First global coastline survey shows 16% of tidal flats lost between 1984 and 2016

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Vital ecosystems in tidal flats lost to development and rising sea levels | Environment | The Guardian

10.00 – Arrival tea / coffee / biscuits – Annexe – Pemberley Books stall
10.30 – Welcome & Housekeeping – Lecture Theatre
10.35 – Mark Gurney – Fear no weevil [Mark’s photo of Charagmus griseus is shown, right]
10.55 – Jon Webb – Natural England update
11.15 – Katy Dainton– Beetle- eating beetles, and other forest pest biocontrol methods
11.35 – Jeff Blincow & Tim Newton – “If it doesn’t work, we won’t tell anyone we’ve started – a Saproxylic beetle project at Yardley Chase Training Area”
11.55 – Sue Townsend – FSC Field Studies Council: FSC Find Study Coleoptera
12.30 – 14.00 – Lunch (Museum café, local pub or bring your own – Annexe)
14.15 – Helen Roy, Richard Lewington & Peter Brown – Ladybird field guide Q&A – Annex

Click here for more information.: Programme announced for the 2019 Coleopterists Day | UK Beetle Recording

Want to attract more beneficial insects to your garden? We share some tips, and suggest six insect-friendly plants to try.

It’s well known that bees are vital for pollinating many of our crops. Around a third of the food we eat – strawberries, apples and tomatoes for example – is pollinated by bees.

Most of us are familiar with honey bees and bumblebees, but there are also more than 200 species of solitary bee – and they play an equally important role in pollinating flowers, fruit and vegetables.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: How to create an insect-friendly garden | Little Green Space

Linford Lakes NR BioBlitz by David Easton. 24 June 2016

Opportunities to help with research either by carrying out fieldwork or by recording your sightings.

Click here for more information.: Citizen Science, Wildlife Surveys and Fieldwork advertised with CJS

Invertebrates are central to the functioning of ecosystems, yet they are underappreciated and understudied. Recent work has shown that they are suffering from rapid decline. Here we call for a greater focus on invertebrates and make recommendations for future investigation.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Recognizing the quiet extinction of invertebrates | Nature Communications

Rachel Jone’s of Plantlife, looks at their project to build resilience in temperate rainforests, also known as Atlantic woodlands; a globally rare and extremely important habitat.

Source: Assessing the Rainforests in three National Parks | Campaign for National Parks

The amazing migrations of Ringed Plover, concerns about Spotted Redshank and lessons from Little Tern conservation … … just three of the highlights from WaderTales in 2018. Seventeen ne…

Click here to read the rest of the article.: WaderTales blogs in 2018 | wadertales

Wed 30th January – Managing reserves for Tomorrow’s Climate – an illustrated talk by Dr Andrew Bladon – Andrew and his team of researchers from Cambridge University have been doing lots of work on our local sites looking at ways to help protect butterflies in particular from the threat of climate change. Dunstable Fire Station 7.30pm £3 (please see attached flyer for more details).

Sat 2nd February – Community Orchard Day – Come and celebrate our Blow’s Downs Community Orchard – 10am-12pm Orchard Management demonstrations including some family-friendly activities and. 12pm-3pm a more in depth look at the heritage, management and conservation of local orchards with local expert Colin Carpenter (St Augustine’s Church). This event is free to attend due to funding from the Orchards East project, donations to the ongoing work of the Wildlife Trust BCN gratefully received (please see attached flyer for more details).

Future Talks:

Wed 20th February – Blow’s Downs and the Busway 5 Years on – an illustrated talk by Esther Clarke, Reserves officer for Bedfordshire. Dunstable Fire Station 7.30pm £3

Wed 27th March – Jewels of the Air – an illustrated talk by Dr Wild Powell showing the diversity of the colourful hummingbirds, which include the smallest bird in the world, and describe some aspects of their fascinating behaviour. Dunstable Fire Station 7.30pm £3

Please do get in touch if you have any questions or to book your place(s) on any of the above events, it will be great to see you.

With kind regards,

Sarah Cowling <Sarah.Cowling@wildlifebcn.org>

Twelve nature charities  including Plantlife, RSPB and Friends of the Earth, have welcomed new regulations to cut ammonia emissions.

