BBC Wildlife Volume 36 #02

MIKE DILGER’S ADVENTURES IN THE IRISH SEA
FEBR U A R Y 20 18






olume 36 Number 02 February 2018 Volume 36 Number02 Volume 36 Number 02 umb m m m m m m m um um um um um um um um m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m me 36 N 6 6 6 36 6 36 6 36 6 e 36 6 6 6 36 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 m m m o Vo o o o Vo o o o o o o o o o Vo o o o V 18 8 8 y 2018 y 2018 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 y 20 0 0 y 20 y 20 y 20 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
r 02 02 r02 r 02 02 02 02 02 0 0 0 0 r 0 0 r0 0 0 0 r0 0 0 0 0 0 0 r0 r 0 0 r0 0 0 r0 r 0 0 r0 r0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 r0 0 0 0 0 r0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 r r r r r





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REVEALED!
BLOGGER
HIDDEN OF THE YEAR
BRITAIN WINNER
Page 106
Nick Baker investigates
an eerie glowing plant
FLOCK IN
A MILLION
Budgerigars
as you’ve never
seen them before
BRITAIN’S
RED REVIVAL
e
s and b
y tale
y
Bright
Bright-eyes and bushy tales s
u
-e
sh
in our eight - p a g e photo s tor y
in our eight-page photo story
WINTER WILDLIFE
WINTER CORNWALL’S
Ho SUCCESS STORY
ow to get the very
best views of our Winterwatch’s Gillian Burke
garden visitors meets two important beavers

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ON THE COVER: red squirrel: Scotland: The Big
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February 2018 BBC Wildlife 3

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WHEN YOU
78 SUBSCRIBE
SEE P30
Photographer Neil McIntyre
has spent years capturing
images of red squirrel
behaviour in Scotland’s
Cairngorms National Park







dolphins: Albaimages/Alamy; Gillian Burke: Nina Constable; illustration by Peter David Scott/The Art Agency


Squirrels: SCOTLAND: The Big Picture/NPL; kob: Eric Baccega/NPL; petrel: Jamie Coleman;


























Wild Features Agenda


6 Top billing 22 Cornwall’s success story 38 The One Show afloat 53 Conservation legacy
w
As the light fades, look Cover story Gillian Burke Cover story Mike Dilger Calls for large ‘no-take zone’
out for feeding snipe reports on a beaver searches for marine life gains significant impetus
reintroduction project following Blue Planet II
8 February highlights 46 Flock in a million
Listen to the blood-curdling 32 Earth’s biodiversity Cover story Australia’s wild 54 River pollution crisis
cries of vixens and cheery How many species do we budgies create a spectacle High levels of pesticides
songs of dippers share the planet with? found in freshwater habitats
58 See bears in Slovenia
11 Hidden Britain 36 Stress factor Go on an exciting BBC 55 Beyond the headlines
Cover story Nick Baker Breeding grey seals react Wildlife reader holiday Yetis aren’t real and
on magical goblin’s gold to human presence now we have proof
64 Vultures of the waves
12 Wild events 11 Southern giant petrels 56 Attitudes towards adders
Learn about whales and command respect Increased awareness and
A moss that
restore butterfly habitat targeted conservation efforts
amazed our 70 On the move can help this species
14 Winter wildlife ancestors Kob antelopes are being
Cover story How to observe translocated in Uganda 59 Mark Carwardine
nature in your garden All you need to know
78 Britain’s red revival about coral bleaching
16 Latest science research Cover story Cairngorms
Bonobos helping strangers National Park is vital 60 After Lillith
and ‘dancing’ crabs habitat for red squirrels What now for bringing
lynx back to Britain?

4 BBC Wildlife February 2018

How
w southern giant petrels
64 surv
vive in a remote place


EDITORIAL
Editor Sheena Harvey
Features Editor Ben Hoare
Environment Editor James Fair
Section Editor Sarah McPherson
Production Editor Jo Price
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Art Editor Richard Eccleston
Deputy Art Editor Lisa Duerden
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Paul Jarrold, Jenny Price, Russell Barnett,
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113 Puzzles
114 Tales from the bush
BBC Wildlife Magazine is published by
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February 2018 BBC Wildlife 5

WILD FEBRUARY







WHAT TO SEE kk WHERE TO LOOK





Erlend Haarberg A smart snipe on a
marshland pool. Topped
up with winter rain, our
wetlands look their best
now, with sheets of water
reflecting moody skies.

88 The percentage of 10km squares in Britain and Ireland C HRI S
CHRIS
where snipe were recorded in winter for the landmark
Bird Atlas 2007–2011, making them our most widespread
PACK
PACKHAM’S
wintering wader. Breeding numbers are down, however.
MUST
MUST-SEE
Q BEHAVIOUR
TOP BILLING

DON’T MISS
he collective noun for snipe is a
WINTERWATCH ‘wisp’, surely among the most
Airing on BBC Two from Tpoetic for any British bird. It
29 January to 1 February.
specifically describes snipe in flight;
you will seldom spot a tight flock of
these waders on the mud of a marsh,
floodplain or fen. As the light fades
on winter afternoons, small groups
of snipe may venture out from cover
into open water, but generally they
are birds seen feeding in ones or
twos, probing the squelchy margins
for hidden invertebrates.
Those extraordinary beaks average
7cm long. “On an inventor’s blueprint
their bill would seem unrealistically
ludicrous, like a bird with a trunk,”
wrote birder and author Tim Dee in
Four Fields (Jonathan Cape, 2013).
He described watching snipe feed “by
dipping and tip-tapping into the mud
either directly or through water. Most
tip-tapped once every five seconds,
and roughly once every three tip-taps
they got something. They would then
pull their bill halfway from the mud
or the water and draw up whatever
they had caught in little nibbling
actions.” At times, Dee noticed, the
snipes’ dipping went up to their eyes.
“Sometimes they dipped deeper still
and their heads submerged entirely.”

GET INVOLVED World Wetlands Day is
2 February: www.worldwetlandsday.org







A SNIPE WILL
` PLUNGE ITS
ASTONISHING BEAK
INTO SOFT OOZE
RIGHT UP TO THE
HILT, FEELING FOR
BURIED WORMS.”







BBC Wildlife 7

Y
RUA
R
WILD FEBRUARY


Q RED FOX
O
L
O
O
O
O
F
O
O
O
A
L
L
L
L
AL
CALL OF THE WILDWILD
L
L
L
CA L L O F T H E W
L
L
H
H
H
H
T
H
H
E
E
W
E
H
E
E
F
F
T
T
F
F
F
F
T
T
T
T
It’s 350-odd years since wild wolves Q DIPPER
were heard in Britain, and the screams of
female foxes on winter nights serve as a ROCK STAR
spine-tingling reminder of what we lost. Cheery birdsong coming from
Foxes typically breed between December a rocky river or stream might
and February, or perhaps later in the be a dipper. As Jim Crumley
northern half of the country. Vixens utter writes in The Nature of Winter:
blood-curdling cries to attract dog foxes, “There is no season of the year,
while both sexes use quieter, throaty no intensity of cold, no lash
‘wow-wow-wow’ barks to stay in touch. If of wind or weight of downpour,
you spot two foxes together at this time, no blizzard, no fog, nor dazzle of
it’s probably a dog fox sticking close to his midwinter sun… none of these things
mate to try to guard her from rivals. can stifle the male dipper’s desire to
FIND OUT MORE www.thefoxwebsite.net sing.” The surprisingly musical song, like a
thrush or warbler, carries well over the sound
of torrents in spate. Dippers breed early
Q DEVIL’S MATCHSTICKS and are the only British songbirds to swim
underwater and walk on the streambed.
LICHEN TROOPS FIND OUT MORE Watch short films of
This fabulous lichen sprouts dense dippers at www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/
clusters of tiny fingers up to 2cm White-throated_Dipper
high, which resemble old-fashioned
red-tipped matches. With a bit of
imagination, they also recall Red Coat
infantry from a bygone age, hence
the species’ alternative name ‘British
soldier’. These are the fruiting bodies of
the lichen, with reproductive structures
located at the end. Search for devil’s
matchsticks in the rich peat of heaths
and moors, or on decaying tree-stumps.
GET INVOLVED Take part in a lichen survey:
www opalexplorenature org/airsurvey
www . op ale xplor enatur e . or g/ air sur v e y
UKK
The essential wildlife events to enjoy this month, compiled by Ben Hoare.
Q ROOK
STICKY SITUATIONS
Winter is a great time to enjoy rooks, among our
most under-appreciated birds. Like dippers (above),
these characterful corvids breed early in the year
and by February their rookeries can be a hive of
activity. Look for pairs carrying sticks to repair nests
or build new ones. Some invariably try to steal from Fox & catkins: Colin Varndell; dipper: Paul Hobson; celandine & fly: John Bebbington;
neighbours, sparking treetop tussles that may
descend into a tug-of-war as two birds pull opposite parakeet: David Chapman; rook: Mike Lane; lichen: Laurie Campbell
ends of the same stick. Pairs mate for life, so also
keep an eye out for more affectionate displays, such
as mutual preening, cawing duets and courtship
feeding between males and females.
FIND OUT MORE www.bto.org/rook-survey
8 BBC Wildlife February 2018

WILD FEBRUARY



ALSO LOOK
Q ALDER
CATKIN CASCADE OUT FOR…
Alders like wet feet, usually growing beside water
or in soggy, flood-prone woods where they do an FIRST FLOWERS
important job fighting erosion. Whole trees can By February lesser celandine,
appear red-purple due to the catkins festooning a member of the buttercup
their branches. There are both male and female family, should be its unfurling
catkins. Hardened female ones lingering from its first bright yellow blooms.
previous seasons look more like ‘pine cones’. This It can be abundant in urban
year’s developing catkins are short and stubby if areas – often around street
female, or much longer if male. As spring arrives, trees, in cemeteries or along
the latter open to reveal pretty yellow insides. paths – as well as in the
GET INVOLVED Download the free Tree ID app countryside. The
at www.woodlandtrust.org.uk flowers are popular
with bumblebees
and flies.

CATCH ME IF
YOU CAN
One non-native
species making its
presence felt this month
is the grey squirrel. In late
winter, males chase females
up, down and around trees,
hoping to mate. Listen too for
their loud, sneeze-like calls.

BUNTING BOOM
This year’s Winterwatch is
reporting on one of Britain’s
big farmland conservation
Q GREENBOTTLE success stories: the cirl
bunting comeback in Devon
STIRRING INTO LIFE and Cornwall. Winter is often
The sudden, welcome warmth of February a good time to spot small
sunshine can rouse a variety of insects that flocks of these handsome
overwinter as adults, frequently including birds at RSPB Labrador Bay,
greenbottles. Give these flies a proper look. near Teignmouth, Devon.
Their huge, conker-coloured eyes and brilliant
m TWEET OF THE DAY bronzy-emerald thorax, with its contrasting black BOXING CLEVER
www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/tweetoftheday ‘acrostichal’ bristles, are simply stunning close-up. Within a month, tits and
Greenbottles are as likely indoors as out, happily other garden birds will be
buzzing around your kitchen or living room. singing and looking for
Fermenting food waste, compost heaps and nest-sites. So there’s not
farmyard dung invariably attract them too. long left to put up nestboxes:
FIND OUT MORE www.buglife.org.uk National Nestbox Week
(14–21 February) is a great
opportunity to get involved.

