UK Nature and Environment

A family of beavers is said to be "very happy" a year after being released into a woodland enclosure as part of a conservation programme.

Two adults and four kits were moved into a five-hectare space in Worcestershire's Wyre Forest in April 2024 under efforts to reintroduce the species to the wild.

Forestry England said the animals had since been hard at work making a home for themselves - and had significantly transformed the area.

An initial assessment of the Llyn Gorast site has revealed that areas where peatland was restored and rewetted were notably more resilient to the fires. Unlike the surrounding singed peat and earth, green pools with sphagnum moss regrowth were observed to have acted as natural firebreaks, limiting the fire’s spread across the landscape.

This outcome further demonstrates the value of restoration efforts under the National Peatland Action Programme (NPAP), funded by the Welsh Government and managed by Natural Resources Wales (NRW).

In 2023, restoration work was completed at part of the Llyn Gorast site, which involved constructing dams and contour bunds to raise water levels and reduce erosion. These actions are crucial in restoring the integrity of heavily eroded peatland sites.

The Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT) has held annual counts of snake’s-head fritillaries, Oxfordshire’s official county flower, at Iffley Meadows nature reserve since the early 1980s. The very first count recorded just 500 flowers, but careful management of the reserve has seen a peak of nearly 90,000 counted in 2015.

Numbers plummeted to a 30-year low in 2024 as prolonged flooding, heavy rain and high winds resulted in a devastating tally of 6,087 flowers.

Last week, dedicated volunteers once again joined apprehensive ecologists from BBOWT at Iffley Meadows, on the banks of the River Thames in Oxford, to meticulously count the wild flowers. Spirits lifted as it became clear that numbers were recovering, and the final tally was 29,522 flowers, a nearly fivefold increase on the previous year.

With its chalk-white face and bright flame-coloured markings, the white-faced darter dragonfly is a distinctive sight as it flutters around England’s peat bogs.

The rare dragonfly, which breeds in mossy pools, is at threat of local extinction, but now conservationists are trying to end its population crash by introducing it into a remote corner of Cumbria.

White-faced darters are being carefully transported to the South Solway Mosses national nature reserve, where mossy pools have been created for the insects to enjoy. They thrive in bogs, breeding in acidic pools containing sphagnum moss, and roost and feed in woodlands.

The shocking state of Britain’s bathing waters have been laid bare as new figures reveal the number of beauty spots deemed unfit for swimming because of sewage has doubled in a year.

Of England’s 451 protected bathing spots, 37 are now rated as poor – the lowest category – because they contain unsafe levels of potentially deadly bacteria, including E coli and intestinal enterococci, due to sewage spills. The 2024 figures, provided by the Environment Agency, are up from 18 in 2023.

And so far this month, there has been more than 6,000 sewage discharges across England, Scotland and Wales, with alerts issued at 157 beaches through campaign group Surfers Against Sewage’s Safer Seas and Rivers Service app.

A wildlife charity is fundraising to help restore Hertfordshire's "priceless" chalk rivers.

Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust is taking part in the Big Give Green Match Fund to fundraise for the conservation and restoration of the area’s globally rare chalk rivers.

The Big Give’s Green Match Fund campaign has given HMWT the opportunity to boost its work in restoring their health, increase flood resistance and support local wildlife

People are being encouraged to help spot water voles in ponds and streams because they are "Britain's fastest declining mammal".

Water vole populations have declined by 90% due to habitat loss, fragmentation and becoming prey of the non-native American mink, according to wildlife charity People's Trust for Endangered Species (PTES).

Volunteers can choose from over 700 pre-selected riverbank sites across England, Scotland and Wales – or register a new site near them.

A wildlife trust is seeking donations as it looks to use beavers to transform habitats in Surrey.

Surrey Wildlife Trust is considering a licence to release beavers into the county after they were hunted to extinction about 400 years ago.

The trust said that releasing beavers into the wild would help to create ponds, ditches and marshes, which would in turn alleviate flood risks and help native plants and animals.

Multiple tonne bags of nettles from across Northern Ireland have been shipped to Rathlin Island in an effort to support the endangered corncrake bird.

The nettle rhizomes have proven to be a success with the secretive bird as they provide tall vegetation for it to hide in when it returns from wintering in Africa.

The annual dig and planting is part of the Giving Corncrake a Home Project which is ran by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).

Land at the most southerly point of the Isle of Man has been acquired by a charity promising to "manage it in perpetuity for nature".

Manx Birdlife now owns 60 acres (24 hectares) of grassland, coastal heath and saltmarsh on the Langness Peninsula.

Some 200 bird species have been recorded at the area of special scientific interest, which also boasts the only lesser mottled grasshoppers in the British Isles.

Hare coursing is the illegal pursuit of hares by dogs, which are judged by how closely they can follow the twists and turns of the animal as it tries to escape. It is usually accompanied by gambling. When trespassing is involved, it can lead to the disruption of crops and damage on farmers' land.

After meeting farmers and people in rural communities, Richard Fuller, Conservative MP for North Bedfordshire, introduced a private members' bill in 2022, external to tackle hare coursing.

He said: "Hare coursing is one of those where people in isolated communities feel absolutely helpless. They know there is no way police can get to them in time to assist them."

The Orcadian curlew population is on the rise following an effort to reduce the numbers of an invasive predator, experts have said.

In a report, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) said on Monday that the species population has grown, after an initiative to reduce the number of stoats living on the islands came into force.

