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


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

Research highlights decline of farm and forest birds

The first genuine biodiversity indicators of their kind, which are published today at an EU event in Brussels, paint a mixed picture of how the European environment is changing.

Birdlife International

Fine for man who trapped goldfinches in park

A bird fancier who illegally trapped and caged 20 wild goldfinches was fined £1,000 and ordered to carry out 120 hours of community service, the RSPCA said today.

Scotsman.com

Road rage buzzard terrorises cyclist

An aggressive buzzard that terrorised cyclists on a Devon country road last year is back.

this is cornwall

Conservation successes at Business Sites

The British Trust for Ornithology has today announced the results of the Conservation and Community Categories of the BTO-Hanson Business Bird Challenge 2004.

British Trust for Ornithology

Nature notes

Reed buntings are feeding their young in their nests low down in rushes or in waterside bushes.

Times Online

Egg to airborne drama

Paul Inness promises that ‘Fineshade Woods’ the TV show will deliver all the family traumas of the best of British ‘soaps’.

Forestry Commission


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

Ponies arrive to save rare plants

Conservationists caring for rare plants and animals on endangered heathland have brought in Exmoor ponies to help manage the area.

BBC

Park's rhododendron officer plan

An official could be employed in an attempt to control the spread of the rhododendron plant in Snowdonia.

BBC

Wildflowers and wildlife

Let's have a look at the wild roses. There's the shell-pink dog rose; the pink downy of the north of England and Scotland; the white or pink bramble; the rich pink Provence, and the white guelder which is a member of the honeysuckle family.

this is southdevon

Longer grass

Long grass in Newquay is being used to encourage biodiversity in the resort. Restormel Council is embarking upon an experiment in its grass-cutting season to try to encourage a range of wildflowers to grow.

this is cornwall


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

Move to reveal marine mysteries

Wildlife organisations have come up with five "marine mysteries" as a way of promoting Scotland's rich sea life on World Ocean Day.

BBC

Film crew gets close up to basking sharks

A film crew from America is getting up close and personal with basking sharks off the Westcountry coast to help conserve the threatened species worldwide.

this is cornwall

New IWDG 5 Year plan

The IWDG recently adopted a new 5 year plan. Since 2000, the IWDG has grown into a credible, effective NGO with a growing membership and increasing influence on government policy and actions.

Irish Whale and Dolphin Group

Monitoring life at sea

If you go to the seaside this summer you may see people doing unusual things: pacing the shores with electronic gadgets; photographing marine life in plastic squares or dropping divers and video cameras over the side of boats.

Countryside Council for Wales

Your ocean needs you!
Show your support for the marine bill campaign by signing The Wildlife Trusts’ marine petition online by clicking here.


Animals
Resources
Mammal Society Mammals Trust UK The Deer Commission for Scotland Scottish Big Cat Trust Scottish Badgers International Otter Survival Fund Bat Conservation Trust National Federation of Badger Groups Froglife Herpetological Groups of Britain & Ireland Butterfly Conservation Butterflies of Ireland Spiders of NW-Europe British Dragonfly Society Buglife

Welsh farmers fight on for effective fox control

Effective fox control in Wales has become a burning issue with many sheep and poultry farmers.

icNorthWales

Make friends of creepy crawlies

Just the thought of letting a slug crawl on your hand is enough to send most people running out of the room screaming.

Scotsman.com

Helicopter noise prompts frog chorus

Readers' news time, folks. Dr Edward Lovesey, of Stoke Gabriel, tells me of frogs croaking away in April as a Chinook helicopter approached the area.

this is cornwall

Adders near extinction in London

Ken Livingstone today warned that the adder was on the verge of extinction in London.

this is London

Bumper breeding year for red squirrels

Rare native red squirrels reintroduced to a pine forest are set for a bumper breeding year, wildlife experts said today.

icWales
CNN.com

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


National
Resources
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group Natural Environment Research Council Minerals and Nature Conservation Forum The Wildlife Trusts Wildlife and Countryside Link British Naturalists' Association EnvironmentJobs

Park and ride 'harms countryside'

"Park and ride" schemes are shifting traffic and related pollution problems from urban areas into the countryside, rural campaigners have warned.

