Page 6 - BBC Wildlife Volume 36 #12

WILDMONTH

Seven essential wildlife events to enjoy this

month, compiled by Ben Hoare.

ON RADIO

Weekdays at 05.58
1 | KINGFISHER
Frozen out

When the ‘Beast from the East’ Data from the UK’s BirdTrack
brought Siberian weather to much citizen-science project shows the
of Europe in March this year, a impact clearly, explains Dawn Balmer,
photograph of an unlucky kingfisher Head of Surveys at the British Trust
frozen solid in the ice of a Dutch canal for Ornithology (BTO). “Since the cold
was widely published in newspapers snap in March, the reporting rate for
and went viral on social media. Ice kingfishers has been well down on
looks pretty, but it’s a killer. For some both 2017 and the long-term average.”
birds, freezing spells lasting any Other surveys can back this up and
longer than a couple of days can be a provide further insight, Dawn says.
major cause of mortality. Kingfishers “We’re eagerly awaiting the results of
are particularly susceptible, as are the Breeding Bird Survey, due in April
grey herons, barn owls (because their 2019, as they’ll give us some numbers
rodent prey stays underground), based on volunteers visiting their
and insectivorous species such as survey squares.”
goldcrests and Dartford warblers.
A big freeze sends their populations GET INVOLVED Use BirdTrack to
Mike Lane/FLPA tumbling, though numbers recover share your records and learn about UK

after a run of mild winters.
birds: bto.org/birdtrack