Anything For Animals

posted by admin on Jun 20

Taking your dog for a walk in the countryside is great for your dog - but not for everyone else!

Dogs love the outdoors; the smell of the countryside, the space to run around, and time with you - but you mustn’t forget that it isn’t just about you and your dog.

There are many ways in which you and your dog could ruin the countryside for other users, make some people’s walks less enjoyable, scare wildlife and livestock, reduce the numbers of certain species and spread disease!

The countryside doesn’t sound too nice now does it? 

But it doesn’t have to be that way.  Just by following a few simple guidelines - both you and others can stay safe and have a great day out.

1) Understand the meaning of ‘under close control’:

Unless you can instantly get your dog to return to you or stand still immediately on your command - then your dog isn’t under close control.  This means that if you dog decides to chase sheep, run close to a road, scare ground nesting birds, ruin someone’s picnic or approach a young child - you can’t stop it.

And that is the very essence of ‘under control’.  So this means that whenever you are close to other people, roads, livestock, wildlife, walking through a farm or garden or when told to control your dog by a polite sign - you MUST put your dog on a short lead.

Saying ‘Sorry’ after the event just isn’t good enough in all the above circumstances. 

Never assume that any other countryside visitors want to ’say hello’ your dog either - just because he is cute; never assume that he won’t run off into a farm building, eat someone’s food or that they ‘always comes back eventually’. 

It isn’t fair on other countryside users, landowners or farm animals.

2) Dispose of Dog Waste considerately:

Picking up dog waste isn’t always the best thing to do - especially if you are then going to throw the full bag in a hedge!

Because your dog is under close control - you will always know when it is fouling in the countryside - and you must by law - deal with it appropriately.

If you are in a car park, public green space, farm yard, garden, picnic area or park - you must without a doubt collect the waste somehow and dispose of it in a bin or be prepared to take it home with you.

If you are on a footpath or public space where other walkers will pass by, then you need to move the waste from their path.  Either you can pick up the waste in a bag and take back to your car, or you can flick the waste into a hedge with a stick to degrade naturally.  You can’t pick up the waste and then throw it in a hedge! 

Not only is this technically littering, but the waste will not biodegrade inside the bag and voluntary litter collectors cannot get to the flung bag easily themselves - and pulling the bag will no doubt split it open!  And of course the plastic bag could suffocate wildlife!

If you are in farmland or grazing areas you should always pick up the waste as the bacteria in dog waste can pass on disease and worms to livestock (and other dogs) and of course rain can wash the waste onto the food crops!  Neither of which is desirable!

Even a well trained dog cannot know these things - so you will be held fully responsible for its actions. 

posted by admin on Jan 16

Have you seen something unusual - or the wrong colour - and want to share it with others?

As long as you have a picture of it, then there is a new way to find out what on earth you have just seen or share something different with like-minded people.

It could be that you have just photographed a white squirrel and thought you’d share it - or you may think you are the first to see a species that isn’t usually found in your  area and you have been one of the first to identify it.

The Open University in the UK has basically set up a database of images for exactly these types of things.  Everything in the natural world can be shared here - as well as a whole bank of people who can tell you what it is and why.

Rather than just asking a few work colleagues, having a quick look through your old field guides or just keeping the photo to yourself to admire - you can now share it and let others enjoy your experiences too.

iSpot:
Not another iPhone application as its name might suggest - but a growing online nature database that can sort out your greater and lesser spotted woodpeckers, your wood and yellow necked mice or even your crimson from your scarlet waxcaps! 

You can sign up for free, then easily upload your photographs - as many as you like - to the community.  Whether you know what they are, or have no idea what they are - as long as you upload them - others can help. 

Once signed up, you can start to help with the identification of other people’s pictures. It may be that you have experience in amphibians - but have just taken a picture of an unusual plant that it was feeding on.  You can find out what the plant is in exchange for identifying some garden newts or a river tadpole!

The basic areas are divided clearly into categories including: plants, birds, insects, fish, etc so you can browse images that are already on the system.  You can then just look at some unusual images, admire colour variants of common species or just use the labels to find out where these animals were seen so you can go out and look at them yourself.

Other Information:
It’s not just identification that you can find on the site - there are also a whole load of related links for your further reading, nature surveys, plenty of tips on what to look for when identifying different species as well as links to other useful id and specialist websites.

If you are taking a wildlife course - then this website goes to show that nature is everywhere - and by working alongside the experts on iSpot, you can find out what is living in your local countryside and why - and anything you can do to keep it there or improve the number and diversity of plants and animals there will be a bonus!

