Model predicts population of UK’s tallest bird could double within 50 years after its return to the east of England following a 400-year absence
Click here to read the rest of the article.: Common cranes ‘here to stay’ after recolonising eastern England | Environment | The Guardian
Deadly heatwaves could continue for weeks, and possibly months, across much of the northern hemisphere, meteorologists predicted this week
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: Warming Arctic could be behind heatwave sweeping northern hemisphere | New Scientist
An introduction to the UK Biodiversity Indicators 2018 publication, and the UK suite of headline indicators
Click here for more information.: UK Biodiversity Indicators 2018
Hope is that dams built by pair of beavers help hold back water and improve biodiversity
Click here to read the rest of the article.: Beavers released in Forest of Dean as solution to flooding | Environment | The Guardian
The long-term use of the pesticides for killing parasites is damaging the populations of these important insects.
Click here to read the rest of the article.: Dung beetle populations are being killed off by cattle medication | Discover Wildlife
Facts that will keep you busy
Click here to read the rest of the article.: BBC Radio 4 – Radio 4 in Four – Seven things you didn’t know about bees
We have been colour ringing black-tailed godwits at the Nene and Ouse Washes to help us understand more about the birds’ movements in the breeding and non-breeding season. Godwits are known to undertake long and often complex migratory journeys, and the marking of individual birds provides valuable information about the remarkable journeys these birds undertake.
Click here for more information.: Report a sighting – Project Godwit
Red-tailed Bumblebee by Harry Appleyard, Howe Park Wood 14 March 2017
English sea wall flood defences support an important grassland habitat for bumblebees (Bombus spp.). However, annual cutting in midsummer (July-August) could negatively affect them. The mowing regime was then changed to a ‘late’ cut (September) on a sea wall and compared with an adjacent sea wall cut ‘normally’ (midsummer).
There were significantly more queens nest-searching in May compared to April. Sward height and the number of queens nest-searching were significantly higher on the normal cut sea wall than on the late cut one. No correlation between queen abundance and forage availability was significant. The nesting habitat therefore seems more important than forage abundance for queens.
The summer studies revealed the workers’ higher abundance on the late cut wall. However, this new spring study of queens reveals their preference for the normal cut wall. Having a mosaic of habitats seems the key to conserving sea wall grassland bumblebees.
Click here to download the PDF file.
Starling by Harry Appleyard, 20 April 2016
For European starlings, the presence of aromatic herbs in the nest leads to some improved parenting behaviors, according to a new study. Specifically, birds whose nests incorporate herbs along with dried grasses were more likely to attend their nests, exhibited better incubation behavior for their eggs, and became active earlier in the day.
Click here to read the rest of the article.: Aromatic herbs lead to better parenting in starlings — ScienceDaily
Sweden worst hit as hot, dry summer sparks unusual number of fires, with at least 11 in the far north
Click here to read the rest of the article.: Wildfires rage in Arctic Circle as Sweden calls for help | World news | The Guardian
With Britain experiencing a sustained heatwave, our Chief Executive, Brian Eversham, looks at the effect warm summers have on Britain’s insect populations.
Source: Insects and hot summers | Wildlife Trust for Beds, Cambs & Northants
Eight out of 14 critically endangered black rhinos have died after being moved to a reserve in southern Kenya, wildlife officials have revealed, in what one conservationist described as “a complete disaster”.
Click here to read the rest of the article.: Eight of 14 rhinos die after move to Kenyan national park | World news | The Guardian
Linford Lakes NR BioBlitz by David Easton. 24 June 2016
We need to encourage people to spend more time noting what they see and hear so we can build up a much clearer picture of exactly how wildlife is affected by changes in climate and land use etc.