Click here to read theirresponse to ammonia measures in the Government’s final Clean Air Strategy

Tree Bumblebee by Harry Appleyard, Tattenhoe 24 February 2017

Large-scale declines in pollinator species are a concern at present. Such declines have been attributed to a range of factors that act in tandem, rath…

Click here to read the rest of the article.: The effect of management practices on bumblebee densities in hedgerow and grassland habitats – ScienceDirect

As we reflect on a year of extreme weather and ominous climate talks, 2019 could see some much-needed breakthroughs

Click here to read the rest of the article.: ‘Momentum is growing’: reasons to be hopeful about the environment in 2019 | Environment | The Guardian

False oil beetle, Oedemera nobilis (female), ©Ian Saunders Feeding on spearwort, garden pond, Stoke Goldington 10 June 2018

Just 1-2% of pollen grains reach conspecific stigmas. The rest are lost during pollen removal, consumed by floral visitors, covered by other grains, lost to petals, fall to the ground, or land on stigmas of other species.

Click here to read the rest of the article.

In the UK we have some amazing native wildflowers. Unfortunately, we have lost a staggering 98% of our wildflower meadows and their poetic beauty since the 1930’s. This means that few people have seen an authentic one which is resulting

Click here for more information.: How to Start a Native Wildflower Meadow [6 Easy Steps] – NearbyWild

Over the past couple of weeks a growing number of people on Twitter haven sharing their ‘3 good things in nature’ under the #3naturethings hashtag. This was kick-started by Issy Bryony Hardman @iss…

Click here to read the rest of the article.: #3NatureThings – Moving beyond yourself to nature for wellbeing | Finding Nature

These are some of my favourite beetles that I saw in the UK in 2018. The beetles in this list aren’t necessarily the rarest ones I saw, although a few are quite rare. Instead, I chose them fr…

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Top Ten Beetles of 2018 | More Blogs About Insects and Things

This year’s New Year Plant Hunt is now over and it has been a real record-breaker!

Thousands of you took part, from Stromness on Orkney to Guernsey, Jersey and Alderney in the Channel Islands; from Bayfield in north Norfolk to Three Castle Head in south-west Ireland, from St. Margaret’s Bay, Kent to the Isle of Doagh off the coast of Donegal.

You submitted more than 14,000 records and told us about 638 species that you had spotted in bloom.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: BSBI News & Views: New Year Plant Hunt 2018-9: Day Four

 

False oil beetle, Oedemera nobilis (female), ©Ian Saunders Feeding on spearwort, garden pond, Stoke Goldington 10 June 2018

Can plants hear? That is, can they sense airborne sounds and respond to them? Here we show that Oenothera drummondii flowers, exposed to the playback sound of a flying bee or to synthetic sound-signals at similar frequencies, produced sweeter nectar within 3 minutes, potentially increasing the chances of cross pollination. We found that the flowers vibrated mechanically inresponse to these sounds, suggesting a plausible mechanism where the flower serves as the plant’sauditory sensory organ…

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Flowers respond to pollinator sound within minutes by increasing nectar sugar concentration. | bioRxiv

Scientists warn policymakers not to ignore links, and stress that ‘every action counts’

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Risks of ‘domino effect’ of tipping points greater than thought, study says | Environment | The Guardian

Wasp Spider ©Ruth McCracken at Simpson 15 August 2017

Most spiders tuck themselves away into nice warm crevices during the winter months but on frosty mornings their frozen webs are more visible than ever. All spiders make silk but only some families make webs. The web structure varies between families so it’s a useful ID feature, you can probably find at least 5 different types of webs around your home and garden.

Click here to download the article.

Wormwood moonshiners live on one rare plant and only emerge at night. A battle is on to save them

Click here to read the rest of the article.: ‘Have you beetled?’: the battle to save one of UK’s rarest species | Environment | The Guardian

Widespread use of herbicides leading to resistant black-grass is costing UK millions in profit.

ZSL scientists have for the first time put an economic figure on the herbicidal resistance of a major agricultural weed that is decimating winter-wheat farms across the UK.

