Turtle doves are ecologically unique, being Europe’s only long distance migratory dove. They spend just a third of the year on their breeding grounds in Europe and spend the winter on their non-breeding grounds in sub-Saharan West Africa. There are four main factors associated with the decline of turtle doves. These include the loss of […]
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: Why are turtle doves in trouble? – Operation Turtle Dove
Our understanding of the impact of feeding wild birds is far from complete, but we are beginning to unravel the effects of providing foods at garden feeding stations. An important area of research has been to examine how supplementary foods shape populations through its impacts in individuals.
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: Does garden feeding shape populations? | BTO – British Trust for Ornithology
Swifts are in trouble. Their breeding numbers plummeted by 47 percent between 1995-2014, making them amber-listed on the list of Birds of Conservation Concern
Source: Swift Bird Conservation Project – The RSPB
You can also listed to an RSPB podcast on the Swift Conservation Project by clicking here.
Despite vanishing sea ice and shorter winters, Labrador’s polar bear population is among the healthiest in the world – and it could be thanks to the harp seals
BBC Wildlife contributer Richard Jones discusses cuckoo bumblebees.
Source: How do cuckoo bumblebees trick other species? | Discover Wildlife
Shorebirds are generally philopatric (site-faithful to breeding areas) – youngsters settle to breed in areas near where they were raised and adults don’t move far in subsequent years. What happens to this process when a species is expanding its range or if chicks are reared away from their parents?
The RSPB North Bucks Local Group are leading a field trip:
Location: Meet at Haversham Road car park (free) near Ouse railway viaduct
SP 816 421
A second visit to this newly created Parks Trust reserve. From the three hides we should see young waders and plenty of dragonflies.
Leader : Pete How
Time: 10 am to 12.30 pm
Price: Free
Find out more about this premiere birding site on our Wildlife Sites page.
See the RSPB North Bucks Local Group website for more information
Bullfinch on feeder ©Peter Hassett, Summer Leys 14 January 2017
If you feed your backyard birds or know someone who does check out our new brochure on “Strategies to prevent and control bird-feeder associated diseases and threats”. Help spread the info and help prevent disease and threats to birds.
Click here to download the guide.
Situated in the heart of the ‘coral triangle’, this young nation boasts some of the most biodiverse waters in the world. As it emerges from years of unrest, it now faces the challenge of protecting its coasts, and the communities that rely on them, in the face of growing development
Click here to view the pictures: Timor-Leste’s incredible marine life – in pictures | Environment | The Guardian
MKNHS members mothing at Linford Lakes NR by Julie Lane, 9 July2016
As part of National Moth Night, Woodland Wings will be hosting an event at Bucknell Wood. (SP660451, Nearest Postcode: NN12 8TW)
As part of National Moth night the moth group will be inviting members of the public to join them to see what species are caught in their moth traps. Join us for the evening to see the traps getting set up, then go on a bat walk whilst we wait for some moths to get trapped. In the morning a light breakfast will be provided whilst we identify and show you what moths were caught overnight. Pick and choose whether you would like to join us for the whole event or just the evening or morning, but please let us know if you are coming.
Use the following links to find out more information:
Woodland Wings Events 2018
Download the Woodland Wings Project Overview
Attract more bees to your garden: 7 top tips
Click on the link for more information: How to make a bee-friendly garden | Discover Wildlife
Can you do something wild every day throughout June? That’s 30 simple, fun and exciting Random Acts of Wildness.
We’re giving you a free pack of goodies to help you plan your wild month, plus lots of ideas from your Wildlife Trust to inspire you to stay wild all throughout June (and beyond!). You’ll also get inspiring emails from your Wildlife Trust, invites to exclusive events and a chance to join in on social media.
Click on the link for more information: 30 Days Wild | The Wildlife Trusts
Rewilding excites people with its images of wolves and ambition to return entire landscapes to nature as humans withdraw after centuries of domination. But the grandeur of rewilding can also make the concept seem remote or irrelevant to people living ever more urban lives.
Source: How to rewild your garden: ditch chemicals and decorate the concrete | Environment | The Guardian
Global warming is on track to cause a major wipeout of insects, compounding already severe losses, according to a new analysis.
Source: Climate change on track to cause major insect wipeout, scientists warn | Environment | The Guardian
RSPB staff and volunteers heard the unmistakeable call of the corncrake on Rathlin Island in Northern Ireland during the last weekend of April.
Although this species has been heard on the island before, the timing is much earlier than usual and has prompted hopes that this is the offspring of previously heard birds.
