Websailor's Wacky Wildlife World
Created | Updated May 7, 2008
A quirky look at wildlife. To be taken with a pinch of
salt, but with more than a grain of truth!
Nice Weather for Ducks!
Two articles I wrote, one on the 18th April 2006 and another on the 10th July 2006, have come back to me with a vengeance in the last month or two. The first was 'Water, water, everywhere, nor any drop to drink' and the second was 'Stranger Than Fiction'.
The first was written at a time when large swathes of the UK were suffering from drought and hosepipe bans. I pointed out that we do not value our drinking water supply enough, taking it for granted and wasting much of it.
However, I did not expect the same title to apply in the UK exactly one year later, when there was literally 'water water everywhere nor any drop to drink'. Huge areas of the UK have been under several feet of water for weeks on end, the floods contaminating drinking water supplies for some 350,000 people for several weeks. Water had to be supplied in bottles and bowsers! The aftermath for many people could last for a year before things return to anywhere near normal. Subsequent heavy rainstorms must provoke sheer terror that it will happen again.
Much was heard of the hardship to people, and rightly so, and to a lesser degree the perils to domestic livestock and pets. Animal charities and rescue centres moved in to rescue animals and re-home many from flooded rescue centres in the areas affected.
Scarcely a word reached the media about the effects on wildlife battered above and below ground, with no escape. Whilst it was amusing to see swans floating effortlessly down various high streets and ducks too, other birds and animals did not fare so well.
Birds were still nesting, some with second broods possibly and many would have been washed away as hedgerows and trees disappeared under water. Very few blue and great tits have been seen in gardens, though they do seem to be re-appearing now and it is amazing to find so many surviving such an onslaught. Many must have been lost. Long tailed tits, somewhat bedraggled are coming back too.
Our blackbirds, robins and thrushes appear to have successfully bred, in spite of many more areas being under water than had been reported in the media. Wetland birds will have done well, though the contamination of water, and floods washing away their natural food may well have a knock-on effect.
It appears that in some areas swifts, swallows and house martins have not done well through lack of insects, though in my area swifts in particular seem to have had a high old time screaming over the river flood plain and the numerous local pools.
Those birds still looking for insects in August should have a feast as standing water followed by a hot spell has produced a bumper 'crop' of mosquitoes. For those of you who provide a 'tasty' meal for 'mozzies' as I do, should take note that thousands of people in the UK have suffered insect bites on an unprecedented scale, with the 33 species of mosquito resident in the UK thriving as never before.
A word of warning for those of you who like a BBQ and a pint or two on a summer night, the 'mozzies' are heading your way! Especially if you have a patio heater to guard against the chill of this summer! Apparently they are attracted by anything giving off carbon dioxide!!
I worried about badgers caught unawares underground when their young were just gaining their independence, but they seem to have good instincts and may well have moved to higher ground in time. Hedgehogs, squirrels, mice, rats, otters and many other animals were at risk. Bats have suffered too with a lack of insects and apparently many young bats have been taken to rescue centres and wildlife hospitals.
One casualty that hadn't occurred to me was the bumblebee which nests below ground! Amphibians too have been washed away to unfamiliar territory. On the subject of bees again I know that beehives have been washed away in the floods to add to the agony of bee-keepers already suffering other onslaughts on their precious charges.
High water tables have caused many problems, especially in cities where industrial water extraction is far less that it used to be. Wildlife has a knack of recovering from all kinds of catastrophes and will no doubt triumph over this one as it did after last year's drought but a little help from human supporters would not come amiss.
The coming weekend is European Bat Weekend 24 - 27 August. There are events all over the country where you can hear, see and learn about bats, who need all the help they can get in these tough times. Out and about this time of year, the 16 species are struggling - two are endangered and nine are threatened so get along and support the bat groups if you can. And watch out for the 'mozzies'!
On a less serious note...
The second article that came back to me this week was 'Stranger Than Fiction' which was partly about the loss of some 29,000 plastic bath toys in January 1992 when containers fell overboard in the Pacific Ocean. Subsequently used to plot ocean currents, the bath toys have appeared in all sorts of odd places.
STOP PRESS!! I have news!
Ducks, turtles, beavers and frogs are expected to turn up on our beaches in some numbers this August! They have travelled some 17,000 miles since falling in to 'the drink'.
So if you live, holiday or visit anywhere near our beaches in Britain or Ireland take a closer look at the flotsam and jetsam that washes up with the tide. Should you find any of the above mentioned 'critters' with 'The First Years' stamped in the plastic you are requested to contact Professor Ebbesmeyer.
Even if you are not in a coastal area take a look at the website for a fascinating read.
I'm off to buy anti-histamine tablets, sunglasses, sun hat and cover-all clothing, or should I get wellies, an umbrella and a mac? Oh! the joys of a British summer!
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