Source: Overuse of herbicides costing UK economy £400 million per year | Zoological Society of London (ZSL)

Fluctuating extreme temperatures ranging from an arctic -14 degrees centigrade, to a sizzling +35 have resulted in a roller-coaster year for wildlife, says the National Trust.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Year of temperature extremes results in peaks and troughs for wildlife | National Trust

The purpose of this survey is to investigate how wintering birds and Brown Hare benefit from using Agri-environment scheme (AES) options in winter, which remains a major gap in our knowledge. This work will complement existing studies that have successfully evaluated the effects of AES options on farmland birds and will further our understanding of why the majority of breeding farmland birds are still in decline.

Click here for more information.: English Winter Bird Survey | BTO – British Trust for Ornithology

Otmoor, Oxfordshire: The overhead traffic is constant: flocks of lapwings, wildfowl beelining for ponds and starlings on sharp-winged manoeuvre

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Country diary: the sky over Otmoor is busy with birds | Environment | The Guardian

Thanks to photos and films featuring clouds of stunning orange and black monarch butterflies flying across North America, many people today are familiar with how monarchs migrate. The migration patterns of other insects, however, remain more mysterious, for both the public and scientists alike. A new paper in Biology Letters describes a dragonfly’s full life cycle for the first time, in compelling detail.

Source: Three generations, 1,000s of miles: Scientists unlock mystery of a dragonfly’s migration

In the fight against global warming, we’d be better off preserving natural forests than planting new monoculture plantations

Source: Planting trees is only a good news story if it’s done right | Bibi van der Zee | Opinion | The Guardian

Wildlife experts have accused the company behind HS2 of failing to make adequate environmental preparations as it plans to build over irreplaceable habitats. The Wildlife Trusts say the new railway

Click here to read the rest of the article.: HS2 accused of inadequate planning as company prepares to commit ‘unacceptable’ damage to wildlife | The Independent

Linford Lakes Nature Reserve visitors enjoying an Open Sunday

10:00 – 16:00 hrs (hides to close at 15.30)

The reserve is open to friends and family,
Bring the neighbours too.
Stop off at the centre for a fresh cuppa and a piece of home-made cake.

High levels of contamination in Mariana Trench show how pervasively planet has been contaminated

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Plastic pollution discovered at deepest point of ocean | Environment | The Guardian

Private organisations and individuals are stepping in to protect vulnerable habitats but they are increasingly under pressure

In September the former publisher and philanthropist, John B Fairfax, quietly gave $2m to the Nature Conservancy in support of the largest private conservation project ever undertaken in New South Wales: the Gayini Nimmie-Caira project on the Murrumbidgee floodplain.

After spending a night glamping on the 85,000 hectare property near Balranald, Fairfax pulled out his chequebook and helped to make the ambitious project a reality.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Game changer: is private funding the only way to save national parks? | Environment | The Guardian

The final few months of 2018 have been excellent for birds at Pitsford Water nature reserve. It’s always a top spot for wintering wildfowl, but the number of ducks out on the water has been impressive. Large numbers of tufted duck, coot, widgeon and pochard are regular visitors to this site, which offers undisturbed and sheltered bays for them to safely feed in the shallow waters.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Wildfowl flock to Pitsford Water | Wildlife Trust for Beds, Cambs & Northants

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

Linford Lakes Nature Reserve. Meet in car park. Leave Newport Rd on north side opposite entrance to Black Horse pub. After 50m fork left and follow track, reaching car park after 1/3 mile. SP 843 429.
Postcode: MK14 5AH (Google map)

Saturday 19 January 2019, 10.00 – 12.30 Leader: Chris Ward

One of MK’s best reserves, managed by The Parks Trust and a great Friends Group. Normally a “permit” site, but free to us today. Lakes, wet woodland and four hides. Always a good range of wetland and woodland birds. Paths can be difficult for wheelchairs or buggies at this time of year.

Walk Leader : Chris Ward

Time: 10 am to 12.30 pm

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.

