Lockdown gives nature chance to bloom and boom
Fewer people driving and walking in the countryside will boost bird, animal and bug numbers, say experts
AS THE whirr of traffic becomes less deafening and much of the country works from home, experts have said the lockdown may be helping wildlife.
Martin Fowlie, from the RSPB, said that many of Britain’s rare birds will enjoy a respite from visitors to the countryside, especially those which build nests on the ground.
He told The Daily Telegraph: “One might expect ground nesting birds to have a slightly easier time of it.
“Whether it’s beach nesting terns and waders or small songbirds like the chiffchaff and willow warbler, the fact that there will be fewer people out and about in the countryside walking their dogs and exploring different places may well decrease the amount of disturbance these birds may usually have to contend with.”
Mr Fowlie added that, because the RSPB was not monitoring bird numbers during the lockdown, it would be a while before it gets a good picture of how successful the breeding season will be.
Due to the lockdown, visiting the countryside from towns and cities has been prohibited, meaning families and their dogs are not tramping down country paths.
That will be a boon for many nesting birds, Mike Swan, the head of education at the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust, said.
He explained: “I think with lockdown and with people not being able to drive off and park somewhere and then go all over the place, the countryside is actually quieter than it normally would be at this time of year. One of the great bonuses of that is the ground nesting birds will be able to get on with it without any disturbances.”
Dogs are a great issue for birds such as skylarks usually, he said, as they disturb nests.
Mr Swan added: “If the dog is not under tight control it’s always at risk of disturbing ground nesting birds. Dogs aren’t necessarily deliberately hunting for birds, they bump into them and you can’t take away the birds’ natural instinct to get away.
“If this happens continually, they are away from their nests, the eggs chill and they are at more risk of predation.”
He said that skylarks, curlews, grey partridges and corn buntings stand to have a really good year.
Despite the lockdown, farmers are still doing their conservation projects, and so are gamekeepers.
Fewer cars means less roadkill, sugmand gesting the lockdown could be a lifeline for hedgehogs, toads and other frequently squashed creatures.
Sue Patchett, from the toad patrol in West Yorkshire, told Radio 4’s Today programme: “The main danger to toads is cars, but with coronavirus it should be so much easier for the toads to travel to their destinations. This year they will have a better chance of spawning.”
Mr Swan agreed, adding: “The fewer cars there are on the road, the less wildlife road casualties there are, for animals, hedgehogs and birds in particular get squashed on the road. Blackbirds, pheasants squabble at each other in the middle of the road and have no idea what the traffic is doing so they end up getting squashed.”
The closure of pubs and restaurants has meant a lessening demand for fish and seafood. Because of this, many fishing businesses are going out to sea less frequently or have paused operations for now.
The Marine Conservation Society said this could help the UK’S fish stocks recover.
A spokesman told The Daily Telegraph: “It’s certainly feasible that some stocks could be subjected to reduced fishing pressure due to the drop in deas a result of the pandemic, but whether or not that reduction is sustained long enough for populations to increase is hard to predict.
“There is no question that Covid-19 is upending the global seafood trade, supply chains and reducing demand on food-services such as eat-in restaurants. If we saw reduced fishing operations over the lockdown period due to Covid-19 and reduce catch volumes directly relating to this, this in turn could potentially impact some fish stocks’ status in the long run.”
The insects of Britain may also be enjoying a brief respite from the tyranny of the trampling foot.
Matt Shardlow, the chief executive of Buglife, said that oil beetles on coastal footpaths were likely to do well as a result of the lockdown as fewer people would be travelling to the coast for their walks.
He added, however, that he was concerned that movement restrictions meant conservationists would find it difficult to continue their work looking after endangered species, including reintroduction programmes.
Mr Shardlow explained: “It is important that, wherever restrictions allow, we keep the work going that is enabling the continued survival of other species, and that enables us to assess the health of the countryside during this period.”
People washing their hands more often may be hurting the invertebrates in our rivers, he added, explaining: “Antibacterial chemicals in handwashes can be persistent and harmful to the environment, an increase in the volume of antibacterial chemicals going through sewage works could harm river life.”
One insect that is likely to flourish this spring due to lockdown is the bumblebee.
Mr Shardlow said: “Reduced economic activity will reduce air pollution, which will help bees find flowers – exhaust fumes disguise floral scents – and reduce the current damaging eutrophication of grasslands, wetlands, heathlands and woodlands.”
Birds likely to be spotted in gardens will include more smaller varieties this year, the RSPB has said, revealing the results of its Big Garden Birdwatch.
Almost half a million people in the UK contributed to the citizen science project, which found that smaller birds were seen in greater numbers in gardens across the country than in 2019 thanks to the milder winter.
The event, held over the last weekend in January, revealed the house sparrow held on to its number one spot. Long-tailed tits were up by 14 per cent, wrens by 13 per cent and coal tits by 10 per cent in 2020 compared with 2019.
The milder weather at the start of the year appears to have helped populations of these species as small birds are more susceptible to spells of cold weather.