For All Moth Lovers Out There!

Since April this year our Horticulture Apprentice, Lucy, has started a project to record and identify the moth species on our grounds; this involves setting up a moth trap on Streatham Campus every month.

All species are recorded and submitted to  the Butterfly Conservation Moth Recording Scheme.

Thank you Lucy for your ongoing dedication to this project – you are truly ‘moth-ivational’!

We would like to share the findings with you!

April 2023 – 5 species (9 individuals)
Common Pug x 1
Common Quaker x 2
March Moth x 1
Frosted Green x 1
Hebrew Character x 4

Hebrew Character

May 2023 – 10 species (15 individuals)
Brimstone x 1
Broken Barred Carpet x 1
Common Pug x 1
Hebrew Character x 1
Muslin Moth (male) x 1
Pale Prominent x 1
Pale Tussock x 1
Rustic/Uncertain x 1
Treble Lines x 6
Unidentified (red) x 1

Broken Barred Carpet

June 2023 – 26 species (40 individuals)
Black Arches x 1
Common Footman x 1
Common Rustic x 1
Coronet x 1
Dark Arches x 2
Double Square Spot x 1
Double Striped Tabby x 1
Dusky Brocade x 1
Elephant Hawk Moth x 1
Flame Shoulder x 1
Grey Pine Carpet x 1
Heart and Dart x 4
Hartand Club x 1
Leopard Moth x 2
Mottled Beauty x 1
Pied Grey x 1
Poplar Hawk Moth x 1
Small Magpie x 2
Riband Wave x 2
Snout (Diorycrtia) x 1
Snout (Hypena) x 1
Tawny Marbled x 2
The Flame x 1
The Uncertain/Rustic x 5
Vine’s Rustic x 1
Yellow Underwing x 3

Elephant Hawk Moth

July 2023 – 22 species (50 individuals)
Black Arches x 2
Brimstone x 2
Buff Arches x 1
Common Footman x 4
Common Pug x 1
Common Rustic x 6
Common Wainscot x 1
Dark Arches x 2
Dun-bar x 3
Four Spotted Footman x 1
Heart and Dart x 2
Knot Grass x 1
Nut Tree Tussock x 1
Oak Hook Tip x 1
Riband Wave x 5
Rosy Footman x 1
Silver Y x 3
Small Magpie x 1
Smoky Wainscot x 1
Vine’s Rustic x 3
Willow Beauty x 1
Yellow Underwing x 7

Buff Arches

Nut Tree Tussock

Oak Hook Tip

 

Rosy Footman

August 2023 – 19 species (43 individuals)
Brimstone x 1
Broad Bordered Yellow Underwing x 2
Cetaceous Hebrew Character x 1
Common Wainscot x 3
Copper Underwing x 1
Engrailed x 1
Flame Shoulder x 6
Jersey Tiger x 3
Large Yellow Underwing x 6
Lesser Broad Bordered Underwing x 2
Light Emerald x 1
Mother of Pearl x 2
Poplar Hawk Moth x 1
Rosy Rustic x 1
Ruby Tiger x 2
Satan Wave x 1
Small Broad Bordered Underwing x 1
Snout x 1
Vine’s Rustic x 7

Poplar Hawk Moth

Big Butterfly Count 2023

One of our Gardeners, Adam, took part in the Butterfly Conservation’s Big Butterfly Count on Friday 4th August in the Lower Hoopern Valley at Streatham Campus.

Adam counted a total of 54 butterflies and spotted 6 species:

  • Gatekeeper
  • Meadow Brown
  • Common Blue
  • Speckled Wood
  • Six-Spot Burnet
  • Green-Veined White

These are the photos Adam managed to take before the butterflies fluttered by!

t’s really great to know that our biodiversity and sustainable working practices are encouraging beautiful butterflies to our grounds.

Hedgehog Awareness Week

It’s Hedgehog Awareness Week – hedgehogs in the UK are at risk of extinction due to habitat loss, development, roads and litter with populations declining by up to 50% since 2000.

The Hedgehog Friendly Campus initiative is run by the British Hedgehog Preservation Society (BHPS); it aims to improve conditions on university campuses across the UK, creating habitats where hedgehogs can thrive.

Students from Exeter University have been getting involved, working to achieve HFC bronze accreditation for Streatham Campus. So far, the team has set up a working group with key members of staff, met with the Grounds Team to improve hedgehog safety and organised a stall during Go Green Week to raise awareness and fundraise for the BHPS. Next steps are litter picks, a social media campaign and celebrating Hedgehog Awareness Week.

One of the Grounds Team Gardeners, Colin, and the Arborists have done a great job making a hedgehog house from some fallen timber on the grounds. The house will offer a hibernation site that is safer from predators in the winter and can also be used as a nesting box for a mother and her hoglets in the warmer months.

How you can help hedgehogs:

Buy a mature rose plant and help hedgehogs!

