Happy New Year!

I hope you all have had a wonderful 2013 and that you achieved all that you hoped for. If 2013 hasn't been such a great year, then I wish that with a new year will come new hope and good luck to you.

Whatever you are doing tonight; out partying, with family and friends or just chilling in front of the telly, I hope you all have a good night and that you enter the new year with a smile on your face and surrounded by happiness.

This year has gone quickly for me but I think it has gone well and I am grateful to say I have had few very low moments this year. So I raise my glass to a brand new year and a new start for everyone!

More blog posts to come later this week so keep your eye out!
Let me know what you are doing for new year!

Delph, Castleshaw & Harrop Edge Walk

This walk takes place in the South Pennines, near Manchester.

This walk goes through the town of Delph, which contains a lot of mills, I didn't think a town could hold that many mills! But it was nice to see them, despite them being run down and abandoned. Some may think that they should be knocked down, I think that they add character to the town. It would be nice to see something happen to them, maybe one should be turned into a museum about the history of mills in Delph and through the North West and maybe the effect of them throughout not just the UK but if they had a wider impact throughout the world, considering that we used to have a large trading empire.

A part of the walk went along the Dobcross Malt which was an old track along which donkeys would drag carts along to some of the mills. It was a nice flat walk. Through some of the walk there was a nice river, which at one point we saw a group of ducks standing at the top of a small artificial waterfall. I was able to get some good photos of a Mallard grooming.

The next part of the walk led us into the hills, we walked past Georgian churches and refurbished farm houses. On the way back down we walked over a reservoir which had beautiful surroundings.

We set of relatively late for this 7 mile walk so when we reached the reservoir the sun was starting to set, the light of which lit up the hills. Another thing that was nice to see was geese grazing on the grass by the water.

Overall this was a nice walk that wasn't challenging, I found myself not taking that many photos as I just took in the scenery. Remember, when on walks, out in the country or generally through life, to look up from you feet and take in what is around you. Yes, you will make trips and slips but you will always find your feet and move on.

Hope you all have had a good holiday season.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone!

I hope you have all stuffed your faces with good food, lifted your soul with many laugh and filled up your heart with love from family and friends.

I have been very lucky this year and got some sentimental presents that mean a lot to me (I will be doing a blog on some of them at some point). What did you all get?

Hope you have a great New Year!!

Colchester Zoo and their Wolves.

On the 26th November 2013, 5 of the 6 wolves that are in Colchester Zoo escaped from their enclosure from through a hole in the fence. One went back on its own accord, another stayed within the zoo and was then tranquilized and returned to its enclosure. unfortunately the others had gone out of the zoo, all three were found but had to be shot.

There has been a lot of upset about the 3 Wolves being put down. After having a long debate with a few people yesterday I really started to get thinking if their decisions were just.

The zoo did not alert the public immediately to avoid panic from the public but they did corner off the part of the zoo which the wolf enclosure was in. I do think was a correct way for the zoo to handle it.

The media was alerted at 2pm that day and at 4pm the last wolf had been shot. Now a lot of people are saying that the wolves should have been tranquilized and then returned to the zoo because they are shy and timid animals so would be unlikely to to attack anyone. I do agree that it would have been unlikely for them to harm anyone.

However, there are many risks with tranquilizers, as you have to get the correct dosage which can take time to figure out, it would also take time for it to take effect and with the animals under a lot of stress the anaesthetic may not have taken effect. Plus no one knows how much stress the wolves were under (I assume a lot!) and no one knows how this would have changed the wolves behaviour. If they had felt threatened then they would have attacked someone. If this had occured then someone could have been injured and the situation then it would have been a very different situation.

I do believe that the zoo and police involved made the right decisions. It is a very sad event to occur and I hope that it doesn't effect the zoo's reputation. Below is a statement from Colchester Zoo's facebook page:


"Keepers devastated by loss of wolves

At 7.30am on Tuesday 26th November, it was discovered that the perimeter fence to Colchester Zoo’s wolf enclosure had been damaged and five of the six timber wolves had left the enclosure. It is not known at this stage how the damage occurred despite the fence being routinely checked on a daily basis.