PARROT FASHION
Jolly green giant of winter
gr
een


,
s
eder
a
birdfeeders, or a green
or
c
menace? Either way, ring-
neckeed parakeets seem
to be hhere to stay in
south-east England.
Numbbers shot up
1,455 per cent in
1995––2015, according
to the latest Breeding
Bird SSurvey report:
www.bto.org/bbs
b

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A
R
Y
WILD FEBRUARY
FEBR
U
The sublime glow of
‘goblin’s gold’ amazed
Hidden and continues to
our ancestors
delight us today.

BRITAA N







t’s there and then gone,
a momentary twinkling in
Ithe gloaming. As you peer
into a deep crevice between
the rocks, a strange golden-
green luminescence seems to
emanate from the darkness. NICK
Its form is difficult to make
sense of: tiny grains of light BAKER
like a distant city. You reach in, REVEALS A
fingers groping for the treasure,
but when you bring it out into FASCINATING
daylight you’re left with nothing WORLD OF robust, light-hungry mosses of
has
but a smear of common dirt. WILDLIFE THAT the outside world. Instead it has
it
outside
the
Instead
world.
Were you tricked by the light? found a niche betwixt daylight fu
furthest from the light, is a
No: look close at what remains WE OFTEN and dark, becoming supremely c luster of chloroplasts.
on your fingers and you’ll see OVERLOOK. adapted to harnessing the In the gloom, there is barely
a tangle of green shreds. What liminal illumination of deep a a flicker of sunlight; most of the

un’s energy is filtered out by
you’ve just experienced is more crevices, caves and burrows. su
magical than even the existence GOBLIN’S GOLD To understand how this dull th
he world above. But here is the
of fairies. You’ve met one of smudge of soil on your fingertip cl lever bit. Schistostega doesn’t
the most unusual mosses in plays such tricks with the light, ask for much: this faint glimmer
a
the world: Schistostega penata, you need to lean in even closer. is s enough. Each large, clear cell
also known as goblin’s gold, The moss comprises two distinct a acts like a lens, focusing the
meagre light hitting it from the
dragon’s gold or rabbit’s candle. structures. When the spore, m
It’s responsible for many fairy on finding the perfect v very specific angle of the crevice’s
tales concerning pixies and DID YO U combination of e ntrance onto its cluster of
hloroplasts. One name for the
mischievous magical little folk. KNOW ? moisture and ch
Apparently, goblin’s gold Goblin’s gold is possibly luminosity, moss was ‘emerald light bender’.
m
is quite scarce, though that the only moss to have a germinates it forms The reflective function is
may simply be a product of shrine dedicated to it – a filamentous mat si imilar to that performed by the
under-recording. Few of us find Hikarigoke Cave on of cells called a ta apetum in the eyes of nocturnal
ourselves peering into the sort Hokkaido, Japan. protonema. From this mammals. It is so directional
m
of eerie damp, dark recesses emanates an arched, th
hat the ‘sparkle’ of reflected
that this remarkable plant calls fern-like frond, which is li ight coming back at your own
home. In fact, it is so specialised the reproductive structure. ey yes can only be registered
that it cannot compete with the Eventually it will form the stalks from the very direction of the
fr
and capsules that produce the in
ncidental light. This is why
he ‘gold’ (the green pigment
next batch of spores. th
o
ANCIENT MYSTERY of the chlorophyll) vanishes in
GLIMMER OF LIGHT bright multidirectional daylight.
b
Did warriors use goblin’s gold moss to gain supernatural power?
Although the leafier parts It t’s also why if you lean in too
Illustrations by Peter David Scott/The Art Agency spear-head from the late e Bronze of this m ported to Norfolk? that holds the secret to the th Small wonder that this lowly
catch the eye, it is the less
So how did it get there? Perhaps
lose to investigate it in situ, you
Remains of Schistostega have
did
cl
nevitably block the light from
in
remarkable-looking protonema
ac
o
ac
e
s
s
e
the tr
been found in the shaft hole of a
the traces of moss are the result
the tr
he one direction the moss has
om the lat
of a cache of spear-
o o
onz
Br
g
grown to operate with.
ethereal glow. Through a
h
Age found at Aylsham sham in North
heads being stored
he
is is miles from
Norfolk. Thihis is
microscope, you’ll see it
in a
a cave before being
ittle moss seemed to be the stuff
li
any known lolocation with
consists of hundreds of large
transp
o
of mystery and magic.
haps the ‘green fire e’
cells arranged in a single layer,
Or perh
the acidic be edrock
o
each transparent bauble the
oss was well known
conditions suuitable
for the growth h
g the copper
to those mining
NICK BAKER
Nestled in the narrow end,
of this moss.
aking the weapons s.
mak
is
February 2018 required for mak shape of an upside-down pear. N s a naturalist, author and TV presenter. 11
BBC Wildlife

WILD FEBRUARY




EVENTS Meet a celebrity
cetacean: the ‘Thames
whale’ is on display
at London’s NHM.



EVENT SPOTLIGHT

Whales of the world

Dive in and discover one of the planet’s most compelling
evolutionary journeys in this new cetacean exhibition
at London’s Natural History Museum. More than 100
specimens from the museum’s collection will be on display
for the first time, including parts of a blue whale and a
harbour porpoise. Visitors to this family-friendly event can
get up close to the ‘Thames whale’ (a northern bottlenose
whale that swam into the River Thames), listen to a whale
jukebox and see what lies inside a sperm whale’s stomach. Redstarts (male
O Until 28 February, Natural History Museum, London, adult £12.50, is pictured) breed
at Gilfach Nature
child £8.50, www.nhm.ac.uk/visit/exhibitions/whales.html
Reserve, Rhayader.

RESTORE BUTTERFLY HABITAT
Go green Get involved with practical conservation work on this habitat

Gary Prescott, also known as management day run by the South Wales Branch of Butterfly
the Biking Birder, will present Conservation and Brecknock Wildlife Trust. By clearing scrub
a talk on Green Birding to at Ystradgynlais, Swansea, you will be helping the threatened
the RSPB Basingstoke local marsh fritillary butterfly (below). Hand tools will be provided,
group. In 2016 Gary gained but participants can bring their own if they prefer.
the European Green Birding O 10.15am, 2 February, Ystradgynlais, free event, http://bit.ly/2hY9ZsR
crown, recording 318 species
in a year while using pedal ID winter trees
power to get around. He Learn how to identify trees
will talk about visiting every in winter by attending this
RSPB and WWT nature illustrated talk and guided walk,
reserve in the UK. organised by The Wildlife Trust
O 21 February, The Barn, for Birmingham and the Black
Hampshire, RG21 7QW, Country. You’ll be taught how to
Learn how
Whale skeleton: T rustees of NHM, London; Biking Birder: Gary Prescott; marsh fritillary: T ony Cox/Butterfly Conservation;
free for members, spot key features of deciduous
forensic experts
visitors £3.50, trees in winter and will have
help investigate
http://bit. wildlife crimes. the chance to practice your
ly/2Ar36b7 identification skills in the field
while looking out for species such
beech tree: Wildlife T rust of Birmingham and the Black Country; shark: Elias Levy; curlew: Alex Hillier
as beech and silver birch. The
event is suitable for beginners.
O 10 February, Moseley Bog and Joy’s
Wood, West Midlands, free event, booking
required, http://bit.ly/2iLmpBA
FEBRUARY EVENTS IN BRIEF

FABULOUS FUNGI CELEBRATING SHARKS BUTTERFLY UPDATES WADER WORKSHOP
Join a local group of the Marine biologist Olivia Orchart Join Butterfly Conservation for an Do you know your
Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust in will present a fascinating evening of short talks in Belfast. golden plover from
Boston for an evening overview of sharks and discuss Presentations will include the your grey plover? Join
talk by Dr Vin their representation in the re-discovery of the small blue this workshop at WWT
Fleming on the media at this Avon and a look into the Ulster Caerlaverock, Dumfriesshire, to
range of wild fungi Wildlife Trust talk Museum collection. see a variety of wader species
found in the UK. in Keynsham. 15 February, and learn from wardens.
8 February, http:// 9 February, http:// http://bit. 3 February,
bit.ly/2mVPz5p bit.ly/2ApxbI7 ly/2A4NOWd http://bit.ly/2A2CwUU
12 BBC Wildlife February 2018



WILD FEBRUARY




The only real advice when watching wildlife this most readily are the tits – great tit is
MIKE in your garden should be to sit back and ‘top dog’ and the second in command is
undeniably the petite but pugnacious blue tit.
enjoy the show. February weather is so wildly
DILGER unpredictable but a happy hour observing the Faced with such feisty competition, the timid
ebb and flow through your green real estate coal tit will often be relegated to adjacent
bushes, until they can dash in for a beakful.
WILDLIFE Using your house (the world’s most luxurious NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH
can be done without having to step outside.
hide) keeps you warm and dry, and minimises
WATCHING wildlife disturbance. Find a comfy seat that The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO)
estimate that a single garden feeding station
offers a good view of your garden – preferably
with the kettle and biscuit jar within easy reach!
can attract as many as 200 individual blue tits
When you look out through the window it
In a winter garden may appear that winter is the least profitable in a single day. Despite this, you rarely see more
than one or two on a feeder even at the busiest
season for a ‘gardenwatch’ session, yet during times. Blue tits form roving bands with other
If you need a cheap, carbon a cold snap it is quite the opposite. As food bird species to work a regular ‘beat’, moving
neutral and easy wildlife in the countryside dwindles or becomes from feeder to feeder within a neighbourhood.
fix this winter, then look no difficult for species to access, the shy become In addition to the tits, finches and robins
further than your closest nature shameless and the quiet find their voice. attracted by the free handouts, it is also
reserve, which also happens Most mammals, reptiles and invertebrates worth keeping an eye out for special guest
to be cunningly disguised as are either still hibernating or keeping a low appearances from brambling, siskin and
your own back garden. profile, so although you can see foxes, badgers blackcap, which are guaranteed to brighten
up any armchair viewing.
and squirrels in late winter, it is unashamedly up any armchair viewing.
a time when birds take centre stage. On a
crisp, clear day, and from dawn until at least MIKE DILGER is a naturalist and TV presenter. Read
DILGER’S DOS lunchtime, stocked feeders become very about his wildlife voyage for The One Show on p38.
AND DON’TS popular amongst the avian community
– feeding perches have to adopt a strict
DON’T FORGET TO
PRACTISE GOOD ‘one in, one out’ policy as the birds
FEEDER HYGIENE by jostle for a calorific lifeline.
giving the dispensers Feeders offer a fascinating
a regular wash. You insight into the pecking order.
wouldn’t like mouldy,
stale food and the The group which tends to show
birds don’t either.
DO REMEMBER TO
MELT DRINKING
WATER on frosty
days. With snow on
the ground it can be a
Fox: Brian Bevan/ardea.com (controlled conditions); feeder: Mike Dilger; siskin: Alan Williams/naturepl.com; blackcap: Gianpiero Ferrari/FLPA
case of “water, water
everywhere, but not a
drop to drink”.
















AS FOOD DWINDLES, THE
` SHY BECOME SHAMELESS AND
THE QUIET FIND THEIR VOICE.”










