BBC Wildlife - UK 2020-07)

16 BBC Wildlife July 2020

WILDJULY

GilbertWhite,theparson-naturalist-

diaristborn 300 yearsagothismonth,

wasobsessedwithswifts.Hepondered

howtheymate,gathernestmaterial,

learntofly,wheretheygoinwinter.Like

ustoday,healsolovedthesoundoftheir

screamingparties(that’sthetechnical

term),wheresquadronsofswiftstear

helter-skelteraroundrooftopsatdusk.

Theseboisteroussocialgatherings

includebreedingpairsandnon-

breeders,becomingmorefrequentas

summerwearsonandthe birds’ August

migrationapproaches.

FINDOUTMORE

Howtohelpswifts:

swift-conservation.org

5 |SWIFT

Life’s a scream

Coralsaren’ttheonlyanimalsable

tocreatereefs– marineworms

can,too.Honeycombwormsare

namedforthesubstantialshoreline

structurestheyproduce,which

areactuallycoloniesmadeupof

manyindividualwormtubes,each

builtfromgrainsofsandorshell

fragments.Thewormcitiescover

rocksentirely,andclumpsmay

spreadouttoformreefs.Look

forthematlowtideonsouthern

andwesterncoasts,inplaces

suchasCornwall,Devon,the

SevernEstuary,Cardigan Bay and

MorecambeBay.

FINDOUTMORE

Allaboutthespecies:

honeycombworms.org

7 |HONEYCOMBWORM

Reef builders

Knapweed & honeycomb worm: Alex Hyde; swift: Mike Lane

6 |COMMONKNAPWEED

Nectarnirvana

Describedas“Lucozadeforbees”

byProfessorDaveGoulson,

knapweedproducescopious

amountsofnectar.Togetherwith

whitecloverandmarshthistle,it

wasfoundbya teamledbythe

UniversityofBristoltobeone

ofthemostimportantBritish

wildflowersforpollinatinginsects.

Common,orblack,knapweed

is a widespreadgrasslandplant,

andthrivesingardens– youcan

growit fromseed.Afterflowering,

theseedheadsarepopularwith

goldfinchesandbullfinches.

GETINVOLVED

Downloadwildflowerspotter

sheets:plantlife.org.uk/uk/

discover-wild-plants-nature/

spotter-sheets

TWEETOF

THEWEEK

Weeklybirdsongpodcast

with guest hosts.

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