Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2022 i BBC Wildlife Magazine

SUMMER IS THE TIME WHEN DAMSELFLIES emerge from their larval cases and take to the wing. The damselfly is smaller and weaker than the dragonfly and is usually found close to water, particularly in the warmer months when the adults move there to breed. The mating ritual, pictured left, is unique. First the male transfers sperm from near the tip of his abdomen to accessory genitalia near the top. He grasps the female’s head using abdominal claspers, then she curls the tip of her abdomen to meet his genitalia, and sperm is transferred. This process takes a few seconds or, in the case of the blue-tailed damselfly, many hours. There are 17 species of damselfly in the UK, many specific to one or two areas. The near-threatened southern damselfly, for…

A DEADLY STRAIN OF AVIAN FLU IS ripping through seabird colonies around the Scottish coast, leaving thousands of dead and dying birds in its trail. “We are in completely unchartered territory and the impact that this form of avian influenza is having on wild birds is completely unprecedented,” says the RSPB’s Paul Walton. In response to the deepening crisis, Defra has launched a research consortium to understand the impact of this new strain of avian flu on wild birds and poultry. “The research will investigate how avian flu viruses are emerging, despite wild bird populations having prior exposure to genetically similar viruses,” says a spokesperson for Defra. “Scientists will also look at wild bird movements and… [take] samples from different wild bird species to build up a better picture of…

ARE THERE ANY JAWS MORE FEARSOME than the enormous spiked and hinged contraptions wielded by amblypygids? Strictly speaking, they are not jaws at all, but palps, used by many other arachnid groups as sensory organs. In amblypygids, that job is done by the ludicrously long first pair of walking legs, which silently sweep the surroundings for prey. Woe betide anything that stumbles within touching distance.…

1 POBBLEBONK, OR BANJO FROG Distinctive ‘bonk’ calls are reminiscent of a banjo string being plucked 2 CHACHALACA Social birds with squawking ‘cha-cha-LAW-ka!’ calls 3 DIK-DIK Miniature antelopes that let out a ‘zik-zik’ alarm call 4 KEA New Zealand native parrot with a loud in-flight call that goes ‘keee-aaa’ 5 GRUNT Fish that grinds its pharyngeal teeth together to create a ‘grunt’ sound 6 KATYDID Bush cricket with a three-pulsed song – ‘ka-ty-did’ 7 ZYZZYX Sand wasps named after their buzzing sound 8 MEXICAN WHIP-POOR-WILL Elusive bird with a trilling song sounding like it’s repeating ‘whip-poor-WILL’ 9 MOREPORK Owl native to New Zealand with a mournful two-toned call 10 CUCKOO Perhaps the most well-known onomatopoeic animal name…

WHAT IS IT? Sporting a furry sea-sponge coat, this crab has got to be one of the most stylish crustaceans in our oceans. It belongs to the Dromiidae family, which are known as sponge crabs and don sea sponges and ascidians (such as sea squirts) to provide protection from predators. WHERE IS IT? It was recently described as a new species after a specimen was found washed up on a beach in Denmark, Western Australia. The family that found the crab sent it off to the Western Australian Museum for identification, and scientists realised that it was an undescribed species. Further examination of crab specimens in the museum revealed that some were actually Lamarckdromia beagle as well, with the earliest dating from 1925. WHAT IS THE MEANING BEHIND THE SCIENTIFIC…

THE DAWN CHORUS, ONE OF THE UK’s most exciting wildlife events, could be at risk from a small but very vocal invasive songbird from subtropical Asia, say researchers. The red-billed leiothrix might threaten populations of native songbirds, including robins and blackbirds, competing with them for habitat and food. Richard Broughton, who led the study, says: “If the red-billed leiothrix becomes established in Britain, they could soon be a familiar sight in our gardens, parks and woodland, with their rich song altering the dawn chorus as we know it today.” The colourful bird has already become established in several parts of Europe, with new sightings in Britain, including a cluster in Wiltshire and Somerset. It is thought that milder winters as a result of global warming will make it easier for…

