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Headlines from week beginning 6 April 2015 |
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A round up of the top countryside, conservation, wildlife and forestry stories as chosen by the CJS Team.
Norfolk and Suffolk asked to go 'batty' - BTO The Norfolk Bat Survey (www.batsurvey.org)
returns this year for its third year running, with plans to be even
bigger and better. The survey, which uses automated bat detectors to
record the presence and activity of bats, needs the help of volunteers
willing to put out detectors.
Twenty-three 'Bat Monitoring Centres' have been set up, from which
volunteers can borrow equipment for a few days to take part in the
survey. Over the past two years the project was able to survey 786 1-km
squares (about 15% of Norfolk), and received over 600,000 high-quality
recordings of bats, making this one of the largest projects of its type
in the world. The aim is to increase survey coverage to 25% of Norfolk
and add to existing knowledge in the neighbouring parts of Suffolk, with
your help, we can do this. Dr Stuart Newson, BTO Senior Research Ecologist commented: “It is
really exciting to have an opportunity to work in partnership with local
bat groups, local and national organisations and local libraries, to
improve our understanding of bats in Norfolk and in neighbouring
parts of Suffolk” He added “This project is very exciting for me
because it combines a personal interest in bats, in designing
large-scale monitoring schemes, and in finding novel ways of engaging
the public’s interest in the natural environment.” Last year the Norfolk Bat Survey had more people wanting to take part in some parts of the county than we had detectors to support, so you need to be quick in expressing interest, and reserving your 1-km square to survey. You can do this via www.batsurvey.org/sign-up.
Vision for a Wilder Europe – revisited, March 2015
- Rewilding Europe Eleven organisations from across Europe reconfirmed their ambition to
make Europe a wilder place by signing the new edition of the ‘Vision for
a Wilder Europe’ in March 2015, which is just published. The goal of the ‘Vision for a Wilder Europe’ is ‘to build on the
significant conservation achievements in Europe over the past decades
and to launch and promote a new paradigm in management and view of wild
nature in European conservation’.
The ten action points the updated Vision calls upon all social
change-makers and leaders from all European governments, businesses,
communities and organisations, to adopt and work on:
Download the Vision here (PDF)
Good news for water voles from the Canal and River
Trust
Endangered water voles given new home on River Stort We've completed a project to build new habitat for water voles on the
River Stort. We've installed around 150 metres of new canal bank made of
coconut-fibre rolls and reeds near Feildes Weir. The new banking will be
perfect for water voles to make their homes, hide from predators and
find an ample food source. The work will also help to support the river
bank to prevent damage to the towpath on this section of the Stort. Essex Wildlife Trust and Herts & Middlesex Wildlife Trust plan to
reintroduce water voles to the Stort later this year and this work will
provide suitable habitat for the species. Funding for the project was provided by The Michael Marks Charitable
Trust, Chapman Charitable Trust and Clark Bradbury Charitable Trust, as
well as the generous Friends of the Canal & River Trust and individual
donors, who responded to an online appeal. Chantal Dave, Canal & River Trust environmental scientist, said: “The
project has gone really well, so we’re pleased to have got it completed,
particularly in time for the breeding season which runs from March until
October. It’d be great to see water voles back on this stretch of the
Stort, and we’ll continue to monitor the site for progress.” Charles Baker, Canal & River Trust senior project manager, who
oversaw the work, added: “This was not only a chance to help water
voles, but also at the same time working to stabilise the river bank and
protect the towpath from further erosion. Working closely with our
engineers, environmental scientist and with additional external support
from the Environment Agency, we have solved several problems within one
project, delivering a robust and long term solution.”
Newbury volunteers create luxury homes for rare water voles Volunteers in Newbury have created new luxury waterside apartments
for the country’s fastest declining mammal as part of a project to
improve the towpath along the Kennet & Avon Canal. The volunteers have planted water vole friendly coir rolls along the
bank of the canal, that protect against erosion. At the same time they
provide food and shelter for the animals known to live on this popular
part of the canal. Oda Dijksterhuis, ecologist at the Canal & River Trust, said: “Water
voles are among the real characters of the waterways. They are small,
fluffy and very cute, but they desperately need our support to continue
to live in this area, so projects like these are fantastic for them. The
coir roles are mats made from coconut husks and then planted with water
loving plants that naturally occur in this area. The voles then use the
new canal bank and lush vegetation into to make their burrows and can
live quite happily amongst the boaters, walkers and cyclists.
