The Wildlife of Southampton by Phil Budd

You have Celtic\Rangers, United\City, Villa\Birmingham, and you have to witness Southampton\Portsmouth to put to bed the notion that we are not tribal. Just as every country that borders another, tend to dislike each other (if not they hate one another), so it seems with cities; says a lot about the great human race.

Rising above all this, I can only say that Portsmouth is the home of the British Navy, the Historic Dockyard, has the Spinnaker Tower, HMS Victory, Warrior and Mary Rose, Gunwharf Quays, Southsea, is where Arthur Conan Doyle had his most creative years, the birthplace of Dickens and Brunel, whereas Southampton is where the Titanic sailed from.

True, that whereas Portsea is all built up, and has domains such as Milton Common, Baffins Pond and er - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - , Southampton is singular for having every type of habitat; with vast areas of woodland, coastal, lakes and home to The Common. Should anyone living near Southampton go abroad for their summer hols, they should be institutionalised immediately until the problem is remedied.

Here Phil Budd puts the case for the city and its surrounds. Phil is an all-rounder and professional ecologist. I recall that last year I walked with him and a friend for miles on a pleasant Saturday, along the shoreline, through meadows and fields. In 3 hours we saw 3 men, 1 Woman and 3 dogs, which means the residents are spoiled for choice. The only other city which I know of to compare with such open spaces is Oxford.

Unlike other articles, this is lengthy, as Southampton is largely unheralded, and this gives a comprehensive overview, of the sites and all of the wildlife you might encounter.

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The Wildlife Scene in Southampton

An introduction to the sites

As regards wildlife habitats Southampton is almost unique in Britain in two respects. Firstly, some 11% of the land area within the city boundary is open space of some kind or other. Secondly, no other British city can boast so much surrounding woodland. In this latter respect Southampton resembles many German cities such as Frankfurt and Nuremburg. In addition the city centre is graced by a series of five connected parks almost a mile long (Hoglands, Houndwell, Palmerston, Andrews and Watts Parks).

Southampton Common

Southampton’s greatest wildlife treasure is its magnificent 365 acre common. Southampton Common extends over one mile from north to south and half of it is ancient woodland of oak, holly and birch. Much of it is a Site of Special Scientific Interest on account of its Great Crested Newt populations. Southampton Common also happens to be the second largest open space completely surrounded by built up areas in England outside London! Only Sutton Park in Birmingham and the larger London parks and commons are greater in extent. The main road from the north (The Avenue) runs through much of the length of The Common – this is unique for any British approach road and has been compared to the Bois de Boulogne in Paris.

Other significant open spaces

In addition to The Common and the central Parks there are four large cemeteries (Southampton Old Cemetery – the southernmost part of The Common; Hollybrook Cemetery; Stoneham Cemetery and St Mary’s Extra Cemetery in Sholing), 23 allotment gardens (covering about 100 acres), several patches of ancient woodland (Frog’s Copse, Hum Hole, Bassett Wood etc.), three other large parks (The Southampton Sports Centre, Riverside Park [on the east bank of the Itchen] and the beautiful Mayfield Park at Weston), the extensive (100 acre) chalky grassland of Peartree Green, three remnants of natural shoreline (Windy Bay at Northam, Chessel Bay [on the east bank of the Itchen] and Weston Shore) and, finally there are the Greenways.

The Greenways

The Greenways are ribbons of greenery following the surviving stream systems within the city and deserve special mention. A particularly interesting five-mile circular walk covers Weston Shore, St Mary’s Extra Cemetery and Mayfield Park (mentioned above) plus West Wood/Grange Fields (mentioned below). This walk is one that I have sometimes led for the HOS. The route of this walk also covers part of the Sholing Valley system known as ‘Shoreburs’ and passes Miller’s Pond. This valley stretches almost as far NE as my home in Thornhill and it is possible for me to walk the three miles from my home to Weston Shore passing through greenery 90% of the way! Another major greenway system in the west of the city is known as ‘Lordsdale’ and consists of Shirley Ice House Pond and two valleys (the Hollybrook and the Tanner’s Brook). In addition there are other significant greenways such as the Broadlands Valley, the Bassett Wood/Daisy Dip valley and the Monk’s Brook

Greenway. All of these lie in the north of the city and their streams empty into the River Itchen.

