One of the UK’s rarest bumblebees is being given a boost – by putting the flowers it feeds on in cages.
Conservationists and volunteers have planted 1,000 bilberry plants inside specially-designed metal cages that will protect them from grazing so they can provide food for the bilberry bumblebee in its Peak District stronghold.
Click here to read the rest of the article.: Rare bumblebee to get boost from bilberries in cages – ITV News
The RSPB North Bucks Local Group are leading a field trip to:
Location: Paxton Pits, Little Paxton, TL 195 629
Postcode: PE19 6ET (Google map)Our visit to this vast and still expanding gravel pit complex is timed for nightingales. Paxton Pits is one of thr best remaining sites for this declining species, and they can be amazingly bold, even in daylight. Paths level but variable quality. Toilets after 10.00 when visitor centre opens.
Meet in the car park. off High St, Lt Paxton for an 8.30am start
Walk Leader – Pete HowTime: 8.30am to 12 noon
Price: Free event
See the RSPB North Bucks Local Group website for more information
Work has started to remove some of the netting put up over cliffs at Bacton in North Norfolk. The nets were put up ahead of a multi-million pound scheme to stop coastal erosion.
Environmentalists claimed it was putting migrating sandmartins at risk. Today they welcomed the removal of some of the netting but said it could have come too late for the birds.
Source: Specialist abseilers remove parts of controversial cliff netting at Bacton | Anglia – ITV News
The number of heatwaves affecting the planet’s oceans has increased sharply, scientists have revealed, killing swathes of sea-life like “wildfires that take out huge areas of forest”.
Click here to read the rest of the article.: Heatwaves sweeping oceans ‘like wildfires’, scientists reveal | Environment | The Guardian
A grassroots uprising is forcing builders and councils to remove netting over trees and hedgerows installed to prevent birds nesting and hindering their developments.
Click here to read the rest of the article.: Property developers row back on netting used to stop birds nesting | Environment | The Guardian
The Orange Underwing flies around the leafless canopy of mature birch trees on sunny, still days in early spring. The moths rarely descend low enough for close inspection and are best observed through binoculars. They appear orange in flight, although as the name suggests this colour is largely restricted to the hindwings. The forewings are blackish-brown with white markings.
Click here for more information.: Orange Underwing
Sand martins could get stuck and die as a result of netting put on cliffs by a council, the RSPB has warned.
Click here to read the rest of the article.: RSPB warns Bacton cliffs netting ‘could kill’ birds – BBC News
Conservation groups say Trump administration plan that would scale the wolves’ protected area and allow people to shoot the species on private land will snuff out the species
Click here to read the rest of the article.: Red wolf: the struggle to save one of the rarest animals on Earth | Environment | The Guardian
From eel and sturgeon to pangolin and turtle, hundreds of species are threatened by human hunger or greed. Here are some of the most at risk
Click here to read the rest of the article.: Deadly appetite: 10 animals we are eating into extinction | Food | The Guardian
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. Common Cuckoo Cuculus canorus populations have declined by 69% in England but increased by 33% in Scotland. The declines have mainly occurred in lowland agricultural landscapes, but their mechanisms are unknown…
Click here for more information.: Breeding ground correlates of the distribution and decline of the Common Cuckoo Cuculus canorus at two spatial scales – Denerley – 2019 – Ibis – Wiley Online Library
The male of this common species has a brownish forewing that is quite variable but can be distinguished by a row of black dots along the edge of both fore- and hindwing. The similar looking Mottled Umber lacks these markings and are less conspicuous in the Scarce Umber.
Click here for more information.: Dotted Border
Tree Bumblebee by Harry Appleyard, Tattenhoe 24 February 2017
Welcome to Bucks Buzzing, and your chance to help the insect pollinators that help all of us.
Pollinators come in a range of shapes and sizes from bumblebees to butterflies, moths, hoverflies, and of course, honey bees.
We depend on pollinators for much of our food including apples, pears, strawberries, plums, peas, beans, and for other important plants like wildflowers.
But our pollinators are falling in numbers and are in severe decline across Buckinghamshire and nationally.
You can help!
Click here for more information.
The Danish billionaires who are now Scotland’s largest private landowners are trying to restore the Highlands for generations to come, one of their closest advisers has said.
