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‘Nature’s church’: living cowpats and rainforests transform Exmoor national park

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The Guardian reports in the picturesque area in south-west England, farmers and conservationists are turning around the long decline.

Exmoor national park, like all of England’s national parks, has failed to protect nature since they were set up 75 years ago. Only 15% of Exmoor’s sites of special scientific interest are in favourable condition.

One reason is that most national park land is privately owned by farmers, who embraced fertiliser and pesticide-fuelled intensification in past decades, decimating wildlife. The parks own a tiny proportion of the land and have few powers outside planning controls.

But Holly Purdey is trying to reconcile farming and fauna. She took on the 81-hectare (200-acre) Horner farm in Exmoor national park in 2018, challenging herself to produce beef and lamb while restoring nature to land she says had been “trashed” by intensive farming.

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Free the beaver: Calls to officially release animals into UK waterways

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Photo by Pat Gaines under Creative Commons

Country Living reports wildlife charities are calling for beavers to be released into rivers across England and Wales – putting an end to enclosures and making the animals officially wild.

Last week, the Wildlife Trusts published A vision for the return of beavers to England and Wales, a report that urges the government to bring the animals back to rivers and asks for “illegal wild populations to be allowed to stay.

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Drought ‘biggest threat’ to UK nature reserves, say Wildlife Trusts

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BirdGuides reports a new report published by The Wildlife Trusts, Embracing Nature, has identified drought as the current leading threat to their nature reserves.

The Wildlife Trusts, which are among the UK’s largest landowners with 2,600 nature reserves covering nearly 100,000 ha, also point to pollution, invasive species and habitat fragmentation as high risks. Drought is also considered to be the leading threat for the next 30 years, followed by other climate-driven dangers such as heatwaves and wildfires.

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First baby beavers born in urban London for 400 years

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Photo by Pat Gaines under Creative Commons

BBC News reports baby beavers have been born in urban London for the first time in more than 400 years, a conservation project said.

The family of Eurasian beavers were introduced to a nature reserve in Ealing, west London, in October as part of a project that aims to get the public to engage with nature, to study biodiversity improvements and to monitor flood mitigation effects.

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Normandy Species Records Report 2023

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A summary the Normandy Parish wildlife records that members had given me, together with those I and fellow FNW Committee member, Steve Marshall, had collected are given.

Close to 280 species of moth (macro and micros) had been recorded in 2023. Several new species to Normandy Parish are illustrated on our poster boards. Of particular interest is a Dark Spinach (Pelurga comitata) which was helped out (alive) of a water filled rut on Folly Hatch! It’s status is Vulnerable in Great Britain because of the decline of it’s foodplant (oraches and goosefoots), presumably due to modern agricultural practices.

Over 550 butterfly records (a record number!) were submitted to the Surrey branch of Butterfly Conservation and included 30 different species. I was lucky enough to photograph a Grayling (Hipparchia Semele) on our door frame! This is the first time I’ve been able to photograph this butterfly on our property; it being more often seen on the heathland. Its status in the UK is Vulnerable.

Amphibian and reptile records were entered as usual into Surrey Amphibian and Reptile Group’s website. Sadly they included one dead Smooth Snake (Coronella austriaca, our rarest snake), which was found on a scrape near the edge of a recently burnt area on Ash Ranges. Perhaps it had strayed onto the burnt area where it was more visible and killed by a corvid. Close to 100 of our amphibian records have recently been shared with our Parish Council in an attempt to try to understand the distribution and apparent decline of the Common Frog and Toad (Rana temporaria & Bufo bufo), particularly on Normandy Common.

I have still to submit bird, mammal, plant, fungi and other insect records. Steve is ahead of me on this front and should be commended for his efforts and on helping to put Normandy on the map. Amongst others he submitted 34 bird records, 17 plant records, numerous other insect records and 4 mammal records.

As in previous years I encourage members to put Normandy on the map by continuing to send records to FNW or to one of the many recording centres/devices. If sent to the latter please do try to let us know as well! Many thanks to those members who submitted sightings in 2023.

Bill Stanworth, FNW Species Records Coordinator

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Number of butterflies in the UK at a record low, survey finds

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Freshly emerged male silver-studded blue (Plebejus argus) on cross-leaved heath, Ash Ranges. 5 June 2020. This butterfly is a U.K. BAP Priority Species.

The Guardian reports Butterfly Conservation, which counted butterflies and moths between 16 July and 8 August, said the results, released on Thursday, marked the lowest numbers since the Big Butterfly Count started 12 years ago and called for urgent action to be taken.

It is the latest warning sign for butterflies – which, as well as forming a vital part of the food chain, are considered significant indicators of the health of the environment – after decades of decline. Since 1976, 76% of butterflies have declined either in abundance or distribution. 

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Wolves ‘must be reintroduced to UK to fight climate crisis even if farmers lose sheep’

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European Wolf photo by Lawria under creative commons

The Mirror reports wolves should be reintroduced into Britain to help fight the climate crisis, according to one of Britain’s leading conservationists. Without Roy Dennis’s efforts, there would be fewer red squirrels, no beavers and no osprey or red kite introductory programmes. And the 81-year-old is showing no signs of retiring.

He explained how we must see the benefit to the whole of society by sharing the countryside with large carnivores again, even if it means farmers could lose the odd sheep, and explained how the extinction crisis can only be addressed with “bigness.” 

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For peat’s sake: the race is on to save Britain’s disappearing moorland bogs

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The Observer reports tinally recognised for its environmental benefits, the UK’s ‘Cinderella habitat’ is at the heart of a major conservation drive… About 92% of England’s blanket bog is in the north of the country, mostly in Yorkshire. But this vital and delicate part of the ecosystem is disappearing, in many cases having been deliberately drained to graze sheep and shoot grouse, and now the moorland is etched with deep channels through which, each year, hundreds of tonnes of crucially important peat is simply being washed away by the weather.