The Guardian reports this has been another wet winter of big downpours and flooding, but that should come as no surprise. Winters in the UK are turning increasingly wet and climate change predictions point to even wetter winters and record-breaking rainfalls in the future. Flooding from these rains is not inevitable, though. More than 5m homes in England are at risk of flooding, and yet one in 10 new homes are being built in high-risk flood areas. These are largely flood plains, typically flat, low-lying land around rivers that would naturally waterlog like a sponge, creating a mosaic of wetlands that help soak up the water that would flood elsewhere.
Chris Grayling leads Tory drive to protect UK’s declining hedgehog populations
The Independent reports a proposed amendment to delayed Environment Bill would afford UK’s embattled hedgehogs same level of protections as bats and badgers. It would require developers to look for hedgehogs on proposed sites and take action to reduce the impacts on them.
UK government backs birth control for grey squirrels
BBC News reports environment minister Lord Goldsmith says the damage grey squirrels and other invasive species do to the UK’s woodlands costs the UK economy £1.8 billion a year. The bizarre-sounding plan is to lure grey squirrels into feeding boxes only they can access with little pots containing hazelnut spread. These would be spiked with an oral contraceptive.
Beloved garden bird sightings fall as gulls and pigeons thrive
The Daily Telegraph reports gulls and feral pigeons can survive by scavenging from humans while other birds suffer from the loss of wild spaces. A poll by Gardeners’ World magazine found that sightings of some of Britain’s best-loved garden birds had dropped over the past two years, while readers were increasingly spotting the scavenging birds. While overall sightings grew by 11 per cent, the poll, which had 2,500 respondents, revealed that some birds were being spotted less often, including blackbirds, blue tits and sparrows.
Farmers lead plan to reintroduce white-tailed eagle to Norfolk
The Guardian reports consultation comes after the birds have been successfully rewilded in other parts of the UK. A consultation has been launched to reintroduce Britain’s biggest bird of prey to Norfolk in an unprecedented rewilding move led by farmers. Supported by other landowners in the region, a west Norfolk farm wants to release white-tailed eagles on to its coastal land, after the successful reintroduction of the birds in western Scotland and the Isle of Wight.
Pesticide set for return in UK despite EU ban ‘stops bees sleeping’
The Independent reports neonicotinoids, linked to collapse in insect pollinator populations, knock bees’ and flies’ behavioural rhythms out of sync. Almost all living creatures require sleep in some form to function properly, and insects are no exception. But new research warns exposure to a common insecticide, banned in the EU but set for reintroduction to the UK, impacts the sleep of bumblebees and fruit flies, and “may help us understand why insect pollinators are vanishing from the wild”.
Butterflies do not just clap their wings to fly, the insects form a ‘pocket’ that creates added jet propulsion, study reveals
The Daily Mail reports butterflies flex their wings when they beat together to trap more air.Mechanical wings that flexed had more force and were more efficient than rigid ones.Researchers say the added thrust at takeoff helps the insects escape predators.Their findings may be helpful in improving the design of ‘flapping’ drones.
Welcome to nature 2.0 for a new generation of Ladybird readers
The Guardian reports during the late 1950s and early 1960s, four slim volumes about the natural world, aimed at children, hit the bookshops. They bore the title What to Look for in… followed by each of the four seasons: Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. The books were an instant success and inspired a whole generation of naturalists. Now, more than 60 years later, Ladybird Books is publishing a new series under the same title, written by Elizabeth Jenner and illustrated by Natasha Durley. Like the originals, they aim to inspire budding young naturalists to learn more about the wild creatures they might see during the different seasons.
Extinction Rebellion to rescue and plant 30,000 oak trees as government planting efforts falter
The Independent reports Extinction Rebellion activists are to rescue and plant at least 30,000 oak saplings across the country after nursery owners said they could be forced to destroy hundreds of thousands of trees because of delays to government tree planting programmes.
Rewilding is ‘polarising’ farmers, says RSPB chief as she reveals nature reserves will be joined to farmland
In an interview with the Telegraph, RSPB’s Beccy Speight said that nature campaigners often use “polarising” language around rewilding and mass tree planting, which can alienate farmers, and argued that conservationists should work with farmers, who own the largest amounts of Britain’s land. RSPB will join their land with neighbours and help them manage their field margins and unfarmed space for nature.