News

The tradition of celebrating orchards As gathering swallows twitter in the skies ere their winter flight, orchard owners and managers across the UK are preparing to open their gates to the public for the year’s biggest celebration of orchards – Apple Day. In 1990, motivated by the relentless loss of traditional orchards in the post-war …

The National Dormouse Monitoring Programme (NDMP) primarily focuses on tracking the population of hazel dormice and gathering essential biometric data on this endangered species to assess the health of Britain’s dormouse population. However, dormouse nest boxes are often utilised by other wildlife. Over the past 20 years, we’ve regularly asked dormouse monitors to record any …

A major step forward for hedgehog conservation The State of Britain’s Hedgehogs 2022 report, published by People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) and the British Hedgehog Preservation Society (BHPS), revealed that the UK’s hedgehogs have declined by between 30-75% in rural areas since 2000. We stepped into action to identify the key threats these hedgehogs are …

‘A common pipistrelle can eat over 3,000 tiny insects in a single night.’ It’s a stat that gets repeated a lot. It’s a common sight on summer evenings, a little after sunset, to see pipistrelles feeding overhead on small flies, midges and mosquitos. Pipistrelles are aerial hawkers, catching and eating their prey on the wing, …

The value of healthy hedgerows Hedgerows have been at the heart of British farming for centuries. However, without the traditional lifecycle approach to management, their structural condition has been steadily declining. Last century, over half of our hedgerows were lost through incentivised removal; whilst recognition of their value has turned this around, it means those …

PTES staff were thrilled about the exciting news that one of the rarest reptiles in the world has had a boost in numbers, thanks to the impressive efforts of PTES partner, Fauna & Flora. Read on for an inspiring report from their team and local experts about the discovery of Critically Endangered Siamese crocodile nests …

Ellie Scopes recently completed her PhD at the University of Exeter. She investigated how often and when hazel dormice are found in hedgerows and scrubby habitats in the South West. Her results are a useful insight into how dormice use these habitats and how we might improve our surveying and management of these critical areas. …

Setting up the National Dormouse Monitoring Programme The National Dormouse Monitoring programme (NDMP) was set up in 1990. It started with only 13 sites but under the guidance and enthusiasm of Pat Morris and Paul Bright it quickly grew and, within two years, there were 28 sites. In September 1992 the first newsletter, called The Dormouse …

Zebo Isakova is Project Manager at Saiga Conservation Alliance (SCA). She works with our Conservation Partner Elena Bykova. Here Zebo describes their Saiga Day celebrations last year, when Nida Al-Fulaij, CEO, visited their project, highlighting their successful engagement with the local community and the positive impact of their conservation efforts. SOS – Save Our Saiga: …

Back to Beds for sleepy dormice This week, in early June, 10 rare hazel dormice have been reintroduced into a Bedfordshire woodland to bolster the county’s only existing population. These animals will help create a bigger and more genetically diverse population of the species in this wood, and is part of our ongoing conservation effort …

A successful predator with a big appetite Britain’s waterways support a diversity of our native wildlife as they meander through tranquil verdant landscapes and bustling urban centres. Yet, an ominous threat lurks on the banks, imperilling the delicate natural balance. Enter the American mink (Neovison vison), a successful predator with a big appetite and a …

The National Hedgehog Monitoring Programme (NHMP) is an exciting new project aiming to calculate robust population estimates for hedgehogs. The project officially launched at the end of March 2024 and the pilot phase is currently running for three years, until May 2026. We started our first surveys last year (2023) and are looking forward to …