14 BBC Wildlife February 2018

WILD FEBRUARY




Use a camera-trap to THE KIT
capture the behaviour
of mammals that
may visit your garden Easy access to a pair of be best spootted with
to forage in the cold binoculars is simply the deployment of
months, such as foxes. essential. A whole thesis could a camera-trap.
be written on which feeders While positioning the
t
e
are most effective and what to trap will necessitate
put in them. Sunflower hearts a brief spell in the
and fat blocks attract a good cold, checking the
k
range of bird species – your memory card can
a
avian visitors will also be be carried out
appreciative of a fresh water back in the e
s
e
tho
s
who
who
e

tho
Fo
o

F

.
r
r
omf
ort
c c
omf
o
of
ort

er
pr
e

pr
f
er
e
f
supply For those who prefer comfort off f f f
fur to feathers, mammals can your home!
e
CHOICE LOCATIONS
Feeders Camera-traps
Many feeders work effectively Camera-traps get the best
from the lower branches of trees results close to the ground, as
to give the birds somewhere to badgers and foxes keep a low
perch and provide cover from profile. The edges of habitats are
predators. In the absence of fruitful hunting grounds, such
suitable trees, poles placed close as along the line of a hedgerow.
to shrubbery will elevate the It’s also worth looking for any
feeders away from cats, while still obvious animal highways in your
providing access to cover. Moving garden, such as a hole under a
the feeders around every month fence. Don’t forget animals use
will also let the ground recover. our footpaths too!
KEY WILDLIFE
Blackcap hiding in amongst the
Traditionally a summer ‘chavs’. Standing out
m
mer
visitor to Britain, due to their orange-
ff
since the 1960s buff coloration and
blackcaps have white rump, most
been observed bramblings seen
with increasing in British gardens
frequency. Excitingly, in winter will be
ringing studies are from Fennoscandia.
showing that these birds
come from Germany and seem Siskin
genetically distinct from those Smaller and streakier than the
fair-weather blackcaps solely chunky greenfinch, the siskin
coming here to breed. (above) has seen an upturn in its
fortunes due to both the spread
Brambling of new conifer plantations and
‘Checking chaffinches’ should its ability to take advantage of
be a mantra for any garden garden feeders.
birdwatcher as you never know
when a brambling or two will be Fox
Active all winter, foxes should
Some blackcaps be coming to the end of their
choose to stay in breeding season in February,
the UK in winter.
meaning any pregnant vixens
will be eating for five or six. Their
cautious demeanour will slip a
touch as dawn and dusk become
productive feeding times – on the
COMING UP NEXT ISSUE:
dreariest day a glimpse of ginger is
O Mike is watching wildlife in a city
enough to cheer anyone up.
February 2018 BBC Wildlife 15

WILD NEWS



DISCOVER
RIES



Written by
STUART
gdom.
The latest in scientific research from all over the animal king d BLACKMAN

Good samaritans: like
humans, bonobos will
go out of their way to
help another in need.





































Q PRIMATES
YOU’VE GOT A FRIEND IN ME


UNLIKE CHIMPANZEES, BONOBOS ARE “PROSOCIAL” – THEY WILL HELP A COMPLETE STRANGER IN NEED.

umans are usually only of fruit from a rope USA. “In return they you may meet them again,
DID YOU KNOW?
too happy to help – even in one room that had no immediate and this individual could
Q Bonobos and
Hcomplete strangers, and could only be released selfish benefits.” become your future friend
chimpanzees diverged
even to our own inconvenience. from an adjacent about a million years Such “prosocial” or ally. You want to be nice
Chimps aren’t. Chimps rarely room, separated by a ago following the behaviour sits well to someone who’s going to
tolerate the presence of strangers, fence. Bonobos in the formation of the with the image of be important for you.
Congo river. Chimps
let alone go out of their way for second room would bonobos as peace- “Human cooperative
live to the north of the
them. But their closest cousins, make considerable river, bonobos to the loving egalitarians. behaviour is still much more
bonobos, are more like us, efforts to release south. Both species Chimps are far less flexible, more risky, more
according to new research. the food for an are poor swimmers. socially spirited. Tan complicated and at a larger
Experiments conducted at unfamiliar individual says that they behave scale,” Tan told BBC Wildlife.
Lola ya Bonobo sanctuary in in the first room. so aggressively to strangers that “But we have more similarities
“They gave up playing-time,
the Democratic Republic of the walked across the room, it’s not even possible to perform with our great ape cousins
than we previously thought,
these experiments on them.
Congo show that bonobos are
Fiona Rogers/naturepl.com willing to put themselves out climbed up, held their body longer game, which involves in terms of our prosocial
Bonobos seem to play a
predispositions.”
with one arm and reached
to help strangers gain access to
through narrow mesh to help
making a good first impression.
food even though they get none
“All relationships start between
with the other arm,” says
of it for themselves.
SOURCE Scientific Reports
February 2018
BBC Wildlife
16 The researchers hung a piece Jingzhi Tan of Duke University, two strangers,” says Tan. “But LINK http://go.nature.com/2BTheY6

WILD NEWS



Q INVERTEBRATES Q CRUSTACEANS
Strictly crab dancing: The
Perisesarma eumolpe
DIVING intimidates rivals with EXPLAINERR
a victory display.
FLIES 6FLHQWLĶF WHUPV SXW LQWR SODLQ

(QJOLVK IRU WKH UHVW RI XV
Marine insects are a striking
rarity. But one species is COPROPHAGY
perfectly at home in water far The world would be a pretty
saltier than any ocean. unappealing place were it
Mark Twain wrote about not for the flies, beetles and
California’s Mono Lake flies other animals that specialise
in 1872: “You can hold them in eating dung. Few
under water as long as you coprophagous species eat
please – they do not mind the poo of their own species,
it – they are only proud of it. as it risks transmitting
When you let them go, they disease, but there are
pop up to the surface as dry as exceptions. Elephant
a patent office report.” calves, for example, eat
It’s no mystery why the flies PUTTING ON A SHOW the faeces of adults – it’s
enter the water – there are a way of seeding the gut
no predators and a bountiful It might be undignified, vigorous display of colour, with essential bacteria. And
supply of algae and bacteria but gloating works in motion and sound, in which rabbits and hares eat their
to graze on. But how do the long term. Biologists he rubs his ridged claws own faeces, because certain
they keep the caustic, salty have been studying the together. Experiments nutrients are only released
Fly: Floris van Breugel/Caltech; crab: Marut Sayannikroth/Shutterstock; hare: Daniel T rim/Getty; bush cricket: Andrew Baker in hydrophobic waxes. This little crab from Singapore’s their place, should they
water off? Researchers have
suggest that these
when food passes through
rather unsporting contests
t
the gut twice.
between the males of
“browbeatings” intimidate

t
found that the fly’s cuticle is
e
.
wic
particularly hairy and covered
Perisesarma eumolpe, a
rivals, keeping them in
mangrove forests. They have
allows them to dive almost
meet again.
entirely enclosed within a
found that, by rubbing a
“Losers are less likely to
bubble of air. Only the fly’s
enter into another contest
defeated opponent’s face
in it with an ostentatious
with winners after victory
eyes are not encased, allowing
displays,” write the scientists
dance of victory, a winner
unimpaired underwater
vision. Meanwhile, the
can keep him out of his own
behind the research.
buoyancy of the bubble
face in the future.
Ultimately, this may save
is resisted by large claws
the victor precious time,
Following a fight between
that help anchor the flies
rival males, the victor is
energy and reduce the risk
to the lake-bed.
prone to launching into a
of injury or death.
There are benefits to
SOURCE Ethology LINK http://bit.ly/2AEeb5T
Mono Lake saltwater eating poo - honest!
can’t burst the bubble
of this foraging fly.
NEW SPECIES
SPOTLIGHT
TYPOPHYLLUM SPURIOCULIS
WHAT IS IT? The splendid WHERE IS IT? Hailing from
wings of this new bush cricket Ecuador and Colombia, the
are multifunctional: they insect is named after the paired
have flight, camouflage and orange eye-spots at the base of
communication covered. A file- their front four legs (eight in all).
Leaf or bush
like structure on the left wing These are deployed with a wing- cricket? This
and a plectrum on the right flick to startle predators. “When katydid is
combine to produce its call. viewed from behind, the spots and a master
of mimicry.
This is further amplified by a abdomen resemble a bird’s eyes
resonating right forewing. and beak,” write the scientists.
SOURCE PNAS SOURCE Journal of Comparative Zoology
LINK http://bit.ly/2B8pqCm LINK http://bit.ly/2zVykmP
February 2018 17

WILD



“Just say ahhhhh.”
Bryde’s whales open WILDLIFE
wide in the Gulf
UPDATES
of Thailand.
EXTREME EXFOLIATION
It may not be only food that
brings bowhead whales
to Cumberland Sound in
Nunavut, Canada, each
E
summer. PLoS ONE reports
that the shallow waters
offer excellent exfoliation
opportunities. Drone
footage shows the whales
rubbing themselves
on rocks to remove dead
skin from their chin,
head, back
and sides.
FUNGUS
FLOWER
BIRDS Aspidistra
flowers
BOBBING FOR A BITE TO EAT emerge from
so low down on
the plant they look
Bryde’s whales have come up heads above the surface, and It may suit the particular like exotic mushrooms
with a novel way of taking life opening wide. conditions in the gulf, where pushing straight up
easy. Like other rorquals, the “We were surprised to find pollution concentrates prey at through the soil. It may
d
h
l
f
f
l
h
d
l
f
l
cetaceans lunge feed, actively that Bryde’s whales feed on small l the surface. Iwata says local l not be a coincidental
h
l
d
chasing schools of fish before fish by opening their mouth until fishermen have reported the likeness. Ecology reports
y
taking an enormous mouthful of the lower jaw contacts the sea whales doing the same at night. that their main pollinators
water and filtering out the prey. surface and waiting for the prey The biologists observed 31 are fungus gnats.
But in the Gulf of Thailand to enter,” says Takashi Iwata of individuals “tread-water feeding”,
they also have a more leisurely the University of St Andrews. including eight adult-calf pairs. RIGHT LEANING
way of taking meals, which “Similar behaviour has never Feeding blue whales lunge
involves little more than been reported in other rorqual SOURCE Current Biology to the right 90 per cent of
“treading” water with their species,” he told BBC Wildlife. LINK http://bit.ly/2iwVMzz the time. Current Biology
re
reports that they become
eft-“handed” when
le
h unting at the surface.
Q FOSSILS
By rolling to the left, they
B
Whales: T akashi Iwata; flower: Kobe University; crab: Pete Oxford/NPL; mammal illustration: Mark Witton 2017
DORSET DENTAL ke eep their dominant right
ey
ye on the target. But
DISCOVERY v ision is helpful only
n ear the surface.
Two teeth unearthed from a cliff-face in Dorset
UPS AND DOWNS
have turned out to be the oldest fossils of a line U
that gave rise to modern mammals. Co oconut crabs climb trees
The 145-million-year-old fossils are the earliest Fossil find reveals fo or more than coconuts.
new data on our
known placental mammals, the group that Fr rontiers in Ecology and the
mammal ancestors.
includes all living species except marsupials En nvironment documents
and egg-laying monotremes. a Chagos Islands crab
cr
The teeth belong to different species of small, “The teeth are of a highly advanced type creeping up on a
“The teeth are of a highly advanced type
rat-like creatures. Durlstotherium and Durlstodon that can pierce, cut and crush food. They are roosting red-footed
are named after Durlston Bay, where the teeth were also very worn which suggests the animals to booby, breaking
found. Durlstodon newmani also bears the name of a which they belonged lived to a good age for their its wings and then
local pub landlord and prolific amateur fossil collector. species. No mean feat when you’re sharing your killing and
According to University of Portsmouth habitat with predatory dinosaurs!” eating it on
palaeontologist Steve Sweetman, they “are the ground.
undoubtedly the earliest yet known from the line
SOURCE Acta Palaeontologica Polonica
of mammals that lead to our own species. LINK http://bit.ly/2hlI19Z
18 BBC Wildlife

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Notes OPINION







from an From CHRIS PACKHAM
English IN THE DEEP MID-WINTER WE VENTURE OUT

TOGETHER AND FIND 15 SLOW-GRAZING DEER
wood AND A FLUFFED UP ROBIN IN THE COLD.









