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I have noticed a lot less wasps and honey bees around, but moths and other insects appear to be much the same as usual
birds are gradually disapearing but people are getting rid of a lot more trees and hedgerows in favour of driveways, personaly I have kept mine as the sparrows use it a lot and nest in it
my neighbour cleared all bushes and trees a few months ago and we no longer see a lot of birds we used to,all to make way for car parking
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I've planted shrubs and herbs to attract insects, and feed birds. A good wood pile helps too. Hedgehogs used to be commonplace, but I've never seen one in our village. Plenty of badgers, foxes, mice and rats. The huge monoculture hedgeless fields do not help.
I wonder if Brexit will benefit wildlife, the EU was not a friend of wildlife.
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I wonder if Brexit will benefit wildlife, the EU was not a friend of wildlife.
In what way?
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I wonder if Brexit will benefit wildlife, the EU was not a friend of wildlife.
In what way?
I was thinking the same thing, considering that the EU has banned the use of many harmful chemicals, then I thought about creosote, and a program called 'weird nature' where hedgehogs were filmed licking the stuff off garden sheds, then licking their spines - it is thought that they were using it to ward off skin mites e.t.c
So maybe hedgehogs lament the passing of creosote :-)
This winter has been a long one, very tough for hibernating insects that must be running out of energy stores. I've seen a considerable number of bumble bees, also some honey bees, that were using the recent hot snap to store up on nectar, feeding on early blossom.
I agree with the Leif about the bland fields. On closer inspection they are very devoid of insects. Hedges have been planted in this area and are maturing nicely, but it takes more than that to create a diverse wildlife population. But it's a start at least.
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I wonder if Brexit will benefit wildlife, the EU was not a friend of wildlife.
In what way?
The EU farming policies have favoured industrial farming. The set aside schemes are a recent sticking plaster. There is talk among farmers that the post Brexit UK could reformulate farming policy to benefit nature, and farmers, but the cynic in me suspects it won’t happen.
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Songbirds won't flourish where there is a excess of magpies and crows, its not a pleasant task and i get no pleasure from it, but unless you deal with the corvid predators they will kill too many of the songbird young, when we moved in here all that could be seen or head were magpies, songbirds are back in high numbers.
This winter has been hard on all the outdoor creatures, the cold has bitten deep.
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Songbirds won't flourish where there is an excess of magpies and crows, ...
I live in a small town, and our quarter-acre garden has a few magpies and crows, but also regular visits from great-tits, robins, chaffinches, blackbirds, goldfinches, wrens and the occasional long-tailed tit. No sparrows, but several collared doves too.
We borrowed our daughter's PIR camera recently and recorded nocturnal visits from a hedgehog and a fox. So nature is still around, perhaps not in such large numbers.
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Undoubtedly fewer insects (and insect-eating birds) in our overpopulated chemical landscape, but modern low drag coefficient is also a factor. When driving in snowfall see how the flakes flow up and past the windscreen (some of which are nearer the horizontal than vertical). Sadly, only two swallows seen above the garden so far this year - today I suspect many are wishing they had delayed their journey.....
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Its also too early in the year for many insects and a cold spring.
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IME getting the screen truly splattered with bugs was never a summer round thing. It goes with particular insects that take to air together all at once, usually in a breeding frenzy. UK examples are Mayflies, Ants etc.
Travelling in Texas a year ago we got absolutely covered in them on a stretch from Houston to Austin. Whatever they were they mated on the wing and each hit was a pair!!
Nothing like them on any other journey in a whole fortnight over there.
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Its also too early in the year for many insects and a cold spring.
We live on the edge of Stafforshdire Moorlands, about 150 meters above sealevel. Fileds and woods behind us. We use zero insecticides, have a pond and have a gardn with piles of old vegetation everywhere. LOTS of insects (excluding honey bees which I keep), flying .. midges, aphids in season etc..
Not many sparrows at present .. the sparrowhaks have been busy..
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Cars are more streamlined?
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Plenty of evidence on my car today! I drove through swarms of greenfly whilst going through a wooded area. There were so many it sounded like it was raining.
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Lots more insects in our garden than prior years...or so it appears.
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Yes I think it's a good year - more squashed bugs on the car this week than I can remember for a year or two at least.
But still fewer than there used to be.
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We're lucky enough to live next to a farmer's field which is harvested for hay once a year, so for most of the summer season while that grass is growing, there's plenty of flying wildlife. Unfortunately this includes biting flies which harass me relentlessly when I'm cutting my grass.
I've noticed fewer butterflies in flight over the past few summers and fewer honeybees, although i have to add that on a recent walk along a country lane I noticed a proliferation of Orange Tip butterflies, a species which was a rare sight when we lived on the Wirral, just ten miles from here as the crow flies.
