Whilst it is not possible to attribute a particular weather event to climate change alone, what is clear is that climate change / global warming intensifies certain meteorological events. High temperatures and reduced rainfall have lead to the extreme fires seen recently in Australia and on the pacific coast of America.  Floods and periods of drought are now more common and the last two decades have seen some of the warmest years on record - in the U.K. .  Whilst too much water can result in the death of trees and plants as the soil becomes water-logged - so oxygen cannot reach the root -  drought also stresses trees and other plants. Drought-induced death of trees is associated with the failure of the water transporting system (xylem), but the process is poorly understood. Tree, indeed plant survival, is dependent on a continuous supply of water to the leaves. Read more...

Here’s a challenge for you: next time you’re outside any time between dawn and dusk, see how long you can last without hearing a single bird. Not long, I bet. Antarctica residents: you’re cheating. Needless to say, birdsong is everywhere, whether or not we happen to be listening. As you might expect, there is a long history of scientific research into the phenomenon. The beauty, complexity and sheer variety of sounds made by birds has captured the imaginations of countless minds from Keats to Darwin. Recently though, the focus of some biologists has shifted away from the whys and hows of birdsong, towards answering the question: is our increasingly noisy world having any effects on the way birds communicate? The short, emphatic answer: “yes”, but it’s a little more complicated than that… Anthropogenic noise, or “noise pollution” is a big challenge faced by nearly all wildlife, and it’s only getting worse. As urban sprawls expand into natural landscapes, and human populations continue to grow at an alarming rate, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to escape the sounds of the modern world. Read more...

I couldn't get the gears on my bike to work so instead of going out I decided to make a cup of tea.  It may seem cumbersome but to make the tea I wheeled out my new solar oven, which is a large parabolic dish and once it's angled it towards the sun, its rays get concentrated onto the saucepan of water.  Actually as I write this, I'm drinking the tea made from water boiled by the said solar oven.  Like campfire tea it tastes especially nice - one enjoys it even more from knowing that it's made with renewable energy. Our solar cooker only arrived last week and my son and I constructed it in about an hour.  The instructions were only in Chinese so some guesswork was involved and as with constructing IKEA furniture there were bits that had to be undone and turned around in the process.  We put together the six sections of the parabolic dish and then constructed the metal frame which goes on three wheels for moving it around easily. Read more...

In Norfolk, a ladybird is sometimes referred to as a bishy barnabee.; this rather curious name is explored in this article in The Spectator from last year.   Ladybirds are beetles and are easy to recognise. Most have dome-shaped bodies, with an oval outline and three pairs of jointed legs.  The most common ladybirds have bright red wing cases with black spots covering their bodies.  Others are yellow with black spots, some white and brown, or even striped.  It has been estimated that there are some five thousand species of ladybird across the world, with 40+ species in the British Isles. Their bright colour serves as a ‘do not eat me’ warning to would-be predators, apparently they have a bitter taste.  Birds such as swifts and swallows eat ladybirds, as do some spiders, frogs, wasps, and dragonflies.  When challenged, ladybirds can produce an ‘unpleasant’, yellow, oily fluid; or they may ‘play dead’.  The pine ladybird when under threat ‘clamps’ itself to the surface that it is resting on.  Bright colours are used as a defence mechanism in a number of insects. Read more...

There are quite a few conspicuous Summer fungi that you might have seen popping up recently. One of the most commonly found and easy to identify is the subject of this month’s focus, the Collared Parachute (Marasmius rotula) referred to alternatively by the names of the Pinwheel Mushroom or the Horse Hair fungus.   These alternate names present fairly accurate descriptions of the characteristic appearance of this dainty looking but tough mushroom, which you’ll find growing in groups in the leaf litter from the first June rains through to November. The thin and fibrous stem that is the same ivory white colour at the top as the tough, dry pleated cap that it supports but darkens from russet brown to near black towards its base is one feature that it shares with a number of other species in the Marasmius genus. More distinctive is the collar, or collarium to give it its technical name, that separates the gills from the stem, with the gills themselves fairly widely spaced and running outwards to the cap edges. Read more...

The woodlands blog has reported on the pathogen that causes ash dieback.   Jasper has described the nature of the fungus, and Richard has commented on how the problem has developed.   The disease has been variously referred to as  chalara,   ash dieback, and  chalara dieback of ash.  The fungus has an asexual phase, which was formerly known as Chalara fraxinea, hence the name of the disease; the sexual phase of the fungus was then associated with the asexual Chalara - this was called Hymenoscyphus pseudoalbidus. Putting the two together, the fungus was named Hymenoscyphus fraxineus (H.fraxineus).  The fungus Hymenoscyphus fraxineus is of Asian origin. Read more...

In an established territory the Common Buzzard is likely to have several nests which they will use interchangeably. Over the last two or three years of watching the pair over Woodcock Wood we decided to make an effort to find their nest. By the end of June we had located five nests, including their current one, high in the confines of Corsican Pines, and surprisingly close together. We set up a small hide (featured image). The height of the nest meant an excruciating position for body and camera over many hours, and the position of the sun meant mornings only for photos.  Over the next three weeks, we spent many hours watching the activity around the nest.   Initially we were able to confirm there were two chicks which we estimated were about 30 to 35 days old. The female remained deep in the nest for much of the time, and was reliant entirely on the male.  Read more...