Page 7 - Ickford Informer Newsletter September 2022

NATURE

NOTES

A simple container of water will be enjoyed in the heat. A dragonfl y surviving the heatwave. A small garden wildlife pond.
Record breaking summer!

HE SUMMER OF 2022 HAS BEEN RECORD BREAKING, which is
Tnot good news for nature. Ickford’s highest temperature may not have
o
reached 40 C but the long drought brought on through climate change
has affected our wildlife. The visible signs are the village pond drying up,
the parched ground and the trees shedding their leaves early. Unseen is
the damaging effect on birds, animals and insects.

Hedgehogs, already on the Red The Environment Agency said ponds
List for British Mammals, have been and shallow lakes ran dry before insects
starving or dying of dehydration. had fully formed, with frogs, toads
Their hoglets are particularly and newts also at risk. Some species,
vulnerable as they do not know including dragonflies and water voles,
where to find water, and the worms lost their habitats. British bumblebees,
and beetles they eat go underground with their furry coats designed for
into aestivation. Similarly, garden colder weather, have been overheating
birds struggled to feed themselves and, although adult butterflies enjoy the
and few were able to raise a second hot weather, the plants their caterpillars
brood this year. eat have dried out. Ickford village pond this August.

For all species, a single bad summer, • Feed the birds throughout the
with resulting low breeding success, year – in summer with soaked
may not be a total disaster but as raisins, chunks of apple or pear,
summer droughts become the norm, and mealworms. A wide range of
breeding populations will decline very food will attract different birds in
rapidly indeed. winter. Give seeds, suet balls and
peanuts.
So, what can we do?
• Provide places of shelter, around
• Create a wildlife pond, however your pond or in corners of the
small. Keep it topped up throughout garden, using piles of logs, sticks
the summer using your water butts, or rocks. Build or buy a bee hotel,
or tap water little but often. hedgehog house and bird box.

• Install a bird bath or leave out • A good rule of thumb is ‘stay
a shallow bowl of water for the messy’ – wilder and more
birds but clean it regularly to avoid overgrown areas tend to provide
the spread of avian flu. In colder more shelter and stay damper for
weather, ensure that it is not frozen longer in drought which is great
Young Hedgehog about to leave the nest. solid. for all wildlife. v

ourickfordnewsletter@hotmail.com 7 September 2022