Cumbria Biodiversity Data Centre’s species database has almost 3 million individual records. Thousands of species are included in this database but two of the most commonly recorded species are Red and Grey Squirrels. This reflects the level of interest in these two species, conserving the iconic native Red Squirrel while trying to control the invasive, but often personable, Grey. Squirrel …
Recording Highlights – 2024 so far
By Stuart Colgate, CBDC Records Centre Officer One of the rarer earthstars in Cumbria, the Beaked earthstar Geastrum pectinatum was recorded in April by Dorothy Iveson in her garden in Carlisle at the base of a conifer hedge. Earthstars are a group of fungi with a characteristic overall form. The separation of species requires a close look at the specimen. …
Cumbria Connect- Future Landscapes Workshops
By Nicola Estill, People and Places Officer at Cumbria Connect Cumbria Connect is a major new partnership working to restore nature across 42,000 hectares of eastern Cumbria. We’re working with farmers, landowners and the local community to create a bright future for wildlife and people. Together, we’re bringing nature back, one wildflower meadow, hedgerow and re-wiggled river at a time. …
A Successful Pebble Event on Walney Shore
By Sylvia Woodhead and Audrey Brown, Cumbria GeoConservation Audrey Brown, President of Cumbria GeoConservation, organised a very successful Pebble Event on Walney shore, for GeoWeek, at the end of May 2024, which was also half term week for schools. We based ourselves in the Family Room at the Round House Hub and Café at Biggar Bank. Thorough preparation ensured success …
How to take part in Cumbria Wild Watch 2024
Help biodiversity this year by taking part in the first-ever Cumbria Wild Watch. Cumbria Wild Watch has been developed by Cumbria Biodiversity Data Centre as part of the PLACE (Paths to Leadership: Active Community Engagement) project led by Cumbria Development Education Centre and partners Another Way, Cumbria Action for Sustainability (CAfS), and Lakeland Arts. Between 27-30 June 2024, spend an …
Cumbrian Yellowhammer survey
Take part in Cumbria Bird Club’s 2024 Cumbrian Yellowhammer mapping survey. If you spot (or have seen or heard) a Yellowhammer, please record it here: https://canvis.app/2fnuJe The Yellowhammer (Emberiza citrinella) is resident in the UK and has been recorded across Cumbria but their numbers are generally declining across the country: they are a red-listed species which means they are considered …
Cumbria Invertebrate Group
If there was a Cumbria Invertebrate Group, would you join? Cumbria has various natural history interest groups – Bat group, Fungus group, Botany group, Amphibian and Reptile group etc – there is no group organising field trips specifically for invertebrates. There is a facebook group for Cumbria Insects and Invertebrates but the contributors are either interested members looking for IDs …
Bittern at Gosling Sike!
Maddy Marshall of Cumbria Wildlife Trust provides an account of a sighting earlier this year: Reports of sightings of a Bittern at Gosling Sike Nature Reserve in Carlisle began in early December 2023. By mid December, these sightings were confirmed by a local wildlife enthusiast who managed to take a picture of the bird. This was quite an achievement in …
Nature in Cumbria Survey
Cumbria Local Nature Recovery Strategy The Cumbria Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) team have launched a new survey aiming to get the public’s thoughts on nature in Cumbria. We want to know what nature means to you, why it is important and what you think we should be doing to help nature in Cumbria. Your answers will be invaluable to …