Author Archives: snotts-co

Our butterflies need help!

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This week saw publication of alarming news about the state of butterflies in the UK. A beautiful and important part of the UK’s wildlife, they are highly sensitive indicators of the health of the environment and play crucial roles in the food chain as well as being pollinators of plants.

The State of the UK’s Butterflies 2015 report found that 76% of the UK’s resident and regular migrant butterflies declined in abundance, occurrence or both over the last four decades.

Now Butterfly Conservation is warning that time is running out to save some of Britain’s best-loved insects, with the latest Red List assessment of butterflies, published this week, revealing a 26% increase in the number of species threatened with extinction. For more details, go to:

https://butterfly-conservation.org/news-and-blog/half-of-british-butterfly-species-on-new-red-list

Conserving butterflies will improve our whole environment for wildlife and enrich the lives of people now and in the future.  To better understand why butterflies matter, go to:

https://butterfly-conservation.org/butterflies/why-butterflies-matter

One of the ways we can help make a difference for butterflies and other pollinators is to make our gardens more welcoming places for them, and Butterfly Conservation has published  two invaluable guides to help us: ‘Pit stops for Pollinators’ and ‘Gardening for Butterflies’.  They can be found at

https://butterfly-conservation.org/pit-stops-for-pollinators?fbclid=IwAR2w08rQE1YJLsp4LVj0crPvwSQwSmOaNDPcto6kjOky0gOPEvYiyngTS7w

and

https://butterfly-conservation.org/how-you-can-help/get-involved/gardening/gardening-for-butterflies

 

Orchids in a changing climate

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In his Weather Eye column in The Times on Monday 23rd May, Paul Simons reflected on orchids’ role as a good indicator of Britain’s warming climate.  In recent years, several foreign orchids have begun to appear here. Quite common in the Mediterranean, the Tongue Orchid Serapias lingua has begun to establish itself in England, having been found in Essex a few years ago. Last June, the Small-flowered Tongue Orchid Serapias parviflora was discovered on the roof garden of a London tower block and, subsequently, at sites in Suffolk and Cornwall. A third foreign orchid to arrive is Himantoglossum robertianum, a close cousin of the resident Lizard Orchid, discovered in Oxfordshire.

It is thought that orchid seeds are so light they are easily blown across the Channel – so have they been coming here unknown for many years? – and new varieties are only now growing and flowering as a consequence of the changing, warmer, climate.

In Rushcliffe we have a relatively small number of resident orchid species compared to Southern England.  One of them, the Bee Orchid Ophrys apifera, found at various sites including Wilford Claypits, Skylarks and Rushcliffe Country Park is experiencing something of a boom. In the 1960s it was largely confined to grassland in southern and southeastern England, but in recent years has spread northwards, appearing in different habitats including disturbed ground, reaching Scotland in 2003.  Interestingly, although an insect mimic whose flower imitates the shape, markings and furry texture of a bee, it is largely self-pollinating.

Bee Orchid (Chris Overton)

Sadly, the good news of the spread of Bee Orchids may not be entirely representative of the situation as a whole: in her Nature Notes in the next day’s Times, Melissa Harrison writing about Greater Butterfly orchids noted that “like most of the 50-odd orchid species in the UK, greater butterfly orchids have declined sharply since the middle of the last century…”

Winter Wildlife Talks Programme 2022/23

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Following our extremely varied and successful Talks Programme last winter, preparations are well advanced for this year’s Programme, which will once again be online using Zoom. We can currently confirm the Programme as follows:

6th October                  Winter wildlife in Finland

3rd November              Birds of Cornwall

1st December              Yellowstone and the Grand Teton National Parks

5th January                   Stories of our British Mammals

2nd February                tbc

2nd March                    Life in the Undergrowth

Full details will be published in the coming weeks so, for now, book the dates in your diaries for another varied and entertaining set of talks, which you can join from the comfort of your own home, cup (or glass) in hand!

Proposed Environment Act

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Along with other Wildlife Trusts across the country, NWT is asking: Do you want to see a better future for nature?

For the past 50 years, habitat loss has led to a drastic decline in nature. Wildlife populations are the lowest they have ever been, and once-common species could be lost forever. By helping nature’s recovery, we can halt the decline in nature, and create a wilder future.  But current UK Government plans would mean less nature in England in 20 years’ time. This is not good enough.  We cannot allow the nature crisis to continue.  Demand more for nature.

Show the UK Government you want a wilder future by supporting our call for ambitious species abundance targets in the Environment Act by signing our petition.

To find out more, and to sign the petition, visit NWT’s webpage at https://www.nottinghamshirewildlife.org/nature-deserves-better

In a similar vein, Friends of the Earth are organising a separate, but similar, ‘Have your say on the Environment Act targets’ consultation, which can be found at https://action.friendsoftheearth.uk/target/env-bill-targets-consultation?refsid=2054&utm_source=email_share&utm_campaign=%5B2050%5D&utm_medium=share

Let’s make our voices heard!

