Table Of Content

helptodocumentthepopulationtrendsinthisarea Table1:Timesseen/Numberseenoffoxes,by nearAnnieslandwheresheidentifiedsomenests. quarter References Blackman,S.(2001). Life’saBreeze. BBCWildlife19 Year Jan- April- July- Oct.- Notes no.7:17,citingBackman&Alerstam. Proceedingsof March June Sept. Dec. theRoyalSocietyofLondonSeriesB268:1081-7. 1996 2/2 25/ 26/ 5/ Mobbedby Bromhall,D.(1980). DevilBirds,TheLifeoftheSwift. 30 32 3+ mapies,June. Hutchinson. Dishcleared nightly,Nov. 1997 4/5 5/6 44/ 13/ [“(+)”=daily (+) (+) 52 15 sightingsof UGRlBasAgNowFNOatXuEraSlisItN.H20Y02N.DVLoAlN2D4.,PaGrtLA1.S95G-O96W yneoiugnhgbobuyrs NormanR.Grist nextdoor] 5AHyndlandCourt,G61A2S9yNdeRnhamRoad,Glasgow 1998 10/11 9/9 12/ 9/ Grazing DinurnienagrbtyheLtoirmreaiwneehRadv.e(l1i9v5e4d-h7e0r)ew(seinsceaw19n7o0)fooxr 15 10 pCsetaaatnnusdtpo/ifbtfitsiincnguit; untiltheseverewinterof1996whenwesawapair May inthefrontgardenat7.30amonJanuary30th.A neighbourreportedseeingtwo“wolves"afewdays 1999 11/12 14/ 14/ 11/ 17April before.Havingprospectedtheterritory,thefoxes 16 17 11 03.00h, tahdeoyptheadveitbaenednesrteasbildeinsth,edbraeneedianrgb,ysdecna.veSnignicnegtahnedn scqhuaasbebdleo,ffby interactingwithushumans,withcats,squirrels& whitecat magpies. Casual observations have made us 2000 6/6 20/ 29/ 15/ familiarwiththefavouredroutesandbehaviourof 22 35 16 thefoxes,varyingasgenerationssucceededone 2001 5/5 26/ 19/ 9/9 3Junechased another.Wehavemadeuseoftheirscavengingfor 35 25 etc. eco-friendlydisposal ofkitchenscraps, left-over foods (bonanzas around Christmas!) sometimes Interactionswithotheranimalsincludesquirrels, supplementedbycat-food,dog-foodorotheritems. oneofwhichclamberedupourbrickbuildingwhen Pasta&potatoesareignored,butbiscuits,peanuts disturbedbyafoxinvestigatingpeanutsdropped &cakearereadilyaccepted,andweunderstandthat forthesquirrel.Generallythesquirrelsavoidthem thefoxesenjoyedpacketdatesputoutbyanearby withoutproblems-justastheyeludecats,often neighbour.Thissophisticatedtownfoodseemsto with contempt, confident in theirwide field of suit them well - their condition has remained vision, speed, agility- andclaws. Ayoungfox splendid,contrastingwiththescrawnyfoxesseen recentlyamusedusbyperchingontheroofcomer aroundGlasgow Airportby Riccardo Lazzarini. ofagaragebuildingtowatchasquirrel, afew Their numbers remained fairly stable with metresbelow,enjoyingpeanutsfromafeederona survivinglittersofonetothree. treetrunk-sotantalising!Catsrarelychaseafox Sightings recorded in Table 1 were not from andafoxrarelychasesacat.Afteranoisyface-to- specific, planned observations but from casual faceencounteronenightbothwithdrewwithout sightings from windows or from ground level actualaggression. (garden,carparking,garage),sometimesprovoked Aneighbour'sgardenprovidesashelteredspotfor byhearingthecharacteristicharsh, high-pitched resting, sunbathing, forjuniors to play with or barking. Peak sightings were in June > July > withoutattendantvixen.Awallabout 1.5mhigh September.Someencounterswereclose-rangewith providedashelteredspacewhenheavilyovergrown foxeswhoshowedlittlefearbutmuchcuriosity with ivy, andone summerdayMrs Gristwhile aboutouractionsandthechancethatwemight gardeningbelowwassurprisedtofindayoungfox havefood.Onefoxtriedtosnatchaplasticbagof staringdownatherthroughthecover cakecrumbsIwasputtingoutoneeveningforbirds Onesuccessfulvixen, "Stumpy"withhalfatail, nextday.Theplasticslippedfromhisjaws.1tossed firstseenin1997,hasrearedseveralfamilies,and himacoupleoffragmentstoshowitwouldnot showedprowessbychasingoffthelargewhitecat interesthim(Ithought)buttheyweregobbledwith which is currentlydominantamong the felines. pleasure-however,Ihavenottakentobuyingcake StumpyinturnwaschasedoneJunenightin2001 forfoxes!Onaverageweputoutfoodscraps,often atfullracingspeedalongLinfernRoadintoour supplementedwithafewdogorcatbiscuits,which gardenandvanishedthroughtheshrubbyhedge. vanisheachnight- evenoccasional quite large Thelargepursuingdogappearedbutgaveupand bones,whichdisappearcompletely-notgnawedas leftwithhisowner.Stumpyreappearedandgiving playthingsasadogmightdo. a series ofloud, sharpcalls-dangerwarning? summoning help? She went back through the hedge,butshortlyherbigmateTippy"withthe 95 . unusuallywell-markedwhitetailtipcamethrough, WallWhitlowgrass(Drabamuralis)istobefound stareddownthetrack,walkedbacktowardsthe on the stony slopes and Downy Oat-grass road&ontothecomrofthegardenwalltosurvey {Helictotrichonpubescens)ontheflatgroundatthe