Over the past few years I’ve posted several pieces about how colleagues, students and myself have been monitoring one aspect of the environmental impact of the University of Northampton’…
Click here to read the rest of the article.: The impact of building a new university campus on urban bird diversity and abundance: a seven-year study | Jeff Ollerton’s Biodiversity Blog
Linford Lakes NR BioBlitz by David Easton. 24 June 2016
Our team at UEA (University of East Anglia) is studying how we might rank the importance of individual sites within ecological networks. To help us, we are examining how conservation and land management professionals emphasise various ‘criteria’ that could be used to prioritise sites for funding or management.
We would value your contribution to this survey – survey completion should take no more than 10 minutes.
Click here for more information.
A couple of weeks ago farmer David Corrie-Close wowed an audience of politicians, fellow farmers and NGOs with the inspirational story of his and his wife Bekka’s commitment to farming with n…
Click here to read the rest of the article.: Farming with nature – a farmer’s perspective | National Trust Places
Howe Park Wood Education and Visitor Centre by Peter Hassett
The nature conservation agencies have a duty under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 as amended, to notify any area of land which in their opinion is ‘of special interest by reason of any of its flora, fauna, or geological or physiographical features. Such areas are known as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). In 1989 the then Nature Conservancy Council published guidelines for the selection of biological SSSIs. Since 1991 the Joint Nature Conservation Committee has been the focus for the production and revision of the guidelines.
Click here for more information.: Guidelines for selection of biological SSSIs
The autumn squill, Scilla autumnalis, has bright bluebell-coloured starry flowers. It is rare in the British Isles. It is also tiny, so small that most people could easily clodhop straight over it without noticing how lovely it is. I nearly did just that when I went looking for it in Surrey last summer until a kindly local botanist helped me find it flowering away on a grass verge.
I went home pleased to have met such a minutely pretty wild flower. But a few days later, the kindly local botanist got in touch again, distraught. The local council had strimmed the verge where the autumn squills grew, and they were no more. He had even told them that they should leave this patch of grass until later in the year so that the tiny squills could set seed, but someone had cut them down all the same.
Click here to read the rest of the article.: Save us from the council verge neat-freaks | The Spectator
MPs demand legislation to ensure the government delivers on post-Brexit air pollution promises
What is really, truly happening to wildlife across the UK? Is wildlife disappearing, or are the reports of disappearing insects, road-verge dwelling wildflowers being mown to destruction, and swift…
Source: Where has all our wildlife gone? | a new nature blog
A pink house sparrow has been filmed visiting a garden near Glasgow to feast on bird food
Click here to read the rest of the article.: Pink sparrow surprises with garden visit – BBC News
Click on the play button to watch the video
Creation of the world’s largest marine reserve comes a step closer as major companies add support
Source: Krill fishing firms back Antarctic ocean sanctuary | Environment | The Guardian
A project to restore an areas of chalky grassland on campus will help rare plants and creatures to thrive.
Click here to read the rest of the article.: Grassland project to create a living lab on campus : News and events : Evolution, behaviour and environment : School of Life Sciences : University of Sussex
New research suggests that large fenced reserves could be the answer to wolf reintroduction in Scotland.
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: Bring back the wolves – but build a fence | Discover Wildlife
Ruby-tailed wasp ©Janice Robertson, Rutland Water 6 September 2017
Buglife have produced a guide to Ruby-tailed wasps.
Click here for more information.: Ruby-tailed wasp | Buglife
If you’re keen to get into Astronomy, you’re participating in one of the oldest human traditions.
Depictions of the cosmos range back far into human history, and almost certainly even into pre-history.
People from the Greeks to the Chinese to the Mayans looked up at the night sky and derived forms of meaning from it.
Click here to read the rest of the article
Meadow ©Harry Appleyard, Rushden Lakes 5 June 2018
Britain has seen the catastrophic destruction of its once widespread wildflower meadows, as intensive farming has gradually replaced them. Experts say 97 per cent of the nation’s meadows have been eradicated since the 1930s, with popular species like wild strawberry, ragged robin and harebell facing steep declines.
