Welcome to the eighth issue of The Realm Magazine! I apologise for the lack of an issue last month. Due to moving home and computer issues I never managed to get the last issue done in time but now here is Issue 8! Following on from Augusts issue where we looked at ways to encourage our feathered friends to visit our gardens now we take a look at providing space for the other animals that make their homes beside our own. With Autumn approaching it is time to say farewell to our summer visitors, and welcome those that arrive here to spend the winter. We also take a look at the biggest animals on the planet! Our yearly contest has now ended and the winner’s portfolio is featured in this issue as well!
CONTENTS
The Invertebrates - The Insect Eaters
Nature News
Rare South Chinese Tiger cubs have been born in South Africa where there is a breeding programme to save the species
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/earth/2991191/New-cubs-at-Save-Chinas-Tigers-breeding-project.html
A plan to cull up to 100 wolves in Spain has caused outrage among conservationists.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/sep/22/conservation.spain
A rare black fox has been spotted roaming an English graveyard.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7624314.stm
Two species of frog that were thought to have been extinct has reappeared.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2008/09/12/eafrog112.xml
The rare Dartford Warbler may have came to the rescue of British nudists who's beach is under threat from development
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/endangered-bird-hops-to-rescue-of-nudist-beach-941464.html
A turtle discovered by late Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin and his father faces extinction
http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/09/19/steve-irwin-turtle.html
Starving guillemots have been forced into killing the young of their neighbours as food becoming increasingly scarce
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/sep/17/endangeredspecies.wildlife
100 new species of shark and ray from Austraian waters alone have been named following DNA analysis. One rare species of carpet shark was even discovered after it was found inside the belly of another shark!
http://www.enn.com/wildlife/article/38221
A sighting of a blue whale in Irish waters has been confirmed. The giant whales, the largest living creatures on the planet, pass through Irish waters on their migration but are rarely seen.
http://www.wdcs.org/news.php?select=184
Wave power is been harvested commercially for the first time using a British-designed "wave-snake" that harnesses the energy from the oceans. The wave-snakes are located off Portugal and will generate enough energy for more than 1,000 homes.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/sep/24/renewable.wave.energy.portugal
Remember, you can keep up-to-date with all the latest wildlife stories making the news over on The Realm of Nature Forum!
Eye on Nature Contest Winner!
CONGRATULATIONS to the
winner of this years contest, Rufus (Alison) who will be walking away with the
Tiger: Spy in the Jungle book and DVD that she chose from the selection of
prizes on offer! There will be another
contest next year with some more great prizes up for grabs so start brushing up
on those artistic skills!
The Winning Portfolio
Mute Swans (Cygnus Olor) is a very large white water
bird, that can be seen across the UK (apart from in Northern Scotland) and in
areas of Europe. They prefer shallow lakes or slow flowing rivers and as such
are frequently found in urban parks. Its Britian's largest bird and one of the
heaviest flying birds in the world. They feed on aquatic vegetation and also
may eat grasses and cereal crops. Most Swans don't live more than 7 years in
the wild.
A few of the other excellent entries to the contest:
Cheetah by Danielle
A Fond Farewell
Fond Farewell
|
Follow that Osprey! You can
follow the migration of a pair of ospreys – Nethy and Deshar who fledged from
the Loch Garten nest - online at the RSPB’s website HERE. There is also a thread on The Realm of
Nature forum where you can chat about their progress HERE. |
Having spent the summer raising their chicks in the
UK, the swallows and martins start to
Before leaving their summer grounds though all need to
ensure they have enough fuel for travel.
Fortunately the start of autumn before they depart brings a feast of
energy-rich berries an insects that they feast upon building up their fat
reserves to sustain them over the long journey.
Some like the sedge warbler double their weight before they start to
travel while sand martins eat as they go following the pathways set by rivers
where insects gather ready to be snapped up on route.
For both the largest and the smallest it is a long,
hazardous trek. Many birds travel at
night rather than during the day possibly as the cooler nights reduce the loss
of water from their bodies and the air is often more stable making travelling
easier, but other dangers are lying in wait for them. Their route sees them face the guns of
hunters across Europe to which a number will fall, and then the survivors face
the perils of crossing the vast expanse of the Sahara desert. Here many more will fall, dehydration
preventing the continuation of their long journey but for some lucky migrants
there is hope in the shape of the elusive desert oasis where they can rest,
quench their thirst and even snap up a few insects that gather there. They don't stay long at these welcome
rest-stops though for they cannot spend the winter gathered around the small
pools that the oasis offers and soon they are once again on their way. As they escape the desert the groups break
apart with different species and individuals heading in different directions to
suitable habitats and feeding grounds with some travelling right down to the
tip of South Africa.
