Woodlands can provide food for many different species of birds.  The food may range from insects hiding in the ‘nooks and crannies’ of bark, to those buried in the leaf litter, or indeed feeding on the leaves,  Woodland can also be a rich sources of berries, and material for nest building. The tree canopies offer shelter and protection for nest building, egg laying and the rearing of young. Examples of birds that may be found in woodlands include the  Blackcap : Sylvia atricapilla Nightingale : Luscinia megarhynchos  Tawny owl : Strix aluco  Capercaillie : Tetrao urogallus Treecreeper : Certhia familiaris  Hawfinch : Coccothraustes coccothraustes  Lesser spotted woodpecker : Dendrocopos minor Redstart : Phoenicurus phoenicurus Pied flycatcher : Ficedula hypoleuca Some birds are with us all the year round but others are ‘visitors’ or birds of passage..  They are migratory, taking advantage of seasonal resources, especially food so that they can breed successfully.  In the UK, there is a phase of bird migration in the Spring, when visitors like Swifts and Cuckoos arrive. In the Autumn, a different set of birds may arrive such as waders and wildfowl - particularly in coastal regions / wetlands. Examples of migratory ‘woodland’ birds include the redstart and the pied flycatcher.  Both species make extra-ordinary journeys from central / tropical Africa, crossing deserts, mountains and seas. Migrating birds make use of a range of techniques to navigate their routes. They may use physical landmarks like rivers, coastlines or mountains, or orient using the sun or stars, or even the earth’s magnetic field.    Recent research has shown that there is a special protein in the retina of the eye that is sensitive to weak magnetic fields.  Sometimes, young birds learn by following their parents. Migration is not without risk : They can get lost - particularly young birds They may meet with ‘obstacles’, they may collide with power lines and wind turbines.  Skyscrapers with lots of glass in their walls represent a significant problem for many migrating birds.  Though it is possible to fit glass units, which contains a patterned, UV reflective coating, visible to birds. Extreme weather events, such as sandstorms and wildfires Birds may be the target of hunting or trapping during their travels. The loss of resting places, for example, UK wetlands are havens for some migrants.  If such places are disturbed while birds are roosting / feeding or damaged then birds have no opportunity to rest / refuel. Woodlands TV has produced a film on how to attract migratory birds to your woodland, it can be viewed below or at this You Tube link : https://youtu.be/v2pklxHbvBM [embed]https://youtu.be/v2pklxHbvBM?si=S-5y64Ls6_5_299r[/embed]  It focuses in particular on the redstart and the pied flycatcher.  Detailed information on the redstart can be found here, and details of the pied flycatcher here.  

The UN Biodiversity meeting COP16 has announced that 38% of the earth’s trees are facing extinction in ‘the wild’.  The biggest threats to trees are Clearing land / forests for farming Fires and climate change Logging tree for timber The spread of pests The spread of disease One example of a tree under threat is the monkey puzzle tree.  In Chile, climate change has resulted in the country’s Araucanía (Monkey Puzzle) region becoming hotter and drier, and as a result forest fires have become more frequent. It is thought that a million of these trees have been lost in a recent fire in the National Park, and many of these trees were mature specimens - hundreds of years old. Apart from their intrinsic beauty, trees, woodlands and forests are important.  They Absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, helping mitigate global warming Produce oxygen vital for us (for respiration) and so many living organisms on this planet Provides ‘homes’ / habitats for many hundreds of species of birds, mammals, insects, arachnids, lichens, mosses and other epiphytes. Help offset some of the effects of pollution. If the trees are lost, then many of the species that live on or in the trees will also be lost, so the world is at risk of a major biodiversity crisis.  The list of endangered species grows longer.   Populations of the hedgehog have shrunk across Europe, as farming expands, and cities & roadways grow so its natural habitat shrinks. In the UK, other species such as the Red Squirrel, the Water Vole, the Scottish wildcat (an elusive and rare animal), the hazel dormouse and the grey long eared bat maintain a precarious hold on life. A delegation of scientists from Kew Gardens, was present at COP 16 in Colombia, talking about ‘the dark spots of biodiversity knowledge’, that is, identifying those regions of the world where collecting efforts need to be prioritised in order to document the plant species currently unknown to science (before they are lost).