Sea canyon sanctuary A vast marine chasm near New York is being proposed by President Biden as a US National Marine Sanctuary. The Hudson Canyon – one of the world’s largest underwater ravines – is home to coral colonies that could be 1,000 years old and at least 200 species of fish. Sperm whales, bottlenose dolphins and loggerhead turtles use it in summer. Cuckoo clocks off The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) has announced the death of PJ, the UK’s most famous cuckoo. Since the BTO started satellite-tagging cuckoos in 2011, PJ has generated more flight data (and column inches) than any other bird – 96,560km of it, over six breeding seasons and as many round trips to Africa. The record-breaking PJ died in the spring at his Suffolk breeding…

Look out for sausage-shaped droppings, which are roughly 10cm in length and have a fibrous consistency as wild boar mostly eat plants. The mammals like to defecate in communal areas, so if you find one, there may be more nearby. “Dung beetles go wild for the droppings, although may be eaten by the boar in turn,” says naturalist Chantal Lyons. “I’ve been told by a resident of the Forest of Dean that in summer, boar droppings can sometimes be seen glittering with the shattered carapaces of consumed beetles.”…

IT STARTED ONE afternoon as I sat on the edge of a deserted Galápagos cliff, gazing over the sea. Absorbed in a quiet reverie, I had no inkling that I was about to witness a spectacle so incredible that it would – five years and 2,400 photographs later – lead to my first-ever scientific paper, despite having no formal academic credentials. Ever since Charles Darwin’s famed visit almost two centuries ago in 1835, the Galápagos Islands have been renowned for their remarkable array of unique flora and fauna – none more so than their extraordinary reptiles. Iconic giant tortoises and marine iguanas have long stolen the attention of the world, with some very special birds following close behind, such as Darwin’s finches, Galápagos penguins and flightless cormorants. Mammals, on the…

Dunwich Heath, Suffolk Just north of Minsmere RSPB reserve, on the Suffolk coast, this National Trust heathland holds a fabulous variety of great invertebrates, the most famous of which are antlions, relatives of lacewings. Antlions’ fearsome-jawed larvae live at the bottom of sandy pits, lying in wait for other insects to fall in. This is one of the best and only sites for them in Britain. Various spider-hunting wasps and bee-wolves also occur here. Cannock Chase, Staffordshire Most famous parasitoids are found further south, but there are still plenty of spider-hunting wasps, ruby-tailed wasps and even a few mason wasps up here. It’s also worth noting that dozens of species belonging to one of Britain’s most poorly understood insects, the ichneumon wasp family, are found here. There are also excellent…

DAVID BEBBER, PHOTOGRAPHER on many of our expeditions, referred to the image below as “the Reservoir Dogs shot”. You can see what he means: that sequence with a group of dodgy characters walking through an equivocal landscape with a sense of shared purpose and a hint of swagger. And why not? It was a moment of triumph. I’m on the left. In the middle is Vivek Menon, executive director of the Wildlife Trust of India, declaiming, as is his wont: “Look at this land! It is ruined! And I am so happy!” And there at the end, looking a little subdued, as if his mind is already on the next challenge rather than glorying in this one, is John Burton. If you look hard, you can make out the ghosts…

IT’S AN IMPORTANT STEP,” says Ishana Thapa, CEO of Bird Conservation Nepal. “After all our efforts, to have been proven scientifically as the first ever Vulture Safe Zone is quite an achievement. It’s the first in the world.” There hasn’t been much good news for the world’s rapidly declining vulture populations in the past few decades. But the recent announcement of the first ever Vulture Safe Zone (VSZ) in Nepal offers a glimmer of hope for the raptors, and could be key to securing their future. The Gandaki-Lumbini VSZ encompasses 7,500km² in south-west Nepal, the buffer zone taking in Chitwan National Park. “In the same way people have a protected area for tigers or other animals, a Vulture Safe Zone is a protected area for vultures,” Thapa explains. There are…

Yawns are mysterious things. The debate around their function remains… er… wide open. There are physiological possibilities, including the regulation of brain temperature or oxygen levels. Or perhaps the function of a yawn is a more social one – synchronising group behaviour, for example, or signalling empathy with others. The contagiousness of yawns is good evidence that social behaviour is at least part of the story. So powerful is the urge that, in humans, it can be elicited just by hearing someone yawn or even talking about it. Chimps, baboons, wolves, sheep and budgerigars are all prone to catch the yawning bug. And yes, some animals, including dogs, chimps and elephants are inclined to catch it from a human. Chimps will even do the same in response to a yawning…

