New Nature March/April 2019

New Nature is the only natural history magazine written, edited and produced entirely by young people: by young ecologists, conservationists, communicators, nature writers and wildlife photographers each boasting an undying passion for the natural world. It is intended, foremost, as a celebration of nature, but also of the young people giving their time, freely, to protect it.

Click here to download the magazine

Kidney-spot Ladybird by Martin Kincaid, Buckingham Garden Centre, 23 September 2017

The UK Ladybird Survey aims to encourage the recording of all species of ladybird found within the UK.

Ladybirds belong to the scientific family Coccinellidae. In Britain, some 46 species belong to this family, although only 26 of these are recognisable as ladybirds.

On this website you will find lots of information to help you find and identify species, and online forms so that you can record your observations.

Click here for more information.

Click here to view the Bedfordshire Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire Wildlife Trust newsletter.

FIT Count: A simple systematic survey to engage a wider range of volunteers, collecting data on abundance and flower visitation of pollinators to target flower species from a specified list. During 2017 we developed the “Flower-Insect Timed Count” activity with project partners across a variety of urban and rural locations, and we are expanding this for wider involvement in 2018.

Click here for more information.: Establishing a UK Pollinator Monitoring and Research Partnership | Centre for Ecology & Hydrology

The RSPB North Bucks Local Group are hosting a talk:

Location: The Cruck Barn, City Discovery Centre, Alston Drive, Bradwell Abbey, Milton Keynes
Postcode: MK13 9AP (Google map)

With its great diversity of habitats, from chalk downland to lowland heath, ancient woodland and of course the sea, the county of Dorset is among the most beautiful and wild in England. Local naturalist Martin Kincaid has been visiting it for many years and will tell us what makes it so special in his eyes

Time: Doors open 7.15pm for a prompt 7.45pm start, ends at 10pm

Price: Group members £3, Non-group members £4, Children £1

See the RSPB North Bucks Local Group website for more information

MKNHS is not responsible for the content of external Internet sites. You should check details of any events listed on external sites with the organisers.

The tiny Fonseca’s seed fly is one of the UK’s rarest endemic invertebrates, and is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Fly of the month – Fonseca’s seed fly – Discover Wildlife

Winner. Hoverflies by Mark Strutton. 3 July 2016

A widespread loss of pollinating insects in recent decades has been revealed by the first national survey in Britain, which scientists say “highlights a fundamental deterioration” in nature.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Widespread losses of pollinating insects revealed across Britain | Environment | The Guardian

Green Woodpecker CC BY-NC-SA Peter Hassett, Shenley Church End, 21 October 2018

The purpose of the woodpecker-network website is to encourage and facilitate the study of woodpeckers in Britain and Ireland and to provide a forum to share techniques, results and good practice.

Click here for more information.

Tinea semifulvella: a common inhabitant of bird nests which seems to prefer nests made in vegetation to those that are in nest boxes.

A caterpillar munching on a leaf is probably what comes to mind when most people picture the early life stages of butterflies and moths. But if Eric Carle’s classic is to be believed, caterpillars have a much more varied palette. It is certainly true that many species shun the conventional diet of leafy greens, even if lepidopterans that enjoy a diet of chocolate cake and Swiss cheese are confined to children’s storybooks….

Click here to read the rest of the article.

Over the next 12 years North Bucks is set to undergo changes that will completely change the landscape of the region, but a huge question mark remains over whether the people affected have had their voices heard or represented.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: The four major developments that will alter the Aylesbury Vale landscape over the next decade – Buckingham Advertiser

FoLLNR logo

Work Sunday at Linford Lakes NR

10:00- 13:00hrs

ome and help look after the reserve. We always have a variety of jobs, for people of all levels of ability and fitness.

Refreshments available for helpers.

High Brown Fritillary ©Peter Hassett, Silverdale 19 July 2009

We describe how a landscape-scale approach has been adopted to conserve the UK’s most threatened butterfly Argynnis adippe. Only 37 populations now remain, with 38 extinctions occurring since 1994 (51% loss). The butterfly has disappeared from most of England and Wales and is now confined to just four landscapes. Since 2005 management in these landscapes has been targeted at improving habitat quality within and connectivity between both occupied and unoccupied sites in the same networks. Conservation advice has been provided on 80% of occupied/former sites and over 270ha management implemented across 53% of occupied/former sites…

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Are habitat changes driving the decline of the UK’s most threatened butterfly: the High Brown Fritillary Argynnis adippe (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae)?