Tim Kirkwood said that Anders and Anne Holch Povlsen, who own more than 80,000 hectares (200,000 acres) across Sutherland and the Grampian mountains wanted to become pioneers of rewilding by reversing years of mismanagement by previous lairds.
Click here to read the rest of the article.: Danish billionaires plan to rewild large swath of Scottish Highlands | UK news | The Guardian
Some say the common frog, our most familiar amphibian, is no longer quite so common.
While the common frog (or Rana temporaria to use its formal scientific name) is distributed throughout the UK and Ireland and can be found almost anywhere with suitable breeding ponds nearby, its habitat is shrinking and facing pressures such as development, lack of habitat management and disease.
Click here to read the rest of the article.: Hop to it: caring for the common frog | The Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust
2016 Photo Competition 2nd Golden-ringed Dragonfly by Julie Lane
A new study by Tim Termatt et al examines shifts in dragonfly species distribution across Europe in response to a warming climate. Data from a total of 10 European regions and 99 species were studied and compared to changes in climate over recent decades.
Click here to read the rest of the article.: Distribution trends of European dragonflies under climate change | british-dragonflies.org.uk
UK butterflies bounced back in 2018 following a string of poor years, thanks in part to last year’s heatwave summer, a study has revealed.
Click here for more information.
Butterfly Conservation
The Guardian
The Independent
Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
A young whale that washed up in the Philippines died from “gastric shock” after ingesting 40kg of plastic bags.
Marine biologists and volunteers from the D’Bone Collector Museum in Davao City, in the Philippine island of Mindanao, were shocked to discover the brutal cause of death for the young Cuvier’s beaked whale, which washed ashore on Saturday.
New research suggests that the decline of at least 501 amphibian species over the last 50 years is due to chytrid fungus.
Click here to read the rest of the article.: Chytrid fungus threatens even more amphibians than previously realised – Discover Wildlife
Emitting ultrasound upon hearing an attacking bat is an effective defence strategy used by several moth taxa. Here we reveal how Yponomeuta moths acquire sophisticated acoustic protection despite being deaf themselves and hence unable to respond to bat attacks. Instead, flying Yponomeuta produce bursts of ultrasonic clicks perpetually; a striated patch in their hind wing clicks as the beating wing rotates and bends. This wing structure is strikingly similar to the thorax tymbals with which arctiine moths produce their anti-bat sounds. And indeed, Yponomeuta sounds closely mimic such arctiine signals, revealing convergence in form and function. Because both moth taxa contain noxious compounds, we conclude they are mutual Müllerian acoustic mimics. Yponomeuta’s perpetual clicking would however also attract bat predators. In response, their click amplitude is reduced and affords acoustic protection just as far as required, matching the distance over which bat biosonar would pick up Yponomeuta echoes anyway – advanced acoustic defences for a deaf moth.
The RHS Cellar Slug Hunt is being used to help the charity locate a beneficial garden slug that could be on the verge of extinction in the UK.
The yellow cellar slug has been in the UK for more that 130 years and feeds on decaying plants without harming live plant material.
Click here to read the rest of the article.: Gardeners asked to help on springtime slug hunt – Discover Wildlife
Click on the play button for more information
Spring is the perfect time of year to start paying more attention to our magnificent moths. There are far more spring moths around than butterflies, so there is plenty of interest, but the variety and numbers have not yet built up to the sometimes dizzying diversity of summertime moth watching.
Click here to read the rest of the article.: Moths to see in spring
Taking part in the National Moth Recording Scheme is simple and everyone is welcome. Any larger (macro-) moth that you see, whether you are moth trapping on a Scottish mountain or relaxing in your garden, can be recorded and submitted to form part of this important scheme.
Click here for more information.
The Trump administration is eroding protections for America’s endangered species. Here are five species under threat in the age of Trump.
A new study suggests that removing invasive species, such as mice, goats, cats, dogs and pigs, from islands around the world would benefit over nine per cent of the most endangered species.
The introduction of invasive species, usually by humans, has been responsible for hundreds of extinctions, with the majority of these being on islands.
Click here to read the rest of the article.: Save endangered species by culling invasive animals – Discover Wildlife
Tree and female House sparrows ©Janice Robertson, RSPB Ouse Washes 12 January 2019
When studying dominance between different species at bird feeders, House Sparrows were found to be the most dominant species among the smaller birds.
