Fears harsh winter harmed UK wildlife (1 Viewer)

Hi there

This article appeared on the lunchtime news today

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8575537.stm

The harsh winter may have had a devastating impact on Britain's wildlife, it has been warned........

Regards
Kathy
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Hi there

There is a piece in the papers today about Kingfishers, they said that in the big freeze of 1962-3 about 90% of them perished.

Waterways wants to log all sighting of these birds to see how many have survived this bad winter. So if you see one this year please contact:

www.waterscape.com/wildlifesurvey

I hope it is a good result. Just something to consider here for everyone tp think about in the near future,

Regards
Kathy
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This winter could hardly be compared to 1963 which lasted alot longer and was more widespread and colder in most of the country. No doubt there will have been losses but nature has a way of bouncing back if it is allowed the environments in which to thrive. I never thought Dartford warblers would recover and there were many other losses, the destruction of habitats seems a much bigger danger to me. Kingfishers have certainly not disappeared in this area (East midlands).

z-ben said:

This winter could hardly be compared to 1963 which lasted alot longer and was more widespread and colder in most of the country. No doubt there will have been losses but nature has a way of bouncing back if it is allowed the environments in which to thrive. I never thought Dartford warblers would recover and there were many other losses, the destruction of habitats seems a much bigger danger to me. Kingfishers have certainly not disappeared in this area (East midlands).

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Hi z-ben

I am pleased to hear that you have Kingfishers in your area. I have heard of others mentioning that they have seen Kingfishers about too. o:-O

Like you, I do remember the winters of 1963 and they where very cold indeed. I remember the amount of snow lying on the ground too for weeks on end as a young child and still have those dreaded childhood b/w pictures too.
The recent snow we have had is nothing in comparison with the winters of yesteryear. Maybe we have turned into a nation of 'softees'

I also think it is that peoples values have changed about our wildlife and there is much more time invested in conservation now.

As said a lot has related to loss of habitats new technology, building houses and a population boom has not helped factors either.

I wonder if we had another winter of yesteryear what the reaction would be - another winter of discontent in a big way... big time for everyone including the valued wildlife we have.

Regards
Kathy
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It is unusual to hear from someone who also has recollections of 63 i was in a lot of trouble at school for bringing in birds suffering from the cold to warm em up i was only young but saw close up for the first time a woodcock which i realised was a really beautiful thing. I have kept my eye open every winter since for such casualties i live in the same area and it has never happened again . The destruction of habitat however never ceases to amaze me .Finch population seem as solid as ever perhaps a few less Linnet ,but i often wonder what happened to all the Skylark , Yellowhammer and Song Thrush in particular as these were seen on a daily basis. The latter i suspect may have suffered with the increase in the cat population but there are no doubt other reasons we had flocks of Sparrows in plague proportions and Tree Sparrow is still not hard too find around here . Swifts are nowhere near as common and i believe would benefit from help ( being provided with places to build nests) . The main focus of the conservation bodies however will be the preservation and reintroduction of more sensational species which of course will lead to controversy and illegal persecution i just thank god i was not born any later and saw these clouds of Sparrows and such things that will never be so common again but those who never saw it know nothing about it nor do they realise what they and their children have missed. For the unfortunate in areas of the country who have lost some things such as Kingfishers i say do not despair as this is not nation wide you will soon be getting replacements and to those who say some birds do not move far from their place of birth i would like to point out that birds do not read the same books as you and will go where they like.

I remember 1962/63 as well, I believe that round about 80% of the Wren population perished, but they certainly recovered within two or three years. To be honest I don't really remember any really cold long winters after 1963, 1981 wasn't a good winter, but it was nothing compared with 1962/63.