Click here to read the rest of the article.: Nearly all British wildflower meadows have been eradicated, prompting calls for urgent government action | The Independent
Red-Tailed Bumblebee by Harry Appleyard, Tattenhoe 11 April 2016
Urbanization represents a rapidly growing driver of land-use change. While it is clear that urbanization impacts species abundance and diversity, direct effects of urban land use on animal reproductive success are rarely documented. Here, we show that urban land use is linked to long-term colony reproductive output in a key pollinator. We reared colonies from wild-caught bumblebee ( Bombus terrestris ) queens, placed them at sites characterized by varying degrees of urbanization from inner city to rural farmland and monitored the production of sexual offspring across the entire colony cycle . Our land-use cluster analysis identified three site categories, and this categorization was a strong predictor of colony performance. Crucially, colonies in the two clusters characterized by urban development produced more sexual offspring than those in the cluster dominated by agricultural land. These colonies also reached higher peak size, had more food stores, encountered fewer parasite invasions and survived for longer. Our results show a link between urbanization and bumblebee colony reproductive success, supporting the theory that urban areas provide a refuge for pollinator populations in an otherwise barren agricultural landscape.
Click here to read the rest of the article.: Urbanisation linked to bumblebee fitness | Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences
The latest update of the IUCN Red List reveals the variety of threats faced by wildlife around the world. But it’s not all doom and gloom, there is some positive news as well.
Click here for more information.: IUCN Red List update: how different species have fared | Discover Wildlife
A unique partnership between BirdLife Sweden and other environmental organizations, academia and business results in more sustainable agriculture and richer biodiversity in Sweden
Chris Packham and James Hansen join other scientists in complaint about ethics
Click here to read the rest of the article.: Science Museum under pressure to shun big oil sponsorship | Business | The Guardian
UK’s most endangered butterfly also appeared earlier in the season than usual.
Click here to read the rest of the article.: Bumper numbers of high brown fritillary butterflies reported by National Trust | Discover Wildlife
Bared Grass Snake ©Ian Saunders, Stoke Goldington 22 April 2018
Snake populations are declining across the UK and gardens can be an important wildlife corridor between disappearing habitats. Having a grass snake or slow-worm (legless lizard) visit your garden is a rare wildlife treat! We’re interested in any sightings of snakes in gardens.
Click on the link for more information: The Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust | Summer Snake Stocktake 2018
The UK Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan (henceforth 25YEP) for England is an exciting opportunity to reframe the direction of nature conservation in Britain. It sets the goal of creating a nature recovery network to protect and restore wildlife.
The idea of a Nature Recovery Network draws strongly on the vision and principles of Sir John Lawton’s ‘Making Space for Nature’ report, and the widely accepted mantra that wildlife sites should be ‘better, bigger, more and joined’ for ecological networks to be resilient in the face of continuing environmental change and human pressures, and capable of sustaining wildlife populations into the future.
Source: Defining and delivering resilient ecological networks in England – British Ecological Society
The £2.15m deal will protect 460 acres of nature-rich farmland in the Peak District
Click here to read the rest of the article.: National Trust buys two wildflower sites to protect wildlife | Environment | The Guardian
New charity warns Britain’s largest butterfly could be lost within four decades as rising seas turn its habitat into saltmarsh
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: Britain’s biggest butterfly threatened by rising seas | Environment | The Guardian
As temperatures soar and we revel in the summer sunshine, our local wildlife could be struggling to cope! Find out how you can help them through the heatwave.
Click here for more information.: How to help your garden wildlife in the heatwave | Discover Wildlife
A new study has discovered a potential reason why whale sharks congregate in colossal numbers at just a handful of global locations.
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: Mystery behind whale shark rendezvous solved? | Discover Wildlife
The Government of Tanzania has decided against building a soda ash factory on the shores of Lake Natron, thus ending a ten-year struggle of the fate of the waters.