Plastic was found in the gut of every single sea turtle examined in a new study, casting fresh light on the scale of plastic pollution in the world’s oceans.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Microplastics found in every sea turtle in new research – CNN

Around the world, species hunters unearth 128 vascular plants and 44 species of fungi, many already facing extinction

Click here to read the rest of the article.: From spectacular orchids to towering trees – 2018’s top new plant discoveries | Environment | The Guardian

The role played by volunteers in monitoring the UK’s wildlife needs greater recognition, a leading Welsh naturalist has urged.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Wildlife volunteer army needs recognition – Iolo Williams – BBC News

What better way to start 2019 than doing something great for wildlife in the great outdoors! Join us for the first volunteer task of the new year to see if practical conservation volunteering is for you

Source: Conservation Taster Day | Wildlife Trust for Beds, Cambs & Northants

Towbiters, water scorpions and Nosy Tigers. These are just some the colourful names given to freshwater insects and other invertebrates.

Click here for more information.: Finding “Nosy Tiger’s” and other oddly named freshwater invertebrates – PEARG

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

The ancient woodlands of the Yardley Whittlewood Ridge in Northamptonshire are home to beautiful and increasingly rare butterflies and moths. We are expanding our successful conservation work here to protect more vulnerable species…

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Woodland Wings: Conserving the rare butterflies and moths of the East Midlands

A salamander measuring almost 0.6m in length has been described by herpetologists.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Scientists confirm the rumours of a mysterious giant salamander in the US – Discover Wildlife

Red-and-black Froghopper (Cercopis vulnerata), Stoke Wood, Stoke Goldington ©Ian Saunders 30 May 2018

This visualisation and multi-access key was built on a knowledge-base for British froghoppers. The knowledge-base construction is the work of Nia Howells for TCV’s Natural Talent project. The visualisation, key design and programming was carried out by Rich Burkmar for the Field Studies Council’s Tomorrow’s Biodiversity project.

Click here for more information.: FSC Identikit

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)This talk will take you on a migratory bird’s journey, taking in some of the cultures, people, foods and landscapes they traverse. It will also look at the threats and solutions our long distance migrants encounter and how you can join them and witness one of the best experiences in the world of birding on two continents.

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.

Findings expose ‘big lie’ behind European marine conservation, scientists say

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Marine life worse off inside ‘protected’ areas, analysis reveals | Environment | The Guardian

Gin lovers rejoice this Christmas! For Juniper, our native aromatic shrub renowned for giving gin its distinctive fragrance, is showing signs of returning to the English countryside.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Plantlife :: The Great English Juniper Revival?

Painted Lady by Harry Appleyard, Tattenhoe Park 5 June 2016

Insects account for the main fraction of Earth’s biodiversity and are key players for ecosystems, notably as pollinators. While insect migration is suspected to represent a natural phenomenon of major importance, remarkably little is known about it, except for a few flagship species. The reason for this situation is mainly due to technical limitations in the study of insect movement. Here we propose using metabarcoding of pollen carried by insects as a method for tracking their migrations. We developed a flexible and simple protocol allowing high multiplexing and not requiring DNA extraction, one of the most time consuming part of metabarcoding protocols, and apply this method to the study of the long-distance migration of the butterfly Vanessa cardui, an emerging model for insect migration

Click here to read the rest of the article.: (PDF) Pollen metabarcoding as a tool for tracking long-distance insect migrations.

Wigeon ©Peter Hassett, Foxcote Reservoir 19 January 2018

Our annual winter bird watching event at Foxcote Reservoir on  Sunday 13 January 2019 from10:00 to 13:00

A great opportunity to visit this site to enjoy watching the comings and goings of migrating wildfowl in this quiet corner of Buckinghamshire.

Please note that there is limited parking at this reserve.

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.

Researchers discover urban male túngara frogs call more, and with more complex vocalisations, than rural peers

Click here to read the rest of the article.: City frogs have sexier calls than country frogs, study finds | Environment | The Guardian

In the 1980s, roughly 4.5 million monarchs wintered in California, but at last count, there may be as few as 30,000

Click here to read the rest of the article.: ‘It’s a sad reality’: a troubling trend sees a 97% decline in monarch butterflies | US news | The Guardian

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/324906091_Pollen_metabarcoding_as_a_tool_for_tracking_long-distance_insect_migrationsA bat which looks like *NSYNC’s Lance Bass, a gibbon named for Luke Skywalker, and a toad which seems to have come “from Middle Earth,” are among 157 new species discovered in the Greater Mekong Region last year, according to a new report from the World Wildlife Fund.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: WWF announce discovery of 157 new species in Southeast Asia – CNN

