British Owls; their natural history and practical conservation

This time last night I was on my way to our planned public meeting. Our speaker was almost certainly on his way from Bristol with a Barn Owl in the back of his car. As always with these meetings we have no way of knowing how many people will turn up, or if anyone except our small committee and our speaker. There are almost always glitches in the arrangements and it is all a bit stressful really but that's because its very important for our purpose of spreading some light on the mostly hidden world of wildlife.
So how did it go? Dealing with the glitches we got under way with an audience of around 65. That might not sound many but it is probably a record for our meetings. Many of them turned out to not be members of the Wildlife Trust. That was a surprise but also a bonus since some of them may join. The speaker was brilliant, the photos shown were excellent and the Barn Owl stole the show.
We manged a short break for tea or coffee, we had a raffle for prizes with an owl theme and there were good questions. Having arrived at the hall at around 7 pm we finally left at 10 pm. Our treasurer was happy because we had made a small surplus and the audience all looked very happy. Job done!
I should write another post with a bit more conservation content but that needs a bit of research.

British Owls; their natural history and practical conservation

We confirm ( on Wed 13.01.10 ) that the School is open and the meeting will take place as advertised.



Dont forget our meeting on British Owls on Thursday 14th at 7.30 pm Huish Episcopy School,Wincanton Rd, Langport. This photograph by Chris Sperring, our speaker for the meeting may well be the one accompaning Chris for the talk!
PS the latest snow is melting fast now.

BBC Breathing Spaces

Photo by Mike Cook.

Here's a lovely photo of a Goldfinch taken by a neighbour, showing some of the recent snow. It may be the same bird which feeds on Niger seed in our garden too. We often have three or four birds at a time. The night time temperature has been down to minus 5 or 6 C over the last few nights. How do these birds stand it?

I get a regular newsletter from the Breathing Spaces team and its a good reminder of the many events and activities going on in the wildlife world. Even if you cant get to any of them they are still good value for activity ideas.
So here is a link to their newsletter web site. Click here.

And here is the full BBC Breathing spaces web site. Click here

Chris Sperring MBE: Best Wishes to all for 2010

This bitterly cold weather ( might be regarded as climate change but not to be confused with global warming!) is causing a lot of problems for people getting out and about. I had to make a special trip to buy bird food. I am also concerned that it might stop people coming to our next public meeting on Jan 14th. Fingers crossed that conditions might have eased by then.
I have just visited Cris Sperring's Blog to see what is going on in the Hawk and Owl world.
He has a wonderful photograph of an Owl of course which is worth seeing. I blogged his last post , (link below) which I found full of good things to look forward to in 2010 so here it is. I recommend it to keep you up to date.
Click on this link:
Chris Sperring MBE: Best Wishes to all for 2010

Starlings

I wonder how our starlings are faring in this prolonged icy weather. Are they still flocking to Westhay and Hamwall to roost? Finding food in the fields must be difficult and it must take a lot of energy to fly ten or twenty miles just to settle in the reed beds of the levels. I must look this afternoon to see if they fly over our village at around 3.30 to 4.00 pm.
The starling hot line says ( lunch time Wednesday) that they are currently roosting at the Natural England site at Shapwick Heath. I have been surprised to find that they change the location from time to time.
I am hoping to get along to hear the talk on Starlings organised by the Taunton Dene local Group of SWT next Tuesday 12th Jan :
Talk on Starlings by Chris Sperring.
Why do starlings mass in the sky? Where do they come from? Chris Sperring, a well-known local naturalist, will explain the habits of starlings and their amazing gatherings over the Somerset Levels during the winter months. Tea, coffee & raffle. Children welcome. Meetings Room, Taunton Library, Paul Street, Taunton. Car park nearby. Suitable for wheelchair users/limited mobility. £2.50.

That will lead nicely onto our own meeting on Thursday 14th on British Owls in Langport. See our diary blog for details. Link here.

