Every Sunday there is also a new episode of the Stuifmail podcast. Listen to it here:
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Ten redwings in the garden on holly berries
Margot Kortan saw about ten redwings in her garden from Sunday to Tuesday last week. Those birds have eaten all the berries of the holly there. That in itself is very smart, because the berries of holly ripen late and are therefore still edible. Berries of the rowan, for example, are already overripe. That could cause problems for the redwings. Alcohol develops in overripe berries. Then the redwings become so-called drunk thrushes. These drunk thrushes are easy prey for birds of prey, because they move uncontrollably and do not fly away quickly. Later, Margot saw at least a hundred more redwings in her garden. What a feast for the eyes that must have been. Early Wednesday morning they all headed north. I think Margot really enjoyed this, thanks for reporting!
Have beavers been active here?
Jolanda Nieuwlands lives in Oisterwijk on the Voorste Stroom and recently saw trees surrounding it. She wonders if this has to do with beavers. If you look very closely at the photo you will see that the trees have been gnawed, causing them to fall. This indeed indicates that a beaver is active there. These animals do this gnawing for two reasons. Firstly, because they need food. The bark of various soft tree species, especially willow, is suitable for this. Of course, a fallen tree provides even more food. Secondly, they let the trees fall so that they can take them with them to build a castle. They also gnaw large, thick trees, causing them to fall over, but that is to retain water. Those trees are too heavy to drag, but they ensure that they fall into the right place.
Blackbirds are tearing up the entire lawn, holes everywhere
John Verhelst has been bothered by blackbirds lately. They tear up the entire lawn. He wonders how to get rid of them. I don’t think the blackbirds are to blame, it’s what’s in the soil of his lawn. I think he has a lot of leatherjackets, crane fly larvae, under his lawn. Blackbirds really like them.
So the nuisance caused by blackbirds, which peck at the lawn, is actually a nuisance caused by a large number of leatherjackets. How do you get rid of that? The best thing is for John to take a look around the website of the Knowledge and Advice Center for Animal Pests (KAD). For convenience I have here the link to the special page about leatherettes has been added.
Is this the green tuberous manite?
During a walk, Pieter Stokkermans came across a round mushroom that looked green. He wondered if this is the infamous green tuber amanite. If you look very closely at the photo you will not see a stem on the mushroom. So it is certainly not an amanita, because they have a cap and a stem (see the photo of the fly agaric).
What Pieter did see was a green potato beetle. This is more common in potato bovines, but they are normally yellow in color. The shape is basically hemispherical or tuberous, but almost always flattened above. So what you see above the ground is the fruiting body and that fruiting body contains the purple-black spores. These spores come out through a hole at the top, which enters the fruiting body when the spores are ripe. Rain or hitting the potato bovis will cause a cloud of spores to come out. People often call the potato bovist also the pop mushroom.
Bat on the wall, what now?
Berny Fransen sent me a photo of a bat on a wall. He wonders what to do. My answer is: initially nothing. This looks like a common pipistrelle bat. Perhaps the animal has crawled outside for the first time and has not yet found its way back to a safe shelter. The photo is from January 29 and I think the next day this bat was gone again. Common pipistrelle bats, with a maximum length of fifty millimeters, are one of the smallest bat species in Europe. The menu of these bats mainly includes small insects such as mosquitoes, sedges, moths and lacewings. In principle, they catch about three hundred of these prey animals in one night. They come out about thirty minutes after sunset and continue hunting for eight hours straight.
Where do finches nest, never see them in nesting boxes?
Piet van Veen wants to know where the finches nest, because he never sees them in the nesting boxes. That’s right. Finches do not nest in nesting boxes, but in hedges, shrubs or trees. They make their cup-shaped nests very artificially and firmly, well hidden high in trees. Against a branch or in a dense bush. You can encounter them in many locations, because they breed in forests, parks, gardens and other places where there are trees. They make their nests from moss and grass. The nests are finally finished with animal hair and feathers. From April, sometimes earlier, to July they often have two broods.
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Wildlife in the Netherlands: busy beaver – AVROTROS
With a head-body length of seventy to one hundred centimeters, the beaver is the largest rodent in Europe. Beavers were extinct in the Netherlands in 1826. Since 1988, a number of organizations (including the World Wildlife Fund and land management organizations and governments) have started releasing beavers. This is now a fairly common species here again. Beavers are often confused with the coypu, the muskrat and sometimes with the otter. This largest rodent in Europe can be found in swamps, streams, ponds and rivers that are sufficiently covered with trees and shrubs.
Rats on the bird food and in the peanut butter jar, what to do?
Kees van Dongen saw a rat scurrying around the bird food one evening, especially near the peanut butter jar. He’s not happy about that, so he asks me what he can do about it. If there are rats in your neighborhood, it is best to place open jars of peanut butter indoors. Rats and mice love peanut butter. In addition, it is good to ensure that there is no bird food on the shelf at night. Therefore, feed so much bird food that it is gone before it gets dark. If you leave this and it rains during the night, there is a chance that the food will become moldy. This can be disastrous for birds if they pick it up. It is therefore better to provide minimal bird food. You don’t have to worry about them coming up short. So it clearly applies here that excess is harmful.
More and more dead trees with an orange glow
Katja van der Velden sees more and more trees in the forests with an orange glow on the trunks. She sent me a photo and asked: what is this? It is true that there are more and more orange-colored trees in our Brabant forests. Especially on dead standing and lying trees. This algae also occurs on the bark of living trees, but it is less visible. The name of this orange algae is orange tree algae. Previously you never saw this in our forests. But about fifteen years ago, this tree algae came to the Netherlands from the south of Europe, including Portugal. This is due to global warming and yet also due to the cleaner air. Before this orange tree algae was present in our country, you only saw green algae. The name algae, also called seaweeds, covers a large diverse group of organisms. What algae species have in common is that – just like plants – they get their energy from sunlight while simultaneously producing oxygen. For the rest, there are many differences between the algae species.
Beautiful photos section
In the beautiful photos section, this time a photo taken by Jenny Wiedlewsky. She captured one of the noisiest forest birds. A nuthatch, here quietly sitting on a tree trunk.
Nature tip
A Valentine’s Day walk through the Loonse and Drunense Dunes will be organized on Sunday, February 11. This lasts from ten in the morning to twelve in the afternoon
Now that Valentine’s Day is almost here, love is in the air. Nature is preparing for a new beginning. Animals show themselves more and are looking for the opposite sex. How does this courtship work? Do animals also give each other presents, just like people? Can the partner be trusted? How do hedgehogs actually do it? You will learn this and much more during this varied excursion.
More information:
• Registration is required and possible through this link.
• Departure point is the Bosch en Duin parking lot Schoorstraat 50 in Udenhout.
• Members of Natuurmonumenten pay seven euros for participation, non-members ten euros.
• Wear sturdy walking shoes!
• Walking in the dunes is always a bit more challenging, due to the loose sand in some parts.
• Wear clothes that suit the weather.
• Always check yourself for ticks afterwards!
• Dogs are not allowed on this excursion.