Big Garden Birdwatch 2015

So it’s that time of the year again! 

The Big Garden Birdwatch is a brilliant way to see how wildlife is doing across the UK. About half a million people got involved last year and over 7 million birds were recorded. This has been going on for 35 years so the information collected can be compared to the past 35 years of results and see how wildlife across the UK is changing.    

It's incredibly simple to take part, just spend an hour in your garden between the 24-25th January and count which species of birds you see and the highest number of each species that can be seen at the same time! 

You don't need to be a member to take part; you can either register for a free pack to be sent to you or download one online at: RSPB BGBW 

This is a great activity to do with children, especially as it gets them outdoors and interested in nature! There are instructions of how to make bird feeders on the website in order to attract birds to your garden. Or just have look around on the internet there are LOADS of tutorials of things to make. It can get a bit messy depending on which ones you do, however I know from experience that kids love getting their hands dirty and it really is a great way in getting them involved with nature.

Don't let the fact that there may not be many birds in your garden stop you from getting involved. What isn't there can be just as big of an indicator as what is there! 

And it’s not just about counting birds! The RSPB aren't just interested in birds, but in all of nature. So there is also a section for badgers, squirrels, deer and a few others... 

So 'Count the Wildlife that's Counting on You!'

LITTLE KAROO: Part Two!

Vegetation Survey

Our first survey was a vegetation survey in a quartz field. This area is an area of Scientific Interest. many plants can only grow here because the quartz can lower the temperature by about 10°C.  As the area is semi-arid, it gets rather hot during the summer months. Spingboks are known to come lie in quartz fields to cool down during the hottest parts of the day.

We had a 10x10m square grid area. During our survey we recorded the abundance of species in the area we were looking at as well as mapping out where each individual plant was within the grid. The height, width and length of each individual was also recorded. the idea of mapping out the plants on a grid is so that it can be compared to previous years and years to come and see differences between and to get a bigger picture of this particular area of the reserve.

Above: Easily distracted on breaks; especially when your lecturer is into ants and termites. This an entrance to a termite mound.

Aardvark Burrow

We ran out of water and beside from needing it for washing, we were starving and needed dinner! on the way back from sorting out the pump at the dam, we stumbled upon an aardvark burrow. This is a feeding burrow as it below a termite mound. The termite mounds are underground and the easiest way to distinguish where a mound is, is to see the ash bush that grows on the fertile soil of the mound. The aardvark (that feeds on termites), will burrow below a mound, use this mound for feeding for a while and then move on to another. 

Mist Netting

We learnt how to put up mist nets. These nets have to be set up properly, otherwise you wont get anything flying into it, making it pointless. Mist nets have to be set up in shaded areas with a backdrop behind it (eg. lots of trees/bushes), not in an open area and set up where flight paths are. if you dont do these things then the birds will see it and avoid the net. 

After getting it out of the net safely (this has to be done by somebody trained, or will risk injury to the bird). Its wings were checked for feather mites. If there was any, the number of mites and which feathers they were on were recorded and a small sample taken of one feather.

This particular bird is a Karoo Chat (Cercomela schlegelii).

Starry Nights

As with the views, pictures just cannot capture how beautiful  the night sky was.  The moon was glowing!

Babys Bottom

This plant is called;  , however its nickname is Babies Bottom, I think its pretty obvious why...

This is one of the plants that is found in the quartz fields.

Bush Rats

I saw many Bush rat nests, one of which was right outside camp. We could often see them scurrying about whilst sitting for lunch or doing work outside. 

Springboks

Springboks (Antidorcas marsupialis); are medium -sized antelopes. They are South Africa's national animal. They are easily distinguishable and we saw rather a lot of them, though not to complain as they are very graceful.

Starting off our 16 hour journey

In the UK you drive along a motorway and you will more than likely be able to stop and get a coffee, go to the toilet and get some fast food not 20 minutes tops when you feel the urge. however in South Africa, if you need a wee, you could be waiting a long while until any sort of shop or toilets (which I had to wait for A LOT!). One place we stopped was a waterfall. It was extremely pretty and was hidden in some valleys which were beautiful and made the 16 hour drive a lot more bearable.

The pool below the waterfall was open to swim in, If it wasn't so chilly and we weren't on a time limit I'm sure we'd all be straight in there! It was so beautiful picturesque.

On the walk back down, there were a couple of malachite sunbirds. These metallic looking sunbirds have ling tails and beaks. They have long beaks as they feed off of nectar of flowers, so they need to be able to get their beaks in.

Being Immature

We stopped in a small town to get petrol opposite a butchers, and the sign on the building gave us a giggle. 

Ecological Characteristics of Streams.

Today we went to Brecon (near Pen y Fan) to collect some invertebrate specimens from a stream; as well as looking at the physical and biological characteristics of the stream.

Typical Welsh weather; it was raining and even hailing for almost the entire duration of our time there. It was bitterly cold, made worse by the fact that we needed to get our hands wet (and for me, my feet). 

We took measurements of the stream:  width of the stream, bank heights, water heights and stone composition at different intervals across the stream. we also measured the speed of the current by using a leaf and a metre ruler. 

As well as the measurements we had to look at potential sources of pollution and how the area was managed. A lot of trees had been cut down near the stream and water ran through that area into the stream we were on.

Spaghum moss which is on the hill to the right of the stream is acidic and so this can wash down to the river. The red sandstone (mudstone) which is in the river, is also acidic (and contains silica). This all means that the stream will be slightly acidic. 

The area around the stream was sued for grazing of sheep, this means that along the hillside was a field. If the sheep did not graze her it would most likely be an oak forest. If it were than the stream may be different (for example what lives in it).

We looked for signs of flooding, for example plants had been pushed over. It seemed as though the stream had not flooded for a while, although some of the embankment had fallen in, but this could be due to general erosion.

We used nets to gather some invertebrates which we then put into a pot, ready to take back to the lab. 

These included web spinning caddis, cased caddis and large stoneflies.

 By this point the hail had really started to pick up and was starting to hurt as it hit and I knew that my wellies were definitely leaking now due to the lack of feeling in my toes. (The photos really don't show just how miserable the weather really was).

When we got back to the lab we had to pickle the specimens ready for our lab session next week. The water in the jar was emptied as much as possible (without loosing anything) and then methanol was added a 20% water to 80% methanol ratio.