It is estimated that there are 274,000 bee colonies in the UK. These produce an average of 6,000 tonnes of honey a year, managed by some 44,000 beekeepers. Honeybee numbers in the UK have fallen between 10 and 15% in the last two years due to colony collapse disorder.
The Guardian
Aggressive duck sex
February 8, 2010
Here’s an utterly daft one from The Daily Telegraph: Locals are concerned that the overly aggressive mating habits of a group of amorous ducks will force visitors away from Thirsk, the rural North Yorkshire market town, and destroy tourism. Read
Bypasses for eels
February 8, 2010
A new measure to help the rapidly declining British eel population will oblige owners of weirs and locks to install bypasses, allowing the fish to swim up and down stream unhindered. See mystery of vanishing eels.
Dr Johnson on the Giant's Causeway
February 5, 2010
When asked what he thought about The Giant’s Causeway Dr Samuel Johnson proclaimed “Worth seeing, yes; but not worth going to see”. We may very well disagree with his cynicism but this is surely one of the most insightful comments on the activity of tourism.
Most popular walk in Britain
February 4, 2010
A contender for this title is the 6-mile Bath Skyline walk, the most frequently downloaded trail from the National Trust webpage. The National Trust owns 500 acres of land at the edge of the city, only a mile from the centre. Safe from urban development, the land is a mix of woodland and meadows, rich in wildlife and flowers, with views of the famous Bath stone terraces in the valley below.
British wildlife guide
February 4, 2010
We’ve put together this archive of all our articles about British wildlife.
Prisoners help bird count
February 1, 2010
Prisoners from a number of prisons in the UK joined the hundreds of thousands of Britons recording sightings at last weekend’s annual Big Garden Birdwatch. The Independent
Tackling bovine TB without killing badgers
January 25, 2010
A letter has been published in the Guardian from Hilary Benn, the Secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs, outlining the government’s strategy for combating bovine TB. Rather than badgers being culled, which evidence suggests would not control the spread of TB in cattle, they will be vaccinated:
We are . . . trying an alternative approach to the problem, by investing £20m over three years to develop badger and cattle vaccines. We will start vaccinating badgers in six areas of England, working with farmers, later this year. We are also taking steps to try to reduce the incidence and spread of bovine TB, working with the industry and vets through the Bovine TB Eradication Group, and I have accepted all the recommendations of its first report. This includes providing better support to affected farmers.
Mystery of vanishing eels
January 21, 2010
The eel population of the Thames has dropped by 98% in 5 years and conservationists can only speculate why. The Thames eels (Anguilla anguilla) are born 4000 miles away in the Sargasso Sea, located in the North Atlantic Ocean, from where they migrate to British fresh waters. After up to 20 years they return to their breeding grounds to spawn and die. To make these long journeys the eels rely on ocean currents, which are susceptible to changes in temperature.
Disease and pollution could also be causing problems for the eel. Although the Thames has revived since its “biological death” in the 1950s, the river remains under heavy urban pressure. And the Sargasso Sea, in contrast with its romantic image, suffers from a particularly high concentration of non-biodegradable plastic waste, trapped there by ocean currents.
For the first time in many years, the freezing conditions have been perfect for ice skating, allowing the inhabitants of the Cambridgeshire Fens to revel in a centuries-old tradition. The Guardian
The Fens of East Anglia, with their meres and washes, networks of drainage ditches, slow-flowing rivers and easily flooded meadows, form an ideal skating terrain. Skates were introduced into Britain from Holland or France in the seventeenth century. It is not known when the first skating matches were held, but by the early nineteenth century they had become a feature of cold winters in the Fens. The golden age of fen skating was the second half of the nineteenth century, when thousands of people turned out to watch the top skaters. Wikipedia
David Munt from Potter’s Bar, Hertfordshire braved the Arctic weather and sub-zero temperatures to spend a night in an igloo in his garden. He decided to sleep in his creation after spending the previous day making the igloo from snow and ice, with help from the children on his street. More here
Yowie snowshoes were designed, fittingly, in Australia. They look like beach sandals attached to rubber flippers with a deep hexagonal tread and metal cleats. Extremely versatile and user-friendly, once you're strapped in, with body weight nicely spread out to avoid sinking, you can enjoy snow walks on the flat or more challenging treks up and down mountains. The material reportedly offers better insulation from the cold than more conventional heavy-duty snowshoes. They are also lighter, cheaper and easier to stow in your ruck sack.
