Orphaned hand reared Dormouse
The Society has been running a dormouse monitoring project in Little Linford Wood for many years. You can find out more about the project here.
A similar project has been run in the Midlands by Ruth Moffatt who was Local Biodiversity Action Plan co-ordinator for Warwickshire, Coventry and Solihull from 2003 to 2008. She now runs the Warwickshire Dormouse Conservation Group.
You can download the full 40-page report The Status of the Hazel Dormouse (Muscardinus avellanarius) in Warwickshire, Coventry and Solihull using this link.
NESTS are made from things birds find in the environment. For those that live far from human dwellings, twigs and leaves predominate. For those that live in cities, the list of materials is more eclectic. Often it includes plastic bags, paper, aluminium foil, electrical cables and even cigarette butts. Most of these have been assumed to be the result of birds simply making do with what the urban world provides them, but a study just published in Avian Biology by Monserrat Suárez-Rodríguez and Constantino Macías Garcia of the National Autonomous University of Mexico has demonstrated that the cigarette butts are being woven into nests not by accident but by design.
Barn owls keep their acute sense of hearing into old age, scientists have discovered.
“Have you seen a fairy ring? Sadly they are not the work of dancing elves, as European folklore might have it…”
Every year a proportion of the Scottsh golden eagle population is surveyed by licensed experts from the 
The Garden Bird Feeding Survey (GBFS) has charted the use of food supplements by birds in gardens for over 40 years. The network of householders that participate in the survey extends across the UK.
The kea, the world’s only alpine parrot, has been crowned 
The incredible numbers of Hawfinches across southern England has dominated the migration picture this week, with thousands of birds thought to be involved and there does not appear to be any let up. Many areas where Hawfinch would be a rare bird if a single bird appeared have seen staggering numbers, with the largest count being 115 over Steps Hill in Buckinghamshire on a single morning.
A Met forensics specialist who developed an ivory fingerprinting kit used to identify elephant poachers and traders in Africa is to be honoured for his achievement.
The 
Birdwatchers love to see something new, but after a while new birds can be harder to come by and, as a result, some of us develop wider tastes. One group that has long attracted the attention of birders is the Odonata – better known as the dragonflies and their smaller cousins, the damselflies. As with most insects, the highest diversity is in mid-summer but as the days lengthen, the species count drops. However, in October and even later in milder years, Common Darters, Migrant Hawkers and Southern Hawkers can still catch the eye as a flash of colour in the fading countryside.
There are lots of moths (over 2,500 species have been recorded in the UK) and many of them visit flowers to drink nectar. However, because observing insect visits to flowers is much more difficult in the dark, relatively little research has been carried out on the importance of nocturnal moths as pollinators.
Beekeepers have raised concerns over the future of honeybees as an annual survey showed a “steady decline” in the honey crop.
Researchers are increasingly investigating the effects that climate change might have on animals and plants. At the British Trust for Ornithology we have investigated how climate change will affect the abundance of over 100 bird species across Great Britain by using annual bird counts undertaken by skilled volunteers in the UK and France.
In the first of its kind study on these raptors, researchers from RSPB Scotland and the Scottish Raptor Study Group examined differences between populations of the birds in Edinburgh and in the Ayrshire countryside over four years from 2009 to 2012.
Insects have triumphed for hundreds of millions of years in every habitat but the ocean. Their success is unparalleled, which makes their disappearance all the more alarming
Young amphibians are the first animals thought to use toxins against rivals of their own species.
The abundance of flying insects has plunged by three-quarters over the past 25 years, according to a new study that has shocked scientists.
A colourful, shimmering spectacle detected by weather radar over the US state of Colorado has been identified as swarms of migrating butterflies.
The reason some birds in Britain have evolved bigger beaks over the past 40 years may be down to the country’s enthusiasm for feeding them in their gardens, researchers have said.
Bird of prey persecution in the uplands of the Peak District is a “national disgrace”, a wildlife group has said.
UK withdrawal bill ‘rips the heart out of environmental law’, say campaigners
The Field Studies Council has compiled a catalogue of over 630 biological identification resources
A news story on the discovery of a new native British beetle, Pogonocherus caroli, found in ancient Scottish pine forests
Barn owls keep their acute sense of hearing into old age, scientists have discovered.
