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INDOOR MEETINGS 2009
Meetings are held at Haslemere
Educational Museum, High Street, Haslemere and with the exception
of the AGM, are open to both Museum and Natural History Society members without charge.
Click here
for directions to Haslemere Museum.
Guests are always welcome, and the Society would be grateful for a donation of £2.00 from non-members.
FORTHCOMING EVENTS
OCTOBER
2010 Saturday 30th
2.15 p.m.
WILDLIFE AND OPEN SPACES IN ALASKA
Speaker: John Richardson
John will talk about his experiences in Alaska over the course of three trips,
the most recent in September 2009, including a 2,000-mile detour into The Yukon
and North West Territory. We will hear about his encounters with wildlife and
the wonder of the wide open spaces.
NOVEMBER
2010 Saturday 13th 2.15 p.m.
A DORMOUSE IN MY POCKET
Speaker: Andrew Cleave
A detailed account of the secret life of the dormouse and its conservation in
Bramley Frith Wood, one of the country’s key dormouse monitoring sites. Based
on fifteen years of intensive study and careful habitat management, Andrew will
also talk about other small mammals, and share practical advice on dormouse
conservation.
(This ancient woodland in north Hampshire, which has survived for thousands of
years with little change, was - up to 2006 - the site of an electricity
sub-station, a field studies centre and an impressive array of native plants and
animals. The National Grid has now closed the centre and undertaken further
tree-felling.)
(This
talk was originally due to take place on 9th January but had to be
postponed due to adverse weather conditions)
JANUARY 2011 Saturday 8th
2.15 p.m.
EXPLORING NATURAL CHINA
Speaker: Heather Angel
Since Heather, a leading British wildlife photographer, first visited China in
1984 she has made over 30 visits to this vast country that spans many climatic
zones. She will show some of the rarely seen fascinating plants and wildlife
that inhabit the high mountains, vast deserts, expansive wetlands, bamboo
forests and tropical rainforests in this enigmatic country – including China’s
national treasure – the giant panda. Some of her China books will be on sale,
including Panda, Green China and Natural China.
FEBRUARY
2011 Saturday 12th
2.15 p.m.
PATTERNS AND COLOURS IN MOTHS AND BUTTERFLIES
Speaker: Professor Maurice Moss
Maurice has talked to the Society on several occasions about butterflies and
moths and (following his talk on fungi in 2009) makes a welcome return to
describe his studies of their patterns and colours. He will explain the nature
and structure of the scales which produce the colour and pattern.
MARCH 2011 Saturday 12th
2.15 p.m.
SPRING FLOWERS
Speaker: Jill Fry
Jill will be describing local flowers which can be seen in the
Surrey/Sussex/Hampshire border area. Some of them will have been seen during
the walk she led for the Society at Bummoor Copse, Compton, in April 2010.
PAST EVENTS 2010
APRIL 2010 Saturday 17th
.
AGM AND TALK
After the AGM Ian Neilson (Honorary Beekeeper at Haslemere Museum) talked to
members about the beekeeper’s year. Human beings’ interaction with bees started
through honey-hunting and eventually led to collectors providing the bees with a
stable home. Ian displayed a traditional woven basket or skep. He showed
where the cone would be attached in which the queen would lay her eggs and where
nectar and pollen would be stored and he showed his audience a modern hive - a
sturdy wooden box with a heavy roof to insulate against the cold. It was
fascinating to learn about the organisation of the colony – the old queen, whose
purpose is to lay eggs; the workers (females) who do the housekeeping, make the
royal jelly, collect nectar and pollen; and the drones (males) whose function
is to mate with the young queens. Ian described what happens if the old queen
leads a swarm from the colony; how he as beekeeper creates this artificially so
that he can work with the bees to maintain the collection and how he eventually
collects the honey. A lot of information was succinctly and entertainingly
packed into a short talk.
MARCH 2010
Saturday 13th
FOLLOWING THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE VICTORIAN ARTIST, MARIANNE NORTH, IN INDIA
1877-79
Speaker: Miss Laura Ponsonby
Through numerous examples, Laura
introduced us to the work and travels of this globe-trotting Victorian artist.
Examples of Marianne’s work were used to track her progress around the world
and, more particularly, through India. Laura’s photographs of comparable scenes,
together with her astute observations on the artist’s style, allowed the
audience to appreciate the merits of Marianne’s work, whilst learning how she
travelled, who she met and what she discovered. The talk finished with a brief
introduction to the renovation and conservation work at the Marianne North
Gallery at Kew.
FEBRUARY 2010 Saturday 13th
A HISTORY OF PEREGRINES IN SUSSEX, 1904-2009
Speaker: Phil Everitt, Sussex Peregrine Study (SPS)
Very few
peregrines were reported between 1957 and 1980 and the evidence pointed to the
widespread use of pesticides. But then in the 80s the birds began to be seen
again and two enthusiasts set up the Sussex Peregrine Study, ringing birds and
recording their DNA. We were shown some of the birds’ more unusual nesting
sites, some of them successful, others ending in tragedy. In 2003 an
unusual immature bird was discovered – a hybrid small female with a ring showing
she had been bred in captivity. There was concern that this would lead to
further hybridisation. In 2008, three nests failed at late egg/early chick
stage and peregrines in Sussex continue to be shot and poisoned. This has led
to a collaborative project with the police, called “Operation Eyrie”, to bring
offenders to justice. Phil’s excellent photographs and enthusiasm brought home
the importance of preserving the future of these striking birds.
PAST EVENTS 2009
NOVEMBER 2009
Saturday 14th
OCEANIC PLANKTON IN THE ABYSS
Speaker: Martin Angel
The two
cruises in the Atlantic in which Martin had taken part for the international
Census on Marine Life had been on a research ship travelling from Bremerhaven to
service German stations in the Antarctic. His talk showed how the zooplankton
had adapted to their niche in the thousands of metres below. For most, their
form and colour was a defence against predation. Form might involve spines,
hydroids, luminous tips to pincers, tail and armpits, a flashing “fishing rod”.
Colour might be absent and the animal be transparent, it might have white
pigment “mirrors” on its sides to reflect light; near the surface it might be
blue, or below 1,000 metres where there is no light, red. Martin’s photographs
showed these animals, strange to most of us, in pristine condition – they had
been photographed on the boat. It was a revelation to us to see life from so
deep down in the ocean.
APRIL
2009
Saturday 18th
AGM AND TALK
After the AGM, Bruce Middleton (Northern Area Manager with the South Downs Joint
Committee) gave atalk about "Protecting the Western Weald".
It was a pleasure to be reminded of the mosaic of features
which make up the Weald and the importance of the natural history unique to
each. Bruce’s photos showed the habitats and, inset, one or two of the species
associated with them. It was a very deft demonstration of natural history
subjects in the context of their natural surroundings. He described the
management needed to sustain some of them, the changes in farming practices and
woodland industries, the impact on wildlife and the role of the South Downs
Joint Committee.