The western and northern edge of the city

I have not yet mentioned most of the wildlife havens along the city boundaries. Most of the city boundary runs through non-built up areas and I shall run through them in a clockwise direction. Starting in the west; most birdwatchers may be familiar with the marsh, lakes, reed beds and wet woodlands of Lower Test Reserve and Testwood Lakes. Less familiar might be the wooded higher ground on the NW and northern edge of the city. Running clockwise we first come to a superb patch of old oak woodland (Home Covert), then a series of woodland ponds at Rownhams (Rosebank, Cromarty and Baker’s Ponds), next is the extensive woodland and heathland complex of Lord’s Wood and Chilworth Common. Further east there is more wooded high ground around Bassett and the private golf course at Stoneham including Hut Wood, Avenue Park and Hardmoor Copse.

The eastern edge of the city

Next we cross the Monk’s Brook and the airport to reach the Itchen valley. Here the Eastleigh countryside service runs the woodland and meadows of Itchen Valley Country Park. At the Southampton end of this valley is Mansbridge Reservoir, the top end of Riverside Park, the Mansbridge Salmon Pools and the fascinating arboretum and wet woodland of Marlhill Copse. Further SE on the high ground of the eastern edge of the city is a series of smaller woodlands (Frog’s Copse, West End Copse, Telegraph Woods, Bacon Copse, the Thornhill Park Woods and the woodland and heathland of Kanes Hill). The latter deserves special mention as at Netley Common there survives the largest patch of heathland and the only valley mire (peat bog) left in the city. There is another valley mire on private ground at nearby Peewit Hill. South of Hedge End there is another country park – the farmland and ancient woodland of Manor Farm Country Park stretching down to the River Hamble.

In the triangle of land between the SE edge of Southampton and the Hamble Valley there is a mixture of suburban sprawl, market garden country and ribbon like woodlands such as Prior’s Hill Copse, Hound Bunny, St Mary’s Wood and the woodlands and acid grasslands of the Royal Victoria Country Park. However abutting the city between Weston and Netley Abbey is another extensive area of ancient woodland called West Wood Woodland Park. This area also includes two pieces of grassland on the made up ground of former land-fills (the Grange Fields) and some wet woodland. The wet woodland continues NE along the Tirckleford Gully as the Upper Weston Greenway.

An introduction to the wildlife

The Southampton Natural History Society (= SNHS) has been observing, studying and recording most aspects of the wildlife in the city for half a century so we have good idea of what there is to see. We just need to keep up with the changes!

Birds

Not surprisingly the birds are particularly well recorded. Unfortunately Southampton isn’t as interesting for birds as for many other aspects of wildlife. As a consequence most sites, apart from Weston Shore and the Test Valley, are not popular with birdwatchers.

We did not escape the large invasion of Waxwings in early 2005 and there was a particularly large flock at Lord’s Hill and around the Ordnance Survey offices at Maybush. Also we have regular wintering Black Redstarts and Mediterranean Gulls, we have breeding Barn Owls and Peregrines and some good woodland birds have bred in the city such as Firecrest and Wood Warbler. Sadly we seem to have lost the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker and Tree Sparrow, although sightings of Crossbills are on the increase.

Mammals and Reptiles

The mammal fauna is much as expected with some pleasing additions. We have Otter back on the River Itchen, Badgers in the north of the city, Harvest Mice at Lower Test Reserve and possibly Dormice remain in at least a couple of sites. Widespread bat species include the Serotine Bat. There are abundant Grey Squirrels, including a black variety at Telegraph Woods, but none of the albino forms familiar in the Portsmouth area. Rabbits are now extinct in all areas surrounded by houses but a population at Redbridge includes a sandy coloured variety. There are four reptile species in Southampton including Adders still on the high ground on the north and east edges of the city. There are five species of amphibians including all three newts. The Palmate Newt is the commonest species and there is a large colony at Hum Hole, Bitterne. Frogs are still common but Toads seem to have almost died out.