While the summer migrants are leaving, the autumn
migrants are just arriving. Pink-footed
geese start to arrive at lakes and estuaries from as far away as Greenland
where they spent the summer raising their chicks. These Arctic regions with few predators are
perfect places for the geese to raise their chicks, but the freezing of the
waterways in the winter makes these areas unsuitable places to spend the winter
and so they make the relatively short journey to the UK where they can continue
to feast on the grasses and vegetation that keeps them going through the colder
months. Redwing, a relative of the
blackbird, appear to take advantage of the abundance of autumn berries and
where food is short large numbers of waxwings also appear in the UK to feast on
the fruit crop. Even some of the birds
we don't think of as migrants do move including robins. Many of those entering our gardens over the
winter will actually be from places such as Scandanavia and are recognisable
because they don’t have as vibrant a red breast as the British robins do.
Wild In The Garden
Wild In The Garden
A variety of other animals often visit gardens, and a
lot of the time they can go unnoticed but it is important to provide for these
visitors as much as it is to provide for the birds. But what animals visit gardens and how can
you help them out?
Hedgehogs
These prickly characters are perhaps one of the most
loved UK animals and you can make your garden more attractive to them. You can buy specific hedgehog food from many
stores that sell garden bird products and online, alternatively you can feed
them a good quality meaty cat food and cat biscuits (though not with fish) and
even some fruits such as raisins. It is
also important to provide the hedgehog with clean, fresh water.
NEVER feed a hedgehog bread and milk. Bread fills up the hedgehog but provides none
of the nutrients it needs to survive and they cannot digest milk so it makes
them ill.
With winter approaching now is also a great time at
looking at providing some safe housing for your hedgehogs. There are numerous types of hedgehog house
available with all providing a large compartment for the hedgehog to hibernate
in through the winter or to give birth to their young in the spring. Alternatively you can create your own with a
wooden crate with an entrance at one end.
Make sure that it is securely held down with heavy bricks and earth
though as badgers and foxes will make a meal of a hedgehog. Place your hedgehog house facing away from
the wind in a quiet part of the garden under cover where they won't be
disturbed. You can also create a natural
home for your hedgehog too by providing a log pile or compost heap - just
remember to check the compost for any guests living there before turning it
though!
Frogs/Toads
You don't need a pond to create a habitat for these
amphibian guests though it does give them somewhere to breed if you have the
space to create one. Even a small pond
can help encourage them to hang around your garden. Frogs and toads spend most of their time away
from the water hunting for invertebrates among damp vegetation. While you can buy homes for amphibians, it is
just as easy to create a home for them.
Rocks provide shelter from the daytime sun and the cold in the winter
with log piles providing the same damp, shady safe place for them to rest.
Dormice/bats
If you live in an area where there are dormice around
you can provide for these rare guests too using a box that is very similar to a
bird box only the box needs to be placed with the entrance hole facing inwards
towards a tree. Bat boxes can be bought
from a variety of suppliers. These boxes
have entrances at the bottom and the wood inside is rough to allow the bats to
hang on. These should be placed as high
up as possible in a sheltered location.
Insects &
other invertebrates
There are lots of specially designed homes for a variety of garden insects that can be bought from garden centres and online wildlife stores. Ladybirds and lacewings are useful garden guests that feed on aphids and other garden pests and you can also buy houses for butterflies to hibernate in over the winter.
Bees are useful garden visitors that are important
pollinators of plants but recently these buzzing guests have been facing a
sharp decline but you can do your bit to give them a boost. Bumblebees need a box similar in size to a
bird box - in fact some boxes left out for birds can become colonised by bees
looking for a new home. Bees though
prefer a box with two compartments - one that is filled with wood shavings
where the queen can live and lay her eggs with the other compartment left empty
for the worker bees. Solitary bees such
as mason bees live alone. You can
provide for these by bundling together hollow bamboo tubes in which they can
lay their eggs.
Insect homes should be sited facing towards to south
so they keep warm and close to a flower bed where they can collect their food.
But you don't need to buy a box, wood piles and
compost heaps that benefit hedgehogs and toads also provide homes for a variety
of insects too so by creating a log pile and/or a compost heap a variety of
wildlife benefits. Planting native
flowers and trees also benefits wildlife as do some non-native species of
flowering plants that provide a rich source of nectar. So next time you are looking for a new shrub
to fill in that empty space in your garden, ask at the garden centre what you
can plant that will be good for wildlife!
IMPORTANT: No matter how wildlife friendly you make
your garden, your efforts will be worthless if you use pesticides/herbicides
over your garden but by encouraging species such as ladybirds and toads into
your garden they will help combat the variety of pests that can damage
plant. Use barrier rather than chemical
methods to deter slugs and snails.
