H a b i t a t - Daily wildlife and environment news from the British Isles

Daily wildlife and environment news from the British Isles


Birds
Resources
British Trust for Ornithology British Ornithologists' Union Royal Society for the Protection of Birds Birds Directive BirdGuides Bird News JNCC - Birds Natura 2000 Species of the Birds Directive Breeding Birds in the Wider Countryside Black Grouse UK Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust BirdLife International Fat Birder

Plan to track life of eagle chick

Bird lovers may be given a rare opportunity to follow the activities of a Sutherland golden eagle chick on the internet.

this is North Scotland

Farm lures rare birds home to roost

A farmer who is combining traditional methods with wildlife conservation has seen rare birds flourish on his farm.

Newark Advertiser

Birdwatchers gather for Dawn Chorus Day

Across the UK, people will be rising early on Sunday in a bid to create the biggest birdwatch in history and raise awareness of the decline of Britain's song birds.

Community Newswire

Leighton Moss wins prestigious award

A nature reserve in Silverdale has gained a prestigious award for being a high quality visitor establishment.

Morecambe Today

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Calculate your ecological footprint - then work out how you can save - here


Animals
Resources
Mammal Society People's Trust for Endangered Species Mammals Trust UK The Deer Commission for Scotland Scottish Big Cat Trust Scottish Badgers Badger Trust International Otter Survival Fund Bat Conservation Trust Froglife Butterfly Conservation UK Butterflies Butterflies of Ireland learn about Butterflies Spiders of NW-Europe British Dragonfly Society Buglife Defra: TB in cattle

Butterflies make early appearance

The hottest April on record has meant butterflies are hatching up to two months early.

Independent Online

Butterfly count plea

Butterfly lovers are being asked to help collect information for a wildlife survey.

this is Bradford

Horror in a half-shell

They're aggressive, impart a painful nip, and chomp their way through other pondlife.

The Guardian

Mull and Iona study to target islands' mink

The days of the non-native American mink - which pose a major threat to ground-nesting birds - could be numbered on the Hebridean islands of Mull and Iona.

this is North Scotland
BBC

Toad found deep down in Loch Ness

US researchers carrying out a sonar survey of Loch Ness have been amazed to find a common toad crawling in the mud 324ft (98m) down.

BBC

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The harlequin ladybird is the most invasive ladybird on Earth.
Now it's in Britain.
Help monitor its spread here


Plants
Resources
Botanical Society of the British Isles Wild Flower Society Plantlife Flora locale Rare Plants Group Royal Botanic Gardens Kew Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh The Postcode Plants Database The Woodland Trust Heritage Trees of Scotland Forestry Commission The British Lichen Society

The British bluebell is under threat

The British bluebell, which is currently carpeting woodlands around Malvern, is under threat, according to the Worcestershire Wildlife Trust.

Malvern Gazette

The weed from Hell invades Arran

Japanese Knotweed has been labelled ‘The Weed from Hell’ and it is spreading steadily over Arran.

Arran Banner

Oak and ash contest thing of past

The magnificent spectacle of oak and ash trees coming into leaf together may be a thing of the past because of climate change and record temperatures.

BBC

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The Museum is calling on everyone to search for, identify and record the bluebells of the UK
More


Marine
Resources
British Marine Life Study Society JNCC Marine Marine Conservation Society Marine Life Information Network for Britain and Ireland Sea Watch Foundation Shark Trust The European Register of Marine Species The UK Coastal Zone

Groups unite in call to stop oil transfers

Shareholders of Forth Ports plc were met by an array of protesters when they arrived for the company’s annual meeting in Edinburgh yesterday.

Dundee Courier

Norway kills first whale of 2007 hunt

Norway has killed the first minke of its 2007 whaling quota.

Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society

Baby fish home in on mother's reef

It's a case of "reef, sweet reef" for baby tropical fish, say researchers who have found a way of tracking the movements of two generations of fish.

NewScientist.com

Shrinking giants: The grey whales under threat from starvation

They were one of the triumphs of conservation worldwide. Grey whales were hunted to the brink of extinction in the 1850s after the discovery of calving lagoons, and again in the early 1900s with the introduction of floating whaling factories.