I’m doing a PhD on saproxylic invertebrates. I was going to say that I am ‘starting’ but I have realised that I am already two and a half months in… terrifying. When people ask about the topic of m…

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Insects, Trees and PhDs | More Blogs About Insects and Things

Scientists have identified 66 alien species which pose the greatest potential threat to the biodiversity and ecosystems of Europe.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: 66 alien species which could threaten European wildlife – Discover Wildlife

Evergreen shrubs are not only useful for festive adornments at this time of year.  Ivy bushes, in particular, provide a much needed safe haven for overwintering butterflies and moths, as well as other beneficial insects.So if you are out collecting natural decorations or gathering greenery for your Christmas wreath, be vigilant not to disturb sleeping butterflies and moths, whose survival may depend on their ability to remain dormant, sheltered and out-of-sight throughout the winter months…

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Christmas Surprises

A new paper has been published “A Vision for Global Biodiversity Monitoring With Citizen Science”

Click here to read the rest of the article.

Much has been written about the negative impacts of agriculture on breeding birds – but farming can be good for some species. In Iceland, where high-input agriculture is relatively recent, breeding…

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Designing wader landscapes | wadertales

Both male and female reindeer grow antlers, but that makes them unique in the deer world. Why are reindeer different? Biologist Craig Roberts has the answers.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Why do female reindeer grow antlers? – Discover Wildlife

 Whilst processing vane trap samples collected on 27 May 2018 from Sherrardspark Wood, an SSSI near Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire (TL2313 VC 20), DDA found a single specimen of an unfamiliar clerid, which was not in Hackston (2015). It was recognised by John Lamin via social media as the European species Dermestoides sanguinicollis (Fabricius), an identification later confirmed by MVLB. This beetle (Fig. 1) has not previously been reported in Britain. It is unmistakeable in the British fauna, resembling Tillus elongatus (Linnaeus) (Cleridae) in colour, but not in sha,

Click here to read the rest of the article.: (PDF) Dermestoides sanguinicollis (Fabricius, 1787) (Cleridae: Korynetinae), a rare saproxylic beetle new to Britain

African Elephant ©Peter Hassett, Mara North Conservancy, Kenya 19 February 2015

Elephants, rhinos, whales, and other imperiled species received a boost this year.

Click here for more information.: 7 ways wildlife won in 2018

This post is by Jenny Hawley, senior policy officer at Plantlife. Debate around the government’s Clean Air Strategy has been focused on whether it will cut the roadside nitrogen dioxide (NO2) pollu…

Click here to read  the article.: What will the Clean Air Strategy really do for people and nature? | Inside track

A new paper shows that periods of polar night and midnight sun have little effect on reindeer circadian rhythm.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Reindeer are able to maintain their internal clock even during total light or darkness – Discover Wildlife

Click here to view Plantlife’s  Annual Review for 2017-2018

Click here to view the Bedfordshire Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire Wildlife Trust newsletter for December 2018.

Metabarcoding, a technique of mass DNA sequencing, allows for tracing migratory routes of insects, an understudied subject due to technical limitations. A small DNA fragment of the pollen that insects transport is used as a barcode to identify the plant species they visited previously.

This British Ecological Society funded study shows that transcontinental pollination mediated by migrating insects is possible and, therefore, various plants located very far apart can mix.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Sequencing pollen DNA to discover insect migratory routes – British Ecological Society

A three-year study, supported by EDF Energy and the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), has been able to identify that dry summer weather may be putting some of our favourite bird species at risk as it triggers a significant drop in the availability of earthworms close to the soil surface during the breeding season. The research was undertaken by thousands of schoolchildren in a nationwide science project to understand the effects of climate change on our soils and ecosystems, helping to inspire the next generation of ecologists.

Click here for more information.: What’s Under Your Feet? | BTO – British Trust for Ornithology

BirTrack chart of Swift migration 2018

‘Nocmig’ (or Night Flight Call / NFC recording as it’s known in North America) is the nocturnal equivalent of visible migration watching, and typically employs sound recording equipment to capture the flight calls of migrating birds. Whether you’re interested in new birds for your garden list or keen to record migration more systematically, knowing where to start can seem baffling. Here we aim to collate information and tips about the developing – and captivating! – world of nocmig.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: nocmig – Recording nocturnal bird migration

The ban on the outdoor use of metaldehyde, which is used to control slugs in a range of crops and in gardens, will be introduced across Britain from spring 2020.

