A women has died after eating soup she had made with poisonous mushrooms. The woman picked death cap mushrooms mistaking them for an edible variety. The mushrooms are highly poisonous and there is no antidote. This particular mushroom is responsible for most cases of mushroom poisoning so it’s really worth knowing your mushrooms if you are planning on going foraging. If in doubt its probably best not to eat them.

Is the message at one park in Edinburgh. Park wardens at Holyrood Park have been confiscating white bread and replacing it with healthier snacks. Officials claim that white bread causes arthritis, birth defects and starvation so have taken the measures to protect the parks birdlife. The RSPB on the other hand say that all bread is fine providing that birds have a balanced diet. The message here is clear, if you want to feed the birds, particularly at Holyrood Park then wholemeal bread or seed is the thing to buy.

The past few days have been almost warm compared to the cold and wet weather of the past few months, and I have been hopeful spring is finally here. Most of our crops will be getting a late start this year but seeing some sunshine means my thoughts have turned to planting. It is with some dismay then, that I read this article. It suggests that gardeners should be braced for a slug invasion this year as last year’s wet summer provided ideal breeding conditions. At this rate it could be difficult to get anything to grow. I might have to resort to the slug pellets.

If you have a bit of spare cash and want something a little out of the ordinary, then you might be interested in this dodo bone. Being auctioned at Christie’s the bone is a fragment of femur from an extinct dodo. It is thought it will fetch between £10,000 and £15,000 and is the first dodo bone to be auctioned since 1934.

This two headed bull shark was recently found by a fisherman in the Gulf of Mexico. Discovered by a fisherman when he opened the uterus of an adult shark it is thought to be the first confirmed discovery of a two headed bull shark foetus. It is thought that the shark would have died soon after birth had it gone to term.

Just when it looked as though we were done with snow a fresh lot has arrived. It has been falling fairly rapidly so it will be interesting to see if it causes the same sort of disruption on the roads as we experienced a few weeks ago. Once again the weather appears to ruined my plans to spend the day at the allotment. At this rate we are unlikely to have the plot dug and ready for planting, the weather has simply been either too cold or too wet to get any work done. We may have to content ourselves with planting a small area and digging the rest throughout the summer. Lets hope this latest lot of snow doesn’t last long.

Ministers are calling for a plastic bag tax to be included in the next Budget. Under the scheme plastic bags would be subject to a 5p charge, It is hoped this would discourage people from using them and encourage a move towards more reusable bag use. A similar idea has already been tried in Wales where it has proven to be quite successful. The question is, would a 5p charge make you think twice about using a plastic carrier bag?

It’s been quite a few years since we last had snow in March. It arrived rather rapidly on Monday afternoon and appears to have taken people by surprise. Certainly the local council, who neglected to grit any of the roads. The resulting chaos saw people stuck in 4 hour long traffic jams, simply trying to complete a short journey through Sevenoaks and many just abandoned their cars and walked home. Personally I was lucky that I didn’t need to go anywhere and will remain tucked up at home in the warm until the last of the nasty stuff has melted.

If this article is correct the latest weapon in the fight against the non native grey squirrel could be the pine marten. It seems that pine martens help to drive out the grey squirrel leaving the red squirrels to increase in numbers. In areas where there is a strong population of pine martens there now appears to less grey squirrels. The pine martens appear to eat a large number of the grey squirrels whilst the red squirrel is more agile and less likely to feed on the ground making it harder to catch.

Pine martens were almost extinct in the UK but have been reintroduced in some areas, increasing in Scotland and Ireland. Although they are still rare in England and Wales research shows they could be useful in controlling the grey squirrels numbers. Perhaps its time to introduce a few more pine martens as a natural means of culling squirrels.

Slightly more adventurous diners might be interested to see that one of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s restaurants in Devon has recently started serving squirrel. Whilst I have read of other restaurants putting squirrel on the menu it doesn’t yet seem to be a popular choice. The River Cottage Canteen in Plymouth has been serving it braised in a tomato and red wine sauce. The meat which has been likened to rabbit seems a logical choice for the menu when you consider the amount of grey squirrels that are culled each year. I wonder where I can try some near to me, or perhaps I need to take my shotgun out in the garden .