New year message

Greetings to all readers and best wishes for 2010.

Whilst enjoying a very pleasant social evening yesterday I met someone who is interested in starting their own Blog. Not on the same subject as thisone but never the less it was quite a challenge to have to explain how and why I run my own. I have always hoped that the subjects I post on speak for themselves but that is probably a false assumption. There are many excellent blogs and I'm always impressed by the world wide contacts a blog generates and by the range of subjects covered. But to really catch visitors interest is not easy and I feel I must do better. I wonder if colour works!!!
So I hope I haven't put off a potentially very good new blog.
I did gain from our discussion a renewed enthusiasm for seeking to improve my writing and presentation especially as wildlife conservation is such a huge subject of great importance to everyone.

I must just mention our next public meeting on Owls on Jan 14th and full details are on our Diary of events. Link here.

I'm also adding another U Tube video clip showing a group of owls as I have never seen them before.

Bats

These photos from Kids Zone web site, link here.



The internet provides an amazing ability to link subjects together. Here is how I recently found myself reading about bats!


A few days ago I found a bright yellow flower, size about 10 or 15 mm growing on a grass trail round a local meadow. I tried to remember enough details about its size, petals, stamens and leaf arrangement to identify it at home with books such as Wild Flowers by Blamey and Keeble Martin. Bearing in mind that it is now mid Dec I decided that it must be either the Creeping or the Spring Cinquefoil. I asked a friend for an opinion and went back to check. Naturally the flower had disappeared and I had little luck trying to pin down where I had seen it. There were no other specimens around either.
I've been persuaded that it is the Creeping form and as a final check I searched the web for any further guidance.

I came across a new web site run by Natural England called, "Gardening with Wildlife in Mind" .

Their web site says: "Natural England's Gardening with wildlife in mind aims to help people choose plants likely to attract wildlife. It also shows what eats what in the garden." It seems to be a joint venture with a private company called, " The Plant Press", publishers of books and CD's on gardening.
So with the help of Plant Press you can search for a range of wild animals and find out what they eat and other data. This is where I found my way to Bats!

I tried it out with bats and that is the point of this post, here is an extract from the site. Read more at this link.



I find it interesting to read that:

The pipistrelle bat was thought to be a single species until around 1998, when it was found that there are two genetically distinct species, the larger common pipistrelle and the smaller Pipistrellus pymaeus or 'soprano pipistrelle', so-called because its echolocation call is at a frequency of 55kHz as opposed to the common pipistrelle, which echo locates at 45kHz. New research into these two species is showing that they also have different preferences for food and habitat. The 55kHz bat prefers wetland and lives up to its German common name of 'midge bat'.

In future I must remember to talk about 45 or 55kHz bats which sounds very much more interesting!

I had to follow up this article by clicking on the link to the Bat Conservation Trust which I recall visiting some time ago before posting an item on bats. This time their web site , as usual gives a lot about bats but here is an extract on bats and biodiversity, the latter subject I had posted about recently.
Read more at this link:

Protecting our Biodiversity

The United Nations Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD) in 1992 committed member states to conserve their biological diversity and set a global target 'to achieve a significant reduction of the current rate of biodiversity loss'. In Europe however the goal is that 'biodiversity decline should be halted with the aim of reaching the objective by 2010' known as the Countdown 2010 initiative. We are now less than 600 days away from the end of 2010 and there is still a lot of work to do.

Throughout the UK, BCT is working to maintain our bat biodiversity. We have 17 species of bat and we wish to see the populations of all these conserved and, where possible, enhanced.

All of our bats and their roosts are protected by law. Legislation is one way of maintaining bat biodiversity and shows that the Government thinks that conservation of bats is important.

BCT's Bat Biodiversity Project delivers a whole range of actions in conjunction with the Statutory Nature Conservation Organisations, volunteer bat workers, other environmental charities, sectors of trade and industry and government departments to help ensure that bat biodiversity is maintained. Further details of our work on policy and lobbying can be found on the consultation and lobbying pages.