Beautiful rose plants for sale!

Some rose plants have been removed from the grounds in readiness for the new Multifaith Centre building, but the good news is that they’re available for you to buy!

Purchase a voucher at the Forum Marketplace shop – £4.50 per rose plant – and then exchange it for a rose bare-root plant at the Grounds Nursery, Estate Services Centre, Off Clydesdale Avenue, EX4 4QX. Once you’ve made your purchase, simply email Jess Evans to arrange a collection date and time.

And the best part? All proceeds will go towards supporting the British Hedgehog Preservation Society! Help us to support a great cause and add some beauty to your garden at the same time!

Bird Survey Highlights Winter 2022-23

Bird surveys carried out by an independent consultant every year in spring/summer and again in winter have been in place on the Streatham Campus for the last 14 years and on St Luke’s Campus for the past 9 years.

The results of the winter bird surveys on our campuses during two visits – one in November 2022 and one in January 2023 – have been received and we wanted to share the highlights.

Streatham Campus

A total of 1,212 birds were recorded during the visits, a slight increase on the total of 1,126 birds recorded in winter 2021-22.

409 of these birds are on the Red and Amber lists (38% of all birds recorded).

The the top five species recorded were:

  1. Wood Pigeon (Amber list bird)
  2. Robin (Green list bird)
  3. Blackbird (Green list bird)
  4. Blue Tit (Green list bird)
  5. Carrion Crow (Green list bird)

Birds of Conservation 5 (BOCC5) was published on 1st December 2021 and is the latest assessment of the status of all the bird species that regularly occur in the UK. This assessment indicates that 70 species are of the highest conservation concern and have been placed on the Red list, 103 species have been placed on the Amber list and 72 species on the Green list. The majority of the Red list species are there because of a severe decline in numbers in recent decades, their numbers remain below historical levels or are under threat of global extinction.

A total of 409 (15 species) Birds of Conservation Concern 5 (BOCC5) Red list and Amber list birds were recorded:

Red List

  • Greenfinch
  • Herring Gull
  • House Sparrow
  • Mistle Thrush

Greenfinch

Amber List

  • Bullfinch
  • Dunnock
  • Mallard
  • Moorhen
  • Redwing
  • Rook
  • Song Thrush
  • Sparrowhawk
  • Stock Dove
  • Wood Pigeon
  • Wren

Bullfinch

Interesting Observation

On the 19th January 2023 one of the Grounds Team’s Horticulture Apprentices, Lucy, who was helping out on this particular survey found a single Firecrest in the mixed woodland of the nature reserve, which is located behind the Sports Park. Although single Firecrests have been sighted previously on the campus, this is the first time one has been recorded during a winter survey, so can now added to the survey list as a new species.

The Firecrest is a regular passage migrant and winter visitor to the south west and is found in coniferous, deciduous and mixed woodland, often foraging with other bird species such as Goldcrests and Blue Tits.

Firecrest

Interesting Observation

On the 3rd December 2022, a wintering Chiffchaff was located in the wooded valley just to the west of the Laver Building. Chiffchaffs regularly forage in the mild counties of South West England, where they can find enough food to sustain them through the winter months. It is likely that most of these winter birds come from Northern Europe, whilst our own breeding population set off on migration in the autumn, to spend the winter months around the Mediterranean region and North Africa.

The Chiffchaff is one of the earliest spring migrants, with the first birds arriving in the first few days of March. The Chiffchaff is a regular breeding species on the campus, with up to 20 pairs recorded in any one breeding season.

Chiffchaff

St Luke’s Campus

A total of 234 birds were recorded during the visits.

144 of these birds are on the Red and Amber lists (62% of all birds recorded).

The top three species recorded were:

  1. Wood Pigeon (Amber list bird)
  2. House Sparrow (Red list bird)
  3. Herring Gull (Red list bird

Birds of Conservation 5 (BOCC5) was published on 1st December 2021 and is the latest assessment of the status of all the bird species that regularly occur in the UK. This assessment indicates that 70 species are of the highest conservation concern and have been placed on the Red list, 103 species have been placed on the Amber list and 72 species on the Green list. The majority of the Red list species are there because of a severe decline in numbers in recent decades, their numbers remain below historical levels or are under threat of global extinction.

A total of 144 birds (9 species) Birds of Conservation Concern 5 (BOCC5) Red list and Amber list birds were recorded:

Red List

  • Herring Gull
  • House Sparrow
  • Mistle Thrush
  • Starling

Mistle Thrush

Amber List

  • Dunnock
  • Redwing
  • Song Thrush
  • Wood Pigeon
  • Wren

Dunnock

Clearing Works Project – Higher Hoopern Valley

The Grounds Mitigation Team’s latest project has been to clear the Streatham Campus Higher Hoopern Valley woodlands and watercourse system of invasive plants.

