If animals, birds and insects could talk they’d be no different from us in that the main topic of conversation would be the weather. Throughout 2009 excited weather enthusiasts have been telling us that each month has been the warmest, the wettest, the coldest or the strangest on record. How all this affects our wildlife is being constantly monitored by a variety of experts. The National Trust’s annual report on wildlife shows some interesting findings. They tell me that a reasonable summer with bouts of very warm weather has helped to avert a wildlife disaster after two extremely wet summers in 2007 and 2008. They report a better balance between the wildlife that has done well and species that have struggled to cope. Matthew Oates, a conservation advisor, says: “After two washout summers we’ve in many ways had a more traditional weather year, with an old fashioned cold winter and some hot and dry periods during the spring and summer. For many insects, and insect feeding birds and mammals, this year has been a saviour as they were being severely tested.”
However, some of our most familiar wildlife – including the iconic cuckoo and the common autumn cranefly, or daddy long legs – has continued to struggle. Some of the biggest winners and losers in 2009 were plants and trees. The cold snap in January and February checked growth or damaged boughs on trees, and then the warm wet spring and summer caused unusually rampant vegetation growth.
For a full report visit www.nationaltrust.org.uk