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

Location: Meet in Caldecotte Arms (‘windmill’) car park, off H10 Bletcham Way.
SP 888 354
Postcode: MK7 8HP (Google map)

Milton Keynes’ second-biggest lake can throw up scarce grebes, ducks or divers as well as assorted gulls.
Toilets and food in pub. Paths hard and mostly level, but a complete circuit is 2-3 miles.

Time: 10am to 1pm

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.

In 2003, scientists at London’s Imperial College hatched a somewhat out-there idea. They wanted to deal with the increasingly pesticide-resistant mosquitoes that were killing half a million people a year by spreading malaria in sub-Saharan Africa. What biologists Austin Burt and Andrea Crisanti proposed was nothing short of hacking the laws of heredity.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Here’s the Plan to End Malaria With Crispr-Edited Mosquitoes | WIRED

Key stakeholders have come together to create the first conservation strategy for the Philippine pangolin, Manis culionensis, a species which is threatened with extinction.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Stopping the roll into decline: how conservationists are hoping to save the Philippine pangolin – Discover Wildlife

Scientists using camera traps in Uganda for a mammal biodiversity survey have captured images of lowland bongo.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Thrilling discovery as world’s largest forest antelope discovered in Uganda for the first time – Discover Wildlife

Research from the University of Southampton suggests new kinds of shark could migrate to UK waters as the oceans warm.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: The new sharks coming to UK as temperatures rise – BBC News

Emperor Dragonfly by Peter Hassett, Pitstone Quarry. 28 May 2017

Ditches provide a home to a wide variety of freshwater invertebrates and plants; however the conservation status and the effect of management on this habitat is largely unknown. Buglife’s ‘Grazing Marsh Ditches Project’ has broadened knowledge and understanding of ditches, and provided management advice to land owners.

Source: Ditches | Buglife

In Britain these insects usually have one brood a year, but this year saw a second generation of the leaf-mining larvae’s foliage trails. A result of climate change?

Source: Country diary: trails of the unexpected hawthorn moth larvae | Environment | The Guardian

The government had an official target to bring 50% of England’s best wildlife sites into favourable condition by 2020. But its conservation agency is now working towards a new target – that’s 0.07% higher than it is currently.

Source: Leaked document shows government is planning to miss key wildlife target – Unearthed

Tree Bumblebee by Harry Appleyard, Tattenhoe 24 February 2017

Steven Falk has produced an identification resource for British bees

Welcome to the BRITISH BEES ON FLICKR site. This collection attempts to cover EVERY species of bee on the British and Irish list (including the Channel Islands) acting as a virtual field experience and virtual museum collection. It is designed to complement the Field Guide to the Bees of Great Britain and Ireland. Special thanks are due to the Natural History Museum, London and the Oxford University Museum for allowing me to photograph specimens that were lacking in my own collection and to other photographers for allowing me to host their images.

Click here for more information.

The UK government has thrown its weight behind the creation of the world’s biggest environmental sanctuary, covering a huge swathe of the Antarctic ocean.

The massive 1.8m sq km reserve – five times the size of Germany – would ban all fishing in a vast area of the Weddell Sea and parts of the Antarctic peninsula, safeguarding species including penguins, killer whales, leopard seals and blue whales.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: UK government backs creation of Antarctic wildlife reserve | Environment | The Guardian

The Buckinghamshire Fungus Group are conducting a field trip to Stoke Poges Memorial Gardens 25 October 2018

Click here for more information. See ‘Other local events of interest’ underneath the list of BFG walks

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.

Climate change presents both risks and opportunities for UK wildlife, with often more predicted winners than losers, especially amongst insects. Species most at risk are those adapted to cooler, damper conditions, and they often occur in northern, western and upland habitats in Britain. There is already much evidence of the northwards and upslope range retractions of butterflies and moths here and elsewhere in the world.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Microclimate refugia

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.

Source: Petition · Help save Britain’s hedgehogs with ‘hedgehog highways’! · Change.org

In the final article of the series, Morgan Hughes discusses the importance of submitting records…

Source: Columnist Feature #7 – Just submit – Inside Ecology

The Buckinghamshire Fungus Group are conducting a field trip to Naphill Common 21 October 2018.

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.