Wildlife gardening

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One of the ways we can help nature is through more wildlife-friendly gardening.   NWT’s  two-minute survey can score your garden and offer ideas to make it even better for wildlife. To find out more, and why this is so important, visit https://www.nottinghamshirewildlife.org/blog/thewildlifetrusts/put-your-garden-test

Complementing this, and encompassing more than just wildlife,  the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM) has just published ‘How to Get More Wildlife into Your Garden and Absorb More Carbon’ which can be found on its website at https://cieem.net/how-to-get-more-wildlife-into-your-garden-and-absorb-more-carbon-by-penny-anderson/?fbclid=IwAR1amHpc0bMwYGVFYXYcHA5E7sd1ZBR0SFcw3-2uIDo9chkoAjtQCnN-k7Q

Winter Wildlife Talks Programme 2021/22

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Each winter, South Notts Local Group presents a programme of six monthly talks by a mix of wildlife experts and enthusiasts, who share their knowledge, experience and enthusiasm.  Each year’s programme is varied, interesting and enjoyable, and the 20221/22 programme which concluded earlier this month was no exception. We learned about discovering wild flowers in Hampshire, encouraging butterflies in Derby, seeing big game in the Kruger National Park, finding places and wildlife in the Scottish Highlands, experiencing the flora and fauna of the Scottish Islands and helping hedgehogs in Oxfordshire.

In October, Gerald Ponting took us through the seasons in different habitats looking at the diverse flora to be found around his Hampshire home, ranging from road side verges to chalk downlands, by way of the Winchester South Park and Ride, and shared a fascinating mixture of plant name etymology, references to centuries-old herbals and extracts from Chaucer, Shakespeare and many more.

In November, Max and Christine Maughan reminded us that butterflies are not just beautiful, they are also important for our future: without them and fellow pollinators like bees, hoverflies and other insects, there will be no food. Our gardens are a vital source of pollen and nectar, so effective planting with easy to grow and maintain butterfly-friendly flowers and shrubs to give a flowering season from late winter to late autumn will attract and help sustain butterflies and many other insects.

In December, Barbara Meyer took us on safari in South Africa, mainly in the Kruger National Park, covering a wide mix of animals, including the ‘Big 5’ – a term coined by the hunting community to reflect that amongst all of the animals hunted, these were potentially the most dangerous, as “they can fight back” – lion, rhino, leopard, buffalo and elephant.  Based on her extensive experience, Barbara’s advice on maximising your chances of seeing animals in South Africa was simple – use reputable organisations and experienced guides.

In January, Gordon Hamlett shared his experiences in writing a guidebook to the birdlife, wildlife and majestic beauty of the Scottish Highlands. It was a fascinating insight into his creative process in describing effectively such an enormous and diverse area, and some of the problems encountered in moving from idea to book, including: designer’s sleepless nights; proof reading; the difficulty of making location information useable, and the ethical issues around potential disturbance of birds, particularly rarer species.

In February, Nick Martin took us to Scotland’s Western and Northern Isles, bringing alive the  different landscapes – brooding mountains; lochs, lochans and tarns; unbroken expanses of moorland; the glorious machair, bursting with all manner of wildflowers and the many bays and beaches, some of which would not look out of place on a tropical island. These all formed the background against which Nick described the abundant wildlife, from seals and otters through an incredibly wide and varied range of birds, large and small.

In March, Stephen Powle talked about hedgehogs, animals that have lived in Britain for around half a million years but which have in the last decade suffered a catastrophic decline, and which need all the help we can give them. Stephen offered a series of tips on how to help them, and went on to describe a community effort, led by his brother Chris, that has made a real difference in the Oxfordshire village of Kirtlington, including the creation of hedgehog-friendly spaces in gardens, school grounds and churchyard, all  linked by a ‘Hedgehog Superhighway’.

Each talk was different, all were interesting and all were enjoyable, and it was both a pleasure and a privilege to engage with such knowledgeable and enthusiastic speakers. Using Zoom as the broadcast medium proved effective, allowing speakers to share many excellent and varied images, and dialogue between speakers and viewers.  We all learned new things, including: how aspirin got its name; to beware baboons in a particular car park in the Kruger; to avoid riot police training on a Scottish nature reserve; if your tractor breaks down in the field, leave it and get another, and – perhaps most memorably – hedgehogs can climb stairs!

 

We are currently developing the 2022/23 Winter Wildlife Talks Programme, which promises to be equally varied, interesting and enjoyable, so please keep watching for an announcement on the Programme and booking arrangements here and on our Facebook page.

Hedgehogs in Britain

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A report ‘The State of Britain’s Hedgehogs 2022 has just been published.  Its key points are:

  • Hedgehogs in Britain have undergone a long historic decline, but differences
    between urban and rural populations are becoming increasingly apparent.
  • In urban areas, the picture is of a stable population that might be recovering,
    highlighting the importance of gardens and green spaces, and local action, in
    ensuring a future for hedgehogs.
  • In stark contrast, rural populations remain low and, in the last two decades, have
    continued to decline by between a third and three-quarters nationally. The largest
    declines are seen in the eastern half of England.

The report can be found at https://www.hedgehogstreet.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/SoBH-2022-Final.pdf