At A time when many people might be considering cutting back on certain meat products, scientists are urging us to halve our meat consumption. A UN study has shown how farming practices destroy the natural world. One thing that could avoid severe environmental damage is if people eat half as much meat as usual. The current horsemeat scandal has been seen as a good time to publicise the problems of meat consumption including the consumption of grain by intensively farmed livestock which could be better used for human consumption. The intensive use of fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides is also seen as a huge risk to the environment. The answer it seems could be putting more vegetables on your plate and less meat. Alternatively eating more chicken and pork could help as these are seen to cause less environmental damage.

It’s always interesting when a new cat moves into the area. One of the first things they do is explore all the surrounding territory and work out how far they can go and what other cats are about. Our cats have coped quite well with two moving in just next door and now seem to have a tentative agreement as to which parts of the garden they use at any given time. This large white cat pictured right appeared out of nowhere the other day and breaking all the rules decided he wanted to stroll right down the middle of our garden. Our smaller white cat Ollie and his brother Oscar took offence to this and have made their feelings clear on the subject. No doubt the cat will be back and there will be many more battles before this territory war is resolved. It is interesting watching it all take place.

It seems wind turbines are spreading across the UK quite quickly. According to this article more than 1,200 new wind turbines will appear in the British countryside next year. 763 onshore turbines are due to be built this year and 4,366 are currently in operation. 7,483 more turbines have been approved and are yet to be built. Wind power now provides around 10% of the country’s electrical needs. Of course the main problem is that this power is only generated when the wind is actually blowing. It does equate to 8.2GW of power which is enough to power 4.5 million homes for a year.

A new study has found that British moths are experiencing a dramatic decline. Three native species have become extinct since 2000 and the population of moths in the southern UK has dropped 40% over the past 40 years. Even once common species are now in danger of extinction. It is thought the main factor behind the decline is habitat loss. I’m unsure what types of habitat moths prefer but the article suggests plants such as nettles are good for moth caterpillars, I wonder if its simply a case of concentrating on leaving more wild areas for the creatures.

I am often amazed at how long some plants can go without water. The spider plants in my office being one example, despite watering only every few months they continue to thrive. This article, however, is about a bottle garden that is still alive despite having only been watered once in 53 years.

David Latimer planted a spiderworts inside the bottle in 1960 and last watered it in 1972 before sealing it shut. The plant has continued to grow and looks like this today. I wonder how much longer it will continue to do so.

We get a lot of wildlife in the garden but it’s not often we have a heron. I managed to get a few pictures when this one landed in one of the trees the other day.

One thing I have learnt from watching the foxes is that they love snow. We don’t usually see too much of them in the garden but as soon as we have a covering of snow they come out to play. This little guy spent ages jumping around and running up and down even posing for a couple of pictures.

We have had a few inches of snow in the past few days and although it’s nothing compared to the snow we experienced a few years back, at 30 weeks pregnant it’s enough to limit me going out. The garden looks quite attractive and the cats have been enjoying the weather and pouncing in the snow. Unfortunately I have been feeling too ill the past few days to build a snowman but am hoping to get to it before the snow melts.

Having an allotment plot, I’m not a great lover of slugs and spend a lot of time making deterrents and traps to keep them away from my crops. I was disturbed to read about a new variety of so called “killer slug” that it seems could be making an appearance. The slug which appears to have been imported on salad leaves from Spain can grow up to five inches long and eats among other things other slugs. It seems the coming year, then may be another battle with the slugs.

Feeding the ducks with leftover bread is a favourite pastime for many but experts have warned too much white bread can be bad for them. It seems it can leave ducks bloated, ill and in danger from predators as it is less nutritious than their normal food. Experts have warned that ducks may even develop a craving for treats such as bread, leftover chips and takeaways and become reluctant to forage for food. People have been urged to swap white bread for more nutritious food such as grains and pieces of cut up vegetables. So next time you feed the ducks perhaps you might need to take them some more healthy snacks. 

In what could be encouraging news for tigers this article claims they are making something of a comeback in parts of Asia. The director for Asia Programs at the Wildlife Conservation Society has praised India, Thailand and Russia for government initiatives which are helping tiger numbers. Six remaining species of tiger live in just 13 Asian countries but it is government commitment that is needed to make any conservation efforts a success.