Insects

Much attention has been paid to the recording of insects in the city as the SNHS is currently carrying out surveys of ladybirds and shield bugs (including squash bugs), we have produced a book on our ladybird findings and we also carry out butterfly transects at two sites (Peartree Green and Southampton Old Cemetery).

Butterflies and Moths

The butterfly scene in the Southampton area is well described in the second edition of ‘The Butterflies of Southampton and Surrounding Area’ (Barker and Budd, 2005). 41 species have between recorded in Southampton (including SE to the Hamble valley) since 1990 and 31 of these have probably bred within the city. Some species have declined (Tortoiseshell, Small Heath and Wall) whilst others (Ringlet, Marbled White, Green Hairstreak and Essex Skipper) have increased. We have populations of scarcer species such as the White Admiral, White Letter Hairstreak, Clouded Yellow and Brown Argus. Recently there have been some interesting sightings of species such as Silver-studded Blue, Dark Green Fritillary and Silver-washed Fritillary. Moths are well recorded, especially in the east of the city but the west (including The Common) has not been well recorded recently. As well as the usual array of macro moths, with a sprinkling of scarce migrants, there has been much recording of clearwings and some micro-moth groups in the last ten years. Also some new species are colonising the city such as the Cypress Carpet, White Point and the London Plane Leaf-miner Phyllonorycter platani

Other Insects

About 27 species of ladybird have been recorded to date including the nationally Notable Scarce 7-Spot Ladybird and the alien Harlequin Ladybird. The shield bug list is also rapidly expanding and includes the rapidly increasing Box Bug and Crucifer Shield Bug as well as some scarce

Heathland species. We have surveyed for Orthopterans, Dictyopterans (cockroaches) and Odonata quite thoroughly. Of the Orthopterans we still have Bog Bush Cricket and Great Green Bush Cricket in the area as well as an extant colony of House Cricket. Roesel’s Bush Cricket is colonising the NW of the city and Wood Crickets occur at Mayfield Park and Jurd’s Lake in the SE. Odonata include the new colonist, Small Red-eyed Damselfly (on Sothampton Common and at Bursledon) and the Southern Damselfly in the Itchen valley.

We have our fair share of interesting beetles in the Southampton area. The Stag Beetle has always been common in the Shoreburs valley and the magnificent Tanner (or Sawyer) Beetle Prionus corarius occurs on The Common, at Bassett and Mayfield Park. There is a strong colony of Glow-worms on private land in the Hamble valley. Two Hymenopterans have increased greatly recently i.e. Hornet Vespa crabro and Bee-killer (= Bee Wolf) Philanthus triangulum. Both of these have been recorded near to the city centre. The SNHS has future plans to study hoverflies – one striking species – the Hornet Hoverfly Volucella zonaria has increased recently.

Other invertebrates

There have been recent studies of spiders, terrestrial molluscs, freshwater invertebrates and marine invertebrates in the Southampton area. A particularly interesting spider, known in the Southampton area since at least 1990, is the Wasp Spider Argiope bruennichi and this species is now common.

Marine invertebrate life is somewhat reduced in Southampton area by the effects of pollution, dredging and over zealous bait digging but there is still a superb site at Royal Victoria Country Park, Netley where the stony debris provides habitat for a fascinating array of sea anemones, peacock worms, porcelain crabs, true crabs and sea squirts. Several alien marine species have colonised Southampton Water since the 2nd World War such as the Leathery Sea Squirt Styela clava and the Australian Barnacle Elminius modestus as well as seaweeds such as Japanese Kelp Undaria pinnatifida.

Flora

Gradually the SNHS is gaining fuller picture of the flora of the city and since 2000 there has been detailed surveying of the allotments and the major churchyards and cemeteries of the city. Representatives from the Hampshire Biodiversity Information Centre (HBIC) have also surveyed some key sites for flora.

Alien Flora and Increasing Species

There have been many recent changes in the flora of the Southampton area with many new alien species are now being recorded. This may be largely due to the recent trend towards milder winters and dryer summers as our climate begins to resemble that of the Mediterranean. There have been significant increases in the number of recorded species of certain families such as Graminaceae (grasses), Liliaceae (bulbous flowers) and Leguminaceae (pea family). Of the latter the Bithynian Vetch Vicia bithynica was exciting find on Peartree Green in 2005 and some other exciting legumes were already known such as Yellow Vetch Vicia lutea (Lakeside Park, Eastleigh) and Yellow Vetchling Lathyrus aphaca (St Mary’s).

