A long, narrow, muscular and rope-like fish, often appearing dark brown or black. There is a continuous fin running along the top of the body to the tip of the tail ( the dorsal and anal fins merge forming a continuous ridge along the top of the eel’s body ). They are slippery and slimy to the touch – this mucus enables the eel to survive out of water for extended periods. At different life stages eels do appear very different changing from thin transparent ‘glass eels’ found at sea, to 50mm long young ‘elvers’ which grow to sexually mature ‘silver eels’ which may be up to a metre long.
What is a heathland and how is it managed?
A heathland is an open area of natural vegetation usually dominated by distinctive plants such as heathers, gorse and bracken. These areas were traditionally used for grazing of animals such as horses, geese and sheep.
Heathlands usually occur on freely draining sands and gravels and are infertile often with acid loving plants as the nutrients are leached out of the soil by rainfall. Heathlands occur in lowland areas and are similar to upland moors but usually drier and less peaty. In Norfolk many heathlands have been lost, reclaimed as farmland or becoming wooded because of lack of grazing. Management to restore heaths may include tree felling followed by reintroduction of grazing. It is important to look after our heathland as many rare plants, insects and animals depend on this habitat.
How can I tell whether a fungus is edible or poisonous?
You can’t without identifying the fungus and that is not always easy. Literally thousands of species of fungus occur in Britain; only a few are really good to eat and only a few are deadly poisonous.
The old wives’ tales that only edible fungi have a peelable ‘skin’, do not blacken a silver spoon when cooking and smell like mushrooms, are all totally wrong!
Most fungus fatalities in Britain (about one each year) are caused by Death Cap which has white gills, a ring (or ‘collar’) round the stem and, usually, a greenish cap.
What do otters eat?
Otters will mainly feed on fish (40-90% of their diet)and will take a variety of species depending on the time of year, species such as carp, stickleback and eels. During the spring months amphibians form a large part of their diet. Occasionally otters will take small mammals and water birds such as coots. Manmade,domestic materials have also been found inside otters.
Generally they are opportunistic and catch their food whilst travelling throughout their range; their ranges are surprisingly large and in adult males these are likely to be in tens of kilometres.
How to prevent Otters predating fisheries and ponds
It is not possible to trap and/or move otters anywhere within the UK. Otters are protected under the UK Wildlife & Countryside Act and also under European legislation.
Otters are mainly a river dwelling species and it is in their nature to eat fish, eels and crustaceans. About 40-80% of an Otters diet consists of fish with them eating around 1kg a day. An enclosed fishery or pond simply offers a very tempting feeding opportunity for them.
It should be remembered that most still waters stocked with fish are artificial, manipulated environments that support high densities of small fish or small concentrations of very large fish (usually carp) which, from the perspective of the otter, constitute part of its range and provide foraging opportunities. The onus for protecting a fishery against predation falls with the owner, or the club/syndicate using the fishery and in relation to otters this can only effectively be achieved by fencing of a specific design. Fisheries that are used by the public may be eligible for a grant from the Environment Agency but otherwise the cost is the responsibility of the fishery owner, club or syndicate.
Information on appropriate/effective fencing specifications is available from a number of sources including the Angling Trust, Specialist Anglers Conservation Group, the Environment Agency and Norfolk Wildlife Trust
For smaller garden ponds it may be possible to cover the pond in a mesh or grid to stop the Otter being able to dive down to the fish.
Surveying invertebrates - How do I find out what butterflies are present in my local area?
The standard method of surveying butterflies is very much like the transect monitoring of birds. Essentially a fixed-route or series of routes (transects) are selected and walked at regular intervals, ideally every week, during spring and summer. The route need not be too long - about 2km is a good distance - and can utilise existing footpaths, bridleways, quiet lanes and field boundaries. Record all butterflies seen along the route; over time this can build into a comprehensive record of species in the area.
Top tips for butterfly surveying:
- Try to include different habitats in your route. This will maximise the number of species likely to be seen.
- Make your visits between April and October on sunny, dry and calm days with a minimum temperature of 13 degrees centigrade (17 degrees centigrade if bright but not sunny). Butterflies are most active between late morning and mid-afternoon.
- Do not use a net to capture butterflies. Without specialist skills, the fragile insects might be harmed.
- Use a separate survey form for each visit.
- Always follow the same route.
- Before you start clearly record the date.
- Try to avoid double counting by walking steadily along your route and not stopping too long in any one place.
- Make a note of any habitat changes that take place through the year, such as hedgerow or grass verge cutting, localised flooding, fires, building development or anything else that you feel may have affected the count.
When surveying invertebrates, use Survey Form h.
Other techniques – How can an anecdotal questionnaire help with a wildlife survey?
Aspects of the natural history of your local area may be found in books or magazines, or on the internet, but what about the wealth of experiences, opinions and memories locked away in the minds of local residents? Tapping into this resource may provide some fascinating and amusing anecdotes. It will also help plug the gaps in knowledge of local history, as well as giving current viewpoints on what living in the area means to people, both young and old.
Click here to view an anecdotal questionnaire distributed around the parishes of Melton Constable and Briston.
Why not invite local residents, school groups, landowners and visitors to take part in an oral history of your parish? All you will need is a recording device and a means of editing recordings. You can even create a CD/DVD which can be illustrated with still or moving images. Better still, you could combine a project to record moving images of your parish with one that overlays anecdotes from people who actually live in the places being portrayed. If you do not own any recording equipment, you may be able to borrow some from a local recording studio, oral history society or possibly the BBC (which sometimes runs projects with input from the local community).
It’s good to talk…
The following steps may help obtain maximum benefit from any voice recordings:
- Put your subject as ease – have a relaxed introductory chat about the subject before recording
- Prepare some standard questions so that the interviews have focus – questions like where the person was born, where they went/go to school, what they like about their parish and what their favourite wildlife memories are.
- Try not to interrupt the interviewee unless you feel the interview is wandering off subject.
- Make sure you maintain good eye contact with the interviewee unless you feel the interview is wandering off subject.
- Make sure you maintain good eye contact with the interviewee and encourage them by using positive body language (such as nodding and smiling).
- Ensure you get the interviewees’ written permission (or that of their guardian) to use the interview in your project. other techniques
Getting started - Why bother keeping wildlife records?
There are so many reasons!
- Your records can help identify areas which are especially important for wildlife in your local area.
- They can provide up-to-date information on local wildlife and identify changes which may be linked to climate change, or factors such as local developments or new farming practices.
- They can help identify areas that local people feel should be protected.
- They can provide information which will help management and enhancement of local areas to benefit wildlife.
- You can create a baseline record which will enable future changes to be monitored.
- They can help identify species in decline or under threat.
- They can identify the sites of rare species and enable them to be protected – some species such as badgers, bats, water voles, great crested newts and rare nesting birds have existing legal protection, but if no one knows where they are then they can’t be protected.
- Wildlife records can be used to encourage local awareness, interest and pride in things that make your area special.
- They can help inform local conservation policies and may be relevant information if future developments are proposed or planning applications made.
- Surveys can be the starting point for future community conservation projects which will help celebrate and protect the wildlife and habitats you discover.
Recording is enjoyable and can be addictive! It is a way to further your enjoyment of wildlife in your local area and once you start recording you will almost certainly notice far more that you did before. It can also be a way of getting to know your local area better, meeting other people interested in wildlife and forming or joining a group to share and develop your identification skills and knowledge of wildlife.
getting started