Supporting Conservation – Page 3 – Hoopoe

Conservation Volunteering at Prawle Point with Buglife

The NHBS team are passionate about nature and conservation, and to help them to get involved with local volunteer schemes, NHBS encourages colleagues to apply for up to three paid days each year to volunteer with a conservation project or organisation of their choice. Catherine Mitson, Assistant Editor for British Wildlife and Conservation Land Management, tells us about her time volunteering with Buglife and the bee species she is surveying.

The Long-horned Bee Eucera longicornis truly lives up to its name. The males sport bizarrely long antennae, and this in combination with their large size makes them instantly recognisable. Female Long-horned Bees, however, lack these oversized antennae and are more robust compared to the males, and can sometimes be confused with Anthophora (flower bees) species. Although the Long-horned Bee is a type of solitary bee and each female will dig her own nest hole, they tend to nest in aggregations in a variety of habitats, such as woodland rides and clearings, brownfield sites and coastal meadows. Here, however, we are focused on the south-facing soft cliffs along the South Devon coastline.

Prawle Point SSSI is a fantastic site for invertebrates, including the Long-horned Bee which can be found nesting in the cliff face or foraging on plants such as clovers, Bird’s-foot-trefoil and Narrow-leaved Everlasting-pea along the cliff top. What makes Prawle Point even more special is that it is the only site in the UK where the Long-horned Bee’s cuckoo, the Six-banded Nomad Bee Nomada sexfasciata, is known to be found. Like the bird, cuckoo bees lay their eggs in the nest of another bee, the host, and once hatched the larvae will eat the food stores that had been gathered by the host for its own larvae.

The Six-banded Nomad Bee is arguably the UK’s rarest bee, and relies on a healthy, viable population of its host. Sadly, due to the loss of flower-rich grassland, the Long-horned Bee has declined dramatically; once found in most southern English counties, its range is now restricted to the south coast of England and Wales with a few scattered inland sites. But a new project is hoping to turn the tide for the Long-horned Bee, the Six-banded Nomad Bee and many other rare invertebrates along the South Devon coast.

Life on the Edge

Life on the Edge, funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, is an exciting new partnership with South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Buglife, National Trust, Torbay Coast and Countryside Trust, and the South West Coast Path Association. Focused on the South Devon coast between Berry Head and Wembury, Life on the Edge is aiming to restore viable populations of some the UK’s rarest invertebrates, including the Six-Banded Nomad Bee, by expanding and reconnecting the vital coastal habitats on which these species depend. There are 30 invertebrate species that this project will support, such as the Moon Spider, Great Green Bush-cricket, Mediterranean Oil Beetle and the Devon Red-legged Robberfly, but of course, by improving and expanding the habitats used by these species, a plethora of wildlife will benefit.

Great Green Bush-cricket. Catherine Mitson

Buglife will be working alongside its project partners to create opportunities for local communities, landowners, parish councils and schools to get involved via volunteer days, habitat management and creation workshops, wildlife gardening and species monitoring. The project is currently in its development phase and is focused on public consultation and species and habitat monitoring – this work will help to secure funding for the next phase of the project.

NHBS conservation volunteering day

My role as a volunteer is to undertake surveys throughout the flight season of both the Long-horned Bee and its cuckoo between May and July and record the number of individuals seen along this stretch of coast, with a particular focus on known nest aggregation sites and the coastal path between Gara Rock and Mattiscombe Sands. The survey consists of slowly walking along the coastal path, stopping to count Long-horned Bees when I see them. I record the number of males and females, the location/grid reference, and any extra information that may be useful, such as the plants that they are feeding on.

It was wonderful to see so many Long-horned Bees foraging along the cliff top throughout the day. As mentioned above, they tend to favour plants such as Bird’s-foot-trefoil, clovers, Narrow-leaved Everlasting-pea, brambles and Kidney Vetch, and there are sections of the coastal path where these can be found in abundance. Unfortunately, these plentiful patches are in short supply, and Buglife hopes to identify the key areas for habitat enhancement to support the population of Long-horned Bees, which will in turn benefit the Six-banded Nomad Bee.

