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Headlines fromweek beginning 19 August 2019 |
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A round up of the top countryside, conservation, wildlife and forestry stories as chosen by the CJS Team.
UK’s second rarest seabird terns the tide with best numbers since 1990
– National Trust
The little tern has been in serious decline since the 1980s, with
fewer than 2,000 breeding pairs now left in the UK. Last year, no little terns fledged from the Trust’s Long Nanny
shorebird site after Storm Hector brought high winds and torrential rain
to the Northumberland coastline - forcing the 40 breeding pairs of birds
to abandon their nests. But 2019 has seen a welcome boost to the threatened species, with 54
fledglings leaving the beach to start their long migration to West
Africa. A combination of round-the-clock watches by rangers, spells of
favourable weather conditions and the creation of a high spit over the
winter has resulted in the highest number of little tern chicks since
1990. Predators including foxes, peregrine falcons, crows and gulls were
kept at bay by the rangers who used a thermal scope to detect intruders
before warning them off with a torch or by simply shouting and waving
their arms. As well as scaring away predators, their role on the site also
involved educating visitors on the little and Arctic terns and ringed
plovers and collecting data to feed into a national report on breeding
seabirds. Fey Young, Assistant Ranger at Long Nanny said: “We've had a fantastic year for little terns at the Long Nanny Shorebird site. From keeping predators at bay to dealing with high tides, we have protected the site night and day for almost three months. We're extremely proud to have such a high number of fledglings and hope to see them again in a few years when they return to breed.”
Coarse fishing close season retained following public consultation
- Environment Agency The Environment Agency has decided to retain the current coarse
fishing close season on English rivers. The decision follows a detailed review of the evidence and responses
provided to a public consultation which indicate that removing the close
season would pose a risk to coarse fish in some locations. The close season for coarse fishing on rivers was introduced in 1878
and is in force from 15 March to 15 June. It aims to reduce risks to
spawning fish caused by angling. The review also showed that amending the start and end dates of the
close season would increase protection for some fish that spawn later
but would increase risks for those that spawn early. Support among anglers for retaining a close season and removing it is
finely balanced. The 8 week public consultation received 13,680
responses with 38.8% of anglers supporting retaining the current close
season; 9.2% support retaining a close season, but changing the dates to
15 April to 30 June; and 49.8% support removing the close season
altogether. 2.2% were undecided or didn’t respond. The responders were invited to provide evidence to support their view
and the Environment Agency has assessed that evidence, alongside other
considerations, and determined that there is not a case for changing the
current close season.
Endangered crayfish rescued during Victorian viaduct strengthening
– Network Rail Work to reinforce a 173-year-old railway viaduct is providing a more
reliable railway for passengers and helping protect endangered crayfish
in Cumbria. Water erosion means the Grade II listed Docker Garths viaduct in
Lambrigg needs to be repaired and strengthened.
The £750,000 investment as part of the Great North Rail Project
required the Flodder Beck river to be diverted* and wildlife safely
moved so the viaduct’s foundations could be reinforced. Two hundred endangered white clawed crayfish, along with another 400
less rare fish, were caught and moved downstream**. Andrew Campuzano, ecologist at Network Rail, said: “We are
refurbishing Docker Garths viaduct as part of a £750,000 Great North
Rail Project investment. This will help ensure it continues to be safe
and reliable for economically important Anglo-Scottish passenger and
freight trains for years to come. We take our environmental
responsibilities very seriously and ensured we removed the endangered
white clawed crayfish and other fish before work started.” White clawed crayfish have nearly been wiped out after American
signal crayfish were introduced into the UK in the 1970s as food for
trout farms but escaped into the wild. The larger invasive species not only competes for the same food, but
also carries a disease which is deadly for the native crayfish. The Docker Garths viaduct carries Europe’s busiest mixed-use railway
- the West Coast main line - over the Flodder Beck valley between
England and Scotland.
Green space is good for your mental health – the nearer the better!
- University of Warwick Living within 300m of urban green space such as parks, nature
reserves or play areas is associated with greater happiness, sense of
worth, and life satisfaction - according to a new study by researchers
at the University of Warwick, Newcastle University and the University of
Sheffield.
