Looking out of our windows at the snow and frost hardened gardens recently, we could be excused for thinking that global warming is just a myth. Ironically though, if global warming is a reality, then we can expect this kind of winter weather more often.
A quick look in any atlas will show that we are on the same latitude as Canada and Siberia. That raises the question: why are our winters usually warmer than these cold snowy places? The answer is the North Atlantic Drift, commonly known as the Gulf Stream. This current carries heat from the equatorial regions of South America, diagonally across the Atlantic Ocean to the Arctic Circle, warming us in the process.
The reason we have been suffering this Siberian weather is because of a blocking high pressure. It has been sat over the country deflecting the Gulf Stream away from Britain and sending it across Europe.
Scientific models show that global warming is weakening the Gulf Stream. The National Oceanography Centre of Southampton has indicated that if it were to shut down completely, temperatures in Britain would drop by 4o-6o Celsius within twenty years. This temperature drop would not be evenly spread over the seasons but concentrated more on the winter months. Brrrrrh.
So if global warming continues, we around Bideford can expect balmy summers but freezing winters. I reckon it's time to sit in the warm, go through the seed catalogues, and think of summer, don't you?
10 TOP TIPS TO HELP THE BIRDS DURING WINTER
If we think this weather is difficult for us, what about our garden wildlife? Here are ten top tips to help our birdlife long term.
1) Make sure to feed the birds regularly. If you start feeding, don't stop. They will come to recognise your garden as a food source. Stopping suddenly will be disastrous for them.
2) Bear in mind that peak feeding times are morning and the early afternoon.
3) Install a bird table for food scraps such as cheese, cake, porridge oats, unsalted bacon fat, pastry, cooked rice and pasta, even baked potatoes (without jackets.)
4) Put out fat balls in proper feeders. Remove them from the plastic net because the net can catch their little feet with tragic results.
5) Don't forget the ground feeders like thrushes and blackbirds. Make sure plenty of old fruit is thrown onto the paths or lawns for them.
6) Seeds are a dry food so make sure there is a supply of fresh water. Try to keep it unfrozen if possible. Although, if it's snowy, birds will peck at it to gain some moisture.
7) Install plenty of nest boxes for use as roosting sites in winter and breeding sites in spring.
8) Grow bird friendly plants such as cotoneaster for berries, teasels for seeds, and ivies for roosting and shelter.
9) Feed crushed peanuts, not whole. Combine with a standard seed mix.
10) Why not sit down and plan a wildlife friendly garden to develop next year?
NATURE NOTE:
This cold weather has brought some not so common visitors. Recently I have had a couple of redwings and fieldfares in my garden.
A quick look in any atlas will show that we are on the same latitude as Canada and Siberia. That raises the question: why are our winters usually warmer than these cold snowy places? The answer is the North Atlantic Drift, commonly known as the Gulf Stream. This current carries heat from the equatorial regions of South America, diagonally across the Atlantic Ocean to the Arctic Circle, warming us in the process.
The reason we have been suffering this Siberian weather is because of a blocking high pressure. It has been sat over the country deflecting the Gulf Stream away from Britain and sending it across Europe.
Scientific models show that global warming is weakening the Gulf Stream. The National Oceanography Centre of Southampton has indicated that if it were to shut down completely, temperatures in Britain would drop by 4o-6o Celsius within twenty years. This temperature drop would not be evenly spread over the seasons but concentrated more on the winter months. Brrrrrh.
So if global warming continues, we around Bideford can expect balmy summers but freezing winters. I reckon it's time to sit in the warm, go through the seed catalogues, and think of summer, don't you?
10 TOP TIPS TO HELP THE BIRDS DURING WINTER
If we think this weather is difficult for us, what about our garden wildlife? Here are ten top tips to help our birdlife long term.
1) Make sure to feed the birds regularly. If you start feeding, don't stop. They will come to recognise your garden as a food source. Stopping suddenly will be disastrous for them.
2) Bear in mind that peak feeding times are morning and the early afternoon.
3) Install a bird table for food scraps such as cheese, cake, porridge oats, unsalted bacon fat, pastry, cooked rice and pasta, even baked potatoes (without jackets.)
4) Put out fat balls in proper feeders. Remove them from the plastic net because the net can catch their little feet with tragic results.
5) Don't forget the ground feeders like thrushes and blackbirds. Make sure plenty of old fruit is thrown onto the paths or lawns for them.
6) Seeds are a dry food so make sure there is a supply of fresh water. Try to keep it unfrozen if possible. Although, if it's snowy, birds will peck at it to gain some moisture.
7) Install plenty of nest boxes for use as roosting sites in winter and breeding sites in spring.
8) Grow bird friendly plants such as cotoneaster for berries, teasels for seeds, and ivies for roosting and shelter.
9) Feed crushed peanuts, not whole. Combine with a standard seed mix.
10) Why not sit down and plan a wildlife friendly garden to develop next year?
NATURE NOTE:
This cold weather has brought some not so common visitors. Recently I have had a couple of redwings and fieldfares in my garden.