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#newyearnewme

We asked our local wildlife recorders what top tip they would give to someone starting their journey of wildlife recording for the New Year

1. Start off simple. Learn a few new species at a time and get to grips with them for a few weeks or months before moving on to others. You don’t want to overwhelm yourself with too much information to remember at the start. 

You will need: 

• A mushroom fruiting body, preferably an older one. It can be any type of mushroom, but cap and stem mushrooms are easiest and work best.  - You can also use supermarket fungi! 

• Printer paper. Black or white will usually work some mushrooms have very light or dark spores so you may want to try on both.  

• A glass bowl or cup large enough to cover the mushroom.  

• A Ziploc bag for storage or some clear sticky back plastic. 

• Disposable gloves  

How often would you say you are mindful?  Do you know what being mindful involves, how to do it or what it actually means? 

During the last 6 weeks I have been on a full-time placement at the Jersey Biodiversity Centre. Throughout this placement I have had the opportunity to undertake a wide-variety of work, which includes conducting various surveys and writing articles for the public. Although there was a wide-variety of surveys to conduct while focusing on a wide-variety of species, biodiversity conservation is at the heart of everything at the Jersey Biodiversity Centre. 

Now the weather is better it is time to get counting the pollinators!   

As patches are flowering across the island, either as a dedicated pollinator patch or as a wild garden from no mow may, it is time to see what animals are using these spaces. You will need good weather to complete the survey. If the sky is clear a minimum of 13°C is needed to complete the survey or if the sky is cloudy then a minimum temperature for a count is 15°C

We are currently carrying out surveys to look into the biodiversity found in hedgerows in Jersey. We will compare what we find before and after the branchage happens. Hopefully we will be able to carry out these surveys over the next few years to have a better idea of how the branchage might be affecting our biodiversity.

As the spring weather warms, a recent addition to Jersey’s biodiversity begins to rouse. Asian Hornet (Vespa velutina nigrithorax, also known as yellow legged hornet) queens emerge from hibernation to create new nests.

 
Asian Hornets were accidentally introduced to France in 2004 and have since spread throughout France, Spain and into Portugal and Italy. Being so close to the Cotentin Peninsular it was only a matter of time before it arrived in Jersey. The first Jersey sighting was in August 2016.

We have four species of reptiles on Jersey - Slow Worms, Grass Snake, Wall Lizards and Green Lizards.

With the sunny weather, temperatures rising and the arrival of spring there have been more and more reptile records coming in through the Jersey Biodiversity Centre Facebook page, Jersey Wildlife and through our online recording form.

It's surprising on such a small island that you are never too far away from spotting a reptile. Whether you have never seen one before or are a regular lizard spotter the feeling of seeing them close to home is stunning.

The Jersey toad (Bufo spinosus, known locally as the Crapaud) has an iconic status and was once a familiar sight in island ponds and waterways. Recently numbers have declined and so, since 2005, conservationists have been using information from Jersey residents to create an island-wide picture of the toad’s distribution, abundance and breeding patterns.

Come see us at Wild About Jersey where we will be looking at earthworms with UK experts Emma and Kerry from the Earth Worm Society of Britain.  

Throughout the day we will have earthworms on the show so you can your practice measuring skills and learn about their biology and life underground.

At 12:30-13:00 on Saturday and Sunday you can join in with an earthworm survey. Which involves digging and checking which of the three groups they belong to, checking soil types so be prepared for muddy hands (but gloves will be provided!).