ut in the yard our walk is hours between our
instantly defined, underfoot by curious peepings.
crisp grass, overhead by a clear The puddles crunch
sky, and in the air by the cold. like light-bulb glass,
O I scuff the milky tarmac, I stamp, he sniffs,
he treads black paws, we leave trails, and I like the crackle,
we brace ourselves for an hour in the he likes the lick of
company of the cold. ice water beneath
On top of the silvered gate post, split the smashed agates
and strangled by gnarly worms of ivy, the of concentric grey
frost crusts rust and scalds my fingers as rings. We cut
I wrestle the codger closed, rustling as through the apron
it rakes flakes of tree, and it’s here that I of hazel which
shake hands with and greet the cold. hems the field edge
The droveway beyond is paralysed and and I tweak the
bleached, its spellbound ground hard barbs strung with
as hell, my feet chiming like clogs on strands of crystal
cobbles, on the hoof-pocked mudstone, hair. I count 15 slow
on the marble clay, on the tractor rucks, does, heads down
on all the fossilised sludge that yesterday on the slope, so
slopped but today skids. And as I turn to close I can hear the
look for my friend, my cheek is smartly grass rips as they
slapped by the cold. tug their lips from
Overnight a great unkindness has contrast and all the detail smothered in a the turf, so close I can see their eyes
fallen here. A torture, a punishment crystal coat, the woods are less complex, flicking and their tails blinking on their
wrought by the fickle physics of easier to see, easier to draw in the mind. careless rumps in the cold.
temperature. So simple – turn it down, Then there’s the luxury of the wounded He’s fixed on them. A year ago he’d
turn on the pain. That unique pinch to quietude – the sound is not dead, but it have bolted and given them a scarpering
the nostrils, cuff to the ear, bruise to the limps to the ear and whispers apologies call, but now he just tail-down watches.
lips, that nip of metal in the mouth and for the hush and for the theft of echo, the What they need is a wolf to sharpen their
white scorching in the roof of the nose, kidnap of noise. Even scent has fled. The senses, but what they’ve got is an old
that lick of a tear that crests quickly over earth, normally so fragrant and telling, poodle, so I twang the fence and they
the cheek and tickles the chin, that you so bold a perfume, offers not an essence startle, stare, and then shuffle away,
nod to touch the scarf, as you begin to of mood, so that when you draw a long melding with the cold.
sniff and notice the chill of the snivel that breath to cool the lungs all you can smell A robin flits up from the scuffed brown
you swallow. Hands harden, fingertips is the cold. earth that girdles the badger set, shivers its
fizz and soon you become aware of your We scratch a trail to where the tail and fluffs up, briskly preens its pinion,
toes. You haven’t felt them since they brambles force our turn and look like mumbles a rattle and levitates into the waxy
squeezed hot sand in the summer, but ripped-up broderie anglaise, a filigree muff of yew. The latrines are ripe and sigh
now all ten are shouting at the cold. of brilliant white, crocheted on leaves of wisps of white into the cold.
But there is a comfort black maroon, sad He leads on the home stretch; he spied
too: it’s restful in the YOU HAVEN’T and sparse, hollowed me straightening his sheepskin and
absence of colour, in ` to the heart where lighting the fire. He’s had enough of
FELT THEM
the cold spectrum SINCE THE SUMMER, the blackcap’s nest the cold.
At the door I kneel and press my nose
of blues and all their
sags. It had eggs but
Illustration by Owen Davey/Folio blacks and greys and in BUT NOW ALL TEN they went before we into his nape and draw a long breath
through his coat. I love it when he smells
the way they wash the
peered at anything
ARE SHOUTING
of the cold.
palette down to its raw
pink, and the torn-
skeleton of hues. Basic
up cup told us the
AT THE COLD.”
CHRIS PACKHAM is a naturalist and TV presenter.
is easier to visually
magpie story we’d
Watch him on Winterwatch from 29 January to
digest. With soft
BBC Wildlife
February 2018 missed in the six 1 February on BBC Two. See a preview on p88. 21

Xxxxxxxxx









































































Beaver: Nick Upton; Gillian Burke: Nina Constable The Eurasian beaver was




once widespread in Europe
and Asia but hunting
drastically reduced its
numbers and range. Now a
series of reintroductions in
the UK and other countries
have enabled it to return.
C de y

For more British
wildlife, don’t miss

WINTERWATCH
Airing on BBC Two from 29
January to 1 February.








BE AVERS




BITE THEIR





WAY BACK





One of the largest rodents in the world

is big news in British conservation.

Gillian Burke of BBC Two’s Winterwatch

has been inspired by the latest beaver

reintroduction project in Cornwall.

































Gillian Burke
explores a
reintroduction site
with farmer and
beaver champion,
Chris Jones.

eeping up with farmer Chris Jones proves to carefully scanning the scene. I get the sense that he’s not Above: beavers
be trickier than I thought it would be when going to rest until he has found it. are well adapted
to a semi-aquatic
we set out. He’s still in shorts despite the Last summer this small farm, tucked away in a quiet
life, perfectly at
late autumn chill, and thanks to his trusty corner of mid-Cornwall, became the unlikely focus of home in a variety
walking stick one of his friends suggests that a frenzy of media attention. Local and national press of of freshwater
he bears more than a passing resemblance gathered to capture the moment when a single pair of habitats. They
employ their
Kto Christopher Robin from Winnie-the-Pooh. Eurasian beavers was released into a five-acre enclosure.
broad tail as a
A charming thought, but this Christopher has a surprising A small step for these two mammals, but a giant one for
rudder while
turn of speed that forces me to shape up, as we pick and the Cornwall Beaver Project. swimming.
squelch our way through ankle-deep mud.
Autumn is well underway and in the crisp mid-morning CHANGING THE LANDSCAPE
light I’m not expecting to see the animals I’ve come here to The beaver release programme at Woodland Valley Farm
learn about – they’re nocturnal after all – but there are plenty is the latest in a handful of schemes across the country,
of signs of them everywhere. Chris delights in pointing but this Cornish project has one very important difference.
out the gnawed branches, felled trees and saplings and, of Incredibly, for the first time ever, anywhere, scientists will be
course, the dams and ponds for which these creatures are able to gather crucial ‘before-and-after’ data to produce the
so well known. It’s clear that this is his passion project as he most detailed picture yet of how these ecosystem-engineers
ape their environment.
declares: “I can’t get enough of this. It’s like a drug!” influence and shape their environment.
wing body of evidence that beavers could
Then Chris lowers his voice and explains that, despite all There is a growing body of evidence that beavers could
ral allies as we try to turn the tide on a
of the beavers’ busyness, he has still seen no sign of their be powerful natural allies as we try to turn the tide on a
ord of man-made problems. Among the
hideaway, or lodge. “It’s a mystery!” he whispers, while whole smorgasbord of man-made problems. Among the

R
BEAVERING AWAY SIGNS TO LOOK FOR STRIPPED BARK
The beaver’s primary food
source is bark, which is
effortlessly stripped off both
felled and standing trees with
Beaver(x2), lodge & canal: Nick Upton; Gillian, trees & dam: Nina Constable CHEWED TREES DAM around a behaviour known
the large, curved incisors.
This is often done
in characteristic rings,
as girdling.




Dams are constructed out of mud,
Distinctive pencil-shaped stumps
d,
stones, logs and branches. They
with 3–4mm wide toothmarks are
one of the most iconic signs of beaver
maintain a constant water level around
activity. Mature trees are felled to
the lodge for protection against
available for foraging.
younger trees are felled for food.
20
20
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24 create the bases of dams, while predators and increase the space e February 20188
Fe
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BBC Wildlife

BRITISH BEAVERS




“ BEAVERS COULD
BE NATURAL ALLIES

AS WE TRY TO TURN
THE TIDE ON MAN-

MADE PROBLEMS.”































many environmental ills they may help cure are flooding, Above: beavers are Armed with powerful jaws and impressive, chisel-
soil erosion, habitat and species loss, agricultural run- nocturnal and favour like incisors, they do this by felling trees whose trunks
the bark of aspen,
off entering waterways and freshwater pollution more are driven vertically to create the initial framework of
hazel, birch, alder and
generally. Not bad for a bunch of rodents. willow (pictured). The the dam. The beavers work quickly and methodically to
Beavers are semi-aquatic mammals that need deep, still rodents store food in reinforce the structure with small branches, twigs, rocks
water to feel safe from predators and raise their young. If underwater piles to and even mud that they knead into the smallest gaps.
sustain them through
there is no suitable habitat in the area, they simply engineer
there is The slightest sound of trickling water sends them into a
the winter months.
it themselves. Thousands of years of evolution have seen flurry of activity as they locate and plug up any leaks.
it thems
to it that The result is a quiet, still beaver pond in which
to it that beavers will compulsively dam up fast flowing
streams they can build their lodge. At first glance, it looks
streams if no agreeably deep water is available.
like a chaotic tangle of branches and twigs, but
there is method in the ‘madness’. The structure is
like a thatched mesh, laced with a muddy paste to
strengthen it. An underwater entrance, which can
be accessed only by the beavers, is the final line of
defence from predators and the elements. Once
they’re safely inside, the snug lodge provides shelter
through the winter and a place to have kits.
At one time the Eurasian beaver, along with its
North American counterpart Castor canadensis, was
widespread across much of the Northern Hemisphere.
Numbering in the millions, beavers had a huge
impact, buffering the flow of water and nutrients
through the landscape and keeping aquatic systems
stable and healthy. But the animals were valued instead
LO CANALS for their fur and castoreum, an anal secretion that you
LODGE
e
Beavers sometimes prefer to These narrow channels are cut into
B
might be surprised to learn was – and still is – used
use natural holes or burrow into
us e the riverbank to connect several
as a vanilla flavour enhancer. Demand fuelled a lively
banks. Elsewhere, including
ba different areas of beaver activity.
trapping industry that caused populations of both
wh
where the water is too fast- They are often used to transport
species to crash. In the British Isles, beavers were
moving, they build lodges from
m o food and building materials to
driven to extinction by the 1500s.
s sticks and branches. the dam or lodge.
t
i
Today the hope is that the Cornish Beaver Project will
mark another successful step towards a future where
BBC Wildlife 25

BRITAIN’S BEAVER AIGAS FIELD CENTRE,
INVERNESS-SHIRE
REINTRODUCTIONS STATUS: Licensed release (fenced)
INTRODUCED: 2006 POP: 2
Aigas has a popular education
Our map shows the various beaver reintroduction
centre, which created a fenced
trials now underway or proposed, as well as private
enclosure around its forested
projects and unofficial (illegal) releases. 8-acre loch (featured on
Autumnwatch) to demonstrate
how beavers modify habitat.
KNAPDALE FOREST, ARGYLL Visitors can view the beavers
STATUS: Licensed release (unfenced) from a purpose-built hide.
INTRODUCED: 2009 POP: at least 9
Twelve beavers from Norway were
introduced on Forestry Commission
land for the high-profile Scottish TAYSIDE, SCOTLAND
Beaver Trial. In October 2017, a new STATUS: Unlicensed release
licence was issued to release up to 28 INTRODUCED: 2001 POP: up to 250
more beavers (not included in above No one is quite sure where this population of
total) to boost genetic variation. beavers originated from, but it is thought that
they escaped from private collections. Between
2003 and 2015, they built 500m of canals, an
acre of freshwater ponds and 195m of dams.