How many plant species are there? According to Kew Gardens, there are 342,953 vascular plant species (plants that can transport nutrients and water). Then there are plants lacking a vascular system, such as mosses and lichen, which account for 22,750 species. Finally, algae or seaweeds number about 22,000. So, adding these together makes a total of 387,703 recognised plant species – but with more discovered each year, the number is steadily rising. DH Do any moths lay eggs on the wing? Yes, a few do, including the swift moths. The female deposits her eggs while flying in the evenings, with the emerging larvae, which take one to two years to develop, living in soil and feeding on plant roots. SM What is the most widespread crow species in the world?…

What are your proudest moments and achievements for Flock Together? We’re really proud of our community. So many people come up to us after our walks to say “Man, that was amazing” and tell us they’ll be returning. We would also say that we’re really proud of our female membership. Lots of women come on our walks and will tell us they would never have thought to walk a certain route, because it was not safe. We value being able to be there for the women in our community, and to provide a space where they feel safe. And, of course, we’re really proud of Outsiders: The Outdoors Is Yours as well. You also established the Flock Together Academy – why did you set that up and who does it…

Friends of the Welsh Harp is a conservation organisation that was set up in 2015 at the nature reserve on Brent Reservoir, in north-west London, a reservoir known locally as the Welsh Harp. Leila Taheri took charge in 2020, organising her first clean-up event at the reservoir. Since then, volunteers like Siobhan Dempsey have joined the fold. Both are working and also using volunteering to gather data for their respective master’s degrees – Siobhan in biodiversity, evolution and conservation, Leila in psychoanalytic studies, specialising in the topic of littering. The group also runs bird and tree walks with local experts. What does your volunteering involve? We carry out monthly clean-ups, which involve litter picking and basic conservation activities, such as pond maintenance. At our last conservation day, our team of…

What inspired you to get into wildlife photography in the first place? I went to a lecture by the photographer Laurie Campbell. His first slide was a robin on a spade – a cliched shot, but on that huge screen, it blew me away. If not Scotland, where would you live? Somewhere cold and snowy. Maybe Norway. Red squirrel or lynx? You’ve got to love a red squirrel. But we’re one of just a handful of European countries refusing to live with large predators. There’s an ecological, economic and moral case for bringing back the lynx. What shot is most important to you? A simple silhouette of a whooper swan standing on a frozen loch at dawn in winter. I can still remember the sun burning through the mist. Photography…

During those early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, the rules where I lived allowed us to leave our home for one hour a day for exercise. I used to love that hour. My son and I would go to some local fields and play football. We’d check on the frogspawn in the pond and listen to the mistle thrushes who encroached our pitch. One game was interrupted when a pair of roe deer charged across the goal mouth. Our local patch became so important, and we began to notice things we’d not seen before. Watching the wildlife on our doorsteps can reveal so much about animal behaviour, as wildlife photographer Tui De Roy testifies in our cover feature this issue (p42). Looking out at the ocean near her Galápagos home,…

SUMMER EVENINGS ARE BY FAR THE best time to catch a glimpse of a native mammal that in recent years has captured the hearts of our nation, with everyone from conservationists to politicians singing its praises. A recent scientific paper referred to the species as “a totem of hope as eco-anxiety increases”. We are, of course, talking about Castor fiber, the beaver. The chunky rodent even inspired a ‘rewilded’ garden that won best in show at 2022’s Chelsea Flower Show! Beaver expert Peter Cooper says that to see beavers you should pick a day with “really decent light” and be in place by six or seven in the evening, allowing plenty of viewing time before dusk. In July and August, he adds, you’re more likely to see kits outside the…

AUGUST IS THE SEASON FOR caterpillaring, with plenty of moth and butterfly larvae to be found. Many species are boldly patterned or have extravagant hair, and these tend to be unpalatable to predators, so can be spotted in the open. As Chris Packham says in his excellent 2001 book Back Garden Nature Reserve: “From punk rock to Ascot, there’s always caterpillar fashion to be seen.” But other caterpillars instead opt for disguise as a defence, including a surprising number that resemble bird droppings. The comma butterfly’s caterpillars are among the best-known bird-poo mimics. They are basically blackish with orange flecks, but have a big white splodge on top. You’ll find them on their stinging nettle foodplant until late September. The comma has two generations a year: the butterflies that produced…