Click here to download the BTO Bird Table article on this research.
How did you Big Garden Birdwatch? Thanks to the 472,758 of you who took part, we’ve got a good idea on how wildlife in our gardens is faring.
Click here to read the rest of the article.: Big Garden Birdwatch Results 2019 – The RSPB
Aerial view of Linford Lakes Study Centre
Calling all Quizzers!
WaderQuest is a locally based charity which raises funds for the conservation of wading birds world wide. It is run by Rick and Elis Simpson, who will be known to Society members for the very enjoyable talks that Rick has given us in recent years (and indeed, another one in the pipeline for 2020!)
The Parks Trust is hosting a special fund-raising quiz night for WaderQuest at Linford Lakes Study Centre on the evening of Monday 29thApril (7.30 to 10pm). Tickets are priced at £5 and snacks and soft drinks will be served (and quizzers can bring their own wine or beer if they chose). All profits from the night will go to wader conservation.
If you are interested in coming along, please contact Martin Kincaid and order your tickets; mkincaid1971@outlook.com
Click here if you would like to take part in the
National Plant Monitoring Scheme.
In their paper in Wader Study, the journal of the International Wader Study Group, Barry O’Donoghue and his colleagues reveal the results of the 2015-17 survey of breeding Curlew in the Republic of Ireland. The emerald isle used to be a haven for Curlew but there are now dire warnings that the species could be lost as a breeding species. Various estimates suggest that there were between 3,300 and 12,000 pairs in the 1980s but the current number may be as low as 138 pairs. That’s a fall of 96% in about thirty years.
Click here to read the rest of the article.: Ireland’s Curlew Crisis | wadertales
Bedfordshire Cambridgeshire Northamptonshire Wildlife Trust Logo
Click here to see forthcoming events for the North Chilterns Chalk section of the Wildlife Trust BCN.
Natural England has issued a licence to allow the release of white-tailed eagles on the Isle of Wight.
The release is part of a project, led by the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation and Forestry England, to establish a breeding population of white-tailed eagles in southern England.
Click here for more information:
BBC
Discover Wildlife
Natural England press release
Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation
Linford Lakes Nature Reserve visitors enjoying an Open Sunday
Open Sunday (Easter activities) at Linford Lakes NR 10:00 – 16:00hrs
Tea and coffee, home-made cakes available.
Second-hand books on sale as well as crafts and many other items.
The weather is getting warmer and our spring migrant birds are arriving.
Bring friends and family to enjoy the reserve.
Take part in our Easter Duck Hunt (prizes for children).
Organised walks at 11.00 hrs from the Centre around the reserve.
More than 1,200 species globally face threats to their survival in more than 90% of their habitat and “will almost certainly face extinction” without conservation intervention, according to new research.
Click here to read the rest of the article.: ‘Almost certain extinction’: 1,200 species under severe threat across world | Environment | The Guardian
Insect populations are crashing around the world. Prof Dave Goulson summarises what the science is telling us, and what we can do about it.
Click here to read the rest of the article.: Fantastic mini-beasts (and how to revive them) – Rewilding Britain
Islay, Oronsay and Colonsay are the southernmost islands of the archipelago known as the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. They provide habitat for many permanent and migratory species of birds and are the sites of the only remaining breeding colonies of red-billed chough (chough, Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax) in Scotland. The islands are characterised by very heterogeneous geology, soil, habitat and land-use patterns. Much of the land is grazed by sheep and cattle in low-intensity, ‘high nature value’ farming systems1. This system of grazing, which fosters a combination of short grassland vegetation and a rich soil, dung and epigeic invertebrate fauna, is ideal for chough. However, in recent years the population of chough on Islay, Oronsay and Colonsay has been in severe decline, considered likely to be due to declining feed resources
Click here to read the rest of the article.: Adverse effects of routine bovine health treatments containing triclabendazole and synthetic pyrethroids on the abundance of dipteran larvae in bovine faeces | Scientific Reports
A new study contradicts fears that using solar geoengineering to fight climate change could dangerously alter rainfall and storm patterns in some parts of the world.
They are often said to have a three-second memory, but the brain power of fish has been considerably underestimated, according to scientists who found some fish can recognise themselves in the mirror.
