Great wildlife cake-off
WHAT TO DO IN... WHAT TO DO IN... WHAT TO DO IN...
Calling all budding bakers and pastry chefs! Can you bake a ladybird-shaped cake? Or perhaps you’re an expert cupcake decorator? Then this competition is for you! All you need to do is create a cake with a wildlife theme. This can be any type of cake and any type of wildlife. The Wildlife Trust BCN has teamed up with Opticron who have kindly offered some amazing binoculars as prizes. These will go to the best designs.
To enter this competition take a photo of your cake creation and post or email your entry using my contact details (see below). If you are in the photo too please ask your parent or guardian to provide signed permission for us to use the photo. The deadline for this competition is: 12th July 2016. Good luck! PRIZES: Opticron 8x21 binoculars
HELLO! Now that it is summer we can enjoy the long, bright (and hopefully sunny) days. We often forget about some of the best times of the day to spot wildlife. Before you wake up in the morning there has already been an amazing wildlife concert in your back garden. Large numbers of birds sing as part of the dawn chorus. Go outside and see what you can find in your back garden. Perhaps you might be allowed to go on a night time adventure and see some bats or glow-worms? Remember, always take a grown up with you on your wildlife adventures and have fun!
June Look out for bees, listen out for the dawn chorus and spot bats at night
✓ July Go on a bug hunt and write down what you see, make a bug out of clay
✓ August Make some wildlife art, go rock-pooling, identify some dragonflies
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You’ve heard something strange... You don’t know if it’s true... Who you gonna call?
GET IN TOUCH @
WILDLIFE
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Send in your letters, drawings, poems and bad jokes to us at Wildlife Watch! FAO: Amanda Brookes, Peterborough Office The Wildlife Trust BCN, Bug House, Ham Lane, Orton Waterville, Peterborough PE2 5UU Tel: 01733 687515 Email: watch@wildlifebcn.org Bedfordshire Office Priory Country Park Barkers Lane Bedford MK41 9DJ Tel: 01234 364213
Amanda Brookes, Wildlife Watch Officer
Cambridgeshire Office The Manor House Broad Street Great Cambourne Cambridge CB23 6DH Tel: 01954 713500
Northampton Office Lings House Billing Lings Northampton NN3 8BE Tel: 01604 405285
MY TH BUSTERS Throughout history, naturalists have studied wildlife. By carefully observing the natural world they have been able to uncover many of its secrets. Our natural instinct to be curious about the world that we live in has meant that over time people sought to understand it in their own way, resulting in a rich history of wildlife folklore being passed down from generation to generation. Historically, as wise elders passed on their stories to the younger generations these were accepted as ‘fact’. It was not until a more scientific approach to studying wildlife was adopted that some of these ‘facts’ or ‘old wives’ tales’ were proven to be incorrect.
Sending a photograph? Please ask your parent or guardian to signand print their name and address on the back. Designed by Jamie Bello. Edited by Amanda Brookes.
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Registered charity no: 1000412
Summer 2016 edition
www.wildlifebcn.org 18/05/2016 15:36
MY TH BUST
Earwigs
‘Earwigs craw l into your ears and lay eggs’
This sounds scary but it really isn’t true! Let me ask you this, why would any creature want to crawl into someone’s ear on purpose? In the wild earwigs will hide under rocks, logs and in worm holes and will lay their eggs in these places too. They are excellent mothers and will raise their young until they are old enough to leave the nest.
WATER SHREWS ARE VENOMOUS
These are the only mammals in the UK to have a toxin in their saliva, which they use to catch their prey.
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‘If you touch a toad you will get w arts’
Adders
‘Like biting p eople’
Poor toads, they have a really bad reputation. Children were warned to stay away from them because if they touched them they would catch warts. In fact, warts are caused by a human virus, so it’s impossible for toads to have anything to do with warts! Toads are lumpy and bumpy and they do have glands which secrete toxins to ward off creatures that might like to eat them (predators). Toads are amazing, so you would be very lucky if you see one.
Image by Geoffrey Kinns
««FACT««
Toads
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Image by Dawn Monrose
Image by Tom Marshall
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Bats
‘Are blind and fly into hair’
Adders are difficult to spot because they are very shy. They will sense you coming and slither off to hide before you get anywhere near them. It is true that they are the UK’s only venomous snake, but they will only bite as a last resort, if for example someone picks them up. So adders don’t slither up to humans just to bite them. During spring adders can be seen basking in the sunshine and it is really exciting to be able to see one. If you do catch a glimpse of an adder, give them some space, don’t touch them and watch carefully and quietly.
Bats can see, but have another, much better way of finding their way around – echolocation. Bats shout a high pitched squeak and then listen as the sound waves bounce back off various objects. This enables them to find their way around the night sky and find food. Many people think that bats also fly into hair. With their super echolocating abilities this would never happen!
««FACT«« Image by Chris Lawrence
‘If you cut an earthworm in half, it will grow in to two earthwor ms’
‘Steal shiny th ings’
Image by Amy Lewis
Earthworms
Image by Malcolm Storey
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This is not true and please do not try this at home! Just like us, earthworms have a head end with a mouth and a brain. If you cut the worm in half it will die because it needs all of its internal body parts to survive! So just remember this simple equation: worm divided by 2 = dead worm
Magpies
Often rowdy and noisy, magpies come from the crow or corvid family, which makes them superintelligent. If they pick up shiny objects it is because they are interested in them and want to take a closer look. They will rarely take away this loot!
Image by Amy Lewis
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Image by Jon Hawkins
E WILDLIF ERS
COMMON LIZARDS CAN GROW BACK A NEW TAIL
If in danger lizards can shed their tails, a process called ‘autotomy’. It takes a while for a new tail to grow back and is usually more stumpy and rigid.
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