Harry Green

Hopefully subscribers and readers will find something of interest in this issue. If you would like to modify the mix of articles please write something we can publish! Anything connected with biological records and recording will be welcome. I expect to produce the next issue in April 2004 so please send your contribution by early March at the latest, if possible.

Ideally please send your article on disc (either floppy or CD) or via email zen130501@zen.co.uk. Always send a good quality print-out with your disc. Providing the system works email give me least work. Send your article as an attached file.

PLEASE DO NOT SEND YOUR ARTICLE WITH COMPLEX LAYOUTS AND FORMATTING! PLEASE DO NOT CONVERT TO COLUMNS ETC. I need simple text! .txt, .rtf or .doc files readable by Microsoft Word are all satisfactory. Tables are fine in Excel. Also scanning for OCR is usually best from a simple text layout. My OCR system does not always like two-column lists for example and sometimes scrambles the lot. . Please don’t underline, centre, and use Microsoft standard layouts! If you do so I have endless work undoing it all!

It is best if you indicate the ideal position of tables, drawings, graphics maps etc in the text but send them on separate sheets of paper, or as separate files, or at the end of the article. This avoids formatting difficulties when converting to two columns etc, and I can more easily insert or scan and size the graphics for insertion if necessary.

If you do not have access to a PC or the correct software please send a clear typescript preferably in biggish typeface of around 12-point for easy scanning and OCR - smaller type size and less-than-good photocopies increase the OCR error rate!

I can cope with clear hand writing though it obviously takes longer as I have to key it in, but do not let this prevent you sending hand-written articles. I can probably bend a helpful arm if necessary.

Illustrations: The Worcestershire Record is produced by commercial fairly high-quality photocopying. This copes well with line drawings but only moderately well with photographs. If you send photos then prints are best, but my new equipment is now better at scanning transparencies. Or, better still, send jpeg files which are not too huge! Digital cameras save a lot of time! Pictures need to be simple and clear for the photocopying system to give reasonable results. Sorry, but we can rarely use colour in the printed version of Worcestershire Record but we can use it on the web site. It is best if you can send colour photos which I can then convert to grey-scale as necessary.

Send your articles to Harry Green, Windy Ridge, Pershore Road., Little Comberton, Pershore, Worcs., WR10 3EW. Or send them email to zen130501@zen.co.uk. (If you have another email address for me please delete it as it no longer works!). Or you may send them, marked for Harry Green’s attention, to Worcestershire Biological Records Centre, Lower Smite Farm, Smite Hill, Hindlip, Worcester, WR3 8SZ.

If you wish to discuss a possible article beforehand please give me a ring on 01386 710377 or send an email.

Although we do our best to ensure records and observations reported in Worcestershire Record are accurate it is not possible to verify everything. .Similarly the views and opinions expressed by authors are of course their own and not necessarily those of the editor or the Worcestershire BRC.

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 steadily accumulating information - we need more recorders! Full instructions were included in 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. We do urge you to get out there and record trees. If you need more copies of forms or instructions please let me know. They can be sent to you by email and you can send us zipped files with photographs by email directly to John Tilt john.tilt2@btopenworld.com <mailto:john.tilt2@btopenworld.com>. 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.

In this edition we have a wide selection of articles on many topics. These include an interesting article of floristic change by Bert Reid, an insight into gulls breeding in Worcester by Peter Rock, information Windmill Hill long-running butterfly transects by Terry Knight, and news of exciting bat discoveries in the county, etc etc. I hope you find something of interest. How about sending a contribution?

As a matter of formality the Worcestershire Record is now the newsletter for both the Worcestershire Recorders and the Worcestershire Biological Records Centre.

Preliminary information appears elsewhere in this issue. The meeting will be at Crowle Village Hall