Botanical Latin comes from a plethora of other languages with a multitude of pronunciations. So say them how you like, says James Wong

Source: Don’t be scared of using Latin plant names | Life and style | The Guardian

Insects are vanishing even in a pristine tropical forest, and an ecologist calls this “one of the most disturbing articles I have ever read.”

Click here to read the rest of the article.: ‘Hyperalarming’ study shows massive insect loss – The Washington Post

New BTO research uses information collected by bird ringers to investigate large-scale differences and flexibility in the timing of feather moult across 15 passerine species that breed in the UK. Different moult strategies were found between migrant and resident species, alongside within-species regional variation in moulting schedules.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: How flexible can birds be with feather moult? | BTO – British Trust for Ornithology

Click here to view the RSPB guide to garden ponds: Making a pond – give it a go, or share your experiences. – Gardening for wildlife – Homes for Wildlife – The RSPB Community

Streamer moth by Gordon Redford taken at Linford Lakes NR 25Apr15

Scientists have discovered that moths may play a much broader role as plant pollinators than previously suspected.

Click here for more information.: The nocturnal pollinators: scientists reveal the secret life of moths

Otter on bridge ©Martin Kincaid, Linford Lakes NR 29 July 2017

The results of a post mortem conducted on an otter found dead in Irthlingborough a year ago have just been released – and reveal, shockingly, that it was shot several times at close range

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Otter shot in Northamptonshire | Wildlife Trust for Beds, Cambs & Northants

Since September 2003 the author has been making a minimum intervention study of a square metre of land and the immediate surrounding area in his garden in the East Sussex Weald at Sedlescombe near Hastings, UK. By April 2016 over 1000 species of plants and animals (none of which has been deliberately introduced) had been recorded and the area featured on many TV and radio shows including Spring Watch, and The One Show.

Click here for more information: The Square Metre at TQ 78286 18846

Linford Lakes Nature Reserve visitors enjoying an Open Sunday

Open Sunday at Linford Lakes NR 21 October 2018 10:00-16:00hrs.10 – 16:00 hrs

Tea and coffee, home-made cakes available.
Second-hand books on sale as well as crafts and bird seed.
Great views through the new windows and balcony.
It’s the time of year that migrants will be visiting our reserve so come and see which new arrivals have flown in to stock up prior to their long flight. Bring friends and family.

Also, Andy Harding, the County Bird Recorder, will be recording his monthly wildfowl count this morning. He is willing to take a group along to the hides and will help with identifying ducks and other birds. Please meet at 10:00 a.m. at the Centre.

Today we have a second visit this year from local Opticron Rep (Sarah), who will demonstrate some of their products. Bins, scopes and magnifiers will be available to buy. Sarah will also undertake some routine maintenance of Opticron products, so bring your bins along.

Climate Change

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has published its long-awaited special report on 1.5°C of global warming earlier today, at a meeting in South Korea.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Limit rise to 1.5°C: avoid worst climate impacts – Met Office

CABI scientists are stepping up the fight against one of the UK’s most invasive non-native aquatic weeds. Approval has been given for the release of a novel biological control agent – the mite, Acu…

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Tiny mite could prove a ‘mighty’ weapon in the fight against one of the UK’s most invasive weeds – The Invasives Blog

Kevin Rushby joined the crew aboard the Summer Rose fishing boat seeking insight into the state of our seas. He found life hard for fishermen and marine creatures alike – but can conservation measures such as Michael Gove’s ‘blue belt’ help?

Source: Dead kittiwakes, dwindling fish and oceans of plastic: my voyage of discovery | Environment | The Guardian

Red-tailed bumblebees such as this one feed on different wildflower plants, making them less vulnerable to the loss of individual species Picture: John Redhead

Insect pollinators that have survived the impacts of agricultural intensification may have a greater ability to resist future environmental changes than previously thought, a new study has

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Surviving plants and insects are tougher than we think | Centre for Ecology & Hydrology

Small Copper butterfly at Llanymynech Rocks Nature Reserve, Shropshire by Peter Hassett 06Aug15

Source: Petition · Michael Gove: Save Our Butterflies, Bees and Wildflowers By Protecting British Meadows! · Change.org

Fungi are vital to life on Earth but little studied – new species of mould were found on baby-carrier backpack and an oil painting

Click here to read the rest of the article.: New edible mushrooms among thousands of recently discovered fungi | Environment | The Guardian

Barriers could halt slide of undersea glaciers and hold back sea level rises predicted to result from global warming

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Build walls on seafloor to stop glaciers melting, scientists say | Environment | The Guardian

Poster for Mick Jones talk

Dear Friends of Stony Stratford Library,

The next FoSSL talk at the Library will be given at 7 p.m. on Wednesday 24 October by Mick Jones. His subject will be ‘Wildlife West of Milton Keynes: Threats and Opportunities’.

