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In the afternoon we decided to go to Hitchcock's Meadow
Reserve which is one of the nature reserves administered by
the Essex Naturalists Trust. On the road from Eve's corner
we discovered Nipplewort (Lapsana communis). This one has
relatively small flower heads but if you break one open you
will find its useful distinguishing feature namely the absence
of a pappus. Also along this road another sow thistle was
identified. (Sonchus oleraceus). In this one the bases on the
two sides of the leaves were pointed and the ripe fruits had
transverse wrinkles.
In the reserve itself we found the last of our "dandelions".
This one was examined with some difficulty owing to the attentions
of a curious donkey that kept rubbing its head against mine.
Eventually we managed to observe that it lacked the long scales
on the receptacle that we found in the cat's ear. Also that the
outermost "ligules" were grey violet beneath and had a pappus
of scales unlike the central florets which had a pappus of
hairs. These characteristics identified it as being the hairy
hawkbit (Leontodon Leysseri also called Leontodon taraxacoides).
By this time the party was growing tired and the great
dandelion safari was called to a halt. I hope that the keys taken
by the members who attended will be put to good use in the future.
Tony Boniface.
Bat Notes.
In a recent edition of the Bulletin, David Corke, re-
viewing the 100 years of mammal recording during the existence
of the Essex Field Club, predicted that bat records could only
increase during the next century. Having just moved to this
county from Gloucestershire where I had started to catch bats
in mist nets, this prophecy represented a challenge and hopefully
over the next few years we shall at least know more about the
number of species of bat and their spread in Essex.
If one takes as a baseline level of knowledge The Pro-
visional Atlas of the Mammals of the British Isles published in
1978 by the Natural Environment Research Council at Monks wood,
then we find the following post 1960 records:-
Pipistrelle - recorded from 16 10km squares
Serotine - 3
Noctule - 2
Daubentons - 1
Barbastelle - 1
Long-Eared - 4
Natterers - 1