Click here to read the rest of the article
New research reveals the impact of beavers on their local environment.
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: How beavers can do dam good work | Discover Wildlife
Biologists have discovered the first known example of an egg-laying snake providing care for its hatchlings.
National Trust finds 12% decline since 2013, with the population of one island off Northumberland down 42%
Source: Fears puffins could die out on Farne Islands as numbers plummet | Environment | The Guardian
BirTrack chart of Swift migration 2018
Data from @BirdTrack show the delay in Swift arrivals this spring. There’s still time for them to arrive but it is getting late.
You can read the BirdTrack April 2018 migration update here.
Thanks go to Sue and Andrew Hetherington for drawing my attention to BirdTrack;’s tweet.
Study on rats said to show that the chemical, found in Monsanto’s Roundup weedkiller, poses ‘a significant public health concern’
Source: Glyphosate shown to disrupt microbiome ‘at safe levels’, study claims | Environment | The Guardian
The hedgehog is rapidly disappearing from Britain. This half term week we need you to help us find out why. Hedgehogs are thought to have declined by around a third over the past 10 years, and the reasons for the decline remain largely unknown. To help solve the mystery we would like you to record when and where you see hedgehogs …
Click on the link for more information: Big Half Term Hedgehog Watch 2018 – The Mammal Society
Yesterday (24 May 2018) a much-needed action plan was launched to save our most rapidly declining migratory bird: the turtle dove. The RSPB has worked for three years to get wide support for this plan and I am delighted to host this blog from my colleagues, Joscelyn Ashpole, Ian Fisher and Carles Carboneras, to say more.
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: Good news for a Friday: cooperation across the flyway for turtle doves – Martin Harper’s blog – Our work – The RSPB Community
Winning images from the prestigious annual competition held by the Society of German Wildlife Photographers (Gesellschaft Deutscher Tierfotografen – GDT) which showcases talent from within the EU. This year’s winner is German photographer Maximilian Hornisch with his image of a golden eagle
Click here to view the photos: GDT nature photographer of the year 2018 – in pictures | Environment | The Guardian
Emperor Dragonfly (male) ©Peter Hassett Bucknell Wood, 8 July 2017
THE British Dragonfly Society have teamed up with the Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre at Onny Meadows to launch England’s first ever Dragonfly Hotspot.
Click here for more information
Conservationists are using a technique called ‘tickling’ to round up young field crickets to help establish new populations.
Click here for more information.
Ancient meadows have quietly disappeared from under our feet. Without the roar of chainsaws or the sound of mighty oaks crashing to the ground, sites with undisturbed floral histories going back generations can be lost in a single afternoon. Since the 1930s, over 97% of our meadows – a staggering 7.5 million acres – have been ploughed, ‘improved’ or built on. This is a key driver in the higher-profile declines of pollinators and birds – and a loss to us all.
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: Colouring our countryside: meadows and the Agriculture Bill
AJC Springtails have produced a useful guide to Springtail identification. Click here for more information.
The RSPB North Bucks Local Group are leading a field trip:
Location: Meet: roadside car park (tiny—please car-share if possible) 300m N of Calvert X-roads: SP 681 250. Short walk, but uneven in places.
CALVERT JUBILEE RESERVE & GALLOWS BRIDGE FARM, BUCKS
Two BBOWT reserves. Calvert, a former clay-pit, has “chalkland” butterflies like green hairstreak, dingy and grizzled skippers. Scrub holds many warblers, incl. possibly nightingale. Three miles on, Gallows Bridge Farm, part of the important Upper Ray Meadows, has breeding curlew.
Leader: Chris Coppock
All welcome
Time: 10 am to 1 pm
Price: Free
See the RSPB North Bucks Local Group website for more information
After five years, 10,000 plants uprooted and replanted, 15,000 panes of glass replaced, 69,000 sections of metal, stone and timber repaired or replaced, enough scaffolding to stretch the length of the M25, and £41m spent, the largest Victorian glasshouse in the world is ready to open its doors again. The Temperate House in Kew Gardens is once again, as Sir David Attenborough describes it, ‘a breathtakingly beautiful space’
Click here for more information: Kew Gardens’ Temperate House restored – in pictures | Science | The Guardian
Bee Orchid by Julian Lambley at Three Locks on 11 May 2016
Wild flowers are being driven off Britain’s roadside verges by air pollution and poor management, the charity Plantlife claims.
It says emissions from vehicle exhausts are acting as a fertiliser for a group of nitrogen-loving plants like nettles, which outcompete traditional flowers.