The Long-horned Bee forages on plants such as Bird’s-foot-trefoil. Catherine Mitson

The highlight of the day was watching one nest aggregation in particular, a site that we have become quite familiar with over the years. It is always a bustling hub of activity and is primarily where the Six-banded Nomad Bee has been recorded in the past. Female Long-horned Bees were repeatedly flitting in and out of the nest entrance holes, with the occasional male patrolling the nest entrances in search of a mate. Sadly, I did not see the Six-banded Nomad Bees this time but was pleased to count a total of 75 Long-horned Bee sightings throughout the day.

I have been involved in monitoring this site since 2017 and so it was wonderful to have the support of NHBS to spend some time at Prawle Point to contribute to this year’s records. It is vital that monitoring along this stretch of coastline continues, especially as our records of the Six-banded Nomad Bee are so few. To find out more about Buglife, the conservation projects they are currently involved in and how you can get involved, visit www.buglife.org.uk.

References

Saunders, P. 2018. Conservation of the Long-horned Bee in Cornwall. British Wildlife 29: 321–327.

Falk, S. & Lewington, R. 2018. Field Guide to the Bees of Great Britian and Ireland. Bloomsbury, London.

An interview with Derek Gow: Bringing Back the Beaver

Derek Gow has written an inspirational and often riotously funny firsthand account of how the movement to rewild the British landscape with beavers has arguably become the single most dramatic and subversive nature conservation act of the modern era.

Derek has taken time to answer a few questions about his new book and the role beavers can have in restoring nature.

Could you tell us a little about your background and where the motivation for this book comes from?

I was born in Dundee in a council house. My grandfather’s generation had been farmers but my parents were not. I have always had a huge interest in nature which developed as I grew older. In time I began a career in farming and while aspects of this life were appealing, I became less enamoured with the impact of farming on the natural world and the savage repercussions of its consequence. I read all Gerald Durrell’s books when small, attended his field course on Jersey in 2000 and from that point on, initially as a manger for several wildlife centres focused on native wildlife and then ultimately, on my own farm, began to pioneer opportunities for wildlife restoration.

You have a clear affection for beavers; will a more emotive dialogue help spread the idea of restoring nature to a broader base, or do you think the science will win hearts and minds?

I think it’s a combination of both. You need science to back a case for their sentient restoration on the back of all the credible good they do, but you also need people to feel emotionally linked. They are the most wonderful of creature’s – creators of landscapes which are brim-full of life. They are caring for their offspring and while savagely territorial with other beavers, are commonly as individuals, largely benign. We did appalling things to them in the past and in effort to forge a better future I see no harm in explaining to people just how critical it is that we consider other species as individuals of worth and importance with characters as well.

There are so many organisations involved; some still going, some now inoperative: DEFRA, IUCN, SNH, EN, NCC, CLA etc. How do you manage to reach a consensus across all those organisations, and do you think the voice for restoring nature needs streamlining?

Yes it needs streamlining, but we need to be much bolder and much less deferential. In the commercial world if individuals or organisations perform poorly then they are dismissed or they disappear as entities. In nature conservation we are way too good at ignoring duffers and making excuses for their mistakes. This situation however uncomfortable is simply no good and at a time of ecological crisis potentially fatal. We must be bullish in our approach to progress while still retaining what reasonable allies there are. The pace of restoration should be swift rather than slow. There is no reason whatsoever for delay.

The activities of beavers such as: felling trees and potentially flooding arable land sound quite alarming to a lot of people. How are those issues addressed when proposing to reintroduce beavers?

Simple. We published a management handbook in 2016 which you chaps help sell and promote. Beavers are a very well understood species in both continental Europe and North America all we need to do is co-opt the sensible programmes of management and understanding which have been applied there to here, stop gibbering and making up excuses and move on. There is nothing they do which we can’t counteract if we wish to do so. A wider programme of education to promote better understanding is an essential first step.

Beavers seem to be a benchmark to define our future relationship with wild creatures. Does your campaign stop at beavers, or would you like to see other ‘lost’ species reintroduced to Britain?

