The BBC report that two schoolgirls have criticised a housing developer for the “devastating impact” its use of hedgerow netting is having on wildlife.
Taylor Wimpey attached netting to a hedge lining a 270-home development in Warwickshire to stop birds from nesting but did so before plans were passed.
Kyra Barboutis and Sophie Smith, who run hedgehog rescue centres, said the hibernating animals would be trapped.
Taylor Wimpey said it would now build tunnels enabling them to escape.
The GUARDIAN reports that naturalists are concerned for early-emerging spring species in UK. 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. Naturalists fear for these early spring species if March does turn markedly colder and wetter.
Photo of ladybird pair by Nutmeg 66 under creative commons https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/legalcode
The TIMES reports on Michael Gove ordering the killing of sick squirrels and deer. It could be Michael Gove’s biggest and bravest mistake, they say. The environment secretary has told animal care and wildlife rescue centres that sick or abandoned grey squirrels or muntjac deer brought in by the public can no longer be released back into the wild and must be killed.
This upcoming news was raised by Nigel Palmer at his talk on Harper Asprey Wildlife Rescue to our Friends of Normandy Wildlife group in January 2019. Read more on his talk here.
Photo by Denis Fournier under Creative commons https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/legalcode
The Independent reports that a dearth of worms is blamed for dramatic decline in the UK song thrush population. Britain’s first farmland worm survey reveals nearly half of English fields lack key types of earthworm and may help explain a 50 per cent fall in song thrush numbers.
The citizen science project, in which farmers dug for worms in their own fields, has prompted 57 per cent of them to pledge to change their soil management practices – a move that may benefit the song thrush, for whom worms are a vital food source.
Photo by Tony Sutton under Creative commons https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/legalcode
The TELEGRAPH reports that Michael Gove, the Environment Secretary, announced landowners are to be given powers to protect countryside ‘forever’ under new conservation plans. Woodlands, meadows and other parts of the countryside with a “bit of magic” will be preserved “forever” under Government plans to introduce conservation covenants. Michael Gove wants to introduce new legal safeguards to help ensure England’s countryside can be enjoyed by future generations.
Photo of Farmland near Guildford by Maureen Barlin under Creative Commons https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/legalcode
The GUARDIAN reports that Britain’s carnivores must survive government culls, gamekeepers, poisoning, persecution and increasingly busy roads but, in modern times at least, they 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. The otter, polecat and pine marten have bounced back from the brink of extinction, and the country’s only carnivorous mammal now in danger of being wiped out is the wildcat, with the dwindling Scottish populations hit by hybridisation with domestic and feral cats.
The Telegraph tells how grey squirrel is on the menu, as diners turn to the wild meat to help boost the number of red squirrels.
A deadly “salamander-eating” fungus that is already causing havoc for European amphibians is rife in the pet trade, prompting fears it could spread to the UK’s vulnerable newts, report the Independent.
In a study partly funded by the British government, scientists found that seven of the 11 private amphibian collections tested from Western Europe were positive for the “Bsal” infection.
The disease is caused by Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans, a fungus that has spread like wildfire from Asia and killed 99 per cent of fire salamanders in the Netherlands.
Experts are concerned some of the UK’s newts, which are already teetering on the edge of extinction thanks to habitat loss and intensive farming, could be the next victims of this plague.
The Telegraph reported on an encounter between a wheatear and a sparrowhawk which ended in the bird of prey hitting a window. A perfectly timed photograph see the wheatear briefly landing on the knocked out hunter before flying to freedom.
CREDIT: TWITTER
This moth was trapped in a Normandy garden in early August this year. It has been reported to the Forestry Commission who says that their nests have been found in the Pirbright area. OPM are a pest species in Europe and also a health hazard. Additional information on the moth is given below. If you find caterpillers or nests please don’t disturb them but report to the Forestry Commission as directed below, to the land owner (see below) and or to us.
Selected OPM information from the Forestry Commission’s website:
OPM (Oak Processionary Moth) was accidentally introduced from continental Europe into London in 2005 and, despite eradication attempts, it has become established and the area affected has grown. (Normandy is currently outside the 2018 Core zone for OPM and in the Control or buffer zone.) Nevertheless, OPM cannot be left uncontrolled, and the main focus of control now is to prevent or limit further outward spread of the pest. This requires action by everyone who owns or manages oak trees in the affected areas.
Contact with the hairs can cause itching skin rashes and, less commonly, sore throats, breathing difficulties and eye problems. This can happen if people or animals touch caterpillars or their nests, or if the hairs are blown into contact by the wind. The greatest risk period is May to July, but they can be present on old nests, and could be blown or touched at any time of year. Detection of adult males, which are strong flyers and can travel several kilometres from the nest from which they emerged, does not necessarily mean that the infestation has spread and a new breeding population is being established. By contrast, the female is not a strong flyer, and is rarely found more than about 500 metres from her original nest. However, carrying out visual surveys for egg masses over the following winter, and for larvae the next spring, is recommended in areas where males are trapped. All oak trees within 200 metres of where OPM is trapped should be inspected as soon as possible in case there are nests present. A second inspection later in the year is also considered wise.
Oak Processionary Moth (Thaumetopoea processionea) caterpillars are covered with thousands of minute, irritating hairs which can be released as a defence mechanism or blown off by the wind. The larvae develop tiny, irritating hairs from their third (L3) stage onwards to pupation. A single, fully grown larva can carry thousands of hairs. These hairs, which are barbed, contain an irritating substance called thaumetopoein, from which the species gets part of its scientific name, Thaumetopoea processionea.
The caterpillars build communal nests on the trunks and branches of oak trees to protect themselves from predators. Once released, the hairs can persist in the nests and the environment for a long time, posing a long-term nuisance to people and animals, such as horses and dogs, unfortunate enough to come into contact with them.
Advice on Guildford Borough Council’s website:
What to do if you see OPM
If you see any OPM nests or caterpillars, do not touch or approach them. The caterpillars have a distinctive habit of moving about in or under oak trees in nose-to-tail processions, which gives them their name.
The silken webbing nests are white when new, and often have silken trails leading to them. They quickly become discoloured and harder to see against the dark colour of oak tree bark.
The main risk period is April to July, when the caterpillars are active. However, avoid nests, even ‘spent’ nests, at any time, because the hairs in them can remain irritating for many months. Nests can sometimes fall to the ground.
Report them immediately to the Forestry Commission, which is leading efforts to control its population, spread and impacts.
How to report OPM
Please report sightings on Guildford Borough Council owned land to Parks & Leisure Services by emailing parks@guildford.gov.uk or phoning 01483 444 718.
Please report sightings on other land in the borough to the Forestry Commission using their Tree Alert online pest reporting form, which you can access at the Forestry Commission website. You will have to add a photograph to your report, but do not risk contact to get a photograph.
It would be courteous to contact the landowner if you know who they are.
If you cannot use Tree Alert or get a photograph, you may report them by email to opm@forestry.gsi.gov.uk or by phoning 0300 067 4442.