COTSWOLD WATER PARK,
GLOUCESTERSHIRE
STATUS: Licensed release (fenced)
INTRODUCED: 2005 POP: 4
Six beavers were originally
FOREST OF DEAN, introduced to Flagham Fen Lake
GLOUCESTERSHIRE in this popular countryside park.
STATUS: Licensed release (fenced) They produced kits in their
INTRODUCED: Due 2018 POP: 4 very first year, since when their effects
The Forestry Commission will release on the local environment have been
two adults and two kits into an enclosed closely monitored.
area, in the first beaver trial funded by
the UK government. It’s hoped they will
help prevent major floods like the one in
the local village of Lydbrook in 2012. HAM FEN, KENT
STATUS: Licensed release (fenced)
INTRODUCED: 2001 POP: 7
This rare example of Kent
CARMARTHENSHIRE, WALES fenland near Sandwich is
STATUS: Licensed release (fenced) managed by Kent Wildlife Trust,
INTRODUCED: 2013 POP: 6 adults, plus young with no public access to protect
The Bevis Trust has a small captive beaver its beavers, which originally
population, with two bookable hides, while came from Norway. Guided
it waits for the outcome of its 2015 proposal evening events take place in
to release 10 pairs of beavers along the River spring and summer.
Cowyn and Nant Cennin in Carmarthenshire.


RIVER OTTER, DEVON
STATUS: Unlicensed release, since
given official status
WOODLAND VALLEY FARM, INTRODUCED: 2010 (or maybe as
CORNWALL early as 2007) pop: 27
STATUS: Licensed release (fenced) This population began breeding
INTRODUCED: 2017 POP: 2 in 2013. To prevent the beavers’

Last June a pair of beavers removal, a trial was set up in 2015
were released into five acres of by Devon Wildlife Trust, which also
private farmland upstream of has a separate fenced project.
Ladock village, near Truro. It is
hoped they will breed in 2018.
26 BBC Wildlife February 2018

Gillian: Nina Constable; Aigas: Laurie Campbell/NPL; Nick Upton x 5











































these industrious mammals are once more an intrinsic
part of our landscape. The project is a partnership “ THIS BEAVER PROJECT WILL
between Chris Jones, the Cornwall Wildlife Trust and a
team of scientists led by hydrologist Prof Richard Brazier PRODUCE DATA THAT COULD
from the University of Exeter. But calling it a partnership
INFORM POLICY-MAKING IN
doesn’t quite do it justice. The collaboration has
developed into friendship; trust and good communication
WESTMINSTER AND HOLYROOD.”
are the hallmarks of an ambitious scheme that has taken
hard graft to get off the ground.
The Trust had wanted to organise a beaver project for management problems but it is important to note that
some time, but had been drawing blanks when it came to they aren’t a one-size-fits-all solution. Much of the South-
Below: the finding a suitable release site. At the same time, the small west, particularly Cornwall, is ideal beaver territory since
beaver’s broad village of Ladock, just 1.5km downstream from Woodland there is little by way of low-lying farmland or forestry.
torso and stubby Valley Farm, had been hit hard by repeated flooding after The same cannot be said of many other lowland areas in
legs are ideal
for building a barrage of winter storms. Chris saw a potential solution, England, including much of Somerset or Norfolk.
dams and lodges approached the Trust, and the rest is history. One balmy
(above). A beaver evening last June, after an absence of over 400 years, FIRST STEPS
lodge consists of beavers were finally back in Cornwall. Speaking to Cheryl Marriott, head of nature conservation
logs, branches,
sticks and stones It is hard to overstate the significance of this conservation at the Cornwall Wildlife Trust, it is clear that amid all
and has well- milestone. Together with the trials on Devon’s River Otter, at the excitement around the beaver release there is a need
Knapdale in Scotland and (soon) in the Forest of Dean, this
nsu
i insulated walls. . Knapdale in Scotland and (soon) in the Forest o to tread carefully at this early, fact-finding stage of the
s
d
ll
ate
l
wa
project will produce data that could inform policy-
pr p oject will produce data that could in project. The Trust recently sent some of the key players
making in Westminster and Ho to south-east Germany, where beavers were introduced
making in Westminster and Holyrood. But,
for now, I’m keen to see how
for now, I’m keen to see how the Cornish in Bavaria in 1966. By looking at longer-running projects
pair are settling into their new digs.
pa p ir are settling into their ne like the one in Bavaria, the Trust can spot potential
This is my second visit to C problems before they arise.
T Th
This is my second visit to Chris’s
T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T
Th
farm and I am stunned by how quickly Cheryl emphasises that the Trust has yet to decide its
fa fa fa fa fa f f f f f f f f f f f f f fa f f f f f f f f f fa f f f f f f f f f fa f fa f f f f f f f f f f fa f f rm and I am stunned by h
nd
rm
a
e
b
e
h
e
the beavers have set about m
the beavers have set about making formal position on further beaver reintroductions until it has
alterations to their enclosure. In the six evaluated the Woodland Valley trial, and its wider impact. “It
alterations to their enclosure.
weeks between my visits, the b would be remiss of us to ignore the possible negative impact
weeks between my visits, the beaver pond
has doubled in size and more than doubled
has doubled in size and more tha on some individuals or communities,” she says.
in depth. In a year or two, we will almost
in depth. In a year or two, we will In Bavaria, as in this country, it is farmers who have most
certainly need waders. concerns about beaver reintroductions. Crucially, Chris
certainly need waders.
Beavers offer an attractively natural, low-
Beavers offer an attractively natu joined the team on the Bavaria trip so that he could talk
cost solution to many landscape and water- farmer-to-farmer about the reality of living alongside
cost solution to many landscape an
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February 2018
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BRITISH BEAVERS

































“ WITHIN A FORTNIGHT OF THEIR RELEASE

THE BEAVERS’ HANDIWORK WAS HOLDING
BACK 1,000 CUBIC METRES OF WATER.”

high densities of beavers. Many of the Bavarian sceptics Above: beaver
have slowly been won over. In fact, farmers in low-lying tug of war. Kits
may stay with
areas around the River Danube have found that during
their parents
droughts their cereal crops have fared better in areas
for up to two
where there are beaver dams. years. Right:
For me, an even more encouraging story is that of the the moment
golden-ringed dragonfly. This stunning insect was thought Chris and Gillian
discovered the
to need fast-flowing water to breed, so the assumption
beaver lodge.
in Bavaria was that it would vanish as damming activity
increased. Researchers were startled to find that, far
from disappearing, the dragonfly started to breed in the planted the wood for timber, firewood and to create a habitat
dams themselves, where the species made use of the for wildlife. It strikes me that you might expect Chris to be
microhabitats of fast-flowing water. really sentimental about his woodland, yet he is not at all
There are other positives to be taken from the experience bothered about it being redesigned by the newcomers.
in Bavaria. As mature beaver habitats have begun to silt up, The beavers only fell a few of the larger trees, Chris
vegetation communities that haven’t been seen in living points out. And, even then, they don’t actually kill the trees.
memory have started to appear. It is rewilding in action. They are effectively coppiced, which, in turn, creates fresh
microhabitats for birds, invertebrates and other species. “In
KEYSTONE SPECIES a hundred years’ time,” he tells me, “these ponds will silt
Closer to home, the Devon project has seen a mind-blowing up and this will all be deep, fertile soil.” I’m bowled over by
increase in the local common frog population. Researchers Chris’s long-term thinking. That he is willing to manage his
counted 10 clumps of frogspawn when the site was first land for wildlife in this way, knowing he won’t see the full
surveyed in 2011. Just five years later, that total had risen to returns in his lifetime, is truly admirable.
580. At the Cornish release site, ponds have expanded more As I ponder this thought, Chris notices something
than two-fold since June 2017. “The frogs returning this different on the little island in the middle of the pond. Not
spring to spawn are in for quite a surprise,” Cheryl reckons. quite believing his eyes at first, he realises that he has finally
Cornwall’s pair of beavers have already exceeded all caught sight of the beaver lodge. Overcome with emotion,
expectations. They were released on a Friday evening, he immediately reaches for his phone to share the news
Beavers: Nick Upton; Gillian: Nina Constable since.” Within a fortnight of their release, the beavers’ + FIND OUT MORE made themselves right at home. And
Chris tells me. “They had the weekend off. Started to
with Cheryl and his partners at the Cornwall Wildlife Trust.
dam-build on the Monday, and haven’t had a day off
He has his proof that the beavers have
now there’s the promise of the pitter-
O More about the project: www.
handiwork was holding back 1,000 cubic metres of water.
cornwallwildlife.org.uk/beaverproject
Chris’s family has farmed here for three generations.
patter of tiny feet come spring.
O Brett Westwood presents a
Together with his father and brothers, he personally
programme about beavers for BBC
enclosure. The land, he explains, was a wet and waterlogged
and wildlife TV presenter. See
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05k6fjj
pasture that was never really any good for grazing. So they
her on BBC Two’s Winterwatch.
planted up the mixed woodland that now forms the beaver Radio Four’s Natural Histories series: GILLIAN BURKE is a biologist
February 2018 BBC Wildlife 29

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PHOTO
STORY
G
SEEING
REDS
Cairngorms National Park in the Sccottish
Highlands is a stronghold for our native red
e
squirrels.Neil McIntyre has visited its
Caledonian forest throughout the seasons
e
to photograph the behaviour oof
these lively little crowd-pleaserrs.
A red squirrel sits in a lichen- and snow-
covered oak tree in December. Scotland
is home to about 120,000 red squirrels,
75 per cent of the total UK population.
Contrary to popular myth, these hardy
mammals do not hibernate. In the autumn
they store surplus food either just below
the ground or in the gaps of tree trunks
to feed on in the colder months.





Enjoy our Premium App experience now available from

32 BBC Wildlife February 2018

t alkin g

POINT







THE SPICE





OF LIFE








New research suggests we could share Earth with six billion other species. Entomologist
Ross Piper asks if we have radically underestimated our planet’s biodiversity.




illionaire technologists and bacteria (approximately 70–90 per cent of Mercator projection shows Greenland and
futurists who have read species) and insects are only one of many Africa roughly equal in size, but Africa is
too many comics fuel the hyperdiverse groups.” This whopping actually 15 times larger and, like everywhere
human ego with visions estimate embraces the enormous bacterial else, has many overlooked areas where few
of interstellar travel and diversity we find wherever we look, not to biologists have ever been.
terraforming the cold, dead mention parasites and the hyper-diversity Changing scale, now think about the
B dust of Mars. Theirs is a of insects, mites and nematodes. Animals structural complexity of a forest – the
jaded view of the Earth, a planet that has account for 163 million species. waterbodies, soil, roots, detritus, stems,
nothing left to offer, from which all the There are plenty of reasons why the boughs, leaves, bark and seeds. The variety
mystery has been wrung. Nothing could University of Arizona estimate is nearer of niches in a forest is mind-boggling.
be further from the truth. We have barely the mark. For starters, Earth is big. We Some of my work in Peru involves getting a
scratched the surface of understanding tend to forget just how big. Not only that, handle on this – exploring the extraordinary
our beautiful world, including how many but popular maps of our planet stretch diversity of animals that live in the
species we share it with. and distort, so that the landmasses are unfurling leaves of a couple of species of
To date we have formally described not shown as they really are. The standard understorey plants.
around 1.6 million species of living things,
broadly divided between three domains: ceans are a huge unknown, as
bacteria; archaea (single-celled microbes BBC One’s Blue Planet II recently
I
distinct from bacteria); and eukaryotes WE HAVE BARELY showed to dramatic effect, but
(animals, plants, fungi and protists even there we underestimate.
like slime molds). How many more are SCRATCHED THE OIt’s often said that we’ve explored
there? This question is one of the most around five per cent of the ocean, yet this
fundamental in science, but answering it SURFACE OF refers to the seabed and anyway is probably
is far from straightforward. The closer we an exaggeration. In fact, the whole volume of
Main illustration by Patrick George/Debut Art; sediment illustartion by Phil Miller
look at life on Earth, the more confusing UNDERSTANDING OUR the ocean is a habitat, and we’ve explored less
it becomes. Under scrutiny, even the term than one per cent of it.
‘species’ is a bit flaky. BEAUTIFUL WORLD. Not only is Earth enormous, but most
Regardless, answering this question has animals are small. Take the constellation
become something of a cottage industry in of sub-1mm animals that live between and
biology. For some reason, recent estimates on the sediment grains on the seabed:
of around 10 million species seemed to be the meiofauna. In one handful of this
meaty enough to satisfy the masses. But habitat there might be thousands of
they make enormous assumptions and individuals and representatives of more
more or less disregard the most diverse animal lineages than in an entire tropical
groups of organisms. rainforest. Our appreciation of life on Earth
Using a new approach, a team at the is completely skewed
University of Arizona has now come to Left: marine by our own size,
sediments are
the following conclusion: “There are likely but size has little or
alive with a
to be at least one to six billion species on constellation of no bearing on
Earth. The new Pie of Life is dominated by enigmatic animals. biological importance.

