UK Nature and Environment

Wildlife experts believe a rare species of whale has been spotted near Cornwall.

The Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust said it had received reports of 17 whale sightings, external in the waters around the islands between 29 December and 8 January, with minke and humpback whales among those spotted.

The charity added one of the whales seen in the water between St Mary's and St Agnes was potentially a rare breed they were trying to identify.

Jay Cowen, from the trust, told BBC Radio Cornwall it was believed the whale was either a Cuvier's beaked whale or a northern bottlenose.

From the outside, the Tunny Club looks like any other seaside fish and chip shop. A short walk from Scarborough harbour, only the photos of John Wayne and Errol Flynn on the wall betray the shop’s fleeting history as a global centre for big-game fishing.

In the 1930s, film stars and the ultra-wealthy flocked to the Yorkshire seaside resort for their chance to catch the enormous bluefin tuna – known as “tunny” – lurking off the North Sea coast. In 1933, aristocrat Lorenzo Mitchell-Henry reeled in what remains the largest fish ever caught in British waters: a 386kg bluefin tuna.

Steam-powered yachts filled the bay on the hunt for even larger fish. “The bluefin tuna were coming into the North Sea to feast on the enormous shoals of herring and mackerel that were there. They would be followed by whales and dolphins,” says Tony Juniper, chair of Natural England. By the 1950s, however, the warm-blooded aquatic torpedoes had mostly disappeared, exposing a greater decline in the health of the North Sea ecosystem.

Wildlife charities have called on the government to ban the sale and use of lead in ammunition used for outdoor shooting.

The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT), RSPB, Wildlife and Countryside Link, Chem Trust and Wild Justice have sent an open letter to the environment secretary, Steve Reed, asking for a 18-month transition period for a ban on lead in ammunition sales.

Birds often ingest discarded lead pellets after mistaking them for seeds and grit, the charities say, causing lead to contaminate food chains and find its way on to dinner tables.

A coalition of water and nature-focused charities including The Wildlife Trusts, the Rivers Trust and Sustainability First have called on Steve Reed MP, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, to formalise and strengthen the Water Restoration Fund in the upcoming Water (Special Measures) Bill.

The Water Restoration Fund was introduced by the previous Conservative government to ensure that Water Company fines pay for remedial work on rivers and their catchments. The money was to be distributed by the Rural Payments Agency (RPA).

The funding application was heavily over-subscribed ahead of the June 2024 deadline. A decision was initially expected in July and then November, but as yet no outcome has been shared. After reaching out to the RPA directly, and with no reassurances on the fund, the charities are now increasingly concerned that the current Labour government may potentially be planning to discontinue the scheme.

Labour’s proposal to loosen planning regulations for farmers will deluge rivers with chicken faeces, environmental campaigners have warned.

The environment secretary, Steve Reed, promised farmers on Thursday they would be able to build larger chicken sheds, but experts have said this would create “megafarms” and contribute to river pollution.

Speaking at the annual Oxford Farming Conference, Reed was attempting to rebuild confidence with farmers after widespread anger over changes to inheritance tax and cuts to subsidies. A small protest formed outside the Examination Schools in Oxford where he was speaking and tractor horns partially drowned out his speech.

‘Get on my land’: the farmers who want strangers wandering their fields

A growing number of landholders are joining forces with right-to-roam campaigners to boost public access to the countryside Patrick Barkham Patrick Barkham Wed 8 Jan 2025 07.00 GMT

When Debra and Tom Willoughby first arrived at their tenant farm in Nottinghamshire, they tried to reroute a bridleway that runs through their farmyard. Now the organic farmers are relieved they were refused permission because of the benefits they have found from the connections they make with people who walk through their farm. They have since opened new permissive footpaths on their land.

Farmers are often cast as vociferous opponents of wider access to the countryside. But a growing band of access-friendly farmers has joined forces with the Right to Roam campaign and will discuss how to open up more land for public enjoyment at this week’s Oxford real farming conference.

“It’s really nice when we get people through the yard – the positives far outweigh the negatives,” said Debra Willoughby, who farms 157 hectares (387 acres) with organic beef cattle, cereals and new agroforestry apple orchards at Normanton-on-Soar near Loughborough. “Farms are very isolated places. It used to be tens of people working on this farm and now it’s just me and my husband.”

Plans to clean up rivers across England have been put on hold due to delays in funding from millions of pounds of sewage fines.

Labour is being pressured to commit to the future of an £11m fund launched by the last government, that would see fines levied against water firms used to improve England’s rivers, lakes and streams.

Charities, including the Rivers Trust and the Wildlife Trusts, say they are increasingly concerned Labour is going to discontinue the scheme and said such a move would put the Government’s manifesto commitments on rivers in doubt.

