Habitat destruction is a very serious threat to the survival of many species

What local habitats have you seen destroyed? 

If, like me, you are very concerned about the vanishing wildlife around the world and the increasing threats to so many species of flora and fauna, you will know that habitat destruction is one of the main threats that plants and animals face.  I expect there are places you can remember that have been destroyed by housing developments, urban expansion, new roads, and other forms of 'progress'. What local wildlife habitats can you recall that are no longer there? 

Common Lizard (Photo: S Rae)

One location in Fairwater, Cardiff, I spent a lot of time in as boy I used to call the “Coal Yard.” It was actually an abandoned railway siding on the other side of the railway line that ran parallel to the lane that backed onto the house where I lived with my family.  High steel railings blocked access to it from a field that was on one side and a road with another fence of metal railings was at its bottom. The only easy way in was going over the railway bank and railway line. This left the Coal Yard like a mini nature reserve where few people ever went.

Female Wall Brown (Photo: Jorg Hempel)

I used to cross the railway to get there and would discover all sorts of flowers and creatures living in the Coal Yard, including common lizards (Zootoca vivipara), small heath (Coenonympha pamphilus), common blue (Polyommatus icarus) and wall brown (Lasiommata megera) butterflies, and rest harrow (Ononis spinosa) and bird’s foot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) wild flowers. All were common enough species then, though the wall brown is one of the British butterflies that has suffered an alarming decline.

Rest Harrow (Photo: Public Domain)

For many people, the Coal Yard was just some waste ground at the side of a railway line but for me it was a wildlife habitat that has been destroyed. To the creatures and plants that were there it was home. To a property developer it was somewhere houses could be built and money to be made. Nowadays it is the site of blocks of flats and neatly tended lawns.

Ponds at Llandaff Weir

A pair of Common Toads (Photo: Public Domain)

There were two ponds on the banks of Llandaff Weir that were once home to many forms of aquatic wildlife, including common frogs (Rana temporia), common toads (Bufo bufo) and the common newt (Lissotriton vulgaris) and palmate newt (Lissotriton helveticus). The frogs and toads bred in the larger of the ponds, which was also home to various dragonfly and damselflies, water snails, water beetles, and the three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus).

Sticklebacks (Photo Public Domain)

I use the past tense because these ponds were destroyed when the bank of the river was bulldozed flat. I cannot be sure of the reason given in the local press for this but I seem to remember it was supposedly to improve the bank with a view to a new pathway or road that was planned. All I knew for sure was that these two pools were where I used to find all the creatures mentioned. It was there home. It had been destroyed and it saddened me. I remember wondering where all the amphibians would go when they returned in spring to their breeding places to find they had gone. There was no freshwater suitable left, only the river which was too fast and polluted for the frogs, toads and newts. I have often wondered where do amphibians go when they find a place they have known is no longer there? What goes through their little minds?

Now, it can be said, that all the species I have mentioned were common species, but that is not the point. The problem is, and it is a big problem, is that the more habitats like these, that get destroyed, the less places the wildlife can live.

Both these locations, the Coal Yard and Llandaff Weir, were within a short distance of each other, probably about a mile. I point this out to show how wildlife habitat destruction is cumulative. That is just two examples of what has gone from where I lived as a boy. Multiply this sort of destruction all over the country and you have a main reason that many types of wildlife are endangered.

This is why it is so important that nature reserves are set up and maintained and that, if we have gardens, that we leave plenty of room for wildlife. A garden pond can be just what a toad, frog or newt needs for its survival.

Here is a good example of a threatened wildlife habitat so please sign the petition!

Why Darwin and David Attenborough have doubts about God

Charles Darwin doubted God made the ichneumon wasps

Naturalist Charles Darwin, who became a famous historical figure because of his Theory of Evolution and his book On The Origin of Species, came to think of himself as an agnostic, when it came to his religious views.

Female Ichneumon xanthorius (Photo: Martin Cooper) 

Darwin's studies and great knowledge of the natural world had made him question how a supposedly "loving God." could have made all the parasites, with their complex but, to our minds, horrific life-cycles. In particular, he made mention of the ichneumon wasps as an example of what he meant, and what caused his doubts.

Darwin said: "I cannot persuade myself that a beneficent and omnipotent God would have designedly created the Ichneumonidae with the express intention of their feeding within the living bodies of Caterpillars, or that a cat should play with mice."