Click here for more information.: After a 10 year battle, Tanzania’s ‘Flamingo Factory’ is safe | BirdLife
Millions of seabirds saved after remote island is officially declared rodent-free for the first time since humans arrived there more than 200 years ago
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: Rat-free: South Georgia’s huge rodent eradication project – in pictures | Environment | The Guardian
Last Sunday morning I was walking in the Buckinghamshire Chilterns. I was feeling a bit tired and unenthusiastic, and for once was not really thinking about recording insects. But it’s impossible to completely turn off the entomological instincts, and a fairly large cuckoo bee (or nomad bee, genus Nomada) caught my eye. It was flying among the vegetation at the top of a bank on BBOWT‘s Grangelands nature reserve.
Armed Nomad bee female at Grangelands – very fuzzy photo!
I took a quick snap but wasn’t very careful about it, and the bee soon vanished into the undergrowth. But it had looked somehow different, and as I walked home it dawned on me that it just might have been something special. By the time I got home I was keen to see the photo, but I’d done a really poor job – blurry and distant. Even so, what few details I could make out were consistent with it being something potentially very special: was there a chance it could be the Armed Nomad Bee, Nomada armata.
On the small Welsh island of Skomer, puffin numbers are booming. But in former strongholds in Scotland, Norway and Iceland, the picture is ever more worrying
Source: A world without puffins? The uncertain fate of the much-loved seabirds | Environment | The Guardian
Click on the play button to watch the video on the official release of the Chequered Skipper butterfly to watch exclusive interviews and events from this historic and memorable day.
There is a crisis in the countryside – and a massive decline in insect numbers could have significant consequences for the environment
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: Where have all our insects gone? | Environment | The Guardian
Discover Wildlife have produced a guide to help you identify 10 common orchids.
Click on the link for more information: How to identify orchids | Discover Wildlife
Painted Lady by Harry Appleyard, Tattenhoe Park 9 August 2016
A British Ecological Society funded study found that painted lady butterflies return from the Afrotropical region to recolonise the Mediterranean in early spring, travelling an annual distance of 12,000 km across the Sahara Desert.
The Saddleworth fire could prove another reason to ban this disgusting ‘sport, says George Monbiot
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: Clearing moors for grouse shooting creates a tinderbox | George Monbiot | Opinion | The Guardian
Red-tailed Bumblebee by Harry Appleyard, Howe Park Wood 14 March 2017
The British Trust for Ornithology have produced a garden bumble bee identification guide which you can download here.
National Meadows Day is an annual event taking place on or around the first Saturday of July. Our vision is for people to celebrate National Meadows Day in their own city, village, parish, wildlife reserve, allotment or farm all over the UK.
Click here for more information.: National Meadows Day | Magnificent Meadows
People with gardens are being urged to create simple ponds or areas of long grass because sightings of frogs and toads in gardens are drying up.
Reports of toads in gardens have fallen by nearly a third since 2014, while sightings of frogs have dropped by 17% over the same period, according to the Big Garden Birdwatch, the RSPB’s wildlife survey.
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: UK gardeners urged to build ponds as sightings of frogs and toads dry up | Environment | The Guardian
The long read: In a dank Sussex tunnel, a solitary greater mouse-eared bat roosts each winter. Is he the only one left in Britain?
Source: The last bat: the mystery of Britain’s most solitary animal | News | The Guardian
Tests show drug causes eels to become hyperactive and damages their muscles, possibly hindering their ability to migrate
Source: Cocaine in rivers harming endangered eels, study finds | Environment | The Guardian
Recent plant-pollinator network studies have been concerned with the impacts that climate change may have on pollination across various ecosystems, particularly in alpine regions. Many of these studies are investigating ‘phenological mismatch’ as a significant issue that may result from climate change.
‘Phenological mismatch’ or ‘phenological asynchrony’ is used to refer to when the emergence of pollinators and flowering time of plants becomes out of sync over time. If these two processes become out of sync then it reduces the potential for flowering plants to be pollinated.