In India there are strict anti poaching patrols in the Nagarahole and Bandipur National Parks as well as surveillance, scientific monitoring and the voluntary relocation of people away from tiger habitats. Russia is currently drafting a new law that makes the transport, sale and possession of endangered animals a criminal offence and closes a loophole that allows poachers to claim they have found endangered species like tigers already dead. They have also announced that they will create a new corridor for safe tiger passage to link tiger breeding strongholds in Russia and China. Thailand are also taking strong measures to tackle poaching and have increased enforcement and anti poaching patrols. It’s all good news but I can’t help noticing the absence of China in the article.

Claims research from the national Autonomous University of Mexico. The research has found that house finches such as those pictured have been filling their nests with cigarette butts in order to repel mites. The nicotine in the discarded filter acts as a natural pesticide against the mites as well as providing nest insulation.

Living just down the road from Tunbridge Wells I was interested to read the following article about a possible bigfoot sighting. Residents of the town claim to have seen a giant ape like beast running around the countryside. The creature is supposedly 8ft tall with demonic red eyes and long arms. The sighting is one of several in recent months although the Kentish Apeman was first spotted nearly 70 years ago. Personally I think its more likely to be man in a gorilla suit but it’s nice to see something of interest in the local news, it can be a little slow around here.

In a sign that our urban foxes might be getting braver I came across a second story about someone being mugged by a fox. Once again it appears the fox was after a bag of groceries. In this instance it allegedly appeared in front of a woman and refused to move before snarling at her. It then made off with a bag of her groceries. I must admit I find the story a little surprising. I am no stranger to urban foxes having at least four which frequently visit my garden. We and my cats tolerate the foxes and life with them peacefully without any issues. If I do happen to come across one in the garden even the biggest of the group will back down and watch me from a distance. I doubt they would ever be tempted enough by the lure of food to approach me and can only assume the foxes in these mugging incidents must be excessively hungry and unable to find food.

Following the story a few months ago where bees were producing M&M coloured honey, I came across this story where they have produced After Eight Honey. The bees finding their usual supply of nectar low this year had sought out other food sources and came across the waste products from a confectionary plant. Whilst the honey has an initial minty taste it does also have an unpleasant metallic aftertaste from the metallic storage skips used to store the fondant waste, making it unsellable. I wonder if anyone will decide to make and market these unusual varieties, whilst not an everyday flavour I’m sure they would sell as a novelty item.

This is interesting it’s an incidence of drunk blackbirds. I had been unaware that birds could get drunk from fermenting berries but it appears that they can. 12 blackbirds in Cumbria were found dead with trauma injuries. A post mortem found that one of the birds had high levels of ethanol in its liver. It seems that all the dead birds had eaten berries from a nearby rowan tree which had fermented in the gut causing them to turn into alcohol. One of the birds which was found to be unsteady on its feet was treated at a local wildlife centre and later made a full recovery.

A world wine shortage has been predicted after experts forecast production will slump to the lowest level in 37 years. Output has been affected in many areas by adverse weather conditions with France’s harvest being affected by winter drought, hailstorms and an arid summer and Italy's crop also suffering weather damage although on a less severe scale. Production is also expected to fall in Argentina, Spain, Hungary and New Zealand. The fall is expected to push up prices as demand exceeds supply.

If you are suffering from a squirrel invasion this year then you might find this article useful. It gives advice on how to keep the squirrels away from your bird table. Tips include greasing poles with Vaseline that squirrels can use to climb up and coating food in chilli which is still edible to birds but distasteful to squirrels. It seems there is a shortage of nuts this winter leading squirrels to target bird tables and nut feeders for food. We have no shortage of squirrels in the garden but have quite an effective deterrent in the form of our cats which love to chase them. I don’t begrudge them the odd bit of food from the bird table if they can get past the cats to eat it.

If you are having a bonfire for Guy Fawkes night then it’s worth heeding the annual warning to check it for hedgehogs before lighting it. Unfortunately a nice pre-made bonfire provides a perfect environment for the creatures. Tips to follow include making your fire as close as possible to the event so that no wildlife creeps inside and giving it a careful check before setting it alight.