Click here to read the rest of the article.: Scientists find some fish can ‘recognise themselves’ in mirror | Environment | The Guardian
In order to avoid males of the species bothering them for sex, female dragonflies fake their own deaths, falling from the sky and lying motionless on the ground until the suitor goes away.
Click here to read the rest of the article.: Female Dragonflies Fake Death to Avoid Males Harassing Them for Sex
One of the best ways to encourage wildflowers in your garden is to forget the lawnmower and just let your grass grow.
Leave a patch of lawn to its own devices during spring and summer, and the chances are that at least some wildflowers will appear in your new mini-meadow.
What comes up in your no-mow mini-meadow depends very much on what you start with.
If, like me, your lawn is old, rather weedy, and probably hasn’t encountered weedkillers or fertilisers for years, a bit more conscious neglect could transform it into a thriving mini-meadow.
Click here to read the rest of the article.
A living member of species of tortoise not seen in more than 110 years and feared to be extinct has been found in a remote part of the Galápagos island of Fernandina.
Click here to read the rest of the article.: Giant tortoise believed extinct for 100 years found in Galápagos | Environment | The Guardian
As long as an adult thumb, with jaws like a stag beetle and four times larger than a honeybee, Wallace’s giant bee is not exactly inconspicuous.
But after going missing, feared extinct, for 38 years, the world’s largest bee has been rediscovered alive on the Indonesian islands of the North Moluccas.
Click here to read the rest of the article.: World’s largest bee, missing for 38 years, found alive in Indonesia | Environment | The Guardian
BBOWT Logo
Click here to read the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trusts Nature Notes for April 2019
Bluebells by Alan Piggott taken in Kings Wood across the road from Stockgrove Park car park.
Plantlife produce a number of interesting guides to wildflowers.
The animals that I love – the animals that stop me dead in my tracks to watch, the animals that make me grin at their crazy life histories – and the animals that most folks would kill without a second thought, are the flies. For most people, flies conjure up revulsion: images of pestilence, rotting bodies or spoilt food; bloodsucking mosquitoes invading our bedrooms … most would say nothing good can come of these creatures.
Click here to read the article.: Guest blog – Why Flies? by Erica McCalister – Mark AveryMark Avery
The European parliament has voted to ban single-use plastic cutlery, cotton buds, straws and stirrers as part of a sweeping law against plastic waste that despoils beaches and pollutes oceans.
The vote by MEPs paves the way for a ban on single-use plastics to come into force by 2021 in all EU member states. The UK would have to follow the rules if it took part in and extended the Brexit transition period because of delays in finding a new arrangement with the EU.
Click here to read the rest of the article.: The last straw: European parliament votes to ban single-use plastics | Environment | The Guardian
Relatively few illustrators achieve the high standards that naturalists crave when trying to identify a plant. Many of us sketch in our own field journals but we all depend upon greater artists to help us learn.
To portray wildlife for illustrative keys requires an elusive crossover of art and science: painstakingly accurate artistic skill in drawing, shading and rendering, partnered with a rigorous understanding of which distinguishing features of a species should be magnified.
When shining a spotlight on finer details, illustration frequently trumps photography…
Click here to read the rest of the article.: The best botanical illustration books – Discover Wildlife
Red-Tailed Bumblebee by Harry Appleyard, Tattenhoe 11 April 2016
We’d like to invite you to take part in this survey about pollinators. The survey will ask you about your personal views, knowledge and actions relating to pollinators, nature and the environment, and will contribute to research at the University of Exeter. We would really value your participation, whether or not you have an interest in pollinators or the environment.
Click here for more information.: People & Pollinators
A wildlife charity is calling for volunteers to take part in its annual Living with Mammals survey.
Click here to read the rest of the article.: Look out for Britain’s ‘Big Five’ this spring – Discover Wildlife
The wing shape, markings and pink and green colour are unlike those of any other Hawk-moth found in the UK. Adults can be seen between May and early July.
Click here for more information.: Lime Hawk-moth
Will you be at our UK Butterfly Recorders’ Meeting on Saturday 30th March 2019?
If not, follow the link below to watch our live stream and take part using the hashtag #UKBRM
It’s not too late to bring our wildlife back
Sadly, since we first met Badger, Ratty and friends in 1908, the UK has become one of the most nature-depleted nations in the world. The Wildlife Trusts have re-imagined Wind in the Willows in 2019, shedding light on some of the problems our wildlife faces every day. We’ve reached a point where our natural world is in critical condition and needs our help to put it into recovery.