Aylesbury Vale has traditionally been thought of as a wildlife desert, and the countryside to the west of Milton Keynes has relatively few areas designated as important for biodiversity. However, there is still a surprising amount of wildlife interest as well as some local specialities. We need to remind ourselves of this as pressure on the area intensifies with the expansion of Milton Keynes, the East-West Rail and Oxford-Cambridge Expressway projects, and the associated proposals for new settlements. Do we know what we want to conserve and are we being active enough to achieve this?

Mick Jones MBE has been volunteer warden at the Berks, Bucks and Oxon Wildlife Trust nature reserve at Dancers End, Tring for the past 36 years. During that time the reserve has grown from 78 acres to the current 211 acres, making it the oldest and largest of BBOWT’s reserves in Buckinghamshire. Mick’s interests have developed from birds and plants, through fungi and butterflies, to slime moulds, plant galls, moths and beetles. Now living in Mursley, north Bucks, he takes a special interest in the Whaddon Chase Biodiversity Opportunity Area and in conservation issues raised by the re-opening of the east-west rail line and the planned Oxford-Cambridge Expressway.

Tickets for the talk will be available at the Library (tel. 01908-562562) from Wednesday 3 October. There is no charge for tickets, but FoSSL is grateful to accept donations to cover costs and to support activities at the Library.

As always, wine, fruit juice and home-made cake will be served after the talk.

Melting ice sheets cause the seas to rise, but not in the way you might expect

Source: The strange science of melting ice sheets: three things you didn’t know | Environment | The Guardian

Discovering and conserving the lower plants of the Lake District.

Atlantic woodlands are one of the richest and most treasured habitats found within the British Isles. These forested ecosystems are teaming with biodiversity and showcase some of the most exceptional examples of lichens, bryophytes and ferns the UK has to offer.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Plantlife :: Looking Out for the Small Things

Plenty of sunshine is needed to bring out the intense reds and yellows from the leaves, and this year we’re set for a dazzling display

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Long hot summer means we should enjoy spectacular autumn colour | Environment | The Guardian

Some of the finalists in this year’s competition, sponsored by the Born Free Foundation and designed to raise awareness of the natural world

Source: Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards – in pictures | Art and design | The Guardian

Both are as ecologically useful, say scientists, and the same effort must be made to protect them.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Why do we hate wasps and love bees? – BBC News

The disclosure of the cull, conducted under a legal loophole, comes as Japan seeks to further weaken a global ban on commercial hunts

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Japan killed 50 whales in Antarctic protected area, data shows | Environment | The Guardian

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

WILSTONE RESERVOIR, near Tring
Location: Meet in car park under reservoir dam off B489 Marsworth-Aston Clinton, SP
904 135. Space limited, car-share if possible.
(Sorry – No postcode – but the PE Mead Farm Shop just along from the car park has the following postcode : HP23 4NT – just after you pass the Farm Shop on your left you will reach the Wilstone Reservoir car park also on your left)

The biggest and best of four canal reservoirs. Good for wildfowl and
passage waders, though anything can turn up! One hide. No toilets but farm
shop/cafe nearby. Sadly not accessible for wheelchairs or those with limited
mobility.

Walk leader : Mike Bird

Time: 10 am to 1 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.

Old Lady moth (Mormo maura) ©Julie Lane, Loughton Brook 23 August 2017

A new study suggests moths have an important but overlooked ecological role — dispensing pollen over large distances under the cover of darkness.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: The nocturnal pollinators: Scientists reveal the secret life of moths — ScienceDaily

Every October, ORCA invites schools from all around the UK to take part in Whale Education Month!

Click here for more information.: ORCA – Whale Education Month

60% of the bonnethead shark’s diet is made up of seagrass, which they happily graze upon as well as eating fish, crabs, snails and shrimp

Click here to read the rest of the article.: First known omnivorous shark species identified | Environment | The Guardian

Two trains built by the French train maker Alstom are now operating on a 62 mile stretch of line in northern Germany

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Germany launches world’s first hydrogen-powered train | Environment | The Guardian

Snake Head Fritillaries

The BSBI’s Training & Education Committee organises and supports events and resources for teaching botany. We also run the country’s most recognised qualification for botanical surveyors, the FISC.