Stoats are small, carnivorous mammals that were first recorded in Orkney in 2010.

Reaching the vantage point is a tricky business.

First, there’s a hop across a fence into Scratch Arse quarry – the stone workers used to find it such a cramped space to work in that their backsides would bump into the rock face. Then, a tiptoe through the slopes of early spider orchids and wild cabbage before a dizzying scramble down to the edge of the cliff.

Teams of hardy volunteers will be making the trip this spring, come rain or shine, to try to solve the mystery of the Purbeck puffins.

A wildlife trust has called on gardeners to help protect and save hoverflies.

The Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT) and the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) said hoverflies are the second most significant pollinator after bees.

They are also food for birds and help break down gardens' organic matter but intensive agriculture, pesticides and climate change have meant their population has declined, BBOWT and the RHS said.

The Cornwall Wildlife Trust chat about the discovery of a beaver farting on their webcam.

A survey of the New Forest's Woodlark population has revealed record-breaking numbers.

The survey, which was carried out in 2024 and conducted by Forestry England and Hampshire Ornithological Society volunteers, showed that the species has increased by 50% since 2019.

In total, 100 volunteers surveyed the forest. They counted a total of 260 breeding pairs – a significant increase from the 167 recorded in the same survey five years ago.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been watching a webcam waiting for four peregrine falcon eggs to hatch, a conservation charity has said.

Peregrines falcons have nested at Norwich Cathedral since 2009 and this year four eggs have been laid.

The Hawk and Owl Trust, which manages the site at the top of the cathedral spire, said the eggs were due to hatch between the end of April and first few days of May.

Three UK military bases have been marked for investigation over fears they may be leaking toxic “forever chemicals” into drinking water sources and important environmental sites.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) will investigate RAF Marham in Norfolk, RM Chivenor in Devon and AAC Middle Wallop in Hampshire after concerns they may be leaching toxic PFAS chemicals into their surroundings. The sites were identified using a new PFAS risk screening tool developed by the Environment Agency (EA) designed to locate and prioritise pollution threats.

RAF Marham and AAC Middle Wallop lie within drinking water safeguard zones. RM Chivenor borders protected shellfish waters, a special area of conservation, and the River Taw – an important salmon river.

They had been hoping for a nice day out on the bay. Instead, dolphin-watching tourists in Wales were confronted with the shocking and grisly sight of four adult bottlenose dolphins pursuing and killing a common dolphin calf.

The trip, in Cardigan Bay, was operated by Dolphin Spotting Boat Trips and the Sea Watch Foundation (SWF), a charity that monitors the dolphins in the bay to inform and advise on their conservation status and protection.

Dylan Coundley-Hughes, an intern with the SWF, was on the trip, on which tourists go dolphin-watching alongside experts who are photographing and collecting data on the cetacean population.

Britain’s national parks have warned of a “catastrophic” risk from wildfires this Easter after one of the driest early spring seasons on record.

Park rangers from the South Downs to the Highlands said the prolonged warm weather and breezy conditions had left large areas extremely dry despite recent rain.

A number of national parks have advised day-trippers about the dangers of lighting barbecues and dropping cigarettes after one of the worst fire seasons on record.

A new group says it is hoping to protect a beloved city park which is home to 100 acres of "stunning landscapes" and "rich Roman history".

Verulamium Park in St Albans, Hertfordshire, is a popular tourist spot welcoming hundreds of thousands of visitors annually.

The local council owns the park and is planning to spend £2.2m on improvements, including £25,000 of proceeds from the film Wonka, which shot a scene in Verulamium.

"People really love the park, but they're a bit upset – it's looking a little tired at the moment," said Bill Free, the chair of the new Friends of Verulamium Park group.

Slag from the steel industry could help save some of Wales' most rare plants, according to an ecologist.

The material, regarded as waste, has been described as a potential "game-changer" when it comes to boosting biodiversity.

Barry Stewart, an ecologist from Swansea, has observed how slag heaps have self-seeded with plants which are on the edge of extinction in Wales.

Blue skies and wall-to-wall sunshine are not something that are usually associated with Exmoor, a dark skies reserve where cloud normally obscures the sky, but the first half of this April was truly exceptional.

Sunshine lifts your spirits, even if it is tempered by chilly nights and a fresh breeze, and working outside in the sun on the League Against Cruel Sports wildlife reserves, serenaded by bird song and with little sound of human activity, is an absolute pleasure. The familiar song of blackbirds is now perforated by the trickling call of willow warblers and the enthusiastic ramblings of blackcaps, all sounding delighted that the breeding season has arrived. Although we have returned to the more familiar pattern of sunshine and showers, nothing can deter nature from throwing herself into spring with joyful exuberance.

Bluebells are the flower of the month and on the League’s wildlife reserves we are blessed with more than our fair share. Drifts of bluebells carpet the ancient woodland floors and spill out into the surrounding land in an explosion of deep blue. The UK has almost half of the world’s bluebells, and there is something distinctly British about our native version. Unlike their bold, but paler Spanish cousins, our bluebells hang their heads and nod to one side, as if slightly embarrassed about how fantastic they look.

Conservationists have called on people to look for water voles that were reintroduced at a nature reserve last year.

A total of 116 water voles that were bred in captivity were released at Nene Wetlands in Northamptonshire.

However, follow-up surveys along parts of the River Nene are yet to record sightings.