Scientists studying fossilised bones from the Cayman Islands in collections in British and American museums have described three mammals new to science.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Fossilised bones digested by crocodiles reveal three new mammals from the Cayman Islands – Discover Wildlife

Swallow ©Peter Hassett, College Lake 4 April 2018

Tesco caused an outcry when it tried to prevent the birds making a trolley park messy at a store in Norwich

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Are nets to stop swallows nesting any way to treat the natural world? | Kate Blincoe | Opinion | The Guardian

Ponds are taken for granted. Perhaps it’s because most of us have seen them – and on occasion, fallen into them – and think they’re only good for goldfish. Ponds may be the number one habitat for children’s “minibeast” hunts, but we are supposed to grow out of them in adulthood.

But all-too often, ponds are missed out of conservation strategies which are instead fixated on larger lakes and rivers. This is a serious omission – ponds are the most common and widespread habitat for all plants and animals across the continents and islands of Earth, from Antarctica to the tropics. Perched on the surface of Alpine glaciers or waiting out desert droughts to refill with the rains, deep in equatorial forest or amid the city sprawl. They could well be found on Mars.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Ponds can absorb more carbon than woodland – here’s how they can fight climate change in your garden

Woodruff is now seen less commonly than invasive Himalayan balsam (Beth Newman/Plantlife/PA)

Invasive garden escapee Himalayan balsam is now more common in woodlands than native flowers such as bugle and wild garlic, research suggests.

Click here to read more:
Daily Mail Online
Plantlife

Great Crested Newt by Paul Lund. Wicken Wood 5 July 2016

Habitat loss and fragmentation due to urbanisation and road developments have considerable negative impacts on amphibian populations. However, little research has examined the effectiveness of amphibian mitigation road tunnels. In this unique study we used specially adapted time-lapse recording cameras and a custom image analysis script to monitor the amphibian usage and effectiveness of tunnels at a site in northern England over 4 years.

Click here to read the rest of the article.

In case you missed the news in the latest journal of the British Tarantula Society, a rather lovely new spider with iridescent, electric-blue legs has been discovered. The burrow-dwelling spider [Birupes simoroxigorum] has reportedly been “feted by experts as one of the most beautiful spiders ever documented”, prompting the question: what are the other most beautiful spiders ever documented?

Click here to read the rest of the article.: The ultimate lovely legs competition: the world’s nine most beautiful spiders | Environment | The Guardian

Third place,
Wood White ©Paul Lund, Bucknell Wood, 8 July 2017

Craig Macadam, Buglife’s Conservation Director responding to the recent report on insect declines in an article that first appeared on the CNN website

Insect populations are in crisis. A recent review of 73 studies from around the world has shown that 41% of insect species are in decline and a third of species are at risk of extinction. No one factor is to blame entirely, but four main drivers are linked to the declines: habitat loss, pollution, pathogens and non-native species, and climate change. These issues may seem difficult to tackle on a personal basis but there are five really simple things that we can all do to help halt the declines in our insect populations.

Source: Five things to do to reverse insect decline | Buglife

The mystery of how the zebra got its stripes might have been solved: researchers say the pattern appears to confuse flies, discouraging them from touching down for a quick bite.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Why the zebra got its stripes: to deter flies from landing on it | Science | The Guardian

As nest building begins robins, sparrows, blackbirds and other garden birds fly back and forth with twigs and other plant debris.

You can help them out by tying up bunches of tiny twigs, dried moss, and other stringy vegetable matter near your feeders. Tiny warblers such as chiffchaffs return from Africa, having made the perilous journey across Europe. They are difficult to spot, although you might hear them singing in hedgerows and thickets.

Click here for more information.: Gardening in March | Birds & Wildlife in March – The RSPB

Concerns over dwindling numbers of salmon on the Tweed have led to plans for a significant number of cormorants and goosanders to be killed this year.

For the first time in 20 years large numbers of the birds will be destroyed to allow scientists to carry out definitive studies into their diet.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Cull to begin on cormorants and goosanders as Tweed salmon numbers continue to drop | Peeblesshire News

Wood White in flight ©Paul Lund, Bucknell Wood, 8 July 2017

Click here to download the newsletter

The males have triangular grey-brown forewings with dark-edged jagged crossbands which are distinctively held overlapping at rest. The females are completely wingless with a barrel-shaped body and a tuft of hairs on the end of the abdomen. The adult males fly after dark and are attracted to light in March and April.

Click here for more information.: March Moth

Shorter hibernation period may accelerate demise of Britain’s only venomous snake

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Adders now active all year with warmer UK weather | Environment | The Guardian

Once again our winter reserves work has been focused on tackling the ever-encroaching scrub and brambles to keep our grasslands open for more wild flowers.

Click here for more information.