I think that lynx should be restored with reasonable haste if living space which is suitably large with an adequate abundance of prey sufficient to maintain a viable population exists. I think wildcats must be restored in England and in Wales. Other candidates would be species like the great bustard, wild boar, golden, white tailed eagles and common crane; in a wider range, the burbot, black stork/more whites, vultures and many other amphibians, reptiles and insects. I think a dialogue should begin about learning to relive with the wolf now. If we want to have future forests which the deer can’t destroy we will need this predator very much.

Does Brexit and the eventual demise of the Common Agricultural Policy offer any hope for a more nature sensitive approach to farming in the UK?

Yes it does. We can do it our way now but we must recognise that very much good has come from the EU habitats directive and that our way should seek to exceed and surmount this legislation and not just become a tawdry box ticking exercise in excuse manufacturing and prevarication.

With beavers now established in Devon on the River Otter, how do you see that project developing in the next five years?

The beaver population there will expand for sure to number many 100’s over time. Many other rivers should become the focus of further reintroductions as a result of the excellent field work and research carried out on the Otter by a broad range of partnership bodies. The project and its results demonstrate quite graphically that beavers are entirely tolerable in a modern cultural English landscape with a degree of low level intervention and that their engineering activities enable an abundance of other wildlife to flourish.

Have you any projects you are currently involved in, or planning that you can tell us about?

Together with a range of other organisations I am working to form a wood cat project which will culminate in the reintroduction of the wildcat in Devon. The old English name was the wood cat and those of us involved think therefore that this is a more appropriate escutcheon. Next year I will be releasing white storks on my farm and rewilding over 150 acres of land which I own. In March 2021 I will complete work on a new book for Chelsea Green titled The Hunt for the Iron Wolf which will detail the history of this species in the UK.

Bringing Back the Beaver: The Story of One Man’s Quest to Rewild Britain’s Waterways
By: Derek Gow
Paperback | January 2022

Derek Gow’s inspirational first-hand account of beaver reintroduction across England and Scotland.

Derek Gow is a farmer and nature conservationist. Born in Dundee in 1965, he left school when he was 17 and worked in agriculture for five years. Inspired by the writing of Gerald Durrell, all of whose books he has read – thoroughly – he jumped at the chance to manage a European wildlife park in central Scotland in the late 1990s before moving on to develop two nature centres in England. He now lives with his children, Maysie and Kyle, on a 300-acre farm on the Devon/Cornwall border which he is in the process of rewilding. Derek has played a significant role in the reintroduction of the Eurasian beaver, the water vole and the white stork in England. He is currently working on a reintroduction project for the wildcat.

Browse more books about this keystone species

Red Sixty Seven: A Collection of Words and Art Inspired by Britain’s Most Vulnerable Birds

Red Sixty Seven features our most vulnerable bird species, beautifully illustrated by some amazing wildlife artists. All of the publishers profits from the sale of this book will be donated to BTO and RSPB to further their work on red listed birds.

Contributors include Chris Packham, Ann Cleeves, David Lindo, and Patrick Barkham.

This book should not exist.

In an ideal world this book, and the official Red List of the most vulnerable birds in the UK it is based on, would not be needed. But the world is far from ideal and our bird populations are declining at an alarming rate. In the past few years alone the once widespread Wryneck has ceased breeding in the UK altogether and has dropped off the list completely. Which species will be next?

Editor, Kit Jewitt has taken some time to answer a few questions about the Red Sixty Seven book project and the list itself.

Of all the birds on the Red List which do you think is most vulnerable?

If I had to choose one, it would be the Hen Harrier. Not only do they have to deal with all of the natural challenges they face, they also have to contend with persecution from criminals within the grouse shooting industry, which evidence now suggests is the main cause of their decline in numbers. The fact that 72% of tagged Hen Harriers are confirmed or considered likely to have been illegally killed is a national disgrace. However, in terms of the recent rate of decline I would also suggest Turtle Dove is a species of highest concern.