Dr Victoria Houlden, Professor Joao Porto de Albuquerque, Professor
Scott Weich and Professor Stephen Jarvis set out to apply new geospatial
research techniques to create an accurate measure of the relationship
between green space and 3 different aspects of mental wellbeing. The study, published in the August issue of Applied Geography,
found:-
Dr Victoria Houlden of University of Warwick said: “We believe this
it is the first study to demonstrate how urban greenspaces may improve a
broader definition of mental wellbeing. A lot of research focuses on
poor mental health, or single aspects of wellbeing like life
satisfaction. What makes our work different is the way we consider
multi-dimensional mental wellbeing, in terms of happiness, life
satisfaction and worth. While government guidelines recommend minimum
amounts of greenspace in residential developments, our study was able to
establish more specifically where greenspace may be most valuable.” Scott Weich, Professor of Mental Health at the University of
Sheffield, said: "Contrary to popular opinion, up until now the evidence
for the link between green space and mental wellbeing has been pretty
circumstantial. By combining advanced statistical and mapping methods,
we've shown that the effect is real and substantial. Basically we've
proven what everyone has always assumed was true." Access the paper: Victoria Houlden,
João Porto de Albuquerque, Scott Weich, Stephen Jarvis,
A spatial analysis of proximate greenspace and mental wellbeing in
London, Applied Geography, Volume 109, 2019, 102036, ISSN 0143-6228,
DOI: 10.1016/j.apgeog.2019.102036.
City Parks Lift Mood as Much as Christmas, Twitter Study Shows
- University of Vermont (research published by
British Ecological Society) The greener the greenspace, the happier and less self-absorbed people
are, Vermont team reports Feeling unhappy and cranky? The treatment: take a walk under some
trees in the park. That may not be the exact prescription of your doctor, but a
first-of-its-kind study shows that visitors to urban parks use happier
words and express less negativity on Twitter than they did before their
visit—and that their elevated mood lasts, like a glow, for up to four
hours afterwards. The effect is so strong—a team of scientists from the University of
Vermont discovered—that the increase in happiness from a visit to an
outpost of urban nature is equivalent to the mood spike on Christmas, by
far the happiest day each year on Twitter. With more people living in cities, and growing rates of mood
disorders, this research may have powerful implications for public
health and urban planning. The new study was published August 20 in People and Nature, an
open-access journal of the British Ecological Society. For three months, a team of scientists from the University of Vermont
studied hundreds of tweets per day that people posted from 160 parks in
San Francisco. “We found that, yes, across all the tweets, people are
happier in parks,” says Aaron Schwartz, a UVM graduate student who led
the new research, “but the effect was stronger in large regional parks
with extensive tree cover and vegetation.” Smaller neighborhood parks
showed a smaller spike in positive mood and mostly-paved civic plazas
and squares showed the least mood elevation. In other words, it’s not just getting out of work or being outside
that brings a positive boost: the study shows that greener areas with
more vegetation have the biggest impact. It’s notable that one of the
words that shows the biggest uptick in use in tweets from parks is
“flowers.” Read the paper: Schwartz, AJ,
Dodds, PS, O'Neil-Dunne, JPM, Danforth, CM, Ricketts, TH.
Visitors to urban greenspace have higher sentiment and lower negativity
on Twitter. People Nat. 2019; 00: 1– 10. DOI: 10.1002/pan3.10045
(open access)
BASC urges cabinet secretary to improve tagging schemes
- British Association for Shooting and
Conservation BASC is calling for satellite tag data to be “transparent and
accountable” following a series of raptor persecution allegations
against Scottish estates. In a letter to Roseanna Cunningham MSP, the Cabinet Secretary for the
Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform, BASC – along with Scottish
Land and Estates and the Scottish Countryside Alliance – is appealing
for the Scottish government to implement the following measures:
Ross Ewing, BASC’s Political and Press Officer in Scotland, said:
“Satellite tag data in its entirety must withstand the test of public
scrutiny if it is to meaningfully inform allegations of criminality. To
do that, the processes around the securing and publication of that data
must be transparent and accountable.
Click here to view the letter sent to Roseanna Cunningham by BASC
Own goal: Government considering badger cull in new areas where they
have funded successful vaccination programmes - The Wildlife Trusts The Wildlife Trusts call for national badger vaccination programme to
help combat bTB as an alternative to culling. The government is due to announce a new round of badger culls in
England and is considering new cull areas where they have been paying
for successful badger vaccination programmes. The government’s advisor,
Natural England, is said to have received 14 applications from
prospective culling companies to cull badgers in ‘high risk’ (of bovine
tuberculosis - bTB) and ‘edge area’ counties of England. It can approve
10 of these areas. This would increase the number of cull zones
stretching from Cornwall to Cumbria to over 40. Derbyshire is one of the 14 new areas being considered for a cull
zone. Over the last five years, Derbyshire Wildlife Trust has been
running the UK’s largest badger vaccination programme with over 100
volunteers to help stop the spread of bTB in the badger population as an
alternative to culling. They have been demonstrating that there is a
humane way to tackle bTB that is cheaper per badger than culling.