The move follows advice from the UK Expert Committee on Pesticides and the Health and Safety Executive that metaldehyde poses an unacceptable risk to birds and mammals, the Environment Department (Defra) said.

Click here to read the rest of the article.

Wood-soldierfly (Solva marginata) by Martin Cooper (CC BY 2.0)

Dr Judy Webb gave a a talk  at a Dipterists Forum meeting held at the University of Oxford’s Museum of Natural History on 10 November 2018.

You can download the talk here.

Tawny Owl ©Julie Lane, Clun 5 May 2018

The British Trust for Ornithology have produced a factsheet about eyesight in owls.

Click here for more information.

Pollution from vehicle exhausts “devastating” the fragile wild plants that cling to the artic summits of Scotland’s highest mountains.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Exhaust fumes blamed for killing mountain wildlife | The Ferret

Today the Environment Secretary published draft clauses on environmental principles and governance to be included in an ambitious, broader Environment Bill set for introduction next year.

Announced by the Prime Minister in July, the Environment Bill will be an essential step to put environmental ambition and accountability at the heart of government…

Click here to read the rest of the article.
Click here to read the Wildlife Trusts comments on the draft bill.

In the UK butterflies are synonymous with hot summer’s days with plenty of sunshine. To sit and watch such beautifully coloured insects flit from flower to flower is a true delight of the British summer. It may surprise you then, that Britain is also home to one species of butterfly that prefers a harder life. The mountain ringlet, as the name suggests, is unlikely to be found in your garden, unless you live high on the fells and mountains of the Lake District or the Highlands of Scotland. Colonies of these small brown butterflies are found mostly above 350m, on grassy slopes and plateaus, where they sip the nectar of small alpine flowers. For such a species to live in one of our toughest environments challenges the perception that butterflies are soft delicate creatures…

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Nature’s Mark – An insight into the world of a nature lover, and the weird and wonderful life I’ve found.

Wildlife lovers are in uproar after officials in charge of nature-protection gave gun owners permission to shoot dead some of Britain’s most treasured and rarest bird species. Welsh conservation chiefs gave the go-ahead for the slaughter of dozens of species including kestrels, curlew, linnets, sparrows and fieldfares. More than 1,000 birds may have been killed under the permits.

Source: Nature officials grant licences to shoot some of Britain’s most endangered birds | The Independent

BEAVER-BUILT ponds are far more biodiverse than other wetlands, new research from the University of Stirling has revealed.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Beavers’ impact on biodiversity revealed | Stirling News

Hedgehogs in the UK are in serious trouble. Repeated studies have shown that the nation’s favourite animal is being wiped out. But there is something we can do to save them.

Click here for more information.

Scientists say there is hope that some ash forests will be able to survive a devastating tree disease.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Ash dieback: Ash woodlands ‘may flourish once again’ – BBC News

What does it mean for the rest of life on Earth?

Source: The Insect Apocalypse Is Here – The New York Times

We are pleased to tell you that our latest Thames Valley Environmental Records Centre (TVERC) e-newsletter is now available here.

It includes updates on our current projects, upcoming events, training days, and other opportunities to get involved with wildlife recording.

Click here to download the e-newsletter.

Volunteers catch and tag migratory waders as the birds arrive to spend winter on the East Anglian coast

Click here for more information.: Bird ringing on the Wash estuary – in pictures | Environment | The Guardian

In 2014 we the BTO organised a Peregrine Survey to record the number of occupied territories in the UK, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. Read the provisional results.

We are comparing our findings with surveys from 1961, 1971, 1981, 1991 and 2002 to determine change and to inform the future of this once almost extinct species. Find out more about Peregrines.

