UK Nature and Environment

Some 50 European Turtle Doves and 10 White Storks have been released in Devon this summer.

During the second week of June, Rewilding Coombeshead, led by Derek Gow, released the doves at the site near Lifton, south-west of Okehampton. All have remained close by, settling in nearby trees, the organisation reports. Annual releases are planned in the future, too.

At the end of May, 10 White Storks were released and have since taken up residence on the land. Rewilding Coombeshead hopes that the birds establish a breeding colony on site.

The UK’s hottest and driest spring on record has caused an increased risk to fish and wildlife as it has led to record levels of water pollution in rivers, according to the Angling Trust.

With just 14 per cent of the country’s rivers in good ecological health, the high temperatures have amplified nitrate and ammonia pollution, showing that global warming is placing “severe stress” on Britain’s waterways.

The Angling Trust said that river temperatures in England and Wales between March and June were the hottest since records began three years ago.

The first recorded sighting of a rare type of dragonfly in Belfast has been hailed by conservationists.

The black-tailed skimmer dragonfly was spotted by volunteers at Bog Meadows Nature Reserve in the west of the city last week.

Nature conservation charity Ulster Wildlife say it is the first such recorded sighting in Belfast and only the second sighting in County Antrim.

Scottish Water has breached its licences at sewage sites more than 250 times in three years.

Probes by eco watchdog SEPA since 2022 found over a third of its sewage assets failed to comply with regulations.

It follows mounting concern at human waste dumped in waterways via "overflow" pipes in the sewer network.

Marine mammal experts surveying a special conservation area were taken by surprise when they encountered at least three minke whales last week.

New Quay, Ceredigion, is known for its bottlenose dolphins as one of only two semi-resident populations in the UK, but sightings of other species are much rarer.

Josh Pedley, of the Sea Watch Foundation, said: "The weather was perfect, with low winds creating a flat calm sea and this helped us get some stunning views and footage of one of the whales as they curiously approached our boat, passing directly underneath us on a couple of occasions."

A project to create one of the UK's biggest wetland habitats at a quarry site could take eight years longer than planned.

Brice Aggregates, which operates Needingworth Quarry in Cambridgeshire, has asked for more time to excavate sand and gravel from the site.

The current planning permission for the quarry requires the site to be turned into a wetland habitat by 2030, which the company has asked to be extended to 2038.

Conservationists have said the number of uncommon plant species around a reservoir doubled in just two years thanks to a pond creation project.

The Freshwater Habitats Trust (FHT) also revealed wetland plant species across the whole landscape around Pitsford Reservoir in Northamptonshire were up by nearly a quarter.

A total of 22 new clean water ponds have been created and 10 existing ponds have been managed.

Millions of tonnes of treated sewage sludge is spread on farmland across the UK every year despite containing forever chemicals, microplastics and toxic waste, and experts say the outdated current regulations are not fit for purpose.

An investigation by the Guardian and Watershed has identified England’s sludge-spreading hotspots and shown where the practice could be damaging rivers.

Sludge – the solid matter left over after sewage treatment – is laden with Pfas “forever chemicals”, flame retardants, pharmaceuticals, microplastics, and toxic waste from homes and industry. Water companies rebrand it as biosolids and give or sell it to farmers as a nutrient-rich fertiliser.

Conservation staff are celebrating the success of a trial at Stanner Rocks, Powys after grazing goats notably improved the habitat for two of Wales’ most at risk bryophytes.

The Welsh Marches project, part of Wales’ foremost conservation programme, Natur am Byth (NaB), has been working to safeguard colonies of Upright Apple-moss (Bartramia aprica) and Black Crystalwort (Riccia nigrella) since its inception in summer 2023 and was made possible thanks to funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Stanner Rocks is the only place in the UK where both of these species grow and they were at risk of being wiped out completely due to an overgrowth of bramble and gorse making the area inhospitable.

There's no way to visit Long Nanny Nature Reserve without a walk on a stunning Northumberland beach first. Approach from the north, and you'll take the stunning curve at Beadnell, recently voted one of the UK's best.

From the south, wander through the dunes from Newton Steads Car Park onto Link House Beach, far enough away from Beadnell to be almost empty, yet still connected. A little over halfway and there's a fenced off area with a few chalkboards - that's the start of the Long Nanny tern colony.

There are few places where wildlife feels so immediate, so audible, and so intricately woven into daily life as it does in Orkney. This remote archipelago off Scotland’s northern coast isn’t just scenic, it’s ecologically vital. And on my recent ambassadorial visit with the RSPB, I witnessed first-hand how seriously the people of Orkney honour that responsibility.