It’s not too late to bring our wildlife back, but we must act now. Join the campaign and receive simple actions you can take for nature’s recovery.
Click here for more information.: Campaign for a #WilderFuture with us | Wildlife Trust for Beds, Cambs & Northants
Human activity is having a devastating impact on our planet. But while most people understand how pollution, resource depletion and loss of biodiversity are pushing the natural resources to the brink, the reality can seem distant and difficult to quantify. Many of us find it hard to grasp the real pace of decline happening in the natural world. Sir David Attenborough has witnessed it first hand, and calls humans a plague on earth — encapsulating in just a few words the widespread destruction we are responsible for.
Click here to read the rest of the article.: We’ve lost 60% of wildlife in less than 50 years | World Economic Forum
New research shows that a third of British insect pollinator species have declined in the last 30 years.
Click here to read the rest of the article.: Widespread losses of pollinating insects across Britain – Discover Wildlife
New Nature March/April 2019
New Nature is the only natural history magazine written, edited and produced entirely by young people: by young ecologists, conservationists, communicators, nature writers and wildlife photographers each boasting an undying passion for the natural world. It is intended, foremost, as a celebration of nature, but also of the young people giving their time, freely, to protect it.
Kidney-spot Ladybird by Martin Kincaid, Buckingham Garden Centre, 23 September 2017
The UK Ladybird Survey aims to encourage the recording of all species of ladybird found within the UK.
Ladybirds belong to the scientific family Coccinellidae. In Britain, some 46 species belong to this family, although only 26 of these are recognisable as ladybirds.
On this website you will find lots of information to help you find and identify species, and online forms so that you can record your observations.
Click here for more information.
Click here to view the Bedfordshire Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire Wildlife Trust newsletter.
FIT Count: A simple systematic survey to engage a wider range of volunteers, collecting data on abundance and flower visitation of pollinators to target flower species from a specified list. During 2017 we developed the “Flower-Insect Timed Count” activity with project partners across a variety of urban and rural locations, and we are expanding this for wider involvement in 2018.
Click here for more information.: Establishing a UK Pollinator Monitoring and Research Partnership | Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
The RSPB North Bucks Local Group are hosting a talk:
Location: The Cruck Barn, City Discovery Centre, Alston Drive, Bradwell Abbey, Milton Keynes
Postcode: MK13 9AP (Google map)With its great diversity of habitats, from chalk downland to lowland heath, ancient woodland and of course the sea, the county of Dorset is among the most beautiful and wild in England. Local naturalist Martin Kincaid has been visiting it for many years and will tell us what makes it so special in his eyes
Time: Doors open 7.15pm for a prompt 7.45pm start, ends at 10pm
Price: Group members £3, Non-group members £4, Children £1
See the RSPB North Bucks Local Group website for more information
The tiny Fonseca’s seed fly is one of the UK’s rarest endemic invertebrates, and is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List.
Click here to read the rest of the article.: Fly of the month – Fonseca’s seed fly – Discover Wildlife
Winner. Hoverflies by Mark Strutton. 3 July 2016
A widespread loss of pollinating insects in recent decades has been revealed by the first national survey in Britain, which scientists say “highlights a fundamental deterioration” in nature.
Click here to read the rest of the article.: Widespread losses of pollinating insects revealed across Britain | Environment | The Guardian
Green Woodpecker CC BY-NC-SA Peter Hassett, Shenley Church End, 21 October 2018
The purpose of the woodpecker-network website is to encourage and facilitate the study of woodpeckers in Britain and Ireland and to provide a forum to share techniques, results and good practice.
Click here for more information.
Tinea semifulvella: a common inhabitant of bird nests which seems to prefer nests made in vegetation to those that are in nest boxes.
A caterpillar munching on a leaf is probably what comes to mind when most people picture the early life stages of butterflies and moths. But if Eric Carle’s classic is to be believed, caterpillars have a much more varied palette. It is certainly true that many species shun the conventional diet of leafy greens, even if lepidopterans that enjoy a diet of chocolate cake and Swiss cheese are confined to children’s storybooks….
Click here to read the rest of the article.
