nature

Wildlife cameras have failed to explain why the last known colony of puffins on the south coast of England has failed to raise young.

In 2023, naturalists noticed that the seabirds near Swanage, Dorset, had stopped bringing fish to their nests on the cliffs.

They speculated that rats or crows had eaten the chicks.

However, motion-sensor cameras installed at the site in 2024 have recorded no predators and have not provided any other explanation, the National Trust said.

The use of pesticides on UK farms is to be reduced by 10% by 2030 under government plans to protect bees and other pollinators.

Campaigners welcomed the news, but said they were disappointed that the target applied only to arable farms and not to urban areas and parks.

The plan has been a long time coming – it has been delayed since 2018. The EU’s target for pesticide reduction is more ambitious; its member states aim to reduce the use and risk of chemical pesticides, as well as the use of more hazardous pesticides, by 50% by 2030.

Beavers that were reintroduced to a county for the first time in more than 400 years are “settling in really well”, a conservationist said.

The large rodents were brought to a 17-hectare (42 acre) fenced enclosure at Rushden Lakes in Northamptonshire in February.

The family of eight, including adult female Boudicca, adult male Alan, and their six young, known as kits, were moved down from Scotland.

Wildlife trusts and environmental charities are joining calls for people to take part in No Mow May.

The campaign urges gardeners to avoid mowing their lawns to give pollinators, such as bees and butterflies, a boost by allowing wildflowers to thrive.

Avon Wildlife Trust and nature protection charity, Plantlife, are amongst the organisations supporting the annual campaign.

Hedgehogs are disappearing from many parts of the countryside.

Lancashire Wildlife Trust has reported a significant decline in hedgehog sightings, with numbers down seven per cent compared to the previous year and a 33 per cent drop since 2022.

The decline is believed to be linked to habitat loss caused by building developments.

Lydia German, senior communications officer at Lancashire Wildlife Trust, said: "By recording where you have (or even where you haven’t) seen a hedgehog, you can help us to build up a fuller picture of how the population is faring across our region.

The UK is using Brexit to weaken crucial environmental protections and is falling behind the EU despite Labour’s manifesto pledge not to dilute standards, analysis has found.

Experts have said ministers are choosing to use Brexit to “actively go backwards” in some cases, though there are also areas where the UK has improved nature laws such as by banning sand eel fishing.

Despite having promised a “reset” with the EU, Keir Starmer’s government has failed to even start closing loopholes in environmental law that have widened since Brexit, and is in some cases choosing to delete EU environmental rules from the statute book.