Independent Online

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Conservation of whales and
dolphins around
Britain and Ireland
More


Policy
Resources
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group Natural Environment Research Council National Biodiversity Network Nature societies online Minerals and Nature Conservation Forum The Wildlife Trusts Wildlife and Countryside Link British Naturalists' Association National Federation for Biological Recording EnvironmentJobs environmentjob.co.uk

EU denies biofuel will hit food prices

Europe's targets to encourage greater use of biofuels will not make much difference to retail food prices, the EU's farm chief said today.

Irish Times

Advisers urge more emphasis on crop experiment benefits

British farmers are being denied access to the most promising agricultural advances because regulators place too much emphasis on the negative impacts they have on the environment, according to a government body.

The Guardian

People who care passionately about our countryside - support us!


England
Resources
Natural England Environment Agency Campaign for the Protection of Rural England

Bid to identify stream pollution

The Environment Agency is asking people to help trace pollution which is killing fish in a small Cornish stream.

BBC

Ashbourne farmer fined for brook pollution

On 3 May 2007, Alan Woodhouse, 61, of Old Hall Farm, Marston Montgomery pleaded guilty at South Derbyshire Magistrates Court to two charges relating to polluting the Marston Brook.

Environment Agency

Environment Agency brings fish back to Castleford

The Environment Agency will start work next week on the construction of a fish pass at Castleford, which will help fish to freely migrate up the River Aire.

Environment Agency

Environment Agency plans for River Don recovery

Environment Agency staff have unveiled a project of improvements planned for the River Don over the next five years.

Environment Agency

Bid to bring back the burbot

A freshwater cod which had its chips more than 30 years ago could be re-introduced to our rivers.

EDP24

Conservation area goes up in flames

Firefighters spent nearly seven hours battling a blaze at a vast conservation area in Horwich.

this is Lancashire

Public urged to create wildlife gardens

A mobile wildlife garden designed to inspire people to create wildlife havens in their own backyards will stop off at a Devon garden centre this weekend.

Community Newswire

Town chiefs in hedgerow cutting row

Crowborough Town Council was this week accused of destroying the environment during a row over a demolished hedgerow.

this is Kent

Naturenet
Countryside management and nature conservation
- here


Wales
Resources
Welsh Assembly Countryside Council for Wales Wales Biodiversity Partnership Campaign for the Protection of Rural Wales Environment Agency (Wales)

Damage to wildlife from warming Welsh rivers ‘has global message’

Climate change is warming Welsh streams and rivers, threatening the number and variety of some of their smallest animals, new research warns.

icWales

Cash boost for farm to help bird life

A conservation project costing thousands of pounds is underway in the Towy Valley.

this is South Wales

Enter the wave dragon

A Pembrokeshire project that promises to become the world's biggest wave energy development has made a significant step forward.

Western Telegraph


Ireland
Resources
Environment & Heritage Service (Northern Ireland) Northern Ireland Biodiversity Strategy National Parks and Wildlife Service All-Ireland review of introduced species

New water firm under fire over raw sewage

Newly formed Northern Ireland Water has already come under fire over raw sewage flowing into Larne Lough, an internationally protected haven for wildlife.

Belfast Telegraph

Assembly should set targets to reverse decline of farmland birds

Hot on the heels of its ‘ Environmental Programme for Government’ launch, RSPB NI has urged the incoming Assembly to set a target to halt the decline of farmland birds in Northern Ireland.

Royal Society for the Protection of Birds

Restoration plan for Espie's wild habitat

One of Ulster's rarest habitats will be recreated at Castle Espie as part of a major £4m restoration project.

Belfast Telegraph

Councils that pollute to be prosecuted

County and city councils will face prosecution through the courts from early next year if they pollute rivers and lakes with poorly treated sewage.

