All posts created by kevan

At Long Mead we heard the first call of the cuckoo on the second of May. The previous week the reed warblers had arrived and begun their incessant chattering in the reeds around Horseshoe Island.

The UK ranks 189th out of 218 countries for which the Biodiversity Intactness Index has been calculated. Yet conservation societies in the UK have more than 8 million members - by far the highest in Europe. Why are we doing so badly in taking care of our natural environment?

A surprising statistic - and shocking - is that more than half England's most important wildlife sites - the Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs)- are being neglected. A report by the Campaign for National Parks, published in 2018 (Raising the bar: improving nature in our National Parks; https://www.cnp.org.uk/news/raising-the-bar) noted that nearly 75% of the SSSIs in National Parks in England are in an ‘unfavourable condition’. SSSIs outside the Parks fare somewhat better, but a worrying 61.3% of all SSSIs in England are in decline.

A surprising number of our common bird species are in danger of extinction - these are 'red listed'. The cuckoo, skylark, lapwing, song thrush, and even the formerly common house sparrow, are all red-listed. Amber listed birds include the mute swan, mallard, greylag goose, tawny owl, and snipe.

You can estimate the age of a tree without cutting it down to count the rings. The diameter of a tree at 4ft above ground gives a rough guide to its age. e.g. for Beech, multiply the diameter by 6 to get the age. For oak the factor is 2.5.