Warm spring air helped wildlife to bounce back

BIRDS, bees and butterflies flourished in this year’s balmy spring, the National Trust’s annual review has found, with species returning to areas where they had not been seen for decades.

Record numbers of bumblebees were recorded in Somerset, while the Heather Colletes bee was thriving in Dorset, the Trust said.

Atlantic bluefin tuna, anchovies and squid all returned to UK seas due to warmer waters.

The hawfinch, which is rare and difficult to spot, also benefited from the warm weather, as did the little tern and the purple emperor butterfly.

Earlier this month feral goats and Soay sheep at Cheddar Gorge, Somerset, were also reported to be in good condition due to healthy grass growth.

The benefits of good spring weather were not limited to animals – they also meant a “bumper” autumn harvest of seeds, fruits and nuts.

However, the warm weather caused problems for other animals, and could have caused the deaths of several minke whales found off the Suffolk coast.

A wet July and August also limited the benefits to wildlife, it said, with rain and thunderstorms killing insects including butterflies.

Particularly affected were treetop dwelling purple hairstreak, white-letter hairstreak and other butterflies which were blown away by a thunderstorm on July 18.

Matthew Oates, a nature expert at the National Trust, said that there were “huge discrepancies between the winners and losers in the natural world”.

“I’m extremely worried about some species – especially some of our insects and our native ash trees – but also buoyed by success stories that emerge at our places each year,” he said.

The Trust said it was concerned about the “freak” wildlife patterns caused by the weather, including the arrival of thousands of venomous Portuguese man o’war on British beaches following Storm Ophelia in October, which also caused higher mortality among seals.

A dry and mild winter early in the year also affected amphibian numbers, with natterjack toads struggling to breed at Sandscale Haws in Cumbria because of a lack of suitable pools.

Ash dieback is now “rampant” on the Sussex downs, the Trust said, with one report finding that infected trees outnumber healthy ones.

Mr Oates said: “Looking at the bigger picture, 2017 has been one of – if not the hottest – years ever, and that’s led to more unusual occurrences in the natural world, globally and here in the United Kingdom.”