BBC

Cooperate to cut pesticides

Pesticide residues in water courses can best be cut by partnerships between farmers, advisers, water companies and regulators on an individual catchment basis.

FWi

Wanted: space for wildlife

At this year’s BBC Gardeners’ World Live, from June 15 to 19 at the NEC in Birmingham, English Nature’s stand will have an urban theme, including a high-rise block of flats, to illustrate the fact that wildlife can be encouraged to thrive anywhere, not only in the countryside.

English Nature

Naturenet
Countryside management and nature conservation
- here


England
Resources
English Nature Countryside Agency Environment Agency Campaign for the Protection of Rural England

Forest is cleared to make way for heath

Hundreds of acres of Cornish forest is being transformed back to a rare and environmentally precious heathland lost more than four decades ago.

this is cornwall

Hundreds chase slice of 'bargain' Dartmoor

A Singaporean buyer is just one of hundreds of inquirers for a prime slice of Dartmoor which has just gone on the market.

this is southdevon

Lake in the limelight for UK water project

Bassenthwaite has been chosen for a national trial aimed at improving water quality in England’s lakes and rivers.

News & Star

Wild horses breed at Wicken Fen

One-month-old Vgonk will hardly win any beauty contest but he is nonetheless a media celebrity.

Country Life


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

Youngsters' spotlight on Spey Bay wildlife

The wealth of wildlife which exists on the lower reaches of the River Spey and offshore in the Moray Firth is being pointed out to local youngsters throughout this week.

this is north scotland

Ythan project volunteers aim to maintain momentum

Environmental volunteers in the north-east are teaming up to maintain momentum following the recently-ended Ythan Project.

this is north scotland

Islanders back estate buy-out bid

Islanders have voted in favour of attempting what could become Scotland's biggest community purchase to date.

BBC

Battle starts to stop Cairngorms pylons plan

A campaign aimed at stopping the Scottish Executive from granting permission for 200ft pylons in the Cairngorms National Park was launched yesterday.

this is north scotland


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

Tracts of Wales's great woodland put up for sale

Once Wentwood stretched from the coast of south Wales to the Wye valley, a huge swath of oak forest where royalty hunted and the monks of Tintern abbey gathered firewood.

The Guardian

'Save the lake' campaign

Locals are furious that a lake - a site of special scientific interest - is being drained, potentially putting wildlife in danger.

this is southwales

Shark day

Wildlife activities are being organised in New Quay and Lampeter as part of Ceredigion Biodiversity Week.

this is southwales


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

Carlow council to vote on disputed bikes ban

Carlow County Council is to vote next week on a controversial proposal to ban quad bikes and other off-road vehicles from upland areas.

The Papers Today

Scallop fishermen give 2-day warning on protest

Scallop fishermen have given Junior Agriculture Minister John Browne 48 hours to come up with extra fishing days or €5m compensation, before protest action could begin again at the country's ports.

Irish Independent
The Papers Today

Green light for new €67m treatment plant

Environment Minister Dick Roche gave the go-ahead yesterday for a new €67m waste water treatment plant in north Dublin to bring nearby beaches to Blue Flag bathing water quality standards.

Irish Independent


Energy
Resources
DTI Renewable Energy British Wind Energy Association Greenpeace - Renewable Energies Irish Wind Energy Association Yes2Wind Country Guardian Impact of Wind Turbines on Birds Wind-Farm.org Windfarm News

World's biggest wind farm plan 'threatens seabirds'

A colony of internationally protected seabirds is threatened by plans to place the world's biggest wind farm in the Thames estuary, conservationists warned today.

