Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2021 i BBC Wildlife Magazine

Looking forward to a more sustainable festive period? We’ve done the groundwork for you. Head to our website for some original ideas for presents, decorations, holiday food and suggestions for reducing seasonal waste. Whether you’re looking for gins that support wildlife causes or gifts for the animal-lover in your life, visit discoverwildlife.com. Keep in touch wildlifeletters@immediate.co.uk instagram.com/bbcwildlifemagazine twitter.com/WildlifeMag facebook.com/wildlifemagazine…

NICK BAKER Have you ever noticed those spongy white bubbles tumbling around our shorelines? P.36 GILLIAN BURKE As the skies darken overhead, the presenter heads out for a walk in search of hope P.17 MARK CARWARDINE “These massacres are one of the most sickening demonstrations of animal cruelty I’ve ever seen” P.29 LUCY COOKE Apart from us humans, only four other species go through the menopause – one being the orca P.27 MIKE DILGER A murmuration of starlings is one of the UK’s most dramatic natural events – let Mike be your guide P.32…

WHERE DO ALL THE SNAILS AND slugs go in winter? With garden snails, at least, you have a good chance of finding out. As molluscs, they belong to one of the planet’s most successful groups of animals, with far more species described than all of the vertebrates put together. However, these terrestrial species have a big problem. Dry air and frosts are killers for soft-bodied creatures. Being nocturnal helps, but in winter (and during heatwaves in summer), extra evasive action is called for. The snails and slugs sit it out by hibernating (in summer this dormant state is known as aestivation). Slugs often burrow into the earth, while above ground snails seal themselves into their shell with a thick layer of slime. Look for garden snails hibernating in clumps, stuck…

“SWALLOWED ANY FERNS LATELY? You probably have, as their minute spores are swirling around us all the time.” Ace naturalist Brett Westwood is being playful here, in his 2017 book Wonderland co-authored with Stephen Moss. But he makes a serious point. Ferns are ancient, flowerless plants that reproduce with vast quantities of spores: “specks of primeval dust, which surround us wherever we are.” Ferns become more visible in winter, when many flowering plants take a back seat. One of the most distinctive species is hart’s tongue fern, whose leathery, strap-like leaves look – ironically – rather unferny. Its green rosettes, the colour of Granny Smith apples, may be seen brightening up woods and other damp environments all over Britain. They thrive among mossy rocks beside water, and in the Pennines…

YOU MIGHT NOT EXPECT A SCIENTIFIC CAREER to be pursued by someone who has dyslexia and dyscalculia, but it hasn’t stopped Lydia Burgess-Gamble leading research into natural flood management at the Environment Agency. “I only got diagnosed during the pandemic,” she says. “I’ve had an inkling my whole life that I was dyslexic, but I was at school in the 80s and early 90s and I don’t think it was what teachers looked out for.” It was the lockdown conditions of being confined to the desk and not getting out into the field that brought things to the fore – the fatigue brought on by constantly staring at numbers and writing reports. Since her assessment, simple changes such as the colour of her computer screen have made life easier. “I…

CHANCES ARE, YOU WILL HAVE HEARD of this year’s young celebrity walrus, with the national press covering its every move (and rather irritatingly naming it Wally – the same name likely given to every vagrant walrus in the UK). The iconic Arctic creature was first spotted in Ireland, before heading to Wales, enjoying a protracted stay of several weeks in Tenby, where it gave the local tourist economy a much-needed post-lockdown boost. But as the souvenir mugs and tea towels were flying off the shelves, the star left his favoured lifeboat slipway and headed to the French Atlantic coast via Cornwall. He next turned up in northern Spain, before heading back north. Finding the Isles of Scilly to his liking, he was greeted with a similar reception to that in…

A NEW REVIEW BOLSTERS THE IDEA THAT, to best conserve global biodiversity while feeding a growing human population, agriculture needs to become more intensive rather than more wildlife friendly. The review, published in the Journal of Zoology, looks at 2,500 species worldwide in a range of agricultural landscapes and finds that most species fare better in ‘land sparing’ systems where agriculture is high-yield, intensive and confined to a smaller area, rather than in ‘land sharing’ systems where the farming itself is more wildlife-friendly but needs more land to produce the same amount of food. The findings challenge the current push for wildlife-friendly agriculture. “We’ve paid billions for land sharing over the past 30 years in the form of agri-environment schemes,” says the review’s author Andrew Balmford of the University of…