This is cute it’s a picture taken when a squirrel used this unusual pumpkin bird feeder. The squirrel trying to get the nuts inside inadvertently made himself a cute little hat.

Staff at Glasgow airport had a surprise when they came across a snake on one of their planes. The Mexican serpent had hidden under one of the seats on the flight from Cancun. It is thought it may have come aboard in an unsuspecting passengers hand luggage. The snake is now in the care of The Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals until a home can be found for it.

I find it interesting reading all the reports looking back at the 1987 hurricane. My local paper has likened the aftermath to the fall out from a wall zone. Whilst the hurricane did indeed affect Sevenoaks, taking six of the seven famous oak trees on the vine, it was no way as dramatic as reported.

I won’t say how old I was in 1987 but I was certainly old enough to remember waking up, having slept through the storm to find the front gate had blown over. Thinking little of I made my way to school as normal to find it was closed and returned home again. Much has been reported about the lack of power in many areas, some of which had none for many weeks, but as I remember the only thing that affected us, was the fact we had no phone line for a week. I guess the main thing that made the storm unusual was the fact that it came out of nowhere with weatherman Michael Fish assuring viewers there would be no hurricane. With the anniversary of the storm looming it seems forecasters this time are taking no chances and have predicted a chance of gales.

I am always interested to see news about big cat sightings in the UK. The last was the Essex lion which eventually appeared to be simply a domestic cat. The latest sighting is in Bedford where two witnesses believe they have seen a lion. A helicopter with a thermal imaging camera, firearms officers and zoo workers with tranquilisers carried out a search for the lion but once again no lion was found. Police have said there is no on-going incident involving a lion. I wonder whether it was simply another oversized pussy cat.

This is interesting it’s the story about bees producing odd coloured honey. Apparently bee keepers in France have noticed that their bees have been producing blue and green honey. Whilst they were initially baffled as to the cause, it seems the bees were feeding on the residue from a nearby M&M factory. The waste products from the factory which produces the red, blue, green, yellow and brown sweets were eaten by the bees and are now colouring the honey. Whilst it may seem amusing for the beekeepers it means they cannot sell the resulting honey product.

A Scottish Whiskey distillery has partnered with Celtic Renewables to turn it’s leftover whiskey into fuel for cars. The leftover whiskey from Tullibardine Distillery in Perthshire will be fed on by bacteria to produce butanol, a fuel that can be used in vehicles. The distillery produces thousands of tonnes of leftover products which cannot be sold as whiskey. It seems like a good idea to make use of a waste product.

This is an interesting idea and although not a new one (I believe they are already on sale overseas) new to the UK market. It’s turning discarded deer antlers into dog chews. The antlers are taken from those that are naturally shed by the deer during the rutting season. Although quite a few people commenting on the article appear not to have read it and believe deer are killed for their antlers, it is in fact simply a way of using a product that would naturally be discarded. The product appears to be quite successful and is now on sale at Pets at Home stores.

We have several apple trees in our garden and the harvest this year has been noticeably down on the previous few years. I was wondering whether it was simply down to the conditions in our garden but it seems I’m not alone. This article claims that apple growers are facing the worst harvest in 15 years. It seems the problem has been the wet weather which has meant bees have been unable to fly and pollinate the blossoms. We have had apples this year but barely enough to eat and make a few pies, whereas usually we have a good enough harvest to fill the freezer for the winter as well as ample for eating. The pears have been disappointing as well, lets hope we see more fruit next year.

That’s the warning from the conservationists who say the species is at greater risk than initially thought. A team put together by the Scottish Wildcat Association (SWA) have been reviewing more than 2,000 camera sightings, eyewitness reports and road kills. Based on this they have concluded that the numbers of pure bred cats left in the wild have fallen to as little as 35 individuals. Other research had estimated there were 150 breeding pairs left but it seems they are far less than previously thought.

The main threat to the species comes from interbreeding with domestic cats which creates a hybrid species. A number of measures have been proposed to try and save the cats, including the trapping of cats to allow blood samples to be taken to better understand the state of the population and relocating pure wildcats to areas where there is less risks.

