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Wildlife in for a tough winter, says charity
Harvest mouse
The effects of a cold and wet spring could cause yet more problems for East Sussex’s wildlife through the autumn and winter, the RSPB has warned.
Reports of late ripening berries, fruits and nuts - all vital natural food sources for wildlife - could leave birds, mice, voles and other mammals hungry.
The unusually cold and wet spring could be to blame, with some plants not getting the right conditions earlier in the year to develop properly or to produce fruit at the right time.
RSPB south east spokeswoman Samantha Stokes said: “It’s been a difficult spring and summer for wildlife, with our make Your Nature Count survey in June highlighting that birds were struggling to find enough natural sources of food for themselves and their chicks.
“Natural food is very important at this time of year and a lean autumn crop is the last thing that our wildlife needs.”
Richard Moyse, from Plantlife’s Ranscombe Farm Reserve in Kent, said: “Fruiting in some species seems to have been pushed back by the cold start to the year, with sweet chestnuts looking to be some weeks behind last year’s crop.
“There’s a great crop of blackberries here, which is good for birds, dormice and other wildlife, but blackberries flower in summer, and it is spring flowering species, such as blackthorn, that may have suffered from the absence of bees and other pollinators in the cold and wet spring. Sloes have certainly been hard to find this autumn.”
The RSPB says providing food like fatballs and seeds for birds is important, but it is also urging people to manage their gardens and land with wildlife in mind.
That means not cutting back berry-bearing hedges, so that any berries on them can be eaten by wildlife, and leaving fallen fruits on the ground for species like blackbirds.
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Weather for Lewes
Thursday 23 May 2013
Today
Light showers
Temperature: 4 C to 11 C
Wind Speed: 21 mph
Wind direction: North west
Tomorrow
Light rain
Temperature: 5 C to 11 C
Wind Speed: 24 mph
Wind direction: North west