Waiting game It’s late November in Wapusk National Park, Manitoba, Canada. Having spent the summer fasting on land, a polar bear waits for the sea-ice to form so it can return to its usual business of hunting seals. Polar bears lead largely solitary lives, but in October and November they congregate on the shores of Hudson Bay as the deep freeze gets underway. Arctic antics While most bears head out onto the sea-ice in winter, pregnant females stay in maternity dens on land, giving birth in December. At the age of about three months, the cubs emerge and frolic out in the open. They don’t seem to mind the cold, even when temperatures plummet to as low as -40°C. Exercise is a vital means of building resistance and strength in…

WHEN IT COMES TO WILDLIFE, PERU is a special place. It’s one of the most biodiverse countries on the planet, and ranks third in the world for avian riches. Peru owes its incredible wild heritage to the fact that it’s something of a biogeographical melting pot. It has an equatorial, tropical location; a section of the Andes mountains, which host a variety of microclimates at various elevations; and its waters are blasted by the chilly Humboldt Current, which moves north from Antarctica’s Southern Ocean along the Pacific coasts of South America. The result is a rich tapestry of habitats, each home to hundreds of species of birds – many of them endemic – alongside a host of other wildlife. Essentially, the frigate is a tropical bird that has taken to…

With a week available, possibilities expand. Two British destinations offer diverse summer wildlife without burning excessive carbon, while three European countries may tempt you further afield. Take the train to Norwich, then hire a car to enjoy Norfolk’s varied wildlife. On the coast, visit Britain’s largest spoonbill colony at Holkham, the mixed seal colony at Blakeney Point and Winterton’s natterjack toads. Insect stars of Broadland sites such as Hickling include the mesmerising swallowtail butterfly and Norfolk hawker dragonfly. In the Brecks – Britain’s answer to the steppes – watch stone curlews evade stoats at Weeting Heath before enjoying the thriving colony of Spanish catchfly (a rare plant) plus scarce day-flying moths such as the forester at Cranwich Camp. A train ride north transports you to Inverness, from where hiring a…

They are – they just don’t like running or flying in wet weather. When it rains, flying (and crawling) insects shelter by roosting under leaves or logs, resting in the leaf litter or pressing themselves down into the grassroot thatch. They resume activity as soon as the sun comes out. British species need to be able to function in our wet, damp, cool, temperate oceanic climate – insects with a more Mediterranean range can’t survive here. A quick look at distribution maps shows that most British insect species occur in south-east England, where it’s warmer and drier, and each has a range petering out at a zone where the damp and cool gets just too much for it to survive. This is particularly obvious with warmth-loving bees, wasps and ants,…

What is amber? Amber is fossilised resin, a viscous liquid that’s produced by certain plants. It’s solid but not very hard, reaching 2.5 on the 10-point Mohs hardness scale (diamond is 10), the same as a fingernail. Though considered a gemstone because it’s used in jewellery, amber isn’t a ‘natural’ mineral because it’s formed by organisms, not geological processes. And despite its name, colours range from transparent to black and it can come in rare, desirable forms such as blue amber. And what’s resin? Resin is released in response to injury. Most resins are made by trees and are secreted if a trunk is gouged open, a branch is snapped off or an insect bores through wood. Resin is a liquid bandage for the tree, protecting it by sealing the…

Following the success of his One Strange Rock documentary series in 2018 for National Geographic, Will Smith once again explores our extraordinary planet. This time he’s meeting up with professional explorers, vulcanologists and marine biologists to experience the Earth’s most amazing places. From diving into the ocean in a submersible to kayaking through a gorge in Iceland, it’s a thrilling journey with Will as our curious and excited host.…

PRIZE-WINNING PHOTO Early morning blues This male banded demoiselle revealed his vibrant metallic colouring while drying off the night’s dew. As he was still in a state of torpor, I was able to set up a tripod and get this shot. I had a 60mm f2.8 Nikon Nikkor lens on my Nikon D5100 camera, along with a shutter-release cable, and set them to F9, ISO 1000, 1/15. It’s always a pleasure to capture these spectacular insects when they arrive back on the scene and it was well worth getting up so early for this opportunity. Michael Blacknell, Hampshire Loitering with intent I snapped this photo of a saltwater crocodile lurking in some water just north of Brisbane. I didn’t think the shot was anything special, until I got a closer…

