Author Archives: admin

Help hazel dormice

There are two issues in dormouse conservation that need addressing – population decline and range decline.

The rate of population decline, stated most recently in People’s Trust for Endangered Species State of Britain’s Dormice 2019 report is that populations of hazel dormice have fallen by half since 2000. The range decline refers to the 17 counties where dormice are now extinct since the end of the 19th century.

Click here for more information.: Help hazel dormice – People’s Trust for Endangered Species

Red Knot pay the price for being fussy eaters!

In a fascinating comparison of weight gained by Red Knot and Ruddy Turnstone during spring migration in Delaware Bay, on America’s east-coast flyway, Anna Tucker and colleagues show that Knot are far more vulnerable to annual variations in their main food supply than more flexible Turnstones, which target the same food if it is available. Given that changing weather patterns, associated with a warming climate, are expected to make resource availability harder to predict, the authors suggest that populations of migrant shorebirds (waders) that rely on a specific resource being available at the right time are likely to be more vulnerable – as has become apparent for Delaware Bay Knot.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Red Knot pay the price for being fussy eaters! | wadertales

Lions face new poaching threat for body parts

Lion populations across Africa have declined by 43% over the past 21 years, due range of factors, including conflict with cattle farmers, loss of prey and habitat, and at times, unsustainable trophy hunting, according to the wild cat conservation charity PantheraThey are now facing a new threat – poaching for body parts.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Lions face new poaching threat for body parts – Discover Wildlife

Wild Bird Populations in the UK, 1970-2018 report has been published

The latest Wild Bird Populations in the UK, 1970-2018 report has been published by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), analysing the populations of British birds. Skylarks and song thrushes show short-term increases, but some birds such as turtle doves are in steep decline.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Skylarks fly high, while turtle doves tumble – Discover Wildlife

White-faced Darter Reintroduction Project, Delamere Forest

White-faced Darter is a specialist of lowland peatbogs, and spends most of its life as aquatic larvae living in deep bog pools. Unfortunately, lowland peatbogs in England have experienced decades of decline as a result of human activity, including drainage to create farmland, as well as the planting of commercial forests. As peatbogs disappeared, so did the White-faced Darter, until only a handful of their original sites remained, and the species became one of the UK’s rarest dragonflies. White-faced Darter were absent from Cheshire for over a decade, until Cheshire Wildlife Trust developed an ambitious project to help bring the species back.

Click here for more information.: White-faced Darter Reintroduction Project, Delamere Forest – British Dragonfly Society

Two white-tailed eagles vanish in suspicious circumstances

RSPB logoOnce persecuted to extinction, white-tailed eagles are making a comeback in Scotland, following several reintroduction projects dating back over 40 years. And recently, some young white-tailed eagles have also been released in the south of England.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Two white-tailed eagles vanish in suspicious circumstances – Investigations – Our work – The RSPB Community

Bee nutrition and parasites

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

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

Bee nutrition and parasites are getting quite some attention these days. Which I’m very happy about, as I prefer to see bee health in a broader context than only the absence of diseases. I discussed this already in some posts like recently the one on honey bee welfare or the One Health Concept and the risks from managed bees for non-managed pollinators. However, I didn’t go in-depth with the role nutrition plays in bee health.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: About bee nutrition and parasites – diversity for healthy bees – BeeSafe

Images offer glimpse into life of endangered Florida panther

The Guardian logo

The Guardian logo

The discovery of a female Florida panther lying with a broken leg on a verge outside the town of Naples, south of Tampa, triggered a widespread rescue dash.

Conservationists, who had previously fitted a tracking collar to the animal, were aware she had recently given birth. The kittens would not survive long on their own, they realised, and so an urgent search for them was launched.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Images offer glimpse into life of endangered Florida panther | Environment | The Guardian

Challenging misinformation about satellite tags

One of the greatest conservation tools to emerge in recent years has been satellite-tagging technology. Whether following the journeys of migrating cuckoos or shedding light on the dangers facing UK birds of prey, these tiny pieces of technology are becoming increasingly valuable in the conservationist’s mission to save nature.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Challenging misinformation about satellite tags – Scottish Nature Notes – Our work – The RSPB Community