Hairy Garlic Allium subhirsutum, Three-cornered Leek Allium triquetrum and Spring Starflower Tristagma uniflora are now significant garden pests and are invading woodlands near gardens. Several non-native shrubs such as Photinia davidii, Portugal Laurel Prunus lusitanicus, Rum Cherry Prunus serotinus and Bay Laurel Laurus nobilis are spreading in the woodland areas. On the Thornhill council estate there are colonies of the alien composite Hieraceum flagellaris in acid grassland, this species might not occur anywhere else in England! Also, in the spring, a spectacular display of Purple Toothwort Lathraea clandestina can be along the Monk’s Brook.

Scarce Native Species

There is quite an assortment of scarce native flora in the Southampton area. These species include the almost extinct Rampion Bellflower Campanula rapunculus (actually an ancient introduction – at Nursling), Mouse-tail Myosurus minimus (at Redbridge), Green-flowered Helleborine Epipactis phyllanthes (Lower Test and Riverside Park), Small-flowered Buttercup Ranunculus parviflorus (city centre), Upright Chickweed Moenchia erecta (Thornhill), Yellow Bartsia Parentucellia viscosa (Netley Grange Fields), Great Broomrape Orobanche rapum-genistae (Hut Wood and possibly West Wood) Round-leaved Sundew Drosera rotundifolia (Netley Common), Pale Flax Linum bienne (Thornhill and Netley Common), Brown Galingale Cyperus longus (Itchen valley) and Black Bog-rush Schoenicus nigricans (Peewit Hill).

Ferns, Bryophytes and Fungi

The only extant site in Hampshire for Dutch Rush Equisetum hyemale is under the alders at Aldermoor Copse, Lord’s Hill. This is a species of horsetail. Bryophytes (mosses and liverworts) are being mapped on a 2 x 2 km square basis by recorders from the British Bryological Society. A particularly scarce moss Bracythecium mildeanum, not recorded in Hampshire for over 40 years, has recently been found in the unusual damp, chalky grassland at Peatree Green.

Fungi have been well studied in parts of the Southampton area for at least 40 years and there are plans to enter all of our records onto Mapmate so that we can gain a clearer picture of the fungus flora. Lichens have not been so thoroughly studied but various lichenologists have studied many of the churchyards and there is visual evidence that the corticolous (tree bark) lichen flora may be increasing in response to atmospheric conditions.

The fungus flora of Southampton appears to be rather disappointing compared to some other areas of Hampshire with no red data book species recorded. However there is some interesting sites particularly Mayfield Park, Netley Common, Telegraph Woods, Southampton Common, Hut Wood and Lord’s Wood. Interesting recent finds include Common Morel Morchella esculenta (on burnt ground at Peartree Green), Amanita eliae (Southamnpton Common) and Hericium cirrhatus (Telegraph Woods).

Conservation of Southampton’s Wildlife

The City Council and local action groups

Most of the open spaces in Southampton are managed by the city council. The council has recently prepared a Biodiversity Action Plan, in keeping with their legal obligations, and are currently reviewing the management of key sites. The city council does not employ any countryside rangers and manages the municipal parks very well using horticultural staff. The council manages the better wildlife sites to varying degrees. For example Southampton Common is very well managed because there is a permanent staff employed at the Hawthorns Urban Wildlife Centre. Some other sites are well managed by either the council staff, groups run by the British Trust for Conservation (especially in the west of the city and at Mayfield Park) or by local action groups such as Peartree 21, Sholing Environment Group, Sholing Valley Study Centre Association and Percy Road Residents Association. The city council also looks after coastal sites such as Chessel Bay and Weston Shore very well and there has been much recent funding to improve the latter site. However some sites do not receive either council funding or the attention of local groups and are thus rather neglected at present eg. Broadlands Valley, the Hollybrook valley and the north of the Monk’s Brook Greenway. However a new group has recently formed at Bassett Wood and Daisy Dip.