SOFT, CARAMEL-COLOURED FUR, BIG BLACK eyes and a furry tail make tiny hazel dormice one of our most endearing small mammals, but sadly they are already extinct in 17 English counties. In June 2022, Ian White, People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) dormouse and training officer, managed the reintroduction of a second population of dormice into a Lancashire woodland in a bid to create a northern stronghold for this rare species. “With colleagues, I manage the National Dormouse Monitoring Programme (NDMP), which records the state of Britain’s dormouse population,” says Ian. He also runs training courses dealing with all aspects of dormouse ecology, conservation and mitigation, and manages the annual dormouse reintroduction programme. “If you tell someone that a species is in decline, sadly no one is that interested. But, thanks…

RARE VAGRANT BIRDS IN BRITAIN can expect a lot of attention and frequently draw large crowds if they hang around in one place. One species with a history of anything but hanging around is the Eleonora’s falcon, named after the 14th century Sardinian judge and heroine, Eleonora of Arborea. This dashing raptor breeds late in the year on Mediterranean islands to prey on a variety of European songbirds migrating south to Africa. Sightings are claimed almost annually in Britain with some thought to relate to the similar-looking hobby and peregrine and even escaped dark-variant falconers’ birds, all of which can be easily misidentified by the inexperienced, the unwary and, some say, the blindly optimistic. There are just eight records accepted by the British Birds Rarities Committee. In all cases, the…

THE TERM ‘A GAM OF PORPOISES’ DERIVES from the word gam being both a collective noun also used for whales as well as a definition for a social gathering of whalers when at sea. Their other collective nouns, which apply to several other animals, are pod (which applies to seals, hippopotami and dolphins), herd (to cows) and school (to fish). Porpoises tend to form smaller social groups than dolphins.…

AN ARMY OF GRASSHOPPERS HAS taken over Australia. Marching across the continent from west to east they’ve conquered new lands faster than rival species. The secret to their success? They’ve given up sex. Warramaba virgo, the matchstick grasshopper, is an all-female species. There are no males in existence. Where most animals have two sexes that combine their genes when they reproduce, this species has evolved to cheat this fundamental process. Instead it reproduces solely by cloning (an egg can develop into an embryo without fertilisation). She joins an exclusive female-only club that includes a bunch of other insects along with an assortment of vertebrates – fish, lizards and amphibians – and a host of spineless wonders only visible to microscope owners, but whose sex lives (or lack thereof) are exploding…

We’re lucky to have access to nature programmes that serve up a rich diet of charismatic wildlife from far-flung locations. Such is the spotlight on exotic destinations, however, viewers could be forgiven for assuming that it’s only elsewhere on the planet that the biggest and best wildlife spectacles are taking place. Fortunately, that’s not the case at all – truly world-class wild experiences do occur closer to home, with the seasonal appearance of the oceans’ second-largest fish being a prime example. Deferring only to the whale shark in size, the basking shark is Britain’s largest fish by a metaphorical country mile. Matching a double-decker bus in length and tipping the scales at about seven tonnes, these gargantuan dimensions may give the impression of a fearsome monster. Their appearance, however, belies…

Case-making in moths isn’t just restricted to bagworms. A familiar species is the case-bearing clothes moth (Tinea pellionella). In the wild, the caterpillars of this species live in birds’ nests and reappropriate natural fibres into a fabric bag for themselves. Unfortunately they don’t distinguish between natural nest fibres and those of your carpet, clothes or curtains – brightly coloured fabrics can make for fabulously dressed caterpillars.…

The two species of eared seals endemic to the Galápagos hail from opposite hemispheres: the Galápagos fur seal has southern origins, while the Galápagos sealion hails from California. In their adaptations to fluctuating equatorial conditions, both are smaller than their parent species, and both have developed unique breeding strategies, whereby females may continue to nurse their single pup for two or more years. Without this prolonged head-start in life, yearling pup mortality is incredibly high because it is so difficult for them to learn how to find the prey they need to survive.…