Friends of the Irish Environment

An Taisce - 'The Store House, or Treasury' - is the most influential environmental body in Ireland.
Join here


Scotland
Resources
Scottish Natural Heritage Scottish Environment Protection Agency Biodiversity Scotland Scotland's National Nature Reserves John Muir Trust Scottish Environment News Scottish Wildlife Trust Red Squirrels In South Scotland

Programme of events will highlight island's wildlife

Mull and Iona's fantastic array of wildlife will be celebrated in a spectacular programme of events which will start tomorrow and will run until the end of next week.

this is North Scotland

Loch warning over poisonous algae

Warning signs have been put at Gunknowe Loch at Tweedbank after an outbreak of potentially poisonous algae was found.

BBC

HEN conference boost after SNH funding

An organisation which promotes environmental education has received £2000 from Scottish Natural Heritage for its annual conference.

Scottish Natural Heritage

Tree-mendous boost for school woodland

A Perthshire primary school is set to grow its own wooded wonderland thanks to the Woodland Trust Scotland and a local offroad adventure company.

icPerthshire


Climate
Resources
Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research Southampton Oceanography Centre Centre for Ecology and Hydrology Natural Environment Research Council UK Climate Impacts Programme Impacts of Climate Change on Wildlife United Nations Environment Programme: Climate Change Global Warming: Early warning signs Carbon Trust Energy Saving Trust 'An Inconvenient Truth' - trailer

Deal reached on climate change

Delegates approved the world's first roadmap for stemming mounting greenhouse gas emissions Friday, laying out an arsenal of anti-warming measures that must be rushed into place to avert a disastrous spike in global temperatures.

CNN.com

Leaders argue over global climate change agency

A diplomatic tussle over which world agency should tackle global warming sees France demanding a new U.N. agency with broad powers, while others say time is short and existing U.N. bodies must rise to the challenge.

Reuters

Costs of stabilising global warming 'negligible'

Climate scientists, economists and policy researchers are all in agreement: limiting long-term global warming is achievable at a "negligible" cost. Now, the responsibility for action lies in the hands of politicians, they say.

NewScientist.com

UN experts mull burying greenhouse gas

Scientists believe that finding a way to bury the world's greenhouse gas problem - quite literally - could be an important step to curbing climate change, but the technology is still in its infancy.

IOL

Busy gardeners say it's down to global warming

The bananas are ripening nicely in Bath, the lawn fanatics who have already been mowing their lawns for two months are now turning sprinklers on them, and the false black widow spider - whose bite is not deadly but excruciating - has made it to Dorset and could soon turn up in a flowerbed near you.

The Guardian

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Simple idea -
offset your carbon emissions
by planting trees where they're needed!
Click


Global
Resources
IUCN - World Conservation Union Convention on Biological Diversity Global Biodiversity Information Facility WWF - The global environment network World Land Trust

Slaughter in Cyprus - hunting spree sanctioned by government

Thousands of Europe’s most beleaguered dove will be illegally shot from the sky in Cyprus next week.

Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
BirdLife International

Large population of rare stork spotted in north China's Tianjin

Chinese scientists have discovered a large population of the oriental white stork, a globally endangered species, in the coastal areas of the northern municipality of Tianjin.

China Daily

World Bank eyes $250 million deal to save forests

The World Bank is in talks with Papua New Guinea, Costa Rica and Indonesia, and regional bodies in Brazil and the Democratic Republic of Congo to fund forest protection, said Warren Evans, the Bank's head of environment.

Environmental News Network

Indonesia deforestation fastest in world: Greenpeace

Indonesia had the fastest pace of deforestation in the world between 2000-2005, with an area of forest equivalent to 300 soccer pitches destroyed every hour, Greenpeace said on Thursday.

Reuters

Wind farms urged to go easy on birds and bats

Ducks in the Dakotas, tanagers in Texas and grosbeaks along the Gulf of Mexico could all be hit by the rapid growth of wind power unless the renewable electricity farms are carefully sited, experts said.

Reuters

Jeans firms pollute Mexican city with blue dye

Jeans factories have given jobs to thousands in the city of Tehuacan, the heartland of Mexico's denim industry, but they are pumping blue chemicals into rivers used to irrigate corn fields downstream.

Environmental News Network

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Daily wildlife and environment news from the British Isles