Archives for 2023

Wildlife and Countryside Link launch ‘People and Nature’ mini manifesto

December 7, 2023 by Admin

Froglife would like to highlight the launch of the Wildlife and countryside Link (WCL) mini manifesto for People and Nature.

The recent announcement by Govt is a step in the right direction but the manifesto for People and Nature argues that if we are serious about making a difference for nature and for people’s ability to access the environment and improve their health and wellbeing the UK should have new legislation, an Access to Nature Bill that will:

Set a new legally-binding access to nature target for all people to have access to a high quality green or blue space within a 15 minute walk of home.
Extend public access rights to waterways, woodland, riversides, and grasslands.
Create a more equal and inclusive freedom to enjoy land and water for other user groups, such as cyclists, horse riders, cavers, swimmers, paddlers, and disabled people.
Remove the 2026 cut-off date for registering historic rights of way.
Require the Government to publish a clear strategy for improving access to nature.
Establish an Access to Nature Investment Strategy
Mandate all new development meet the Green Infrastructure Standards. Ensure every child has regular high-quality access to and engagement with nature within education, through their curriculum and by supporting teachers and schools to deliver outdoor learning across all education settings.

The Froglife Strategy aims to: transform lives; engaging people from all walks of life; our projects are inclusive and have good representation from people of all backgrounds; we particularly focus on people who are new to conservation and from areas of multiple deprivation and Progress them on their wildlife journey

WCL is a coalition of 82 wildlife and conservation and environmental organisations, with over 8million members, protecting over 750,000 hectares of land and 800 miles of coastline

WCL is coordinating the Nature2030 campaign to ensure the Government meets its announcement in September 2020 to protect 30% of our land for biodiversity and “halt the decline in species abundance [in England] by 2030 /… and.. increase species abundance by at least 10% by 2042, while ensuring that abundance is greater than in 2022”. (Read more here)

Time is short, the recent State of Nature report highlighted that 19% of UK species studies have declined on average by 19% since 1970 and nearly 1 in 6 species are threatened with extinction from great Britain. Nature 2030 is also supported by the ‘Nature Cant Wait’ campaign

Please get involved in conservation and make your voices count, support Froglife in any way you can:

Join a Froglife project as a volunteer
Become a corporate sponsor
Leave a legacy in your will
Make a donation
Become a Froglife Friend
Raise money for us

Croaking Science: Portuguese man-o-war and leatherback turtle wash up in Cornwall

November 28, 2023 by Admin

As things calm down after the recent storms, Cornwall has had a number of interesting strandings: in mid-October there were reports of Portuguese Man-O-war jellyfish stranded on beaches near Porthleven.

Froglife Conservation & Science Manager, Andrew Smart, came across them on nearby Loe Bar. “I think we probably saw about 10 gas floats along about 500m of beach; they were still really pink so they’d not been on the shore long; you could see the blue base where the trailing tentacles would have attached.”

The Portuguese man-o-war isn’t actually a jellyfish, but a colonial organism made up of individual ‘zooids’ that have different functions in the colony, such as digestion and stinging tentacles. Recently there have been more regular strandings along the coasts of Cornwall. The gas filled floats are caught by the wind and the man-o-war floats across the ocean following winds and currents, trailing its stinging tentacles behind it.

The oceanic predators of Portuguese man-o-war include the sunfish, which also occurs off Cornwall, and sea turtles, including the UK’s largest reptile, the leatherback turtle. The leatherback is a member of the British Fauna and a UK protected species, with animals in UK waters migrating between the UK and the Caribbean Sea where they nest (see our Croaking Science article here for more information)

Last week, a dead leatherback turtle washed up on Perranporth beach in North Cornwall It was quite badly decomposed and was collected by the Marine Strandings Network and taken away for further analysis. Often leatherbacks die because they swallow floating plastic bags they mistake as jellyfish and investigation of the dead animal will help us understand the extent of this problem.

