Animalia

Return of the Dartford warbler

ONE of Britain’s rarest birds, the dimunitive Dartford warbler, which was threatened with extinction, with just a handful of pairs in Dorset in the 1960s, has made an impressive come-back, with 183 pairs recorded on RSPB reserves in 2021. The recently launched RSPB Ecology Report records this good news, which is attributed to concerted conservation…

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Good news on the peregrine cam

WE all need some good news, even if it is only very small – an egg. Salisbury Cathedral’s peregrines have laid their first egg – and within a few days there may be more. The female returned to the nest just before 7pm on Saturday 19th March and laid the egg just before 8. She…

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Peregrine cam is back at the Cathedral

THE peregrines are back on their lofty perch at Salisbury Cathedral – and the webcam which allows us to see them has now gone live. They’ve been hanging around the tower for a while and have been seen mating, so the signs are good. Last year the first egg was laid on 15th March so…

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Chickens befriend emu chick

AN unusual friendship has developed at Longleat where an emu chick which  was rejected by its parents and a flock of farmyard chickens. The two-month old chick is being reared by keepers who have named it Bueno. It is the first to have been successfully reared at the Wiltshire safari park. Keepers initially cared for…

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Sea Arch supports seahorse charity

DEVON-based alcohol-free spirits company Sea Arch Drinks is working with The Seahorse Trust to help boost awareness of the charity and raise much-needed funds to support its research and conservation work. Both based in Devon, Sea Arch and The Seahorse Trust share a passion for the coast and a commitment to protecting the natural world….

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Love is in the air for these tiny foxes

LONGLEAT keepers are hoping love is in the ear for a pair of the world’s smallest foxes. These super-cute Fennec foxes, Anthony and Zuri, are part of an international breeding programme for the diminutive canines at the safari park. Reaching a maximum length of under 40 cms and weighing less than two kilogrammes, the fennec…

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Barn owls have a new roof over their heads

A TEAM of carpenters, tilers and scaffolders have rescued Bere Marsh Farm’s barn owls from winter homelessness in the nick of time. Just a few months after the Countryside Restoration Trust purchased the farm near Shillingstone, an appeal was launched to raise funds to repair the building which has been the barn owls’ home for…

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Ham Hill scheme to save Shrill Carder Bee

SOUTH Somerset District Council is working with organisations including the Bumble Bee Conservation Trust to save the rare Shrill Carder bee. The council’s team at Ham Hill Country Park has started habitat management to encourage the bees to recolonise from an existing population nearby. The work is centred around the hay meadows in the flat…

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Two eggs at cathedral’s peregrine nest

WHO needs Easter eggs when you can have the real life drama and delight of peregrine falcons laying eggs and nurturing their clutch on one of Britain’s greatest gothic cathedrals. The Salisbury Cathedral peregrines have two eggs, which can be seen via the peregrine webcam (see below). The cathedral team, led by Gary Price, the…

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National Trust announces first beaver reintroductions

THE National Trust has announced plans to release Eurasian beavers[at two sites in the south of England next spring to help with flood management and to improve biodiversity. The beaver reintroductions will be the Trust’s first, linking to its ambitions to create priority habitats for nature and to increase the diversity of species and wildlife…

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