Derbyshire Wildlife Trust has had £280,000 worth of government funding
from the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)
towards this work - yet the government is still considering applications
to bring the cull to Derbyshire. Ellie Brodie, Senior Policy Manager, The Wildlife Trusts says: “It is
unacceptable that the government is planning to forge ahead with another
year of ineffective and expensive badger culling. It is absurd that the
government are paying to protect badgers through vaccinating them, while
also considering applications to kill them, as they are in Derbyshire.
The badger cull is a dangerous distraction from addressing the main
route of bTB transmission in cattle which is between cattle – as the
findings from their own independent review has confirmed.”
WHO calls for more research into microplastics and a crackdown on
plastic pollution - The World Health Organization (WHO) today calls for a further
assessment of microplastics in the environment and their potential
impacts on human health, following the release of an analysis of current
research related to microplastics in drinking-water. The Organization
also calls for a reduction in plastic pollution to benefit the
environment and reduce human exposure. “We urgently need to know more about the health impact of
microplastics because they are everywhere - including in our
drinking-water,” says Dr Maria Neira, Director, Department of Public
Health, Environment and Social Determinants of Health, at WHO. “Based on
the limited information we have, microplastics in drinking water don’t
appear to pose a health risk at current levels. But we need to find out
more. We also need to stop the rise in plastic pollution worldwide.” According to the analysis, which summarizes the latest knowledge on
microplastics in drinking-water, microplastics larger than 150
micrometres are not likely to be absorbed in the human body and uptake
of smaller particles is expected to be limited. Absorption and
distribution of very small microplastic particles including in the nano
size range may, however, be higher, although the data is extremely
limited.
Help conservationists fill the gap in hedgerow knowledge - People’s
Trust for Endangered Species
A survey to health-check Britain’s hedgerows A dense, well-managed hedgerow with trees. Credit
Megan Gimber The hedgerows that criss-cross our countryside are not only an iconic
sight, but a vital habitat and corridor for many of our native species.
However, they are becoming increasingly fragmented which is threatening
the wildlife that depends on them. So, this August, wildlife charity People’s Trust for Endangered
Species (PTES), is launching a new national survey,
the Great British Hedgerow
Survey, encouraging the UK to health-check the nation’s hedgerows in
an attempt to safeguard the future of this important habitat. The survey offers instant feedback about the health of each hedge, as well as tailored advice on what type of management will ensure it thrives in the future. The results also provides conservationists with vital data helping build a national picture of the health of Britain’s hedges.
First white-tailed eagles released in conservation project set to return
this lost species to England
- Forestry England The first white-tailed eagles to be reintroduced to England have been
released on the Isle of Wight. The six young birds, the first to be
returned to southern England for 240 years, are part of a five-year
programme to restore this lost species led by Forestry England and the
Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation. The young birds were collected under a Scottish Natural Heritage
licence from the wild in Scotland and brought to the Isle of Wight. Here
they have been fed and monitored by a team of experts and dedicated
volunteers whilst becoming familiar with their new surroundings. All six
birds have made good progress and have now been successfully released.
The team will initially continue to provide feeding sites for the birds
to encourage them to settle along the south coast. Before being released the birds were fitted with small satellite
trackers so their progress can be closely monitored. Data on their
movements will be available on the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation
website and once the birds are well established it is hoped that they
will become a familiar site over the skies of the Island and nearby
mainland coast. Roy Dennis, Founder of the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation said: “I
have spent much of my life working on the reintroduction of these
amazing birds and so watching them take to the skies of the Isle of
Wight has been a truly special moment. Establishing a population of
white-tailed eagles in the south of England will link and support
emerging populations of these birds in the Netherlands, France and
Ireland, with the aim of restoring the species to the southern half of
Europe. The team is pleased that the project fulfils one of the specific
aims of the Government’s 25 year Environment Plan. We have seen from
other reintroduction programmes that returning lost species offers real
benefits for nature and the health of our environment, and to people and
local economies. I would like to thank everyone from the local community
who is working with us to support and manage this project including our
volunteers and project officer who are all Isle of Wight residents. We
are also very grateful to the private donors who are supporting the
project.”
National Nature Reserve named ‘Dragonfly Hotspot’
- Natural England Thursley National Nature Reserve in Surrey recognised as an excellent
site for dragonflies and damselflies. Thursley National Nature Reserve’s unique wetland habitat has today been officially recognised as a ‘Dragonfly Hotspot’ by the British Dragonfly Society (BDS).
Thursley National Nature Reserve is a RAMSAR site of international
importance for wetland wildlife, and has long been known as a haven for
these beautiful insects, with 26 species of dragonfly and damselflies
recorded on site. The celebration, involving local partners, stakeholders, decision
makers and Thursley’s volunteers, was led by Natural England’s Deputy
Chairman Lord Blencathra. Natural England’s Deputy Chairman Lord Blencathra said: It’s
fantastic to receive this badge of honour from the British Dragonfly
Society. Recognition as a Dragonfly Hotspot will make Thursley an open
secret, helping to put it on the map for the rich and varied wildlife
that call it home, while opening up opportunities for people to engage
and learn from it.”