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: The Importance of Surveying Pollinators Across Various Environmental Conditions – Ecology is not a dirty word
The Campaign for National Park’s newest report looks at the urgent need to improve nature in National Parks
Source: Raising the bar: improving nature in National Parks | Campaign for National Parks
Circular economy could recycle more plastic and meet industry demand for raw materials, finds Green Alliance research
Source: Recycled plastic could supply three-quarters of UK demand, report finds | Environment | The Guardian
What is the UKs ‘best’ invertebrate? Its (just about still) Insect Week so I decided to try and find out. With 1000s if not 10,000s of species to choose from so it was not easy.
This list would no doubt be different from any other person, and I tried to make sure I didn’t pick too many from any particular group and counter my personal bias towards aquatic invertebrates. I also stuck to terrestrial and freshwater invertebrates and if I’m honest there is some bias towards those I have seen and photographed, which inevitably means a bias towards the south east of the UK.
What is not in doubt is the following invertebrates amazing creatures, well worth seeking out and observing. The following in no particular order:
Click here to read the rest of the article
Research involving 62 species found mammals spent relatively less time being active during the day when humans were nearby
Source: Human activity making mammals more nocturnal, study finds | Environment | The Guardian
Rate of melt has accelerated threefold in last five years and could contribute 25cm to sea-level rises without urgent action
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: Antarctic ice melting faster than ever, studies show | Environment | The Guardian
A third of British Swifts have been lost since 1995, but the reasons underpinning this decline are unclear.
BTO scientists are involved in a project aiming to address these knowledge gaps. Tiny geolocators were fitted to adult Swifts captured at the nest in summer 2010 and retrieved in summer 2011 when these birds returned to breed. The results of this work are revealing the migration routes and important wintering areas for this species, which could help to identify key areas for Swift conservation.
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: Tracking Swifts | BTO – British Trust for Ornithology
Click here for amazing footage of a Swift flying into a nestbox.
A pest which leaves a signature trail of destruction on elm leaves reminiscent of the mark of the fictional sword-wielding hero Zorro appears to have arrived in the UK, experts have warned.
Click here to read the rest of the article (The Guardian)
Click here for the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh page
Demise of nine out of 13 of the ancient landmarks linked to climate change by researchers
Source: Giant African baobab trees die suddenly after thousands of years | World news | The Guardian
As numbers of breeding pairs plummet in the UK, Swift Awareness week aims to highlight the plight of swifts and the rescue efforts to save them
Source: Saving Britain’s swifts – in pictures | Environment | The Guardian
A white-tailed eagle chick has successfully hatched in Orkney for the first time in more than 140 years, RSPB Scotland has said.
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: White-tailed eagle chick hatches in Orkney for first time in 140 years – BBC News
Muslin Moth (male) © Ian Saunders, Stoke Goldington 17 May 2018
What’s Flying Tonight? Need help identifying a moth?
A new free online tool from @CEHScienceNews and @savebutterflies provides an illustrated list of the larger moths you’re likely to see in your area, with data from NMRS
Click here for more information
On Monday 21st May, I was fortunate enough to travel to the Fagne-Famenne region of Belgium with Butterfly Conservation to collect Chequered Skippers for translocation to Rockingham Forest. It only took two days and nights for us to find ourselves in a stand-off with a family of boar, assaulted by marauding thunderstorms, dazzled by all manner of creepy-crawlies, deafened by the croaks of lime-green frogs, overawed by beautiful Belgian woodland, and (almost) claimed by a tractor on a blind bend. All in pursuit of an itty-bitty, fuzzy-wuzzy, gold and brown butterfly that vanished from England in 1976.
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: The reintroduction of the Chequered Skipper – Back From The Brink
The secretive mammals are fast disappearing from the Highlands but last-ditch efforts to save them are fraught with challenges
Source: Can Scotland save its wildcats from extinction? | Environment | The Guardian
INSTAR Magazine Issue 2
Issue 2 of INSTAR, the digital magazine for young entomologists has been published. Find out more about insects and those people who study them….
Springwatch presenter says Britain is increasingly ‘a green and unpleasant land’
Source: Chris Packham warns of ‘ecological apocalypse’ in Britain | Environment | The Guardian
Male Orange Tip Butterfly by Harry Appleyard, Howe Park Wood 3 April 2017
Though better than the previous year, 2017 was a relatively poor year for butterflies; attributable to periods of poor weather during the spring and summer and preceding winter months.