One of the wolves returned immediately of its own accord and one was darted and recaptured. Unfortunately, an anaesthetic dart takes 15 minutes to take effect and may not work at all in a stressed animal so two wolves that had left the perimeter of the zoo had to be shot. They are wild animals and in an unpredictable situation they would have posed a risk to the public.

The remaining wolf has now been located and very sadly also had to be destroyed.

We have obviously had a devastating day and would be grateful for your consideration. We have nothing further to add at this time."


Please let me know if you think they made the right decision and your own opinion on the matter.

Blackfish

So this is my own opinion about the programme, Blackfish. I would just like to mention that this film is meant to show the bad side of SeaWorld and is very biased, I am not saying that any of this is acceptable but this is very biased, so any positives that come from SeaWorld having killer whales are not shown. Just to let you know I am writing this blog as I am watching the programme on catch up services.

Capturing Killer Whales

These scenes are very distressing to see young Orcas taken away from there families, these are intelligent animals and the stress that both the pod and the individual young must have been dreadful.

I would like to mention that all animals in zoo collections start off as wild animals and this was a regular practice in zoos, which is used a lot. Several animals have been taken out of their wild habitat and away from families. There is no other way to begin to keep exotic animals. So don't think this a new practice which only SeaWorld does. The whole zoo culture is like this, for example, David Attenbourgh's first series was called Zoo Quest, in which he went around the world and collected animals for zoos. This would vary from insects, lizards and mammals. With captive breeding programs improving though, this is far less common than it used to be.


Keeping the whales captivity

Killer Whales are large animals, it is going to be difficult to have a large enough enclosure for this animal, nothing will be able to compare to its natural habitat. Hence, this I would have thought will cause a lot of tension and anxiety to an animal. There is no way of knowing an Killer Whales minimum needed space but I can guarantee that it isn't going to be a size that can be achieved by zoos.

Separation of Mother and Child

For me this is heartbreaking to watch. Again this is a common practice in zoos to move across the animals and mothers and daughters are separated regularly. But for an animal with such intelligence and emotional sense, it is just horrible. I so feel sorry for the keepers cause it is out of their hands and their is nothing they can do.

Different facts

They have footage of keepers telling facts which just aren't true but this is told to them. Even if they know that it isn't true they would not want to risk their jobs. And they do it for the love of the job and because they are thinking that they are helping the animals by being there. I do not think that the keepers are to blame for any of this.

Attacks on Keepers

Some of the attacks are shocking and it amazes me that many keepers had no idea about previous attacks before signing on. I think all employees should be fully aware of the risks that come with the job. Again, this doesn't just happen with Killer whales, there has been many reports around the world this summer of keepers dying because of the animals. One fairly close to home happened this summer, at South Lakes Zoo, a keeper had been attacked by a tiger and unfortnately couldn't be saved. They say it was down to keeper error, but this program shows that you may not actually know what the cause was. I think some people forget that these are wild animals, even if they born in captivity. Those behaviours are innate, no amount of training will be able to get rid of these behaviours. No one will understand these behaviours or what causes these behaviours to occur in captivity. The incidents could have several contributing factors that caused the outcome

Loro Parque

I think it was a poor choice for SeaWorld to move the whales to Loro Parque, with them having an poor reputation and with them possibly knowing that things weren't ready for them. However, once the whales are there it is totally Loro Parques responsibility for the training of whales, trainers and the actions of the whales!

The Attack

I can't believe the way that PR handled this situation. It was dreadful. It is appalling to blame an expert trainer with many years of experience, for her own death, which it is clearly not. The whole situation is just not a nice thing.

Conclusions

If this was a case with any other animal they would have been put down. An animal, like a tiger, would have been put down after maybe two incidents but for the whale to have 7 to his name and nothing be done to either release him or in the worse case put him down, just seemes odd to me. I do think he should be released into the wild back where he was caught, how successful he would be I am not sure but I really think this is the right thing to be done.