The blues and greens of the ocean will become even bluer and greener by the end of the century as a result of global warming, scientists have found.

Researchers say the colour changes are down to the effect of climate change on populations of tiny water-dwelling organisms, known as phytoplankton, that convert sunlight into chemical energy through photosynthesis, as well as effects on levels of other colourful components of the oceans.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Rising temperatures to make oceans bluer and greener | Environment | The Guardian

Bee-fly by Harry Appleyard, Tattenhoe 22 March 2016

Click here to view the Spring 2019 edition of the Soldierflies and Allies Recording Scheme newsletter

Evidence suggests butterfly is dying out because warmer weather is causing generations to hatch out too late in the year to survive, scientists say

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Wall brown butterfly ‘may be a victim of climate change’ | Environment | The Guardian

Spring is arriving early with swallows, frogspawn and unexpected perfume as temperatures soar up to 20C above this time last year when Britain was blasted by the “beast from the east”.

Rooks are nesting, ladybirds are mating and dozens of migratory swallows have been spotted along the south-west coast – more than a month ahead of their normal arrival.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Naturalists concerned for early-emerging spring species in UK | Environment | The Guardian

An unmistakable moth in the early spring, identifiable by the two broad brown bands across the forewing which vary in width and are edged with black. There is a darker form where the banding is still present but less conspicuous. Ground colour varies from white to greenish grey.

Click here for more information.: Oak Beauty

The government’s conservation watchdog has issued licences to destroy 170,000 wild birds, eggs and nests, including rare and declining species such as curlews and swifts, in the past five years.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Watchdog permits 170,000 wild bird killings in five years | Environment | The Guardian

My 2018 moth trapping season came to an abrupt end when I walked outside to find the trap crawling with 30 very active wasps. I hate wasps. I have a gas-powered fear of them that I’ve been chipping away at but that still won’t budge. And under those wasps? Just three moths: two silver Ys and a Blair’s shoulder knot, the latter (thank god for small fuzzy mercies) new for the garden and a shining beacon amidst the horror of that morning.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Finding mindfulness in moth trapping – Nature etc.

They must survive government culls, gamekeepers, poisoning, persecution and increasingly busy roads but, in modern times at least, Britain’s carnivores have never had it so good: badger, otter, pine marten, polecat, stoat and weasel populations have “markedly improved” since the 1960s, according to a new study.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Badgers, stoats and otters stage ‘incredible’ revival | Environment | The Guardian

A petition has been launched for a debate in parliament:

Developers, and other interested parties are circumventing laws protecting birds by ‘netting’ hedgerows to prevent birds from nesting.

This facilitates the uprooting of hedgerows which aid biodiversity and provide the only remaining nesting sites for birds, whose numbers are in sharp decline.

Click here for more information: Make ‘netting’ hedgerows to prevent birds from nesting a criminal offence. – Petitions

England is set to run short of water within 25 years, the chief executive of the Environment Agency has warned.

Source: ‘England could run short of water within 25 years’ | Environment | The Guardian

The RSPB North Bucks Local Group are leading a field trip to:

Location: Draycote Water, Warwickshire CV23 8AB
Meet in car park (£3.50/day) off the A426 Southam to Rugby road SP 463 691
Postcode: CV23 8AB (Google map)

We will circuit this big reservoir. Expect to see many wildfowl, scarce ducks and grebes, early migrants and farmland birds. In winter 2017-18 the car park held hawfinch! The centre has shop, cafe and toilets. Route suitable for wheelchairs and buggies, but about 5 miles and little shelter (just one hide) so bring waterproofs.
Walk Leader : Brian Lloyd

Time: 10am to 3 or 4pm

Price: Free event

See the RSPB North Bucks Local Group website for more information

MKNHS is not responsible for the content of external Internet sites. You should check details of any events listed on external sites with the organisers.

Study says evidence ‘supports link’ between exposure to glyphosate and increased risk

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Weedkiller ‘raises risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma by 41%’ | Business | The Guardian

Silver-washed-Fritillary by Julian Lambley Bernwood Butterfly trail 24June 2017

Butterflies conjure up images of sunshine, the warmth and colour of flowery meadows, and summer gardens teaming with life. Moths are one of the most diverse group of insects on earth, ranging from spectacular Hawk-moths to small, intricately patterned Footman moths.

Click on the link to read the rest of the article: Butterfly Conservation – Why butterflies matter

Bee-fly by Harry Appleyard, Tattenhoe 22 March 2016

Every year the Soldierflies and Allies Recording Scheme asks people to look out for bee-flies. They are the furry, hovering flies with a very long ‘snout’ (proboscis) that can be seen hovering over flowers in spring. Normally they are first seen in March, but this year one was seen in Kent on 24 February!