There is fury tonight, even from conservationists, about the confirmed release of controversial lynx onto land near Insh Marshes by Kingussie.

A Police Scotland spokesperson told the Strathy this evening: “Around 4.20pm on Wednesday, 8 January 2025, police were advised that two lynx had been spotted in the Drumguish area near to Kingussie.

“As a precaution, and also for the animals' safety, specially trained staff from Highland Wildlife Park are assisting officers to trace them.

“Members of the public are asked not to approach the lynx nor indeed attend the area, but instead to contact police via 101 if they are spotted.

It’s a fantastic start to the year for marine wildlife sightings, with some incredible humpback whales already reported around the UK.

Within the first few days of the year, a humpback whale was spotted breaching along the Sussex coastline, all the way from Hastings to Eastbourne. Those lucky enough to catch a glimpse were in for a rare treat, as sightings along the Eastern English Channel are uncommon. The South West of England tends to see more frequent visits, particularly during the winter months, with recent sightings around Newquay and the Isles of Scilly.

Breaching is a truly spectacular sight to behold, when a whale leaps belly-up into the air, creating a thunderous splash as it crashes back into the water. This impressive display is believed to be a form of communication between whales, allowing them to connect with each other across vast distances. It’s a signature behaviour of humpback whales, which are often referred to as one of the most acrobatic cetacean species.

Farming policy needs a stronger vision and increased funds to deliver for farmers, food security and nature, say The Wildlife Trusts.

Today, The Wildlife Trusts publish a briefing – Environmental Land Management schemes & Food Security – the case for increased investment in nature for UK Food Security – ahead of the Oxford Farming Conferences this week. The Wildlife Trusts are calling for:

• A plan to deliver at least 3,000 Countryside Stewardship Agreements per year by 2028, supported by increased resourcing for Natural England to process and offer agreements and a ring-fenced budget.

• An increase to the annual farming budget to £3.1 billion/year in England to support nature-friendly farming, safeguard livelihoods, improve animal welfare and meet critical climate, nature and water targets.

• A focus on ensuring that Landscape Recovery projects get “off the shelf” and enter the implementation phase, delivering real outcomes on the ground.

• Publication of an outcomes-focused Land Use Framework which sets out an overarching framework that guides prioritisation for land use change, and a national spatial plan that broadly identifies constraints and opportunities for land use.

A few years ago, I started looking at the underside of logs and it changed my life. I found a secret carnival of the most bodacious and interesting organisms I had ever seen. Bubbles of candy-pink gloss on stilts (Comatricha nigra), bunches of rainbow iridescence on toffee strings (Badhamia utricularis), bouffants of raspberry parfait (Arcyria denudata) – and those are just a few that have appeared on bits of wood in our urban garden.

Slime moulds, or myxomycetes, spend part of their life cycle as what are known as fruiting bodies – which look a bit like tiny mushrooms, hence why they were once classified as fungi (they’re actually in the kingdom Protista). Often you will find them, at this stage, in a colony – or, well, I’d suggest galaxy, sweetshop or funfair would be more accurate for a collective noun.

Their bonkers beauty was the gateway for me. The first time I saw one was an astonishing image by the photographer Barry Webb published in New Scientist. I stared at it for ages because I couldn’t work out what it was or why I’d never heard about something so ridiculously beautiful. It looked like an elongated crimson spog – you know, the bobbly ones in liquorice allsorts no one likes – balanced on the longest eyelashes in the world. Webb had found this Stemonitis in a woodland in southern England. Up the road from me! I was hooked.

The RSPB has withdrawn flat bird feeders from sale on its website amid warnings they could be spreading deadly diseases to finches.

The charity has said feeding birds from flat surfaces such as tables could be contributing to the spread of illnesses such as finch trichomonosis, which has been blamed for the plummeting greenfinch population.

It told customers: “We know so many of you love feeding your garden birds and some bird species really do benefit from us putting out extra food for them, especially in winter. However, there is increasing evidence that for other birds there can also be negative effects such as the spread of disease, especially among finches.

A video of a rare bird filmed at a pond in Jersey has attracted international attention.

A bittern, also known as a 'ghost bird' and Britain's loudest bird, was captured on a trail camera at the Wetland Centre in St Ouen by photographer John Ovenden.

National Trust Jersey said the video had received 237,000 views on social media and had been seen by people across Europe, north America and the Middle East.

Bristol loves its firsts. And for a city that prides itself on its green outlook, an environmental first is hard to beat.

So, the launch of the Local Nature Recovery Strategy was a cause for celebration for many. Not only because it was the first of such strategies to be published in England, but also because there’s a real belief it will make a significant difference for nature across the region.