I don't think places like SeaWorld and other zoos are bad places, I know that they raise a lot of money and do a lot of work for conservation and raising awareness for animals, which people may not realise are in trouble. I certainly have no problem with the keepers, they are there to do good and generally do a really good job and the bonds between the animals and keepers have shown to reduce stress of the animal. I think the main problem lies with PR and the owners, many owners are just in it for the money rather than the principles of the zoo. Zoo's wouldn't do this if it wasn't for public demand, SeaWorld will continue to keep Killer Whales until there is absolutley no public demand for them. Money is where the problem lies, they will take an animal on even if they are not fully prepared for it, like the example of Loro Parque, just because they will gain a lot from it. Being in their position, a lot of people will do the same, even if you don't think you would. They are trying to run a business and keep it profitable, this is their livelihood after all.

I do feel that keeping large animals in zoos is a very pressing issue. It will have an effect on the animal, I think the same of any species. Some individuals do very well, whereas others don't take to captivity and display aggressive behaviours which can results in themselves, other animals or people to get hurt.

There was a quote from the show saying something along the lines of "in 50 years we will look back and see brutal this is". I do think this true, as if you look back 50 years from now animal welfare was shocking, very little thought or research went into how animals reacted to captivity and what they wanted, it was there just to attract the public. Zoos will only continue to improve the way they run things and this should have a positive effect on the animals and reduce risk of injury to keepers.

I would recommend people to watch Blackfish, which is currently on iPlayer. But please remember that there are positives to what SeaWorld do. I think the heart of all zoos lies with the keepers not with PR or the people who own them (I know there are exceptions, for example Durrell in Jersey). I also know that we will never fully understand animals behaviours and the causes for them, but as more research is done on this area and if establishments like SeaWorld, collaberate fully with them, then there are going to be a lot of improvements for animals in terms of enrichment and welfare.

I would just like to give my condolences to the families that were effected by this.

Thank you for reading.

Sorry post!!

I would like to apologize about the lack of posting, a lot has been going and sometimes I find it difficult to find time for things. But I plan to change this, in the next week and there will hopefully be regular posts! You will be hearing from me soon.

Northern Ireland

Well I am in my last few days of my 2 week holiday in N. Ireland as I am visiting my boyfriend. It is really lovely over here and so different from what I am used to, living on the edge of a city. Being by the coast certainly adds a breath of fresh air into your lungs.

Staying here has made me wonder about the future and where my ideal place to live would be. Would it be by the coast, by a city, in the countryside or in the middle of a city? I know that the chances of me moving into my perfect house/location (whatever that may turn out to be) are very unlikely due to property market and needing a job and all! But you should always dream even if the chances of it happening are small. I thinking having something to aim for in life keeps you going to an extent.

Wow this blog was just a random rant but hey! What would your ideal house or location be?

Butterfly count!

Well over the past couple of days it has been perfect for the big butterfly count that is being promoted by the Butterfly Conservation charity. This is a brilliant way to fill up a spare 15 minutes. Me and my mum are going around the parks in Preston and finding a nice spot in the sun to sit and count the butterflies. This is a good way to make a difference, the past 2 springs have been detrimental to insects but this warm summer may give them a boost they need.

Hope you get out and enjoy, for more information look at the Butterfly Conservation site. Have fun getting out in the sun!

Mud Pack - Wildlife Trust

Well I decided that I needed to do something with my summer, so what better to do than volunteering for trusts. I was told about a group which goes out once a week to a reserve and gets involved with some practical conservation. I thought this would gain me new skills and also allow me to meet new people.

So off I went to the meet up point at 9.30am, we left about 10 and head to Belmont which is towards Burnley. We spent the whole day fixing dry stone walls and digging up more stones. It was hard work, especially in the heat but well worth it!