This animal measured 1.66m, which sounds large, but the largest recorded, washed up in Wales in the 1908s, was measured at 2.9m (9½ ft) long! Its quite late in the year for a leatherback stranding but the sea temperature this year off Cornwall is around 13-15 ͦC, higher than the average for November (11- 12 ͦC) and warmer temperatures may have resulted in more jellyfish and salps for leatherbacks to feed on.

At the start of 2023 there were a high number of strandings of other species, small loggerheads and Kemps ridley’s. Sadly, many of these small turtles die from cold shock because they are not adapted to our colder waters like the leatherback, but if they are found quickly enough they can be nursed back to health and released.

Leatherback turtles are stranded and sighted off our coasts every year:

Year	Strandings & sightings
2018	17
2019	15
2020	9
2021	17
2022	9

Data from Marine Environmental Monitoring Turtle Strandings & Sightings Annual Reports 2018-2022

If you’re out walking our western beaches keep an eye out for stranded turtles. They can be stranded anywhere although mainly on the west and south coasts, as can be seen from this diagram of strandings and sightings over the last 10 years, recorded by R.S. Penrose and M.J.B. Westfield in the May 2023 Marine Environmental Monitoring British & Irish Marine Turtle Strandings & Sightings Annual Report 2022

What Our Animals Are Doing This Month

November 28, 2023 by Admin

Written by Madeleine Barnes, Transforming Lives Trainee.

Drowsy December

As we bundle up at home to survive the chilly weather, so do reptiles and amphibians. As they are ectotherms (cold-blooded), heat is very important to their regular functions and so they ‘hibernate’ through the cold in cozy places such as hibernacula, log piles, hedgerows, the deepest areas of ponds, or under rocks and leaves. We won’t be seeing much of our species until next year.

Hibernation is a blanket term to describe the lowered activity of many species in the winter, but in the UK only 3 animals undergo true hibernation: bats, hedgehogs and dormice.

The species Froglife conserve overwinter or brumate, meaning they may become active for brief periods if the weather warms up. To help them out, avoid disturbing piles of natural matter (e.g. log, rocks, leaves) and if you are able to do so safely, clear the surface of frozen ponds from fallen leaves or snow to allow sunlight to reach the depths – this will allow submerged plants to photosynthesise and produce oxygen for any amphibians waiting out the winter down there!

You can find further tips on how to look after amphibians and reptiles during winter here.

If you spot any of our species out and about during winter, please remember to record them on our free Dragon Finder App. Data from the Dragon Finder App is crucial going forward to monitor the relationship between temperature changes and the behaviours of reptiles and amphibians in the UK.

Festival of Winter Walks

November 28, 2023 by Admin

Written by Amy Stocking, Leaping Forward for Dementia Project Manager

Dr. Iain showing our Leaping Forward for Dementia group his geology maps.

Even when it is cold outside, it is still really beneficial to get outside for your physical and mental wellbeing.

Light levels (measured in lux) are lower in Winter but you can still access 2000 lux on an overcast day, compared to 500 lux from sitting indoors! Lux will help to stimulate the production of serotonin which boosts your mood.

A great way to top up your serotonin is to wrap up warm and keep moving by joining a guided walk. Our Leaping Forward for Dementia group in London recently enjoyed a geology walk around Streatham Common led by Dr. Iain Boulton from Lambeth Council. He gave a fascinating insight into the ground beneath us and how the council are using this knowledge to inform how they look after the local environment, decide where to plant trees and decide where to create wetland areas to help the local amphibian population.

The group loved looking at geology maps of South London and asking lots of questions. Thank you so much for your time Dr. Iain!

Written by Madeleine Barnes, Transforming Lives Trainee.

Going for a wander outside might not be first on your list of activities in the colder months, but don’t dismiss the idea! The world is just as beautiful in the winter as in any other season if you take the time to appreciate it – leafless trees allow grander views of the land, snow blanketing everything in pristine white, and you can still see plenty of animals going about their lives.