On this page you can find out about botany courses and training grants available from the BSBI and other sources of grants for botanists.

Glyphosate – the most used pesticide ever – damages the good bacteria in honeybee guts, making them more prone to deadly infections

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Monsanto’s global weedkiller harms honeybees, research finds | Environment | The Guardian

Painted Lady, Tattenhoe Park (9th August)

The Palearctic–African migratory circuit has been typically associated with birds. Very few insects are known to endure annual trans-Saharan circuits, but the Painted Lady butterfly ( Vanessa cardui ) is an exception. While it was demonstrated that this species massively migrates from Europe to the Afrotropics during the autumn, the existence of a reverse migration from the Afrotropics to Europe in the early spring remains hypothetical. Here, we analysed wing stable hydrogen isotope values (δ2H) of V. cardui migrants collected from February to April across the circum-Mediterranean region. We assessed their region of natal origin by comparing their wing isotope signature predicted δ2H values (isoscape). The results unambiguously demonstrate a sub-Saharan origin for many individuals, especially those collected in February, representing the first tangible evidence for a reverse northwards trans-Saharan migration in spring. This work supports the view that the Afrotropics (mostly exploited from September to February) is key in the V. cardui Palearctic–African population dynamics. This species relies on both temperate and tropical habitats to complete their multigenerational cycle, an unprecedented adaptation for butterflies and for most migratory insects. Such a migratory circuit has strong parallelisms with those of migratory birds.

Click here for more information.: Spring V. cardui trans-Saharan migration | Biology Letters

‘Shocking’ study reveals plastic contaminates our skies as well as the oceans, say scientists

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Microplastics can spread via flying insects, research shows | Environment | The Guardian

Tawny Owl ©Julie Lane, Clun 5 May 2018

This survey involves volunteers visiting random preselected tetrads (2x2km squares). In total there will over 6,000 tetrads available at the start of the survey, of which approximately 2650 were surveyed previously in 1989 and/or 2005. We want to survey as many of these as possible and depending on local interest expand this over the course of the survey. Check the tetrads available in your area and sign up to survey one.

Click on the link for more information: Tawny Owl Point Survey | BTO – British Trust for Ornithology

In a new assessment, experts recommend that eight birds should be added to the list of extinct species.

Click here for more information:
The Guardian
Discover Wildlife

Little Owls are really suffering in Bucks and across the country. Last winter saw us installing several new Little Owl boxes in the hope that they would encourage the owls to nest this year. Our aim is to further increase the number of boxes this year, so fingers crossed for 2019.

Click here to read the newsletter

We provide an insight into the impact of illegal bird of prey persecution in the UK – a persistent problem which the RSPB urges the Government to tackle.

Click here for more information.: The Birdcrime report | RSPB | Birds of prey | Persecution

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.

Source: Petition · Help save Britain’s hedgehogs with ‘hedgehog highways’! · Change.org

This data resource provides plot-level plant occurrence data for the first three years (2015-2017) of the National Plant Monitoring Scheme (covering the UK, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man). Data consist of individual observations of plants, and other habitat characteristics, at the metre-scale; observations are accompanied by percentage cover information recorded according to the Domin frequency-abundance scale commonly used in plant community ecology. Other information provided includes the plot type (size, shape, according to the NPMS classification), the volunteer-recorded NPMS habitat, the date of sampling, and information regarding the spatial location of the plot. Information contained within the metadata file should allow users to reconstruct the sampling history (including gaps) of any plot that has been sampled within the NPMS scheme between 2015 and 2017.

Click here for more information.: National Plant Monitoring Scheme survey data (2015-2017) – Environmental Information Data Centre

Fox by Harry Appleyard, Howe Park Wood 11 November 2016

The Forestry Commission licences ‘trail hunts’ (fox, beagle & harrier packs) to use public land with staff convicted under the Hunting Act 2004 & Protection of Badgers Act 1992. These should be scrapped. This shouldn’t apply to licenses agreed with Masters of Bloodhounds & Draghounds Association.