thesceneforafewminutes.Satisfiedallwaswell, northendofthemound.Allroundtheareathereare hetrottedofftoforageonhisownaccount.Another carpetsofadwarfformofWaterAvens{Geum episodethatyearwaswhenStumpyledhertwo rivale), the subject of a previous report well-grownoffspringupstepsontothegarageroof (Macpherson2000). andsatgazingout,apparentlytoshowhowthis Itis,therefore,oneofthebestsmallsitesforrare vantage point gave a wide view including the plantsinLanarkshire. lengthofLinfemRoad.Theyoungstersgambolled TheFrogOrchidisknownfromonlyoneother with one another, over andround Stumpy, and extant site; Moonwort has nine other quadrant eventually all departed. Next morning from the records, three ofwhich are on abandoned coal stairs I noticed the two alone on the carpark, bings;FieldGentianhasonlyoneothermodem gazinginoppositedirections-"whattodonext"? record, a flatareabetween adjacentcoalbings; As1descendedonestrolledoffbehindourbuilding. LesserMeadow-rueispresumedtobenativeon The other strolled a short distance in the other rocksattheFallsofClydewheretheplantsare directionandwatchedmewithrelaxedinterestasI muchlarger;T.argutumistheonlyVC77record emergedandopenedourgarage.Ithesitatedabout andTsubnaevosumthefourth.WallWhitlowgrass approachingincaseIhadgoodies,butdecidednot is currently known only from a railway andstrolledaway.Nextnightagainfoxbarking embankmentatElvanfootandtheDownyOat-grass was heard in 3 directions - suggesting family fromeightquadrants. contactastheyoungstersdispersed. Reference AsinmanyotherurbanareasinBritain,foxeshave Macpherson,P(2000).Abnormalwateravens thusbecomeanestablishedpartofourlocalfauna, morphology-leadindueed?GlasgowNaturalist23,53- asastablepopulationpresumablyinequilibrium 54. withlocalresourcesoffoodandshelter.Inthejoint rnOaBaernvtcedeioerortdnhdiateenhldegMsasuiBinrimxvrme1dyay9eS9albur5yrs-Sv2otetc0hyhie0e,e0Btp4ryo5(iptNiuisneslpwhatetshcTeiioroenusn1skt&oomfffoNmsrroeqaObdumralfmrneoei,axstleh2oso0wfl0weo2targ)hse.ye LEGSlaSsEPg1Ro5&wLHuNLAabtMInuarDRiaYlgMi-sRatBoc.CapR2dLhO0,e0YMGr2D.ElsaEoVAsnogTl&o2wT4J.GHW4EPa3ardFt2dAeR1.LlYl9L6S-9O7F dsitasbtlreibuatsedthsepefcoiuerst:htmheoshtignhuemstercoouusntasndwewriedefloyr Bonavista,SeHlekaitrhkesrhyiertetTDDrlive2,JLGalashiels, r(a4b6b0i),tsre(d10f4o0x),anbdrorowendheaerreea(c5h262),27gwrietyhstqhueirfroexl ISncotaticshontWrialcdtlisfuervTeryustof(tShWeT)vegFeatlaltsioonfoCflytdhee morewidelydistributed Wildlife Reserve, Averts (1997) reported the Reference occurrenceofZerna(Bromopsis)benekenii(Lesser Newson,S.&Noble,D.(2002).BBSMammal Hairy-brome)ongentleslopingwoodlandfloorand Monitoring.BTONews239,11-12. steepbanksintheneighbourhoodofCorraCastle, Lanarkshire(VC77). GlasgowNaturalist.2002.Vol24.Part1. 96 Thisplanthadnotbeenknowntherebeforeandits ARICHBOTANICALSITEATLEADHILLS presenceinsuchanareawasverysurprisingasthe PMacpherson Falls of Clyde has probably been the most 15LubnaigRoad,GlasgowG432RY botanisedpartofLanarkshire. Further,theSWT JustnorthofthevillageofLeadhills,Lanarkshire reserve has been the subject of a number of (VC 77) there is an artificial elongated mound previousplantsurveys. betweentheroadandthebum.Itwaspresumablya In1999JWlocatedthesiteandsentaspecimento slagheapfonnedwhenleadwasminedinthearea. aBotanicalSocietyoftheBritishIslesgrassreferee Itisapproximately250yardslongandatthenorth (RMPayne)whoconfirmedthatitwas,indeed,B. end25fthigherthantheroadbutwitha35ftslope benekenii.In2000afurtherplantfromthesitewas downto the burn. The roadrises alongside the sentasprooftoProfCAStacesothatitmightbe moundandismore-or-lessatthesamelevelatthe includedforthevice-countyintheVice-comital southernend.Theplateauis30yardswideatthe Census Catalogue. This specimen was, in turn, northendand 15yardsatthesouth,andalmost passedontoabromespecialist(LMSpalton)who horizontal agreedwiththeidentification. Ontheplateautherearesmall coloniesofFrog Asearchofthesurroundingareahassincebeen Orchid {Coeloglossum viride), Moonwort made (PM & LMDM) andtwo furthercolonies {Botrychiumlunaria).FieldGentian(Gentianella discoveredwhichweconsidertobeB. benekenii. campestris), and a very small form of Lesser Atonesiteofapproximately6x5metrestherewere Meadow-me(Thalictrumminorsi)whichhasnot about20plantsandatalargeroneof14x5m floweredoverafouryearperiod.Inadditionthere almost50werecounted.Associatedspeciesnoted are the dandelions Taraxacum argutum and T wereGreatWood-rush(Luzulasylvatica). Wood subnaevosum(det.A.J.Richards&A.A.Dudman). Sedge (Carex sylvatica). Tufted Hairgrass 96