Ichneumon (Photo:Public Domain)

Ichneumons are parasitic wasps, the females of which, lay their eggs on or inside the bodies of caterpillars of moths and butterflies. The ichneumon grubs live inside the body of their host gradually eating away at the living caterpillar, and leaving the vital organs till the last. When the ichneumon larva has completed its stage as a grub it kills the caterpillar host and emerges to pupate. Instead of a beautiful butterfly the caterpillar eventually produces a weird-looking wasp, with a long ovipositor for a tail. 

Many ichneumons prey on specific hosts, some types parasitise spiders, and some are parasites of other ichneumons. There are many more types of parasitic wasp and fly that use a similar life-cycle and metamorphosis.  In some species the parasite allows it host to pupate and is inside the chrysalis or pupa. 

I learned about these insects when I was a boy and used to enjoy keeping caterpillars to one day see them pupate and then to finally emerge as a moth or butterfly. I was naturally very sad to see that an ichneumon wasp or a parasitic fly took the place of the moth or butterfly, but I came to accept this.  I also came to understand that the parasites had a right to live too, and that they had to feed on something!

Sir David Attenborough's views on God and Creation

World famous naturalist and broadcaster David Attenborough describes himself as an agnostic too. Like Darwin, he has an incredible amount of knowledge about nature. He thinks that people who believe every word of the Bible as the truth are irrational. He asks why is it that there are so many versions of the creation story around the world and so many different gods. Obviously they cannot all be true. He points out that when you look at the fossil record you see the same picture all around the world, not a lot of very different stories, that we are asked to believe, usually depending on where we are born. 

Attenborough says: “If somebody says to me I believe every word of the Bible is true, you can’t argue against that degree of irrationality… there is actually a way of looking at the natural world and seeing the evidence and it’s all there. And what’s more it’s the same evidence whether it’s in Australia or Northern Europe or wherever. It’s all the same — it all produces the same answer and you can all see the evidence — if you reject that then there’s nothing I can say.”

Sir David Attenborough on God

Like Darwin he is very well aware of the gruesome lives of the many types of parasite in the world too, and asks would a loving and merciful God make these sinister creatures? 

Attenborough has been quoted as saying:

"When creationists talk about God creating every individual species as a separate act, they always instance hummingbirds, or orchids, sunflowers and beautiful things. But I tend to think instead of a parasitic worm that is boring through the eye of a boy sitting on the bank of a river in West Africa, [a worm] that’s going to make him blind.

And [I ask them], ‘Are you telling me that the God you believe in, who you also say is an all-merciful God, who cares for each one of us individually, are you saying that God created this worm that can live in no other way than in an innocent child’s eyeball? Because that doesn’t seem to me to coincide with a God who’s full of mercy." (Source : http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2014/02/15/naturalist-sir-david-attenborough-loses-his-patience-with-bible-literalists/)

I find myself in agreement with Darwin and Attenborough! 

Herbs of the Sun, Moon and Planets was published by Moon Books

Herbs of the Sun, Moon and Planets

My book Herbs of the Sun, Moon and Planets was published on 27 May, 2016.  It was published by Moon Books in their Pagan Portals series. The cover features some dragon trees, which are described in the section about Herbs of Mars. I became fascinated by these weird plants when I first came upon them in Tenerife where I used to live. They look as if they could have come from another planet! 

Ancient Herbalists

You are probably wondering how there can be herbs of the Sun, Moon and Planets, and of course, as far as we know, the Earth is the only planet that supports life as we know it in this Solar System, so what does the subject of my book and the title mean?  Well, the answer is that ancient herbalists, such as Nicholas Culpeper, had a system of listing herbs under different planetary rulers, according to their characteristics. 

For example, according to these herbalist schools of thought, herbs ruled by Mars, the god of war, have something aggressive about their form, such as spines. Red is the colour of blood, associated with war and violence, and the dragon tree (Dracaena draco) has a red resinous sap known as dragon's blood. It also has spiky leaves that are lance-shaped. This made the tree an ideal candidate for being included in the herbs of Mars.

The Dragon Tree

Seven Sections

Herbs of the Sun, Moon and Planets has seven sections in which I list seven herbs and discuss their uses, and why they are listed under the dominion of a particular planet.  There are sections for the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.  In the section for Herbs of the Sun, the sunflower (Helianthus),  chamomile (Anthemis nobilis) and St John's wort (Hypericum perforatum) are included. 

