The
Wildlife of Southampton
by Phil Budd
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).
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 http://sotonnhs.org/
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
phillipbudd@btinternet.com 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.
http://sotonnhs.org/
Phil
Budd
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