Island Life Magazine Ltd October/November 2013 | Page 48

COUNTRY LIFE Countryside news with Tony Ridd What to look out for... Let's get outdoors and explore the season's nature Children and their parents across the Isle of Wight are being urged by the RSPB to get outdoors this autumn and explore the season’s nature with a ‘Changes through autumn’ Wildsquare survey. Families are asked to look for and record fungi, leaves that have changed colour and the wildlife that you might come across at this time of year. The seasonal survey is one of several that the RSPB runs each year and can be done wherever there is nature - in a garden, park, woodland or playground, or even while out on a walk with the family. Samantha Stokes, from RSPB South East, said: “Getting children inspired by 48 www.visitislandlife.com nature at an early age is really important if we want them to care about the environment and conservation in the future. “Taking part is simple. All parents need to do is register at rspb.org.uk/wildsquare. Once the children have done the survey, which takes between 30 minutes to an hour, their results can be entered through the website.” Miss Stokes added: “Without the opportunity and encouragement to get outdoors and connect with nature, children are missing out on so many benefits that previous generations have enjoyed.” Small Tortoisehell This is one of our more common butterflies and can be seen all year round. It has been busy feeding on nectar to build up essential fats in preparation for its hibernation. If temperatures are high enough, they can wake from their hibernation at any time. Found almost anywhere they lay their eggs on nettles and will hibernate in garages, sheds and barns. Bramblings Similar in appearance to the chaffinch, with the male having a black head during the summer months. They enjoy the company of others, often forming large flocks, sometimes in the many thousands and often joining forces with chaffinches. They like beech woods and adjacent farmland, eating insects in the summer and seeds during the winter.. Cuckoo-pint berries Known to many as ‘Lords and Ladies’. This curious plant has almost more names than any other. Most are humorous, such as ‘Kitty come down the lane, jump up and kiss me’. It’s unusual and attractiveness aside, the red berries are highly poisonous. The starch found in the rhizomes were used as a thickening agent for laundry in the Elizabethan era. Shrews One of our most abundant mammals, living almost everywhere, but rarely seen. They have a distinctive narrow pointed snout, with brown fur on their back and whitish underneath. After a summer’s breeding their numbers are at their highest now. They are often found abandoned by predators, as a liquid produced from glands on the skin is foul tasting.