The precarious state of a vast, remote Antarctic glacier will provide an inaugural mission for the British vessel once dubbed Boaty McBoatface, as scientists from the UK and US set up a new £20m research operation.
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: Boaty McBoatface leads £20m mission to melting Antarctic glacier | Environment | The Guardian
News of milestone comes as MPs say policy changes have caused collapse in investment in renewables
Source: Wind power overtakes nuclear for first time in UK across a quarter | Environment | The Guardian
Defining Earth’s resources as ‘natural capital’ is morally wrong, intellectually vacuous, and most of all counter-productive
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: The UK government wants to put a price on nature – but that will destroy it | George Monbiot | Opinion | The Guardian
Click on the play button to watch the video
Coral reefs and sunshine keep tourists flocking to Hawaii but add sunscreen to that holiday mix and the result can be serious damage to the marine environment that makes the islands so attractive to visitors in the first place.
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: Hawaii becomes first US state to ban sunscreens harmful to coral reefs | Travel | The Guardian
Teal ©Peter Hassett, Willen 25 January 2018
Waterbirds in the UK presents the results of the annual WeBS report, with digital PDF copies of current and past editions available below. It provides a single, comprehensive source of information on the current status and distribution of waterbirds in the UK for those interested in the conservation of the populations of these species and the wetland sites they use.
Click on the link for more information: Waterbirds in the UK – Summary report | BTO – British Trust for Ornithology
Hairy-footed flower bee ©Julie Lane, Olney 2 May 2018
Slovenia proposed that the United Nations (UN) proclaim 20 May as World Bee Day. On 20 December 2017, following three years of efforts at the international level, the UN Member States unanimously approved Slovenia’s proposal, thus proclaiming 20 May as World Bee Day.
The purpose of the www.worldbeeday.org website is to present the initiative and its implementation, raise awareness of the importance of bees and beekeeping, inform the public of major beekeeping events around the world and celebrate World Bee Day.
Click here for more information: Welcome – Celebrate World Bee Day
Wet wipes are changing the shape of British riverbeds, campaigners said after finding more than 5,000 of them alongside the Thames in an area the size of half a tennis court.
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: Wet wipe pollution ‘changing the shape of British riverbeds’ | Environment | The Guardian
Sea otters, an African forest elephant and endangered Francois’ langurs are among this week’s pick of images from the natural world
Click here to view the photos: The week in wildlife – in pictures | Environment | The Guardian
Red Admiral by Harry Appleyard, Tattenhoe Park 22nd September 2016
Have you seen a Red Admiral? Please record it!
The Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) is a migratory butterfly colonising Central and Northern Europe every year from the South. In autumn, the offspring of these spring arrivals migrate southwards.
We investigate the migration of the Red Admiral by the help of citizen science. Thanks to the more than 40 citizen science portals across Europe that share their data with us, we are now able to study Red Admiral occurrence in an unprecedented spatio-temporal resolution.
Click on the link for more information: Red Admiral migration | Insect Migration & Ecology Lab
The EU’s highest court has ruled that Poland’s logging in the Unesco-protected Białowieża forest is illegal, potentially opening the door to multi-million euro fines.
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: Poland violated EU laws by logging in Białowieża forest, court rules | Environment | The Guardian
The last remaining herd of caribou to roam the contiguous United States is believed to be on the brink of disappearing, after an aerial count suggested that only three members survived the winter – all of them female.
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: Last caribou in lower 48 US states all but extinct: ‘The herd is functionally lost’ | World news | The Guardian
Osprey ©Peter Hassett Everglades, florida 26 February 2011
Rutland Osprey Project has reported that Maya (a female osprey) and her mate (known as 33 after his ring number), have successfully incubated a trio of eggs that began hatching during the early May Bank Holiday weekend.
This is the earliest recorded date of osprey eggs hatching at Rutland Water, and follows the earliest return date and egg laying of UK ospreys when Maya was spotted at her nest on 12 March, five days before the previous earliest return date on record.
Click here to read the rest of the article
Salcey Forest Treetop Walk is being closed, apparently due to neglect it has now become too dangerous to use.
The treetop walk is a large part of our community and hundreds of visitors, families and walkers will now be missing the opportunity to visit the forest for this fantastic addition to Northamptonshires countryside. We would like to urge the Forestry Commission to undertake the relevant repairs required in order to keep this well-loved attraction open.
Source: Petition · Please stop the closure of the Treetop Walk · Change.org
With their swept back wings and aerial lifestyle hirundines (Swallow, Sand and House Martins) and the similar, but unrelated, Swift often cause ID headaches. Let us help you to separate these amazing summer visitors.