Click here for more information.: Bee-fly Watch 2019 | Dipterists forum

In the fall of 2010, Rowan Barrett was stuck. He needed a piece of land, one with plenty of mice, and after days of futile searching, he found himself at a motel bar in Valentine, Nebraska, doing what people do at bars: telling a total stranger about his problems.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: An Unprecedentedly Thorough Evolution Experiment – The Atlantic

The recent blast of warm weather inspired a post-winter assessment of the garden. The bees were busily buzzing around the Heather and Rosemary and Peacock and Brimstone butterflies paid a flying visit. Apart from the bright yellow of the Daffodils, the most noticeable thing was the large number of young plants that had popped up amongst the gravel and stones: Primrose, Foxglove, White Valerian, Erigeron karvinskianus and Verbena bonariensis

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Dig it – March Tips from the Secret Gardener

The usual form in rural areas is all white peppered with black dots on both the wings and body. Black forms known as f. carbonaria were once dominant in industrial areas with high levels of pollution although their frequency has been steadily declining in recent years. Intermediate forms known collectively as f. insularia are variable between the light and dark forms.

Click here for more information.: Peppered Moth

One of Britain’s rarest orchids could soon be flowering on a military firing range, conservationists hope.

The internationally protected fen orchid grows in the wild in only two locations in the UK.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Pendine project in bid to bring rare orchid to firing range – BBC News

Arctic bears are being driven off their normal migration routes and into human habitation. We should feel pity – and fear

Click here to read the rest of the article.: What polar bears in a Russian apartment block reveal about the climate crisis | Environment | The Guardian

Collaborative research led by the University of East Anglia (UEA) has discovered the first case of rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus type 2 (RHDV2) in the UK’s European brown hare population.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: First confirmed cases of rabbit virus found in UK hares – Discover Wildlife

Feeling like you want to try and help in conservation but don’t know where to start? Or maybe you feel that conservation issues are happening far away and that you are powerless to do anything about them? Well I might have the answers for you! To try and help people find where their efforts are best placed, I will be posting about things that you can start doing almost immediately that can bring about meaningful change.

Click here for more information.: Nature’s Good News : How You Can Help Conservation Right Now! : #1 Biological Recording

Painted Lady by Harry Appleyard, Tattenhoe Park 5 June 2016

Southern California is in the midst of a “magical” surprise: unusually large swarms of Painted Lady butterflies filling the skies from San Diego to Pasadena.

“Everyone was posting about the butterflies all over Instagram,” a woman told CBS Los Angeles Tuesday. “I saw so many, it was kinda like a swarm of them. It was pretty insane.”

Click here to read the rest of the article.: ‘Absolutely Magical’: Southern California Sees Largest Painted Lady Migration Since 2005 – EcoWatch

Water Vole ©Peter Hassett, WWT Arundel 19 July 2011

If you live in the Nene Valley, how many times have you thought any of the following: “Otters are everywhere” “Water voles have virtually disappeared” “There seems to be loads of mink around”?

There is truth behind these statements, which we know from looking at national trends. However it is important to start gathering data to support these statements and fully understand the extent to which they are true in our local area. We also need to collect this data so we can target our conservation efforts effectively, particularly when it comes to the case of one of our most at risk and enigmatic species: the water vole.

We need your help

To do this, we are launching a Water Vole, Otter, and Mink Survey Project in the Nene Valley and would like you to be involved.

The project aims to understand the distribution of these species across the Nene Valley with the secondary objective of improving the situation for water voles by boosting habitat connectivity.

In its first year, the project will initially focus on Summer Leys, Nene Wetlands, and Barnwell local  wildlife site; once the project is established we can move on to surveying other areas.

Training for volunteers

We will be putting on two survey-training workshops in the first week of April to train volunteers for identifying signs and the recording process.

The workshops will be held:

• Wednesday 3 April, 3-5pm at The Wildlife Trust BCN office at Lings nature reserve, Northampton
• Friday 5 April, 6-8pm at Canoe2 meeting room, Rushden Lakes

Get in touch

If you are interested in participating then please contact the Water for Wildlife Officer in Northamptonshire Lewis Dickinson at lewis.dickinson@wildlifebcn.org for further details.

Source: Northamptonshire River Mammal Survey Project – can you help? | Wildlife Trust for Beds, Cambs & Northants

Data from a long-running citizen science project shows that 90 per cent of adder populations are in decline.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Adders could be facing a risk of extinction across Britain – Discover Wildlife

We are pleased to provide this update from the Biological Records Centre (BRC). BRC has provided a focus for biological recording for over fifty years and works closely with more than 80 national recording schemes and societies. We hope you enjoy reading about some of our recent activities, built upon the unique and inspiring work of many naturalists who are committed to studying our flora and fauna.