Many people will be surprised to see herring gull on the list, could you expand on how this seemingly ubiquitous bird has made the list?

Herring Gull populations in coastal areas have dropped by over 50% in my lifetime. This is largely due to the lack of food at coastal sites, with overfishing of UK coastal waters and warming seas caused by climate change likely to be the main reasons for the reduced amount of food available to gulls and other seabirds. They are adaptable, intelligent birds though, so moving to inland areas, or areas where humans create waste for them to eat has been a way for some populations to survive.

Have any birds managed to move away from the Red List to Amber over the last year or so, and which birds are the most recent additions?

Nineteen species were added to the red list for the first time when it was last updated in 2015, and one species, Merlin, moved back onto the list. Breeding seabirds, such as Puffin, Kittiwake and Shag are now included, and with the additions of species such as Woodcock, Nightingale and Pied Flycatcher there are now more woodland birds on the list than any other habitat. Two species, Bittern and Nightjar, have moved from the red to amber lists thanks to the creation and management of suitable habitat, stimulated by species action plans.

We know how we as individuals can help garden birds, but the list contains a high proportion of iconic water birds. How can we as individuals help preserve the many waders and ducks that are on the list?

Many projects being conducted by BTO, RSPB WWT and others help waders, seabirds and ducks, so fundraising for these is vitally important. My main motivation behind the Red Sixty Seven project was to do something to help these declining birds, by spreading the word and raising money for conservationists on the ground. By highlighting the red list far and wide, more people will care and will then hopefully start their own fundraising for BTO’s Operation Wader or Curlew appeal, or WWTs Black-tailed Godwits appeal, or whichever scheme chimes with them. I can’t run marathons or undertake extreme endurance like my friend Jonny Rankin, who has raised over £19,000 for Turtle Doves, so I had to think of a different way of fundraising!

Farmland bird species also make up a large part of the list. Can you see any hope for securing the future of our most rapidly declining farmland species?

The change in farming and land management practices over the last 40 years, including the use of pesticides and changes in crops grown have ultimately reduced the amount of appropriate habitat, and food sources for our farmland birds. Post Brexit, there is an opportunity for the government to make changes to policy to help our farmland wildlife. I just hope they take full advantage of it.

We love the idea of using the power of beautiful words and paintings to deliver a conservation message. Do you think that engaging the reader emotionally can result in more concrete conservation actions being taken?

I hope so! As well as raising funds for crucial work to help red-listed species, I hope Red Sixty Seven brings the list and the plight of these birds to a wider audience, inspiring other people to take action themselves, whatever that might be. The artwork and stories within the book bring home the message in a very accessible way, and you are left under no illusion that we must do something. There is a poignant sting in the tale at the end of the book; an ‘In Memoriam’ section devoted to the birds we have lost as breeding species in recent years. This book is a call-to-arms.

All of the publisher’s profits from the sale of this book will be donated to BTO and RSPB to further their work on red listed birds.

Red Sixty Seven: A Collection of Words and Art Inspired by Britain’s Most Vulnerable Birds
Hardback, published February 2020 £19.99

Red Sixty Seven is 67 love letters to our most vulnerable species, each beautifully illustrated by some of the best wildlife artists around.

Supporting Conservation: National Museum of Brazil

On 2nd September last year, a terrible fire destroyed the National Museum of Brazil in Rio de Janeiro. Alongside the vast collection of irreplaceable natural history specimens, the fire also destroyed books and equipment used by the Museum’s researchers for ecological research and wildlife conservation.

Thankfully as museum curator, Débora Pires, wrote shortly after the incident: “The brains did not burn; we are working with a positive agenda!”

NHBS were approached by our former director Alan Martin, who provided a list of products which the malacology, arachnology, entomology and lepidoptera departments needed to get back on their feet. Alan, now secretary of the Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest Trust (BART) has close links with many researchers at the museum.

Following this, we decided to coordinate an effort to provide the items that are most critical to their research. We contacted suppliers asking them to contribute and we agreed to supply our own manufactured products, and cover shipping costs of all donated items.