Nightjar One of the very best British wildlife experiences of all is to visit a heathland at night in midsummer and listen for nightjars. The hollow jarring (vibrating) noise is not just un-bird-like, it’s unearthly. Nightjars are about the size of a kestrel, and fly around at dusk on a jinking flight. Dartford warbler Probably the archetypal heathland bird, more or less confined to this habitat in Britain, at least for breeding. It is highly unusual for being a warbler that doesn’t migrate, or at least doesn’t go very far. It is tricky to find, but one tip is to locate a stonechat first. Dartford warblers use them as sentinels while feeding in low vegetation. Adder Our only venomous snake lives in many other habitats besides heathland, but heathland does seem…

It’s easy to see how clownfish benefit from living within the shroud of an anemone’s stinging tentacles. It provides a safe home that predators tend to avoid. Less obvious is whether the anemones benefit from this arrangement or simply put up with it. Studies are beginning to show that, overall, anemones do survive better and grow bigger with clownfish as occupants. During the day, the clownfish chase off other fish that try to nip the anemone’s tentacles. When night falls, clownfish fidget and stir up seawater, ensuring the anemone has a good oxygen supply. In addition, clownfish urine provides nutrients that stimulate the microscopic algae living inside the anemone’s tentacles and produce additional oxygen and food. FACT. Inside gulls’ nostrils are sensitive nerve endings called Jacobson’s organs, which allow them…

Any defined habitat, from the soil beneath a plant to the surface of human skin, will contain a community of microorganisms living together: the microbiome. When those microbes occur in and around an animal’s body, they form an ecosystem that can have a huge influence on their host’s physiology, health and even behaviour. Do all animals have microbiomes? Probably. Although microbiomes haven’t yet been surveyed across the whole animal kingdom, even simple Hydra (distant relatives of jellyfish) have microbial communities living on their surface. More complex creatures will also carry microbes inside their digestive tract. To potentially help humans, the most well-studied are bacteria that live in the gut of mammals. Are gut bacteria harmful? Some can cause disease because they’re opportunistic pathogens, parasites that take advantage of weakened hosts,…

ACROSS 1 Black-and-white wading birds also known as sea pies (14) 10 Garden snail genus (5) 11 ___ buckwheat, species of knotweed (9) 12 US name for the rhododendron (7) 13 Largest land mammal in the UK (3,4) 14 ___ snakes, term for burrowing reptiles in the infraorder Scolecophidia (5) 16 Of a bird or reptile, not yet born (9) 19 Bonxie (5,4) 20 ___ kelp, heavy seaweed (5) 22 Whale with a single long tusk (7) 25 ___ mouse, tiny meadow rodent (7) 27 Microscopic freshwater flagellates (9) 28 New World lizard that might be turquino green-mottled or Hispaniolan hopping (5) 29 Arctic cetacean that is also called the bowhead (9,5) DOWN 2 Historic county, home to RSPB Bempton Cliffs and RSPB Old Moor (9) 3 Miller’s ___, small…

It wasn’t an easy decision. Emotionally tied to nature conservation in the UK, as site manager of Ham Wall RSPB Reserve in Somerset I knew the only way I was ever going to leave was for a venture with the appeal and magnitude of managing a tropical island in Seychelles. Despite its chequered past – once a coconut plantation, then harvested for sooty tern eggs – Aride Island was never devastated by invasives. It is a nature lover’s dream here. The granitic island is home to over a million seabirds and the world’s highest density of skinks, and its shores are a destination for egg-laying turtles. Aride is an incredible place – fairy terns hover overhead, shearwaters wail in the darkness and Seychelles magpie-robins join you for breakfast. Plus, it’s…

NICK BAKER “The dusky sweep is one of 20 species of micro-moth that lives for at least part of its life in a ‘bag’” P.36 GILLIAN BURKE An emotional return to Kenya is a reminder of the passage of time and the fleeting nature of life P.17 MARK CARWARDINE Colonial-era conservation models don’t respect indigenous people and should be ditched P.29 LUCY COOKE Meet the grasshopper that’s given up sex – and conquered Australia as a result P.27 MIKE DILGER The basking shark is as long as a double-decker bus and can be seen off our coasts now P.32…