Click here for more information.: Biological Records Centre Newsletter

An official watchdog is investigating five grouse-shooting estates for allegedly damaging the environment in a practice that they had pledged to stop.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Grouse estates investigated over heather burning | Environment | The Guardian

Europe would still be able to feed its growing population even if it switched entirely to environmentally friendly approaches such as organic farming, according to a new report from a thinktank.

Source: European farms could grow green and still be able to feed population | Environment | The Guardian

For this year’s Wild About Gardens challenge, The Wildlife Trusts and the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) are calling on people to put in a pond. From mini container ponds to larger sunken ponds, it’s THE garden feature that can make the biggest difference to wildlife.

Click here for more information.: Big or small, ponds for all! | The Wildlife Trusts

The first ever IUCN Red List assessment has been conducted on all 124 wild coffee species, and the implications of these findings predict a concerning future for global coffee production.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: 60% of wild coffee species are threatened with extinction – Discover Wildlife

The government’s conservation watchdog has issued licences to destroy 170,000 wild birds, eggs and nests, including rare and declining species such as curlews and swifts, in the past five years.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Watchdog permits 170,000 wild bird killings in five years | Environment | The Guardian

A fire has destroyed an internationally-renowned bird observatory on Fair Isle in Shetland.

Firefighters were called to the Fair Isle Bird Observatory, which is located on the north east of the island, at about 11:20 on Sunday.

Click here for more information.:
BBC News
Discover Wildlife

The president of Shetland’s world-renowned bird observatory, which was destroyed by fire at the weekend, has vowed to rebuild it. Click here for more information.

For anybody wishing to help support the Parnaby family after the tragic and devastating recent fire at Fair Isle Bird Observatory, the Fair Isle community have set up this funding page.

IT’S BACK!!!!!

S.A.W. 2019 will be from

22^ndto 30^thJune 2019 with events all over mainland UK

– see https://www.swift-conservation.org/

Come and see Buckingham Swifts and MK Swifts at Nature Day

(part of MK Festival of Nature 2019) at

Howe Park Wood

on Saturday 6^thJuly 2019

@swiftweek

@swiftweek

It’s the miracle ingredient in everything from biscuits to shampoo. But our dependence on palm oil has devastating environmental consequences. Is it too late to break the habit?

Click here to read the rest of the article.: How the world got hooked on palm oil | News | The Guardian

Atlas of Butterflies in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire

The Upper Thames Branch of Butterfly Conservation are hosting a free training session on Butterfly and Moth Identification, Surveying & Recording.

It helps land managers to know both which species are breeding on any patch, but how their management affects numbers.  So, accurate records you supply can make an enormous difference to efforts to conserve wildlife, locally and nationally. Plus, extra knowledge boosts the enjoyment of any walk, even in your own garden.

Date: 30 March 2019
Venue: Howe Park Wood Education & Visitor centre, H7, Chaffron Way, Milton Keynes, MK4 3GG

Programme(for each day) subject to minor change to reflect weather

Programme:

If you wish to attend either day please emailnick.bowles@ntlworld.com

Please do not attend without pre-booking. Places are free* to members and non-members of UTB/BC; subject to availability. Applicants must be able to explain how they will increase their recording after the course.  All presentations can be provided to attendees’ memory sticks but are too large to send by email.         *donations welcome

Turtle Dove, Julie’s garden, Julie Lane, January 2014

Each year a sickening 25 million migrant birds are illegally slaughtered as they pass between Africa and Europe, sparking BirdLife International to launch a new campaign called Flight for Survival this week. The campaign will set out to raise awareness off the issue globally, though there will be a key focus on seven species in particular: Blackcap, Common Quail, Eastern Imperial Eagle, Egyptian Vulture, European Turtle Dove, European Honey Buzzard and White Stork.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: BirdLife launches Flight for Survival – BirdGuides

Global temperatures in 2018 were the fourth warmest on record, US government scientists have confirmed, adding to a stretch of five years that are now collectively the hottest period since modern measurements began.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: 2018 was world’s fourth hottest year on record, scientists confirm | Environment | The Guardian

Lions in Namibia have turned to hunting seabirds and seals in the face of scarce food resources in the desert landscape, research has found.

The desert lions, which are found exclusively within the country’s Skeleton Coast region, are the only lions known to target marine life. Among the creatures they have been recorded eating are fur seals, flamingos and cormorants.

