Brownfield sites must be protected
Whilst reading the recent opinion piece by Mark Carwardine (November 2021) on why new houses should not be built on greenbelt land, I was in total agreement with the importance of greenbelt land for biodiversity.
However, Mark mentioned that 1.3 million new homes could be built on brownfield sites in England alone. This suggests that brownfield sites are of less biodiversity value and lumps them all together into one category, which I don’t believe to be the case.
I have fond memories of spending the school summer holidays volunteering at a brownfield site called Carymoor Environmental Centre, which is built around a landfill site in Somerset. I could hear singing skylarks and gaze at the intricate zigzag webs of wasp spiders whilst wandering around this special place. If we are to believe that brownfield sites are of lower biodiversity value, then such places could be built on. I think we need to stray away from lumping sites into brownfield or greenbelt land, and judge sites on their importance for wildlife.
Joshua Evans, Dorset
Autumnal swallows
I live in a tenement block in Glasgow. For the last three years, swallows have been nesting outside my front door. It is a common close and the nest is inside the close. The nest is constructed around a gas supply pipe. In late October, there were still four swallows sharing the nest and the ledge beside. They are the third brood of the season and show no signs of migrating. They have little fear of me and will happily pose for pictures. I am concerned that they will leave it too late and starve as the colder weather arrives.
Patrick McGuire, via email
LEE BARBER FROM THE BRITISH TRUST FOR ORNITHOLOGY (BTO) REPLIES:
That is quite a record indeed. In late October, there are very few swallows in the country, let alone breeding. Hopefully the weather will have been warm enough for them to learn to fly and begin their migration.
As this record was unusual, I wrote a script to search the complete Nest Record Scheme (NRS) database, and we have very few October records in the system for swallows – in fact, we have just seven between 1967 and 2019. As you can imagine, they are primarily in the start of the month with five records in the first eight days of October, one on the 10th and one on the 18th. This means that this is a new latest record for the NRS! I would really encourage BBC Wildlife readers to send in their bird nest records to us, ideally by joining the NRS.
Heron spotting
In late October, I went out for a walk locally with my binoculars and sat down near a weir by the River Ouse. I spotted a grey heron, which I watched for five to ten minutes, and through my binoculars, I could easily see the pupil of its eye. It stood so still, like a statue, and in the end it flew down the river into some bushy trees. I encourage other readers of BBC Wildlife to put ponds into their gardens as this is a good way to see them.
Ian Bygrave, Cambridgeshire
Nature for physical and mental health
After taking an enforced sabbatical from my work due to a back issue, forgoing the comforts of home, I have started to go for daily walks across my local common in an attempt to stay active.
I regularly catch the eye of roe deer before they disappear into the woods, glimpse numerous songbirds flitting through the trees and admire raptors circling overhead. My highlight so far has been my first ever encounter with a weasel as it bounded across a field, no more than 20ft in front of me.
I was initially fed up to be off work, but nature never fails to cheer me up.
Stephen Christmas, Surrey
Putting nature first
As usual, Mark Carwardine’s lack of British biodiversity opinion piece (September 2021) was moving and thought-provoking. Yes, we have far too many small and unconnected nature reserves. Many of these have come about simply because no economically productive use of the land was viable.
So, the answer was make a nature
reserve. Perhaps we are all collectively to blame for accepting such unimaginative environmental policies.
It appears to me that rarely has nature come first, it is always a secondary, incidental consideration. The government wants more trees, but will these be native, deciduous ones or more of the same alien, coniferous ones. Will these trees be for nature’s benefit or to increase domestic timber production, hidden under an environmental banner?
Until this situation changes, I think it will be a case of carrying on as usual, making all of us frustrated conservationists! Norman Marshall, Conwy
Prickly feet
Along they scurried, with their prickly feet, Across the grass, quick as a heartbeat, Into a huddle, the pointed noses went, For the meal, at her door they assent. Little grey noses, sniffing all around,
It was the dog’s food, they had found. To get there first, they did aspire, Before Mr Fox came out of the mire! Not many, of us left they thought,
But at this house, they had sought, some kind of food, through the winter, It’s all they need, plus shelters of timber. So a few days later back they came,
And now there were four at the door. So the story ends on a happy note, conservation and hedgehogs get my vote. Debbie Milner, East Sussex
CORRECTIONS
October 2021 Wild Quiz answers, p89: the answers should read 1C, 2B, 3C, 4C, 5A, 6C. Calendar 2022: the issue on sale from Thursday 2 June 2022 will be the June issue.