Over the next 12 years North Bucks is set to undergo changes that will completely change the landscape of the region, but a huge question mark remains over whether the people affected have had their voices heard or represented.
Click here to read the rest of the article.: The four major developments that will alter the Aylesbury Vale landscape over the next decade – Buckingham Advertiser
FoLLNR logo
Work Sunday at Linford Lakes NR
10:00- 13:00hrs
ome and help look after the reserve. We always have a variety of jobs, for people of all levels of ability and fitness.
Refreshments available for helpers.
High Brown Fritillary ©Peter Hassett, Silverdale 19 July 2009
We describe how a landscape-scale approach has been adopted to conserve the UK’s most threatened butterfly Argynnis adippe. Only 37 populations now remain, with 38 extinctions occurring since 1994 (51% loss). The butterfly has disappeared from most of England and Wales and is now confined to just four landscapes. Since 2005 management in these landscapes has been targeted at improving habitat quality within and connectivity between both occupied and unoccupied sites in the same networks. Conservation advice has been provided on 80% of occupied/former sites and over 270ha management implemented across 53% of occupied/former sites…
Click here to read the rest of the article.: Are habitat changes driving the decline of the UK’s most threatened butterfly: the High Brown Fritillary Argynnis adippe (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae)?
Scientists studying fossilised bones from the Cayman Islands in collections in British and American museums have described three mammals new to science.
Click here to read the rest of the article.: Fossilised bones digested by crocodiles reveal three new mammals from the Cayman Islands – Discover Wildlife
Swallow ©Peter Hassett, College Lake 4 April 2018
Tesco caused an outcry when it tried to prevent the birds making a trolley park messy at a store in Norwich
Click here to read the rest of the article.: Are nets to stop swallows nesting any way to treat the natural world? | Kate Blincoe | Opinion | The Guardian
Ponds are taken for granted. Perhaps it’s because most of us have seen them – and on occasion, fallen into them – and think they’re only good for goldfish. Ponds may be the number one habitat for children’s “minibeast” hunts, but we are supposed to grow out of them in adulthood.
But all-too often, ponds are missed out of conservation strategies which are instead fixated on larger lakes and rivers. This is a serious omission – ponds are the most common and widespread habitat for all plants and animals across the continents and islands of Earth, from Antarctica to the tropics. Perched on the surface of Alpine glaciers or waiting out desert droughts to refill with the rains, deep in equatorial forest or amid the city sprawl. They could well be found on Mars.
Click here to read the rest of the article.: Ponds can absorb more carbon than woodland – here’s how they can fight climate change in your garden
Woodruff is now seen less commonly than invasive Himalayan balsam (Beth Newman/Plantlife/PA)
Invasive garden escapee Himalayan balsam is now more common in woodlands than native flowers such as bugle and wild garlic, research suggests.
Click here to read more:
Daily Mail Online
Plantlife
Great Crested Newt by Paul Lund. Wicken Wood 5 July 2016
Habitat loss and fragmentation due to urbanisation and road developments have considerable negative impacts on amphibian populations. However, little research has examined the effectiveness of amphibian mitigation road tunnels. In this unique study we used specially adapted time-lapse recording cameras and a custom image analysis script to monitor the amphibian usage and effectiveness of tunnels at a site in northern England over 4 years.
Click here to read the rest of the article.
In case you missed the news in the latest journal of the British Tarantula Society, a rather lovely new spider with iridescent, electric-blue legs has been discovered. The burrow-dwelling spider [Birupes simoroxigorum] has reportedly been “feted by experts as one of the most beautiful spiders ever documented”, prompting the question: what are the other most beautiful spiders ever documented?
Click here to read the rest of the article.: The ultimate lovely legs competition: the world’s nine most beautiful spiders | Environment | The Guardian
Third place,
Wood White ©Paul Lund, Bucknell Wood, 8 July 2017Craig Macadam, Buglife’s Conservation Director responding to the recent report on insect declines in an article that first appeared on the CNN website
Insect populations are in crisis. A recent review of 73 studies from around the world has shown that 41% of insect species are in decline and a third of species are at risk of extinction. No one factor is to blame entirely, but four main drivers are linked to the declines: habitat loss, pollution, pathogens and non-native species, and climate change. These issues may seem difficult to tackle on a personal basis but there are five really simple things that we can all do to help halt the declines in our insect populations.