Source: Scrap The Forestry Commission Licence Agreements With Fox & Hare Hunts – Petitions

Today, Berks, Bucks and Oxon Wildlife Trust (BBOWT) and the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire (BCNWT) have initiated a challenge to the process whereby Highways England and the Department for Transport selected ‘Corridor B’ for the Oxford to Cambridge Expressway and associated ‘Growth Corridor’ which could include up to one million new homes.¹

Click here for more information.: BBOWT launches legal challenge against government’s Oxford to Cambridge Expressway proposal | Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wildlife Trust

Researchers in Quebec discovered the narwhal, over 100km outside its typical range, was playing with the whales

Source: ‘One of the boys’: lost narwhal finds new home with band of beluga whales | Environment | The Guardian

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

SUMMER LEYS NATURE RESERVE, Northamptonshire
Location: Meet in car park signed off Wollaston-Gt Doddington road, SP 885 634,
Please note Postcode NN29 7PT is nearest only – using this code in SatNav may not take you exactly to the site.
Postcode: NN29 7PT (Google map)

Wednesday 3 October 2018, 10.00 – 13.00 Leader: Pete How

SUMMER LEYS LOCAL NATURE RESERVE, NORTHANTS
Deservedly one of our favourite sites, and always something of interest.
Great white egrets are regular. Five hides. Paths level but some rough, and a
full circuit is two miles.

Walk leader : Pete How

Time: 10am to 1pm

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.

Not all animals migrate to the same place. Let’s take a closer look at 10 species and their long-distance migration. Read more

Source: Migratory Birds and Animals | Long Distance Migration – The RSPB

The RSPB North Bucks Local Group are hosting a talk:

A YEAR ON AN RSPB RESERVE – Ann Scott
Location: Cruck Barn, City Discovery Centre, Alston Drive, Bradwell Abbey, Milton Keynes
Postcode: MK13 9AP (Google map)

Ever wondered what it might be like to live on an RSPB Reserve?
Ann will make a return visit to our Group to tell us of her experience of living and working close to the RSPB Northward Hill Reserve in Kent. Northward Hill is a working farm (with cows and sheep) on a ridge overlooking the Thames Marshes with its resident marsh harriers. The surrounding scrubland is rich in nightingales and whitethroats and there’s also a bluebell wood a large rookery and a cherry orchard
While it was Ann’s husband who was the warden, Ann was very involved with the reserve and all the joys and surprises that brings … including how birds and nature can get into the home!!

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.

Protesters including Billy Bragg and Chris Packham take to central London to demand pro-wildlife policies

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Thousands march on Whitehall to call for end to ‘war on wildlife’ | Environment | The Guardian

Mark Avery has also written a blog about the next steps.

Numbers of one of the UK’s best known garden butterflies have plummeted this summer despite the record-breaking hot weather, results from the Big Butterfly Count have revealed.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Small Tortoiseshell crashes despite heatwave

Discover, analyze and download data from RSPB Open Data. Download in CSV, KML, Zip, GeoJSON, GeoTIFF or PNG. Find API links for GeoServices, WMS, and WFS. Analyze with charts and thematic maps. Take the next step and create storymaps and webmaps.

Click here for more information.: RSPB Open Data

A source inside the government’s conservation agency told Unearthed: “we just don’t know what the condition of the best habitats in the country is anymore”.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Nearly half of England’s ‘most important wildlife sites’ are not being monitored – Unearthed

On Sunday, October 7th we visit Stoke Common, always an interesting site – very different from our normal calcareous woodland walks boasting a range of species we don’t often see.

For further details go to www.bucksfungusgroup.org.uk/events.html

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.

New Nature Magazine September 2018

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

Do birds migrate from east to west in Europe?

Click here for more information.: The RSPB: Ask an expert: Do birds migrate from east to west in Europe?

In an opinion piece timed to co-incide with the release of the new film ‘Silent Slaughter’, the conservation activist, author and campaigner, Dominic Dyer, calls for a total ban on the shooting of seals off the coast of Scotland, which is happening to protect the farmed fishing industry

Click here for more information.: Time to stop the seal slaughter – Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics UK

Floodplains occupy only 5% of the land area in the UK, yet deliver disproportionately for people in terms of flooding and nutrient retention. The lack of semi natural habitats and poor functionality in floodplains reduces our resilience to floods and drought, reduces the abundance of pollinating insects and natural pest control agents, and reduces the potential for carbon sequestration and water quality improvements.”