Mosaic Champions annual event: National Parks need to be more accessible
for young people - Campaign for National
Parks Young volunteers with National Parks have spoken about the importance
of them being more accessible to people of their own age (16-25) during
their annual weekend event at Grinton Youth Hostel in the Yorkshire
Dales. The youngsters - Mosaic Champions with the Campaign for National
Parks – talked about what they get out from spending time in
National Parks and promoting them to others of their age in terms of
learning new skills, improving employment chances, having fun and
reducing stress. They emphasised how important it was for youngsters to
know what was available to them.To celebrate their work in National
Parks, the champions tried out caving and mountain-biking in the
fantastic Swale Valley. They also learnt about sheep farming and lead
mining as well as making plans for how they will continue to be involved
after the end of the three year Mosaic project.
Read more about the Mosaic project in our most recent Focus on Volunteering here.
Spot a basking shark around Cornwall? - MSC Pick up the phone and call the tag team! MCS and the University of Exeter have joined forces in an exciting
new satellite tracking project to tag and follow basking sharks in
Cornish waters. The success of the project relies on the eyes of sea
users, beach goers and coastal walkers who are being asked
to immediately report any sightings of these gentle giants to a special
hotline which will mobilise a team who will set off in search of the
shark to tag. The basking shark hotline is 07935 098122 and callers
should give the approximate location, date, time, number of sharks and
any other information they think might be important. For all sightings
outside Cornwall, please report them as usual on the MCS
Basking Shark Watch sightings pages. As spring gets underway, holidaymakers will flock to the South West’s
stunning coastlines, where basking sharks will also make their annual
reappearance to feed at the surface on seasonal plankton blooms. The
shark’s large and distinctive dorsal fin, tail, and sometimes their
snouts breaking the sea surface as they feed are easily spotted, even by
the casual observer.
Although basking sharks are the world’s second largest fish, little
is known about them. Building on the success of the University’s recent
basking shark satellite tagging work in Scotland, and the MCS’s
long-term Basking Shark Watch public reporting programme, this spring
the team will attach cutting-edge satellite tracking tags to several
basking sharks in Cornwall’s seas.
National Grid reveals the first T-pylon in the UK – National Grid Construction of National Grid’s new T-pylon has begun at the
company’s training academy. The building of the training line of
pylons will be the first opportunity to see the new design in the
landscape. The T-pylon was the winner of an international design competition to
look for a 21st century design to carry high voltage overhead lines.
The winning design from Bystrup, the Danish architects and engineering
company, is 35 metres high – up to one third lower than the conventional
steel lattice pylon. A span of six of the new T-pylons will be built at the Eakring
training academy in Nottinghamshire. The different pylons all have a
different function.
Since the design competition in 2011, National Grid has worked with
other engineers and partners to turn the design into reality and make
sure the design could cope with all the stresses placed on a pylon. Is
it mechanically sound? Can it withstand wind gusts of more than 80 mph
or the additional weight of ice on the cables during extreme weather? David Wright, Director of Electricity Transmission Asset Management
at National Grid said: “We’ve been able to answer yes to the hundreds
questions that need to be asked before we can introduce a new type of
pylon. The training line has enabled us to learn so many lessons about
how to manufacture and build the T-pylon. I’m incredibly proud of
the high standard of engineering that brought us to this point We
developed the new style of pylon so that we could have a 21st century
design to offer as we plan new transmission routes. The T-pylon is
not a replacement for the steel lattice pylon but it’s a new option and
in some landscapes its shorter height and sleeker appearance can offer
real advantages”.
UKOOG comment on test results from Horse Hill exploration well –
United Kingdom Onshore Oil & Gas Ken Cronin, Chief Executive of UKOOG said: “We have been drilling for
oil and gas onshore in the UK for over 100 years. There are a number of
sites in the South of England that have been producing oil for many
years with great care for the environment and with no impact on local
communities. These initial results suggest a very large volume of oil in
place, which could potentially help to stem the rise in oil imports and
improve Britain’s energy security and balance of payments. Further
appraisal work will be needed to test what could be economically and
technically recoverable.” Read the Executive Report Summary here Reactions
Oil find in southern England raises fracking concerns – Friends of
the Earth Oil discovery in the South East - Greenpeace reaction
New seal behaviour caught on camera - Natural
Resources Wales The grey seal is one of Wales’ most charismatic wild animals with a
reputation of being playful and friendly. But new behaviour, thought to
have been filmed for the first time anywhere in the world, shows another
side to their character. The footage, taken by a local wildlife
watching operator in Pembrokeshire, shows an adult male grey seal biting
and eating a harbour porpoise it has just killed. You can see the video at:
https://vimeo.com/user5119540.