YARROW IS A LOVELY LITTLE wildflower, rarely over 30-40cm tall, which nevertheless stands out at this time of year because it blooms later than most other grassland plants, from summer until well into November. Its lacy white (or sometimes pale pink) flowers are grouped in flat-topped clusters. This means it could easily be mistaken for a tiny cow parsley or common hogweed. However, those belong to the carrot and parsnip family, usually referred to as the ‘umbellifers’. Yarrow, despite appearances, is actually a member of the daisy family. Another way to identify yarrow is by the unusual leaves, which are delicate and feathery, almost fern-like. It loves rough grassy areas, including quite stony ground, such as shingle. It’s also sold as a garden plant. In the past, yarrow was said…

Many birds fall silent or are less obvious in August, but the twittering calls and swooping, looping flight of swallows continue to delight. Most successful pairs are now feeding their second brood of three to five chicks, though a slow start to the breeding season, as happened this year, might mean in some cases the young won’t fledge until as late as September.…

A NEW STUDY OF THE FOSSIL REMAINS of an early giraffe ancestor lends support to the intriguing idea that the extraordinarily long necks of modern giraffes evolved to aid fighting as well as feeding. Long necks enable giraffes to feed on leaves beyond the reach of competitors. But they are also deployed during tussles for dominance, when males swing their armoured heads at each others’ bodies. Research from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, published in Science, has now shown that a 17-million-year-old giraffe ancestor, Discokeryx xiezhi, possessed helmet-like head armour and robust neck vertebrae, suggesting that head-to-head combat set the scene for subsequent neck elongation. Robert Simmons of the University of Cape Town, who proposed the ‘necks for sex’ hypothesis in the 1990s, but was not involved in the latest…

In August, slow worm mothers give birth to up to a dozen live young, their eggs having hatched internally (animals that do this are said to be ovoviviparous). The 6cm juveniles can already fend for themselves, hunting small prey at first. Neither worms nor snakes, slow worms are in fact legless lizards and as adults their sleek bodies develop a handsome bronzy or silvery sheen.…

REEDMACE IS ONE OF THE MOST familiar wetland plants, due to its impressive seed heads that appear in summer and look for all the world like giant, felt-covered sausages on sticks. As it grows 2-3m tall and forms large stands in the shallows of ponds or along ditches, it is pretty hard to miss. The seed heads contain an amazing quantity of fluffy candyfloss-like seeds. There’s a neat trick that people often film for social media, where you unzip a seed head with your fingers and watch the contents suddenly erupt, filling the air with white fluff. Confusingly, reedmace is frequently referred to as bulrush, which is a different wetland plant altogether. In North America, meanwhile, it is known as cattail. Whatever you call it, the plant is popular with…

ON HILLSIDES, HEATHS AND ROUGH GROUND, the heat of fine summer days makes gorse crackle and pop. The sound is the plant’s seed pods violently twisting and splitting open, an example of autochory, or explosive seed dispersal. The pods – technically fruit – look like matte black mangetout with a covering of white hairs. They have been gradually losing water in the warm weather, until they are so weak that they give way. Flowering gorse also offers an olfactory treat: an intoxicating aroma variously compared to almonds or coconut. Once harvested as livestock fodder, gorse nowadays has a mixed reputation, with landowners often inclined to rip it out. Overseas, where gorse has been introduced as a hedging plant, it is classed as an invasive species. However, in its native Britain…

Frisky sharks Surprisingly little is known about basking shark reproduction, but their courtship can occasionally be seen in British and Irish waters. Signs that love is in the water will include nose-to-tail following, parallel swimming and even breaching. Zooplankton soup Basking shark food consists of an array of microscopic copepods (small crustaceans), fish eggs and the larvae of gastropods (molluscs) and decapods (crustaceans). Collectively, they are a vital link in the marine food-web and a principal food for a vast array of fish and the largest whales. Other big fish Huge, flat and circular, ocean sunfish have been likened to a giant swimming head! They have a stiff ring of skin instead of a tail, which acts like a rudder, along with small pectoral fins, an elongated dorsal fin and…

