The Village Voice Oct /Nov 2019

WILDLIFE MATTERS ……... to all of us
Is it all DOOM AND GLOOM? ..………. Not a
bit of it”
And we‘re not talking about Brexit or a General
Election!
A lot of negative things have been said about
wildlife depletions and extinctions, but it is
certainly not the case with all wildlife. In this
issue of Wildlife Matters we look at some
positive signs.
• In 2018, 89 Bitterns were ‘booming’ in RSPB
Nature Reserves across the country. In 1997,
there were just 11 booming Bitterns. In
winter 2018/19 Bitterns were regularly
recorded at The Pans in Keyhaven.
Red Kite over Lymington
• 2018 and 2019 were good years for several
butterfly species. Two-thirds of British
butterflies were seen in higher numbers in
2018 than in 2017. The Large Blue enjoyed
its best year in 2018 since its reintroduction,
up 58% on 2017 records.
Photograph courtesy of Matthew Barfield
• There are about 12.8 million water birds
across the UK. This is marginally up on 2011
estimates. The increase has been in the
numbers of Geese, which was offset by lower
wader numbers.
Large Blue
• Brown Argus was recorded on Studland
Meadow for the very first time.
Brown Argus – Photo courtesy of Eric Read
Brent Geese shortly to return to our coastline
• Numbers of Red Kites and Little Egrets saw
significant increases between 1995 and
2018
Let us hope that other declining species can be
encouraged back to our county and our shores!
Further information from:
Keith Metcalf – MCV Conservation Officer
(01590) 645825 or (07771) 918449 or email
keithmetcalf@btinternet.com
www.milfordcv.org
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