The lead author, Tom Stringell, Senior Marine Mammal Ecologist at
Natural Resources Wales, said: “Monitoring protected habitats and
species improves our understanding of our marine environment. The
Pembrokeshire coastline is an important habitat for a wide variety of
marine life, including grey seals, harbour porpoises and other marine
mammals. With reports of grey seals feeding on harbour porpoises off the
coast of Belgium, France and the Netherlands in the past, we were
surprised to see this behaviour here in Wales. We observed this
happening on four separate occasions off the coast of Pembrokeshire.
But, it is unclear how long this has been going on for, and why.” It is unknown what is behind this unusual behaviour, but it could be due to competition for food from an increasing seal population, or just opportunistic hunting.
Continental Butterfly Appears In Cambridgeshire
A sighting of the Scarce Tortoiseshell, also known as the
Yellow-legged Tortoiseshell, was submitted to the wildlife charity’s
Cambridgeshire and Essex Branch on Saturday 21 March.
Branch Recorder, Louise Bacon, said: “The butterfly was seen at the
Fowlmere RSPB Reserve where it was settling for long periods, allowing
the man who spotted it to get a great photo. In the shot the wings are
very worn, which clearly show that this is not a fresh visitor, but one
which has emerged from hibernation. “This is the 2nd ever sighting of the butterfly in Cambridgeshire,
but more significantly this is the first time one has survived
hibernation to emerge in this area.” The Scarce Tortoiseshell, Nymphalis xanthomelas, is so incredibly
rare in the UK that until last year there was just one previous wild
record from 1953 - a single female seen in West Kent. Butterfly Conservation’s Head of Monitoring, Dr Tom Brereton, said:
“It was a truly historic event as it marked the first time this stunning
butterfly has ever overwintered successfully in Britain. If you think you have seen a Scarce Tortoiseshell, please email Butterfly Conservation’s Head of Surveys, Richard Fox at rfox@butterfly-conservation.org Scientific Publications Francesc Baró, Dagmar Haase, Erik Gómez-Baggethun, Niki Frantzeskaki,
Mismatches between ecosystem services supply and demand in urban areas:
A quantitative assessment in five European cities, Ecological
Indicators, Volume 55, August 2015, Pages 146-158, ISSN 1470-160X, DOI:
10.1016/j.ecolind.2015.03.013. Gaucherand, Stéphanie, Schwoertzig, Eugénie, Clement, Jean-Christophe, Johnson, Brad & Quétier, Fabien. The Cultural Dimensions of Freshwater Wetland Assessments: Lessons Learned from the Application of US Rapid Assessment Methods in France. Environmental Management DOI:10.1007/s00267-015-0487-z
La Sorte, Frank A., et al
Migration timing and its determinants for nocturnal migratory birds
during autumn migration. Journal of Animal Ecology. DOI:
10.1111/1365-2656.12376
Costello, M. J., Vanhoorne, B. and Appeltans, W. (2015),
Conservation of biodiversity through taxonomy, data publication, and
collaborative infrastructures. Conservation Biology.
doi: 10.1111/cobi.12496 Pamela Boyle, Margaret Hayes, Michael Gormally, Caroline Sullivan,
James Moran,
Development of a nature value index for pastoral farmland—A rapid
farm-level assessment, Ecological Indicators, Volume 56, September
2015, Pages 31-40, ISSN 1470-160X, doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2015.03.011.
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CJS is not responsible for content of external sites. Details believed correct but given without prejudice. Disclaimer: the views expressed in these news pages do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of CJS. |
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Rewilding
Europe, Wildlands Research Institute, John Muir Trust, Zoological
Society of London, Frankfurt Zoological Society, European Wilderness
Society, Fundació Catalunya- La Pedrera, Rewilding Britain, Wilderness
Foundation, Deutsche Umwelthilfe and Wild Wonders of Europe have worked
for over a year on this vision. The organisations put emphasis on
recognizing, restoring and allowing natural processes, which ultimately
could create more robust ecosystems and more cost-effective conservation
management systems, reduce the loss of biodiversity across the
continent, provide scientific knowledge about natural developments
without human interventions, give more people a closer relationship with
nature in contrast to our highly technological worlds, increase
resilience to the effects of climate change, and generate new economic
opportunities and better services for society.
This
video supports a new research paper to be published in the Aquatic
Mammals journal. The paper is authored by a group of naturalists,
conservationists and Natural Resources Wales (NRW) scientists and
reports on this predation phenomena, previously only reported off the
coast of Europe. To their knowledge the behaviour has never been caught
on video, until now. 
A
European butterfly which made news headlines last month for being the
first on record to survive a British winter has now emerged in
Cambridgeshire, Butterfly Conservation can reveal.