Sites on the edge of the city

The Southampton City Council, due to shortages of funding, has largely passed the wildlife conservation of sites on the edge of the city to other authorities. The Wildlife Trust has long run lower Test Reserve. Itchen Valley Country Park, Avenue Park, Lakeside Park and Telegraph Woods all have full public access and are run by the Eastleigh Council. The Forestry Commission own some woodland north of the city such as Lord’s Wood Plantation, Hut Wood and Rownhams Wood. However part of Lord’s Wood is under council ownership, this area is known as Lord’s Wood Greenway but is badly affected by fly tipping and vandalism from the Lord’s Hill council estate.

In the east of the city the West Wood Team of the Hampshire Council run West Wood/Grange Fields, St Mary’s Wood (Netley) and Netley Common. This team is based at Royal Victoria Country Park. Part of West Wood, the Tickleford Gulley, is badly affected by the proximity to the ‘very rough’ Weston council estate, one is not advised to visit this area alone or at night! The Hampshire County Council also runs Royal Victoria Country Park and Manor Farm Country Park Band other public attractions. At Itchen Valley Country Park there is a public display area/shop in the High Wood Barn. Good sites that are privately owned include Marlhill Copse and Peewit Hill.

The Southampton Natural History Society

The SNHS was originally formed in 1907 (100th anniversary next year) by a group of Quakers who were interested in archaeology, geology and natural history. We dropped our association with the Friends but continued to meet at their hall in Ordnance Road until we moved to the nearby Edmund Kell Hall. Today the SNHS doesn’t look at archaeology and geology very much but continues to observe, record, study and educate the membership on all aspects of natural history in the Southampton area. The SNHS is a registered charity but doesn’t employ any paid staff.

For an annual membership fee of £6 (single) or £9:50 (for couples or corporate members) the SNHS can provide a very worthwhile return for such a modest investment. We arrange about 25 Field Meetings through the year and subjects studiedinclude seashore life, land molluscs, pond life, insects (including butterflies, ladybirds, shield bugs and glow worms), mammals, birds, fungi, Bryophytes, trees and general flora. There are seven winter Indoor Meetings on the first Tuesday evenings of each month from October to April, the April meeting is the A.G.M. The SNHS runs academic workshops at the Testwood Centre once or twice per year and on 8th July 2006 the group is planning a family activity day at the same venue. Attending this event will be our president, the TV naturalist Chris Packham.

Something that has always been a big selling point of the SNHS is the Annual Report, produced in April each year. This is now an illustrated report and includes member’s records and articles as well as all of the usual reports on SNHS activities. An autumn newsletter is produced for our second mailing of the year. Of interest to many people reading this article would be our ever expanding web-site available by searching or by looking at www.communigate.co.uk\hants\snhs\ On this site can be found our recent reports, our events programme, identification keys to trees, information on our surveys, pictures of various wildlife items (e.g. ladybirds, alien flora, orchids and seashore life) and any other latest news.

If you would like to join the SNHS you could either find one of our Membership Forms in most of the libraries around Southampton or at wildlife related outlets such as country parks, Hawthorns Centre, Testwood Centre or Titchfield Haven. Alternatively you could e-mail us on philbudd@ukonline.co.uk and quote your postal address or contact our membership Secretary.

Barbara Thomas 40 Mon Crescent, Bitterne, So’ton. SO18 5QU.

023 –80443853.

Please note that we cannot join up members on our web site and that Barbara has no e-mail address. Members joining after 1st September each year are covered for all of the following year.

Other Major Wildlife Groups in Southampton

Southampton Wildlife Link (SWL)

The SWL was formed in 1988 by a group of councillors and amateur wildlife enthusiasts led by the late Pat Loxton. The purpose of this group is to form a liaison committee between the city council (represented by the City Ecologist) and various charities and professional bodies representing wildlife interests in the city. This group raises concerns about issues affecting wildlife in the city and has carried out surveys of the mammal fauna, allotments, churchyards and at several specific sites. By 2003 the group had declined and was then taken over by the SNHS. It is now a sub-committee of the SNHS meeting six times per year at the Sholing Valley Study Centre. Other groups represented on this committee are the Sholing Valley Study Centre Association, Sholing Environment Group, Hawthorns Wildlife Association, Friends of Southampton Old Cemetery and Southampton Commons and Parks Protection Society.

