White-clawed crayfish stranded after the River Kent flooded. 6 December 2015 What is the impact of this winter’s floods on the ecology of Cumbria’s rivers? After the wettest December on record , continued through January and not over yet. Photographing stranded minnows, stickleback, bullhead and white-clawed crayfish on the river bank by Kendal Parish Church I tried to imagine the scale of devastation all along the River Kent. And in the Eden catchment which I explore in Cumbrian Contrasts. With the same SSSI designation and similar species for Scandal Beck at Smardale, both rivers have otter.
BBC’s Winter Watch from the Cairngorms showed the impact of flooding on the River Dee and its otters, with unprecedented numbers of otter cubs arriving in rescue centres. The young flushed out of their holts and separated from their parents. Winter Watch is gathering information from animal rescue centres across the UK to collate data on the impact of this winter’s floods on the ecology of our rivers. Kendalians can see dramatic changes to the bed of the River Kent, great banks of gravels scoured out and relocated by the storms. What we see so rarely is the consequences for all the creatures dislodged and battered and stranded by a raging river that bursts its banks.
Looking down on the Lyth Valley that conclusion that for mice, field voles and small mammals would drown was inescapable. Winter Watch evidence helps interpret the floods of Cumbria and their impact on wildlife and ecology. They show a wildlife rescue hospital receiving unusual numbers of birds of prey for this time of year: owls, buzzards, kestrels, peregrines. The turbulent weather of the last two months exacerbates their feeding difficulty. With small mammals drowning they have difficulty finding food. Barn owls fly silently but to do this their feathers have less water-proofing oils. Their ability to hunt is reduced by 27% because of it.
Gradually, the impact of the floods becomes apparent. Only gradually. It will take a long time for the full extent of the damage to become clear. So too for the urban environment. The extent and scale of damage to bulldings continues to be revealed. As towns and cities grow the underlying hydrology is masked and hidden. At times of floods we are become rather more aware.
Remarkable swings in the weather, says weatherman Nick Miller. Unseasonal mildness and high temperatures account for the absence of winter migrants. Far fewer visiting birds. An absence I noticed and grieved over. Fieldfare, redwing and the occasional waxwing year are the glory of winter.
Looking down on the Lyth Valley that conclusion that for mice, field voles and small mammals would drown was inescapable. Winter Watch evidence helps interpret the floods of Cumbria and their impact on wildlife and ecology. They show a wildlife rescue hospital receiving unusual numbers of birds of prey for this time of year: owls, buzzards, kestrels, peregrines. The turbulent weather of the last two months exacerbates their feeding difficulty. With small mammals drowning they have difficulty finding food. Barn owls fly silently but to do this their feathers have less water-proofing oils. Their ability to hunt is reduced by 27% because of it.
Gradually, the impact of the floods becomes apparent. Only gradually. It will take a long time for the full extent of the damage to become clear. So too for the urban environment. The extent and scale of damage to bulldings continues to be revealed. As towns and cities grow the underlying hydrology is masked and hidden. At times of floods we are become rather more aware.
Remarkable swings in the weather, says weatherman Nick Miller. Unseasonal mildness and high temperatures account for the absence of winter migrants. Far fewer visiting birds. An absence I noticed and grieved over. Fieldfare, redwing and the occasional waxwing year are the glory of winter.
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