The murmuration of starlings over Brighton’s West Pier is one of the city’s most iconic natural spectacles, but the dwindling exhibition is one of dozens of natural sights at risk of disappearing for good. Rozie Apps reports on the plans to save the starlings and the city’s other threatened species.
More than a dozen protected species are under threat in Brighton and Hove.
A new Biodiversity Action Plan drawn up by Brighton and Hove City Council sets out the local authority’s plans for the 15 habitats and 18 species which are the highest priority for conservation.
The West Pier starlings join rare orchids in the list of the most endangered species in the city.
Starling numbers have dropped 66% since 1980 – a loss of 40 million birds nationally – and the population is still falling.
The action plan hopes to save the starlings by protecting roosts from damage. It also aims to encourage developers to ensure new buildings include spaces for starling nests while urging gardeners and residents to provide food and nesting opportunities.
By 2020 the plan aims to have a variety of habitats across the city for starlings, other birds and wildlife.
Hedgerows, ponds, parks, commons and coastal vegetated shingles are among habitats that need to be conserved.
Rare
The extremely rare white helleborine orchids which can be found in Brighton’s Stanmer Woods are another protected species that the report focuses on.
The rare orchids only occasionally reproduce and their seedlings need specific fungi from neighbouring tree roots and just the right amount of light to survive. Stanmer Woods are a very rare perfect environment for them.
The council’s environment and sustainability committee will decide whether to adopt the plan on Wednesday.
Chairman of the committee Pete West said: “People need wildlife – it enriches our lives, improves our health and our unique environment helps support our economy. Biodiversity, or the variety of life found in natural habitats, is on the decline globally but we can help to reverse the decline by taking action.
“The action plan sets out the priorities for conservation in the city and will form a key part of the local partnership bid to become the first Unesco urban biosphere reserve in the UK.
"If successful, the Brighton and Hove area will become internationally known for its quality natural environment, bringing investment and enterprise to benefit our landscapes.”
Action plan
Among the species in the action plan are sea knotgrass, sea bindweed and toadflax brocade which will be protected in coastal shingle habitats and the rare short-snouted seahorse found in subtidal habitats surrounding Brighton Marina.
The action plan proposes to increase these habitats by 1.3 hectare by 2020 through new development or habitat creation schemes.
The city’s elm trees – the only elms in the country not to have been affected by Dutch Elm disease – will also be protected.
The city is still home to around 15,000 unaffected elms – some more than 400 years old – which survived due to their isolation between the South Downs and the English Channel and the hard work of the local authorities in removing infected trees immediately.
Urban commons
Other species to be protected in parks and gardens across the city include hedgehogs, grass snakes and song thrushes.
The plan also includes an initiative to make road verges more suitable for wildlife in the next year.
Abandoned allotments in Whitehawk Hill have already created habitats for bulbous meadow grass and rare species such as oak-leaved goosefoot and pennyroyal have been found near the old BMX track in Sheepcote Valley. Both areas would be conserved as urban commons under the plan.
Councillor West added: “Being aware of endangered species also encourages people to think about the one planet living approach to use resources wisely in order to reduce negative impacts on the environment which could push habitats and species into extinction.”
You can help
Residents are being asked to help conservation by registering as nature wardens on the CityWildlife website at www.citywildlife.org.uk.
Janyis Watson, the head of conservation at Sussex Wildlife Trust, said: “We are very encouraged that Brighton and Hove City Council has recognised the importance of biodiversity to our lives, in both urban and rural settings.
“We hope that the action plan will be adopted and that we will see real improvements for nature across the city.”
Species under threat in Brighton and Hove
Red-star thistle (Centaurea calcitrapa) It is a shrubby thistle about knee height. Its pink flowers bloom from July to September and can be found in horse grazed paddocks, particularly in Woodingdean. It is critically endangered.
Hoary stock (Matthiola incana) Its pink or white flowers can be spotted in May or early June along Brighton’s cliffs. It is nationally rare and confined to the south coast but is threatened by cliff falls.
Sea heath (Frankenia laevis) It is listed as nationally scarce in Britain. It grows to the east of Brighton Marina, along the break of slope of the sea cliff and in soil in the spray zone.
White helleborine (Cephalanthera damasonium) This orchid is on the British red list as a species of importance. It thrives in Stanmer Great Woods.
Brown-banded carder bee (Bombus humilis) This bee has seen a decline of 95% in the last century. The tawny bumblebee needs tall flower-rich grassland.
Hornet robberfly (Asilus Crabroniformis) It is one of the largest insects in the UK with 15 ‘population clusters’ across the country. One cluster is in Sussex. It can be found close to horses, including at Race Hill’s valley pastures.
Dingy skipper (Erynnis tages subsp.Tages) This brown patterned butterfly is found in chalk and limestone grassland, mostly in South east England. The populations are known to be small. They can be found at Whitehawk Hill and other chalky grassland sites across Brighton and Hove.
Adder (Vipera berus) Also under the Wildlife Act, the adder can be found at Waterhall and Benfield Hill. It is important for biodiversity.
Lichen (Physcia clementei) This fungi is nationally scarce and is the only scarce species recorded in Brighton and Hove. It is found mostly on trees but also on rocks in open areas.
Starling (Sturnus vulgaris subsp. Vulgaris) This swooping bird has seen a decline of 87% in the last 25 years and is still rapidly decreasing. It is on the red list of birds of high conservation concern.
White-letter hairstreak (Satyrium walbum) It is a species of importance for biodiversity and is included under Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act. This orange tipped butterfly is still common across Brighton.
Swift, swallow and house martin All occur in Brighton and Hove but the swift is believed to have suffered a marked decline in Brighton and Hove, due mainly to reduced nesting opportunities.
Herring gull (Larus argentatus subsp. Argenteus) The most well known gull but breeding populations have declined by 69% since 1969 and winter populations by more than 50% in 25 years.
Peregrine (Falco peregrinus) Protected under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act. Numbers have recovered since the 1960s but there is still a threat from egg collectors and falconers. There are several breeding pairs in the city.
Bats species group Most common in Brighton and Hove are pipistrelle, brown long-eared and grey long-eared. They roost in draughty buildings and are declining due to lack of food, loss of roost sites and pesticide poisoning.
The hazel dormouse Protected under Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act and the Conservation of Species and Habitats Regulations 2010. It has been known to occur at Waterhall, Green Ridge and Stanmer Park.
Short-snouted seahorse (Hippocampus hippocampus) Considered important for biodiversity and listed under Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act. It is one of two species found in Britain and is recorded around Brighton Marina.
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