Climate chaos

Val looks at the effect climate change is having on birds

- Val Bourne

AS I write this, it's hot and dry and I am lugging cans of water around morning and evening, although not at noon. I'm telling A myself that it will be good for my bone density and it will tone up my upper arms, although I'll never end up looking like Jennifer Aniston! C'est la vie! By the time you read this, it may be cold and wet because our weather is getting more erratic every year.

Generally, though, we are getting far hotter days due to climate change. This was predicted many years ago, but I didn't appreciate the problems it would create for our wildlife. In the past, I fondly imagined that more migrant butterflies would be drawn in by the UK's warmth. I was looking forward to being overrun with clouded yellow butterflies in August, for instance.

I imagined we'd also get exotic migrant birds, such as bee-eaters and hoopoes, once we were warm enough. I can remember speeding off to try to see these exotic visitors in the 1970s, when I was a bit of a twitcher. A twitcher is a birdwatcher trying to tick off as many species from his or her list. It's nerdy and not very green!