Click on the play button to watch the video
Source: Identifying Hirundines and Swift | BTO – British Trust for Ornithology
The Upper Thames area is important for its wet grassland and flower-rich meadows, and has historically supported large populations of breeding waders such as curlews, lapwings, snipe and redshank.
However, surveys in 1994, 1997 and 2005 showed that all four species had suffered significant declines. The project sets out to reverse this decline.The project area supports large numbers of lowland curlew and lapwing, as well as wildlife such as brown hairstreak and turtle dove. In the face of pressures on habitat, flood risk and climate change, farmers, conservationists and local communities are working together to give nature a home across this landscape.
Source: Upper Thames Wader Birds Conservation Project – The RSPB
Writer, producer and conservationist Mary Colwell reveals amazing facts about the world’s curlews.
Click on the link for more information: Fascinating facts you (probably) didn’t know about curlews | Discover Wildlife
Wildflower-rich meadows are very rare and important habitats. Some of these grasslands support an amazing number of wildflower species as well as providing habitats for many species of birds, invertebrates, amphibians and mammals. In particular they provide very important supplies of pollen and nectar for bumblebees and other insect pollinators.
Unregulated culling of Scotland’s mountain hares should be banned and the species protected, according to a report that says shooting the animals for sport is inhumane and uncontrolled.
Source: Culling of Scotland’s mountain hares should be banned, says charity | Environment | The Guardian
It’s that time of the year again, when The Smithsonian Magazine announces the finalists of their hotly contested photo contest. Year after year, the contest continues to blow us away with the quality of entrants, with only the cream of the crop qualifying as the 60 finalists, narrowed down from over 48,000 submissions.
Click here to see some stunning photos: Finalists Of The 15th Smithsonian Photo Competition 2017 Have Been Announced, And They’re Stunning | Bored Panda
The baby otter was rescued from a garden after getting lost in bad weather.
Click on the link for more information: RSPCA officer otter-ly surprised | Discover Wildlife
Events took a dramatic turn at a Tawny Owl box monitored by the Bisham Barn Owl Group.
Click here to read more and view video footage : Bisham Barn Owl Group: Tawny Owl kills Barn Owl intruder
Emperor Dragonfly, Stonepit Field, 15Jul14, Peter Hassett
Resilin functions as an elastic spring that demonstrates extraordinary extensibility and elasticity. Here we use combined techniques, laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to illuminate the structure and study the function of wing flexibility in damselflies, focusing on the genus Rhinocypha. Morphological studies using LSCM and SEM revealed that resilin patches and cuticular spikes were widespread along the longitudinal veins on both dorsal and ventral wing surfaces. Nanoindentation was performed by using atomic force microscopy (AFM), where the wing samples were divided into three sections (membrane of the wing, mobile and immobile joints). The resulting topographic images revealed the presence of various sizes of nanostructures for all sample sections. The elasticity range values were: membrane (0.04 to 0.16 GPa), mobile joint (1.1 to 2.0 GPa) and immobile joint (1.8 to 6.0 GPa). The elastomeric and glycine-rich biopolymer, resilin was shown to be an important protein responsible for the elasticity and wing flexibility.
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: Morphological and mechanical properties of flexible resilin joints on damselfly wings (Rhinocypha spp.)
BTO have produced a video to help you identify Hirundines and Swifts.
Click on the play button to watch the video
Source: Identifying Hirundines and Swift | BTO – British Trust for Ornithology
As Britain’s hedgehog populations suffer ongoing declines, wildlife disease expert Dr Becki Lawson from the Garden Wildlife Health team at ZSL’s Institute of Zoology discusses some of the key threats facing one our most charismatic native mammals.
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: Hedgehog population health – what do we know? | Zoological Society of London (ZSL)
The world’s most widely used insecticides will be banned from all fields within six months, to protect both wild and honeybees that are vital to crop pollination
Click here to read the link to read the rest of the article: EU agrees total ban on bee-harming pesticides | Environment | The Guardian
Report on the state of the world’s birds reveals a biodiversity crisis driven by intensive farming, with once-common species such as puffins and snowy owls now at risk
Click here to read the link to read the rest of the article: One in eight bird species threatened with extinction, global study finds | Environment | The Guardian
Diseases caused by Amphibiocystidium and Amphibiothecum parasites have been reported in a range of amphibians, including frogs, toads, newts and salamanders. Evidence suggests that some amphibian species may be more susceptible to infection than others, but all amphibians should be considered at risk.