Chamomile (Photo - Public Domain)

The first two of these herbs have petals that radiate out from a central disk and that makes them similar visually to the Sun. The sunflower and St John's wort have bright golden yellow petals too, which also got them listed as herbs ruled by the Sun.  St John's wort is a well-known remedy for depression, a herbal antidepressant, so it brings a ray of sunshine into the emotional state of someone who is suffering from melancholy.

Eyebright (Euphrasia officinalis) is another herb of the Sun. It has markings like sun rays on its flowers and is a herbal treatment for the eyes. It also likes growing in sunny locations. 

Herbs of the Moon have something to do with the night about them or something rounded or white or silvery. The white water lily (Nymphaea alba) is a herb of the Moon and it has white flowers and rounded lily pads.  Jasmine (Jasminum officinale) is another herb ruled by the Moon, and this shrub has white flowers and emits a perfume after dark. 

Herbs of Mercury must communicate and have something to say. Mercury was regarded as the messenger of the gods. Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) is a herb ruled by Mercury. With its feathery foliage, graceful appearance and aroma and flavour of anise, it certainly communicates to our senses. 

Herbs of Venus should have some association with love. The rose is, not surprisingly, listed in the herbs governed by the goddess and planet Venus.

Kindred Spirit magazine

Look out for me in this summer issue of Kindred Spirit magazine, a popular publication about Mind, Body and Spirit subjects. There is a feature about Herbs of the Sun, Moon and Planets in it too.

Of course, I am looking for further publicity for my book, so please get in touch if you want to interview me about it or can review my work! 

Celebrities protest against Fracking - Leo Sayer, Sean Lennon, Yoko Ono and King Arthur Pendragon

Leo Sayer says "No Fracking Way"

Celebrities around the world are joining the general public in campaigning to stop fracking, which term is a shorter way of saying hydraulic fracturing. British rock star and singer-songwriter Leo Sayer. who relocated to Australia, has moved away from pop to protest with his song No Fracking Way. Leo assembled a group of singers and musicians to support him in protesting at the Australian government's policy on fracking.  

Hydraulic fracturing diagram (Photo: Mikenorton)

This practice of mining for gas and oil disrupts neighbourhoods with increased traffic, pollutes the groundwater and environment with toxic chemicals, damages the landscape, is a threat to species of flora and fauna, and is even known to cause earthquakes. This is why so many people worldwide are saying a loud NO to it!

Sean Lennon, Yoko Ono and Artists Against Fracking

Don't Frack My Mother

Sean Lennon, and Yoko Ono head a cast of artists who recorded a humorous yet deadly serious protest song entitled Don't Frack My Mother. They are part of a team of Artists Against Fracking and are focusing their efforts on stopping fracking in the New York area, as a first step in a global campaign. Over 200 internationally famous singers, bands and stars of stage and screen have shown their support for this.  It is a very long and diverse list of celebrities from all parts of the entertainment industries behind this and names include, Lady Gaga, Beck, Paul McCartney,  Carrie Fisher, Beastie Boys,  Gwyneth Paltrow,  David Crosby, Ringo Starr, Roberto De Niro, Polyphonic Spree, and the Patti Smith Group.

King Arthur Pendragon

King Arthur at Stonehenge Summer Solstice (Photo Ann Wuyts)

Meanwhile in the UK, eco-warrior and Druid, King Arthur Uther Pendragon, who often features in the media due to his campaigns for Truth, Honour and Justice and who is titular head of the Loyal Arthurian Warband Druid Order, has spoken out against fracking. 

King Arthur shared these words on his Facebook page today:

"Twenty Years on from Newbury, Let not, 'Call me Dave' Cameron forget the passion and the numbers mobilized and let him not think for one moment that we will stand by and let his government 'Frack' this 'once green and Pleasant land' against the wishes of her People. She is 'our' land and will protect those who stand by her side. In Nature we trust, in Government we do not." 

By the way, there is an excellent book about King Arthur Pendragon, which he co-authored with C.J. Stone. The book is entitled The Trials of Arthur Revised Edition.

An here is Arthur in the trailer for a documentary about him.

Petitions to Stop Fracking

Please sign these petitions and let's do what we can to stop fracking!  

STOP THE SHALE GAS EXTRACTION!