The Guardian
Independent

Wind farms pose low risk to birds

Migrating birds are unlikely to be seriously affected by offshore wind farms, according to a study.

BBC

Ochil Hills windfarm plans are rejected by councillors

Councillors have unanimously rejected three windfarm applications for the Ochil Hills, and voted to object to a fourth when a Scottish Office appeal is heard.

this is north scotland

Concern over wind turbine plans

Independent consultants have warned that a proposed wind farm would bring about "a significant change" to the landscape, with "out of scale" turbines.

East Anglian Daily Times

Windfarm may have lasting plans influence

The proposed Whinash windfarm that could see 27 turbines built on isolated land near the M6 could set a precedent for planning issues for years to come, according to Cumbria County Council.

this is the Lake District

Windfarm fighters hope

Protesters fighting against a £50million Rossendale wind farm have been given new hope.

this is Lancashire

Windmills' problems will be revealed

A lot of people are getting a good living on the back of global warming. Firstly, if there were no subsidies no windfarms would be built. They cost too much to build and are uneconomical for the power produced.

this is cornwall

How turbines pose threat to water quality

Eric Higgs criticises opponents of windfarms by drawing a dramatic but inaccurate picture of the effects of global warning on our coastal regions - but has he considered the effects of wind turbines on our inland rivers and streams?

this is cornwall

AMs' power overthrown

I attended the Npower exhibition at Felindre where there were photographs of the proposed wind turbines on Mynydd y Gwair.

this is southwales

Nuclear power? No thanks

They call it the energy gap. That is why the first nuclear power station to be built in Devon and Cornwall may end up on our doorstep.

this is cornwall


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 ENN Special Reports: Climate Change Global Warming: Early warning signs

Global warming is a 'clear and increasing threat'

Eleven of the world's most influential science academies warned world leaders that the threat of global climate change "is clear and increasing" and that they must act immediately to begin addressing its causes and consequences.

New Scientist

Blair urges climate action plan

Tony Blair has urged world leaders to agree a "plan for action" to tackle climate change at next month's G8 summit in Gleneagles.

ThisisLondon

Revealed: how oil giant influenced Bush

President's George Bush's decision not to sign the United States up to the Kyoto global warming treaty was partly a result of pressure from ExxonMobil, the world's most powerful oil company, and other industries, according to US State Department papers seen by the Guardian.

The Guardian

Report: U.S. official edited warming, emission link

A White House official, who previously worked for the American Petroleum Institute, has repeatedly edited government climate reports in a way that downplays links between greenhouse gas emissions and global warming, The New York Times reported Wednesday.

CNN.com

Welsh boffins to probe climate mysteries

The mysteries of the deepest oceans may be about to be unlocked by Welsh explorers to reveal startling scientific discoveries, like those previously confined to books and movies.

icWales

Help produce a forecast of the climate in the 21st century, using your computer -
here


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

Montana to fight spread of noxious weeds

They infest a portion of Montana the size of Florida and Arkansas combined, and go by names like tansy ragwort, yellow toadflax and houndstongue.

Environmental News Network

Most of Borneo's lowland forests could be lost within the next decade

If the current rate of deforestation continues, Borneo – the world's third largest island – could lose most of its lowland forests in less than ten years, according to a new WWF report.

WWF Newsroom

Group sues to protect Alaska sea otters

Environmentalists have sued the U.S. Interior Department for taking too long to put Alaska sea otters on the threatened species list.

CNN.com

Soybean fever transforms Paraguay

A soybean boom has ignited in South America. It is fuelled largely by China's burgeoning demand for soy imports and projections that these will continue to surge, along with China's economic growth, for years to come.

BBC

The World Land Trust is a conservation charity that has helped purchase and protect over 300,000 acres of rainforest and other threatened wildlife habitats worldwide. You can help us save even more - here

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Daily wildlife and environment news from the British Isles