ACROSS 1 See 16 4 Fen plants, Menyanthes trifoliata (9) 9 Grass-eating animals (7) 10 Herring-like fish of the Great Lakes (7) 11 Spiral-horned African antelope (5) 13 Tropical seabird (5) 15 Derek ___, British conservationist (3) 16/1 Marine mammal of the Pacific (3, 5) 17 Tasmanian ___, carnivorous marsupial (5) 19 Member of the rail family (5) 21 Large falcon of the Palearctic region (5) 23 Virus of Africa, passed on by rodents (5) 24 River; source is Pumlumon, Wales (3) 25 Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (initials) (3) 26 Scavenging birds of prey (5) 28 Snout moth (5) 29 Immature frog (7) 31 Gibbon of South-East Asia (7) 33 Perennial plant of heath and wasteland, also called sour weed (3, 6) 34 ___ whale, cetacean that might by short-finned…

WHISPER IT DURING THE WINTER MONTHS, humpbacks are drawn to the warm equatorial waters surrounding Tonga, an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean – where this mother and calf were photographed. Despite being between 3-4m when born and weighing up to a ton, baby humpback whales are vulnerable to attack. To stay safe, mum and calf swim very close together and ‘whisper’ to one another using quiet grunts and squeaks to avoid being overheard by predatory orcas. The mother will continue to nurse her calf for about a year.…

Britain and Ireland’s native red squirrels are now at their most photogenic. Though they have adorable ear tufts all year, these become longer and even more extravagantly fluffy in winter, after the autumn moult. Despite their name, the squirrels’ coat colour may vary a great deal, from brick-red to dark brown, often with blonde highlights in the ears or tail. 10 Christmas species…

CLEANER WRASSE HAVE LONG BEEN suspected of punching above their weight intellectually. They are the only fish known to recognise themselves in a mirror and can remember events that happened months previously. And according to new research, they can understand what others know, too. These colourful little coral-reef fish are famous for operating cleaning stations where, working in teams, they remove parasites and dead tissue from the bodies of visiting ‘client’ fish. However, the wrasse are also partial to their clients’ nutritious skin mucous. Giving in to temptation, though, causes the client to flee and their co-workers to miss out on a meal, so greedy fish are liable to be punished with violence by their team mates. The new study, published in the journal Communications Biology, demonstrates that wrasse are…

Big Butterfly Count 2021 results Butterfly Conservation’s annual survey, which ran from 16th July to 8th August, has reported the lowest number of butterflies recorded since it began 12 years ago. It has revealed a continued decline of butterflies and moths across the UK, including the much-loved small tortoiseshell and peacock butterflies. Infectious disease confirmed in wild chimps Leprosy has been found in wild chimpanzees for the first time, according to a study in the journal Nature Reviews Microbiology. Cases of the disease have been confirmed in two unconnected populations in Guinea-Bissau and the Ivory Coast. The origins of the infections are unclear but humans are considered the main host for the bacteria that causes the illness. Bird eggshells evolve to suit environment Research conducted at Royal Holloway, University of…

Unlike their domestic cousins, the poo of a grey wolf isn’t completely nausea-inducing. “A fresh wolf scat doesn’t have a strong or bad smell, instead it’s bit spicy or like herbs,” says Alexander Kopatz from the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research. Normally grey-brown in colour, with the twist at the end that’s typical for canids, the size of wolf scat can vary depending on the animal and what it’s been eating recently.…

CURRENTLY, IF I SO WISHED, I could walk into my local pet shop and buy a monkey. I wouldn’t need to get a licence, there would be no home check, and I probably wouldn’t even be asked how I would care for it. Where do I live? Manchester. In the UK it is currently - and shockingly - still perfectly legal to buy 85 species of monkey as easily as one might buy a goldfish. Yet, thankfully, this is about to change, thanks to a new Animal Welfare Bill that is making its way through parliament. Though not an outright ban, the new legislation is set to make private ownership of primates much more difficult and highly regulated, by requiring anyone who wishes to sell or own one to have…

“There are only so many acorns in a forest”KELLY THOMAS, RSPB IN MY CUPPED HAND IS ONE OF nature’s treasures. A feather I’ve often dreamed of finding. It is quite small – shorter than my little finger – but the most remarkable thing about it is the colour. There are 11 stripes of the purest blue, as brilliant as a cloudless alpine sky. In the gloomy wood, the feather appears to glow. This wonderful object, one of the greater coverts that cover the base of the flight feathers on a jay’s wing, is perfectly fresh. The bird was obviously in the middle of its annual moult and had just plucked it out of its plumage. Somehow – what are the chances? – it drifted down to earth at precisely the…