Source: Five things to do to reverse insect decline | Buglife
The mystery of how the zebra got its stripes might have been solved: researchers say the pattern appears to confuse flies, discouraging them from touching down for a quick bite.
Click here to read the rest of the article.: Why the zebra got its stripes: to deter flies from landing on it | Science | The Guardian
As nest building begins robins, sparrows, blackbirds and other garden birds fly back and forth with twigs and other plant debris.
You can help them out by tying up bunches of tiny twigs, dried moss, and other stringy vegetable matter near your feeders. Tiny warblers such as chiffchaffs return from Africa, having made the perilous journey across Europe. They are difficult to spot, although you might hear them singing in hedgerows and thickets.
Click here for more information.: Gardening in March | Birds & Wildlife in March – The RSPB
Concerns over dwindling numbers of salmon on the Tweed have led to plans for a significant number of cormorants and goosanders to be killed this year.
For the first time in 20 years large numbers of the birds will be destroyed to allow scientists to carry out definitive studies into their diet.
Click here to read the rest of the article.: Cull to begin on cormorants and goosanders as Tweed salmon numbers continue to drop | Peeblesshire News
The males have triangular grey-brown forewings with dark-edged jagged crossbands which are distinctively held overlapping at rest. The females are completely wingless with a barrel-shaped body and a tuft of hairs on the end of the abdomen. The adult males fly after dark and are attracted to light in March and April.
Click here for more information.: March Moth
Shorter hibernation period may accelerate demise of Britain’s only venomous snake
Click here to read the rest of the article.: Adders now active all year with warmer UK weather | Environment | The Guardian
Once again our winter reserves work has been focused on tackling the ever-encroaching scrub and brambles to keep our grasslands open for more wild flowers.
Click here for more information.
The blues and greens of the ocean will become even bluer and greener by the end of the century as a result of global warming, scientists have found.
Researchers say the colour changes are down to the effect of climate change on populations of tiny water-dwelling organisms, known as phytoplankton, that convert sunlight into chemical energy through photosynthesis, as well as effects on levels of other colourful components of the oceans.
Click here to read the rest of the article.: Rising temperatures to make oceans bluer and greener | Environment | The Guardian
Bee-fly by Harry Appleyard, Tattenhoe 22 March 2016
Click here to view the Spring 2019 edition of the Soldierflies and Allies Recording Scheme newsletter
Evidence suggests butterfly is dying out because warmer weather is causing generations to hatch out too late in the year to survive, scientists say
Click here to read the rest of the article.: Wall brown butterfly ‘may be a victim of climate change’ | Environment | The Guardian
Spring is arriving early with swallows, frogspawn and unexpected perfume as temperatures soar up to 20C above this time last year when Britain was blasted by the “beast from the east”.
Rooks are nesting, ladybirds are mating and dozens of migratory swallows have been spotted along the south-west coast – more than a month ahead of their normal arrival.
Click here to read the rest of the article.: Naturalists concerned for early-emerging spring species in UK | Environment | The Guardian
An unmistakable moth in the early spring, identifiable by the two broad brown bands across the forewing which vary in width and are edged with black. There is a darker form where the banding is still present but less conspicuous. Ground colour varies from white to greenish grey.
Click here for more information.: Oak Beauty
The government’s conservation watchdog has issued licences to destroy 170,000 wild birds, eggs and nests, including rare and declining species such as curlews and swifts, in the past five years.
Click here to read the rest of the article.: Watchdog permits 170,000 wild bird killings in five years | Environment | The Guardian
My 2018 moth trapping season came to an abrupt end when I walked outside to find the trap crawling with 30 very active wasps. I hate wasps. I have a gas-powered fear of them that I’ve been chipping away at but that still won’t budge. And under those wasps? Just three moths: two silver Ys and a Blair’s shoulder knot, the latter (thank god for small fuzzy mercies) new for the garden and a shining beacon amidst the horror of that morning.
Click here to read the rest of the article.: Finding mindfulness in moth trapping – Nature etc.
They must survive government culls, gamekeepers, poisoning, persecution and increasingly busy roads but, in modern times at least, Britain’s carnivores have never had it so good: badger, otter, pine marten, polecat, stoat and weasel populations have “markedly improved” since the 1960s, according to a new study.
