Nuts, berries and fruits survey results now available

24 January 2008

Welcome to the Wildsquare results newsletter. Thank you to everyone who has entered their results online. I hope you enjoy seeing the results on the animated graphs and maps. Look on the survey page on the website to see how many nuts, berries and fruit were found near where you live.

As you may remember 2007 was a year of major weather occurrences. Due to the warm spring, very wet summer and mild autumn we have seen different effects on the environment and wildlife that lives there.

The met office website has said that 2007 was the wettest summer in recorded history, but on average was the warmest year since records began. Even though it probably didn’t feel like a warm year to us, the Wildsquare results show that most nuts, berries and fruit ripened a lot earlier due to the milder weather.

Blackberry:

You will expect to see the fruit ripening earlier in warmer years as fruiting is linked to flowering. If the bramble flowers early, then it will be pollinated earlier and it will develop its fruit earlier. This will mean a warm spring will have quite an effect on autumn fruit production. The most blackberries were seen in September in the South East of England.

Hawthorn:

The hawthorn fruit production is affected by the weather, but Hawthorn berry production is affected by the previous summers’ weather when the flower buds are formed. If temperatures rise, then this would increase berry production and potentially make it earlier. The most Hawthorns were seen in September in the South East of England.

A large number of the nuts, berries and fruit we asked you to look for had their highest numbers in September. The berries and fruit may have ripened earlier due to the wet and warm weather during spring and summer. Berries are an important food source for many birds during the winter, especially when the ground is too frozen to hunt worms or snails. They will be stocking up on all the fruit and berries that are around now to prepare for the winter.

The highest numbers in September were for blackberries, elderberries and dog rose. The highest numbers in October were for Hawthorn, acorns and conkers. You may play ‘conkers’ when we go back to school in the Autumn?

In November, most of the nuts, berries and fruit numbers were very low. This will be because a lot of them will have been eaten by wildlife already. The highest numbers were for Holly and Ivy. This is no surprise, as Holly and Ivy are traditionally used as Christmas decorations.

To view the results in full, in our great animated presentation click here