The response from suppliers was fantastic, as the majority were happy to donate all, or most of the items requested. We would like to give huge thanks those who have donated so far: Elsevier, BIOTOPE Parthenope, Brunel Microscopes Ltd, BugDorm, CABI Publishing, Harvard University Press, the Royal Museum for Central Africa, Watkins & Doncaster and finally EntoSphinx. So far, we have received just over £2,000 worth of items, with more to follow.

A selection of items that are being sent in the first shipment.

“I’m really sorry to hear such devastating news. This is truly awful and it’s good to see you are providing such great support to them. We would be happy to send out the [requested] book gratis.” – Linda Jackson, Elsevier

Are you a supplier, publisher or manufacturer and would like to donate books or equipment to this worthy cause? Please contact ruddin@nhbs.com

Visit our Supporting Conservation page for more ways NHBS help wildlife, ecology and conservation across the world.

Oxford University Press: Publisher of the Month

Oxford University Press are NHBS’s Publisher of the Month for February 2019.

Founded in the mid-17th Century, Oxford University Press (OUP) have published some of the most influential environmental books. Nearly 400 years later, OUP continue to release important works as the largest university press in the world. Their diverse repertoire consists of The Selfish Gene, Conservation Drones, Birds in an Ancient World and many more.

Oxford University Press and Natural History Publishing

OUP’s biology and natural history lists can be traced back to the early twentieth century, when a series of classic academic texts from scientific luminaries such as John Haldane and Julian Huxley firmly established OUP as a science publisher. Its reputation grew with classic titles including Richard Dawkins’ The Selfish Gene.

OUP’s current book list covers a whole host of biology topics from a variety of ecosystems and across the entire taxonomic spectrum, from viruses to humans. It has a particular strength in the fields of evolutionary biology and animal biology and a growing presence in the fields of ecology, epidemiology, biostatistics, conservation biology, aquatic biology and plant science.

Great prices on recent bestselling professional and academic titles

Until 31st march, get great prices on selected bestselling professional and academic titles from OUP.

Oxford University Press, highlights from 2018 and forthcoming in 2019

2018 was a great year with titles including: Birds in the Ancient World, illustrating the many different roles birds played in culture; Skeletons: The Frame of Life, diving into how the tiniest seed shrimp through to the gigantic dinosaurs evolved; Conservation Drones, looking at the use of drones in mapping and monitoring biodiversity; an excellent introduction to the many solutions organisms have evolved to see their world, with Eyes to See and a fascinating account on how ancient DNA is rewriting most of what we thought we knew about human history with Who We Are and How We Got Here.

2019 looks just as exciting, with the following titles due soon:

Carnivorous Plants, paperback due Feb 2019

Browse all Oxford University Press titles

Special Offers on Oxford University Press titles in Backlist Bargains

Discover the numerous OUP titles in our biggest sale of the year – Backlist Bargains, where you can discover great prices on everything from field guides and good reads to monographs and other academic titles.

The Gratis Books Scheme

One of the most rewarding OUP-NHBS collaborations has been in the form of the Gratis Books Scheme. Since 1999, with support and assistance from the British Ecological Society, this scheme has been sending free copies of books to conservationists in developing countries who would otherwise be unable to obtain them.

There are currently two books available in the Gratis Book Scheme, both from OUP. They are Freshwater Ecology and Conservation and Social Science Theory for Environmental Sustainability.

NHBS Field Sessions: Waterway Surveys for Daubenton’s Bats

NHBS’ staff members are wild about wildlife! To showcase this, we are encouraging our team to write blogs about their experiences with nature.

During the Summer months, Jon Flynn, a member of NHBS’ Wildlife Equipment Team attended a number of Waterway Surveys for Daubenton’s bats (Myotis daubentonii). Read more about his survey experiences below:

Stretch of the River Teign captured by Westcountry Rivers Trust via Flickr (CC BY 2.0).

“On Monday 6^th July I took part in a Waterway Survey for Daubenton’s bat along a stretch of the River Teign in Devon. The survey is completed twice per year in conjunction with the Bat Conservation Trust and is part of an ongoing data collection programme for bat species around the UK. The lead for this particular survey was John Mitchell who has been surveying this particular length of the Teign, near Teigngrace, for a good number of years. It was my third survey there.