Click on the link for more information: Dermocystid Parasites in Amphibians – Garden Wildlife Health
Linford Lakes Nature Reserve visitors enjoying an Open Sunday
Open Sunday at Linford Lakes NR 19 November 2018 10:00-16:00hrs.
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.
Lots of new arrivals come and hear the Warblers from the Warbler Hide!
Today we have a visit from Opticron Rep Sarah, who will demonstrate some of their products. Bins, scopes and magnifiers will be available to buy. Sarah will undertake some routine maintenance of Opticron products, so bring your bins along.
The world’s oldest known spider has died at the age of 43, outliving its nearest rival by 15 years, Australian scientists have reported.
Click here to read the link to read the rest of the article: Farewell, No. 16: scientists left ‘miserable’ after world’s oldest spider dies aged 43
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.
It is important to report any suspected sightings of this species as soon as possible. Vigalence is particularly required in southern parts of England and the areas where other sightings have been made (Devon, Somerset and Gloucestershire). The Asian hornet is active mainly between April and November (peak August/September) and is inactive over the winter.
Click on the link for more information: Species alerts – GB non-native species secretariat
Wood pasture is characterised by big old trees growing in open pasture-land
Wood Pasture and Parkland is home to some of the oldest living trees in the UK, whose value to wildlife is astounding. Their myriad of micro-habitats support some of our most endangered species. If you can’t picture what this habitat looks like, you’re not alone.
At their core, both wood pasture and parkland consist of big old trees with full crowns growing in grazed pasture, with abundant wood decay. They are what ecologists like to call a ‘mosaic habitat’ which means an area with a mixture of other habitats; the value of the mosaic is greater than the sum of its parts.
For too long this habitat has been overlooked, understudied and undervalued; we are only just starting to fully appreciate its real value.
The Wood Pasture and Parkland Network are determined to raise the profile of this incredible habitat with a series of 5 videos which introduce the ecological, biological, historical, cultural and landscape aspects of Wood Pasture and Parkland, describing best management techniques.
Click here for more information and to access the videos: UK Wood Pasture & Parkland Network – Peoples Trust for Endangered Species
By a quirk of the calendar, this year’s May Day bank holiday falls as late as it could – on the 7th. Thanks in part to The Beast From The East, everything is a week or two late this year so the bluebells will still be at their peak by next Monday. Even the forecast is now looking great, after the final sting in winter’s tail this weekend!
Arrangements for the Open Day as normal –
More details on http://www.hollingtonwood.com/calendar/ and https://www.facebook.com/events/2110446155650044/
For any last minute changes or updates see https://www.facebook.com/hollingtonwood/
Members of the crow family, the corvids, show a capacity to learn and solve problems that may be unrivalled in the bird world. It seems their greatest skill is an uncanny ability to turn new and tricky situations to their advantage.
Take the scourge of the introduced cane toad (Rhinella marina) for example. As this highly poisonous amphibian disperses across northern Australia, the numbers of predators attempting to eat them are crashing. The most notable victims are quolls, goannas and certain snakes, which have been all but wiped out in some regions. Crows, however, have learnt how to eat toads by avoiding the most toxic parts.
The large parotid glands on the toad’s neck and shoulders are the greatest risk. When a toad is harassed, milky white poison oozes from these glands. Any contact with this ooze is a likely death sentence. In many cases they die before even swallowing the toad.
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: Clever crows have learnt how to make a meal of cane toads – Australian Geographic
In a bumblebee nest, a single fertile female, the queen, dominates the infertile female workers using a chemical scent – pheromone – identifying her as the egg-laying mother of them all.
Usually, all proceeds peacefully, but in some cases an intruder queen kills the nest’s matriarch and takes over.
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: How do cuckoo bumblebees trick other species? | Discover Wildlife
The new Fen Edge Trail gives hikers the chance to wander this ancient, disappearing marshland, which is now being revived thanks to a 50-year project
Source: ‘Weirder than any other landscape’: a wild walk in the Fens | Travel | The Guardian
It’s pleasing to have a flock of Siskins arrive in your garden, and thanks to ringing, we might know where they come from or go to, but can ringing tell us anything about the link between these individuals in the flock? A note in Bird Study by Juan Senar and Jeff and Allison Kew in 2015 revealed that the individuals in Siskin flocks have stable social bonds and move in stable social units.
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: BTO Bird Ringing – ‘Demog Blog’: Birds of a feather, fly together
How ecological communities respond to artificial light at night.