SAY NO TO FRACKING!

STOP FRACKING NOW! 

Endangered species of Russian wildlife

Wildlife in danger in Russia

Although Russia is such a massive country with so many forms of natural habitat and countless types of flora and fauna, it is also home to the last surviving populations of many endangered species of wildlife. Hunting, habitat loss, pollution, pesticides and Climate Change have taken their toll just like in so many parts of the world today.  But let us look at some of the incredible creatures found in Russia whose very survival is threatened.

Siberian Tiger

Siberian Tiger (Photo: Public Domain)

The Siberian Tiger or Amur Tiger (Panthera tigris altaica), lives as its names suggest in Siberia and specifically in the Amur region.  It is the largest type of big cat in the world. In the 1940s it was threatened with extinction but due to conservation efforts the species has made a recovery, although numbers are still very low and an estimated number of 562 Siberian Tigers is all that are left. The Siberian Tiger's Conservation Status is "Endangered". 

Siberian Tiger Quest in 2012

Oriental Stork

The Oriental Stork (Cyconia boyciana) is a truly beautiful bird that is now an endangered species with only about 400 pairs left. It used to live in China, Japan and Korea, as well as Russia, but it is believed to be extinct in Korea and Japan. 

Oriental Stork (Photo: Spaceaero2)

The Oriental Stork's decline has been attributed to hunting and habitat loss and the species is listed in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as "Endangered".

The Russian Desman

Drawing of the Siberian Desman (Photo: Public Domain)

The Russian Desman (Desmana moschata) is really a type of semiaquatic mole. It is one of the two surviving species of desman, with the Pyrenean Desman (Galemys pyrenaicus) being the other. Although nowhere near as badly in decline in numbers as the Siberian Tiger and Oriental Stork, the Russian Desman has a "Vulnerable" Conservation Status and is down from 70.000 in the 1970s to just 35,000 in 2004.  This species was once hunted for its fur but nowadays pollution, loss of habitat and invasive species, such as the Muskrat, are threats to its survival.

Russian Desman

It is found along the banks of ponds and streams in the Volga, Don and Ural River basins. It lives in small groups and burrows in the banks of where it is living. The Russian Desman feeds on fish, amphibians, insects and crayfish.

Saiga Antelope

Saiga Antelope (Photo: Seilov)

The Saiga Antelope (Saiga tartarica) is an antelope species that is listed today as "Critically Endangered."  It once formed massive herds and lived in a vast area of the Eurasian steppes. It is now only found in one part of Russia and three areas in Kazakhstan.  It is extinct in China and southwestern Mongolia. 

This antelope was hunted in very large numbers and its horn is popular in Chinese traditional medicine. It has been used as a substitute for rhinoceros horn. Hunting of rhinos and Saigas for the superstitious belief  that the horns of these animals have miraculous powers has caused a terrible decline in numbers of these mammals.

Why did the Saigas die? 

The Saiga is also prone to unexplained die-offs when large numbers of the animals drop dead. Many Saigas died like this in die-offs every year between 2010 and 2014. It is bad enough that humans have taken such a terrible toll on this species without mysterious mortalities killing them like this too.

The once Common Eel is now Critically Endangered

The European Eel is no longer common

The European Eel (Anguilla anguilla)  used to be known as the Common Eel, and when I was a boy this was an apt name, however, this is no longer the case because this species of eel is now listed as Critically Endangered. In 2010, Greenpeace International added this fish to its red list. 

European Eel (Photo: Public Domain)

European Eels have a most unusual lifecycle. The adults spawn in the Sargasso Sea and the baby eels travel across the oceans to return to fresh waters far far away. How they navigate is not understood. They drift as larval eels for around 300 days before transforming into a stage known as "glass eels," which occurs when they approach the coasts.  Eventually they enter estuaries in the UK and Europe and transform again into elvers in the fresh water. The eels travel upstream and will also travel overland in storms. They live in rivers, streams, lakes, and ponds where they grow much larger and are known as "yellow eels," but after between five and twenty years or more they become adults that must return to the sea. The final stage is known as the "silver eel," and these eels swim all the way back to the Sargasso Sea where they breed and then die.