There is much more evidence of the solitary bee species, such as the Red Mason, some of which nest in the bank between our garden and the field. Bluebottles still abound and the birds prosper as a result, so I'm not concerned about the future of the wild things in this little corner of Wales.
Blackbirds sing their lilting tunes here morning, noon and late evening, not even put off by the arrival of yet another cat in the neighbourhood. Though I have noticed an increase in the regularity of the blackbird's warning cry, presumably because their nestlings are now at ground level and vulnerable to the bird murdering excrement machines we humans like to keep as pets.
Taking a wider view, the situation is of course much more serious, and having driven recently from North Wales to Somerset and back and noticed not a single insect on my windscreen at the end of the trip, I can only agree that things are changing, and not for the better.
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“The set aside schemes are a recent sticking plaster”
Incorrect. Actually set aside was first introduced 30 years ago as a way of controlling surpluses, but then dispensed with ten years ago. They were not intended primarily as an environmental measure, although that was a useful side effect.
Also I think it too broad a statement to say that the EEC/EU has industrialised agriculture. Certainly the French and other European countries saw it as a socio-economic measure to keep small farmers and rural areas somewhat prosperous. This was in direct conflict with our market based cheap food policy that was in place when we joined in the 70s. The higher prices due to the EEC protectionist policies combined with the much more favourable farm structure in the UK and technological advances in plant breeding and crop production meant that we could quickly gear up output. But there are still an awful lot of EU small farmers relying on the 40% or so of the EU budget spent on agriculture, that supports the less than 2% of output that agriculture produces, in addition there are the environmental and other benefits that looking after the countryside brings.
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We're lucky enough to live next to a farmer's field which is harvested for hay once a year, so for most of the summer season while that grass is growing, there's plenty of flying wildlife. Unfortunately this includes biting flies which harass me relentlessly when I'm cutting my grass.
I recommend Incognito insect repellent, though it does have a strong lemon smell. Better in my view than Jungle Formula that also has the nasty effect of eating into some plastics. I used to cut bowling greens and got surrounded in clouds of blackfly that leave blood spots on your skin where bitten and these develop large and itchy red lumps that drives you crazy for around a week . I'm sure they know when you've got both hands on the mower and in the middle of trying to maintain a straight line so that you can't swat them.
The repellent has stopped gnats, midges, blackfly and horseflies so far. I certainly have been bite free after using it, when I remember to apply it!
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I find driving at 55/60 instead of 70+ makes a massive difference on how many bugs get splattered on the front of the car.
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Light relief
What is the last thing that goes through an insects mind on hitting a car windscreen?
...............its backside
dvd
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We're lucky enough to live next to a farmer's field which is harvested for hay once a year, so for most of the summer season while that grass is growing, there's plenty of flying wildlife. Unfortunately this includes biting flies which harass me relentlessly when I'm cutting my grass.
I recommend Incognito insect repellent, though it does have a strong lemon smell. Better in my view than Jungle Formula that also has the nasty effect of eating into some plastics. I used to cut bowling greens and got surrounded in clouds of blackfly that leave blood spots on your skin where bitten and these develop large and itchy red lumps that drives you crazy for around a week . I'm sure they know when you've got both hands on the mower and in the middle of trying to maintain a straight line so that you can't swat them.
The repellent has stopped gnats, midges, blackfly and horseflies so far. I certainly have been bite free after using it, when I remember to apply it!
Cheers for that. I've been using some wrist band thingies that my wife bought, and they do seem to have an effect on the flies' enthusiasm, though they don't eliminate the problem completely. Might be similar to what you mention, because they have a citrus fragrance. Could be citronella, which is something I've tried in the past in liquid form dabbed onto the skin.
I always know I'm in for it when one of their scouts flies past me, presumably getting the scent of blood and sweat before giving the nod to the rest of the pack to descend and sink their fangs into my flesh. Horrible blighters.
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Avon Skin So Soft Original in a spray is ideal for keeping insects off - AND it keeps your hands soft..
I use it instead of gloves when beekeeping..The Army use it when on field trips..
Ebay as a source..
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Avon Skin So Soft Original in a spray is ideal for keeping insects off - AND it keeps your hands soft..
I use it instead of gloves when beekeeping..The Army use it when on field trips..
Ebay as a source..
Thanks again. I have a feeling that my missus might have some of that knocking around, though it'll take a while to sift through the forest of cosmetics on her dressing table to find it.
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>>Avon Skin So Soft Original in a spray is ideal for keeping insects off - AND it keeps your hands soft..<<
Brilliant - it does work. I've been in Scotland when the midges are out and it's entertaining watching a load of bikers (including me) apply this stuff. I'm amazed they don't rebrand it and double the price.
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