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/]
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.
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.
The Woking Peregrine Project was featured on That’s Surrey TV on 18th May. The four chicks are still going strong – even a sandwich tern was caught as prey by the parents. The chicks will be ringed on Tuesday to help understand where they travel as adults. They should fledge in early to mid June, so keep an eye out if you’re in Woking! Learn more at http://www.wokingperegrines.com/.
Bee-eaters eat bees, black birds are black, woodpeckers peck wood. Easy to see where those names came from. But a new book explores some of the more unusual names of birds and their origins. Puffins, hobbies, turtle doves, redstarts….. Read more in The Guardian story or buy Mrs Moreau’s Warbler: How Birds Got Their Names, by Stephen Moss.
As is often the case with nature, there is good news, but also sad news from the Woking Peregrines. The good news – all five eggs were hatched. But sadly this morning one chick became estranged as the parent began to brood again after feeding. It sadly didn’t make it in the cold.
It’s worth remembering that five surviving to fledge, as they achieved last year, is uncommonly good. Our hopes continue that the other four will survive to adulthood.
You can do your part, maybe not for the peregrines directly, but for the birds visiting your garden who will also be struggling in this cold and rainy spell. Keeping your feeders full will help ensure avian parents have one less thing to worry about.
Watch the peregrines live at http://www.wokingperegrines.com/
Photos from Woking Peregrine Project / Woking Borough Council
2017 was the seventh worst year for butterflies in Britain since records began more than 40 years ago. Grayling and grizzled skippers had their worst year on record.
Habitat loss has caused the long-term falls in butterfly populations. However, scientists say the recent dramatic declines are due to climate change, pesticides such as neonicotinoids and nitrogen pollution.
Grizzled skipper numbers have more than halved since the 1970s while the grayling’s population has shrunk by 63% in the last decade. The large white – once so common it was a pest – fell by 19% in 2017.
The 2018 results for the RPSB’s Big Garden Birdwatch have been released. The headlines:
House sparrows were still top the sightings list.
Siskin and brambling numbers were up.
Small birds have overall increased.
Goldfinches were seen in over two-thirds of gardens.
Greenfinch sightings increased by 5% on last year.
Blackbird sightings were down by 18%.
Robin sightings were down by 12%.
Changes could be down to a milder winter meaning more food elsehere so birds weren’t so reliant on gardens, good/bad breeding seasons and other factors.
The rankings:-
House sparrows
Starling
Blue tit
Blackbird
Woodpigeon
Goldfinch
Great tit
Robin
Long-tailed tit
Chaffinch
Do look at the results from the RPSB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) for more detail and explanation. And do consider participating next year. An hour of observation provides valuable information for understanding trends and guiding conservation efforts. And it’s a great excuse to just sit and enjoy your garden for an hour!
We’re delighted to share with you the news that there are now five eggs laid by the pair of peregrines in Woking. Last year the pair managed to fledge all five of the eggs they laid. Let’s hope they can have the same success this year – watch out pigeons of Woking! Visit the Woking Peregrine Project to watch their progress.
[Photos by Woking Borough Council / Woking Peregrine Project]
The Woking Peregrine Project celebrates the second egg laid by the peregrines under the watchful eye(s) of the web cameras. Peregrines have already successully bred here in 2016 and 2017.
Even better news – there may be another egg due on Wednesday as peregrines usually lay in 48 hour intervals. Do have a look at the live webcam videos and Twitter feed on their website for the latest updates – it’s fascinating and addictive!!
[Photos by Woking Peregrine Project / Woking Borough Council]