‘Winners’ among British moths

Leopard Moth ©Gordon Redford, Barn Field, near Olney 6 July 2019

An appreciation of how some species are becoming more common despite unprecedented anthropogenic pressures could offer key insights for mitigating the global biodiversity crisis.  Research to date has largely focused on declining species, while species that are becoming more common have received relatively little attention. Macro-moths in Great Britain are well-studied and species-rich, making them an ideal group for addressing this knowledge gap. Here, we examine changes in 51 successful species between 1968 and 2016 using 4.5 million occurrence records and a systematic monitoring dataset. We employ 3D graphical analysis to visualise long-term multidimensional trends in prevalence (abundance and range) and use vector autoregression models to test whether past values of local abundance are useful for predicting changes in the extent of occurrence. The responses of Anthropocene winners are heterogeneous, suggesting multiple drivers are responsible. Changes in range and local abundance frequently occur intermittently through time, demonstrating the value of long-term, continuous monitoring. There is significant diversity among the winners themselves, which include widespread generalists, habitat specialists, and recent colonists. We offer brief discussion of possible causal factors and the wider ecosystem implications of these trends.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Bucking the trend: the diversity of Anthropocene ‘winners’ among British moths

Volunteer recorders play vital role in monitoring the state of nature

A partnership of 70 wildlife organisations, research institutes and government agencies has produced the third State of Nature report, the clearest picture to date of the status of UK plant and animal species. The 2019 report, which follows similar assessments in 2013 and 2016, has revealed average declines in distribution and abundance of five per cent and 13 per cent, respectively, since 1970. Dr Jack Hatfield of the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, one of the co-authors of State of Nature 2019, says volunteer recorders are essential to this comprehensive analysis of the health of our natural world…

Source: Volunteer recorders play vital role in monitoring the state of nature | Centre for Ecology & Hydrology

Male Stonechat ©Harry Appleyard, Otmoor 19 October 2019

Trip Report – Otmoor 19 October 2019 

Nine members of the Society met at Otmoor on a pleasant autumn afternoon which turned out to be a lot warmer than the last Society visit! We were even treated to some late afternoon sunshine which showed off the colours of the Teal and Shoveler that had come out of eclipse, along with at least a dozen snipe snoozing on an island in front of the first screen.

Four Stonechats posed nicely on reeds by the track to the second screen, along with a Reed Bunting. Brown Hares were clearly enjoying the sunshine too. Overhead, flocks of Lapwing and Wigeon sparkled, while Marsh Harriers, Red Kites and Kestrels were seen over the meadows of Greenaways and the reed beds.

Despite reports of sightings of Bearded Tit the previous day, we didn’t manage to see any and had to be satisfied with Marsh Tit. Migrant Hawkers “buzzed” us on the tracks and Cetti’s Warbler provide a soundtrack. Other sightings included Stock Dove and Whinchat along with a strange goose that turned out to be a mix of Canada and Greylag.

Text by Linda Murphy
Photos by Harry Appleyard

 

Gardenwatch 2019 results – first findings 

Understanding our garden wildlife is becoming increasingly important. Gardenwatch, the UK’s biggest-ever garden audit, was launched on BBC Springwatch in May 2019, and asked people for information on garden features and wildlife across the country. The responses have given us fascinating new information on how people help wildlife in their gardens, and where there is still more that can be done. For example, relatively few people reported leaving leaf litter piles, long grass or rock piles in their gardens, and only a small proportion of people provided homes for wildlife such as bat boxes or Hedgehog houses. The maps show interesting variation across the UK, including the fact that climbers, including autumn-flowering Ivy, are less common in gardens in northern areas.

Click here for more information.: Gardenwatch results – first findings | BTO – British Trust for Ornithology

Travel advice for Sanderling?

Have you ever seen a colour-ringed Sanderling and perhaps wondered why it spends the non-breeding* season on a British or Irish beach rather than on one in Portugal, Ghana or even further south? Why fly from Greenland to Namibia, a distance of over 20,000 km, when spending the winter months in the UK or Ireland requires a flight of as little as 3,700 km? Perhaps the chance of survival is greater in other countries or perhaps birds that travel further have a larger lifetime breeding output? A paper by Jeroen Reneerkens and colleagues provides some of the answers.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Travel advice for Sanderling? | wadertales

Moths and climate change

Moths and other wildlife are being affected by climate change. Species have always evolved to adapt to changing conditions and will continue to do so. The problem with man-made climate change is that it is happening so quickly that our wildlife may not be able to evolve and adapt fast enough.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Moths and climate change

The best wildflowers for wild bees

Meadow flowers by Peter Hassett, Sharpenhoe Clappers 4 August 2019

Meadow flowers by Peter Hassett, Sharpenhoe Clappers 4 August 2019

Governmental agri-environment schemes (AES) aim to improve pollinator abundance and diversity on farmland by sowing wildflower seed mixes. These often contain high proportions of Fabaceae, particularly Trifolium (clovers), which are attractive to some bumblebee species, but not to most of the ~ 240 solitary bee species in the UK. Here we identify wildflowers that are attractive to a greater range of wild bee species.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: The best wildflowers for wild bees | SpringerLink

Find out about Bird Calls in the UK

Redwing ©Peter Hassett, Shenley Church End 18 December 2017

Redwing ©Peter Hassett, Shenley Church End 18 December 2017

Bird songs are common sounds to us all, but why do birds sing? Imagine you’re a male willow warbler, and you’ve just flown 2,400 miles (4000 km) from Africa. It’s spring, and you need to find a mate quickly. However, your home is a woodland and you’re the colour of leaves. What better way of advertising to a passing female that you are here and would make a fine father for her chicks than by having a clear, loud and recognisable song?

