BBC Wildlife - UK (2020-04)

Plover: Nick Upton/naturepl.com

18 BBC Wildlife

WILDAPRIL

Sandmartin

Theearliesthirundine

(martinorswallow)to

arrivebacktotheUKin

spring,thesandmartin

hasa gentlyforkedtail

anddistinctbrownbreast-

band,whichcontrasts

withitsbright-white

underparts.Rarelyseen

farfromwater,it nestsin

crowdedcoloniesinthe

crumblingclis foundat

manypitsandquarries.

Greatcrested

grebe

Infullbreeding

plumagethisgrebe

definitelybelongsinthe

‘unmistakable’category,

withitslongwhiteneck,

black-and-chestnutfrill

anddarkheadplumes.

Pairingsgenerallyform

inwinter.Inspring,the

partnersrearmtheir

bondswitha complex

seriesofdancesonthe

water,sometimesleading

uptothemuch-celebrated

‘weeddance’.

Littleringed

plover

Thisdinkywadingbird

mostlynestsonshingle

or gravel away from the

coast,makingit heavily

reliantonartificial

habitatssuchasquarries,

reservoirsandsewage

worksduringthebreeding

season.It hasa golden

eye-ringandlacksa white

wingbar,separatingit

fromitsmorecommon

(andcertainlymore

familiar)cousin,the

ringedplover.

Aldery

Adultalderflieshave

twopairsoflarge,almost

identicalwingswitha

pronouncednetworkof

blackveins,whichareheld

roof-likeovertheirbody

whenatrest.Appearing

fromlateAprilonwards,

they can be found

sluggishlyflittingaround

watersidevegetation,

frequentlyinlarge

numbers,whileseeking

outbothpollenandany

matingopportunities.

Buzzermidge

Alsoknownasthe

chironomidmidge,this

non-bitingmidgeoften

emergesinlargenumbers

frompondsandlakes

inspring,whenthe

distinctively‘plumed’

malesformmating

swarms.Theyareon

everypredator’smenu

• thefemalemidge’s
  soleaimistostayalive
  longenoughtoseeher
  fertilisedegg-masslaid
  back into the water.

1 RSPBFairburnIngsisanex-

industrialsitebetweenLeeds,York

andWakefield.Overthelast 60 years,

it hasbeentransformedfromcoalface

towildplace.Hometoavocets, bitterns,

spoonbills and otters.

2 KirkbyGravelPitsismanaged

bytheLincolnshireWildlifeTrustand

consistsof15haofshallowfloodedpits,

withnumerousspitsandislandsthat

suit a variety of breeding birds.

3 PaxtonPitsNatureReservein

Cambridgeshirewasa workinggravel

quarryuntilthe1980s.Sincebeing

flooded,it hasbeenconvertedinto

a rich mosaic of wetland habitats.

4 AttenboroughNatureReserveis

theflagshipsiteoftheNottinghamshire

WildlifeTrust.Thecomplexofflooded

formergravelpits,notfarfrom

Nottinghamcitycentre,supports

a wide range of wetland wildlife.

5 MineraQuarrywasrecently

acquiredbytheNorthWalesWildlifeTrust.

Originallyit wasminedforlead,thenthe

limestonefroma 440-million-year-old

seabedwasquarrieduntil1994, before

being turned over to nature.

ODon’tgowithoutthe

iRecordAppinstalledonyour

smartphone.It’sbyfarthe

easiestwaytogetinvolved

inbiologicalrecording,whichis howthe

wildlifevalueofmanyofthesepost-

industrial sites came to our attention.

WhentheWarwickshireWildlifeTrust

recentlycarriedouta biologicalsurveyof

alltheoldmineralworkingsacrossthe

county,at least 200 oftheinsectspecies

encounteredwereconsideredwhollyor

largelydependentonpost-industrialsites.

TheEnvironmentalRecordsCentrefor

CornwallandtheIslesofScillystatesthat

29 percentofall‘CountyWildlifeSites’

in the region have at least one old quarry.

It’snotjustthefloraandfauna

thatwinswhen‘brown’turns‘green’.

Thesesemi-naturalhabitatsalso

providea much-neededplaceforlocal

communitiestoenjoya walkonthewild

side,givinga well-documentedboostto

people’sphysicalandmentalwell-being.

Conservationistsareunderstandablykeen

tomakeupforlosttimebyconvertingthe

richestpost-industrialsitesintonature

reserves.Manyalsohavelegalprotection

asSitesofSpecialScientificInterest.

But,a wordofwarning– onlyhead

tositesalreadydesignatedasnature

reserves,andsticktotheclearlymarked

trails.Gettinga betterlookatthat

birdorbutterflyisn’tworththeriskof

disappearing down an old mine shaft!

Conservationistsare

keentomakeupforlost

timebyconvertingthe

richestpost-industrial

sites into nature reserves.

CHOICE LOCATIONS

4

1

5

3

2

SPECIES TO LOOK OUT FOR

Thelittleringed

ploveris a fan

ofman-made

habitats.