IT WAS A PERFECT LATE-SUMMER day on one of Dorset’s heathlands. The sun was out, the heather shimmered purple to the horizon, grasshoppers chirped flirtatiously and, while the bees performed their humming chorus, turbo-charged butterflies raced along the sandy paths. It wasn’t only the bees that were buzzing. Gail Ashton, insect enthusiast extraordinaire and my guide for the morning, was revved up too at the prospect of seeing and photographing some of Britain’s rarest invertebrates. It seems that a Purbeck mason wasp stirs strong emotions. The morning was gorgeous as we wandered serendipitously along the tracks. The traffic on the insect highway – the comings and goings of bee commuters, flies fussing at blooms, and even a redstart shivering its tail in the sapping warmth; all this abundance conspired to…

Rock stars Mareeba rock-wallabies pause among the boulders of Granite Gorge Nature Park, northern Queensland. Weighing under 5kg, this is one of the smallest of about 50 marsupial species of the macropod (‘big foot’) family in Australia, including four species of kangaroo, plus wallabies, wallaroos and pademelons. Night vision Most marsupials – including this eastern grey kangaroo, photographed under a full moon in Murramarang National Park, New South Wales – are largely nocturnal or crepuscular, resting in shade during the day. Sexual dimorphism is also common: male eastern greys can weigh over 60kg, twice as much as females. Snout and about Curious Mareeba rock-wallabies check out Stefano’s lens in Granite Gorge Nature Park. Among the most social of macropods, this rare species – its range limited to a small area…

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Vulture declines are not exclusive to Asia. Populations of Africa’s vulture species are also plummeting. Seven of the continent’s 10 species are now listed as endangered or critically endangered, though this is a result of different threats. Diclofenac use in African countries, while on the rise, is not as severe as it is in Asia. A key problem in Africa is poisoning, both deliberately for animal body parts – particularly their heads, which are sold as good-luck charms – and accidentally, when the birds feed on the poisoned carcasses of ‘problem’ carnivores, such as lions, jackals and dogs.…

Dippers are unique among songbirds for their ability to wade, swim and dive in running water. A number of key adaptations enable them to stay underwater for up to 30 seconds: flaps in the nostrils that close to keep water out; focus muscles in the eyes that change the curvature of the lens, enhancing their vision underwater; and the ability to store more oxygen in their blood. Dippers are muscular with a dense plumage and a large preen gland for waterproofing their feathers. They supplement their ability to stay submerged by pushing themselves downwards and stretching out their wings, paddling against the current, as they forage on the riverbed. Strong legs and sharp claws help them cling on to rocks and prevent them from being swept away as they hunt…

Outsiders By Ollie Olanipekun and Nadeem Perera Gaia, £16.99 THE GREAT OUTDOORS AND NATURE loving groups may feel like safe spaces for lots of us – somewhere to disconnect from the stresses of everyday life and to marvel at the natural world – but there are many who have felt left out of these communities. As the UK’s first birdwatching collective for people of colour, Flock Together started in 2020 and aims to provide a community for those groups. Its founders, Ollie Olanipekun and Nadeem Perera, who first met via bird pictures posted on Instagram, have penned a memoir/manifesto, with each of the six chapters focusing on a key tenet of Flock Together’s mission: Benefits of Nature; Challenging Preconceptions; Mental Health Benefits; Building Community; Ecological Benefits; and Creative Mentorship. In…

PRIZE-WINNING PHOTO It’s the small things I have a keen interest in small invertebrates and always love to snap jumping spiders and other micro life. This particular jumping spider was found during the summer at Agartala in Tripura, India. They are not easy to see at this location but I was lucky enough to frame this moment. Jumping spiders have some of the best vision among athropods and use it in courtship, hunting and navigation. Abhijit Shil, Tripura, India Ready for my close-up It was a lovely autumn evening and we were photographing short-eared owls. They winter down south for a short period. They preen themselves well and get some air into their flight feathers before they start their evening hunt. I managed to capture this ‘shortie’ just after it…

AS A WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER and educator, I agree with Mark Carwardine’s opinion piece (June 2022) on raising awareness of wildlife among our MPs. The key to conservation is education but unfortunately MPs will always be biased towards what can get them votes or financial contributions to their party. If we want change, it has to start with the local conservation organisations that educate the general public about the wildlife in their area. The public can then, in turn, educate the local MP via the ballot box. Unfortunately, some local NGOs fail when it comes to wider conservation issues and are stuck in their own bubble. Some, I’m sorry to say, don’t even understand what’s in their own areas and adopt a “we know better attitude” when challenged. We also need…