Click here for more information.: Natural Capital Synthesis Report Project – Clare Lawson | Valuing Nature Network

Task Day at Linford Lakes NR

FoLLNR logo

10:00- 13:00hrs.

Come and help tidy up and give a bit of a spring clean to the reserve.

Great way to keep fit, work with a friendly group of people.

Refreshments available for helpers.

A visit to Mousells Wood near Frieth on Saturday September 29th and are privileged and delighted that Geoffrey Kibby and Mario Tortelli will be joining us.

For further details go to www.bucksfungusgroup.org.uk/events.html

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.

Fungus by Peter Hassett, Bow Brickhill 1 November 2014

The British Mycological Society’s UK Fungus Day festivities will take place over the weekend of the 6th and 7th of October 2018.

Click here for more information.: UK Fungus Day 6 October 2018

The Buckinghamshire Fungus Group will have a display at Aylesbury Count Museum, more details on their website.

The aviary will protect the flock of ravens at the historic tower, ensuring that the ‘kingdom will never fall’.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Tower of London to build raven breeding aviary – BBC News

September is one of the biggest months of the year for bird migration in the UK. Not only are hundreds of thousands of birds making their way past, over and through the UK, they’re arriving from all corners of the globe. To help you get ready for this magic month, I’ve picked out five star September species to look for, with a few tips on how to find them. Good luck!

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Five star September migrants to search for – Natures Home magazine uncovered – Our work – The RSPB Community

The Sri Lankan Government has announced the immediate protection of Colombo’s wetlands from development.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Sri Lankan wetlands safeguarded – BirdGuides

Modern farming methods have exacted a terrible price on insects and birds, says naturalist and author Michael McCarthy

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Britain has lost half its wildlife. Now’s the time to shout about it | Michael McCarthy | Opinion | The Guardian

From banning weedkiller and excluding dogs from nature reserves, there are cheap and practical ways to transform Britain, says naturalist Chris Packham

Click here to read the rest of the article.: My manifesto could save Britain’s dying wildlife | Chris Packham | Opinion | The Guardian

Initiative lays out practical steps we can all take to help halt destruction of species and habitats in Britain

Source: Chris Packham launches People’s Manifesto for Wildlife | Environment | The Guardian

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

SUMMER LEYS NATURE RESERVE, Northamptonshire
Location: Meet in car park signed off Wollaston-Gt Doddington road, SP 885 634,
Please note Postcode NN29 7PT is nearest only – using this code in SatNav may not take you exactly to the site.
Postcode: NN29 7PT (Google map)

Wednesday 3 October 2018, 10.00 – 13.00 Leader: Pete How

SUMMER LEYS LOCAL NATURE RESERVE, NORTHANTS
Deservedly one of our favourite sites, and always something of interest.
Great white egrets are regular. Five hides. Paths level but some rough, and a
full circuit is two miles.

Walk leader : Pete How

Time: 10am to 1pm

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.

A revolt is brewing over the planned road link between Oxford to Cambridge that will destroy wetlands

Click here to read the rest of the article.: On the ‘Varsity Expressway’ route, fears grow of a tarmac hell | Environment | The Guardian

One of the many ponds ©CC BY-NC-SA by Peter Hassett, Felmersham Gravel Pits 11 August 2018

Twenty environmental NGOs, co-ordinated by Blueprint for Water, and nine water companies are announcing a set of shared principles setting out how they will work together to help leave the environment in a better state.

Click here for more information.: A steady flow of joint work from water companies and eNGOs to boost the environment

Since the 1930s, the vast majority of Britain’s wildflower meadows have been destroyed through ploughing, intensive grazing and development.

Yet these changes to our natural landscape have managed to slip under the radar, to the point where 97% of meadows today have been entirely wiped out.

.

