Hot in the city

If you hone your senses you can uncover all sorts of surprises in the city and there is one we can all feel: heat - something which is great for plants and animals. Some animals are not clinging to life in the city, they are flourishing. Cities are like giant storage heaters that soak up the heat of the day, letting it out slowly at night. Leaves bud and flowers bloom earlier here because it is 5 degrees hotter than in the surrounding countryside. So it's a no brainer really. Why choose a rural area if you can get a paving stone or a penthouse suite in the city? The lesser black backed gulls and herring gulls have taken advantage of this. They used to go back to the coast to breed, but these days they don't bother. The warmth of the city means their chicks fledge earlier, which is a huge advantage in the survival stakes. There are now well over 100,000 gulls living in our cities sustained by our throw away culture.