February 2018 BBC Wildlife 33

talkin g

POINT






out what’s what. In part ones. Only by delving into natural history
Calleremites
th
only
subornata has only this is linked to the common and DNA can we reveal the true extent of
conception of how evolution
ee times
been seen three times preco cryptic diversity. This is a burgeoning area of
first
since it was first works. To o many people, evolution is research in all fields of zoology. A beautiful

18
described in 1894. . a one-way, l linear process where simple example of how much diversity
94
forms give ri ise to increasingly complex ones, is hiding in plain sight is a
C
As parasitologist Bob Kabata, once said, once said: so it has bec come ingrained that simple forms parasitoid wasp from Costa
osta
must be primitive. In reality, evolution just as
to
“Had the copepod [a small crustacean] must be pri Rica that was assumed to be
m
been the size of a cow, the tip of its first easily moves in the other direction. one species. Entomologiststs
ov
antenna would have become a topic for In adapting to a particular niche, an animal looked at its DNA and
exhaustive studies.” can progressively lose many (sometimes ecology – exactly where
Getting to grips with animal diversity is all) of its complex features. These so-called and how it lives – to reveal
further confounded by the fact that we’re degenerates – charming characters such it is actually a complex of 36
drawn to species with which we feel an as tongue worms, slime animals and outwardly identical species,
emotional attachment. Typically, these are thorny-headed worms – had generations of all living distinct lives.
mammals with cute wet noses, doe eyes and zoologists scratching their heads. It was only Tropical forests and coral reefs are
fs are
so on. However, many animals are faceless; the ability to sequence DNA that revealed where we find the greatest concentrations
t
en
lots don’t even have a head. The appearances their true heritage. of life, but going to these places and
and lifestyles of most animals are very alien documenting their fauna in a systematic
indeed. It’s easier to identify with a lioness eaped on top of this secondary way is often difficult. For me, the canopy of
and the challenges she faces nurturing her simplification – to make things a primary tropical forest is most tantalising
cubs than it is to form any sort of emotional even more complicated – nature of all – it’s there within easy reach, yet
link with a faceless crustacean that spends can trick us at every turn with a exploring it freely without disturbing it
most of its life attached to the eye of a fish. H huge variety of doppelgangers and excessively is next to impossible. Some
The often very strange outward appearance deceivers. Many animals look very similar regions are out of bounds because of war
though they aren’t closely related, either
d political strife, while others are just
l
i
f of animals also impedes our attempts to work even th h th ’t l l l t d ith and liti l tif hil th jt
tt
l
i
d
k
t t
because they happen to live in similar ways or extremely remote and hostile once you’ve
because there’s some mimicry going on. managed to get there. And exploring the
There’s also a huge amount of cryptic deep sea is as challenging as going into
diversity, where something that looks like one space, with a similarly hefty price tag.
species is actually several identical-looking Even if you manage to reach your

















The canopy of
primary tropical
rainforest is full
of life but difficult
to explore.

34 BBC Wildlife February 2018

Most animals are
small, but we have to
remember that size
has no bearing on
biological importance.
destination, there’s no guarantee you’ll find We need to read some of its DNA, and heart tening and exciting. We’re
f
much of interest. Most species are rare or we need to know where aand how it living
g in a new golden age
h
c
conspicuous for only a small proportion of lives. It’s this latter part that of dis covery, as technology is
us to look at the natural
their life. This seems to be at odds with what is the real sticking point. enabling u
w
we see: we’re surrounded by animals you The vast majority of world in new ways, but with every bit
might say. True, but look a little closer. The the 1.6 million formally of habitat that fa alls to the chainsaw or
reality of this ubiquity is vast numbers of a described species are little more than a disappears under the plough or dredger or
few extremely common species. name. Very few people are working at concrete, species are lost to us forever, most
A mantisfly I found in the forests of the front line of discovering species and before we ever got a chance to describe and
northern Burma turned out to be a new understanding how they live. Apart from understand them, impoverishing nature
rst
genus, and I’d happily wager that I could the difficulties of accessing them, as and ultimately ourselves.
cu
he diffi
spend a month in that same forest and never previously d Pragmatically, every species is a
previously described, there’s not much
see it again. Likewise, a moth I found in the funding for th component of the natural systems that keep
this sort of work, it can be
ly painstaking and it can
same location was first described in extremely us alive and we can only understand these
n
1894, but in over 120 years has been be seen as a an academic backwater, systems when we know the components.
seen only three times. I think which is Evolution has solved the greatest of
is a real travesty.
to give you an idea
the truth is that many species Just to problems and by studying life on Earth I
ies
le
just live at extremely low of the sca ale of the problem, believe we will find solutions to many of
w
are more species of
population densities. there are the challenges that face humanity. More
weev il intrinsically, as intelligent beings it is our
evil and rove beetle than
ven if you find lotlots th e duty to protect and understand our fellow
here are species of vertebrate,
d
of interesting thingngs, and we’ve only nibbled the edges organisms – not only for their own sake but
an
this is just the thin enend of also because of what they tell us about the
of these beetle families. The mites
of the wedge and whereere the fun an phenomenon of life. In a cold universe, we
and nematodes fare even less well. Their
Ebegins. These specimens ns need diversity perhaps surpasses that of insects, are the privileged inhabitants of a beautiful,
li ing planet. It is this we need to cherish
h t l
it iithin the
d t
to be compared to what else exists in b u t ld id th till l h df l li v i l tIt i thi d t h i h
t b
b t worldwide there are still only a handful
disparate collections around the world by of scientists studying their phenomenal above all else.
b
d
someone who has spent years working on diversity and ecology.
that particular group of organisms. Looking Numbers aside, we need to remember ROSS PIPER is the author of Animal
at the outward appearance of an animal is that the Earth is still full of mystery Earth (Thames & Hudson, £19.95), an
all well and good, but we need to go deeper. and that’s something we should all find introduction to animal diversity.





IT’S EASIER TO IDENTIFY WITH A LIONESS THAN IT Rainforest: Nick Garbutt/naturepl.com; moth: Ross Piper; mollusc: Arthur Anker; nematode: Jon Eisenback; sea butterfly: Alexander Semenov
IS TO FORM ANY SORT OF EMOTIONAL LINK WITH

A FACELESS CRUSTACEAN THAT SPENDS MOST OF
ITS LIFE ATTACHED TO THE EYE OF A FISH .





February 2018 BBC Wildlife 35

DON’T MISS
WINTERWATCH
Airing on BBC Two from
29 January to 1 February.



























FOCUS


GREY MATTER



How GREY SEALS deal with stress depends on their
personality, discovers the BBC’s Chris Howard.

For grey seals, breeding is stressful. Leaving recorded by means of observation and heart-
the sanctuary of the water, females haul out rate monitors. Full analysis of the data will take
for a month, giving birth and raising their time, but a few things are becoming clear.
pups as quickly as they can, before mating First, seals seem to get as stressed by
with the big, boisterous males that chance anthropogenic stimuli as they do by natural
their luck through the whole season. The ones. Lead scientist Sean Twiss points
resulting pups will be born a year later. Now, out that even though seals may appear
as seal watching becomes more popular in calm when approached by a well-meaning
the UK, a team from Durham University and tourist, there is a good chance they are not,
the University of St Andrews’ Sea Mammal because “observed behaviour doesn’t always
Research Unit is investigating whether reflect the stress state of the seal.” Second,
human disturbance adds to the seals’ the team have noticed that seals react
stress. Their study site is the Isle of May, differently to stress. “Some are inherently
a craggy outcrop in the Firth of Forth, home more responsive, others less so,” Twiss says.
to the largest breeding colony of grey seals In other words, they have personalities.
on Scotland’s east coast. The research may eventually show that
The team is noting stress responses in the personalities of seals in this population
female seals to both natural stimuli, for are changing. The simple presence of
example the arrival of a large male at the humans may be affecting which seals
colony, and man-made stimuli, such as the breed and thus which behavioural traits are
approach of a researcher or unfamiliar noises passed on – something to bear in mind on
played by a remote-control car driven into your next trip to the coast.
the colony. For each stressful situation, the O Chris Howard is series producer of
behavioural and physiological responses are Winterwatch. See a preview on p88.

IN FOCUS






















































































Appearances can be Wild Wonders of Europe/Geslin/NPL
deceptive: a calm-looking
grey seal doesn't necessarily
mean a stress-free one – it
depends on its personality.

38 BBC Wildlife February 2018

criss












Last summer Mike Dilger
of BBC’s The One Show
joined a scientific voyage
off Ireland and Scotland
in search of marine
megafauna. Here he
shares the highlights.






s a rule BBC One’s around 250m to over 2,000m. After
The One Show doesn’t completing each transect, collecting
do long wildlife film fisheries and oceanographic data along
shoots – the luxury of the way, the Celtic Explorer would
being able to spend zigzag up the western side of Ireland
weeks filming carefully and Scotland. Finally, we would reach
crafted sequences is the Butt of Lewis, the northerly tip of
Ausually confined to the Outer Hebrides. Only then would
landmark series such as Blue Planet we head back to our final destination
II. So when we were offered four of Dublin via The Minch, the narrow
berths on a scientific voyage taking in strait of water between the Inner and
a huge chunk of the Atlantic Ocean, we Outer Hebrides.
decided to go for it. Just this once we This ‘drop-off’ at the edge of the
wanted to, as it were, push the boat out. continental shelf is of huge interest to
Our home for three weeks would anyone keen on cetaceans. Difficult
be the Celtic Explorer, a research vessel to reach in north-west Europe, due
owned by the Irish government and to its remote nature, this linear and
run by the Marine Institute, based meandering feature is where the
DON’T MISS in Galway on Ireland’s west coast. prevailing wind pushes away the
Designed to enable scientists to surface waters to allow the upward
MIKE'S TRIP ON
THE ONE monitor everything from fisheries movement of deeper, colder water
Illustration by Chris Andrews/agencyrush.com; Dilger: Josh Forwood gamble… but I could hardly wait. cetaceans, sharks and other marine
SHOW stocks to climate change, she is a that’s rich in nutrients. The upwelling
Due to air in January 65m-long floating laboratory with of food in turn attracts leviathans such
state-of-the-art equipment. The
as blue, fin and sperm whales – we
production team was taking a
would be on ‘red-alert’ to film any
megafauna spotted during the voyage.
OUR MISSION
We would be joining an expedition
4 JULY: FAREWELL TO DRY LAND
of more than 2,000 nautical miles
At last we slipped out of Galway
along a predetermined route following
Harbour on what the Irish call a
“soft day” – the type of weather
east–west transects between Ireland
and Britain and the margins of the
when you still get wet even though
it doesn’t feel like it’s raining. I duly
continental shelf, at which point
stationed myself on the roof of the
the seafloor quickly falls away from
BBC Wildlife 39

The Celtic Explorer
is a multi-purpose
research vessel run by
the Marine Institute.

