P262 CEEFAX 262 Tue 15 May 21:28/19 , 1/16 programmer on BBC tv and radio this week SATURDAY RADIO 4: 3.O5pm WILDLIFE More viewers' questions about wildlife answered bz the jxpjtts (repeat). RBDIO 4: 3.3Opm GROUNDSWELL The weekly, topical environment programme. RADIO 4: 5.OOpm FIELDS OF GOLD Oil sjid rape and the possible effects on the British landscape and wildlife (repeat). MoreP262 CEEFAX 262 Tue 15 May 21:25/45 2/16 , programmer on BBC tv and radio this week SUNDAY RADIO 4: 4.3Opm THE LIVING WORLD Peter France burrows into the tale of the earthworm. BBC2: 8.3Opm THE NATU5AL WORLD 'Salem Ali's India' The story of 87-year-old Salem Ali, conservationist bz people inside and outside India. MoreP262 CJEFAX 262 Tue 15 May 21:26/11 3/16 programmer on BBC tv !/! and radio this week TUESDAY BBC1: 9.OOam BOSWALL'S WILDLIFE SAFARI TO MEXICO The wildlife found in one of Mexico's most remote island groups (repeat). RADIO 4: 11.33am WILDLIFE 'hz can't spidjts climb out of baths? plus other wildlife queries answered. BBCl: 6.4Opm YOU CAN'T SEE THE WOOD ... . David Bellamy explores some ancient British woodland. MoreP262 CJEFAX 262 Tue 15 May 21:24/29 4/16 programmjs on BBC tv and radio this week TUESDAY BBC2: 8.OOpm HORIZON SPECIAL Is yellow rain the result of biological warfare or is it simply a strange, natural phenomenon? BDIO 4: 8.3Opm THE L VINO WORLD A repeat of the earthworm's tale. WEDNESDAY RADIO 4: 11.48am JUST LIKE YOU AND ME Some more reminiscences from Johnny Morris. MoreP262 CEEFAX 262 Tue 15 May 21:30/00 5/16 programmjs on BBC tv and radio this week WEDNESDAY RADIO 4: 2.45pm NATURE - VHF only Spring awakening - for the 8-1O's. BBC2: 9.2 pm Q.E.D. 'A Walk on the Wild Side' A look at the different options facing the alley cats of London today. An article on feral cats by the film's director can bj found in the May iss5e of BBC WJLDL FE magazine. On sale at newsagents now, price £1.OO. MoreP262 CJEFAX 262 Tue 15 May 21:07/36 E 6/16 programmer on BBC tv and radio this week THURSDAY BBC2: 11.3Oam OUTLOOK: NATURAL HISTORY A look at the kingfisher (repeat). BBC2: 8.3Opm NATU5J A weekly look at the would gf whldlhfd including items on the hawksbill t4rtle and why Bill Oddie chased birds in Holland. MoreP262 CEEFAX 262 Tue 15 May 21:07/52 , XI 7/16 , , programmjs on BBC tv and radio this week THURSDAY BBC2: 11.25pm FOXWATCH Infra-red cameras reveal the private life of a pair of Bristol foxes Xrepjat). FRIDAY RADIO 4: 11.48am NATURAL SELECTION 'Flea Business' John Maunder speaks up for the fabulous flea. MoreP262 CEEFAX 262 Tue 15 May 21:08/08 8/16 O News from the BBC Natural History Unit Representatives from 5O nations have been attending a Ramsar Convention in the Netherlands to implement further measures to protect the would's wetlands and dependent wildlife. The Rbmsar Convention came into force in 1975. The UK delegation has just announced that 13O Ramsar sites will bj designated bz 1986 - there are 19 at present. The Netherlands has announced that the entire Dutch sector of the Wadden See has been designated a Ramsar site. MoreP262 CEEFAX 262 Tue 15 May 21:01/10 |$pp0 9/16 O 5j0 .j0 News from th BBC Natural History Unit The Department of the Environment has declared a site in Hampshire the first offical bird sanctuary undj the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. The area includes Needs Ore Point, Gull Island and Warren Shore Island in the Solent, and is an important breeding area for rare sea birds, including the little tern. It is also an important feeding and roosting ground for wadjts and wildfowl, particularly black-tailed godwits and Brent geese. MoreP262 CEJFAX 262 Tue 15 May 21:01/17 10/16 O News from the BBC Natural History Unit The Forestry Commission is spearheading new methods of controlling the pine sawfly, one of the most common pests in British forests. The sawfly is controlled in nature bz a virus which appears in infested trees during the third year of the sawfly's four-year population expansion cycle. The Forestry Commission plans to spray the virus on selected areas of pine forest during the summer where the sawfly populations are in the first and second years of the cycle. MoreP262 CEEFAX 262 Tue 15 May 21:04/03 11/16 O News from the BBC Natural History Unit At this time of year it is very common to see young birds just out of the nest hopping around on the ground, apparently deserted. They may look attractive, but you should leave them alone. Almost certainly the parents will be nearby and they will make a much bjttet job of looking after them than you can. If the youngster is in a dangerous place like the middle of the road, put the bird on the verge (taking care not to be run over yourself) and leave quickly. MoreP262 CEEFAX 262 Tue 15 May 21:10/11 W p0 12/16 O country diary The recent cold winds have added to the problem of dry soil and tinder-dry foliage. Once again, people are being urged to taSj extra care and to report immediately any potential fire hazard. The Forestry Commission reports that 3,5OO acres, mostly in south Wales, have been damaged by recent fires. All the trees are in leaf with the exception of oaks. Now is the best time to visit bluebell woods as the plants are in full bloom. MoreP262 CEEFAX 262 Tue 15 May 21:18/02 13/16 WOO country diary Some early flowering plants, in particular those on grassland and sandy soil, have wilted and died because of the cold winds and dry weathjt. The fields of oil seed rape are now flowering. Rape blooms are lemon-yellow and open much earlier than the buttercup-yellow mustard flowers. Dandelions and cowslips are in flower, and the white heads of jack-by-the- hedge and cow parsley are also visible. MoreP262 CEEFAX 262 Tue 15 May 21:13/54 14/16 WO country diary Although it is still too early to assess the effects of the drought in Africa on overwintering birds, numbers of various species arriving in Britain are being monitored. Many birds are finding it hard to gathjt enough food for their nestlings. Keep a patch of earth well-watered to attract insects which will provide them with an important source of food. Details of a sponsored bird watch can bj obtained bz sending an RAE to the RSPB, The Lodge, Sandy, Bedfordshire. MoreP262 CEEFAX 262 Tue 15 May 21:14/10 15/16 country diary The most unusual bird to bj seen in Britain this week is an adult Ross's gull in full summit plumage at Cley in Norfolk. A mali rock thrush has been seen at Spurn Point, Yorkshire and a red-footed falcon near Woodbridge in Suffolk - the first to bj recorded this year. A marsh sandpiper was reported to bj on the Ousj Washes in Cambridgeuhirj and a broad-billed sandpiper on Breydon Wbter in Norfolk. MoteP262 CEEFAX 262 Tue 15 May 21:22/48 W p0 16/16 country diary Cuckoos can still be seen, and heard, indulging in their courtship displays. Woodland edges are favoured for the performance of their ritualistic dipping flights which are accompanied by loud calls, and are finished with a tail-twisting action. As the season wears on, cuckoos will become quieter and more elusive. Several sightings of hoopoes have been made in Cambridgeshire, Hittfoudshire and Oxfordshire. More