Confirmed incidents of the illegal persecution of birds of prey have fallen to their lowest levels for more than a decade, according to the latest RSPB Birdcrime report. But the conservation charity warned that the reduction in incidents to 61 in 2022 is distorted by a failure to examine dead raptors caught in the avian […]
Tag: Patrick Barkham
More than half of UK and Ireland seabirds in decline, census finds
More than half the seabird species breeding on British and Irish coasts have declined over the last 20 years, according to the most comprehensive census to date. Eleven of 21 nesting seabirds species have fallen, five species have remained stable and five have increased, some because of targeted conservation work, according to the Seabirds Count […]
‘You can’t control what beavers do or how they do it!’ Could rewilding help England fight droughts?
In the midst of the UK’s worst drought in living memory, a host of unfamiliar experiences assault our senses in a Devon valley. Before us is a field of lush green grass. To one side is a bush of blackberries swollen huge by perfect growing conditions. Squelch, squelch go our feet through the grass. There’s […]
Large blue butterfly numbers soar in Britain
The large blue butterfly has enjoyed its best summer for 150 years in Britain thanks to targeted restoration work, which is also benefiting other rare insects including the rugged oil beetle and the shrill carder bee. The butterfly, which became extinct in Britain in 1979 but was reintroduced via caterpillars from Sweden four years later, […]
Last-ditch effort under way to stop corncrake extinction in Britain
The piercing “crex crex” call of the male corncrake once kept country people awake at night. But its last breeding strongholds are falling silent as this elusive migratory bird teeters on the brink of extinction in Britain. Despite a successful rescue effort that led to its numbers rallying on the islands of north-west Scotland, rising […]
Scottish forests could save red squirrel from extinction
Twenty forest strongholds in Scotland would save the red squirrel from extinction even if grey squirrels were to colonise the whole of Britain, according to research. Since their introduction from North America by Victorian enthusiasts, grey squirrels have pushed red squirrels out of much of the country, with reds outcompeted by the bigger greys and […]
Continental swallowtail breeding in UK for first time
Britain may have a spectacular new butterfly: dozens of continental swallowtails have been spotted along the south coast after being filmed emerging from pupae in gardens and allotments for the first time. Unprecedented footage, which will be broadcast on Springwatch tonight, shows the first British generation of this charismatic, colourful butterfly hatching out in an […]
Butterflywatch: Dawn of the early risers
The Lulworth skipper is the only British butterfly with a geographically accurate name – it is found flying around Lulworth cove in Dorset and along a small section of the south coast. It is one of our rarest butterflies, and my 1980s field guide says it emerges in July. Last year it was first seen […]