Source: Lions have adapted to hunt seals and seabirds in Namibia, study finds | Environment | The Guardian

At least a third of the huge ice fields in Asia’s towering mountain chain are doomed to melt due to climate change, according to a landmark report, with serious consequences for almost 2 billion people.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: A third of Himalayan ice cap doomed, finds report | Environment | The Guardian

Peat harvesting in Ireland

Over the next few months as peatland restoration projects battle the elements to finish work on the ground before making way for breeding birds, the turning of the seasons brings a more sinister event in the UK peatland calendar.

As the weather warms UK gardeners are heading out in number to buy compost to nourish their borders; grow-bags to nurture tomatoes and bedding plants all rooted in peat. In the anticipation of a healthy growing season thoughts of what’s in the bag, where it came from and what the process of its harvesting leaves behind is all too often over-looked. This edition of our newsletter has a focus on the link between peat and horticulture.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: IUCN UK Peatland Programme Newsletter – Peat & Horticulture Edition

Swallow ©Peter Hassett, College Lake 4 April 2018

We’ve had two very similar questions sent in to us this week about swallows – those fantastic birds which typify our summers, and are certainly in evidence at the moment.

Our second question came from Tricia Napoli-Mole from Coventry who asked “My husband swears swallows never land. Is this true?”

Click here to read the rest of the article.: The RSPB: Ask an expert: Can swallows stay in the air for up to two years?

One of the UK’s most highly threatened and unusual beetles has been discovered in a number of new locations in the Cotswolds thanks to an innovative conservation scheme.

The Rugged Oil Beetle, which is said to resemble a walking black olive, has been found in six new sites in Gloucestershire over the last year, following conservation work which is part of the Back from the Brink (BftB) project.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: New sites for rare beetle discovered

The RSPB North Bucks Local Group are leading a field trip to:

Location: Harold-Odell Country Park. Meet in car park (donation box) off Carlton Rd, Harrold. SP 956 566
Postcode: MK43 7DS (Google map)

Usually a good range of birds at this popular, award-winning country park. A quieter walk follows a delightful stretch of the Ouse: this is on grass, though the main circuit has hard, level paths. Cafe (opening not guaranteed) and toilets.

Walk Leader : Pete How

Time: 10 am to 12.30 pm

Price: Free even

See the RSPB North Bucks Local Group website for more information

MKNHS is not responsible for the content of external Internet sites. You should check details of any events listed on external sites with the organisers.

We are delighted to announce that the first issue of British & Irish Botany (B&IB), our replacement for New Journal of Botany, has now been published.

We hope that with this new online journal we are keeping all the advantages of its predecessor – great papers from some of Britain and Ireland’s finest botanists and a helpful team to support prospective authors – while making the new journal even more accessible and user-friendly, for authors, readers and researchers.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: BSBI News & Views: British & Irish Botany: first issue published

Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly by Peter Hassett , Shenley Church End 17 February 2017

The unusually warm winter weather we are experiencing means that butterflies are emerging earlier than normal.

This website will help you to identify the butterflies you see. Don’t forget to report your local sighting to sightings@mknhs.org.uk

Linford Lakes NR BioBlitz by David Easton. 24 June 2016

Dear BIG Recorder

Invertebrates sit at the bottom of most food chains but most groups are seriously under recorded. Recent news has highlighted both the importance of invertebrates and the huge losses in numbers.

We urgently need more data to help our understanding and to do this more recorders are needed.

This is a new course designed to encourage people who are serious about wanting to record invertebrates but need help either to get started or to build their confidence.

The course will be held at Dancers End over four Sundays from 10am to lunchtime and will include both classroom and fieldwork.

The course will cover finding, collecting/photographing, identification of and submitting records of invertebrates.  It will introduce you to the following families:

• True Bugs (Heteroptera)
• Butterflies and moths (Lepidoptera)
• Spiders and Harvestmen (Arachnida)
• Beetles (Coleoptera)
• Soldierflies (Mecoptera)
• Bees and wasps (Hymenoptera)
• Snails and slugs (Molluscsa)
• and some Flies (Diptera) including Hoverflies, Soldierflies & allies.

The sessions will be held on Sunday 28^th April, Sunday 5^th May, Sunday 26^th May and Sunday 2^nd June.

Spaces are strictly limited, to book a place, please contact Sue Taylor taylor57sc@gmail.com

No charge but donations to BBOWT will be welcome.

Tutor Sue Taylor volunteer recorder for BBOWT and Butterfly Conservation.