I was invited to learn more about the Orkney Native Wildlife Project, a pioneering initiative, the first of its kind in the Northern Hemisphere and the largest eradication project ever undertaken on inhabited islands. It even deploys Europe’s first Stoat detection dogs. This ambitious collaboration between the RSPB, NatureScot and Orkney Islands Council is already delivering tangible results.

On Monday 30 June Parliament debated the future of driven grouse shooting in England, and with it the future of vast swathes of our iconic upland landscapes. The debate was triggered by the petition launched by the campaign group Wild Justice, which was signed by over 104,000 people and called for a ban on driven grouse shooting.

The RSPB is neutral on the ethics of shooting, and concerned only with preventing the harm caused to wildlife through the management of some grouse shoots. This is why, while we support efforts that bring this important issue into the spotlight, our focus has long been on achieving a system of licensing for grouse shooting. We believe this, rather than an outright ban, is the most pragmatic way to secure a positive outcome for nature.

Licensing would raise environmental standards across the shooting industry and allow responsible shoots to continue to operate, while providing an effective deterrent for those who do harm, or worse, break the law.

Schools and community groups on the Isle of Man have been given the tools to create flower strips to support pollinating insects as part of a drive by a conservation group.

The Make Space for Nature scheme by the Manx Wildlife Trust (MWT) encourages residents to transform outdoor spaces and make them "more wildlife-friendly".

Sewn in five locations across the island, the flower beds have used a blend of seeds to ensure a "maximum benefit to wildlife", the trust said.

The head of an environmental charity fears Atlantic salmon are at risk of extinction if their young cannot reach the sea.

The Environment Agency has launched a study to look for ways to help the species travel from the River Itchen in Hampshire, to the ocean.

The agency says juvenile salmon in Southampton, known as smolts, are struggling to get past barriers in the river, which is contributing to population decline.

The RSPB is encouraging people to sign up to be West Midlands Swift Champions, to help record species numbers and ensure they have places to nest.

It comes as the number of swifts has declined by more than 60% in the last 25 years, the charity says.

Volunteers who join the project will conduct swift surveys, engage with communities, attend events and respond to planning applications to see where nesting sites could be implemented.

Rare butterfly hits purple patch at Sussex rewilding project

Ecologists say 283 purple emperor recordings on one day at Knepp signal higher numbers nationwide Elsie McDowell Fri 4 Jul 2025 17.00 BST

A conservation project in West Sussex has had its best day on record for rare purple emperor butterfly sighting, and ecologists say they are confident the species is doing well nationally.

Purple emperor populations steadily declined over the course of the 20th century but they have been slowly recolonising the landscape at Knepp since 2001, when Isabella Tree and her husband, Charlie Burrell, decided to turn the stretch of former farmland into a “process-led” rewilding project.

Ecologists at Knepp recorded 283 purple emperors on 1 July alone. Since the site boasts the UK’s largest population of the butterflies, the ecologists said they were confident the numbers were high nationwide.

Conservationists working to protect a population of seahorses off the Dorset coast have counted the highest number of the creatures since the Covid pandemic.

The absence of boats and people in Studland Bay during lockdown meant seahorse numbers peaked in 2020 but quickly diminished when restrictions were eased.

Volunteers regularly monitor the habitat to assess the impact of eco-moorings, which have been installed to stop boat anchors damaging the seagrass habitat.

University of Oxford researchers have led a new study which found that hedgerows, small copses and even individual trees can significantly increase the number of butterflies in farmed landscapes. The findings have been published today in the journal Ecological Solutions and Evidence.

The study, carried out by the University of Oxford and national charity Butterfly Conservation, funded by The Woodland Trust, comes at a critical time for butterfly species. Recent data revealed that 2024 was one of the worst years for butterfly numbers across the UK, with more than half of species in long-term decline for the first time on record. In the new study, the researchers found that having more hedgerows and trees in the landscape increased numbers of butterflies found in the countryside such as Speckled Wood, Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown, Ringlet and Comma. Hedgerows, small woodlands and trees were especially important for butterflies in more arable landscapes.

The researchers are now calling for farmers and landowners to get better support to maintain such valuable natural assets on their land.

Britain’s historic meadows are living archives of our cultural, farming and natural heritage – every bit as significant as historic buildings or monuments. Yet these irreplaceable habitats are vanishing at an alarming rate, now covering just 0.8% of England’s land in tiny fragments, totaling an area of around half of Cornwall (406 square miles).

Today, on the eve of National Meadows Day (5 July), conservation charity Plantlife is urging the public to demand urgent action to safeguard what remains of irreplaceable meadows —before they are lost forever.

