Bill Oddie’s How to Watch Wildlife. Stephen Moss
Читать онлайн книгу.
B
Using this section
Unlike some hobbies and pastimes, wildlife watching truly is a year-round activity. Whatever the season, be it spring, summer, autumn or winter, there will be something to see and enjoy. So the middle section of this book is a month-by-month calendar, featuring the very best of British wildlife and stating how, where and especially when to look for it.
Each month is divided into four main sections:
Where to go … Places to visit where you can enjoy a range of wildlife, together with a map helping you to find them!
How do I see …? Hints and tips on how to see a particular creature, from otters to ospreys, red squirrels to golden eagles, and hares to kingfishers.
Things to do … These include learning bird songs and calls, creating a garden pond and moth trapping – all of which will enhance your pleasure and understanding of Britain’s wealth of wildlife.
Look out for … A brief list of other things to look out for at this time of year.
You can use these month-by-month accounts to plan trips in your local area and further afield; to have an idea of what you might see; or just to get a better understanding of the annual cycle of nature.
One other thing – it’s important to understand that nature’s seasons are not exactly like our own. For example, the breeding season for birds, which we traditionally associate with spring, can begin before Christmas and go on well into the following autumn, depending on the species involved. Likewise, ‘spring migration’ can run from late February, when the first sand martins and wheatears appear, to June, when some waders are still heading north to the Arctic. ‘Autumn migration’ lasts even longer, with the first returning birds passing through in July, while the final stragglers may not depart until November.
Winter is a strange concept in nature too. While hard winters with ice and snow may well have an effect on resident birds and mammals, the recent run of very mild winters means that activity may be going on virtually all year round. Mild weather in February can see the emergence of hibernating butterflies, such as small tortoiseshell and brimstone, while common frogs seem to be laying their spawn earlier and earlier each year, and blossom is appearing on the trees several weeks before we would expect it.
Much of this is undoubtedly due to the effects of global climate change, potentially one of the greatest threats facing us and our wildlife. At this early stage, it is hard to gauge its long-term consequences, but it is worth being aware that as our seasons change, so our wildlife will change with them.
In the meantime, many of our wild creatures continue to follow the changes in the seasons, allowing us wildlife watchers to enjoy them in all their glory – so go on, go out and do so!
JANUARY
January may seem cold, dark and unpromising: but, in fact, it is an excellent month to get out into the countryside and witness some of our greatest wildlife spectacles, including hordes of wintering birds, as well as a few surprises.
The first month of the year triggers all sorts of activity in the countryside, and even more so in our towns and cities, where temperatures tend to be a degree or two warmer than their surroundings. This creates a welcome oasis for many wild creatures to take refuge during the cold winter months. Spring and the breeding season may seem a long way away, but birds such as the wren, dunnock and mistle thrush are already starting to sing; while in the very mildest parts of the country, such as the coastal valleys of the southwest, wild flowers are even beginning to appear.
But for most creatures January is all about survival. So they join together in groups to find food and avoid predators, and try to make it through the lean winter months so that they can breed in the spring. The urge to find food during the short daylight hours means that many creatures are active all day long, a real advantage as they may be easier to approach than at any other time of year.
So wrap up warm, head outside and enjoy the best of winter wildlife watching.
Where to go Wildlife and Wetlands Trust centres
When Peter (later Sir Peter) Scott founded the Wildfowl Trust on the Severn Estuary just after the Second World War, he could not have realised what he was starting off. In the fifty years or so since, his enthusiasm for wildfowl – that is, ducks, geese and swans – has grown into an international conservation organisation. Today the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) works to safeguard wetland areas for birds and other wildlife, not just in Britain, but all over the world.
Bill's top tip
_ If you really want to get the best views of the floodlit feeding, make sure you turn up at least an hour beforehand: the hides can get very crowded and people at the back don’t always get a good view.
Nothing matches the spectacle of really wild ducks, geese and swans. The winter months are the best time to experience this: there are large numbers of wildfowl in their natural habitat, providing great close-up views, often from the comfort of a heated hide. It’s a great way for adults and children to learn how to identify birds – ducks (well, drakes – it is they who sport the colourful plumage) are an easy group to start with – and also to observe aspects of their behaviour, such as feeding, flocking and roosting. The late afternoon roosts are the most spectacular, and the WWT puts on regular floodlit feeding sessions at several of its centres.
The nine WWT sites are strategically placed around the country to attract the greatest range of visiting wildfowl and other birds. They breed in Arctic Europe and Siberia and come here for the winter primarily because our mild winter climate enables them to find food easily, but also because we have long protected them against unregulated shooting.
The best place to start is Slimbridge, on the Severn Estuary between Bristol and Gloucester, near the M5 motorway. Stroll through the world’s most diverse collection of captive wildfowl, take photographs, or simply admire their plumage and behaviour. The hides look out over the marshes and give reliable (if sometimes distant) views of many wildfowl species, notably Bewick’s swans and white-fronted geese. The swans have flown from Siberia tundra, and with practice can be individually identified by their yellow and black bill pattern. There are also large flocks of Bewick’s and whooper swans at Welney on the Ouse Washes, where the birds are fed at dusk and can be watched under floodlights.
Martin Mere, in Lancashire, and Caerlaverock, on the Scottish side of the Solway Firth, are both home to large numbers of wild geese; arguably as impressive as the swans, and often much more numerous. Three other centres, Arundel in West Sussex, Castle Espie in Northern Ireland, and Washington in County Durham, provide excellent close-up views of a variety of breeding and wintering birds, and are well worth a visit if you are in the area. In Wales, the National Wetlands Centre near Llanelli is pioneering new ways of working with wetland wildlife, and is home to a growing population of little egrets.
Finally, the most unusual WWT venue of all is the London Wetland Centre. Situated on a site alongside the Thames at Barnes and built from scratch on the site of some disused reservoirs, it more than makes up in variety and interest what it lacks in size. The star attraction is the wintering bitterns, which have turned up regularly in the past couple of winters, though they can be very elusive. Still, if you get fed up with waiting, you can always take refuge in the excellent café!
Stuff to take
Binoculars – essential if you want to observe the wild birds as well as the captive collection.