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


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

Nationwide moth hunt underway

We walk with torches down a path through the woods. The moths are out and I can feel them flitting around, brushing against my face.

BBC

Badgers - county may lead tests

Badger vaccination trials could take place in Gloucestershire in an effort to wipe out bovine TB.

this is Gloucestershire

Hornets head north as climate changes

A fearsome looking beast was brought in to the North Lincolnshire Museum for identification after it was caught flying around in someone's house.

this is Scunthorpe

No ant-idote for summer swarms

Every year hordes of flying ants crawl out of their nests to escape into the skies above North Lincolnshire, leading to many householders ringing the council's environmental health team and appealing for help.

this is Scunthorpe

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


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

£35,000 short of target figure

All the bids to buy a large chunk of Gwent's natural history are now in, but the race against time to save it goes on.

this is Gwent

Cutting remarks after orchids halt mow of commons

The mowing of a Kempsey Common came to an abrupt halt when an irate resident berated the contractor, claiming that wild orchids were being destroyed.

this is Worcestershire

Tolpuddle tree is 320 years old

A world-famous tree in Tolpuddle, Dorset, where modern trade unionism was born over a century ago, has been dated.

Times Online

Controversial Lakes forest to get environmental makeover

Forestry Commission staff are starting work to remove a large Lakeland conifer forest, which was formerly the focus of one of the first major battles to protect the landscape by the Friends of the Lake District in the 1930s.

Lakeland Today


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

Crown Estate criticised for using seabed as ‘cash cow’

Leading MPs have joined a campaign to strip the “wildly anachronistic” Crown Estate of its ownership of large stretches of the Scottish seabed.

Sunday Herald

Devon lands its first flying fish

A flying fish measuring 8½ins was landed at the resort of Seaton in east Devon.

Times Online

20,000 call for EU action on dolphin deaths

A petition with 20,000 signatures calling for action to stem the slaughter of dolphins and porpoises in nets has been collected by the National Seal Sanctuary at Gweek in Cornwall.

this is Devon

Whales off Solway Coast

Ambitious plans have been unveiled to fly 50 grey whales from California to Cumbria.

News & Star

Argyll sea life centre in fight to save turtles

The Scottish Sea Life Sanctuary at Barcaldine, near Oban, is joining forces with aquariums all over Europe in the fight to save turtles from extinction.

this is north scotland

This great undersea principality of whales will make your heart soar

But at the last they were all around us: the sound of their breathing and the cloop of water as they broke the surface, and as they sighed so I sighed with them in a long moment of delight.

Times Online


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

Cull begins on infected pheasants

The cull of a flock of 9,000 pheasants was under way yesterday after confirmation of a highly infectious bird disease.

Scotland on Sunday

Plan to conserve rare partridges

A project to save the rare grey partridge from extinction has been launched in Wiltshire.

BBC

Chance to hear a rare bird's song

Bird lovers in Devon are being offered the opportunity to hear the song of a rare species on Sunday.

BBC

Rare birds are on the up

A rare bird is on the increase in South Devon and the public is being invited to help create habitats for the species.

this is South Devon

Feather report

Adders are basking in the hot sun, and people out walking are often frightened when they suddenly see one lying on the path in front of them, with its sinister zigzag markings.

Times Online

Towns take action on seagulls

Council bosses in Scottish seaside towns are waging war on seagulls - by dipping their eggs in liquid paraffin.

this is north scotland


National/Europe
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

Water companies warned: 'No new reservoirs until you plug leaks'

Water companies are to be forbidden to build any new reservoirs while they continue to allow water to leak away from their pipes.

Independent Online

A waste of energy

Last week's G8 summit underlined the dangers of global warming. But efforts to solve Britain's housing crisis are making it worse.

Telegraph

Naturenet
Countryside management and nature conservation
- here


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

Offshore gas and wind power generator prepares to float

A company that plans to develop the world's first offshore gas and wind energy generation project is preparing to float on the stock market early next year.

Telegraph

£15m green deal for front garden

A £15m deal will ensure half of Swindon's Front Garden stays green.

this is Wiltshire

New housing is ruining nature, claim residents

A Grandmother is leading a campaign to ensure that the area's wildlife is not irretrievably wrecked by housing developments.

this is Bath

More, more black sheep!