The survey was due to start 40 minutes after sunset, so we met at 9.00pm and made our way along the edge of a maize field to arrive at our first stopping point. This was to be a transect survey which meant walking a length of the river bank and stopping at ten predetermined points to record bat activity at each one. We stood at the river’s edge and immediately noticed that the river level was a lot lower than it was during our last visit a year or so ago. We recorded air temperature and cloud cover and, as we prepared, various species of bats could already be seen zooming around the trees and openings as they commenced another night of nocturnal foraging. The air was very warm, still and humid, and flying insects were everywhere including a host of moths and some less welcome biting species.

As the light faded it was time to start. With bat detectors switched on and earphones in place, we directed a torch beam on the river’s surface and awaited the arrival of the first Daubenton’s.

Looking for bats at twilight by Nic McPhee via Flickr (CC BY 2.0).

The Daubenton’s bat is a species which typically occupies riparian woodland. They often roost in trees along the river bank and hunt by skimming low over the surface of the water for insects. They can take prey from the water’s surface using their feet or tail membrane.

As bats skimmed through the torch beam we were able to count them. We counted the number of passes that we observed and for this a clicker counter is always useful! The bats that we heard but did not see were also recorded as additional information. I set my Magenta 5 at 50hz and listened whilst John relied on his trusty and more accomplished Bat Box Duet.

After four minutes on the stopwatch we finished counting, compared counts and wrote down results. At stop number 1 there were certainly bats present, but they were swooping around quite high above the water surface and not showing the typical behaviour of Daubenton’s – John was dubious that they were our target species so we recorded them only as potential sightings.

Using GPS devices and torches we left for Survey Point 2 further down the river bank and repeated the same process as before. At this location there was no denying that these WERE Daubenton’s bats, as the torch beam caught their pale almost white ventral fur, confirming their identity. Our detectors were full of noise too, including the typical intense zap as a bat homed in on prey.

A close-up of a Daubenton's bat. Image captured by Gilles San Martin via Flickr (CC BY 2.0). — A close-up of a Daubenton’s bat. Image captured by Gilles San Martin via Flickr (CC BY 2.0).

On we progressed with eight more stopping points to go. Occasionally our river bank scrambles took us through thickets of invasive Himalayan balsam (Impatiens glandulifera) and Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica)– a sobering reminder of how our countryside is changing. The night remained still and warm and it almost felt like we were in a different country.

After eight more stops my watch said 11:20pm. It was good to see that bats were in profusion that night, as John stated ‘It was one of the best ever totals, with one stopping point recording over 50 passes!‘.

Two weeks later and we repeated the process. But this second night felt noticeably cooler and there were fewer insects on the wing. Nevertheless bats were still out and about in reasonable numbers and an average score was calculated between the two Waterway surveys. Overall there were encouraging signs that the Daubenton’s bat continues to do well along this particular stretch of the Teign.”

To find out more information about the various bat detectors available, go to our website. To find out more about how you can help bats in your local area, have a look at our handy guide.

If you like the idea of taking part in Waterway Surveys (or other kinds of bat surveys) then contact the Bat Conservation Trust or have a look at their website here. It’s great fun and you can put your bat detector to important use!

Conservation Volunteering at the Cornish Seal Sanctuary

NHBS’ core purpose is to support conservation. To this end, all NHBS staff members can apply for up to three days of paid time during each calendar year to spend on practical conservation projects of their choice. This month, customer services advisor Alice Mosley spent some time working at the Cornish Seal Sanctuary. Read all about her experiences below:

The Cornish Seal Sanctuary not only rescues and rehabilitates seal pups, but is also home to a variety of other marine animals who live there all year round.

“Earlier this month I had the pleasure of volunteering at the Cornish Seal Sanctuary in Gweek as part of NHBS’ conservation volunteering scheme. As well as seal rescue and rehabilitation, the sanctuary has a huge focus on education of marine pollution, sustainability and how everyone can contribute to cleaning up our oceans.

