88 BBC Wildlife July 2020
Seenorhearda nestingswift?
There’sanappforthat!
Launchedearlierthisyear
bytheRSPBandswift
conservationorganisations,SwiftMapper
is a citizensciencerecordingappwhere
youcansubmityoursightingsofbreeding
swifts.Thisincludesswiftnestsandthe
recordsofswiftsflyingat roofheightand
screaming(whichindicatesnestsnearby),
butnotfeedingswifts.Therecordscan
thenbeusedto focuslocalconservation
actionforswifts,suchasprotectingactive
nestsandchoosingthebestlocationsfor
newnestingopportunities.Theappis easy
to useandalsoincludesa handyIDguide
onthedifferencesbetweenswifts,house
martins,swallowsandsandmartins.If
youdon’thavea smartphone,it’salso
possibleto submitrecordsonlineat
swiftmapper.org.uk.Megan Shersby
“It’sthecoldestplaceonEarth.A world
lockedawayundersnowandice.So
hostileandinaccessible,it haslong
concealeditssecretsfromus.”A
mysteriousstartto thisnewBBC
Fourdocumentary,narratedbyDavid
Attenborough.Thisprogrammefollows
thejourneyofa scientificexpeditionon
MVAlucia,exploringtheicywaters
aroundAntarctica.Onaverage,theocean
heremeasuresbetween4,000–5,000min
depth,sotheteammustusedeep-sea
submersiblesthatcancarrypassengers
anddescendto 1,000m– thefirsttime
thishasbeendonehere.Thedivesreveal
a diversityofextraordinarycreatures,
manyofwhicharenewto science.They
alsofindastonishinglylargespecies,a
phenomenonknownaspolargigantism,
including squids and jellyfish.MS
Swi Mapper
APP
AVAILABLE ON IOS AND GOOGLE PLAY, FREE
WILD STREAM
SERIES
Springwatch 2020
Catchupwiththeteamduring
lockdown,if youmissedanyof
theshowsthisseason.
BBC iPlayer, until May 2021
SERIES
WildAmazon
Exploretherainforestandthe
incrediblearrayoffloraandfauna
foundthere– frominsectsand
treesanddeadlypredators.
All 4, streaming now
SHORTCLIP
Indonesia’sForestFloor
Takea six-minutetouroflife
amidtheleaflitter,includingthe
camouflageddead-leafmantis.
NationalGeographic,
bit.ly/2AFzs3k
DeepOcean:Giantsof
theAntarctic Deep
TV
BBC IPLAYER, STREAMING NOW
OURWILD WORLD
Butterfly: Matthew Oates and Neil Hulme
A femalepurple
emperorrestson
bramble,having
rejected a male.
BYMATTHEWOATES,BLOOMSBURY, £20
BOOK
HisImperial
Majesty
Thepurpleemperoris Britain’s
largestbutterflyandit once
carrieda cachetandmystique
reservedformythicalcreatures.
Sightingswerefleeting,high
abovetheoakcanopy.Knownlocalities
werecloselyguardedsecrets.First-hand
observationsformeda bodyofarcanelore
sharedbyaficionadoswholuredit tofeed
onfreshfoxscatsorrancidshrimppaste.
Butthebutterfly’sempireis expanding–
rewilding,possiblyclimatechange,and
certainlyOates’zealoushalf-centuryof
deep ecological study, have shown it to be
morewidespread,andspreadingstill.
Tos a yO a t e si s f a s c i n a t e db yt h ep u r p l e
emperoris anepicunderstatement.
It is clearfromhisrichprosethat
hehasbeenobsessedfor 50 years.
Henowwriteswiththeauthority
andgravitasofthetruedoyen,
butyoucanstillimagine
thetwinkleinhiseye
ashepoursouthis
boyhoodhearttothis
wonderfulinsect.
RichardJones
Entomologist
ReadMatthew
Oates’guideto
purpleemperors
onourwebsite:
discoverwildllife.
com/purple-
emperors