Click here for more information.: Should we be concerned about keeping the ‘wild’ in wildflower? | Press and Journal

One of only three species of this family that are found in the British Isles. The adults are incapable of feeding. The caterpillars live inside the trunks of a variety of broadleaved trees feeding on the wood. They …

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Goat Moth

Juvenile Cuckoo by Harry Appleyard

Many migratory bird species are undergoing population declines as a result of potentially multiple, interacting mechanisms. Understanding the environmental associations of spatial variation in population change can help tease out the likely mechanisms involved

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Breeding ground correlates of the distribution and decline of the Common Cuckoo Cuculus canorus at two spatial scales – Denerley – – Ibis – Wiley Online Library

150 ‘Ratty’ river creatures to be released in Somerset estate where they had become extinct

Click on the links for more info:
The Guardian
Discover Wildlife

Something ‘fundamentally wrong’ in rural landscape, scientists say, with numbers thought to have fallen 80% since 1950s

Source: Most of countryside now devoid of hedgehogs, study finds | Environment | The Guardian

Known as ‘the meadow maker’ or ‘nature’s lawnmower’, yellow rattle is the single most important plant you need to establish when creating a wildflower meadow.

Without it, vigorous grasses grow unchecked and smother the flowers you want to encourage.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: How to grow Yellow Rattle (Rhinanthus minor)

2018 has been an interesting one for Diptera in the Natural History Museum’s Wildlife Garden in South Kensington. The stand out highlight has to be David Notton’s find in May of a specimen of not just a new species, but a new family for Britain!

Click here to read the rest of the article.: London Natural History Society – Delightful Diptera in the Natural History Museum Wildlife Garden

It’s peak season for migrating Ortolan Buntings in northwest Europe and in addition to several sightings and ringed birds, several have been recorded by the UK’s fledgling ‘nocmig network’. As well as the now regular locations of Portland/Weymouth and Poole Harbour area, birds have also been recorded (so far) over London, Surrey and Cambridge. They’re being recorded in several locations that don’t have any history of visual records of Ortolans, prompting lots of head-scratching about the likelihood of detecting such species and questions about identification criteria. The Sound Approach have produced two very detailed blog posts on the identification criteria (here and here), describing the common call types and their potential confusion species. With reference to the commonly used plik call they say:

Source: Ortolan Buntings and Goldfinches – nocmig

Fen Orchid

The Critically Endangered Fen Orchid has flowered for the first time in Suffolk since 1975, while populations in Norfolk and South Wales have gone from strength to strength.

Source: Rare orchid flowers in Suffolk for first time in four decades – BirdGuides

Click on the play button to watch the video

Robin by Peter Hassett, College Lake 29 December 2016

Individuals often differ in competitive ability, which can lead to the formation of a dominance hierarchy that governs differential access to resources. Previous studies of dominance have predominently focussed on within-species interactions, while the drivers of between-species competitive hierarchies are poorly understood. The increasing prevalence of predictable anthropogenic food subsidies, such as that provided by garden bird feeders, is likely to intensify between-species competition. However, the consequences for resource acquisition await detailed study, and in particular, whether competitive interactions are influenced by food quality is not known. Here, we examine competitive interactions amongst ten passerine species of birds utilising supplementary food sources of differing quality. We show that dominance rank is strongly predicted by body mass across species. Socially dominant, heavier species monopolised access to a food that had a relatively short handling time (sunflower hearts), spent longer on supplementary feeders, and pecked at lower rates. In contrast subordinate, lighter species were constrained to feed on a food that had a relatively long handling time (sunflower seeds with the hull intact). Our findings suggest that differences in body mass may result in between-species dominance hierarchies that place the heaviest species in the greatest control of supplementary feeding sites, gaining superior access to higher value foods. This may have important implications for the use of supplementary feeding as a conservation tool.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Effects of supplementary feeding on interspecific dominance hierarchies in garden birds

Please report any sightings of Water Primrose – Ludwigia grandiflora

An invasive non-native plant from South America which has become a serious pest in other countries, including France, where it smothers water bodies reducing the numbers of native species and potentially increasing the risk of flooding.

It has started to be found in some parts of England and Wales.

If you think you’ve seen it, check with our Identification sheet.

Click here for more information.: Species alerts – GB non-native species secretariat

Few conservation issues generate as emotional a response as whaling. Are we now about to see countries killing whales for profit again?

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Japan says it’s time to allow sustainable whaling – BBC News

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

Meet in The Parks Trust car park off Haversham Rd near railway
viaduct: SP 816 42

Visit our top wader site at this passage time! An easy circular walk with three
hides.

Walk Leader – Pete How

Time: 10 am to 12.30pm

Price: Free

See the RSPB North Bucks Local Group website for more information

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See the Wildlife section of our website for more information about the reserve.