Exmoor & Brendon Hills

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Ring Ouzel: The drop in the ouzel's population could be linked to recent increases in UK temperatures in July and August after most chicks have fledged. One theory is that warmer weather has affected the species' food supplies in late summer, perhaps drying the ground and reducing the availability of earthworms, or else affecting berry crops on moorlands. This shortage of staple food supplies may in turn affect the condition of adult and young birds as they prepare to return to their wintering grounds in Morocco. As summer temperatures continue to rise we could lose ring ouzel from Exmoor.

Pied Flycatcher: This summer visitor to Somerset is threatened by a miss-match in the peak times between food (insects) and its arrival from Africa. Evidence already carried out in Holland has attributed a drop in pied flycatcher numbers to climate change, both in terms of the timing of food availability here and habitat changes in Africa.

Dormice: Although this species is also found in southern France and Italy, warm damp autumns and winters are likely to badly impact on dormice hibernations and could leave youngsters without a consistent food supply. All of this is on top of the problems of habitat loss and lack of suitable corridors within the countryside.

Skylark: Resident populations of skylark, threatened throughout the last century by agricultural intensification, are often boosted by numbers of migrants from Scandinavia. As winter temperatures become milder fewer and fewer skylarks will make the journey to the UK and overall numbers may fall.