When I was younger the European Eel used to be one of the most easily found freshwater fish. You just had to go to any river or stream and turn over a few stones and you would be likely to see young eels or elvers.  In Cardiff, where I lived, there is a weir in Llandaff, and every year countless thousands of elvers used to try and ascend it. To do this they would leave the water at the edge of the weir and slither up the mossy wet rocks and wall.  If you put a bucket or net underneath and disturbed the mass of young eels at the top you would quickly get a net or bucket full of them. That was how easy they were to catch. Nearly every rock in the river would have elvers hiding underneath it or larger eels.  That was then but it is a very different story today, so what has happened? 

One of many endangered species

Like so many once common species, the European Eel is now rarely seen in Britain today and its numbers have dropped very dramatically.  Since the 1970s, it has been estimated that eels reaching Europe have declined in numbers by over 90%, possibly as much as 98%. This is surely a warning sign that all is not at all well, when it comes to the natural world and the flora and fauna of the UK.

So what has gone so wrong and where have all the eels gone?  The reasons are many and include: overfishing, hydroelectric dams and barrages blocking the way for the eels to ascend and descend rivers,  parasites, pollution and changes in the currents in the oceans. Whatever the cause may be, the eels have gone, and with them has gone the food source for many species of water birds, including Kingfishers, predatory fish, like the Pike, and even some mammals too, such as the Otter.  The eel is an important part of a food-chain, and without it other species are sure to suffer.  

Saving the European Eel

Fortunately all hope is not yet lost for the future survival of the European Eel. Fish passes are being increasingly installed in rivers with weirs and dams, so that eels and other fish, such as salmon, are able to get upstream.  

The number of eels is being monitored and there are projects in operation to save the European Eel. Restocking inland waters with young eels is one method that is being put into practise. 

The Guardian has reported that conservationists have suggested that the decline in numbers of the species has been halted and possibly reversed.  I hope this is true but it is far too early to know for sure! 

Christmas Butterflies

Red Admiral

Red Admiral (Photo: Public Domain)

The Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) is often the last butterfly to be seen flying in the UK and parts of northern Europe. This colourful insect can be seen in December in mild winters and Butterfly Conservation reported on their Facebook page that the organisation had received recent reports of butterflies being sighted and they shared a photo of a Red Admiral.

The Red Admiral has Christmas colours too because its wings are boldly market with red and white on dark brown and black. This pretty butterfly, which is also found in Asia and North America, is a migrant to the UK but it can hibernate so is a resident butterfly as well. It is one of the last species to be seen in the late autumn, and can be seen feeding on ivy blossom and on windfall fruit. It also flies on sunny and mild winter days.

The Red Admiral's caterpillars feed on Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica). 

Painted Lady

Painted Lady (Photo: Public Domain)

The Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) is not a butterfly you will see in the UK at Christmas, but here in Portugal it is still about in December and I saw one the other day in a sunny spell in what was otherwise a cold and foggy day. It was a very pleasant surprise and got me thinking about this butterfly that is a very successful species unlike so many butterflies that are rapidly declining in numbers.

The Painted Lady is another migrant to the UK and Northern Europe.  It comes from North Africa and the Canary Islands but its northerly migrations have taken it as far as Iceland where it is the only butterfly species that has been reported. The Painted Lady has been found in most parts of the world and is almost global in its distribution.

Unfortunately, unlike the Red Admiral, the Painted Lady is unable to survive British winters in any stage of its lifecycle.  It is a truly remarkable butterfly though because scientists have discovered that it uses the jet stream to carry it on its migrations. The Painted Lady leaves Britain in the autumn to fly south and it does this by being carried in the fast-moving air of the jet stream.  

Besides the Painted Lady's extraordinary migrations, the species does so well because its caterpillar will feed on a lot of different food-plants, including species of thistle (Carduus). Sunflower (Helianthus),  Mallow (Malva) and Burdock (Arctium). Like the larvae of the Red Admiral, the caterpillars of the Painted Lady will also eat nettles. Caterpillars of the Painted Lady are often sold by butterfly supply companies such as Worldwide Butterflies.  They are ideal for schools where children can study the insects and watch them transform from caterpillars into chrysalises into adult butterflies. 

Butterfly World Project

Many butterflies are in danger of becoming extinct in the modern world due to habitat loss, pesticides, herbicides, disease and Climate Change, so they need all the help we can give them. Butterfly World Project in St Albans was set up to help butterfly conservation but has been forced to announce its closure.  Please help by signing the petitions to stop this happening.  I have written all about it in a previous blog here.