So, if you have been meaning to get qualified in something ‘outdoors’ or to help brush up on your basic skills before embarking on a longer or higher level course - then maybe this website could help you keep on top of everything you find on your walks.

It’s lovely to just walk through the countryside and admire the views - but it is even better to know what animals live in it and why.

Also You Might Like To:
Obviously, volunteering with wildlife or landscape-related charities and societies in your local area will help you to experience nature first hand, give you access to great habitats that might be off-limits to the public, and to learn from local experts. 

It could even lead to a larger project or a permanent job somewhere down the line.

And get a camera with a good zoom and an even better macro - and practice observing things. Trying out the myriad of settings at home is one thing - but knowing what to look out for in the field is another. 

Say you take a wonderful photo of a brightly coloured mushroom - only to find out when you get home that there were 30 mushrooms that colour - and the only way to tell them apart was to have photographed the gills and measured the height on it. But until you make those mistakes and get annoyed with yourself - you won’t get any better at identifications.

It is fine to rely on ‘experts’ for identifying those rare species or all those ‘very similar’ lichens - but you should really start to build up your basic id skills in the field if you are planning any sort of career based in the field.

So pack your camera, field guide and sun cream - and get out there!

posted by admin on Aug 15

RSPB - The Royal Society For The Protection Of Birds

Although the full name seems very old-fashioned and a little specific in nature - the new RSPB is about so much more these days!

Yes, it is still the UK’s biggest bird charity - but they have expanded their horizons.  They have found that just protecting the birds themselves doesn’t solve the problems facing them and neither does keeping them isolated.

Birds have to feed, breed and rear young - they aren’t just isolated beings - therefore their whole habitat and feeding areas need to be preserved.  As do all the other animals that make up that environment - including humans.

The Wider Landscape:
For example an estuarine landscape needs to be fed by a clean meandering river, enriched by an unpolluted sea, grazed by certain livestock and managed by sympathetic landowners.  There needs to be a whole host of insects and larva in the mud-flats to feed other insects and waders in the shallow waters, which in turn feed other birds and animals in the wider landscape.

And although certain habitats are threatened by encroachment of human habitation and quad bike users for example - keeping humans out of the picture doesn’t create ongoing support for their work.

By keeping these areas a ‘people-free’ zone, they are keeping away the very people who will be able to look after them in the future - the kids.  So the RSPB are encouraging schools and youth groups to become more involved in the work that they do and in getting hands-on with the wildlife on their reserves.

Even Further Afield:
And, the RSPB know that looking even further from their habitat is essential for supporting our visiting birdlife as many species migrate here from across the globe.

There is no point making everything perfect for species A here in Norfolk and species B in Lindesfarne if they live somewhere else for 9 months of the year!  What if species A has to contend with Maltese hunters to get to Africa and species B has to fly to the dirty tar sands of Canada to breed?

How do we know they will come back next year if we don’t start to protect them around the world?  What if there is nowhere for their young to fly to in the spring?

And it’s not just UK birds that they help around the globe: they have brought tropical rainforests in Indonesia and changed fishing practices around the Antarctic!

What Can You Do?
Well, you don’t even need to spend a penny to help the RSPB with their aims!  There is plenty for you to do that is totally free or of very little cost to you.

For example, you can sign up to their newsletter online so that they can keep you informed of any activities they are organising - like their current campaign of a ‘Letter to the Future’ aiming to save our landscape for future generations to enjoy.  All you need to do is sign it and send it off!

Visiting their reserves is also a great way to show support as their visitor numbers can reflect growing interest in the ‘great outdoors’ and can help them to decide which species interest the most people and start a campaign to help it.

Also, encouraging your children and their schools to become more involved with nature will start them off in the right direction for the future.  I mean there is no point in saving habitats today if nobody wants to care for them in the future!

If you want to become a member you can do so for just £3 a month, or only pay a few pounds for entry at the few sites you visit each year.  Most of their sites are free anyway, so at least donate a few pounds each time anyway. 

I mean - if people don’t support the places they love; then they can’t expect them to be there in the future can they?

posted by admin on Aug 5

This appeal works to help save wildlife habitats in the UK.

The Details:
The Landfill Communities Fund offer funding to restore habitats - but you have to raise the first 10%.

This way if you offer £10 to the WWT, they can ‘unlock’ a further £90 from this Landfill Communities Fund - therefore turning your £1 onto £10.

However the funding is lost completely if the initial 10% isn’t raised.

Therefore the WWT are currently asking for donations for their latest fund to save and restore valuable habitats in local areas across the country.

