UK Nature and Environment

More frequent sightings of a rare marsh bird at nature reserves have prompted hopes they may start to breed.

Northumberland Wildlife Trust said bitterns, a member of the heron family, have overwintered regularly in recent years at several of its sites at Druridge Bay.

The charity is running a project, Biodivesity Boost, to create better habitats for the birds with a mixture of reed beds, ditches and pools to encourage them to stay for the spring breeding season.

One of Britain’s largest species of beetle has been found in Dorset for the first time in more than 200 years.

A Bournemouth University student discovered two great silver water beetles while surveying animal and plant life in the Blackmore Vale as part of his master’s degree.

Wren Franklin checked his discovery with the county’s recorder for beetles, who confirmed the last recorded sighting of them was in 1821 by influential entomologist JC Dale.

A new wetland project will transform Clapham Common, boosting biodiversity and providing an educational resource for schoolchildren in the area.

Friends of Clapham Common and Wild Clapham have secured planning permission from Lambeth council to begin work on its Wetland and Reedbeds project after reaching its funding target.

Shirley Kermer, chairman of Friends of Clapham Common said: “The creation of this wetland habitat is an important step in our ambition to improve the ecology of Clapham Common.”

Water companies are planning to build a pipeline network to move treated sewage away from conservation areas and into rivers, lakes and seas which do not have the same legal protection.

The work will be funded by customers and the water regulator, Ofwat, has provisionally said bills would rise by an average of £19 a year between 2025 and 2030.

Billions of pounds could be spent on the projects - including 10 schemes being planned by Severn Trent Water.

The largest seagrass restoration project in the UK has come to an end after five years of work, with some areas showing signs of "recovery" as a result.

The £2.5m project, funded by the EU and run by the Plymouth-based charity Ocean Conservation Trust (OCT), aimed to reverse decades of decline which had seen seagrass disturbed and wiped out by coastal pollution and human activity.

Seagrass can absorb carbon dioxide faster than trees, making it a natural defence against climate change and an important part of the marine ecosystem.

Raw sewage spills have pushed levels of harmful bacteria in Belfast Lough beyond legal limits, a BBC Spotlight investigation has found.

Expert water sampling found levels of bacteria at some popular swimming spots were more than three times higher than permitted for bathing waters.

Northern Ireland Water has admitted breaching the law hundreds of times each year by releasing untreated sewage into the lough.

The Government may have failed to comply with environmental laws when it granted use of a banned pesticide toxic to bees, a watchdog has warned.

The Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) is investigating the Environment Department (Defra)’s emergency authorisation for the use of the neonicotinoid thiamethoxam on sugar beet seeds in 2023 and 2024.

As part of the investigation, launched in June, the environmental watchdog has issued an “information notice” to Defra setting out alleged failures to comply with a number of environmental laws, why it is serious, and requesting specific information relating to the allegations.

Today marks the first day of the 2025 PondNet Spawn Survey. We’re inviting people across the UK to get involved by recording Common Frog and Common Toad spawn they have spotted in their garden, community ponds, and out in the countryside.

Freshwater Habitats Trust has been collecting data on sightings of breeding frogs and toads since 2012. With 2,064 records added, the 2024 PondNet Spawn Survey was the biggest so far.

Sightings typically start in the South West, often before Christmas. Last year, the first record was from a large puddle near St Ives in Cornwall on 21st December, followed by another from a garden pond in the village of Lesnewth in the Valency Valley, North Cornwall on Christmas Eve.

Moorland of "exceptional ecological importance" has been added to a mountain nation reserve in a 62% extension of the site.

The Manx Wildlife Trust bought the extra 43 acres (17.4 hectares), which is adjacent to the land originally purchased in 1995, with money from a corporate donation.

The expansion makes the now 112-acre (27.9 hectare) Dalby Mountain Nature Reserve the second largest of its kind on the Isle of Man.

Bee-killing pesticides have been found in 85% of tested rivers in England, an analysis of Government figures has found.

Green groups looked at Environment Agency data on neonicotinoid pesticides in river sites tested between 2023 to 2024.

They also found that the proportion of rivers affected appears to have increased from 79% during the testing period of 2020 to 2022.

Two spinal cords, a dozen ribs and a hollowed-out head lie next to a peak called “rock of the eagle” in Gaelic. These are the remains of a pair of three-month-old lambs. It’s muggy, and maggots and foxes will make light work of the remaining skin and bone. In a few weeks, it’ll be as if it never happened.

Ruaridh MacKay, who has been farming here at Stronmagachan Farm in Inveraray for 25 years, picks up one of the spinal cords: sodden and slimy from successive fronts of rain, every morsel of flesh has been excavated. He was expecting to take these lambs to market next month.

All around are miles of sheep-grazed hills, like a giant lawn spun inside a tumble dryer. The valley is bowl-shaped and gets steeper the higher it rises, finishing in sheer rock. The sheep that live up here are bred for these conditions – both farmer and sheep have long lineages. Farming on these hills has changed little in 150 years.

A successful breeding season for a colony of one of the UK's rarest seabirds depleted by bird flu is giving conservationists "hope for the future".