Before

After

If you want to volunteer in your area then try looking at large trusts, like the Wildlife Trust or the BTO, you could also see if your council runs a volunteering site for you to apply to. Hope you get out and enjoy the summer!

Cows..cause why not!

Bardsey Island

I am sorry for lack of blogs lately I have been busy and not got round to writing any but there should be a few more within the next couple of weeks. This one is about my week on Bardsey Island!

23 students and 3 staff left Bangor University in the early hours on the 16^th June.  It took 3 boat trips for us all to arrive, the boat trip allowed us to have our first look at some of the birds that lived and visited the island one boat was lucky enough to have a Gannet flying over. We were keen to start making up for lost time, as we were delayed a day because of strong winds, so we did a bit of exploring around the observatory. After we had a brief introduction to the island, the observatory and the people who worked there; we continued exploring the island and went to the north coast and up the mountain and back down to the observatory in the evening.

Observatory

South side of island

Even after an early start the day before, some of the students managed to get up at 5.30am to join one of the wardens on a bird survey around the island, which they do every morning. The group split into two, one of which went with the warden whilst the other group, me included, went with our lecturer to the south side of the island. We saw a variety of shore birds including; Shelducks, Rock Pipits and Oystercatchers.  We got back to the observatory in time for breakfast and then had a look at the results from the moth trap set the night before. The findings included Brown Rustic moths, Bright Line Brown Eye and a White Ermine moth. The moth trap was looked at every morning and even though there wasn’t a huge diversity, the moths amazed me with anatomy and physiology. Later in the day we went on a boat trip around the island to look at the shore birds, many of which were rearing young, these included Puffins, Razorbills, Shags and Cormorants. It was a unique chance to see the east side of the island, despite sea sickness there were some amazing sights and I would defiantly do it again.

White Ermine Moth

Brown Rustic

On the third day we went out with our lecturer, Charles Bishop to watch him while he was carrying out his pilot study on finding out where Manx Shearwaters travel when they forage during the day by using GPS and tags which measure acceleration and heart rate of the bird.  During which several birds were found these were ringed, had their wing length measured and then weighed before tags were added. The third boat trip went out to go around the island were lucky enough to see Risso Dolphins swimming around the boat. Throughout the week we had to carry out a project on the island, a wide range of topics where chosen, these included; pit fall trapping of insects, bat surveys, adder tongue fern survey, sharp rush survey and a seal survey. In the evening we went up the hill side and waited for the Manx Shearwaters to return to their nests, it was amazing hearing them flying over and calling to their mates in the burrows. Some people were lucky enough to have some land near their feet; it was a surreal experience to be so close to animal that migrated from South America to breed on this island.

Manx Shearwater

In the morning of the fourth day all of us went to the south side of the island to perform a survey on the Manx Shearwaters by looking at the burrows. We were all given an area to survey in which we had to count the number burrows, how many looked occupied and how many of those responded to a recording of a Manx call. This took a while but was good fun. Along the way Steve the warden found a Thrift Clearwing which is a rare but beautiful species of moth. Later that day it was decided that it would be good idea to do a butterfly count along the island, however, once we started the temperature had dropped which meant it wasn’t ideal for butterflies. But we continued through the fields along the west coast and down to the shore. We saw many insects throughout the walk; Pill Millipedes, Common Blue Dragonflies and Green Tiger Beetles were among our finds.  Afterwards a small group went off to go and tag some more Manx Shearwaters, they found a week old chick in one of the burrows and it was thought to be the earliest in the year that a chick had been found on the island.

Common Blue Dragonfly

Thrift Clearwing Moth

Another moth trap started the fifth day off. The group of students who were studying the seals went for a walk around the island to do a total count, which came to be around 100 seals. In the afternoon we all went down to look at seashore ecology, in which we did transect’s of the different intertidal zones. There were many species of seaweed, lichens and a few species of crab. We were all happy to find 4 common eels in a small rock pool. How many zoologists does it take to catch an eel you may wonder? It turns out about 10. After this small groups went to go and see the Golden Hair lichen which is rare in the UK. Whilst the second group went to go and see the lichen they spotted one of the little owls which breed on the island. The results from the all projects had come in and there were many very interesting findings, for example a group working on surveying the population of Palmate newts on island found 22 adults, 15 of which were in the pond by the observatory, and 18 effs (young newts) and a Horse leech was found with the use of the pit fall traps.