Copper tape and mats can be bought from most garden centres to prevent
slugs and snails getting to vulnerable young plants. Companion planting marigolds will help keep aphids
and blackfly away while birds will deal with caterpillars. A log pile will attract predatory beetles and
centipedes that hunt down slugs and other pests helping to keep your garden in
a natural balance.
To find out more things that you can do to help the wildlife if your garden look here - http://www.bbc.co.uk/breathingplaces/doonething/
Check out our online store to see some great new products to help the wildlife in your garden!
Big Beasts
In the last issue we took a look at the smallest
animals on the planet, now it is time to take a look at the opposite end of the
scale at some of the biggest animals on the planet!
African Elephant
Starting off with the largest of the terrestrial
mammals currently around today we have the mighty African Elephant! These giants of the savannah feed upon the
grass, trees and other vegetation they find on their wanderings. Once decimated to the point of near
extinction as a result of the ivory trade, relaxation on the ban could spell
bad news for these long-lived, social giants with an increase in ivory poaching
already noticed in the Congo.
Saltwater
Crocodile
The largest of the Crocodilians is the saltwater
crocodile which reach recorded lengths of around 22 feet though there are claims
that there are individuals out there that reached as long as 33 feet! These wide-ranging crocodiles roam from Australia
to India and they are more than happy to cross the ocean to reach new islands and
colonise new habitats. This wide
distribution leaves the Saltie relatively safe from the threat of extinction
for although they are thought to be locally extinct in some areas such as
Thailand elsewhere their populations are safe and it is possible – probably even
likely – that with reduced persecution they will soon recolonise lost habitats.
Anaconda vs.
Reticulated python
It is Boa vs. Python for the title of largest
snake. The heavyweight championship goes
to the Green Anaconda that dwells in the swamps and waterways of South America
the water supporting its bulk. The
record for the longest snake however goes to the Reticulated Python that has
been recorded at lengths of 33 feet! The
longest venomous snake is the King Cobra that can reach lengths of around 18
feet.
Komodo
Dragon
The largest of the lizards is the Komodo dragon that
lives on just a few remote islands in Indonesia reaching lengths of around 10
feet. On their islands they are the only
main predator and this is thought to have contributed to their large size, for
with no other predators to compete with they can take over the role as top
predator. These formidible predators
have a deadly weapon against their prey.
One bite is all it takes to have a successful kill and that is because
of the deadly bacteria that are in the dragons saliva. This will soon cripple any prey that isn’t
dragged down by the reptiles jaws.
Polar Bears
The title of largest terrestrial carnivore goes to the
Polar Bear that roam the Arctic feasting on seals and their pups. Closely related to the Brown bear, with which
is is known to hybridise, the polar bear is specially adapted to the icy land in
which it lives. It’s white to yellow
coat provides camouflage against the snow as well as insulating them from the
cold to such an extent that they are pronbe to overheating at temperatures
above 10°C. This thick layer of fur also
insulates them when swimming through the cold Artcic waters where they will
travel as far as 200 miles. Recently two
polar bears have even swam across to Iceland!
Goliath
Bird-eating Spider
These are thought to be the largest of the arachinds
although there are a few contenders that could steal the title. Their legspans can reach 12 inches and they
live in burrows. They are also very long
lived with female spiders recorded as living to over 15 years though the smaller
males usually die soon after they have reached maturity. Though known to eat birds, the main diet of
this spider is insects and other invertebrates though they will also take
ssmall reptiles, mice and birds.
Whale Shark
The largest of the sharks, and all fish, is the Whale
Shark. A gentle giant, this shark feeds
on plankton wandering the tropical seas to feeding hotspots where large
nbumbers of these usually solitary sharks gather. Reaching lengths of around 40 feet the whale
shark is one of only three sharks known to be filter feeders. The Basking shark, which holds the title for
the second-largest shark,, and the elusive Megamouth shark which was only discovered
in 1976 and little is known about this deep-dwelling filter feeder.
Blue Whale
|
Irish Blue
Whales Blue whales have recently been recorded off the coast
of Ireland, a rare event that has only been recorded once in the century
before the sightings, promting hopes that the Atlantic blue whales are
recovering. Find out more about this on The
Realm of Nature Forum |
The largest animal alive today, and thought to be the
largest animal ever to have lived on
The Invertebrates - The Insect Eaters
As insect life increased so did the animals that preyed upon them. Among these were the eight-legged arthropods, the spiders. Early in their evolution spiders developed the ability to produce silk. At first, they didn't have the control to spin the elaborate webs that they are well-known for today, but the primitive silk weaving gave spiders a big advantage over their insect prey. Silk is used by different spiders in a variety of different ways.