Click on the link for more information: Throwing light on communities – KEVIN J GASTON
Some bird species provide cultural services, being aesthetically pleasing and having behaviours that people find interesting to watch. Others provide disservices (e.g. gulls, pigeons and corvids) negative for well-being. By documenting how the abundance and richness of species in these two groups correlates with human population density it was apparent that socio-economically deprived areas support low ratios of birds to people, particularly of cultural service species. These results inform management of green space, and provision of feeding and nesting sites, to promote positive interactions between birds and people within urbanised landscapes.
Ceroxys urticae female
A relatively small family (20 British species) containing some very distinctive picture-winged flies, many of which can be identified in the field with the naked eye or a hand lens. Many of those picture-winged species actively wing-wave as they walk over foliage (e.g. Herina and Seioptera) or tree trunks (Myennis).
Cormorant ©Peter Hassett, Willen 25 January 2018
Although Bucks is an inland county, County Recorder Andy Harding has alerted Buck Bird Club members to the fact that the National Seabird Survey organised by JNCC, covers Cormorants and Common Terns , and encourages members to provide as much information as possible. Andy says “this year in particular it would be helpful if you could make additional efforts to record all breeding or attempted breeding information for Cormorants and Common Terns and enter that information with your sightings of these species on the Club website.”
‘The Seabird Monitoring Programme (SMP) aims to ensure that sample data on breeding numbers and performance of seabirds are collected, both regionally and nationally, to enable their conservation status to be assessed. Reports as seabird numbers and breeding success in Britain and Ireland’
Click on the link for more information: Seabird Monitoring Programme
Record your sightings on the Buckingham Bird Club Sightings page
Great Linford Manor ©Peter Hassett 7 July 2015
Dear Bucks Geology Group members, the up and coming events at Great Linford are yet another way of looking at geology but in a slightly unusual manner; and a chance to explore a stone circle – an unusual feature of Buckinghamshire.
The BGG’s AGM this year will be held at the Art Centre Great Linford, and will be followed by a local walk.
– The AGM runs 1-1:30 – members and non-members alike are welcome to join us; there is then a linked event
– The walk runs 1:45 – 3:45pm. NB people who’d like to come on the walk but not the AGM are very welcome, the events are separate from that point of view, just sequential for those who wish to come to both.
For the main walk – If you fancy a gentle stroll with us to learn about the Jurassic Blisworth Limestone and its fossils through the building stones of Milton Keynes Arts Centre, St Andrews Church and Great Linford Stone Circle & Old Quarry; ending with a visit to MK Parks Trust’s Stone Pit field well known not only for its limestone surfaces but also wildflowers and insects.
For those who can’t open the attached flyer the key details are as follows:-.
We look forward to some of you joining us on the day.
Julia Carey
On behalf of the Bucks Geology Group
Environmental Records Centre Manager
Historic and Natural Environment Team
Transport, Economy and Environment
Buckinghamshire & Milton Keynes Environmental Records Centre
6th Floor, County Hall
Aylesbury
Bucks HP20 1UY
Tel 01296 382431
E-mail jcarey@buckscc.gov.uk
Visit our website:http://www.bucksmkerc.org.uk/
The RSPB North Bucks Local Group are hosting a talk:
Location: The Cruck Barn, City Discovery Centre, Bradwell Abbey, Milton Keynes
Postcode: MK13 9AP (Google map)
Whether it’s a single wind-blown rarity or the sight of thousands of birds on the move together , bird migration is one of the great spectacles of nature. Colin Wilkinson’s talk considers how our knowledge of migration has grown, and looks at how and why even tiny birds undertake such astonishing journeys.
This indoor meeting will start with our short Annual General MeetingTime: 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
Ashley Beolens, a local blogger has published an article with wonderful photographs of the Floodplain Forest Nature Reserve.
Source: Late Spring at the Floodplain Forest – Views From An Urban Lake
The patchwork of woods and fields seen across much of lowland Britain contain extensive lengths of woodland edge that could have a big impact on our woodland bird populations.
A new study between Bournemouth University, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology and the RSPB looked at how the structure of trees and shrubs in Cambridgeshire woods affect bird populations.
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: Woodland edges: why their structure is important for birds – Saving Species – Our work – The RSPB Community
Lapwing nest ©Martin Kincaid, Stony Stratford NR 26 March 2014
A massive new study finds that how much a bird flies influences how their egg rolls
Click on the link for more information: Cracking the mystery of egg shape
The RSPB North Bucks Local Group are leading a field trip:
Location: Meet in the car park (free) a mile down Otmoor Lane from the Abingdon Arms, Beckley
Nearest postcode OX3 9TD)
SP 570 126
Postcode: OX3 9TD (Google map)
This historic wetland was restored from arable land – and our Group helps to fund it!