Sadly on the fifth day we found out that the weather forecast for the weekend wasn’t looking good so the decision had been made to go back a day early. It was sad to leave the island and even though we had lost 2 days I think we certainly managed fit a week’s worth of activities into the 5 days we had there. All the students and staff would like to say a huge thank you to the staff on the island for being very welcoming and helpful to us all and allowing us get involved with their day to day activities.  

Bardsey Coast

Common Eel

Even though there is no sewage system on the island and it is likely you will be unable to take a shower due to limited water supply, I would recommend a visit to the island, even if it is just for a day, for anyone who is looking for a retreat for religious reasons or for natural interests. If you are there, a nice gift shop is on the island. As well as Bardsey fudge, which is made by the Wardens son, it is very nice and well worth the £2.50. 

Please visit the website or blog if you are interested:

• Bardsey Blog http://www.blogger.com/home
• Bardsey website (english) http://www.bardsey.org/english/bardsey/welcome.asp
• Bardsey website (welsh) http://www.bardsey.org/cymraeg/bardsey/welcome.asp

Conwy

With my time off I have done a little bit of exploring around Bangor and North Wales. One of my first adventures was off to a little town on the North Welsh coast, called Conwy. The town is built within the castle walls.The castle was built by the English monarch Edward I in the years 1283 and 1289. 

Conwy Castle and Town Walls © Crown copyright (2013) Visit Wales

As you can see by the above picture the town is a lovely little place, it doesn't take long to walk around the small town. There are some lovely little shops, and when I say little I mean it. The oldest building in Conwy is the Aberconwy house, which is now a National Trust shop, it was built in the 14th Century. A warning to tall people when visiting this shop, mind the wooden beams! Along the Conwy beach is the smallest house in Great Britain, the building is 1.8m wide and the last person who inhabited the house was 6' and 3" tall! However, in the 19th century it was deemed too small to live in, so the owner went around the country measuring all the small houses and found that he had lived in the smallest. You can have a look inside the house (Adult: £1, Child: 50p). 

Smallest house in Great Britain

 As you walk along the beach to the house you can see across the water to Llandudno Junction, which you can easily walk to over the bridge (10min walk max.). In Llandudno Junction there is a Cineworld, Pizza Hut, KFC and Mcdonalds. However, if you want to go on exploring a little more, once you walk off the bridge you can follow the coast a bit further, this is a perfect walk when the sun is setting. It also gives you a good chance to see some coastal birds. 

Now back to the Castle, it is owned by the National Trust. You can walk along the walls of castle, for most the way round the town (for free, I think).  Once you enter the main castle you can learn a bit more about its history and truly appreciate how the King lived there and how the castle defended itself.

Even though this may not be a very large castle, I still think this is awe inspiring just to look at the towers and some of the old staircases, how difficult it must have been to live in the castle. I would find it interesting to have seen how the everyday life of the people would have been effected by the on goings in the castle. 

When you are walking through the castle, you have to go up some of the towers. Only one tower has got especially narrow stairs, the others are well spaced and easily to go up and down. The view you get from the top of these is beautiful on a clear day. You can see all of the harbor and the sea. If you go to the castle around springtime and on a warm day then you maybe lucky enough to seeing some of the birds which nest within the castle. There where a few pigeons but the main bird that nested with the castle walls was the Herring Gull (Larus argentatus). I managed to get some pictures of some a the chicks, they can be difficult to see due to how well their feather blend in with the nest material. 

