Some like it hot
Bright-green parakeets are a familiar sight in the South East, but now they and other exotic creatures are heading north, says Springwatch’s Iolo Williams
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Step outside and you can’t fail to notice the changes. Whether you’re a gardener whose daffodils bloom earlier, a birder following the northward shift of glossy ibis, or a farmer with thirsty crops, climate change is taking hold around us. The last four years have been within the five warmest on record.
We should all take notice, however, of what’s happening in London. The capital offers a glimpse into what the future might hold for all of us and how our hotter and drier summers will change the nation’s wildlife. Its location already places it in one of the country’s warmest spots, but all its heat-retentive concrete, steel and tarmac mean it’s around 3°C warmer than the surrounding countryside. While it’s further down that road than the rest of us, it shows us what’s coming our way.
One colourful bird – the ring-necked parakeet – demonstrates the capital’s predictive properties. These hardy parrots – pets who escaped or were deliberately released into the wild – were recorded breeding in the south-east 57 years ago. Since then, they have been marching northward and are well established in Birmingham, Sheffield, Manchester, Liverpool and Newcastle. In 2017, they successfully nested in Glasgow for the first time.
Climate change could mean that the ring-necked parakeet is not the only new and exotic resident to flourish. So far, six-foot Aesculapian snakes have been held in check. They live quietly alongside Regent’s Canal, eating rats, just as they would in their warmer European native range.
Iolo Williams. BBC Cymru Wales/Aden
They don’t do as well in colder temperatures – individuals living among a small population in north Wales after escaping from the Welsh Mountain Zoo in the 1970s have been growing more slowly. But with an increasing number of heatwaves reaching Mediterranean highs, they’re only going to thrive.
Red-eared terrapins – pets bought during the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles craze – can be found basking by London’s lakes. Released when their owners realised they could grow to the size of dinner plates, they’re an invasive species, consuming our fish, tadpoles and young ducklings.
So far, the prolonged and sustained weeks of heat needed for their eggs to hatch – they’re native to the southern US states – has stopped them breeding successfully. But experts worry that, as the heat rises, that could change.
Hotter and drier summers will change the nation’s wildlife
Climate change doesn’t just bring us exotic residents, it can also threaten the animals already here. In 2020, London birdwatchers noticed fewer blackbirds in their gardens. Usutu virus, a mosquito-borne disease that causes significant mortality to some songbirds, particularly blackbirds, was later discovered in the capital.
First identified in South Africa, usutu has now been recorded across much of south England, and detected in Scotland for the first time this spring. The spread of the virus has been linked to our warmer and longer summers, which is perfect for mosquitos. What this means for the future of our blackbird population is unclear.
On Springwatch, we’ll be taking a look at the effects of climate change on insect communities, with the help of the Natural History Museum. The macro world is a crucial indicator, given how quickly insect populations respond to change and how important they are in propping up the food chain.
The Museum’s wildlife garden is one of the most intensively studied patches of land in the world, with experts monitoring everything that crawls, flutters or swims within it. Monitoring how insects, on its experimental plot, use plants that are more resistant to climate change, could help us understand how we can make outdoor spaces better for wildlife in the face of warming temperatures.
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The wildlife of Britain is changing faster than most people realise and will accelerate in the coming decades. We need to get to grips with this very real future if we are to protect our insects, birds, mammals and aquatic life. It’s vitally important that we pay attention.
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