The work of the Biodiversity Officer is supported by Natural England and the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation

A final interest in all this is that I have been trying to persuade our Group to purchase a bat detector for some time now. I might just have to buy one myself!
Out of this bit of research several outcomes might be generated:

• We organise another meeting about Bats or a bat walk to support the Countdown 2010 event.
  
• We write to all our local authorities : parish and town councils, to ask about their interest in the environment and what they are doing about their responsibilities in respect of biodiversity etc.
• We continue to promote wildlife gardening.

Nature Reserve. Fivehead Arable Fields.

These two photos, which I took in 2006 show a general view of the Trusts nature reserve known as Fivehead Arable Fields. They were the subject of a recent appeal for funds. I 'm pleased to post a copy of a news release from SWT because its a reserve in our Area and our committee contributed to the appeal. Its very satisfying to see such a good result and its good for our Group too. Please read the press release below.

08 December 2009

The Trust saves rare flowers near Taunton

One of the most significant collections of nationally rare cornfield flowers will continue to bloom in Somerset thanks to SITA Trust and Somerset Wildlife Trust members.

Fivehead Arable Fields is home to rare and beautiful flowers coating an area of more than 10 football pitches. It is because these rare flowers coat the entire 10 hectare site, rather than just at the field edges which is more typical, that Fivehead Arable Fields is unique and designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI.)

The project to protect the fields and increase the amount of rare flowers is supported by a £10,908 grant from SITA Trust and an appeal to the Trust’s members saw donations pour in.

Somerset Wildlife Trust Reserve Manager Emma Daniel said: "The SITA Trust grant and donations from our members means we can secure the future of this rare habitat to preserve the rich variety of plants and animals that thrive there.”

Rachael Fickweiler, Regional Fund Manager for SITA Trust said: “We were delighted to offer this funding to enable Somerset Wildlife Trust to make a real difference to this amazing habitat and are very happy to hear that our donation helped kick start the Trust’s funding campaign.”

Fivehead Fields are extremely vulnerable and home to nationally scarce flowers including broad-leaved spurge, spreading hedge-parsley and slender tare. Skylarks, grey partridge, the great green bush-cricket and brown hare are amongst the animals that call this rare habitat home and it is hoped barn owls may also be attracted back.

The money given by SITA Trust and donated by members will enable Somerset Wildlife Trust to:

• Instigate a two-year cultivation regime to extend the range of the rare cornfield flowers.
• Carry out detailed survey and monitoring to ensure that the management regime is achieving the right results.
• Install an interpretation panel for visitors to raise awareness of the value of the rare habitat.
• Improve site security through the installation of a field gate.

Meg Tyler, Volunteer Reserve Manager for Fivehead Arable Fields, said: "The rare flowers at Fivehead are extremely vulnerable and the money will help us to protect them and encourage wildlife to the fields.”

Owls, continued

Another email from a friend has brought me a photo of an owl flying new the village of Aller in Somerset. This was just a chance sighting during a walk with a camera handy.
To see the owl more clearly click on the photo to enlarge.

Owls and Carry Akroyd landscape and wildlife paintings

By way of a change here is a link to a remarkable artist. Click here. Thanks to Carry Akroyd here is the picture. I hope you like it as much as I do.

I came across her work whilst browsing for a birthday card in a local shop. The cover was very striking and as usual with art I find it hard to say why exactly because huge numbers of artist do landscapes and many of them are very good but some just jump out at you.
You should be able to find the picture on her web site, its called "Bright Night" and its a screen print and many others.
I bought the card and found her web address and for me it is well worth visiting.
As you can see from the picture above there was a particular feature in the painting and that was the OWL in flight. As you will know Owls are very much on my mind right now as we get nearer to our next public meeting on Jan 14th on this subject.
We are just getting our posters printed and must start in earnest to promote the event which I am sure will be one of our best.