Everytime I visit this little town, I understand more and more why people live here and have it on their place to retire list! All pictures that aren't credited are taken by myself. Here are some websites that you may want to look at if you are interested in going or want to find out more:

• Welcome to Conwy - http://www.conwy.com/
• Aberconwy House - http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/aberconwy-house/
• Attractions of Wales - http://www.attractionsnorthwales.co.uk/attractions/britains-smallest-house

Here are some more of the pictures, including that of the Herring Gull chicks. Hope you have enjoyed the blog and are encouraged to visit this place.

Three Herring Gull Chicks

Herring Gull Chick

View from one of the towers

Don't go falling down this!

Kings Head

Three Bridges that leave the castle, from left to right, car and foot bridge, foot bridge (have to pay £1 to get on) and the train bridge.

New Story - Zoo seeks mate for 'gorgeously ugly' fish.

So London Zoo is in a desperate need for some females of the species of Mangarahara Cichlid (Ptychochromis insolitus). This species is extinct in the wild and only 3 males are in zoo collections, 2 at London Zoo and the other in Berlin Zoo. There was a female at Berlin, however when they attempting breeding the two the male killed the female. So London Zoo is now appealing to private collectors to see if there are any females out there. 

Here are the photos from the BBC News site (linked below):

Male

Female

Do you think this fish is ugly? I personally think that it isn't ugly at all and that the beautiful colours shine perfectly.

I find it interesting that they call this fish 'gorgeously ugly', it made me think. Does the appearance of the animal and how human perceive it effect its chances of being saved from extinction? For example, if the Giant Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca), naturally had patchy fur or was hairless or just seen as 'bad looking', would it be extinct by now? I am not suggesting this is the reason that this fish is now on the verge of extinction but it could be one of the factors and maybe one of the reasons it could be difficult to find one in private collections. 

Now people who know me, know that I love weird and wonderful things, which includes things that generally people would shy away from. For example, as pets I had hairless rats, a lot people were disgusted at them and would at times ignore me because I kept them. It has been found that peoples preceptions of an animal will have a large effect on how popular that animal is, one study done in Australia found that animals which people found attractive, intelligent and that they thought had character were more popular (Woods, 2000). 

So is there any way we can change this? How do we change peoples perceptions of animals that need conserving and need support from the general public? Zoos try to educate a lot of people about the wide range of animals they have and their various conservation statuses. Even though I think this is a good idea and will help encourage people to look beyond the looks of an animal and focus on its role in its ecosystem and the importance it has to help stop another place being stripped of biodiversity, I am not sure this is enough.

More advertisement of various animals, not just the ones that make you go "aww.." but they ones that make you ponder and make you realise that every creature counts and it makes a difference to their environment, no matter if they are a tiger, fly, panda or a fish.

So do you think this is true? What would you do to try and improve this situation?


References

Woods, B. (2000). Beauty and the beast: preferences for animals in Australia. Journal of Tourism Studies, 11, 25-35. 

BBC News: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22468206

Extra Reading

Fenton, D.M. and Hills, A.M. (2007). The percerption of animals amongst animal liberationists and hunter. Australian  Psychologist, 23, 243-57.

Schlegel, J. & Rupf, R. (2010). Attitudes towards potential animal flagship species in nature conservation: A survey among students of different educational institutions. Journal for Nature Conservation, 18, 278-90.  

News Story - Primate calls give clues to human speech

So it has been found that the Gelada (Theropithecus gelada) call contains a 'wobble' which may be similar to that made my primitive humans. 

So lets have more information about the Gelada (Theropithecus gelada). There are two subspecies that have been described: T. g. gelada and T. g. obscurus. They are found in Ethiopia and restricted to the high grassland. They are widespread throughout their range, which means they are of least concern on the ICUN red list.

The 'wobble' is thought to sound something like a cross between a yodel and a baby's gurgle. This can be heard on the link (below) for the article on the bbc site. This may show us some link to how speech evolved in our ancestors. The complexitiy of the vocal chords isn't found in any primates bar humans. This 'wobble' along with "lip-smacking" that has been found in some primates could have allowed us to speak. 