Roseate terns on Coquet Island, off the Northumberland coast, saw a record number of 191 chicks hatched this year, with 92% going on to fledge.

The island hosts the only colony in the UK of the threatened species, which are ranked at the highest level of conservation concern.

But the RSPB said it was "too early" to say if it was a sign of recovery from the avian influenza of 2022 and 2023.

An award-winning photographer has captured a stunning image of an orca closing in on an otter in Lerwick harbour.

Ryan Leith shared the “unforgettable experience” on social media and with The Shetland Times.

It was taken yesterday (Friday) morning as the 64 pod of orcas pursued an otter from the Loofa Baa to the North Ness, where Mr Leith was stood watching at the time.

Hundreds of trees are set to be planted on Oxfordshire's streets this planting season.

The move comes as Oxfordshire County Council's Tree Service looks to bolster the county's urban tree population, with the aim of improving public safety, enhancing air quality, and providing better habitats for wildlife.

Over the last two years, more than 800 standard trees have been planted on highways across the county - a number which is set to be matched this planting season.

A charity which owns part of an ancient Derbyshire woodland has bought an extra 8.26 acres of land for the community to benefit from.

Grith Pioneers has owned 100 acres of Shining Cliff Wood in Ambergate since 1932 and successfully bid at auction for a section of farmland adjacent to the current site.

Michelle Kershaw-Wright, trustee of the charity, said they managed to raise £103,000 and bought the new land for £102,000.

Red Squirrels Northern England (RSNE) has published the results of its annual red and grey squirrel survey, which once again confirms that red squirrels can still be found across Cumbria, Northumberland, north Yorkshire, Lancashire and Merseyside.

The monitoring programme is the only scientific evidence base that helps measure whether the collective red squirrel conservation effort is making a difference in the north of England.

Each year the programme aims to survey around 250 sites, this year (2024) 180 people got involved and, without their help, completion of the survey would simply not be possible.

A charity wants to create a "lifesaving" winter wetland area for wading birds that are in decline.

The Countryside Regeneration Trust (CRT) wants to raise £8,000 to create the space at Lark Rise Farm, near Barton, in Cambridgeshire.

Another wetland habitat will also be created at the CRT’s Bere Marsh Farm in Dorset.

Sniffer dogs are usually found looking for contraband at airports and train stations, but the UK government is now dispatching trained hounds to find forest-harming pests.

A dog has been used for the first time in the UK to successfully identify tree disease. Researchers from Forest Research used a trained spanador – a cocker spaniel labrador cross – to find the tree pathogen Phytophthora ramorum.

Six-year-old Ivor the dog achieved a 89% successful first-time detection rate of the pest. This is an important finding as the disease is a menace to UK forests; spread by rain, the fungal-like organism causes the death of a wide range of trees and shrubs and has led to thousands of hectares of felling around the UK.

Saplings from the felled Sycamore Gap tree are being given to charities, groups and individuals as "trees of hope".

A charity set up to remember murdered schoolgirl Holly Newton in Hexham, Northumberland, and The Rob Burrow Centre for Motor Neurone Disease in Leeds are among 49 recipients across the UK.

Each sapling represents a foot in height of the tree, which stood in a dip in Hadrian's Wall and was cut down in September 2023.

Restoration work has begun to "bring Pevensey Levels back to life as one of the great biodiverse wetlands of the UK".

Sussex Wildlife Trust is working with National Highways on a £600,000 Network for Nature project which aims to "create an archipelago of wetland habitat".

This would provide "stepping stones" for species to move through the landscape, which stretches across 3,500 hectares (13.5 square miles) between Eastbourne, Hailsham and Bexhill, said head of nature reserves, Jamie Parsons.

A new Tree Planting Taskforce has been launched today to oversee the planting of millions of trees across the UK (Thursday 28 November).

The Taskforce, chaired by the forestry ministers from the four nations, brought together representatives from key arm’s-length bodies and delivery partners from across the UK.

Top of the agenda at the meeting was how to drive forward the UK’s tree planting in order to meet our collective net zero targets, as part of the Government’s critical mission to make the UK a clean and green energy superpower. 

A petition calling for stronger laws to protect iconic trees has been handed to the government, the UK's largest woodland conservation charity has confirmed.

More than 100,000 signatures pledging support for the Woodland Trust's Living Legends campaign are in a box delivered to 10 Downing Street at noon on Monday 18 November. Trust campaigns manager Adele Benson said passing the 100,000 mark is a "significant milestone", particularly with National Tree Week beginning on Saturday 23 November.

"We're sending a powerful message to the government which shows the strength of feeling for protecting the UK's oldest and most special trees," she said.

Ancient woodland management techniques have been used to tackle climate change and increase biodiversity at an important Anglo-Saxon archaeological site.

Since introducing coppicing and thinning at Sutton Hoo in Suffolk the site has seen an increase in wildlife and wildflowers, including the endangered Nightingale songbird.

Sutton Hoo is thought to be the final resting place of King Raedwald, who ruled East Anglia in the 7th Century.

The trust said by also reusing the felled timber it was able to reduce its carbon footprint.