Rangers in Kielder Water & Forest Park are scanning the skies for the return of ospreys which last year nested in Northumberland for the first time in at least 200 years.
The Kielder Partnership says it’s likely that the iconic birds will return to nest once again in the 62,000 hectare (155,000 acre) Northumberland wilderness, after the pair successfully reared three strapping youngsters on an artificial platform erected for the purpose by the Forestry Commission.
The male
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The Annual Tom Dunn Lecture, one of the key events in the North East’s wildlife calendar, is to take place in Durham Town Hall in Market Square, on November 10.
The guest speaker is Dr Anne Borland, Reader in Molecular Plant Physiology at the School of Biology at Newcastle University and Director of Moorbank Botanic Garden.
Her lecture ‘A perfect storm’ takes the theme of the many threats facing biodiversity on a local and global scale and asks
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A County Durham couple have stepped forward to help the region’s threatened woodland birds.
Janice and Michael Baker, whose son Matt Baker presents BBC TV’s Countryfile, have shown that a love of the environment runs deep in the family by pledging to improve an 8 hectare (20 acre) ancient wood on their organic sheep farm near Tow Law for species like Pied Flycatcher and Lesser Spotted Woodpecker.
Woodlands on the Weardale Estate, between Stanhope and Alston, are set for a back to nature make-over.
The Forestry Commission is supporting a `back to nature’ plan in Weardale which will see thousands of native trees take root and
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Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary (Boloria selene). Photo: James Lindsey at Ecology of Commanster – Click photo to enlarge.
Durham Wildlife Trust and Northumbrian Water have launched a new project to protect rare species in the face of climate change, starting with County Durham‘s rarest butterfly.
At
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Rescuing a trapped bird of prey.
Wild birds are suffering from near record levels of persecution.
During 2008 the RSPB received 1,206 reports of shooting, poisoning, trapping and disturbance of birds and of the theft of birds and their eggs.
While the figure is slightly down from the all-time high of 1,228 reports in 2007, it remains the second highest we’ve ever recorded. Many more
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River Wear in Durham.
More than half (52 per cent) of people questioned would not swim in their local river because they think it is too polluted. That was the shocking finding from a survey carried out for the Blueprint for Water, a coalition of leading conservation groups.
The survey, carried out by ComRes, also found 97 per cent of people in England recognise that rivers,
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Durham Wildlife Trust is celebrating the acquisition of its newest nature reserve at Stanley Moss, approximately 2 miles east of Tow Law in Weardale.
Stanley Moss is one of the very few remaining blanket peat bogs in the lowlands of County Durham.
Extending 7.5 hectares, it once covered a much larger area but the vast majority of this type of habitat has been lost due to opencast coal mining, forestry and agricultural improvements.
The vegetation at Stanley Moss has developed over a thick layer of peat
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Durham Biodiversity Partnership and the Marine Conservation Society are working with a number of landowners in the North East to bring an end to balloon releases in the region.
Balloon releases are often used as a method of fund raising for charities, schools and local groups and it is acknowledged that they can play an important part in raising money for these bodies. However there is a widespread environmental impact of balloon releases. The Marine Conservation
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RAF Cranwell cadets help out at Holburn Moss. Photo Derek Hornsby – Click pic to enlarge
North East Nature News…
A group of 16 helicopter cadets from RAF Cranwell touched down at Holburn Moss to help Northumberland Wildlife Trust with the removal of birch trees and ditch
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Rangers in Kielder Water & Forest Park are scanning the skies for the return of ospreys which last year nested in Northumberland for the first time in at least 200 years.
