The London Naturalist 2015

The latest issue of the London Naturalist has been published and contains a wealth of information for wildlife enthusiasts who live or work in London.  This is one of the annual publications members receive. Membership of the society represents terrific value from money and I recommend membership. See www.lnhs.org.uk for more details. Copies of the journal can be purchased.

With the Editor's permission I have outlined below the contents and included some sample pages.
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The London Naturalist 2015

Contents of Volume 94

Journal of the London Natural History Society

                                                                                      

London Natural History Society                                                                                                           4

Officers                                                                                                                                                     5
The Society’s Recorders                                                                                                                         5
Editorial                                                                                                                                                     7
Report of the Society for year ending 30 June 2014                                                                         8
Treasurer’s report for the year ended 30 June 2014                                                                      10
Official and sectional reports for 2014                                                                                              16

Presidential address: Helen Baker                                                                                                      30

House Sparrows, with particular reference to London: Helen Baker
(Presidential address delivered after the Annual General Meeting on 1 December 2014)

The address:

• gives a brief history of house sparrows Passer domesticus in London
• recaps on LNHS Survey 1995 to 2003
• says a little about some further surveys on urban house sparrows
• looks at colonies of house sparrows in seven tetrads north of Heathrow in the 2014 breeding season
• considers possible reasons for the house sparrows’ decline
• gives Helen’s conclusions and suggest actions that can be taken to help house sparrows.

Odonata report for 2014: Neil Anderson                                                                                     46

A summary of sightings in the London Area for 2014.

Butterfly monitoring report 2014: Leslie Williams                                                                     52

Data from over twenty sites in London, monitored using the transect walks method, were used to calculate collated indices for butterfly species for 2014.  The indices enabled comparisons with previous years. Species accounts were supplemented by records from other sites, surveys and observations. 

Notes on the current status of butterflies in Blackheath and Greenwich Park: Joe Beale                               63

This paper is based largely on the author’s personal observations and aims to give an overview of the current status of butterflies in Greenwich Park and Blackheath in south-east London. Twenty-nine species known to have occurred between 2010 and May 2015 are noted and commented upon. Discussion focuses particularly on 2014’s observations but also refers to selected other observations from the mid-1990s to early July 2015 and any changes observed. Brief notes on a selection of moths are given.

Pocota personata returns to London: Russell Miller                                                                 88

Pocota personata is a rare hoverfly and an excellent bumblebee mimic. Last recorded in London in Blackheath in 1966, it was seen at Abney Park Cemetery Nature Reserve in Hackney in 2013, 2014 and 2015. This paper details all known records for London and discusses the species’ history and ecology.

Survey of Bookham Common: seventy-third year
Progress report for 2014: Stuart Cole et al.                                                                               102

GiGL and the LNHS: Mandy Rudd                                                                                                 109

The history of Greenspace Information for Greater London CIC (GiGL) is reviewed, with particular reference to its relationship with the LNHS. A number of the projects in which GiGL has been involved, and future plans, are described by Mandy Rudd, the Chief Executive.

Obituary: Ron Kettle                                                                                                                       119
Obituary: Paul Cornelius                                                                                                                121

Book reviews                                                                                                                                   123

                Nature in Town and Cities by David Goode

                Urban Peregrines by Ed Drewitt

                Tales from Concrete Jungles – Urban Birding around the World by David Lindo

                Bill Oddie Unplucked: Columns, Blogs and Musings

                Behind the Binoculars: Interviews with acclaimed birdwatchers

                Mammals of Essex by John Dobson & Darren Tansley

                Menageries in Britain 1100-2000 by Christine E. Jackson

                Where do Camels belong: The Story and Science of Invasive Species by Ken Thompson

                Field Guide to Invasive Plants and Animals in Britain by Olaf Booy, Max Wade & Helen Roy