EDITORIAL

Please do not forget that the Worcestershire Mammal Atlas Project is running and that we need records. Please send them into the WBRC Office (address on back page). A recording form is enclosed with this issue. Although we are receiving lots of records of common species, the whole county is not yet covered for them. We badly need records for those species more difficult to record - bats, small rodents, stoats and weasels, and of course scarce species like pole cat and otter.

The Register of Worcestershire's Ancient Trees is also starting to accumulate data at a slow rate. Full instructions were included in the last issue of Worcestershire Record (No 12) together with report forms. Some people regard out two-form system as too complicated so we have also produced a simple form on which many trees can be recorded. This at least gives accurate location of these important trees. A copy of the form is enclosed with this Worcestershire Record and we do urge you to get out there and record trees. Further searches in the county are confirming our view that we have a great many of these trees and Worcestershire is probably especially important in the national context.

Amongst the articles in this issue are several of local studies of birds, and also of a study at a specific site. The former puts on record fairly simple facts - birds counted on a regular route for many years on Chaddesley Wood. The latter on Glow-worms at Windmill Hill Reserve is written by Terry Knight who has been carrying out detailed studies of plants, butterflies and glow-worms there for a very long time. I hope this is the first of several articles reporting his long-term studies. As editor it seems to me that local studies such as these should be put on record for the future, whether simple or complex. How we wish we had such detailed information on the county's flora and fauna from 50 years ago!