The Festival of Winter Walks is an event that runs from mid December to mid January, established three decades ago by the Ramblers, a charity dedicated to supporting all kinds of walkers and protecting our rights to access the countryside and the pathways linking amazing places.

The festival encourages community connection and appreciation of the amazing spaces available to us – plus, even a short walk outside in nature will provide a much needed reprieve from the hustle and bustle of the holiday season.

So, head outside! Join a local group walk, take family and friends, or have a solo adventure. Whether it’s somewhere new or somewhere familiar, share your winter experience with us on social media, and if you live in the Peterborough area consider visiting one of Froglife’s public reserves: Boardwalks in the city centre and Eye Green just north of Eye village.

Happy rambling!

Reptiles Rule!

November 28, 2023 by Admin

Written by Chloe Davey, Transforming Lives Trainee.

In the UK we have a small, but lovely, variety of reptiles, there are seven species to be precise. Three snakes (smooth, grass and adder), three lizards (common, sand and slow-worm) and even the big, darling leatherback turtle.

Each of these reptiles are unique, yet similar to one another. They all start life as eggs, some are laid in a safe area to hatch and others are incubated inside their mother’s body and are born live. I would love to spotlight these truly amazing reptiles and share my passion for them. After all, there are more to reptiles than people think!

It can be quite difficult to spot reptiles when you are on a walk as they like quiet, secluded areas away from people. Warm mornings are your best chance at seeing these amazing creatures as they bask. Being cold-blooded, they rely on the sun’s rays to warm their bodies and give them energy for the day ahead. Some will hunt on land while others will hunt in the water. For example, grass snakes are excellent swimmers and hunt for amphibians, small fish and small mammals. That is why they are often seen in gardens, usually those with ponds.

Leatherback turtles, despite not breeding in the UK, are considered native and spend most of their lives in the water. Males will never leave the water once they enter, they breed in the water and the females will emerge on land to lay eggs.

Later in the year as the weather gets colder, reptiles will settle down to brumate, which is like a hibernation for reptiles. Instead of sleeping all the way through the winter, reptiles can still awaken every so often to feed and even roam about. Without the sun’s warmth they will become more tired and slow.

It is so incredibly fascinating to know that there are currently more than 10,000 species of reptiles in the world and an additional 2,700 subspecies. It is so important to protect the native species we have here.

Hopefully together we can help increase the population and protect our native species!

Please download our free Dragon Finder app to record your sightings on reptiles in the UK.

Newt just for Christmas

November 28, 2023 by Admin

Written by Ellia Cobb, Transforming Lives Trainee.

It’s that time of year again, Christmas is getting closer, and everyone is out Christmas shopping.

Has someone you know asked for a pet as a Christmas gift this year, maybe an amphibian or reptile? If so, please take into consideration the responsibility and dedication you will need for the animal. Especially if it is for a younger child as that means you are then responsible for that animal.

Did you know many of the invasive non-native amphibian and reptile species we have here in the UK are the result of pets that had been released? Sometimes people can impulsively buy an animal they are not prepared to care for and end up thinking it is better to release it “back into the wild”. This could be a death sentence for the animal themselves or for our native wildlife as they either aren’t fit to survive in the wild, or the animal may be quite well suited to the environment here and end up pushing our native wildlife out of their habitats, eating their food and putting them at risk.

If the animals released start to breed it becomes a real problem, they become invasive very fast and can also destroy habitats, kill and eat native species of animals and insects, spread disease and can also kill native amphibians and reptiles.

Not all nonnative species are harmful to the environment, though this still doesn’t mean it is a good idea to release them! It is very important we do all we can to protect native amphibians and reptiles as they are very vulnerable.

If you are planning on gifting someone a pet this year, please make sure you do plenty of research and make sure you and the pet owner can be responsible to give the animal the proper care it needs.

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