Previous Work:
Over the past 3 years, previous campaigns have helped to raise over £100,000 - pretty impressive on it’s own - but don’t forget: this gets multiplied by 10 - so they were able to get their hands on a further £900,000 as a result.

That’s £1 million to help restore wetlands and heathland all over the UK! 

So, what did they do with all that money?  Well they had several large projects including the Great Crane Project which was featured on Springwatch and various other wildlife news reports and events.

The other successful actions were restoring wetlands at Slimbridge, saline lagoons at Washington and adding a canoe safari to their events at Martin Mere.  Also at Arundel they have started some serious work to help the water vole population on the River Arun - and pictures coming in from visitors show the results of this project!

How To Contribute:
You can help in a number of ways for this specific appeal - but with an immediate donation having the desired effect!

Belts may be tight - but think of what you would like to donate at the top of your budget - and then divide it by 10.  Basically just £1 of your money will in effect be a £10 donation, so if you would love to offer £100 but are a bit cash-strapped - then just offer £10 and you have done your best!

Obviously if your pockets are not quite so empty, then be as generous as you can and work out your total donation by adding the noughts!  If you can spare £100 - that’s £1000 in the WWT bank and so on.

Alternatively visit their website to find other ways to support them in their valuable work.

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posted by admin on Jul 30

There are hundreds of wetland birds and waders - and even avid birdwatchers don’t always get them right!

So why should you try to get them right either!  Why not get really really good at identifying the basic ones first and then if you spot something different, you can take them as they come. 

If you already know the obvious birds, you can more easily spot when something is slightly different - like knowing how to identify an adult herring gull - a very common British seabird.  Identifying this bird is very easy when you know how, but without knowing this one 100%, you could find it difficult to spot a Yellow-legged gull, which is virtually identical to the Herring gull apart from - you guessed it - the yellow legs!

And believe me - if you have stared at and identified Herring gull after Herring gull - when a Yellow-legged appears - you will definitely spot it!

So, lets look at 5 wetland birds that you can easily identify, so that you can spend more time looking for those rarer birds amongst them!

The Mute Swan - Cygnus olor
The only UK swan with a bright orange bill - and it has a knob on the top to make it extra obvious!  The other 2 common swans that are resident in the UK (the whooper and Bewicks swans) have yellow and black bills.

The Mute swan is the only one of the 3 species to nest in the country too - so if you see one on a nest or being followed by a chain of cygnets - or an older cygnet on it’s own (baby swans are grey, or patchy grey and white) - it must be a Mute!

Canada Goose - Branta canadensis
Out of all the common geese visiting the UK, the Canada goose is an obvious one.  It is a large bird and has a white strap under it’s chin on a long black neck, and a black head.  It also has a lovely pale chest and underbelly.

It looks like someone has wrapped a white neckerchief under it’s chin - although it doesn’t meet at the back.  They are a very common bird throughout the year and breed here too - so will be seen with goslings.

The Eider Duck - Somateria mollissima
This - some say ugly - duck is a spectacular species (when adult male) - and strikingly black and white.  You can’t get an eider duck wrong as they have a yellow huge bill that starts right at the top of their head on top - but the sides of it are the same colour as the face with very low nostrils.  It is a very unique profile.

Once you have seen one - you won’t ever get it wrong again - and only the 1 species is commonly found in the UK - all year on the northern coastline but only in the winter to the south of the country. I love them!

The Oystercatcher - Haematopus ostralegus
If you see a group of large black and white waders (black on top, white underneath) with a giant straight orange bill probing the sand - then it will be an oyster catcher.  These chunky birds are often seen along the tide line on many of the UK’s beaches - and they are nearly always in a small group although can be seen alone in nature reserves.

They have quite a noticeable thick beak and matching thick orange legs - slowly walking through mud or sand-flats probing their bill into the soft material. 

Avocet- Recurvirostra avosetta
This is another black and white wader, but you can’t mistake this one - and you certainly won’t get it confused with an oystercatcher!  They are mainly white all over with a black outline to it’s folded wing and a black stripe across the back of it’s head and neck - and if you can see them: blue legs!

These feisty little critters are tall dainty little things with a very noticable curved tip to it’s thin black bill - and it goes upwards!  Often seen in the wet mud or sand,  they feed by swinging their heads from side to side with the bill open and are also seen pecking at the surface.

This final species was all but extinct in the UK until recently and still found mainly in the south - and is the adopted emblem of the RSPB today!

Good Luck Twitching These 5!

posted by admin on Jun 15

There are many many birds that look a little bit like each other - and therefore not easy to tell apart.

Unless you are a birdwatching expert and can spot the little signs, you won’t know what they are before they have flown off and you’ll never be sure.

