2014 Biological Recording Workshop Programme

ERCCIS Biological Recording Workshops
and Field Trips 2014
Listed below are the workshops organised by the Environmental Records Centre for
Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly (ERCCIS) for 2014.
These day courses are open to all interested in recording wildlife and are intended to
help recorders improve their existing recording skills, learn new ones and share their
expertise.
To book on any of these workshops, please complete the attached booking form and
return to the Records Centre. If you require transport to/from workshops or would
like to car share please let us know and we will try and help. You will be sent further
details about the workshop/field trip nearer the event on a poster confirming the
venue, meeting times and detailing what to bring.
There is usually a small charge to help contribute to the running of the workshops.
However we trust that you find this represents good value for money and the
workshops are worthwhile in assisting your recording efforts.
If you would like further information on the workshops, on getting involved in biological
recording or on the work of your Environmental Records Centre, please contact Sue
Scott at the Records Centre Wildlife Information Service on (01872) 240777 xtn 240.
We always welcome suggestions for future workshops or field trips; remember these
training events are for you!
Recording, Mapping and Informing
ERICA-Recorders Workshop
Date
Location
Leader
Cost
Level
Friday 24th January
Cornwall Wildlife Trust Headquarters, Allet, Near Truro
Colin French
Free
All
Environmental Recording in Cornwall Automated or ERICA, as it is known is a unique recording
package created to record the Natural History of Cornwall. This workshop will help you to
familiarise with the program and its functions, enabling you to begin recording in a systematic,
useful way as well as looking up records in a myriad of different ways. There will be plenty of
opportunity for questions and discussion. You will also be able to purchase ERICA on the day if you
wish.
Winter Birds
Date
Location
Leader
Cost
Level
Wednesday 5th February
Loe Pool, Helston
Martin Rule
£35/60
Beginner to intermediate
Martin Rule, freelance ecologist and British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) surveyor, will take us for
a walk around the National Trust’s Loe Pool to survey the birdlife of both woodland and water,
overwintering and resident. There are a variety of habitats to found around the pool including
the cliff, beach and sea at Loe Bar making this one of the best sites for an introdcution to a wide
variety of winter birds. Please note that there is a substanitial amount of walking involved.
Winter Tree Identification
Date
Location
Leader
Cost
Level
Wednesday 19th February
Tehidy Woods
Gavin Nicol
£35/60
Beginner to intermediate
The aim of this workshop is to help us to confidently identify both native and non-native tree species
that are commonly found in the British countryside. There will be hints and tips on how to recognise
deciduous trees in their winter phase and an opportunity to discuss management issues with
experienced forrester and now conservation management lecturer Gavin Nicol.
Recording, Mapping and Informing
Recorder Conference
Date
Location
Leader
Cost
Level
Saturday 1st March 9:30 to 16:00
Fraddon Village Hall
Environmental Record Centre
Free
All
Come and meet like-minded recorders and recording groups at our annual conference. This
year as well as interesting updates on our work there will be a forum on the record centre’s
development plan, a chance to have your say on our future work. Recording Groups will be
presenting their work and there will be plenty of time to chat and mingle to see what everyone in
the recording community is doing. There will be refreshments but please bring a packed lunch.
Intermediate Level Rocky Shore Surveying
Date
Location
Leader
Cost
Level
Sunday 2nd March
Newquay College
Matt Slater
£35/60 (£15 for VMCA and PANACHE Volunteers)
Intermediate
A much closer look at the species found on the rocky shore when surveying with Matt Slater,
Cornwall Wildlife Trust’s Marine Liaison Officer. This workshop will take place both in the laboratory
and on the Shore and will focus in more closely at the less readily identifiable of our rocky shore
wildlife and demonstrate how to set about identification using the relevant keys and equipment.
A must for PANACHE project volunteers and those involved with their local Voluntary Marine
Conservation Area group.
