my local patch and wildlife - Ian McDonald

[ian mcdonald]

Hello Robert, it is not uncommon to see fresh snow on the higher hills at this time of year. The Cairngorms can have fresh snow at any time of year. I have been on a hill in June, after snow has fallen. This is well into our Spring. Our high ground is nowhere near the elevation of the US and other countries. The UK climate is varied and un-predictable, possibly due to being surrounded by water. We seem to get extremes of weather in Winter if the wind is from the East (Europe). I think the Atlantic gives us milder weather if the wind is from the West (the prevailing direction). It also gives us wetter weather. The hill in the photo is 2700ft (840M). Our highest hill Ben Nevis is 4400ft. 1345M. I have noticed in the last 20 or so years that many of our upland plants have either been lost or are only found at higher elevations. I have no proof of this, just my own observations. The snow lay in the Cairngorms used to last until well into Summer and provided a protective covering for upland plants. With climate change the snow cover is not lasting anywhere near as long, except in sheltered gullies. This year our climate has changed, the same as last year. The seasons are no longer Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. Instead we have an extended dull, cold and wet climate. We had a sunny and warm week about three weeks ago. That was the extent of our summer, apart from odd days here and there. This is affecting wildlife who rely on insects for food. Butterflies have been low in numbers as many other species. Warblers are down in numbers and species in this area. Naturalists in other areas report much the same. I went for a walk today and hardly saw any birds. If the present climate trend continues I can see losses in numbers and species, although recorders are still saying that Southern species continue to spread North.

[Robert]

Hi Ian,

Thank you for all the information. It is greatly appreciated.

Here in California, the weather has finally shifted. We had some rain, mostly in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and temperatures have turned much cooler – average autumn temperatures for this time of year.

When I was working at the Placerville farm this past week, I had my camera ready to photograph some of our wildlife, in particular our native birds. Maybe the rain altered their patterns. I did not encounter much. Most of the birds stayed well out of camera range – at least for my simple camera. Some Red-shafted Flicker were fussing in the nearby oak trees, but I never got a good view of them. I could tell that the California Quail had visited. They leave circular patterns in the dry soil where they dust themselves. Maybe next week I will have better luck with the wildlife.

Our native Blue Oaks, Quercus douglasii, are so stressed from the hot, dry, prolonged summer. Many of their leaves are turning brown. I hope that they survive. So many native oaks have died over the past few years. The oak savannah is turning into grassland. I am very concerned about this trend. The loss of trees alters the surface energy budget and creates an undesirable feedback loop – the soil becomes drier, temperatures rise, and more trees die.