But there are 5 birds that you can definitely tell apart from all others in the quickest of flashes - there is no mistaking them.  Honest!

So, here is a description of each one and what makes them so easy to identify.

The Kestrel - (Falco tinnunculus) : Small raptor - seen hovering at the side of the road.

This bird is the only one in the UK that can hover in the exact same space for what seems like ages!  Some birds like buzzards and crows can ‘float’ in the sky on a breeze, but the kestrel is the only one that stays on the spot.

Now, you will normally see these birds at the side of the road as you drive by, but you can see them in fields and other rural areas if you know what you are looking for. 

The Swallow - (Hirundo rustica) : Small dark bird with long double tail - seen high in the sky in summer. 

This bird is one of several high soaring birds that catch insects in flight - the others being swifts and house martins.  But the swallow is the only one with really long, very noticeable ribbon feathers coming off the ends of it’s very forked tail. 

No need to worry about whether it’s got curved wings or a white rump - just look for the trailing feathers in the summer sky - and it’s a swallow! 2 syllables: 2 tails! Easy. 

The Kingfisher - (Alcedo atthis) : Very small bright blue bird - Very Blue - seen near rivers and streams.

This is virtually the only ‘flash of blue’ that you will see in the UK - especially if you are near a river, canal or flowing stream.  Other birds can be blue - but if it is an amazing flash of the brightest blue you have ever seen in nature - then it will be a kingfisher I’m sure!

If you are very lucky, you might see it sitting on a branch staring into the water - and very, very lucky to see it plunge headfirst into the water before emerging seconds later with a tiny fish in it’s over-sized bill.

Red Kite - (Milvus mivus) : Huge soaring raptor in cities and countryside - obvious forked tail.

This majestic large raptor has made a fantastic come back in the UK over the past decades, and can be seen in countryside and towns - I recently saw one scavenging in the car park of a huge industrial park in Reading - I was less than 50 metres away of it standing on the ground!

These huge birds can be told apart from other large soaring raptors (such as buzzards) very easily as they have a clearly forked tail.  They also glide quite low when searching for food and are common along roads and open fields.

Green Woodpecker - (Picus viridis) : Noisy ground feeding bright green bird - flies in an undulating pattern.

Often seen flying away after you approached them, they are a green bullet with flashes of red.  When flying off, they go up and down like they are on the top of a wave. 

Usually heard making a loud repetitive shrill noise as they depart into nearby trees - you can’t mistake them.  There are several black and white woodpeckers in the UK - but only one green one!

See if you can spot all 5 before the end of the month!

posted by admin on May 27

If you took part in the 2010 Birdwatch earlier this year, then you may be interested in the results.

Those who registered their results should get a letter from the RSPB any-day now with the results inside, but if you didn’t, then here they are:

1) The House Sparrow - Down in overall numbers, but still number 1!

2) The Blackbird - This bird has increased in numbers, and so moved up the chart….

3) The Starling - These sociable birds seem to be dropping in numbers as this moves down from number 2 last year.

4) The Blue Tit - Taking full advantage of all the extra feeders out this winter - they increased in numbers slightly.

5) The Chaffinch - Not seen on any of my 3 counts - but must be popular in other areas.

6) The Woodpidgeon - RSPB stats show that the numbers of this bird are up by 855%!

7) The Robin - Always a popular bird, but as seen alone most of the time, this stays low in the list.

8.) The Great Tit - Numbers of this little chap are increasing - and there were loads on my counts too!

9) The Collared Dove - A quiet little bird that only arrived in the UK from Asia in 1953 - and has spread all over!

10) The Goldfinch - Attracted by the feeders we put out - and knocking the Long-Tailed Tit out of the Top 10!

Wales had similar results with virtually the same birds in the Top 10 - although in a different order: with the Dunnock and Jackdaw replacing the Greenfinch and Woodpigeon. 

In Northern Ireland, virtually the same 10 were again found with the Woodpidgeon losing out again - this time to the Coal Tit. The Starling was in 1st place here with the House Sparrow relegated to 2nd place. 

Scotland came in with the Chaffinch first, with the House Sparrow again second, but with the Dunnock and Greenfinch in 9th and 10th place.

If you want to know more about the survey, taking part in other surveys or joining the RSPB as a supporting member, then visit their website for more information and advice.

Source: The RSPB Big Garden BirdWatch Leaflet & Website.

posted by admin on Apr 6

If you know the name of what you are looking at - you can understand and enjoy your environment more!

I know that just being in the countryside can be pleasant enough on it’s own - but some times you see something amazing or unusual - and you want to know more.