“I SAW AN OTTER! AN OTTER! RIGHT HERE… BY THE bus stop!” I was in the bath, appropriately enough, when my friend Ellen phoned on her way home from work. It could have been more than a decade ago, but I still remember sinking back into the water, splashing and smiling at the Attenborough-esque charge of wonder in her voice. For otters seemed remote, almost mythical creatures, belonging to another, wilder realm. Seeing one during the mundane routine of the daily commute into Glasgow seemed implausible, like a golden eagle soaring over the school run. Such surprise and delight were shared by many around the turn of the millennium, as otters were appearing in places they hadn’t been seen for decades. Though still mostly nocturnal and elusive by nature, glimpses…

There’s no need to fly to spend a fortnight watching wildlife in Europe. Take your car on a ferry across the Bay of Biscay for a carbon-minimising journey to northern Spain – with decent prospects of fin and Cuvier’s beaked whales thrown in. Then, split your time between Picos de Europa National Park and Somiedo Natural Park. In the Picos, enjoy lammergeiers, wallcreepers, Pyrenean chamois and a kaleidoscope of butterflies, including the majestic Apollo. In Somiedo, focus on mammals: brown bears and wildcats are readily seen, but Iberian grey wolves require local guides. If flying is essential for that holiday of a lifetime, make it count: offset carbon emissions, use responsible service providers and spend locally. Glamping in Botswana’s Okavango Delta is a case in point. At Moremi and Khwai,…

Not only are fisher cats not cats, but they don’t fish. These denizens of Canada and the northern US belong to the mustelid family of carnivores, along with weasels, martens, otters, badgers and the wolverine. They’re about twice the weight of a pine marten and are adept tree climbers. Mustelids have a reputation for punching above their weight (think of a weasel taking down a rabbit, or a wolverine tackling a reindeer) and fisher cats are no exception, having been documented killing lynx twice their size. They also routinely hunt porcupines, overcoming them with bites to the face to avoid their lethal quills. Historically, fisher cats have been hunted for their fur. Indeed, the ‘fisher’ part of the name is thought to derive from various European words for the pelt…

Becoming Cousteau Showing in UK cinemas from 12 November COMMANDER JACQUES-YVES COUSTEAU was many things: an explorer, a conservationist, a film-maker, an innovater, an author, a husband, a father, and much more. Directed and produced by the award-winning documentary maker Liz Garbus, this film from National Geographic takes on the tough challenge of bringing the life of this extraordinary man to the silver screen in just 90 minutes. With footage taken by Cousteau himself or by his family and crew, we are allowed an insight into who he was as a person and as an explorer, renowned around the world for his films, books and conservation activism. There is a lot to cover, so the film only lightly touches on different aspects of his work and life, but still doesn’t…

KAY AND HER HUSBAND JAMES HAVE BEEN volunteering with the Woodland Trust in their local woods in the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Why do you volunteer? I’ve always had an interest in nature and work as a professional gardener locally. I feel happiest when I’m outdoors, so it was a natural progression to volunteer, especially as it’s only a hop, skip and a jump to the woodland. James is a retired helicopter engineer. He also loves being outside and is especially passionate about trees. What does your volunteering involve? We have both been volunteering for the past couple of years, helping with dormouse surveys and tree planting. The former involves laying out tubes to try and identify the presence of dormice or other small mammals within the recently…

How did you get into photography? I tried being a normal person with a respectable career, but that got old really quickly. I started dabbling with underwater photography and within a few years I had traded business suits for wetsuits. What shot is most meaningful to you? In 2000, I met a juvenile sperm whale who used me as a chew toy. We then became best friends and spent three hours together. One of the resulting photos, a shot into its open mouth, won a major contest in Japan. It also made the headlines, because the whale had a longline and hook embedded in its mouth. Many of your shots are of whales defecating. Which poo stands out? So many… If I have to pick one, then the great defecation…