A May visit for special birds like Turtle Dove and Hobby. Come prepared for little shelter, no toilets and lengthy (though level) walking.
See the RSPB North Bucks Local Group website for more information
Red-Tailed Bumblebee by Harry Appleyard, Tattenhoe 11 April 2016
Green spaces embedded within the urban matrix, particularly residential yards, could mitigate negative aspects of urban development and provide pollinator habitat.
Lawns represent a dominant green space, and their management consists of frequent mowing to inhibit the growth of ostensibly “weedy” species (e.g., dandelions and clover).
Since widespread population declines of bees and other pollinators from habitat loss are a growing concern, these spontaneous flowers could provide pollen and nectar sources throughout the growing season.
We experimentally tested whether different lawn mowing frequencies (1, 2 or 3 weeks) influenced bee abundance and diversity in 16 suburban western Massachusetts yards by increasing lawn floral resources.
Lawns mowed every three weeks had as much as 2.5 times more lawn flowers than the other frequencies. Interestingly, lawns mowed every two weeks supported the highest bee abundance yet the lowest bee richness and evenness. We suggest these patterns were driven by a combination of more abundant floral resources (compared with 1-week yards), easier access to lawn flowers due to shorter grass and a more drastic impact on grass biomass and floral resources (compared with 3-week yards), and the dominance of a few generalist bees overwhelming our samples, thus driving richness and evenness.
Our results highlight a “lazy lawnmower” approach to providing bee habitat. Mowing less frequently is practical, economical, and a timesaving alternative to lawn replacement or even planting pollinator gardens. Given the pervasiveness of lawns coupled with habitat loss, our findings provide immediate solutions for individual households to contribute to urban conservation.
The national decline of the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker is well documented. Since 1974, the UK population has fallen by at least 72% and in 2009 the species was added to the red list of Birds of Conservation Concern.
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: Low-down on Lesser Spots – a cause for concern | Northantsbirds
Silver-washed Fritillary by Harry Appleyard, North Bucks Way 21 July 2016
Local blogger, Ashley Beolens describes what he considers to be the top 5 butterfly sites in Milton Keynes – Source: 5 Best Butterfly Sites in Milton Keynes – Views From An Urban Lake
Linford Lakes NR BioBlitz by David Easton. 24 June 2016
Click here to download the newsletter: Newsletters | National Forum for Biological Recording
The Wildlife Trusts and the RHS set up Wild About Gardens to celebrate wildlife gardening and to encourage people to use their gardens to take action to help support nature. Help us turn the UK’s estimated 24 million gardens into a network of nature reserves, and invite our wildlife back. This year Wild About Gardens is going wild about worms! These wriggly fellows are well known to gardeners all over.
Click on the link for more information: Wild About Gardens
For the last few years, VBN/BirdLife Netherlands has been working closely with Dutch farmers in the hopes of making the country’s world-famous dairy products as sustainable and nature-friendly as they are tasty. Gerrit Gerritsen tells us more about a most promising start.International studies recently showed Dutch men to be the tallest in the world, standing on average at 1.84 metres – re
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: Milking the cow: why Dutch dairy is becoming bird-friendly | BirdLife
New Nature magazine April 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.
The warm Atlantic current linked to severe and abrupt changes in the climate in the past is now at its weakest in at least 1,600 years, new research shows. The findings, based on multiple lines of scientific evidence, throw into question previous predictions that a catastrophic collapse of the Gulf Stream would take centuries to occur.
Source: Gulf Stream current at its weakest in 1,600 years, studies show | Environment | The Guardian
There is significant evidence to show that White Storks were once a breeding bird of Britain, with an archaeological record stretching back 360,000 years.
White Storks are particularly associated with the county of Sussex. The Saxon name for the village of Storrington, near Worthing, was originally “Estorchestone”, meaning “the village of the storks”. A pair of white storks still features on the village emblem. Other place names in the area, such as Storwood and Storgelond, evoke the stork’s historical presence here.
Together with a number of private landowners in West Sussex, East Sussex and Surrey, and in partnership with the Roy Denis Wildlife Foundation, Warsaw Zoo and Cotswold Wildlife Park, Knepp Estate is helping to establish a breeding population of free-living White Storks in Britain once again.