“No one would consider knocking down the Houses of Parliament and rebuilding it elsewhere,” said Nicola Hutchinson, Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Conservation, Plantlife. “Yet nature is being bulldozed by bricks and mortar in today’s political priorities, on the false promise of it being replaced in another location. You cannot recreate decades of ecological richness – these grasslands are irreplaceable – once they’re gone, they’re gone forever.”

Some farms in England could be taken entirely out of food production under plans to make more space for nature, the environment secretary has said.

Speaking at the Groundswell farming festival in Hertfordshire, Steve Reed said a revamp of post-Brexit farming subsidies and a new land use plan would be aimed at increasing food production in the most productive areas and decreasing or completely removing it in the least productive. In reality, this means many upland farmers may be incentivised to stop farming.

He said his land use framework “envisions taking some of the least productive land out of food production, but supporting the more productive land to increase production”.

Hazel dormice have been released into Leicestershire parkland after vets gave the miniature mammals a clean bill of health.

Since June, more than 20 dormice have been living in open cages in a secret location at Bradgate Park, near Newtown Linford.

On Wednesday, vets from London Zoo and Twycross Zoo assessed the health of the dormice before they were released into the wider park.

The Northern Forest, a partnership between the Woodland Trust, The Mersey Forest, Manchester City of Trees, the White Rose Forest, Humber Forest and the Community Forest Trust, has now established enough new trees to cover an area the size of 2,800 football pitches through tree planting and creating conditions for trees to reproduce on their own.

The new trees and woodlands have been established in towns, cities and rural locations across an area that stretches from the Mersey to the Humber, including in and around Liverpool, Chester, Preston, Manchester, Bradford, Leeds, Sheffield, York, Hull and Beverley.

During the 2024/25 planting season, over 2.2 million new trees were planted across the Northern Forest, the highest annual tree planting recorded since its launch. This includes over 4,100 standard trees in towns and cities, and new hedgerows on farms to benefit wildlife and the resilience of farming businesses.

Reports from the National Trust, who look after this vitally important breeding site for the terns at Long Nanny near Beadnell in Northumberland indicate that the number of occupied Arctic tern nests has dropped by 313 compared to last year (724 occupied nests in 2025 compared to 1,037 in 2024).

This news comes just one month after a high spring tide washed away occupied Arctic tern and little tern nests at Long Nanny, despite rangers' best efforts to protect them from extreme weather conditions. It also comes just 10 months after the Arctic tern species was added to the UK Birds of Conservation Concern (BoCC) Red List, reflecting the significant population declines driven by multiple factors including climate change, overfishing and avian influenza[1].

James Porteus, Lead Ranger for the National Trust at Long Nanny said: “After several difficult years due to storms washing out nests and then bird flu, we have been saddened by the drop in Arctic tern numbers returning to Long Nanny this year to breed. We don’t know the reason for the decline but suspect it will be due to factors such as climate change, food availability and of course avian influenza.

A decade-long nature-friendly farming project has helped to increase the diversity and abundance of wildlife across farmland and prompted the return of rare species such as the butterfly orchid and red-listed birds such as the nightingale.

The Jordans Farm Partnership between The Wildlife Trusts, Jordans Cereals and LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming), has seen 27 farms across England develop bespoke conservation plans to help improve wildlife habitat on their farm. This includes creating features like hedgerows, field margins and ponds, and improving habitat connectivity with neighbouring landowners.

Since the partnership began in 2015, over half the participating farmers say they have seen new or returning species, many of which are endangered and of conservation concern, including birds appearing on the UK’s Red List for Birds such as tree sparrow, nightingale and goshawk, and the rare plant meadow clary, which is only found at 26 sites across the UK. Other success stories include the return of breeding stone curlew in Hampshire, scarce emerald damselfly in Suffolk and brown hare in Leicestershire.

On an unusually hot May day in Aberdeenshire, Edwin Third stands on the bank of the River Muick, a tributary of the UK’s highest river, the Dee, talking us through the rising threats to one of Scotland’s most celebrated species, the Atlantic salmon. Against the hills of the Cairngorms national park, a herd of stags on the moorland bask in the sun.

It is a spectacular landscape, attracting hikers, mountain-bikers and salmon fishers, the latter contributing an estimated £15m to Aberdeenshire’s economy.

But according to Third, the river operations manager for the Dee District Salmon Fishery Board and River Dee Trust, the changing climate threatens the survival of spring salmon in the Dee’s Special Area of Conservation, a place where King Charles learned to fly-fish.