Best wishes

Neil

Neil Fletcher
Environmental Support Officer (Part-time, Tues-Thurs)
Historic and Natural Environment Team
Transport Ÿ Economy Ÿ Environment

Buckinghamshire & Milton Keynes Environmental Records Centre (BMERC)

Buckinghamshire County Council, 6^th Floor, New County Offices, Walton Street, Aylesbury HP20 1UY
Tel:         01296 382431
E-mail:    erc@buckscc.gov.uk
Twitter:    @BucksMKERC
Website:  www.bucksmkerc.org.uk

We now have pre-priced standard data search packages available to order, saving you time. Please see our Data Searches page for more information and the new Request form.

Time to Change is a growing movement of people changing how we all think and act about mental health problems..

Although attitudes to mental health are changing for the better, too many people are still made to feel ashamed or isolated because they have a mental health problem.

In Buckinghamshire, we’re working with local communities, workplaces and schools to help end negative attitudes and behaviours towards people experiencing mental health problems.

Time to Talk Day on 7th February aims to get more people talking openly about mental health.

Find out about events taking place on Time to Talk Day or more about Time to Change at www.timetochangebucks.org

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Buckinghamshire County Council

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Bedfordshire Cambridgeshire Northamptonshire Wildlife Trust Logo

Click here to see forthcoming events for the North Chilterns Chalk section of the Wildlife Trust BCN.

The UK has seen numbers plummeting, with a 53% decline between 1995 and 2016. To help them, we want to get 1,000 swift nestboxes put up before they arrive at the end of April. Can you help?

Click here for more information.: Swifts | Bird Family Overview – The RSPB

Scientists are scrambling to understand the sudden death of an estimated 20,000 guillemots off the Dutch coast, hundreds of which are washing up on the country’s shoreline.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Netherlands puzzles over death of estimated 20,000 guillemots | World news | The Guardian

Butterfly Conservation have published a series of guides about gardening for butterflies and moths.

Click here for more information.: Gardening

The willow warbler is one of our smallest birds. Yet this delicate little creature performs an amazing feat of strength and endurance.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Migratory Birds | Where Do Birds Migrate To? – The RSPB

Linford Lakes Nature Reserve visitors enjoying an Open Sunday

Open Sunday at Linford Lakes NR 10:00 – 16:00hrs (hides to close at 15.30)

Tea and coffee, home-made cakes available.
Second-hand books on sale as well as crafts and bird seed.
Great views through the Centre’s windows and balcony
Plenty to see as the first of our spring migrant birds start to arrive.
Bring friends and family to enjoy the reserve.

Renewable energy sources will be the world’s main source of power within two decades and are establishing a foothold in the global energy system faster than any fuel in history, according to BP.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Renewable energy will be world’s main power source by 2040, says BP | Business | The Guardian

Third place,
Wood White ©Paul Lund, Bucknell Wood, 8 July 2017

A report warning that plummeting insect numbers threatens the collapse of nature is a stark reminder that we must all play our part in trying to slow the assault on the natural world.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Small acts can help beleaguered butterflies and moths

Celandine by Julie Lane, Dorset. 30Mar15

Plantlife produce a number of interesting guides to wildflowers.

Click here to download their spotter sheet for March.

The first to call

Of course, the dawn chorus doesn’t stop there. Over the coming months many songs will be heard across the UK as the dim-lit dawn breaks. But who are the early voices of spring? Here’s five to get you going.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: The ballad of the dawn chorus – Natures Home magazine uncovered – Our work – The RSPB Community

An inspiring US campaign to restore the mighty chestnut to its eastern forests points the way to saving at-risk species in the UK

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Blight fight: the story of America’s chestnuts offers hope for British trees | Environment | The Guardian

House Sparrows are in decline across the United Kingdom with numbers falling by 71% between 1977 and 2008. The reasons why are not yet fully understood but may be many and complex. The Sparrow Census, with your help, aims to gather valuable data to build a bigger, better, clearer picture of just what is happening with our House Sparrows than ever before!

Click here for more information.: Sparrow Census 2019 – Wigston Sparrow Project

Red-Tailed Bumblebee by Harry Appleyard, Tattenhoe 11 April 2016

Welcome to the first UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme newsletter! With reports of dramatic losses of insects occurring across the globe, and concern about what this means for wider biodiversity and ecosystem health, there has never been a more important time to document evidence of change in populations of pollinating insects.

Click here to download your copy.

The Buckinghamshire Fungus Group are conducting a field trip to Wotton House Estate on 16 March 2019

Our first Springtime visit to this delightful site with extensive wooded grounds, a beautiful lake and some veteran oaks, with a growing and interesting list of fungi. The adjacent Rushbeds BBOWT Nature Reserve once formed part of the grounds. Meet at SP 676 169 where the small private carpark is accessed by a gate on the Kingswood to Brill road about 2 miles south of the junction with the A41, and almost opposite a cottage. Leaders Derek Schafer and/or Penny Cullington.