Click here for more information.: Bird Songs | Find out about Bird Calls in the UK – The RSPB

3rd brood meddled hen harrier ‘disappears’ in suspicious circumstances

Following the news that two of this year’s five brood meddled hen harriers had ‘vanished’ on grouse moors in the north of England in September 2019 (one in County Durham here and one in the Yorkshire Dales National Park here), we now learn that a third harrier has disappeared, also in the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: 3rd brood meddled hen harrier ‘disappears’ in suspicious circumstances | Raptor Persecution UK

Birdcrime 2018

Birds of prey should be free to soar, enriching our lives as well as our ecosystems. But sadly, despite being protected by law, many of these birds are being illegally killed, particularly in upland areas of the UK as a result of the conflict with driven grouse shooting.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Birdcrime 2018 | The RSPB

Soaking up the garden sounds of autumn 

Although I’m mad-keen about wildlife-friendly gardening, I also have an unbridled passion for birdsong, which at last found its chance to shine when a compilation-track of my recordings got to number 18 in the pop charts this year in what we called Let Nature Sing. (Two hundred thousand You Tube views and counting, I’ll have you know!)

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Soaking up the garden sounds of autumn – Gardening for wildlife – Homes for Wildlife – The RSPB Community

Best practice guidelines to feeding garden birds

The modern approach to garden bird feeding is to use a range of foods that support the specific nutritional requirements of a wide range of species over the course of a year. There is a scientific evidence highlighting the positive effects that the provision of supplementary food can have on birds. For example, the provision of supplementary food has been shown to improve overwinter survival in a number of species.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Feeding garden birds | BTO – British Trust for Ornithology

New Nature Magazine September / October 2019 published

New Nature magazine Issue 27

New Nature magazine Issue 27

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

Unlocking the science to reveal the state of nature

State of Nature 2019 is published this week, updating everything we know about the state of populations – in terms of numbers or distribution – of more than 7,000 species of animal, plant and fungus within the UK. Inevitably, many of the headlines will be dire, highlighting the stark reality that 41% of the species whose numbers we can estimate are declining moderately or strongly.

Source: Unlocking the science to reveal the state of nature | BTO – British Trust for Ornithology

BTO Bird Migration Blog

It has to be said, for many of our common and scarce migrants September was a disappointing month with many species such as Redstart, Spotted Flycatcher, Whinchat, Wryneck and Red-backed Shrike being reported well below their historical reporting rates.

Click here for more information.

UK’s rarest amphibian given a head start

The UK’s rarest amphibian is taking a huge leap forward thanks to scientists behind a pioneering breeding programme.

The pool frog (Pelophylax lessonae) became extinct in the UK in the 1990s but it was reintroduced to a site in Norfolk between 2005 and 2008 by Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (ARC).

Now the wildlife charity has carried out a ground-breaking scheme to increase the animal’s population.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: UK’s rarest amphibian given a head start | The Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust

Bird populations in US and Canada down 3bn in 50 years

Bird populations in Asia and the US are “in crisis”, according to two major studies.

The first concludes there are three billion fewer birds in the US and Canada today compared to 1970 – a loss of 29% of North America’s birds.

The second outlines a tipping point in “the Asian songbird crisis”: on the island of Java, Indonesia, more birds may now live in cages than in the wild.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: Bird populations in US and Canada down 3bn in 50 years – BBC News

New research shows that at least £3 billion is needed for nature-friendly farming

Wildlife Trust Logo

Wildlife Trust Logo

The Wildlife Trusts, RSPB and National Trust have today called on the UK government to support our farmers and land managers to help restore nature and tackle climate change on their land.

Click here to read the rest of the article.: New research shows that at least £3 billion is needed for nature-friendly farming | The Wildlife Trusts

UK roadsides on verge of becoming wildlife corridors

Britain could enjoy 400bn more flowers if road verges were cut later and less often according to guidelines drawn up by wildlife charities, highways authorities and contractors.

The national guidance for managing roadside verges for wildflowers calls for just two cuts a year – instead of four or more – and only after flowers have set seed, to restore floral diversity and save councils money. It would also provide grassland habitat the size of London, Birmingham, Manchester, Cardiff and Edinburgh combined.

The recommendations have been produced by the wildlife charity Plantlife,

Click here for more information.
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