Angry
birds: loud aeroplane noise causes birds to become aggressive -
Manchester Metropolitan University Aircraft affect chiffchaffs’ communication with mates and rivals –
new insight for airports and wildlife conservation Loud noise from aeroplanes landing and taking off causes birds to
become more aggressive and potentially impairs their hearing, a study
published today (August 22) shows. Common chiffchaffs living close to airports were five times more
likely to attack a speaker emitting bird song than their counterparts
who lived away from airport noise. Birds living close to airports are exposed to extreme noise levels
from jet engines that interfere with their ability to communicate with
possible mates or potential rivals. Noise from aircraft landing or taking off can reach 100 decibels at a
distance of 100 metres – noise levels which can cause permanent hearing
damage to humans as well as birds. In addition to becoming more aggressive, the birds at the two
airports studied for the research also changed their songs by singing at
a lower frequency, indicating possible hearing loss. The research was led by Manchester Metropolitan University and
published in The Journal of Animal Ecology.
Work starts on exciting new wetland projects at RSPB Saltholme
- RSPB Work to create two exciting new wetland areas at RSPB Saltholme, the
popular nature reserve in Teesside, will start on Tuesday 27 August.
This is the third phase of a programme of improvements to enhance the
experience for wildlife and visitors by refurbishing visitor
infrastructure and creating new habitat. The package of work that will start this month involves
re-landscaping the main lake to create more islands for nesting spring
migrants, such as common tern, and installing a new sluice. Chris Francis, RSPB Saltholme’s Senior Site Manager, said: “This will
allow staff to lower the water levels in the late summer to create a
fantastic muddy area for wading birds, such as black-tailed godwit, who
pass through the UK on their autumn migration. In the spring, we
will raise the water level to create the islands on which the common
terns will breed when they return from Africa.” The second part of this major project is to create thirty new ponds
designed to benefit dragonflies and damselflies. In addition to the
pools there will also be the creation of new footpaths, installation of
interpretation panels and brass rubbing points, and a magnificent new
dragonfly life cycle sculpture.
GWCT’s plea to save much-loved wading birds teetering on the brink
- Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust An ambitious tracking project that will monitor the whereabouts of
three red-listed birds is being launched by the Game & Wildlife
Conservation Trust (GWCT). Curlew, lapwing and woodcock – all much-loved wading birds which are
disappearing at a rapid rate of decline from our British countryside –
will be tracked and tagged.
It’s the Trust’s biggest tracking project to date, which will be led
by Andrew Hoodless, who is head of wetland research at GWCT. “The
fate of these red-listed species cannot change without a better
understanding of their declines,” he said. Dr Hoodless and his
team of scientific experts hope to tag 20 curlew, 20 lapwing and 50
woodcock next year. Breeding curlews are disappearing fast, particularly in Ireland,
Wales and lowland areas of England and Scotland. Adult curlews
will be fitted with a GPS tag which gives scientists more information
about the importance of habitat, food availability and predation in
areas where these birds are disappearing fastest. Similarly, lapwing numbers are in sharp decline – falling by a third
in just ten years. Although the main cause of the decline is poor
breeding success, little is known about the movements of lapwing during
the winter and the importance of links between breeding and wintering
sites. To better understand lapwing survival, GWCT needs to
investigate the connections between breeding and wintering sites, assess
fidelity to winter sites, and compare the impact of cold and mild
winters. Our current research through the Woodcock Watch tagging project has
provided an insight into the migrations of woodcock wintering in Britain
and Ireland. Scientific Publications Simpson Kimberley J., Olofsson Jill K., Ripley Brad S. and Osborne Colin P. Frequent fires prime plant developmental responses to burning 286 Proc. R. Soc. B doi: 10.1098/rspb.2019.1315
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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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A
colony of one of the UK’s rarest breeding seabirds has had its most
successful season in almost 30 years thanks to National Trust rangers
who camped out for three months to protect its nesting site.
Endangered
crayfish rescued during Victorian viaduct strengthening: Docker Garths
viaduct and white clawed crayfish composite (Network Rail)
It
has long been understood that individuals feel positive emotions when
exposed to natural environments, and successive Governments have
enshrined this in planning guidance – but how much green space is needed
and how close does it need to be to people’s homes to make a difference?
Health-check
a hedge as part of the Great British Hedgerow Survey, launched this week
on BBC Countryfile 
Tagged
woodcock (image: Steve Round / GWCT)