Conifers
Date
Location
Leader
Cost
Level
Wednesday 9th April
Tehidy Country Park
Gavin Nicol
£35/£60
Intermediate
Tehidy Country Park boasts a wide range of Conifer Species having once formed part of a large
country estate where tree species collection was taken very seriously in the past. Gavin Nicol will
coach us through the key identification features for the conifers that you are likely to encounter in
the countryside whilst surveying or recording.
Recording, Mapping and Informing
An Introduction to Intertidal Fish Species Identification
Date
Location
Leaders
Cost
Level
Tuesday 15th April
Newquay College
Doug Herdson
£35/60 (£15 for VMCA or PANACHE Volunteers)
All
This workshop will focus on the species of fish likely to be encountered when surveying and
recording in the intertidal around Cornwall. As well as a presentation on the variety of fish species
found we will be out in the field learning recording techniques including netting on the Gannel. An
excellent opportunity to gain some real recording experience and bring in up to date fish records
for that area.
Butterfly Transect Day
Date
Location
Leader
Cost
Level
Wednesday 23rd April
Cornwall Wildlife Trust, Allet
Jim Barker-Cornwall Butterfly Conservation Group
£35/£60
Beginner to intermediate
Join Cornwall Butterfly Conservation for a day learning how to set up a butterfly transect to join
in with Butterfly Conservation’s national monitoring scheme. There will be notes on species
identification and status of species found in Cornwall. In the afternoon we will practise our
identification skills in the grounds of Five Acres and Two Burrows and set up a model transect.
Seaweed Identification
Date
Location
Leaders
Cost
Level
Monday 28th and Tuesday 29th April
Duchy College Rosewarne
Prof. Juliet Brodie
£35/£60 (£15 for VMCA or PANACHE Volunteers)
All those currently out recording Seaweeds and marine surveying
Following on from the success of the Red Seaweeds Workshop last year this is another opportunity
to be able increase your recording skills and knowledge of Seaweeds. On this two day workshop we
will be out in the field on the first day collecting with hints and tips on recognising some seaweeds in
the field, where and how they grow and their position on shore can be very relevant to the species
collected. The following day will be spent in the laboratory under instruction from Juliet covering
reds, greens and browns. A flexible approach that will give students the chance to iron out any
specific problems they have encountered and develop their existing knowledge.
Recording, Mapping and Informing
An Introduction to Freshwater Ecology
Date
Location
Leader
Cost
Level
Thursday 1st May
Duchy College Rosewarne
Alan Rowland
£35/£60
Beginner
This course will introduce participants to the world of freshwater ecology to enable us to get out
and look at our local waterways and ponds and assess their health as well as build up an idea of
what suites of invertebrates inhabit different bodies of water. We will cover recording techniques,
recording schemes and how best to set about identifying our findings.
Woodland Plants
Date
Location
Leader
Cost
Level
Tuesday 13th May
Lerryn
Ian Bennallick
£35/£60
Beginner
The aim of this workshop is to introduce the identification of flowering plants, trees and ferns of
woodlands with, of course, particular emphasis on the woodlands of Cornwall. Time will be equally
divided between a presentation on botanical recording in Cornwall and how to identify the species
expected to be found. In the afternoon we will be lead on walk in the beautiful Lerryn Woods to
practice our identification skills.
An Introduction to Nest Finding and the BTO Nest Record Scheme
Date
Location
Leader
Cost
Level
Friday 16th May 7pm – 9pm & Saturday 17th May 8am – 1pm
Lanhydrock Memorial Hall on Friday Evening-Field Work on Saturday SE Cornwall
Peter Kent, local nest recorders and the British Trust For Ornithology Trainers.
£10
Some experience birdwatching and wishing to develop further skills.
The BTO Nest Record Scheme (NRS) gathers vital information on the breeding success of Britain’s
birds by asking volunteers to find and follow the progress of individual birds’ nests. The data
collected are used to produce trends in breeding performance, which help us to identify species
that may be declining because of problems at the nesting stage. In this workshop participants will
be guided through the principles of finding and monitoring nests while following the NRS Code of
Conduct. There will be an introduction to the NRS and different nest finding techniques on the Friday
evening followed by a morning of demonstrations and supervised practice on a site in south east
Cornwall.