“We had just begun our dive, heading towards a rocky wall on Al Qibliyah, one of the four small islands of Oman’s Hallaniyat archipelago, when I heard an uncanny sound. A series of moans, accompanied by a clicking and knocking that reverberated through my body. I looked up to see our guide vigorously signalling to follow him into the blue – clearly the dive site we had planned to visit could wait. The sounds got louder and louder until all of a sudden a dark shape came into focus ahead of us, the enormous form of what I found out later was a juvenile humpback. My fellow divers and I came to a halt as the magnificent creature approached. At least 3m long, its dark grey skin dotted with barnacles,…

Since its launch, BBC Wildlife magazine has gone through many changes – not least of which being its name. It began life as Animals in 1963, before changing to Wildlife in 1974, and finally settling on BBC Wildlife in 1983. As magazines have changed down the years, so BBC Wildlife has evolved to meet the times – all of which leads us to this new design you’re reading today. We hope you enjoy it! A GIFT FOR YOU Take out a gift subscription today and choose either a New England nestbox or a copy of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year book. What’s more, you’ll save a whopping 25% on the shop price. Turn to page 38 for all the details!…

IN SUMMER YOU MIGHT BE FORGIVEN FOR confusing mountain hares with the more widespread and common brown hare, but in winter the former dons a luxuriant white pelt to blend in with the snowy uplands they call home. It makes them rather tricky to spot, especially as they tend to take shelter in scrapes during the day. The determined ‘snow hare’ spotter will look out for their tracks, or runs directly up mountain slopes (rather than across, like those belonging to sheep and deer). Mountain hares are indigenous to the British Isles, unlike the introduced brown hare and rabbit. Nowadays they are found in the Scottish Highlands, Southern Uplands, some Scottish islands, and the Peak District. If you struggle to lay your eyes on one in winter (or just don’t…

A NEWLY DISCOVERED MAJOR hotspot for seabirds covering an area roughly the size of France in the north-east Atlantic has been designated as a Marine Protected Area. The move, which was agreed by 15 countries, including the UK, has been welcomed by conservationists as a critical step to ensure the long-term biodiversity of the area and protect millions of seabirds. The North Atlantic Current and Evlanov Seamount Marine Protected Area lies approximately 1,500km west of Ireland and is a vitally important feeding area for over 20 species of migratory seabirds, making it one of the most important concentrations in the Atlantic. The area is used by seabirds breeding on the coasts surrounding the north-east Atlantic, migrating across the globe, and nesting in other parts of the world. Many hundreds of…

NO ONE WANTS TO ACCIDENTALLY STEP on a rattlesnake. The snake doesn’t like it much either. Happily for all concerned, as it grows, a rattlesnake accumulates small hollow segments of each shed skin at the tip of its tail, which clank together menacingly when shaken. The result is a warning signal as archetypal as a wasp’s black-and-yellow stripes. Increasing the frequency of the rattle adds to the sense of urgency as danger approaches.…

Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar, who died in 1993, illegally imported exotic animals, including African hippos. There were originally four in his private zoo but now a growing feral population of more than 80 ‘cocaine hippos’ have been taking over the countryside near his former home and, according to environmentalists, pose a threat to biodiversity. So far, the Colombian government has sterilised 24 of the animals using an immunocontraceptive vaccine called Gonacon.…

THE TERM ‘A MURDER OF CROWS’ probably derives from 15th-century peasants’ fears that these sinister-looking birds, with dark feathers and jet-black eyes, were witches in disguise or messengers of the Devil. They descended onto battlefields to pick at the fallen and, with their alleged prophetic powers, they appeared on roofs to portend that someone inside would soon die. Their other collective nouns include ‘mob’, ‘parcel’ and ‘horde’.…

OF ALL THE VARIED AND OFTEN ODD collective nouns for animals, few can be as well known – but also as mysterious – as a murmuration of starlings. Supposedly derived from the sound of thousands of fluttering wings passing overhead, the swirling, mesmerising show of starlings gathering at their winter roost is arguably the greatest ornithological spectacle Britain has to offer. Despite a recent decline in population, due primarily to changes in pastoral farming, the starling is still one of our commonest breeding birds. Once fledged, large assemblages of young birds often form during the summer months. But it’s not until late autumn that the flock sizes can reach truly mind-boggling proportions, when our resident birds are joined by a large continental immigrant population attracted by Britain’s mild Gulf Stream…

There are several other related members of the whelk family whose eggs can be found on the shore. With a bit of scrutiny in some of the darkest crevices you can find the egg masses of sting winkles. These are laid individually but in clusters, each egg case looking a little like a golden ampule or flattened, translucent hip flask. Dog whelk eggs can also be found. They’re yellowy white and bottle-shaped, and are also laid in clusters, usually on rock overhangs.…