Scunthorpe's woolliest residents are celebrating success after their first year at a town nature reserve.

this is Scunthorpe

Nature reserve offers 'great range of birds'

A birdwatching expert has praised a Humber nature reserve. Expert Ian Higginson said 49 species of waders had been identified at Blacktoft Sands, situated where the rivers Trent and Ouse join to form the Humber near Goole.

this is Hull

Cash will help fish to spawn

Eden Rivers Trust has won a £25,000 grant to fund fish recolonisation measures on the River Leith.

Cumberland News

Drought warnings are now pouring in

Rivers are beginning to dry up as Sussex faces up to a summer drought.

The Argus


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

IRA-style death threats made to Shell contractors

Paramilitary-style death threats have been made against workers on Shell's controversial €300 Corrib gas pipeline project in Co Mayo, the Sunday Independent can reveal.

Sunday Independent

Calls for probe into exploration licences

Protestors against the construction of a gas pipeline in Co Mayo have called for an investigation into the issuing by the state of oil and gas exploration licences.

RTE News

Wind energy

Wind is the most accessible source of renewable energy available in Ireland.

Business post

Biofuel technology of growing importance as source of energy

One of the most promising sources of renewable energy for powering vehicles is biofuel technology, where vegetable oil is used instead of petrol or diesel.

Business post

Swim ban follows jellyfish attacks

Swimmers hoping to soak in the beaches along the southeast have been warned not to enter the sea after a spate of jellyfish attacks.

Irish Independent

State to buy Great Blasket for €1.7m

The Government announced its intention to proceed with the purchase of the Great Blasket Island last Friday, finally bringing closure to a long, drawn out process that had threatened the sale.

The Kerryman

Ulster to face daily fines over sewerage

Northern Ireland's outdated and overburdened sewerage system has landed the UK in the dock for failing to meet European environmental standards.

Belfast Telegraph

SOLD’s tips on protecting Lough Derg

Following the recent scare on Lough Derg with the development of algal blooms, attention has been turned to what the public can do to protect such an important amenity in North Tipperary.

Nenagh Guardian


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

Council threatens legal action over wind farm plans

A council is threatening to take legal against the Assembly to stop it turning mountains north of Neath, Port Talbot and Swansea into a forest of wind turbines.

this is southwales

Trails in Wales

The RSPB has produced a new publication, Trails in Wales, containing evocative and stimulating walks through some of the most breathtaking scenery in Wales.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds


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

Volcanic rock discovery could reveal secrets of Earth's history

Geologists in Scotland have discovered a completely new type of volcanic rock, which they believe will help to pinpoint the precise time in Earth's history at which life emerged from the oceans and began to colonise the land.

Scotsman.com

Islands join world heritage elite

The remote Scottish islands of St Kilda have joined an elite of 24 locations which have been given two Unesco World Heritage Site listings.

BBC


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

Waste of energy: Ireland set to miss EU renewable energy target

Ireland looks set to miss its EU target of generating at least 13.2 per cent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2010, according to industry figures.

Business Post

Scheme to tackle greenhouse gases

A £1.3 million project has been launched by the University of Nottingham aimed at cutting UK emissions of greenhouse gases.

BBC

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

China seeing more and more tuskless elephants

Chinese elephants are evolving into an increasingly tuskless breed because poaching is changing the gene pool, a newspaper reported on Sunday.

IOL

Planned highway through Armenian nature reserve averted

WWF, together with other local and international organizations, is celebrating the decision by Armenian President Robert Kocharian to reverse a decision to build a highway through one of the country's protected areas.

WWF Newsroom

Bears at the dustbins, wolves in main street as Europe goes wild

Wolves, wild boar and brown bears are moving west in Europe as nature takes hold of rural regions abandoned by people seeking work in the cities.

Times Online

Seven new World Heritage Natural sites named by UN

The UN this week designated seven natural landmarks as new World Heritage sites—places the World Heritage Committee considers to be of outstanding value to all humanity:

National Geographic News

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