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: White Storks — Knepp Wildland
Last year was the seventh worst on record for butterflies in Britain, and for two declining butterfly species it was their worst since records began.
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: British butterflies suffered seventh worst year on record in 2017 | Environment | The Guardian
Two declining butterflies suffered their worst year on record in 2017 after hopes of a butterfly revival were dashed by a chilly snap in spring and a gloomy, wet summer, a study has revealed.
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: Butterfly Conservation – Butterfly revival dashed by wet, gloomy weather
Bird box ©Steve Brady
To get the most out of putting up your nest box, take part in Nest Box Challenge and help us to monitor the breeding success of birds in Britain’s green spaces. To take part, simply register your nest box online and then give us regular updates on whether it is used, what birds are using it, and the progress of any nests.
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: Nest Box Challenge | BTO – British Trust for Ornithology
This Spring, Plantlife launches this year’s Great British Wildflower Hunt, with 21 new spring species to spot and a new code of conduct on when it is OK to pick wild flowers…
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: Plantlife :: Picking wild flowers is a good thing?
You can watch an interview on the iPlayer of Dr Trevor Dines of Plantlife launching the Great British Wildflower Hunt and talking about spring flowers.
Click on this link to load the programme. Click on the Play button and scroll forward to 8:23 for the start of the intervies: BBC iPlayer – Watch BBC One Cambridgeshire live
Former PM unsuccessfully tried to reintroduce black-veined white in 1940s, but conditions may now allow species to prosper
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: Warming climate could see butterfly loved by Churchill return to UK | Environment | The Guardian
The Floodplain Meadows Partnership started a national survey (England and Wales) of floodplain-meadow restoration in 2016 by visiting 52 restoration fields. These fields encompassed a wide range of restoration methods and histories, with different degrees of success when evaluated against MG4 grassland as the main target plant community. Of the 52 fields visited, 21 were considered to be progressing well, whilst the remaining 31 had at least one issue that obstructed successful restoration. These issues can be broadly classified as: suboptimal management (39%), excessive nutrient availability (26%), excessive waterlogging (19%) and use of suboptimal propagules (16%). Maintenance of the soil-nutrient balance within the range recommended for the MG4 community should greatly improve the success rate of restoration projects. If nutrient levels on the site are excessive, an early hay cut in June, or double hay cut, should be considered as the most efficient methods for bringing the nutrient balance to the target for the plant community. The survey showed that different species vary greatly in their rate of establishment. Vegetation of MG6, MG7 and MG9 grasslands, according to the National Vegetation Classification, was most widely represented on the restoration sites. MG4 and MG8 plant communities were each recorded in less than 3% of fields.
Click here to download the article.
Spring migration has been a bit of a trickle so far, however, this is about to change. The forecast for the next few days, and into next week, is one of southerly and at times fairly light winds, the ideal recipe for migrants that have been held-up to finally arrive.
Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps should really be here in force now but as evidenced by the BirdTrack graphs they are running about two weeks late.
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: BTO Bird Migration Blog
It’s a myth that peat is necessary for a healthy garden. This is just not true. Trust me, I’m a botanist.
Peat and the bogs where you find it in the wild, however, are hugely important for plants, the wildlife that depends on them and ultimately for us humans too.
Source: Peat-free gardening tips and making peat-free compost | The Wildflower Garden
The conventional wisdom among UK butterfly enthusiasts is that cold winters are generally good for butterflies. However, until recently there was little scientific evidence to support this perception. Indeed, previous analyses correlating butterfly population size measured by the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (UKBMS) with weather data had concluded that warm summer weather was the key positive factor associated with numbers of adult butterflies in most species
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: Butterfly Conservation – Cold comfort
A team of researchers from the University of Antwerp has found evidence of heavy metal ingestion by wild birds causing changes in their personalities. In their paper published in Science of The Total Environment, the group describes the multiple ways they studied bird behavior near a site known for emitting cadmium and lead, and what they found.
Source: Study results suggest wild birds suffer personality disorders due to ingestion of heavy metals
Interrupted hibernation can play havoc with the caterpillar population with the consequences seen in butterfly numbers later in the year
Butterflies are among our prettiest garden visitors, but many are dwindling in numbers.
According to a Butterfly Conservation report published in 2015, The State of Britain’s Butterflies, three-quarters of UK butterflies have shown a 10-year decrease in either their distribution or population levels.
You can you do your bit for butterflies by making them welcome in your garden. Adults feed on nectar, and are especially fond of plants with long, tubular flowers – so the more of these you can grow, the better.