By learning what to look for when you see something new can make this really easy - and can avoid disappointment!

I remember seeing a great little purple flower out on a walk, and wanted to know what it was, so I took a picture of the flower - all proud of myself and headed home.

The Problem:
You’d have thought that by looking for the flower in my book was all I had to do - but no.  There were lots of similar purple flowers in there - as well as similar shaped flowers that were generally white but could be pink or purple!  So I didn’t know which one it was.

They all had different shaped leaves in the pictures though - if only I had taken a picture of those too!

Having learnt from my mistake; next time I found a great flower - I made sure I got a photo of the leaf as well - but still no!

I hadn’t bothered to read the descriptions last time - just looked at the pictures, so I hadn’t realised that sometimes the underside of the leaf or the number or flowers on each stem was more important!

However, the more I tried to identify plants, the more I knew not only what features to record - but I knew all the things that it was not.  For example, if I see a small purple flower now - I know what a dog violet and and a vetch look like by heart, so I can eliminate them from my search!

And this way, I will be able to identify insects more easily, as certain butterflies only feed on certain plants, for example so I can look out for them too!

Birds And Mammals:
The same goes for animals too.  If you see a little bird with white on it’s wings - don’t just think that will be enough to identify it - look for the important things for birds.

These include things like length and shape of the tail, any stripes going through or above the eye, shape and colour or the beak as well as what it was doing at the time.  Was it on the ground, on a feeder, hanging off the side of a tree, on the beach, in a pond or was it hovering in the sky?

This is also true of mammals.  They are often not easy to see - but what time you see them, what month you see them and where you are when you see them is all very important when you are back home with your reference book!

And when you see predators like a kestrel or owl, you know there must be prey about like voles and mice!

You can build a whole food web up of your local woods or parks, and this will help you know what should be out there for you to see!

posted by admin on Jan 31

This weekend saw the annual garden bird count get underway - and I had great fun!

I chose to help with 3 counts, as I love watching the birds - and I like to practice my identification skills!  I did my garden, which is a large lawn an orchard next to a wildlife reserve in a small village, my niece’s garden which is a huge lawned garden in suburbia, and finally my friends tiny town garden that she uses to grow vegetables in.

And surprisingly, she got the most species visiting her garden!

I couldn’t believe the numbers and the types of birds she got hopping around her garden and surrounding hedges - and I only watched out the window for and hour!  She had wrens, pied wagtails, song thrushes, starlings and house sparrows, along with blackbirds, robins, crows, collared doves, wood pigeons, magpies, blue tits and seagulls!

My countryside garden did get a great spotted woodpecker, but everything else was the expected species.  Bit unfortunate really as we have seen redwings, bullfinches, partridges, long-tailed tits and even red kites in the garden over the past few weeks - yet for the survey, they all stayed away!

My nieces garden got some standard fare, but nothing that wasn’t seen in the other 2 gardens.  However, the added bonus of doing this garden was that I was able to teach her some of the names of the species we saw!  She was very interested in the count for the whole hour, and came away knowing blackbirds, magpies and wood pigeons (and that caterpillars turn into butterflies!).  Not bad for a 3 year old!

What Else Can You Do?

This survey is only done in January every year, but there are other surveys and birds counts you can get involved in throughout the year in the UK with the RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) and the BTO (British Trust for Ornithology) by just learning to identify the most common species native to this country.

There are no doubt surveys across other countries by their national bird-loving charities and organisations, and by joining them (usually for a few £’s or $’s a month) you may well get some books or booklets on local birds and how to identify native and migrating species.

This way - even if you don’t stand outside and count birds every year, you are helping others to do just that.  You will be funding research into common and endangered species in your country and around the world.

Now that can’t be a bad thing!

posted by admin on Jan 10

Finally, the snow has all gone and the temperature is rising!

Outside of my window this morning there were 2 roe deer trekking across my garden, and out the side by the bird feeders, I saw a nice collection all feeding at the same time: 2 blue tits, 2 great tits, 2 robins, a blackbird and 4 pheasants!

It’s great to see everything still fighting their way into spring, and I am now living in a perfect rural location to witness the changes from winter.

I have already registered myself with many charities and wildlife surveys to make the most of my time here and to help with the monitoring of our native mammals, birds, insects, reptiles, amphibians and plants!

And of course, it will give me the opportunity to learn a bit more about the world I live in! 

Identifying the calls of birds and the sounds of mammals will really improve my enjoyment of the natural world - and could even help on my CV when I apply for future employment, volunteer opportunities or further education!

Great New Years Resolution don’t you think!