Spare a thought for wildlife

But whilst you are enjoying the warmth of the central heating or wrapping up for a picture-postcard walk, spare a thought for our local wildlife this winter — experts are concerned about the effects extreme weather may have on it.

Our wildlife is amazingly hardy and adaptable and can put up with a pounding from the weather.

But prolonged periods of cold, continuing for weeks or months at a time, or severe and sudden changes in the weather, can cause it major problems.

Debbie Lewis, reserves ecology manager, at the Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wildlife Trust (BBOWT), recalls several years during the 1980s when the winters in England were particularly harsh: “In recent memory, winters in Oxfordshire have been unusually mild and surveys are showing that spring is arriving earlier and earlier.

“But this year, things have been different — for example, our snowdrops are late flowering. And if we do experience weather like we saw in the 80s again it will be a problem for our wildlife.

“Back then, I remember hearing that hay had to be airlifted to sheep in the north of England to stop them from starving.

“This seems extreme, but when snow and ice are about, grazing animals, whether domestic sheep or wild hares, just can’t get to the plants to feed.

“A spell of cold weather can also cause a multitude of problems for insects. Butterflies like the red admiral are summer migrants, arriving here from the continent, but with the recent string of mild winters they have begun to overwinter here. This bout of cold weather will no doubt have an effect on their populations.”

The barren trees and woodlands of winter make it much easier to spot the comings and goings of our birds, especially when their living spaces overlap with ours in towns and villages.

The migratory patterns of many of our birds are influenced by the weather and so the effect of a severe change in conditions is twofold: new species of birds begin to take up residence, while others leave for more suitable climes.

Bird migration patterns are easily followed and help conservationists to keep track of local species.

Colin Williams, reserves ecology officer at BBOWT, and an army of dedicated volunteers, regularly survey the bird populations on the trust’s nature reserves.

He said: “After the first round of cold weather, I noticed that the numbers of certain species, such as redwings and fieldfares, were dropping. It seems that the birds had migrated further south to the coast in search of warmer weather. Further survey work has shown that these birds have not returned and are likely to be staying south throughout the winter.”

As well as affecting wider migratory patterns, the cold weather is also causing birds to forage closer to human populations and in different places — bringing a wide range of unusual birds to our gardens, from waxwings and reed buntings, to yellowhammers and fieldfares.

“Usually these species would be out in the countryside, foraging along hedgerows and in woodlands,” said Colin, “but they are being seen in gardens as the frozen conditions make it almost impossible for them to find their usual food sources.”

Not many of our mammals in Oxfordshire actually hibernate for long periods during winter, they simply prefer to sleep when it gets cold, occasionally poking their noses out from their cosy nests to see what food might be available. But when severe weather hits, it is much harder for mammals like badgers, hares, stoats and foxes to graze, forage or hunt for food.

The frozen ground stops rabbits and hares from nibbling the green grass, making these plant-lovers stay at home, so predators like stoats and owls find it harder to spot and catch them.

There is also less food around in our hedgerows and woodlands for foragers — leaves have gone, plants have withered or are covered with snow, hedges stripped of berries, and insects dead from the cold or stuck in frozen soil or ponds.

The snow can bring its advantages too. When it falls, mammals tip-toeing about their daily business inadvertently leave tracks that are much more visible than those left in bare earth.

Surveyors, like Colin and the volunteers at BBOWT, use snow tracks to confirm the presence of mammals on the trust’s nature reserves, including the elusive otter which has been frequently spotted at Chimney Meadows near Bampton, and the more playful badgers at Warburg, near Henley.

It is widely accepted that our climate is heading for hotter summers and milder winters. But extreme variations in weather, such as flooding and storms, are also going to become more frequent with climate change.

Although our wildlife may be able to adapt to short changes in weather, climate change will undoubtedly have major consequences for Oxfordshire’s wildlife in the long term.

BBOWT is helping wildlife cope with the changing weather by working on a larger scale in the wider countryside to restore and recreate habitats.

By creating ‘living landscapes’ — where habitats are no longer isolated pockets but are connected to each other across a huge area like stepping stones, and where wildlife and people live together and benefit from one another — we can give wildlife the space and opportunity to move about freely and adapt to changing climate.

Debbie added: “By helping to create resilient and joined-up habitats, we’ll be able to give wildlife a chance to move about the countryside freely. Looking after the landscape in this way will help wildlife and people to cope with the effects of climate change.”