Another idea is to use ice grips - unobtrusive devices you can attach to your usual footwear to radically increase traction on slippery surfaces.
Meirion Owen is an expert sheep dog handler, who’s been working with Border Collies since he was nine. He now travels around Britain, showing the skills of this intelligent breed at fairs, private parties and, increasingly, corporate days out. The other stars of the Quack Pack are a troop of Indian Runner ducks, who love to charge around at a fast pace in a tight group (with the occasional lone rebel). First of all, Owen gives a demonstration of how it’s done, instructing his dogs with only four commands to herd the ducks through an obstacle course. Then the spectators have a go.
"We never try to embarrass anyone," he says. "I'll always try to help. With duck herding, there is a sense of the unexpected and seeing a manager lose control of his ducks is great entertainment for the staff."
A recent tendency among lowland livestock farmers is to replace Border Collies with quads, and Owen would like to turn this around by promoting the many qualities of this breed. More information
The Woodcraft School runs various courses for acquiring skills that pre-historical man needed for survival. Bark, Bone and Antler is a particularly interesting 2-day course that explores the materials available to our primitive ancestors. Those attending will be taught about the sustainable harvest of bark, weaving crafts to make knife sheaths, folding crafts to make baskets and containers, and the preparation of bone and antler.
This particular course will be held in May 2010 in West Sussex, with groups limited to 12, but there are many others to choose from.
Paragliders will use birds of prey to guide them to the best thermals. They often report that the birds are not afraid of them and will even approach out of curiosity. Parahawking takes this one step further. You're taken on a tandem paraglider and specially trained birds of prey will accompany you on your flight, rewarded by offerings of food. This unforgettable experience is available in Wales, organised by the Axis paragliding school
With Pesky Husky Trekking you can become a musher for a day. Instead of a sledge, you stand on a specially designed non-motorised scooter. And instead of snow-covered arctic lands, the Siberian huskies whisk you through the Yorkshire countryside. The experience is only available between October and March, after which it becomes too warm for an energetic husky. You can start off on a practice lap or do a more advanced trek of up to two hours.
Sealife Adventure, associated with Sea Trust (part of the Wales Wildlife Trust), run trips off the Pembrokeshire coast to the islands of Grassholm, and its impressive gannet colony, Skomer, with its puffins and guillemots, and Skokholm, famous for its population of Manx shearwater. There are large numbers of Grey seals in the area, and the chance of watching dolphins as they race the boat. More information
Latest news The Guardian Country Diary Wild World
For those who don’t succumb to the charms of grey squirrels, keeping them off the bird feeder is a challenge. There are plenty of ideas on the forums, such as placing a table on top of a greased pole, or capitulating by scattering food on the ground to distract the squirrels and give the birds a chance. If unwanted rodents are consuming kilos of bird food, it might be worth investing in a specially designed squirrel-proof bird feeder. Those sold by the RSPB include conventional seed and nut dispensers caged within bars too narrow for a squirrel to pass through. Then there’s the robust–looking Squirrel Buster, which automatically closes down when something heavier than a small bird tries to access the food. It’s the most expensive option, but comes with a life-time guarantee. Not bad considering the fearless acrobatics and determined wire-chewing tendencies of squirrels.
View at the RSPB
Cute they may be, but this article in The Guardian thinks that it is not a good idea to keep a fox as a pet. Others agree. the US foxes.org list these reasons
Useful list of the best or at least most unusual bird feeders on the market put together by The Guardian here. I liked particularly the above mobile bird feeder. Meanwhile the RSPB's national Feed the birds weekend starts tomorrow.
Shopping trolleys have lost their social stigma, partly because of pleasingly designed trolleys like these. Using one will help avoid unnecessary use of plastic bags and also contribute to saving turtles in Sri Lanka where the Turtle Trolley was created. Turtle bags online shop
The RSPB have put out a reminder that now is a good moment to clean out nest boxes and put up new ones, since birds begin searching for likely sites well in advance of spring. And a sure sign that more nest boxes are needed in the area is when different species are found sharing the same space. This occurs particularly with barn owl boxes, since holes in trees or old buildings suitable for larger birds are becoming harder to find. The photograph shows barn owl and kestrel chicks being raised together. Great and blue tits are also known to share. RSPB
RSPB