The UK has a wealth of wildlife easily packed into weekend-sized chunks. RSPB Minsmere, Suffolk, excels year-round. Gawp at ‘dancing’ adders in spring, revere breeding avocets in summer, admire rutting red deer in autumn or peer into wintry reedbeds to decipher bittern and bearded tit. For something different, throw in a night at Bawdsey Hall, where photo hides offer close-range views of badgers, tawny owls and – most excitingly – polecats. In summer, travel by train to the Dorset town of Wareham, then cycle or walk to Purbeck Heaths’ new National Nature Reserve. Here, Dartford warblers scold by day while nightjars emerge at dusk, and there’s a wealth of reptiles and minibeasts, too, from the smooth snake to the silver-studded blue butterfly. Readily reached by train, Penzance ia a fine…

Theory of mind is the ability to grasp that others have beliefs and desires that are different to our own. It helps us to understand, communicate with, and even deceive others. An experiment in 2016, in which two scientists acted out a scenario in front of an audience of chimps, bonobos and orangutans, demonstrated some aspects of the concept in apes. Scientist A dressed as a gorilla and hid from his colleague, once when he was watching, and again when he wasn’t. When scientist B searched for the ‘gorilla’, would the watching apes look to the first hiding place (indicating where they expected the scientist to look), or where they knew the gorilla actually was? Looking at where scientist B last saw the gorilla would indicate an understanding of what…

Britain’s smallest bird, the woodcock pilot (aka goldcrest) is one of the tiniest in the northern hemisphere and a much-loved species. Despite its diminutive size, its ability to cross the the North Sea on its autumn migration from Scandinavia has long been a talking point. This journey coincided with the annual influx of winter thrushes and woodcock, and earned the goldcrest the nickname ‘woodcock pilot’. Indeed, wildfowlers that gathered to hunt woodcock believed that the goldcrest appeared a few days earlier and thus heralded their quarry’s arrival. Observers claimed to have seen the goldcrest perched on the woodcock’s back, but that’s probably little more than a fanciful vision. Incidentally, short-eared owls migrating to Britain across the North Sea in autumn were also given the same nickname. FACT. Atlantic salmon can…

Why does the eyelash viper have ‘eyelashes’? The eyelids of all snakes are fused together to form a transparent protective shield over the eyeball, so an eyelash viper’s lashes are certainly not for batting. Comprised of elongated scales, their function remains mysterious. They may provide additional eye protection as the viper pushes through dense tropical American vegetation, or they may help break up the ambush predator’s serpentine outline as it lies in wait for passing prey. SB What’s the difference between a bog and a fen? The main difference is that a bog is fed by rainwater, while a fen is fed by groundwater. Since groundwater contains more nutrients and minerals than rainwater, a fen can support a wider range of wildlife. The UK’s best known is arguably Wicken Fen…

Why make a film about Cousteau? Director and co-producer Liz Garbus and I both grew up knowing of Cousteau and admiring him. About six years ago, she was reading a book about him to her children and she realised that most people nowadays wouldn’t actually know who he is – even though all the 4K and GoPro underwater filming and photography we see in natural-history documentaries nowadays is built upon his groundbreaking work. Is Cousteau’s work still interesting to modern-day audiences? It’s particularly timely today with many people suffering from climate grief and ecoanxiety, and feeling unable to act on climate change, which is something his life speaks to in a personal way because he turns that feeling to action and activism. The film is both for people with nostalgia…

Discover intricate bird nest constructions this winter, now that they’re empty of eggs and chicks, and exposed by bare branches. It’s best to leave them in place in case they’re being used by roosting birds or other animals. For more ID guides, head to our website: discoverwildlife.com/identify-wildlife…

Calling budding photographers! Treat yourself to exclusive use of a wildlife hide If you want to get closer to the action and test your skills, why not try renting a photography hide? Visit our website for a round-up of some of the best sites across the UK and soon you could be snapping… ● Badgers in the Cairngorms● Red kites in Rhayader● Nuthatches in Cumbria● Stoats in Norfolk● Kestrels in Yorkshire ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW Find out seasonal opening times, how much they cost to rent, how many people the hide can accomodate and what is provided (including tution and equipment) at discoverwildlife.com.…