In the UK, since 1976, the habitat specialists butterflies index has fallen by 77%, whilst wider countryside abundance is down by 46%.
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: Butterfly Conservation – Latest trends in butterfly indicators revealed
Today The Wildlife Trusts launch a new campaign – #WaveOfSupport – to give everyone across the country the chance to back 41 new Marine Conservation Zones and protect our part of the Blue Planet around the English coast.
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: New campaign to protect wildlife at sea | The Wildlife Trusts
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: Where have all our insects gone? | Environment | The Guardian
In an exciting announcement, French drug manufacturer Valneva has announced that they’ve successfully completed their first-ever human trial of a vaccine against the disease. The vaccine, which is reportedly up to 96% effective, might soon be available in the UK and US at a “reasonably low” price.
Source: Lyme Disease vaccine set to become available soon, as first trials successfully passed
It is the most miraculous bird, the ultimate winged messenger, exploring our globe, spending its life on the breeze. Sickle-shaped wings silhouetted against the sky, the swift is the fastest of all birds in level flight and remains entirely airborne for 10 months, or more, feeding, sleeping and mating on the wing. These long-lived creatures can clock up 4 million miles, commuting between English summers and African winters.
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: Why we should care about the vanishing of the swifts | Patrick Barkham | Opinion | The Guardian
Plastic and traces of hazardous chemicals have been found in Antarctica, one of the world’s last great wildernesses, according to a new study.
Source: Antarctica: plastic contamination reaches Earth’s last wilderness | Environment | The Guardian
Osprey ©Peter Hassett Everglades, florida 26 February 2011
Vision has a strong influence on animal behaviour and survival. Vision expert Graham Martin explains how exactly birds see the world around them
Click here to read the rest of the article.
Foraging wood ducks, an adder taking a dip and a fearless baby rabbit are among this week’s pick on images from the natural world
Source: The week in wildlife – in pictures | Environment | The Guardian
A citizen science initiative in Norfolk and Suffolk has been mapping the area’s importance for bat populations. BTO’s Stuart Newson and Breckland Society’s James Parry explain more.
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: BBC Blogs – Springwatch – Bats in the Brecks
Drowning has emerged as a mysterious cause of death amongst groups of young common starlings (Sturnus vulgaris), according to research by a team of scientists led by international conservation charity the Zoological Society of London (ZSL).
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: Drowning has emerged as a mysterious cause of death amongst groups of young common starlings
Need help identifying a moth? Want to know which moth species might be on the wing tonight in your area? Now you can find out easily using ‘What’s Flying Tonight’, a new smartphone app. Lead
Source: New app makes identifying moths easier | Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
A colourful sand lizard, a giant baobab tree and a racoon with a head for heights are among this week’s pick of images from the natural world
Source: The week in wildlife – in pictures | Environment | The Guardian
Conservation is working: 25 bird species have been saved from the Critically Endangered category this century alone. Read five of the most inspiring stories of birds that have recovered thanks to the dedication of conservationists and communities.
Source: The Comeback Kids: five birds brought back from the brink | BirdLife
New Nature Magazine June 2018
New Nature is the only natural history magazine written, edited and produced entirely by young people: by young ecologists, conservationists, communicators, nature writers and wildlife photographers each boasting an undying passion for the natural world. It is intended, foremost, as a celebration of nature, but also of the young people giving their time, freely, to protect it.
Do you know of a bat roost near you, or do you have bats roosting on your property?
Help us monitor how different bat species are faring across the UK by taking part in the Roost Count. All you need to do is to count bats emerging from the roosts on two or more evenings during the summer.
Click on the link for more information: Roost Count – Bat Conservation Trust
Species including the wildcat and black rat may be lost within a decade while others such as deer are thriving, analysis shows
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: Fifth of Britain’s wild mammals ‘at high risk of extinction’ | Environment | The Guardian
Join Friends of the Earth’s Great British Bee Count from 17 May to 30 June 2018, and our free app will get you off to a flying start in identifying and recording different species.
