The Final Straw?
The government have been discussing the possibility of banning plastic straws and cotton buds from sale1. It's estimated that around 8.5 billion straws are thrown away in the UK every year and though pressure is beginning to build on companies to stop using them, we are still a long way away from them disappearing altogether.
At this stage all they have actually announced is a consultation on doing it so if a ban ever does come into place then it will be some years in the future. Still, it's good to see it being talked about and this idea was discussed at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting with the UK encouraging other members of the commonwealth to consider the same idea.
Meanwhile, a Lords select committee have been very critical on the government's countryside policies and said that it is failing the natural environment2. It says there has been "consistent failure, over a number of years, to prioritise the 'rural affairs' element" of the remit of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and that this has had a "profound negative impact... to the cost of us all".
In a previous edition of Nature News I discussed how poor many of the government's environment policies are so the findings of this committee are no surprise. I hope that it can help to put things right.
New Forest Pine Marten
One of my very first posts on this blog was discussed the fact a pine marten had been caught on a trail camera in the New Forest. This was in about two years ago and I've not heard anything further until now.
Twitter user Jon Cuthill (@joncuthill) shared this amazing video of a pine marten in his garden in the New Forest3:
— Jon Cuthill (@joncuthill) March 28, 2018
Obviously this was not been properly verified but it's from a BBC journalist and certainly appears to show a pine marten in a New Forest garden. Pine martens used to be widespread in the UK but became virtually extinct outside of Scotland. Re-releases and small populations have meant they have returned to parts of England and Wales but the New Forest is not generally thought to be one of them. The trouble is that pine martens are usually nocturnal and are very elusive so seeing them is difficult enough, yet alone surveying how many there actually are locally.
Osprey Lost
Last year eight juvenile ospreys were released in Poole Harbour in the hope that they would be the start of setting up a new population there. The birds migrate to Africa over the winter and until this month two had been spotted there.
Now a third bird has been discovered, LS6, but unfortunately this one was found dead in the the Gambia4. The image below was sent shortly after the discovery of the body but was actually taken two months before it was found. Here LS6 is seen with a large piece of tail feathers missing, likely from a dog or even a crocodile. Though LS6 escaped initially, the lost tail feathers may have hindered it's fishing.
Like most migratory birds, it's fairly common for ospreys to die in the first year- only around 20-30% of juveniles return to the UK as adults. Though it's sad news about LS6 there are positives to take from it. It means that at least 3 of the 8 translocated birds made it to Africa with Poole Harbour's close proximity to the English channel allowing them an easier route than birds that set off from further North.
RSPB in the New Forest
The RSPB have announced that they are going to create their first nature reserve in the New Forest5. The reserve will be called Franchises Lodge and is near Nomansland in the north of the forest. The reserve was previously privately-owned land and is big, some 386 hectares.
Once it's open to the public it sounds like it will be a fascinating place to visit. It's apparently home to an internationally important lichen community and exciting birds like hawfinch, spotted flycatcher and wood warblers. I can't wait to go!
That's all for this month but there will be more Nature News in May.
1: BBC News- Plastic straw and cotton bud ban proposed
2: BBC News- 'Radical change' needed on countryside
3: Twitter: @joncuthill
4: Roy Dennis Foundation: Sad news about LS6
5: BBC News- 'Secret' woodland to be first RSPB New Forest reserve
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