The sanctuary at Gweek opened in 1975; the founders, Ken and Mary Jones had already been rescuing injured and abandoned seal pups at St Agnes for 17 years and needed a bigger site. It is nestled on the bank of the Helford River, at the entrance to the Lizard Peninsula, a Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). Now owned by the charity The Sea Life Trust, the sanctuary focuses on the rescue and rehabilitation of seals from all over the UK. On average, 60-70 pups are rescued each winter but the last year saw over 80 successful rescues. It costs around £2000 to rehabilitate each seal pup, so you know exactly where your donations are going!

A number of seals are resident at the sanctuary all year round and require ongoing care.

The sanctuary has a fantastic rehabilitation success rate of around 98%, but some animal’s ongoing health problems or individual circumstances mean that they can never be re-released. This means that there are a number of resident seals that require care all year round. The sanctuary has also become a home for other animals and birds which have needed moving or re-homing for various reasons; it is home to nine Humboldt Penguins (conservation status: Vulnerable), four sea lions and two Asian short clawed otters (also classified as Vulnerable).

As a member of the animal care team for two weeks, most of the work I undertook was daily husbandry tasks for the animals, such as cleaning, food prep, feeding and enrichment. I was also introduced to the husbandry training that most of the resident animals undergo, which allows staff to look in the animals’ mouths, ask them to lift a flipper or tail for physical health checks, or voluntarily enter their transport cages. All training the resident animals undergo is beneficial to their overall health, while also keeping their mind active. This was particularly interesting to me as I will soon be studying both captive and wild animal behavior at University.

Alice performs a routine health check on one of the sanctuary’s residents.

While it was the wrong season for rescue and rehabilitation (pup season is September to March), I learned a great deal about working in the field of animal care while at the sanctuary. I was impressed by the dedication of all the staff, and the obvious happiness and wellbeing of the resident animals. If you are in the area, or need any more reasons to visit the stunning rugged coastlines of Cornwall, I’d highly recommend a visit to the Cornish Seal Sanctuary”.

The Cornish Seal Sanctuary is located in Gweek Village in Cornwall (TR12 6UG). It is open 7 days a week (except Christmas Day) from 10am – 5pm (last admissions 4pm).

Conservation Volunteering at Ambios Farm and Wildlife Fayre

At NHBS, all members of staff have the opportunity to partake in conservation volunteering days as part of the company’s philanthropic initiative to carry out nature conservation locally. As part of this initiative, I recently chose to volunteer at an event for a cause that is close to my heart nearby in Totnes.

On Friday 8th June, I volunteered at a Farm and Wildlife Fayre run by Ambios, an organisation that provides education and volunteering opportunities in nature conservation in the UK and abroad. Set in the beautiful Sharpham Estate, with the river Dart and rolling hills surrounding the farm, it was the perfect setting to engage others in nature conservation. This place is special to me, as this is where my initial nature conservation training began before I joined NHBS in 2017. Below is a video of the Wildlife Fayre filmed by Ross Gill of Fresh Ground Films.

At the Wildlife Fayre I worked alongside conservation volunteers, knowledgeable experts in the field and the charity, United Response, who provide a range of support services for individuals with physical and learning difficulties. The aim of the event was to get a wider audience of people involved in nature conservation by allowing them to take part in accessible activities that help individuals to get up-close and personal with local wildlife. More than 200 children and young adults from special needs schools and colleges attended, in addition to young families from the local area.

Engaging and educational activities drew in crowds, including bug hunts, bird box making, forest school sessions, green woodworking and plant identification. The air was filled with excitement as children and adults alike rushed around with their newly carved spatulas and bird boxes. Footsteps hurried as groups rushed between activities with freshly picked produce from the farm in their hands.

Photo by Ross Gill of Fresh Ground Films

The farm office was transformed into a wildlife information hub, which hosted an array of interesting finds. Through microscopes you were transported into another world where you could view bumblebees and Garden Chafer Beetles at close range.