Recording, Mapping and Informing
Grassland Plants
Date
Location
Leader
Cost
Level
Tuesday 20th May
Duchy College Rosewarne
Ian Bennallick
£35/£60
Beginner
The aim of this workshop is to introduce the identification of the species of flowering plants
and ferns found in different types of grassland in Cornwall. There will be a presentation with
illustrative notes and handouts, discussion on the distribution of these grassland communities
with accompanying maps. In the afternoon there will be a field trip nearby on the North Coast to
identify plants in the field.
Dragonflies
Date
Location
Leader
Cost
Level
Friday 20th June
Tuckingmill Valley
Steve Jones
£35/£60
Beginner to Intermediate
This field trip serves not only as an introduction to Dragonflies and Damselflies and their ecology
and habitat requirements but as a useful guide to surveying skills and an opportunity to see the
BAP Species Scarce Blue-tailed Damselfly Ischnura pumilio and Small Red Damselfly Ceriagrion
tenellum. The old tin streaming beds of the Red River valley provide us with a range of habitats
to investigate and at least ten species to recognise and record. Join the British Dragonfly Society’s
recorder Steve Jones in this very popular and informative day learning how to recognise and
record these charismatic insects.
Hoverflies
Date
Location
Leader
Cost
Level
Friday 4th July
Duchy College, Rosewarne
Dr Keith Alexander
£35/£60
Beginner to Intermediate
An introduction to a visually exciting and popular group of 250 or so species of flies. Many of them
can, with a little experience be identified in the field. Keith will take us through the species most
likely to be found in Cornwall, their status and habitat preferences. We will have time working with
a microscope identifying species from a reference collection as well as any specimens you care to
bring in. Useful keys, recording schemes and collection techniques will also be discussed.
Recording, Mapping and Informing
Wildlife Photography for Recording Purposes
Date
Location
Leader
Cost
Level
Tuesday 15th July
Cornwall Wildlife Trust Headquarters, Allet
David Chapman
£35/£60
All
A very exciting new workshop with experienced wildlife photographer David Chapman. A camera
can be an excellent tool for the biological recorder, reducing the need to take specimens from the
field as proof of a record or for further identification. David will guide us through the process of
taking clearer shots, better angles and getting the best out of your camera to produce the best
of biological records. There will be a presentation and plenty of time to practice our new learned
skills around the CWT grounds including fun trying to photograph moths from a light trap.
Harvestmen
Date
Location
Leader
Cost
Level
Monday 22nd September
Duchy College, Rosewarne
Dr Keith Alexander
£35/£60
Beginner to intermediate
An introduction to recording Harvestmen that should serve to get us all recording as there are
only 26 Species (native and non-native) on the checklist for the British Isles. We will be coached
in the use of suitable keys and work at identifying reference collection specimens as well as be
encouraged to bring some of our own specimens to look at. Over looked and under recorded in
the county there is plenty of room for study of these curious invertebrates.
Fern Identification
Date
Location
Leader
Cost
Level
Tuesday 23rd September
Cornwall Wildlife Trust HQ Allet
Ian Bennallick
£35/£60
Beginner to intermediate
The aim of this workshop is to identify and name the Ferns found in Cornwall and the Isles of
Scilly. Ferns are vascular plants belonging to the group Pteridophyta and needless to say they
do, due to in part to Cornwall’s mild damp climate, feature strongly in our woods, hedgerows
and wetlands. Ian Bennallick is an experienced local botanist and BSBI Botanical Recorder for
East Cornwall. His enthusiasm for his subject and natural way of imparting his knowledge of
the important identification features of a species has enthused many amateur recorders and will
provide an excellent introduction to this group.
Recording, Mapping and Informing

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