With mushroom season well under way and experts predicting there will be a good harvest year, come the warnings to know your mushrooms. The Health Protection Agency (HPA) has issued a warning about the dangers of poisonous mushrooms and has warned foragers it can be easy for even experienced mushroom hunters to mix up toxic and non varieties. With some types of mushrooms being fatal when they are eaten and the poisons still being present even after they have been cooked it really does pay to know your mushrooms and if in doubt leave it well alone.

A lady in Somerset was surprised when what she thought was badgers in her garden, turned out to be a racoon. She reported the animal to the local badger group because of it’s unusually striped tail. An animal sanctuary then put out cameras to try and identify the animal, with the resulting pictures clearly showing a raccoon. It is thought the animal might be an escaped pet as it is easy to handle. If you have lost your racoon then he is currently at the Secret World animal sanctuary in Huntspill.

This unusual pink grasshopper was recently spotted on a farm in Wiltshire. Surprisingly it is not a rare species as brown and purple grasshoppers do sometimes occur. They are, however, rarely seen, presumably because the bright colour makes them more easily visible to potential predators.

This story caught my eye about a lion on the loose in Essex. This lion was apparently spotted by campers near Clacton. They called the police and a massive search including helicopters, armed police and zoo staff looked for the animal.

No large cat was found and many are now sceptical as to whether there was a lion on the loose in first place. Some people believe that the lion was in fact this ginger cat, called Teddy Bear which often hunts in the area. Others still believe that the lion is still on the loose.

If you have ever wondered what the best lawn in Britain looks like, then you need wonder no more. This lawn has been awarded that title. Chisholm Ogg spends anything up to ten hours a day tending to his lawn and it does look pretty good. One thing that struck me, is there is not a weed in sight, something to aspire to perhaps, although I don’t think I can justify spending that much time on my lawn.

I have already read that the cold wet summer has been bad for butterflies and bats, so it seems only logical that our garden birds have also suffered. A RSPB survey has shown that the weather has affected the chicks of species such as blackbirds, song thrushes and robins. Once again it is the fact that the adult birds have had trouble finding enough food for their chicks. Birds have faced longer searches for food as insects are unable to fly in wet weather, meaning they are away from the nest for longer periods of time, exposing the chicks to chilly, wet conditions. I would think, however, that those birds, that eat slugs and snails would have done better this year, I have never seen so many of creatures on the lawn every morning as I have this year. Perhaps, natural selection will start to favour those that have developed an appetite for slugs.

This is a nice story, it’s about a couple in North Yorkshire who spend their time covering their house with flowers. The result certainly looks colourful, it must have taken ages to create, but thankfully they have installed an irrigation system to help with the watering.

Flamingos at a wildlife park are being played classic soul tracks by Barry White and Marvin Gaye in an effort to persuade them to mate. The Chilean flamingos at Drusillas Park  in East Sussex have not been hugely successful at producing chicks and so staff have been playing them music as well as recorded mating calls in order to encourage them to mate. It seems they might have been successful because a chick has recently hatched and three further eggs are currently being incubated.

This fox was recently spotted by commuters taking a ride on a tube. He was pictured on the London Underground at Edgeware Road station. It is not clear whether the fox is a regular commuter or if this was a one off journey.

This is apparently the UK’s tallest oak tree. Measuring 113ft (40 metres) it is located on the Stourhead Estate in Wiltshire. It is thought the tree has grown thinner and taller than usual because it has needed to fight the surrounding trees for light. I have some trouble visualising 131ft but it is very very tall.

This is interesting it’s a giant hole  in the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan which has been on fire for 40 years. The crater was made by Soviet geologists more than 40 years ago when they tapped into a cavern filled with natural gas. The ground underneath the drilling rig collapsed leaving a hole with a diameter of 70 metres. Fearing the hole would release poisonous gases the team decided to burn it off thinking it would use all the fuel within days but surprisingly it is still burning.

I have already read several reports about how the wet summer has been bad for butterflies because they are unable to fly to hunt insects. It seems the same applies to bats. The Sussex Wildlife Trust has warned that it has found a number of bats in distress after the months of wet weather has left many starving. The bats like butterflies are unable to hunt for prey because the insects they eat don’t fly in the rain. The Sussex Bat Group has taken in 35 starving bats in July alone this year when they would usually see only 40 to 50 a year. I must admit I haven't seen the normal numbers of bats in the garden this year.