Monthly Archives: June 2018

Helping wildlife

People’s Walk for Wildlife – please join!

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Everybody who cares about wildlife will be gathering in central London on 22nd September 2018 for the first People’s Walk for Wildlife.  And we know you care about wildlife because your reading this, so please join us there.

Watch this short video for one of the most passionate and yet down to earth explanations of why we have to wake up to what is happening to British wildlife and act. Chris Packham says of our wildlife population’s downward trends “those statistics about those declines become normalised. Like it’s just another part of the conversation”.

He continues “We’re in trouble, we’re in big trouble…… It’s time for us to act. I think it’s time for us to stand up and be counted, and to ask, politely, for things to be fixed”.

Please join this polite, passive walk (it’s not a demonstration or rally) and show your concern for what is happening to our wildlife – whether your interest is for birds, hedgehogs, dragonflies, ferns, trees, fungi or any other of the diverse, beautiful and essential plants and animals that keep our environment healthy.

 If your interested in going and want to travel by train with other members of FNW please let me know so we can co-ordinate travel arrangements or arrange to meet in London.

10am: Gather – Reformers Tree, Hyde Park, London
12 noon: Infotainment
1pm: Walk
2pm: Finish – Richmond Terrace

News

Bumblebees thrive in towns more than countryside 

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The Guardian writes on new research revealing the differences between urban and rural bumblebees.

“Urban bumblebees have better access to food, allowing them to produce more offspring. Bumblebees are important pollinators, but face threats including habitat loss, climate change, pesticide and fungicide use and parasites.

Now researchers say that bumblebee colonies in urban areas not only produce more offspring than those on agricultural land, but have more food stores, fewer invasions from parasitic “cuckoo” bumblebees, and survive for longer.”

[Photo by Jice75 under creative commons https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/]

News

Declines in British wildlife

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Sadly, recent reports show that British mammals and butterflies are under decline.

The Mammal Society and Natural England reported that almost one in five of British mammal species face a high risk of extinction. This was the first comprehensive review of their populations for more than 20 years.  The reasons for decline include climate change, loss of habitat, use of pesticides and road deaths.

The red squirrel, wildcat and the grey long-eared bat are all listed as facing severe threats to their survival.

The review also found other mammals such as the hedgehog and water vole [Photo above by Nick Ford under creative commons
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/legalcode] have seen their populations decline by up to 66% over the past 20 years.

Meanwhile, a story in The Times tells how Defra (Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) believes a lack of management has caused butterflies to decline. Since 1990 butterfly numbers have fallen by 27 per cent on farmland and by 58 per cent in woods.

Small tortoiseshell

Farmland species in long-term decline include the gatekeeper, large skipper and small tortoiseshell. While the brown argus, common blue, peacock and purple hairstreak in woodlands have also declined.

 

News

Woking peregrine goes to Wildlife Aid

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The juveniles watched under the Woking Peregrine project started flying on Sunday 10th June. Unfortunately, one flew into a window.  The injured juvenile female was taken for rehabilitation at Wildlife Aid (based in Leatherhead).  She may be there for at least 3 weeks, possibly requiring an operation on the damaged wing.  Let’s hope she recovers soon!  For this and more information about the peregrines please visit www.wokingperegrines.com. 

Helping wildlife

It’s National Insect Week – count bees to help protect pollinators

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It’s National Insect Week! You can celebrate the wonder of insects and take part in the Great British Bee Count.

Set up by Friends of the Earth, and supported by Buglife, this count has run since 17 May and will continue until 30 June.  Download the app to make a note and report any bumblebees and solitary bees you see. It has a handy guide for identification as well as advise on how to create habitats for pollinators.

[Photo by Rob Gallop under creative commons
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/legalcode]