Click here for more information.: Peregrine survey | BTO – British Trust for Ornithology

Terrestrial isopods are soil macroarthropods that have few known parasites and parasitoids. All known parasitoids are from the family Rhinophoridae (Insecta: Diptera). The present article reviews the known biology of Rhinophoridae flies and presents the first record of Rhinophoridae larvae on a Neotropical woodlouse species. We also compile and update all published interaction records. The Neotropical woodlouse Balloniscus glaber was parasitized by two different larval morphotypes of Rhinophoridae. Including this new record, there are 18 Isopoda species known to be parasitized and 13 Rhinophoridae species with known hosts, resulting in 35 interactions. There are a total of 53 interaction records from Holarctic and Neotropical countries. Of the 18 known isopod hosts, only five species have more than one parasitoid, including the new Neotropical host record presented in this work.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Woodlice and their parasitoid flies: revision of Isopoda (Crustacea, Oniscidea) – Rhinophoridae (Insecta, Diptera) interaction and first record of a parasitized Neotropical woodlouse species

Please help with our latest research into the well-being benefits of nature connectedness. You’ll be asked about your relationship with nature, emotions and well-being. If you’re happy to take part the survey should take about 10-15 minutes to complete.

Click here for more information.

A tiny hedgehog had a close call when it became trapped in a tin due to be collected for recycling.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Charity urges public to take more care after hedgehog almost dies in empty cat food tin – Discover Wildlife

Winter can be a very difficult time for wildlife, with plummeting temperatures and scarce food. Find out how you can help your local wildlife through this tough period.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: 5 ways you can help wildlife this winter – Discover Wildlife

Howe Park Wood Nature Day by Julie Lane 1 July 2016

The Parks Trust has published a series of self-guided walks.

Click here for more information.

The good news is bird trapping activity in the British Eastern Sovereign Base Area on Cyprus (ESBA) has declined in comparison with autumn 2017. There were 33 % less active trapping sites, CABS (Committee against Bird Slaughter) found less set traps and the number of set nets found had dropped by more than 63 % in just one year. This is due to new personnel in the SBA Police taking the issue of illegal bird killings seriously. In just one year they have managed to radically reduce the trapping levels. We were very impressed with the team’s work.

Source: Cyprus: Massacre on Migration 2018 | Wildlife expert, TV Presenter, Author and Conservationist

When our homes become taken over by rolls of wrapping paper, mince pies and fairy lights it can only mean one thing. Moths may not be the first animal that springs to mind at this time of year but read on for our round up of the most Christmassy species…

Source: Butterfly Conservation – The twelve moths of Christmas

Blushing was once considered a peculiar preserve of the human race. But scientists have discovered that man shares this involuntary reaction with none other than parrots, whose cheeks also redden in social situations.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Who’s a pretty boy then? Parrots blush when engaged in social chatter

As you may have seen in an earlier post, the extreme weather of spring and summer 2018 meant a tough year for farmers and wildlife alike, notably for our birds. Territory holdings and breeding success suffered for many species across the farm and now we can only hope to support as many birds as possible through the winter for a successful season next summer. However, the endless sunshine didn’t bring doom and gloom for everyone. For our pollinators the scorching summer sun brought great joy and a record year for us.

At Hope Farm, it’s not just our birds that we monitor to the national gold label standard. We also monitor our butterflies under the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme. The surveys take place every week from April to September along three transects, and this year’s butterfly index was a record high…

Click here to read the rest of the article.: The Butterflies and the Bees – Hope Farm 2018 – Farming – Farming – The RSPB Community

On the day Scotland’s grouse season ends, a new report has claimed the activity is the least economically effective alternative use of land, with…

Source: Grouse shooting is ‘least effective’ use of Scotland’s land | The National

Male Blackcap by Harry Appleyard, Tattenhoe, 17 April 2016

Click here to download the BTO factsheeton wintering Blackaps.

New research shows that the giant rhino species was a victim of the last Ice Age.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Scientists believe the ‘Siberian unicorn’ lived alongside modern humans – Discover Wildlife

Ringing had already suggested that Whimbrel might fly non-stop from Iceland to western Africa (see “Whimbrels on the move”). By using geolocators, Camilo Carneiro and his colleagues from the Univer…

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Iceland to Africa, non-stop | wadertales

ORCA’s 2018 annual report documenting results of its survey findings and drawing conclusions about whales and dolphins in the wild

Click here for more information.: ORCA – The State of European Cetaceans

Mistletoe is an iconic festive plant, and it is full of surprises!

Click here to read the rest of the article.: 5 fascinating things you (probably) didn’t know about mistletoe – Discover Wildlife