This area is an important ecosystem that provides various ecological, economic and recreational benefits and invasive plants can pose a significant threat to the health and diversity of this ecosystem.

Invasive plants can outcompete native species, alter soil and nutrient conditions, and disrupt natural ecological processes. Therefore this was an important project to maintain the ecological integrity of this area.

Join Us for the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch

Join the Sustainability Team on Friday 27 January for the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch on Streatham Campus.

Weatherproof clothing advised. Feel free to bring drinks, snacks etc.

Binoculars would be handy, but you can take part without.

If you are a keen birdwatcher/ornithologist and would be happy to lead on identifying birds, please let Chris know.

Meet @ 9.30am outside Camper Cafe, Queens Building.

Depending on numbers, a bird count will take place at three different locations. If the weather forecast is awful, you will be emailed by 8pm on Thursday 26 January to cancel.

Email Chris to sign up or for further details.

Bug Hotels Expert Input – BBC Bitesize Article

We are very proud that one of our Gardeners, Colin Brown, has shared his expert knowledge of bug hotels with the BBC which has been included in the BBC BITESIZE article “Four hacks to help our hibernating animal friends this autumn”.

Full article can be read at http://bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/z4dq6rd

Well done Colin!

 

M-arb-ellous Upcycled Bench

We have a strong sustainable and biodiversity ethos within the University and the Grounds Team arboristrists practise this as much a possible by regularly creating habitat piles, building bird and bat boxes and protective fencing for new saplings from fallen branches and timber and leaving tree stumps as sanctuaries for insects and wildlife.

Their latest sustainable project was handcrafting a bench from a Quercus rubra (Red Oak) tree that failed in one of our valleys recently. This upcycled bench has been placed by Reed Pond under a Cupressus macrocarpa tree, which provides all day shade, and where it also has great views of the pond.

Upcycled bench

View of Reed pond from the upcycled bench

Upcycled bench is in all day shade, making it a cooling calming spot to relax

Bird Survey Highlights Spring/Summer 2022

The results of the spring/summer bird surveys carried out by an independent consultant on our campuses during two visits – one in March and one in May – have been received and we wanted to share the highlights.

Streatham Campus

A total of 1,498 birds were recorded during the visits, an increase of 4.4% over the total of 1,435 birds recorded in 2021. 696 of these birds are on the Red and Amber lists.

The the top five species recorded were:

  1. Wood Pigeon (Amber list bird)
  2. Blackbird (Green list bird)
  3. Robin (Green list bird)
  4. Wren (Amber list bird)
  5. Herring Gull (Red list bird)

Birds of Conservation 5 (BOCC5) was published on 1st December 2021 and is the latest assessment of the status of all the bird species that regularly occur in the UK. This assessment indicates that 70 species are of the highest conservation concern and have been placed on the Red list, 103 species have been placed on the Amber list and 72 species on the Green list. The majority of the Red list species are there because of a severe decline in numbers in recent decades, their numbers remain below historical levels or are under threat of global extinction.

The bird surveys (carried out every year in spring/summer and again in winter) have been in place on the Streatham Campus for the last 14 years, during which time some 55 different species have been recorded; of those 55 species currently there are 7 on the Red list and 15 on the Orange list.

A total of 274 (22 species) Birds of Conservation Concern 5 (BOCC5) Red list and Amber list birds were recorded:

Red List

  • Greenfinch
  • Herring Gull
  • House Sparrow
  • Mistle-Thrush
  • Starling
  • Swift
  • Woodcock

Greenfinch

Amber List

  • Black-Headed Gull
  • Bullfinch
  • Dunnock
  • Grey Wagtail
  • Lesser Black-Backed Gull
  • Mallard
  • Moorhen
  • Redwing
  • Rook
  • Sedge Warbler
  • Song Thrush
  • Sparrowhawk
  • Stock Dove
  • Wood Pigeon
  • Wren

Sedge Warbler

Interesting Observation

This breeding season a new Rookery has been established in the tops of tall trees in the Arboretum adjacent to Stocker Road. This is the first record of a Rookery on campus since 2001 when the small and declining Rookery located behind the Catholic Chaplaincy in Glenthorne Road finally disappeared.

Rooks are very sociable birds and you are unlikely to see one on its own; they feed and roots in flocks and nest colonially. Easily confused with the Carrion Crow, the Rook is slightly small with a bare greyish white face, a narrower beak and a peaked head.

Rook

St Luke’s Campus

A total of 274 birds were recorded during the visits and the the top five species recorded were:

  1. Wood Pigeon (Amber list bird)
  2. Herring Gull (Red list bird)
  3. Blackbird (Green list bird)
  4. House Sparrow (Red list bird)
  5. Robin (Green list bird)

The bird surveys (carried out every year in spring/summer and again in winter) have been in place on St Luke’s Campus since 2013, during which time some 29 different species have been recorded.

Robin