The question that I find myself thinking is that do you think that if we hadn't evolved the ability to speak and communicate properly with each other. would we be where we are now?  Would we have evolved another way to communicate? A thought to ponder on. 

References:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22067192 (News Story)

http://www.cell.com/current-biology/retrieve/pii/S0960982213002091 (Actual paper)

http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/21744/0 (ICUN Red List on the Gelada Baboon)

Selby Abbey

On Sunday I was able to visit Selby in Yorkshire to go to see family and for the first time I went into Selby Abby. It has stood for nearly 1000 years!

The idea to build the Abby in Selby came from Benedict ( a monk from France) who had a vision of St. Germain where he was told to go and start a new monastery in England. He was told that the site would be marked the presence of three swans. His journey led him to the River Ouse at Selby, where there were three swans and ever since three swans have been the Abby arms.

It is a beautiful building and I would recommend anyone to go who is near the area. As this doesn't take long, you may want to visit York and explore the city which is such a lovely place to go. And I am sure if you enjoy history or beautiful architecture then you will love these places.

If you want to find out more about Selby Abby then visit this website:
www.selbyabby.org.uk

New Story - Butterfly Population in 2012

Butterfly population for 2012 in the UK

I am going to try and discuss a news story at least every 2 weeks. How much detail I will go to, will depend on how much time I have throughout the week.

My first news story is on the populations of Butterflies throughout 2012. 

Let's face it 2012 was a pretty dull year, we had few weeks or so of lovely weather in May but apart from that the rest was cold, wet and with not a hint of snow (but I think 2013 has made up that!). Last years summer was the second coolest since 1998 (first being 2011, but only by 0.2°C). The average temperature for the summer (Jun-Aug) last yes was -0.4°C below the average from the years 1981-2010, which may not seem like a huge deal, but this could be a huge problem for native insects and flora. Which then can lead to problems for birds and other animals that rely on them for food. As well as the drop in temperature there was a lot of rain! So much that the UK had a total of 371mm, this is wettest summer, bar 1912 (284mm), since 1910! 

So how did this effect the butterflies?

With the rain and the cold it became difficult for them to find food, shelter and mates. Here are some of that stats given in the story about certain butterfly species, the percentages the change in the population numbers when compared to 2011:

• Black Hairstreak (Satyrium pruni) fell by 98% 
• White-letter Hairstreak (Satyrium w-album) fell by 71%
• Brown Fritillary (Argynnis adippe) fell by 46%
• Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus) fell by 60&

However, not all species suffered during this year. Some had a population increase, these include the Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina), whose numbers increased by 8893. This species along with Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus) and Marbled white (Melanargia galathea). This is believed to be because they are grass feeding species, with the dry start to the year followed by the heavy rains grass grew very well. Even though this a good sign that some species can cope it was only 4 out of 56 that saw an increase. 

The question is how will they fare this year? So far there has been cold snaps and a lot of snow that could prohibit or delay the growth of some the plants that the butterflies need. Even grass may suffer a little. It could be a case that many larvae have died throughout this time! Since many organisms base their biological clocks on the length of day (which remains pretty much constant each year) some may have hatched and not had any food. How the butterflies have coped will be worked out in annual surveys done by the leading organisations. 

My concern is that not only will our butterflies decrease in population size but other insects as well. The bees are already suffering, with honeybees having a lot of trouble at the moment. We need our insects to be in healthy numbers to keep all our ecosystems going and support all other forms of life. I am not sure on the situation for insects from around the world but I think it has got to the point were most speices need our help to maintain the populations. I know that not everybody is a huge fan of our 6 legged friends but I think everyone needs to know how important they are to our world. 

If you do want to get involved and do your bit there are several things you can do. If you have a garden and are keen to help you can plant insect friendly flowering plants that will keep you garden busy throughout the summer. You can also take part in the surveys, you don't have to be experienced there are identification guides to help. I will put some links below so you can go and investigate. 