Tanks held Palmate Newts hiding amongst curtains of pond weed and field guides lay next to plaster-cast footprints of creatures who had visited the farm. In one corner, a table was covered with flora found locally for anyone wishing to test their plant identification skills. In another, an array of uncommonly seen finds were lined up including the skulls of animals and tightly woven dormouse nests.

Something that really drew me in were the screens in the wildlife information hub which displayed stories of the wild residents of Sharpham, including nest box inhabitants and various small mammals. You could watch a timeline of Blue Tits building their nest and sitting on eggs. Later you saw the chicks being fed, strengthening their wings and finally fledging!

My responsibilities whilst volunteering at the event revolved around providing support and an extra pair of hands. I helped groups to move between activities and demonstrated how to use tools and equipment such as nets and pooters. At NHBS I work as a Wildlife Equipment Specialist, so it was great to be able to show others first-hand how to use the equipment that we have access to every day. It was lovely to see how excited the children got about using the equipment to get closer to nature.

The Farm and Wildlife Fayre was a fantastic success! The event proved to be a brilliant way of captivating young minds and introducing them to the natural world. By partaking in accessible activities, each person felt confident enough to try something new and learnt a great deal along the way.

Ambios Director and Farm Manager said,

“Our farm and wildlife fayre was a huge success – we are delighted! We had nearly 200 people over the day, from all walks of life experiencing what we do at lower sharpham farm, and getting up close and personal with wildlife as well as getting to know our farm animals. Our farming practice aims to prioritise wildlife, and we are delighted to share our work and our story with a wide audience. Our next event will be a barn dance in the late summer, so watch this space!”

It was great to be involved and I love to think that if this event has inspired just one person to appreciate and protect nature a little further, then it was all worth it!

Stay tuned for more volunteer event posts from my colleagues at NHBS as they embark on their own conservation volunteering days.

To find out more about NHBS’s approach to philanthropic work, please follow this link. For more information about the work that Ambios does, please follow this link.

A facelift for the NHBS monthly catalogue

The NHBS monthly catalogue lists all book titles that have been added to our website over the last month, classified by subject. The catalogue contains forthcoming titles, as well as re-issues, new editions, and all books new to NHBS. This makes it an invaluable and unrivalled source of information for subject librarians and all who wish to be the first to know about new titles in the subject ranges we cover: natural history, zoology, botany, ecology, sustainable development and conservation.

Subscribe to the NHBS monthly catalogue to receive a monthly email – the latest issue is available to view and print here, and our archive going back to 2005 can be found here.

The catalogue has recently received a facelift to make it easier to use – all of the valuable content remains in place. It is the latest in a long tradition of book catalogues produced by NHBS since 1985, from the old newspaper-style printed catalogues to the bi-monthly NHBS Bulletins, A4 booklets with cream covers which preceded the NHBS monthly catalogue.

Suggesting new titles for the NHBS Monthly Catalogue

NHBS cataloguer Leon Vlieger adds around 300 new books each month: he sifts through countless publisher catalogues, email newsletters, websites, book reviews and customer requests to select the titles. However, we sometimes miss important new publications, and welcome any help our readers can give us. If you know of a title that should be added to the next NHBS monthly catalogue, please email Leon (cataloguing@nhbs.com) with the details (title, author, publisher, ISBN).

British Wildlife now published by NHBS

British Wildlife, the magazine for the modern naturalist, is now published by NHBS.

Since its launch in 1989, British Wildlife has established its position as the leading natural history magazine in the UK, providing essential reading for both enthusiasts and professional naturalists and wildlife conservationists.

Published bi-monthly, and only available by subscription, each issue has 84 information-packed pages. Written by top experts, the articles provide a unique opportunity for naturalists and wildlife conservationists to keep abreast of new discoveries and the latest trends.

The magazine was published until 2013 by British Wildlife Publishing, and after brief periods with Osprey Publishing and Bloomsbury Publishing, has now found a permanent home with NHBS. We also publish Conservation Land Management, a quarterly magazine for land managers.

Annual subscriptions for six issues start at £25. Gift Subscriptions are available.