Marvellous martens put on a midnight show
My son and his family live in southern Spain, between Malaga and Ronda, and last night he and my visiting nephew were treated to a wonderful spectacle of three beech martens on their neighbour’s roof, probably young ones, just before midnight! My granddaughter of 13 woke up, and with great forethought took her phone camera, and got some good footage of the three martens.
This was an animal that I had not heard of before, as it does not exist in the British Isles, though is closely related to our pine martens, just a little smaller and with a more extensive white bib (the pine marten’s is cream-coloured).
In all my years of reading your magazine, over 40 now, I have never seen mention of this animal, but Google of course was able to tell me about it – but the footage they have online was not as good as my granddaughter’s, so I was thrilled to get her little video this morning.
I presume it is not at all rare, though haven’t yet spoken to anyone who has heard of it, including a Spanish person staying near me in Co. Westmeath. Is it unusual or, being nocturnal, just not common to see them? Very exciting to learn at my age (78!) of an animal I was not even aware existed.
LUKE MASSEY FROM WILD FINCA IN SPAIN REPLIES:
What a fantastic encounter it sounds like you all had. As you’ve seen, beech martens are very similar to pine martens and confusingly, can also be known as stone martens. They’re quite widespread across Spain, as well as much of mainland Europe and Central Asia. They’re more adaptable than pine martens and can be found in a range of habitats, including relatively urban environments.
My childhood nemesis
As a child, camping meant a simple canvas tent erected in the back garden, the sort with no ground cover and a wooden pole at either end. Part of the reason I disliked the experience was waking up to the inevitable clutch of earwigs that had crawled inside the tent during the night and climbed to the top of the poles! Moreover, they were always ‘there’ when a rock was dislodged in a rockery pile or among discarded bricks and rubble. Occasionally even in the house.
A website search tells us they are ‘common’ but it’s years since I last saw one! Are they in decline? Has anyone done a population study of earwigs in recent years? Although earwigs were my nemesis, I have great respect for them. The female is by all accounts a devoted mother and of course they play a key role in recycling nutrients in the soil.
ENTOMOLOGIST KARIM VAHED REPLIES:
Of the four native species of earwig in the UK, the common earwig (Forficula auricularia) is the most widespread. Looking at distribution maps of this species (eg bit.ly/CommonEarwigDistribution), there is no sign that its range has contracted. Furthermore, given anecdotal reports in the media of earwig ‘outbreaks’ in recent years, common earwig populations seem to be doing quite well. The species also seems to be thriving in North America, Australia and New Zealand, where it was introduced.
Slow travel
Gillian Burke suggests that we should have a shorter working week and embrace slow travel (Wild Times, July 2022).
Surely a shorter working week will only encourage people to travel more and further, and this publication is full of adverts encouraging people to do so. Surely the only environmentally friendly holiday is to stay at home, turn off the heating and the plethora of electrical and electronic devices that seem to be essential to modern living, eat and drink no more than is necessary to stay alive and bathe less frequently.
If you do go out, walk and shun places of entertainment, eg theme parks where energy is used. I don’t think many will do this; I won’t.
GILLIAN BURKE REPLIES:
Doing less, as you rightly point out, inevitably uses less energy and resources. You might be surprised to learn, however, of a growing movement of climate sceptics who believe mandatory lockdowns, and the elimination of personal freedom, is the real endgame of the climate change narrative. A ridiculous notion, perhaps, but one that could gain enough traction to flip hard-won climate legislation with a single stroke at the ballot box.
A gaggle of geese
At our local pond, I saw a juvenile greylag goose hanging out with two juvenile Canada geese. It seemed that the Canada geese parents were looking after the greylag juvenile as if it was their own, as there were no greylag parents near. Do geese ever adopt a youngster from a different breed?
Krystal Hanley, Edinburgh
TOM STEWART FROM THE BTO REPLIES:
Juvenile geese will often form ‘creches’ that can involve over 100 birds (safety in numbers!) and include individuals of different species. Canada and greylag geese are often found in the same habitats so it’s no surprise to see these young birds together. Canadagreylag hybrids – sometimes known as ‘Canadalags’ – are relatively common, too.
An amphibian arrival
Having read your website pieces on UK frogs, I just had to let you know that I have a frog in my washing-up bowl pond! I don’t have room for a big pond in my garden, but just felt that I had to have some kind of water wildlife feature. I collected some spawn from a friend and a few weeks later, I had tadpoles.
After a couple of months, I had about 16 perfect froglets. I had seen one or two in the garden during much of summer, but in late August I was over the moon to find an adult frog back in my little pond. My little £1.75 washing-up bowl pond worked, and I’ve brought wildlife to my garden in the form of an amphibian. Happy days!
Moira Reed, via e-mail
BBC WILDLIFE’S MEGAN SHERSBY REPLIES:
How wonderful to welcome amphibians into your garden, I’m hoping to do the same in mine. I would suggest making some steps or adding in a small branch so that small mammals that fall in can then climb out.
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