Click here for more information:
The Great British Bee Count | Friends of the Earth
The Great British Bee Count in pictures
We are almost half way through the wader breeding season and what a rollercoaster it has been. We started on some highs, with the return of Mark Whiffin as our Senior Researcher on the ground who was joined by Helen Jones, new to Project Godwit but not to wader research. The reserve team at RSPB Nene Washes had been very busy getting the habitat ready and the predator fences erected. So with the research team in place and the reserve looking fantastic, the godwits started to return and just as the first ones were about to start laying eggs, a huge amount of rain combined with high tides and the whole reserve went under water. This was a massive low point for everyone.
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: headstarting – Project Godwit
Green-winged Orchid ©Harry Appleyard, Tattenhoe, 30 May 2018
An aid to identifying 39 orchid species when they are not in flower was produced by ID Trainer For The Future Mike Waller. It’s available to download from the Natural History Museum website.
Click here to download the guide.
Click here to read the of the article: Can the world’s largest rewilding project restore Patagonia’s beauty? | Environment | The Guardian
This summer, Britain will become the first country in the world to dedicate a national week in support of Swifts.
Swift Awareness Week will run from 16 – 23 June. There will be events and publicity all around the country, organised by dozens of local Swift groups. These events aim to raise awareness of Swifts and bring a focus to their plight, and of course provide information about how to help them. The Swift is one of the few endangered species that individuals really can help in their own property and there are many groups across the country working hard to try to halt their dramatic decline of 50% in just 20 years.
Source: Action for Swifts: 2018 UK Swift Awareness Week, 16-23 June
One of many overwintered Peacocks basking in the sunshine
Discover how some species use their colourful wings as effective anti-predator defences.
Click on the link for more information: Why do some butterflies and moths have eyespots? | Natural History Museum
Captive Wolf ©Peter Hassett 13 March 2011
One of the first wild wolves to roam free in Denmark for 200 years has been shot and killed, threatening the survival of the species in the country.
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: Wild wolf shot and killed in Denmark | Environment | The Guardian
Australian magpies can understand what other birds are saying to each other, a new study has found.
The research, published in the journal Animal Behaviour, says the wily magpie has learned the meanings of different noisy miner calls and essentially eavesdrops to find out which predators are near.
Click on the link to read the rest of the article: Australian magpies can understand other bird calls, study finds | Environment | The Guardian
Wood White ©Paul Lund, Bucknell Wood, 8 July 2017
Woodland Wings will be hosting a butterfly walk in Salcey Forest
Salcey Forest. (SP801509, ‘horsebox’ car park, Nearest Postcode: NN7 2HA) Saturday 23rd June, 10:30am
Join butterfly expert Doug Goddard to learn about and look for woodland butterflies, with target species including Wood White and the rare Black Hairstreak. Parking is limited so please let us know if you are planning on coming.
Use the following links to find out more information:
Woodland Wings Events 2018
Download the Woodland Wings Project Overview
Freshwater supplies have already seriously declined in 19 global hotspots – from China to the Caspian Sea – due to overuse, groundbreaking study shows
Feral cats kill a million native birds every night and have caused extinction of 20 native species
The Common Crane is a rare vagrant to Buckinghamshire and despite reintroduction schemes in the UK in recent years, there were no sightings of this species in 2016 and 2017. So when Warren Claydon…
Click here to read the rest of the article: Cranes at Gallows Bridge • Buckinghamshire Bird Club
Exclusive: Study finds 12,000 items worth $4m, including ivory, live orangutans and a huge number of reptiles and birds for the pet trade
Source: Illegal online sales of endangered wildlife rife in Europe | Environment | The Guardian
Researchers have been investigating the contents of orangutan faeces.
Source: Why are scientists so interested in orangutan poo? | Discover Wildlife
