the mustelidae family

part five the mink.

Not everyone`s favourite animal,the mink was first introduced in the 1920`s from north America,But the fur farms had inadequate fencing so many escaped to populate Britain.It has now established a healthy population.The mink is mainly active at night,Its habitat includes rivers,lakes and canal sides.The mink has a chocolate brown fur that looks black from a distance.The male has about a sixteen inch head and body with a five inch tail,The female is slightly smaller than the male.Mink`s swim really well and will eat slow moving prey,Such as eels and crayfish but they will also eat trout and young salmon,Water birds such as moorhens and coots may well be eaten by the mink along with their nestlings.The water vole population has also been decimated by the introduction of the mink,As the mink catches more food on land than the otter including rabbits,voles and other small creatures..Mink don`t really compete with otters for food but they may stop the otter from recolonising new habitats.Minks mate between February and march and One litter of up to six kits are born in may,The kits are born in a den of waterside stones or tree roots.The male will travel long distances to mate with a female.The gestation period is between 49 and 51 days but may appear longer due to delayed implantation of the embryo.The kits are weaned after about eight to ten weeks and leave to establish their own dens after about three months.They become sexually mature in time for the following years breeding season.A mink has a more pointed snout,darker colour and are smaller than an otter so can be distinguished from an otter when swimming.

Abscission

This is why every deciduous tree sheds their leaves in autumn.They spend all winter producing buds,All spring sprouting them and then all summer using them.Their leaves are very valuable to the tree,But they are very fragile organs.In winter the leaves face two serious problems,When it freezes this can cause damage to the leaf and the fact that its very dry in winter is their other concern(as its normally dryer in winter than summer).If the leaf was to die and just fall off the tree,The tree would loose all of the valuable nutrients contained within the leaf.So through the process of abscission they seperate the dead leaf from the stem by forming cells at the base of the leaf.Then all of the nutrients are reabsorbed down the tree.Then its down to the wind and rain to take the leaf off the tree.Then through the process of decomposition it is then reutilised back through the roots,In years to come will eventually form a new leaf on the tree.

things to look out for in april.

Swallows nesting in spring.

The beautiful spring mornings are finally here for us all to see,Ive just got back from a weeks holiday in north wales and there was not a drop of rain in sight.Bluebells,ramsons and hawthorn blossom are sights that we should now be able to see during April as the climate starts to get warmer.Bluebells and ramsons will carpet the woodland floor,While the hawthorn blossom should lighten up many a hedgerow in Worcestershire.You should be able to see the first house martins and swallows as they return from their epic trip to south Africa.Badger cubs make their first appearance above ground during April,Dusk is a really good time to go and watch them.Its also a good time to look out for wood mice rustling in the leaf litter as you walk through the wood.The sound of the cuckoo is the day i say spring has arrived,The cuckoo is a migrant from Africa and will use meadow pipits,reed warblers and dunnocks nest for themselves to lay their eggs.When the cuckoo chick hatches it instinctively pushed the other chick or egg out of the nest,So the adoptive parents tend purely for the cuckoo chick.Blackbirds,starlings and song thrushes are also really busy this month.Also look out for the Ariel displays of skylarks and meadow pipits.Orange tip butterfly's start to emerge during April around plants from the crucifer family in particular the Lady's smock,Laying their eggs on the leaves of the plant,They then feed as caterpillars on the mustard oils of their food plants.Its a good time of year to see grass snakes,adders and slow warms basking in the spring sunshine. Newts start mating from now as well so look in the shallows of your pond or someone elses and you may see them.The male woos the female with his tail flicking performance,and his bold marking on his body. You probably wont see the female laying her eggs, She wraps a living leaf around each one of her eggs,The leaves will then be bent over with a single egg inside.Start to look out for vixens with her fox cubs as well

Good luck aston villa in the f a cup semi final.

I know villa lost 7 1 against Chelsea last weekend,but as i am traveling down to wembley again next weekend and its against Chelsea i just hope they can turn it around in the semi-final.So good luck.