspt

34 Butterflies at Ness Botanic Gardens 18 species of butterfly in total 10 species on Bioblitz day Large skipper on bramble Common Blue on vetch

35 Invertebrates Butterflies and Bumblebees Speckled Wood on common knapweed Comma on knapweed

36 Small Copper in the meadow

37 Wall butterfly first recorded in subsequently in 2014 A declining species nationally Scarce in Cheshire and inland Wirral Dee coastline last stronghold in Cheshire

38 Orange Tip butterfly and larval food plant Cuckoo flower Cardamine pratensis Family Brassicaceae

39 White-tailed Bumblebee on spear thistle 8 species of bumblebee recorded in total over the past 6 years Photo Marcel Escudier Good for bumblebees: habitat diversity, low key management

40 Tree Bumble Bee Bombus hypnorum Recent colonising species good pollinator

41 Tree bumblebee rapid colonisation First record in the UK, Hampshire in 2001 First recorded in Cheshire in 2008 First recorded at Ness in 2013

42 Rare Bee Species -1 st record in Cheshire Wood-Carving Leaf-Cutter bee

43 Birds using Ness Botanic Gardens Chaffinch Jay Total no. of species = 84 recorded over a period of at least 10 years Sparrow Hawk Long-tailed tit Bioblitz day 44 species were recordedz

44 More birds using Ness Botanic Gardens Robin Fieldfare Goldfinch

45 Brown Long-Eared Bat Declining species historically- UK BAP spp. Summer roosts old buildings and trees

46 Brandt s Bat roost in old buildings Daubenton s Bat near water and tree roosts

47 Large Mammals Badger seen on night vision cam At least one active sett, possibly two

48 Photos all Richard Steel Large mammals

49 Small mammals Harvest Mouse Only 4 sites in Wirral- tall unmanaged grass habitat Colony first found in Sept 2012, 5 nests. 10 nests in Dec 2014

50 Wilderness trail booklet Available to purchase from the reception desk; cost 2.00e Pdf version available free to members of FONG by accessing; Wildernessdiary.blogspot.co.uk

51 Going forward with Wilderness The development Plan; Cheshire Local Botanical orchard Marshy fen Limestone grassland Wildlife Site

52 Acknowledgements Friends of Ness Gardens For continuing support of the project and for a contribution of 10,000 per annum over the past two years. Tim Baxter Botanist