Out and about in Cornwall this week....

Although I've been living in Cornwall for the past 5 years, I still find myself out and about discovering things to do and places to see that I've not visited before and am absolutely blown away when I get there! On Monday 27th Sept I found myself standing at the top of Godrevy Point on the rugged north Cornish coast completely spellbound by the incredible clifftop views of the vast sandy beaches of Gwithian and Hayle as well as St Ives bay and Godrevy lighthouse which is completely solar powered.

It's no surprise that this remote stretch of exquisite Cornish coastline protected by the National Trust made it to category finalist in the 2008 British Best Open Space, Green Space Travel Awards along with Kosi Bay in South Africa being nominated for best open space award worldwide! It was a beautiful sunny day so I had expected to have a lovely walk along the cliffs. I was even treated to a young seal putting in an appearance, but what I hadn't expected to see was Britain's most venomous snake! An Adder (Vipera berus) was slowly making its way across a grassy patch right in front of me. All I could think of was that awful South African snake wrangler wannabe Austin Steve who makes me cringe anytime I flick the TV channel onto one of his programs with him going...."yaaa like our snakes are so big they use your snakes for bait!" but of course me being me, I followed it..... much to the surprise of the now gathering group of spectators. They were warning me not to go too close in case it bit me but of course by then I was taking no notice of anyone, and managed to get some brilliant photos of my first Adder sighting which I've shared with you here... enjoy :)

For more Adder info visit the following link, as i've just found out from my narcoleptic naturalist fellow blogger and scientist friend Sally that my Adder is a female, due to the dark brown zigzag pattern on her back, whereas males have a black or grey zigzag pattern on the back.

http://www.surrey-arg.org.uk/cgi-bin/SARG2ReptileSpeciesData.asp?Species=Adder

Have a brilliant week all, until next time and my next adventure........ Nic x

Mobile phones and vanishing bees

Are mobile phones wiping out our honey bees?

The days of seeing honey bees on just about every flower and coke can are long gone…. Think about when last you opened a can of coke or the likes of a peanut butter and jam sandwich and within seconds a bee was trying to find its way inside to the sweet sugary treat awaiting… How many of these simple occurrences have gone unnoticed by so many of us in our busy lives recently? Recent scientific research suggests that the plight of our little buzzing friends is no longer going unnoticed, it is very much a hotly debated topic…..

The effects of mobile phone radiation on human health has been a question in scientific and medical communities for some time now. To date there has been a lot of research into the effects, or possibly non effects, of mobile phone radiation on human tissue. However as a result of the increasing world wide usage of mobile phones throughout the world the effects of GSM (Global System for Mobile Telecommunications) radiation on invertebrates has led to further investigations particularly on the declining honey bee (Apis mellifera).

Honey bees are keystone pollinator species. The sharp declines in honey bee numbers has raised many questions about the source of the problem. One area of research includes whether mobile phones, namely cellular phone radiation, is contributing to this global crisis. Honey bees are suffering from a phenomenon called Colony Collapse Disorder, in which worker bees from a colony beehive abruptly disappear. Colony collapse is also economically significant because many agricultural crops worldwide are pollinated by bees.
The causes are not yet fully understood, although many authorities attribute the problem to biotic factors such as Varroa mites and insect diseases. The effects of GSM radiation is being widely investigated, but the data regarding the biological effects of radiation is as yet insufficient to draw any concrete conclusions. However there is some evidence to show that radiation does have an effect on flight navigation which could explain the disappearance of vast numbers of worker bees trying to navigate their way back to the hive.

We can’t ignore the environmental impacts that would result from a loss of vital pollinators such as honey bee’s, however who doesn’t have and use a mobile phone these days? I’m making sure I use mine indoors and no where near the garden or honey bees these days!

Reference
Effect of GSM Cellular fone radiation on the behaviour of honey bees (Apis mellifera), 2009. Science of Bee Culture. Vol 1 (2) pp22-27

Bats, Birds and Sunbathing Seals

Hi Everyone

So sorry for not blogging for a while! So much been happening, lots of exciting news and some sad news!

Not that I like starting on a sad note but last week we found a little Pipistrelle bat (Pipistrellus pipistrellus) trying to get out of a sink in the laboratory at Duchy College Rosewarne, thank goodness Matt found him and we tried to release him but unfortunately he didn’t make it, the poor little guy. We contacted Bat Conservation UK who came to collect him and said that he was an adult male and perhaps had just died of old age, so nature took its rightful course in the end. Still it was a sad event.

On a happier note the Tag-a-Turtle project (see last blog) is doing really well! Nic & I had our first fundraising event at Sainsbury’s supermarket in Newquay today, raising loads of money and awareness for the project, our sponsored cage shark dive and of course the Marine Conservation Society. It was a really brilliant and successful day, thanks to everyone who stopped by and for all the support from everyone!

Also on the news front, I have been volunteering for the RSPB –Royal Society for the Protection of Birds since the beginning of May, assisting one of the Conservation Officers at the Marazion office near Penzance in Cornwall. I have also been asked to survey a colony of kittiwakes in Newquay, noting their courtship and nesting activities. I’m happy to report that they now have chicks and appear to be doing well, although there have been some issues with disturbance which may be affecting their breeding success, which is why monitoring them is important. On my last visit to photograph them a seal named Dr Who (kindly identified by the Cornwall Seal Group ) had hauled himself onto a rock in the sunshine and was happily advertsing his handsomeness for all to view.

Im sure you’ll agree he is a very handsome creature indeed!

Till next time....
Regards
Nic