Welcome distraction:
common dolphins
interrupted Mike’s dinner
by riding a bow wave.



bridge. For the first hour of my first day of 20 like waiting for proverbial
days onboard, I alternated my admiring gaze London buses… you see
between compass and blue jellyfish slipping nothing for ages, then
past in our wake and the terns, guillemots everything turns up. Will –
and puffins seeing us off the premises. one of the Marine Mammal
The nuts and bolts of camera assembly Observers (MMOs) on
took up most of the rest of the day until board – spotted a frenzy
at
over
metre
laden
ejected
dinner time, when we retreated to the mess of diving gannets over a kilometre awayaway moisture-laden air being ejected at over
air
moisture
being
with our new shipmates. No sooner had we on the port side. Food tends to be patchily 300kph before quickly condensing when
sat down to eat when the call of “Commons!” distributed throughout the world’s oceans, it hits the cooler air. “That’s 100 per cent
crackled through on the ship’s radio. Racing meaning diving seabirds frequently represent humpback,” Will shouted.
up to the bridge roof with our binoculars and the most visible tip of a ‘feeding iceberg’ Even from great distances, the shapes of
filming gear, we were treated to terrific views lurking just below the surface. these blows can be distinctive enough to
of these extrovert, enchanting dolphins as a Sure enough, in addition to splashes from identify the heavy breathers. Will went on
small pod rode our bow wave. the plunging seabirds, we picked out flashes to explain that dense, mushroom-shaped
The most abundant of all cetaceans in the of common dolphins as they tucked into what blows are usually diagnostic for humpbacks.
north-east Atlantic, the common dolphin was obviously a large shoal of fish. Next, a Unfortunately, our sighting was too far from
makes up for its diminutive stature with huge blow from a whale erupted in the the ship to persuade the captain to change
astonishing agility, frequently leaping clear middle of the meleé. The exhalation course for filming purposes. We returned to
of the water. No other cetaceans in British or of a whale as it surfaces to empty our now-cold dinner, happy in the knowledge
Irish waters are as adept at showing off their its lungs is a wonderful that there would be more to come.
characteristic features, which in this case are sight, and consists of
pale flanks, a dark back and a hooked dorsal 5 JULY: THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY
fin. In essence, these dolphins are First order of the day after breakfast
2m-long show-offs! was an interview in the crow’s nest
As the Celtic Explorer steamed towards r with ‘Humpback Will’, where he
the setting sun and deeper water, we revealed the tricks of his
should have reminded ourselves that Mike jumps cetacean-spotting trade. At
watching wildlife can sometimes be behind the lens 18m above sea level, the
for a change while
on board the ship.
40 BBC Wildlife February 2018

MARINE LIFE





RV CELTIC EXPLORER

A FLOATING LAB

Since entering service in 2003, this smart
research vessel has been providing vital
data about the health of the North-east
Atlantic and Irish Sea. She provides a
base on voyages of as long as a month for
up to 22 scientists, who have an array of
A minke whale swims sophisticated monitoring equipment
past the ship. Left: the
crow’s nest provides at their disposal, including
the best view of the trawl cameras, winches
surrounding ocean. that can take sample
cores from the seabed
and a deep-water ROV
Diving gannets can
(Remotely Operated
often be a sign that
megafauna are feeding Vehicle). Crucially, the
below the surface. Celtic Explorer is also
r
designed to be ultra-quiet
to minimise disturbance
to fish or interference with
her underwater recordings.
Together with her smaller sister
ship, the RV Celtic Voyager, she has
given us important insights into the
state of fish stocks, including of cod and
monkfish, has helped to map the seabed,
investigated wrecks and explored thick
seafloor sediments that have built up
over thousands of years.



Marine turtles are extremely rare in our
waters, though the leatherback is the most
often seen here. The species’ sheer size and
metabolically generated heat make it perfectly
comfortable in the cold waters of the North
crow’s nest offers a commanding view of the identity. In soft Irish tones he revealed that we Atlantic, roaming the high seas in search of
surrounding ocean. From our vantage point were looking at a leatherback turtle. jellyfish prey. Very occasionally, one of the
we were flanked on both sides by ubiquitous To my knowledge, no film crew has ever turtles is photographed by a bemused tourist,
gannets and fulmars. Then, while waiting for managed to film a leatherback turtle in British probably unaware of its Endangered status.
a mid-interview battery change on the camera, or Irish waters. As pandemonium ensued, we The undoubted low population density of
our eyes suddenly caught an object at the made the cardinal mistake of taking our eyes these true open-ocean wanderers means they
surface 50m to starboard. off the beast before either getting it on camera will only ever be located totally by chance –
I assumed this would be marine debris or accurately noting its last position before it and hopefully next time by a film crew better
floating past, but it was still worth a quick slipped below the water. All the time, the ship prepared than we were.
was steaming ahead at a steady 10 knots, so by
check with the binoculars. As the object
gannets: Michel Poinsignon/naturepl.com; boat aerial: Sam Challenger Common dolphins: John Power; crow's nest, filming & boat: Mike Dilger; minke: John Power; “ I CAUGHT SIGHT OF A COUPLE OF FLIPPERS westward, back out towards the continental
came into focus, I caught sight of a couple
the time a panicked message had got through
8 JULY: DICTATED BY THE WIND
After a couple of days filming the scientists
to the captain to slow the ship and deploy the
of flippers raise momentarily above a large
carapace, distinctively marked with a series of
at work in inshore waters, we headed
quicker, more mobile RIB, the turtle must
have been a couple of miles away. We cut very
longitudinal ridges running from head to tail.
I instantly knew I was looking at a ‘mega’ and
shelf. When filming on dry land, it must be
dejected figures as we returned to the mother
ship empty-handed, having failed to locate
at least 10 times easier to find wildlife when
was so gobsmacked I momentarily lost the
this reptilian needle in a haystack.
the sun is shining. At sea, however, the
ability to speak, leaving Will to articulate its
principal meteorological factor that dictates
success tends to be the wind.
Zero on the ‘Sea State Code’ equates to
an absence of even a breath of wind, which
RAISED ABOVE A LARGE CARAPACE. I WAS SO
liquid mercury, in turn making it far simpler
to spot anything breaking the surface – even
GOBSMACKED, I LOST THE ABILITY TO SPEAK.”
BBC Wildlife
February 2018 transforms the water into something akin to 41

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can also be experienced if requested.






www.lupitaisland.com / [email protected]

MARINE LIFE





from afar. But a sea state of 3 or more
makes an emerging dorsal fin or whale’s
blow far more challenging to pick out
among the countless breaking waves. Due
to the limited time the Celtic Explorer would r
be spending along the continental shelf, we
were desperate for conditions at these key
locations to be as calm as possible. Today,
Making waves: a Risso’s
with a sea state of around 6, we were faced dolphin breaches. The
with another prime opportunity lost. species’ white markings
Unable to pick out any cetaceans amongst come from tussles.
the waves and swell, I contented myself
with marvelling at the Manx shearwaters
rapidly alternating black and then white as little of note beyond a single minke whale, and the animals’ pace seemed too leisurely
they skimmed above the waves. Suddenly, common dolphins and the ever-present for bottlenose. They came closer. Finally,
in among the flickering flock was another, fulmars and gannets, the wind finally was we could see pale backs as they surfaced –
water
beginning to relent as we steamed out once
instead
slightly bulkier shearwater. It instead be gi nnin g a tell-tale identification feature of a much

.
It
e continental shelf edge. Would this
switched between blaack and black: sooty again to the more unusual dolphin.
shearwater! This phennomenal globetrotter be the mom Risso’s dolphins start life grey, but their
ment when conditions and location
breeds on a small nummber of islands in happily coi incided? proclivity for tussling with each other leads to
the South Atlantic andd South Pacific, many mature animals slowly turning white
before wandering far and wide for 12 JULY: THE BIG ONE as a result of extensive scarring. Without
the rest of the year. A ‘sooty’ is As we hea d ded west, the flattening seas warning, as the small pod passed by the ship,
s
guaranteed to brighteen up any enabled u s to pick out half-a-dozen hooked a couple of individuals leaped clear of the
birder’s day, includingg mine. dorsal fin s s coming our way. Even from a water, revealing an ivory hue and bulbous
After several days oof rough con s siderable distance, it was obvious heads. For an instant, they looked more like
hey were too large for commons,
w
weather, when we saw th beluga whales than battle-scarred dolphins.
A zero on the ‘Sea State’
code (still water) makes it
easier to spot marine life.
Inset: a sooty shearwater
brightened up Mike’s day.






































February 2018 BBC Wildlife 43 Risso's: Sam Challenger; shearwater; Buiten-Beeld/Alamy; boat: Mike Dilger

Mike had his
binoculars
out (right) but
luckily another
dolphins and thousands of lion’s mane
crew member d
photographed j jellyfish. Today, however, as we approached
the ‘flying’ Rathlin Island off the north-east coast of
thresher shark.
Ireland, the final leg of the expedition still had
one more surprise in store.
o m
o one
Whi ile staring out to sea with John, one
of the
o fisheries scientists, we caught a
glimps
g se of a big splash out of the corner
th ose hours spent staring at a seemminglly of our respective eyes, some 200m away
m
mpty sea were recompensed in oone
em n to star rboard. Another breach. A thresher
t
wo onderful moment. My delight at shark! This remarkable shark has seldom
aving found the second-largest aanimaal
ha n been o observed in British and Irish waters.
n the planet was soon replaced wwith
on i But so o distinctive is the whip-like, upper
an h s lobe of f a thresher’s tail fin that we knew its
nxiety as to how we would get this
y
le eviathan on camera. Fortunately,, wwe identit ty even before it had splash-landed. Thre
w a n The sh
were ahead of schedule, so Captain
hark deploys its unique hunting
k
D
Dennis was only too happy to take weapo on in a flick-like motion to stun any
a detour from our transect to “follow
a o o fish, b efore returning to devour them.
t that whale”. My g gear of choice for enjoying this John P
mptu spectacle was my binoculars, but
Known as the ‘greyhound of thhe improm Thresher & fin whale: John Power; Dilger: Sam Challenger r
e
t
o
oceans’, the 20m-plus fin whale is s luckily y John had selected his camera. And
fi
r renowned for moving at a terrific what a a series of photos he managed to bag Dilger: S
x
d
d
f
m
i
h
R
i
’
b
hat one moment of drama. A fitting
Buoyed by the Risso’s and our proximity li k b efore vanishing. But after a nervouus 30 from th
i
B
lick be
to the shelf, I decided to devote extra eeffort minut tes of constant scanning, we were ggifted finale t to our trip: The One Show wildlife
e
d
f
e
to my sea watching. Almost immediately I anothe er blow less than 100m in front of the wager had most definitely paid off.
th
was rewarded as a massive blow caugghtt my bow. A e ed
A nod from cameraman Sam revealed
y
eye 2km away to port side. This was mmuch that h e had indeed managed to film a coouple MIKE DILGER is nat lis t a
u
le
MIKE DILGER is aa naturauralistand
taller than the humpback’s bushy bloww: of blow h wildlife presenter for BBC Onene’ss
:
ws, as well as the whale’s astonishingly
p
it resembled an 8m fluted flower vase. long b back and small, hooked dorsal fin. The O n e Sho w His films o f th e C eltic
e
The One Show. His films of the Celtic
“Blow!” I yelled, following up with a shout Explore er voyage are expected to air in January.
s
r
xp
of “either blue or fin!”. 20 JU
ULY: FINISHING WITH A FLOURISH
I was delighted and relieved in equal Two d days earlier, perfect conditions in the + FIND OUT MORE
+ F
IN
D
h Minch had at one point produced no
measure when Catherine, the other MMOO, North D Discov ver more about Ireland’s Marine Institute
M
w.marine.ie and about cetaceans in Irish
a at www
h
latched straight onto a second blow, whicch fewer than three minke whales around our
w waters s at www.iwdg.ie
l
she suspected belonged to a fin whale. AAll ship, i in addition to Risso’s and common
“ ALL THOSE HOURS
SPENT STARING AT A
SEEMINGLY EMPTY SEA
WERE RECOMPENSED
IN ONE WONDERFUL
MOMENT WHEN WE SAW
A FIN WHALE BLOW. ”
“There she blows!” A fin
whale was a highlight of
Mike’s voyage. The species
turns up off Ireland from
July, and numbers peak in
August–December,

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Photos by Roland Seitre

A MILLION







‘PRETTY BOYS’





All photos by Roland Seitre/naturepl.com All photos by Roland Seitre/naturepl.com When conditions are right, Australia’s wild budgerigar populations




explode and form gigantic super-flocks – a far cry from a talking

parakeet in a cage. Helen Pilcher investigates.

