Corn bunting decline.

Over the past thirty years corn buntings have declined by an alarming 90%. They are a bird of arable land, and because of the way we manage our land they have declined dramatically. Yellowhammers and sky larks numbers have dropped over the past thirty years aswell. We use weed killers and pesticides on our non organic farms so arable fields turn into agricultural deserts. Vital plants that the birds rely on to survive are being killed by weed killers, these birds eat the seeds from various members of the dandelion family. Also pesticides are killing vital insects and their caterpillars and  larvae which are vital for the chicks of these three birds. So I would like you to tell me any sightings or records of these birds over the coming months. All these birds nest low down or on the ground so wild flowers and undergrowth are also vital for their survival.

Things to look out for in December.

We are now moving towards the winter solstice at which all of nature will be re-born, the first signs of this will be appearing quite soon. Snow has taken up a lot of the headlines, Worcestershire has had quite a lot of snow over the last week. Field and bank voles will be punching up through the snow to make air holes. They will find plenty of shoots and grass under the snow.  They will spend long periods looking for their food. Stoats and weasels may be stumbled across while they are out hunting for wood mice or rabbits. Brown hare tracks may be seen as well as they move through the snow. Their will be two smaller fore prints followed by two larger hind prints. This pattern is caused by the hares as they run through the snow. As a hare is digging through the thick snow to find shoots of grass under it, it will be listening out with its large ears for anything that is approaching it. You will be able to get quite close to a brown hare before it bolts aware from the area that it has been digging. For the brown hare it is much a challenge to survive as well as eluding predators during any month especially the cold ones. Foxes start mating from December until February, the vixen will only be receptive for between two and three days. Because of this the dog fox will not leave the vixen. Foxes become vociferous as the breeding seasons approaches. The "wow-wowing" bark and the blood curdling scream, produced mainly by the vixen, are their way of getting to know who is in their neighbourhood. Their will be lots of redwings,fieldfares and blackbirds around the red berries of holly during this month as they all try to seek out food. Look out for mistletoe on old oak trees as you are walking in the countryside. Rooks and jackdaws will be busy in their rookery as they start to prepare their nests for the forthcoming breeding season. The noise that comes from their rookery is for me one of the most enjoyable noises in the countryside. Blackcaps may be seen coming into your garden during the long winter days to seek out food. My mum has a single blackcap male that will stay in her garden until almost spring and then come back next winter. Yellowhammers and corn buntings may be seen concentrated together looking for food in large flocks. Their bodies resemble larger sparrows, because of this the word bunting means plump or stocky. The yellowhamer is a canary lemon yellow colour, but during winter this is not quite as striking. The corn bunting is a larger bird than the yellowhammer but hasn`t got quite as striking colours, they are normally a light brown colour with a pale chest. Rough grassland and arable land are favoured sites for these birds. Blue tits,great tits and chaffinches may be seen in mixed flocks. Small tortoiseshell  and peacock butterflies have now found somewhere to hibernate. Queen wasps will also be looking for somewhere to hibernate. After mating in the summer they will look for old wood mice nests or our house for favourable sites. Centipedes and millipedes are still wriggling around in the depths of the soil in our gardens. Scarlet elf-cup fungus,dead man fingers and jews ear fungus are three fungus's to look our for while taking a stroll through one of our deciduous woodland during December.

Things to look for for in July.

A marbled white butterfly.

Bees are in their element during July, Look into brambles in any hedge row and you can see them going about their business. The buff-tailed bumble bee (bombus terrestris) is our largest bumble bee. Bumble bees have much thicker bodies than honey bees, they are hairier than honey bees as well. They pollinate flowers as they are foraging for food, They do this to make honey for the larva as they grow. The queen make her colony along the hedgerow during spring. She then lays her eggs in wax cells and eventually feeds the honey to her young. A honey bee will have up to 50,000 eggs in her colony whereas a bumble bee will have up to one hundred and fifty in their colony. Their are up to twenty eight species of bumble bees in Britain of which six are really struggling. July is a good month to see young birds of prey including common buzzards,kestrels and sparrowhawks. When you are walking through a wood or along a footpath look out for them in trees or sat on fence posts. They normally draw attention to themselves by constantly wailing for food from their parent birds. Young tawny owls can be seen in groups during the day in woodlands.

Hoverflies on a newly opened sunflower.

Pipistrelle bats can be seen at dusk, They have a very random flight and they are Europe's smallest bat. The pipistrelle bat is Britain's most commonest bat. Marbled white butterflies can be seen darting around long grass in meadows during July. They are black and white but are actually part of the brown family. The marbled white is unusual because she lays her eggs while flying(Ringlet butterflies also do this). The grasses they are hoping the egg will land on is either cocks-foot or sheep's fescue, When the caterpillar emerges they eat around the grasses, They then hibernate from autumn onwards and reemerge during February and form a chrysalis in June or July, Then emerging as a butterfly during July or august. Stone chats can be seen in the heathland calling out chat,chat whoeet which is their alarm call. The stone chat calls its name when it calls out, It sounds like flint stones being jarred together. Wheatears, whinchats, yellowhammers and skylarks may be seen in heathland or meadows during July. Sky larks have an amazing sustained song flight, The skylark will sing on the wing while hovering, It will also sing while rising from the ground or while returning to the ground. Its my favourite bird song, I have been lucky enough to watch skylarks on many occasions during the summer. Sky larks nest on the ground in short grass, Their chicks(The sky lark will have up to five) have evolved to grow short light green grass looking feathers on their heads, They do this for camouflage so they are protected at the mouth of the nest. Common blue damsleflies can be seen along slow flowing river beds during July, They have a very nervous looking weak flight because of their size. I have also seen them in my garden as well so you don`t have to go miles to enjoy wildlife. Knapweed,Field poppies, Lady's bedstaw, Yellow rattle and ox eye daisies can be seen moving in the wind in meadows in Worcestershire. Finally take a magnifying glass from your pack and go and find some long grass and have a look at what you can find.