Nearly 50 organisations, in consultation with landowners, communities and businesses, have worked together to develop the ‘roadmap for restoring, reconnecting and recovering nature’ which also provides a toolkit for residents to get involved.

A remote Scottish island with a population of precisely zero is seeking a new manager – and most of your company will be the local wildlife.

The Scottish Wildlife Trust is looking for a new ranger on the island of Handa – which, alongside housing one of the most significant seabird breeding colonies in Europe, is both a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a Special Protection Area (SPA).

Found just off the west coast of Sutherland, the island is accessible via a pedestrian ferry from Tarbet – and there are dramatic sea views and endless peace and quiet, besides the friendly sound of the chirping wildlife.

Bumblebees have been found to be starting nests in the depths of winter due to climate change, say conservationists.

The charity Buglife said active worker bumblebees, which do most of the work in a nest, were spotted in Aberdeen during mild weather over the Christmas break.

It said a previous survey had recorded bumblebees and honeybees between Christmas and New Year at locations across the UK, including the Highlands.

Sufferers of pteronophobia (fear of feathers) or acrophobia (heights) need not apply…

RSPB Bempton in East Yorkshire, which is home to England's largest breeding colony of gannets, is looking for someone to spend a minimum of four months living among the seabirds.

Duties of the "residential volunteer" will include monitoring the birds and welcoming visitors.

Starting from March, the successful candidate will live in shared accommodation in the village of Bempton, about a mile (1.2km) from the reserve, with vistas out over the North Sea.

Early birds may catch the worm - but it's the early volunteers who catch the birds.

And the ones that get caught in the 18-metre long, fine-mist nets strung high across a reed bed at Killycolpy, on the County Tyrone shores of Lough Neagh, will help researchers learn more about how wildlife on the lough is faring.

It is one of three Constant Effort Sites (CES) around the shores of the lough and a fourth in the Belfast Hills.

These sites are places where identical studies are carried out - the same number of studies, for the same length of time, in the same location over the same period of time each year.

A conservation charity has bought 2.6 acres (1 hectare) of land to create its first nature reserve.

Charity Devon Culm is creating the reserve in an area of culm grassland - a mix of purple moor grass and rush pasture - next to Knowstone Moor and Rackenford Moor, between Exmoor and Dartmoor.

Culm grasslands have significantly diminished since the mid-20th Century due to changes in farming practices, the charity said.

On a chilly day in December under stubborn grey skies, a band of green-fingered volunteers can be found in Somerset’s Chew valley with spades in their hands and dirt under their fingernails.

There are about 30 helpers, split into pairs, carefully planting hawthorn, blackthorn and crab apple saplings, one tree at a time. Undaunted by the scale of the project, they are planting one of the biggest new woodlands in England.

The Lower Chew Forest, as it will be known, is a vast new woodland between Bristol and Bath with 100,000 native trees planted by about 1,000 volunteers mobilised by the woodland creation charity Avon Needs Trees.

The MP for Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr has announced his support for the Climate and Nature Bill in the wake of this autumn’s deadly flooding.

The northern Powys MP Steve Witherden will be voting for the new private members' bill which would create a legally binding mission statement on action against climate change.

The CAN Bill introduced by MP Roz Savage aims to create a joined-up, science-led plan to address both climate and nature crises, cut emissions in line with the Paris Agreement’s 1.5-degree target and reverse the decline of nature by 2030.

The bill will be debated and voted on at its second reading on 24 January.

Historic canals provide “vital” corridors of waterways, hedgerows and habitats for wildlife to move through the landscape, the charity which cares for them has said.

The Canal & River Trust, which is responsible for 2,000 miles of waterways across England and Wales, has mapped the “ecological footprint” of its canal network for the first time to show how it can support the UK’s struggling wildlife.

But the charity also warns the ageing canal network is at risk from the impacts of climate change such as weather extremes, as well as pollution and invasive species, and investment is needed to make them resilient for the future.

Conservationists working to save vital ecosystems in the Scottish Highlands say they are facing a multitude of long-term challenges such as depopulation and guaranteed sources of funding.

A growing number of local projects – from regenerative farm clusters to saving Scotland’s rainforests – are responding to the country’s nature crisis after centuries of human-driven deforestation and habitat depletion.

But fears are growing that the country will fail to meet its 2030 conservation targets, with campaigners saying the Scottish Government has cut nature spending by tens of millions of pounds over the last decade.

A humpback whale in the Isles of Scilly "put on a show" for visitors, leaving them in awe.

Molly Wates, who lives in West Sussex, said it was an "unbelievable" sight as the breaching whale emerged from the water.

Ms Wates said they saw the mammal behind St Martins on Friday at about 11:45 GMT.

"The whale was sort of just coming up, then suddenly he just started breaching out of the water and put on a proper display for us," she said.