Grubs not up: England's birds struggle to forage in dry and wet weather

Insect numbers down due to very dry conditions in west England and heavy rain in chilly eastThis spring, across much of south-west Britain, we've enjoyed day after day of bright, sunny weather, albeit with a fresh north-easterly wind brought by the blocking anticyclone situated overhead.We might welcome the sunshine, but for our garden birds it can lead to problems. Each pair of blue tits - the perennial stars of BBC's Springwatch - need to find no fewer than 1,000 moth caterpillars, for every single day that their chicks are in the nest. That's roughly one every five or six seconds during daylight hours - quite a task, even for the most dedicated parent. Continue reading...