Click here to read the rest of the article.: Badgers, stoats and otters stage ‘incredible’ revival | Environment | The Guardian
A petition has been launched for a debate in parliament:
Developers, and other interested parties are circumventing laws protecting birds by ‘netting’ hedgerows to prevent birds from nesting.
This facilitates the uprooting of hedgerows which aid biodiversity and provide the only remaining nesting sites for birds, whose numbers are in sharp decline.
Click here for more information: Make ‘netting’ hedgerows to prevent birds from nesting a criminal offence. – Petitions
England is set to run short of water within 25 years, the chief executive of the Environment Agency has warned.
Source: ‘England could run short of water within 25 years’ | Environment | The Guardian
The RSPB North Bucks Local Group are leading a field trip to:
Location: Draycote Water, Warwickshire CV23 8AB
Meet in car park (£3.50/day) off the A426 Southam to Rugby road SP 463 691
Postcode: CV23 8AB (Google map)We will circuit this big reservoir. Expect to see many wildfowl, scarce ducks and grebes, early migrants and farmland birds. In winter 2017-18 the car park held hawfinch! The centre has shop, cafe and toilets. Route suitable for wheelchairs and buggies, but about 5 miles and little shelter (just one hide) so bring waterproofs.
Walk Leader : Brian LloydTime: 10am to 3 or 4pm
Price: Free event
See the RSPB North Bucks Local Group website for more information
Study says evidence ‘supports link’ between exposure to glyphosate and increased risk
Click here to read the rest of the article.: Weedkiller ‘raises risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma by 41%’ | Business | The Guardian
Silver-washed-Fritillary by Julian Lambley Bernwood Butterfly trail 24June 2017
Butterflies conjure up images of sunshine, the warmth and colour of flowery meadows, and summer gardens teaming with life. Moths are one of the most diverse group of insects on earth, ranging from spectacular Hawk-moths to small, intricately patterned Footman moths.
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: Butterfly Conservation – Why butterflies matter
Bee-fly by Harry Appleyard, Tattenhoe 22 March 2016
Every year the Soldierflies and Allies Recording Scheme asks people to look out for bee-flies. They are the furry, hovering flies with a very long ‘snout’ (proboscis) that can be seen hovering over flowers in spring. Normally they are first seen in March, but this year one was seen in Kent on 24 February!
Click here for more information.: Bee-fly Watch 2019 | Dipterists forum
In the fall of 2010, Rowan Barrett was stuck. He needed a piece of land, one with plenty of mice, and after days of futile searching, he found himself at a motel bar in Valentine, Nebraska, doing what people do at bars: telling a total stranger about his problems.
Click here to read the rest of the article.: An Unprecedentedly Thorough Evolution Experiment – The Atlantic
The recent blast of warm weather inspired a post-winter assessment of the garden. The bees were busily buzzing around the Heather and Rosemary and Peacock and Brimstone butterflies paid a flying visit. Apart from the bright yellow of the Daffodils, the most noticeable thing was the large number of young plants that had popped up amongst the gravel and stones: Primrose, Foxglove, White Valerian, Erigeron karvinskianus and Verbena bonariensis
Click here to read the rest of the article.: Dig it – March Tips from the Secret Gardener
The usual form in rural areas is all white peppered with black dots on both the wings and body. Black forms known as f. carbonaria were once dominant in industrial areas with high levels of pollution although their frequency has been steadily declining in recent years. Intermediate forms known collectively as f. insularia are variable between the light and dark forms.
Click here for more information.: Peppered Moth
One of Britain’s rarest orchids could soon be flowering on a military firing range, conservationists hope.
The internationally protected fen orchid grows in the wild in only two locations in the UK.
Click here to read the rest of the article.: Pendine project in bid to bring rare orchid to firing range – BBC News
Arctic bears are being driven off their normal migration routes and into human habitation. We should feel pity – and fear
Click here to read the rest of the article.: What polar bears in a Russian apartment block reveal about the climate crisis | Environment | The Guardian
Collaborative research led by the University of East Anglia (UEA) has discovered the first case of rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus type 2 (RHDV2) in the UK’s European brown hare population.
Click here to read the rest of the article.: First confirmed cases of rabbit virus found in UK hares – Discover Wildlife