During times of drought land
surface temperatures in the
Australian outback can reach
above 45°C. When this happens
budgies form huge flocks to
survive and search together for
places with enough residual water
to allow their food to grow.

BUDGIES













































t first it was quiet. In the heart of the Above: males and birds but of captive companions. They are the world’s
Australian outback, the waterhole lay females can be told third most popular pet after dogs and cats, best known for
apart by the colour
silent and still; an undisturbed oasis in chomping on cuttlefish ‘bones’, their cheeky, loquacious
of the cere (the
the vast expanse of scorched, terracotta fleshy covering nature and their rhetorical enquiries, such as “Who’s a
earth. All around it the unforgiving at the base of pretty boy then?” But this highly social species is native
desert stretched as far as the eye could the upper beak, to Australia, where it can be found flying wild and free
surrounding the
Asee, peppered only with the occasional across most of the continent.
nostrils). In adult
parched shrub or straggly coolabah tree. Then, as the sun males it is blue When we think of murmurations – those mesmerising
began to rise, it appeared as if from nowhere. and in females it is displays of avian acrobatics – we tend to think, not of
In the distance, cutting through the early morning haze brown. Below right: budgies, but of European starlings. Who knew that
like a twisting gymnastics ribbon, a strange cloud rose budgies are highly budgies can murmurate too?
intelligent birds
and fell, twisted and turned, casting a series of sinuous
that remember
silhouettes against the cloudless sky. Ever-changing, never food and water SPECIAL SPECTACLE
still, the bizarre shape-shifter danced its way out of the locations and It is, perhaps, one of Australia’s best kept secrets. Indeed,
distance towards the waterhole. As it came closer, the blue when to visit them. most Australians have never heard of, much less seen,
h
e aerial antics of a bud
ith some flock
ie super
-flock. W
sky turned green, and the amorphous mass resolved into the aerial antics of a budgie super-flock. With some flocks
s
g
ion
b
o
d
’
ll
ntaining a mi
h
s or more, you
ir
d
’
ey
imagine t
d
the tiny bodies of hundreds of thousands of colourful containing a million birds or more, you’d imagine they’d
mi
o
ss
e
. Y
r
a
h
t
d
t R
birds. They wheeled wildly, screeching chaotically. The be hard to miss. Yet Roland
n
d
e
o
l
a
collective beating of a million wings was almost deafening. found gatherings of this
ound gatherings of this
Sitting quietly near the water’s edge, naturalist and size frustratingly hard to
ze frustratingly hard to
nd. One year, he received
wildlife photographer Roland Seitre found himself find. One year, he received
tip-off from a local farmer
immersed in one of nature’s most impressive and under- a tip-off from a local farmer
n Nullarbor, Southern
appreciated spectacles; a super-flock of wild budgerigars. in Nullarbor, Southern
ustralia, who told him
“I was totally surrounded,” he says. “I was in the flock. Australia, who told him
bout a super-flock that was
There were birds maybe a metre away from me, but they about a super-flock that was
took no notice at all. The air was electric.” visiting his waterhole twice
siting his waterhole twice
day. But by the time Roland
When we picture budgies we tend to think not of wild a day. But by the time Roland
rrived, both the cloud of birds
arrived, both the cloud of birds
and the water had evaporated.
nd the water had evaporated.
With no idea where to go
With no idea where to go
“ IT WAS THE MOST FANTASTIC NATURE
next, Roland followed another
ext, Roland followed another
tip that led him to Western
p that led him to Western
SHOW I’VE EVER SEEN,” SAYS ROLAND.
ustralia, where he finally took
Australia, where he finally took
he photographs you see here.
the photographs you see here.
“A ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME EXPERIENCE.”
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February 20188
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BUDGIE BLING

As if budgies weren’t brightly
coloured enough, certain parts of
their body also reflect UV light and
fluoresce in response to it. In the s uite of features that the small parakeet has evolved
o help it survive in one of the world’s most extreme
male, this includes the blue area to
e
around the nostrils (the cere), certain environments: the hot, dry deserts of central Australia.
feathers around the throat, and the When times are good and resources are plentiful,
wild budgies live in much smaller groups of 10–50
white downy chest plumage. With w est, preen and socialise with one another in the shade
UV: Albert Lleal/Minden Pictures/FLPA eyes containing special ultraviolet Th
irds. During the day, when the mercury rises, they
b
ultraviolet light making up 10 per
re
cent of the sun’s rays, and budgie
f the trees. They are most active during the early
o
morning, when they set out in search of sustenance.
m
sensing cells, it means there’s a
hey feed on the ground, picking fallen samphire seeds
whole extra layer of budgie bling that
rom the earth or standing on tip-toes to reach the
fr
humans just can’t see. Females are
Glow show: UV light
thought to use these cues as fitness
helps budgies to
signals to help guide mate choice.
attract a mate. se eeds of grasses or plants known as galvanised burrs.
G
GOING THE DISTANCE
O ften small groups of budgies come together to
sp
anned two
It was the culmination of a search that spanned two Above: an plunder the same resource. So thousands of birds can
pl
a
t
decades, but it was worth it. “It was the most fantastic Australian sometimes be seen feeding in the same place, but this
nature show I’ve ever seen,” Roland says, “a real once-in- goshawk plucks is not a super-flock – just a lot of hungry birds. Then,
an unfortunate
a-lifetime experience.” He sat with his camera as a super- when the food is exhausted, the birds split back into their
victim from the
flock of around 500,000 budgies wheeled all around him. crowd. A budgie original parties and move on.
The producers of BBC Two’s Wonders of the Monsoon, buffet such as this If they’re lucky, food will be found nearby. If not, the
which aired in 2014, didn’t take quite so long to find is a rare chance birds may be forced to travel thousands of kilometres in
to refuel during
and film a super-flock of their own, but they also search of water and seeds. In summer, they often head
harsh drought
reported that tracking it down was one of their toughest conditions, north to catch the monsoons, only to return south in
ever assignments. Part of the problem is that budgie and predators time for the winter rains. Indeed, one explanation of the
murmurations don’t happen as predictably as their must grab the budgerigar’s name is that it is derived from the Aboriginal
starling equivalent. During winter months, starlings opportunity word betcherrygah, or ‘good parakeet’, so-called because in
while it lasts.
murmurate at dusk before settling into large communal the past the birds led thirsty native Australians to water.
roosts. Although no guarantee of success, all a would- Opportunistic breeders, budgies synchronise their nest
be spectator has to do is head to one of their favoured building with the arrival of rain. Monogamous by nature,
locations at sunset, and look up. pairs build their nests in the nooks and crannies of trees
Australia is, however, 30 times larger than the UK, and fence posts, and in tiny holes in the ground. Females
and its wild budgies lead a nomadic life. They have no take one to two days to produce a clutch of three to eight
fixed abodes, reliable roost sites or defined migratory eggs, but incubation doesn’t start until the final egg is laid.
routes. These behavioural adaptations are among a It’s a strategy favoured by all parrots, which leads to the
BBC Wildlife 49

Taking a quick dip:
budgies may land on
water for a couple of
seconds to drink but
can’t hang around
because their plumage
isn’t waterproof.


synchronous hatching of budgie chicks 18 days later. As a temperature in the Australian outback can reach over 45°C
result, the similarly sized youngsters all consume food and (113°F). Grasses shrivel and die, and the only way budgies
grow at a broadly similar rate, meaning there are no runts can survive is by sticking together. Small groups will
and, in theory at least, they all have an equal shot at fledging. merge, which in turn will morph with other groups to form
It’s the female’s job to incubate the eggs while her progressively larger flocks, then search en masse for water
partner goes off to feed then when he returns, the pair flit and food. It’s in these conditions, perhaps after a bumper
off to a nearby branch where the male regurgitates food breeding season, that super-flocks form and the elusive
for the hungry mother. This might be the ultimate display emerald murmurations are seen.
of devotion… if you like regurgitated food. Fortified and One time, John witnessed a super-flock so big that it took
ready to feed her rapidly growing chicks, the female can 45 minutes to stream past. “It was mind-blowing,” he says.
then resume her maternal duties and, after six to eight “There is no other bird in Australia that flocks like this. They
weeks, the youngsters are ready to leave the nest. just kept coming.” Another time, he witnessed the bare
branches of the Simpson Desert’s coolabah trees turn green
BABY BOOM overnight when a super-flock of a million or more budgies
If resources are plentiful, the pair won’t wait long before came to settle on them. “It makes the hairs on the back of
nesting again, and wild budgies have been known to your neck stand up,” he says.
produce up to five broods in a single season. Numbers With such large numbers of birds on the wing at once,
can thus grow rapidly. John Young, senior ecologist for the it’s intriguing that they never seem to bump into one
Australian Wildlife Conservancy, who has more than 40 another mid-air. Biologist Mandyam Srinivasan from
years’ experience in the field, estimates that a population of Australia’s Queensland Brain Institute and colleagues
20,000 budgies can
swell to one of 2–3
million in as little as
12 months. “These CAPTIVE COLOURS
are birds of boom and
bust,” he tells me. “Last Wild budgies have two types of pigment
year, it started raining molecule: eumelanin, which is black;
in January and carried and psittacofulvin, which is yellow. When
on until October. The their feathers are doused in sunlight, the
budgie population eumelanin molecules reflect only the blue
just exploded.” part of the spectrum, which then passes
It makes sense through the yellow pigment layer to give
for wild budgies to the wild budgie its characteristic green
make hay when the colour. Through 150 years of selective
sun shines – or eggs breeding, budgie enthusiasts have made
when the rain falls – the most of 30-plus naturally occurring
because, in their world, mutations in colour-related genes, to
rainfall and therefore create a dazzling palette of budgies, in
food are inherently shades varying from yellow to grey to
unpredictable. Drought blue to purple. There are, however, no red Due to over a century
is a perennial hazard, budgies as the birds lack the pigment that of captive breeding,
and when it comes controls that colour. budgies can be a
variety of colours.
the land surface
50 BBC Wildlife