Hedgehogs, salmon and birds at risk after dry summer, says Natural England | Drought

The hedgehogs, the salmon and the birds were endangered by the dry conditions of this summer, said Natural England, while the dryness conditions continue.

The Government of the Nature Government Dog approached the National Government Representatives and stakeholders at its meeting to warn the disastrous effect on the fauna that the dry weather has had.

The hedgehogs and birds in the garden have trouble, especially because they could not dig for worms and other insects in the dry and compacted soil. They were also dehydrated, without puddles to drink.

Frai swimming pools for the Atlantic salmon and natterjack toads also dried, said Natural England, which means that they have experienced a bad reproductive season.

Birds of wetlands such as the duck of Pelleter and the Curlew have also seen their swampy habitat disappear in dry weather.

Natural England also said that important peat bogs have dried and at least 3,000 hectares (7,410 acres) of land on sites of special scientific interest were destroyed by forest fires.

There were seven consecutive months of lower precipitation than the average, which plunged the country under drought conditions. Despite heavy recent rains, tanks and groundwater remains at low levels. The tanks dropped by 1.4% last week and are now 56.1% on average in England. The average for this time of year is 82.8%. Last month, crowned a warm and dry summer which was the warmest ever recorded for the United Kingdom since 1884, and the majority of England recorded less than half of the average precipitation for August.

The situation with water deficit in England was defined as a “significant national incident” according to the number of affected areas and the impact observed in the environment.

Tony Juniper, President of Natural England, said: “The drought conditions have a catastrophic effect on our flora and our fauna, which lasts long after the return of the rain. Some Atlantic salmon streams have dried and there are populations of birds and amphibians in terms of guards.

“We must act now to make our landscapes more resilient, including thanks to the creation of wet areas more to help to deal with the effects of drought and floods.”

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) noticed bays of ripening of weeks earlier in its gardens across the country. This led to fears for birds and other animals, as if the fruit was too early, it can mean a shortage in the last fall and early winter, when food is rare.

Guy Barter, the horticultural chief of the HRS, said: “A shortage of berries in winter later, because they are now ripening, could lead to birds short of food.

Barter added that blackberries, cotoneaster, brown and holly have already come out, but that certain plants such as Pyracantha and ivy do not yet have ripe berries. “Consequently, when planting fauna, it would be prudent to plant a wide variety of bay plants for a propagation of maturity of the berries,” he advised.

Mark Roberts, a specialist in water management at the National Trust, said: “This year’s drought left a clear note on nature. The dried springs in the Lake District had an impact bees and amphibians like the frogs.

Experts have warned that it would take an autumn and a humid winter to reverse the seven -month continuous impacts of precipitation lower than the average.