Hawthorns Wildlife Association

The HWA Was formed around 1980 to promote wildlife study and conservation on Southampton Common. Initially volunteers ran it but in the 1980’s it was part funded by the Manpower Services Commission and then by the city council. When the city council took it over completely in the early 1990’s they moved from the old Southampton Common Study Centre to the one-acre former Southampton Zoo site at The Hawthorns. This centre has been greatly improved since and is now permanently staffed by the city council. The HWA then became a small committee that no longer needed to raise funds for the centre but continued to run public events for the centre outside normal staff working hours. This group is still functioning, has around 80 members AND AN annual Subscription of £9.

Royal Society for the Protection of Birds

There is no representative group of the RSPB in Southampton since the former group (Southampton Bird Group) split with the RSPB in the early 1990’s. The new group, known at the Southampton and District Bird Group is now based at Totton butstill assists at Titchfield Haven reserve.

Waterside Natural History Society

A small group of amateur naturalists based at Dibden Purleiu, near Hythe. They carry out regular indoor and field meetings and sporadic recording projects. The WNHS has recently formed close ties with the SDBG.

Hampshire Wildlife Trust

Despite the proximity of the Lower Test Reserve there is no HWT group in Southampton. There were short-lived groups in the early 1980’s and again, ten years later. There are no HWT reserves within the city.

Friends of Southampton Old Cemetery

This is a small charity that formed recently. It is mainly concerned with the local history and conservation of the cemetery. There is a wildlife branch of the FOSC run by a Mr John Vetterlein, who leads monthly flower walks there and runs a butterfly transect. The group has close links with the HWA and also provides a service for tracing graves via the Hawthorns Centre.

Percy Road Residents Association

A small residents group based at Percy Road, Shirley and concerned with looking after two small sites – the private Shirley Park and Mill Mead. The latter site is downstream of Shirley Pond. Recently this group absorbed the now defunct Friends of Shirley Valley. The latter group used to look after the central section of the valley between Coxford and Dale Road and used to carry out regular litter picks there.

Green Gym/BTCV

The ‘Green Gym’ is affiliated to the BTCV and has, for several years, carried out public conservation work in the Lordsdale Greenway, at the City Farm in Aldermoor and at various school and allotment sites. It assists the Percy Road Residents Association at their sites. Recently (in 2005) the BTCV set up a group in the east of the city, at Mayfield Park. This group is currently attempting to clear Rhododendron and improve the habitat at this site.

The Sholing Groups

The Sholing Valley Study Centre Association was formed around 20 years ago and is based at the small Sholing Valley Study Centre close to Miller’s Pond in the Botany Bay area. It looks after the woodland, scrub, grassland and wetland in the immediate area and raises funds to maintain its study centre. This group holds two large fairs in the spring and in the summer. The Sholing Environment Group is a more recently formed residents group carrying out conservation work in the upper part of Sholing valley from Weston Common to Bunny Hill (South East Road). Their largest project to date is the Sholing Village Green at South East Road/Kathleen Road.

Friends of Chessel Bay/ Peartree 21

Two small groups strongly associated with council. These groups are concerned with Chessel Bay SSSI and Peartree Green/Peartree Church respectively. Their concern is mainly the aesthetic value of the sites and human abuse of them.

Southampton Common and Parks Protection Society

This is a long established action group that, for at least 40 years, has campaigned to protect threats to the registered commons, parks and open spaces of the city. Such threats have included encroachment by private land owner/householders and inappropriate changes of usage. There is some concern for wildlife in the sense of wildlife habitats. This group has always been associated with the SWL and has done some fine work over the years. However it is currently declining, as most of its active members are ‘well past their prime or no longer with us’.

Web Sites

Various groups and individuals, apart from the SNHS, are setting up or running websites concerned with wildlife. This is a rapidly developing situation and more information may be available in due course.

www.communigate.co.uk/hants/snhs

Phil Budd

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