Trap-door spiders don't use their silk to entangle their prey. Instead, the thin silk placed across the ground alerts the spider to any potential prey approaching the spiders lair, and its location. When an insect stumbles across the silk threads, the spider darts out grabbing its prey and dragging it back into its burrow to devour it in the safety of its lair. Silk is used in a similar way by the sheet-web spiders. This group contains some of the more familiar spiders including those that are commonly found in our homes. Their silk isn't sticky and instead works as a net the insects fall onto when they collide with the silk above. The spider grabs the insects that then struggle in the tangle of silk.
Perhaps the most familiar web builders are the orb web spiders. The elaborate, near symmetrical webs that are most commonly seen usually belong to this group. This group also contains some of the more decorative and brightly coloured spiders. Their webs are sticky and it is this that helps to trap their prey. Once an insect hits their web, it finds itself stuck to the sticky threads. The more it struggles, the more entangled it becomes. This method doesn't work on all insects though. Moths have wings covered in tiny scales which are easily dislodged, and this means that they are less likely to get stuck in silk webs. One spider has evolved a way around this problem and that it the ladder web spider. As its name suggests, this spider builds a web that is like a ladder. A moth hits one rung of the ladder, but the scales on its wings simply allow it to fall free. However, instead of falling away from the web the moth falls onto the next rung of the ladder. This continues with the moth losing the scales on its wings until eventually it can be trapped on the sticky silk.
An Australian spider has a different method for catching moth prey. Instead of building an elaborate web, it catches the moths right out of the air. It does this by giving off a pheromone mimicking the female of some moth species. The males, thinking that there is a female nearby, then go close enough to allow the spider to strike.
Other spiders rely on camouflage to conceal them so that their prey do not realise they are there. One such group is the crab spiders. These do not use silk to trap prey nor pheromones to fool them. Instead they rely on ambush and as a result they have developed various methods of camouflage. Many species of crab spider have colouring to match them to certain colours of flower, but one species the common flower spider has the ability to change its colour depending on the flower it is on. The flowers bring the insects to the spider, all the spider has to do it wait.
Most spiders live terrestrial lives, only a very few species have adapted to an aquatic lifestyle. One of these is the European water spider. They use their silk to build a dome underwater and they then fill this with air that they carry down from the surface trapped in the hairs on their abdomen. This is where the spider then waits for a likely victim to pass by. They will prey on anything large enough for them to tackle from other aquatic invertebrates to small fish and tadpoles.
Forum Chatter
i got one from my councoil at last house and mine was huge took me all year to fill it ..and it rots down as fast as you fiill it up but the compost was good from it just the job for organic matter for your veg..I havnt the room here for one so its not even a option.the compost bins from council are a good buy and at least it gets rid of waste..windy has a bokoshi food digestor as well for all their waste food and she gets loads of plant food from that but i think its expensive as the chemicals you have to buy to digest the food are a lot of money..think its about £30 maybe a bit more and it lasts a few months..
Wyldeflower on Compost Bins
Another paper reporting on this same case said one of the accused admitted chasing, then punching and kicking it, but thought it was already dead when he attacked it. The Court might have believed him on that one, but dead animals CAN'T run, or can they all of a sudden?????
bramleyman on the sickening incident of a group of youths chasing and killing a sheep
It's the end of an era! They have cut down all the trees and bushes outside my work, so there is nowhere for me bird feeder or the birds for that matter to go!
cdsmith15 on his birdfeeder outside work
I still have carrots in the ground. When one of the kids came round to play with the dog, she asked what they were and I told her and she didn't even know what a Carrot was!
I pulled one out of the ground and ate and said she could have one too. She pulled it out the ground herself and ate it. She loved it, so I gave her some to take home for her tea.
Now she went from not even knowing what they were to loving them in one bite!
cdsmith15 in the thread In The Greenhouse...
He likes to be hand fed through the bars and sometimes can't wait long enough for the next piece so he's pushing his nose as far through the bars as he possibly can or just giving his "please can I have some more look" whilst frantically looking for which gap the food is coming through next.
So, I have to confess, he has bit me twice but hey he's only young. He's not very good at getting up either. I pull some fluff away and he pulls more over his face and he kinda lies on his back with his eyes closed lazily.
Rufus on her new pet hamster Houdini
We already know that inbreeding and cross breeding for looks causes major problems, although I always enjoyed the agility and love dogs... I've never agreed with parading dogs around like that, they're dogs. Yes they're very cute but they're dogs and they're your loving pet, not your personal grooming and natural plastic surgery toy.
Rufus on inbreeding of dogs in RSPCA Pulling out of Crufts
Come and share your views at The Realm of Nature Forum - everyone is welcome whether young or old!