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Nature notes by Richard S
Frogspawn appeared in our
garden pond on 12th March, about 10 days later than last year.
Now, on 3rd April, there is a wriggling black mass of young,
flatworm-shaped tadpoles in the centre of a raft of jelly (the coalesced
contents of spawn left after the tadpoles emerged). As well as providing a
source of food, it seems likely that the jelly raft keeps the taddies in
slightly warmer surface water and acts as a protective reef preventing fish
and other aquatic predators gaining access. In a few days, the raft will
surely disintegrate leaving the taddies more vulnerable.
The cold winter seems to have
caused these frogs only a slight delay to their spring-time activities. For
other animals the cold winter has created more concern. Notably, thick ice
around reed beds will have reduced the ability of the bittern to catch
fish. This rare breeding bird in the UK has been the subject of special
conservation measures in recent years to increase its numbers. On a number
of reserves in our region this winter, fish (e.g. sprats) have been placed
on the ice as a supplementary food source for these birds.
Perhaps surprisingly, a
prolonged cold winter is believed by some to be good news for hedgehogs. It
is argued that in a really cold winter, hedgehogs remain in hibernation
until spring but in a mild winter they may awake too early and use up their
energy reserves searching for food.
2010 has been declared the
International Year of Biodiversity by the United Nations. The aim of the
year is said to be to
“raise
awareness of the importance of biodiversity and the consequence of its
unprecedented rate of loss for both people and the natural world.” Natural England, as a contribution to this initiative, is
highlighting each week a native English
plant or animal for which conservationists
are making the difference between survival and extinction, see:
http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/ourwork/conservation/biodiversity/iyb/speciesindex.aspx
Species highlighted so far
include the white-clawed crayfish, red kite and pasque flower. The internet
is a wonderful source of wildlife information but for a more practical
approach you might care to investigate this year’s wildlife workshops run by
the Thorne and Hatfield Moors Conservation Forum, see
http://www.thmcf.org/workshops.htm
On a recent radio programme I heard the intriguing theory as to the benefits
of insects evolving 6 legs: it was proposed that this equates to 2 sets of
tripods which are ideal for walking over uneven ground. There is always
something new to learn about the natural world.
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