Click here for more information.

MKNHS is not responsible for the content of external Internet sites. You should check details of any events listed on external sites with the organisers.

As firefighters put out the last flames on Saddleworth Moor, here’s a reminder of why rewilding our moorlands can help to protect them from wildfire

Click here to read the article.: Wetter is better – Rewilding Britain

Vulcan was tagged in Northumberland in the summer of 2018, along with over 30 more hen harriers in England, Scotland, Wales and the Isle of Man. Almost half of these birds barely had time to make their mark on the world, entering and leaving it almost in the same breath. Vulcan is the 11^th tagged hen harrier to disappear in similar suspicious circumstances since August.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Vulcan’s fire goes out – Skydancer – the UK’s hen harriers – Skydancer – The RSPB Community

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has added a new insect order (Embioptera) to UK fauna after finding and identifying webspinners at Garden Wisley, Surrey, last summer.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: First new insect order in Britain for 100 years – Discover Wildlife

The BBC is hoping to make stars of the Earth’s planet kingdom with its next big natural history series, Green Planet.

Described by the Corporation as “Planet Earth from the perspective of plants” the forthcoming series promises to showcase the “emotional stories and surprising heroes in the plant world”.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Green Planet sees BBC examining the dramas of the plant world – Radio Times

Click here to view the Bedfordshire Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire Wildlife Trust newsletter for February 2019.

Female Hairy Dragonfly, Tattenhoe Linear Park (6th May)

I’m writing this in early February, looking out onto a garden which is bare apart from a few Snowdrops and shivering birds, but hopefully things will have warmed up slightly by the time you read it. However, even with Global Warming it will be a few months before we can expect to see much insect activity in Yorkshire.

The majority of insects go about their brief lives unnoticed by most people, but two groups of insects are usually noticed by even the most casual nature-watcher. Everyone loves Butterflies, though not necessarily their close cousins Moths, but Dragonflies are every bit as interesting and entertaining.

Click here to read the rest of the article.

The RSPB North Bucks Local Group are hosting a talk:

Location: The Cruck Barn, City Discovery Centre, Alston Drive, Bradwell Abbey, Milton Keynes
Postcode: MK13 9AP (Google map)

Seeing 300 different birds in the UK in one year is a target that many birders dream of. Doing so while cycling 7,000 miles from Lands End to Shetland , and challenging for the European record, takes a special kind of birder – a “Green Birder”. Gary will tell us about his birding adventures in the UK and further afield, his fund-raising for RSPB, WWT & Birdlife, and about the wider “Green Birding” movement.

Time: Doors open 7.15pm for a prompt 7.45pm start, ends at 10pm

Price: Group members £3, Non-group members £4, Children £1

See the RSPB North Bucks Local Group website for more information

MKNHS is not responsible for the content of external Internet sites. You should check details of any events listed on external sites with the organisers.

Some of the country’s rarest and most threatened fungi will be better protected after Natural England announced the notification of two Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). 2019 marks the Government’s Year of Green Action, a year-long drive to help people to connect with, protect and enhance nature. This doubles the number of sites chosen for designations specifically for their fungi. These two new SSSIs provide protection for over 70 additional hectares for important and spectacular fungi, as well as nationally important grasslands and meadows.

Source: Natural England uses its legal powers to protect our best grasslands | a new nature blog

Politicians and policymakers have failed to grasp the gravity of the environmental crisis facing the Earth, a report claims.

The think-tank IPPR says human impacts have reached a critical stage and threaten to destabilise society and the global economy.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Environment in multiple crises – report – BBC News

Insects could vanish within a century at current rate of decline, says global review

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Plummeting insect numbers ‘threaten collapse of nature’ | Environment | The Guardian

Water Vole ©Peter Hassett, WWT Arundel 19 July 2011

My home is under threat and there are fewer places to find food every day. And I’m not alone: thousands of birds, insects and other animals across England are finding it harder and harder to survive. Plants and trees are under pressure too.

Source: Campaign for a Wilder Future | Wildlife Trust for Beds, Cambs & Northants

A coalition of investors is calling on McDonald’s, KFC, and other fast food suppliers to take swift action on climate change.

The group, with around $6.5 trillion under management, want the chains to cut carbon and water risks in their dairy and meat suppliers.

Animal agriculture, they argue, is one of the highest emitting sectors without a low CO2 plan.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Fast food giants under fire on climate and water usage – BBC News