Hope you enjoyed reading =)

Sources:

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/anomalygraphs/
http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/2012/summer.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-20983930

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21934075

Extra Reading:

UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (http://www.ukbms.org/Default.aspx)

Butterfly Conservation [I did a survey for these last year] (http://butterfly-conservation.org/)

The British Beekeeping Associatino (http://www.bbka.org.uk/learn/gardening_for_bees)

Chigwell Nursery (http://www.chigwellnursery.co.uk/Site/Bee_Friendly_Plants.html)

UK Flowering Plants (http://www.ukbutterflyplants.co.uk)

Natural History Museum

The thing I most looked forward to when visiting London, was going to the Natural History Museum! When we were in the queue, I was jumping up and down like a kid going to Disneyland. =) 

 

So here is the building, it is a beautiful building and when it gets darker blue lights light the building up. Alfred Waterhouse was the architect that designed the Waterhouse building, it was opened to the public on 18th April, 1881. The site chosen for this building was originally home to the 1862 International Exhibition building, once described as the' ugliest buildings ever raised in England', for more information on the history of this building go to: http://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit-us/history-architecture/

When you enter the building you are greeted by Dippy the Diplodocus. Who lights up!! 

Surrounding Dippy is several display cases with special fossils and creatures. Off the central hall is corridors to different sections of the museum. The only one we didn't get chance to see was the dinosaur section, as we didn't have time to wait in the queue..ah well a reason to go back! I had 4 favorites, these aren't in order.

1. Darwin Centre - A huge egg shaped dome which collections are kept in. When walking through the dome you get some sneak peaks into the book collections (amazing!) and bug collections are shown throughout. 

2. Hummingbird display, it was amazing! There must have been nearly 100 birds in one display case surrounding a tree. It was incredible to see. 

3. The Treasures in the Cadogan Gallery, this the room with very special artifacts that the museum allows visitors to see, it include the fossil of Archaeopteryx, the first discovered link between birds and dinosaurs. Along with some of Darwin's writings. 

4. The marine mammal section, the wall was filled with so many fossils it was just awe-inspiring to see them all. 

Marine Mammal Wall

Hummingbird Display

Close up of hummingbirds

The Great Auk in foreground and in the background is the skeleton of a  Dodo

Archaeopteryx fossil

1st ed. of Origin of Species by Charles Darwin

For anyone who has even the slightest interest in natural history you should go and visit this museum, a warning though if you get there early, visit the dinosaur section first! Before it becomes packed. But overall a really good day, oh and if you have kids there is plenty of things for them to do. A great way to learn. Just one final shot of Darwin himself.

London

Big Ben!

 London 2012

Me and boyfriend went away for a weekend to London, we stayed at the Premier Inn in Victoria. On the first night there we went for a little walk to see what sights were about. We got to see the houses of parliament and Big Ben. Along with Westminster Abbey and the London Eye. It was a bit gloomy but it was a nice walk. Afterwards we went to Leicester Square for some food (some awesome restaurants there!) and to see The Hobbit in 3D and HFR. It was amazing!! The Italian restaurant served gorgeous food.

Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey

The next day we went to the Natural History Museum, which was just pure nerd heaven for me! There was a lot of things to look at. One of the best rooms was the mammal room, it had a life size replica of a Blue Whale (Balaenoptera musculus). However, we didn't get a chance to go into the Dinosaur room. If we had known how busy it was going to get I think we would of looked at that section first. But I so plan to go back one day and manage to look at it all. 

Natural History Museum

On the last day we had planned to go to the Sea Life Aquarium, however because the weather was so nice. My boyfriend decided that it would be a better idea to go for a walk and look at all the sites rather than spend it indoors. At first I was a bit iffy about the plan but it was the best idea. We went for a stroll and saw several of the sights. We found a classic little sweet shop called Hardy's. It was lovely..so many good sweets. Some of the sights we saw were; Trafalgar Square, St. Paul's Cathedral and Buckingham Palace. 

London Eye

St. Bride's Church

The Mall

Buckingham Palace

Trafalgar Square

St. Pauls Cathedral