The density of nerve cells in the human cerebral cortex is six times smaller than in the respective brain region in pigeons. Consequently, the average distance between two neurons in pigeons is only approximately half the size compared to that in humans. If nerve cell groups have to exchange information in rapid succession, pigeons are faster, because the transmitted signals travel a much shorter distance.
It’s that time of year again…
No, butterflies don’t marry, but did you know some humans release butterflies at weddings (and funerals) as part of the ceremony?
Now, scientists are gaining an insight into how the plant prized for its beauty colonised almost every habitat on Earth.
Try to swat a fly and it will soon become clear that they’re faster than you. Much faster. But how on Earth do these tiny creatures – with their minuscule brains – outwit us so easily?
Non-native species and mobile applications experts at the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH) have collaborated with the UK government to develop a new app to record and monitor sightings of the Asian hornet.
Next time you lose your keys, think of a squirrel. The tiny animals have an incredible ability to remember exactly where they buried one nut weeks earlier, and new research is shedding light on how they do this.Squirrels bury groups of nuts in particular places, meaning they will know where each one is buried, according to a new study.
Providing a bright splash of colour late in the summer, this sturdy little perennial is a cheerful and easy-going addition to a border or wildflower meadow.
Today The Wildlife Trusts publish a new report which examines the effects of volunteering in nature on people’s mental health. The study was carried out by the University of Essex and found:
Hauke Koch and Phil Stevenson investigate the theories behind the mysterious mass deaths of bees on lime trees, and other effects of pollen and nectar chemicals on pollinators.
Click here for a laugh: 
Plantlife wants to attract new members and is offering a 50% discount on membership:
This briefing concentrates on the interaction between bees and a group of insecticides – known as neonicotinoids – which have been in the spotlight after a number of studies yielded evidence (although much of that evidence is contested) of sub-lethal, harmful effects on bees. In July 2015, the UK Government granted an emergency authorisation for the use of restricted neonicotinoids on oil seed rape seeds in four English counties. Similar application for emergency authorisations for 2016 and 2017 were rejected.
The order Psocoptera is one of the least recorded insect groups. This lack of recording is not because the species are rarely encountered – on the contrary; almost every tree in Britain is likely to be home to some of these creatures and psocids are far more abundant than some insect orders (e.g. lacewings).
How to identify aphids to the genus level – characteristics and images
Hundreds of years after the dodo died out, new facts are emerging about the life history of the bird.
A significant number of plants rely on birds to act as dispersal agents for their seeds. As an incentive, the plants often offer nutritious fleshy fruits to attract birds to take the seeds, hidden inside, and ingest them. The seeds have tough external coats that protect them from the digestive systems of birds, allowing them to be deposited elsewhere once they have passed through the bird’s gut.
A hungry arctic fox, mating sea angels and playful brown bears are among the creatures captured by photographers for this year’s competition. The exhibition opens on 20 October at the 
At the 2017 British Birdfair at Rutland Water Raptor Persecution UK joined with Chris Packham to launch a new joint project.
More than 70 organisations from across multiple sectors have joined forces to create a Charter for Trees, Woods and People that will guide policy and practice in the UK. We believe the people of the UK have a right to the many benefits brought by trees and woods. The new Tree Charter, launching on 6 November 2017, will recognise, celebrate and protect this right.
If you’ve ever wondered how a diving beetle swims through the water or manages to rest just on the surface, the answer is in part because its foot is infinitely more complicated than your own. As seen above, this microscopic image of a male Acilius sulcatus (diving beetle) by photographer Igor Siwan
Winning and shortlisted images from this year’s competition, from awe-inspiring action shots to charming portraits, featured in
New BTO research uses information collected by bird ringers to investigate large-scale differences and flexibility in the timing of feather moult across 15 passerine species that breed in the UK. Different moult strategies were found between migrant and resident species, alongside within-species regional variation in moulting schedules.
Scotland has a new species of butterfly: the elusive and endangered 
A new test can distinguish between Lyme disease and another tick-borne disease with nearly identical symptoms. This could enable doctors to treat the condition much sooner, preventing its debilitating symptoms from setting in.
Clean Water for Wildlife is a citizen science survey that aims to raise awareness of the true extent of nutrient pollution in England & Wales.
Deforestation and climate change appear to be amplifying droughts in the Amazon
