Wildlife and bird watching in the South West of England
County by county
Recent South West news
- Woolly Rhino fossil discovered at the Cotswold Water Park!
- Lundy Manx Shearwaters booming since rats removed.
- Devon dormice turning to birdfeeders for food.
- Somerset Wildlife Trust creates new bat habitat
- Bad weather brings record year for wild birds at WWT Slimbridge
- Appeal to help save Cornwall’s dolphins
- Devon Wildlife Trust launches appeal to save rare grasslands
- Rare visitors washed up on Cornish beach – Columbus crabs
- Elusive insect population survives MSC Napoli disaster
- Great bustards released on Salisbury Plain
- Devon seal moves to Cornwall to give birth
- Unusual whale and dolphin wash up on the Scilly Isles
- British wildlife watching increasingly popular
- RNLI Lifeguards to report marine wildlife sightings
- Large Blue butterfly thriving on Somerset’s hills
More South West news
- Wildlife news RSS feed now available.
- Orchids blooming in restored Wiltshire grasslands
- Dolphin harassment – Dolphin watch guidelines
- Landowners unfairly penalised by fly tipping law
- UK National Whale and Dolphin Watch Results 2008
- Whale and dolphin strandings show big increase in Cornwall
- Rare damselfly habitat restored in Devon
- Wildlife Trust statement on badger culling
- First choughs chicks in far west of Cornwall for nearly 150 Years
- First beaver dam in England for hundreds of years
- Rare dragonfly breeding on the Kennet & Avon Canal for the first time
- Two bittern nests found in Somerset
- DEFRA announces protection for Lyme Bay Reefs - one of the UK’s top marine wildlife sites
- RSPB hopes to create the largest chalk downland network in Europe
- Mass dolphin stranding in Cornwall - at least 26 dolphins dead
Unusual whale and dolphin wash up on the Scilly IslesTwo highly unusual marine mammals, a Sowerby's beaked whale and a Risso's dolphin, have been washed up on the western shores of the Isle of St Agnes within days of one another.
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Mass dolphin stranding in Cornwall - at least 26 dolphins deadOn Monday 9th June, 26 common dolphins stranded and died near St Mawes in Cornwall.
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Lyme Bay Reefs devastated.
Devon Wildlife Trust has collected evidence that the Reefs in Lyme Bay have been trashed by some fishing techniques.
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Great bustards released on Salisbury PlainThe Great Bustard Group released 19 birds on Salisbury Plain at the end of September, the fifth annual release that is part of the UK reintroduction project scheduled to continue until 2013.
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DEFRA announces protection for Lyme Bay Reefs - one of the UK’s top marine wildlife sitesOne of the finest marine wildlife sites in the UK's is to be protected from damaging scallop-dredging, thanks to the introduction of a new 60sq mile exclusion zone in Lyme Bay.
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![news/AdonisBluemedium[1]](/resources/listimg/news/AdonisBluemedium[1]@small.JPG)
Adonis unexpectedly reappears in the CotswoldsThe beautiful Adonis Blue butterfly has unexpectedly reappeared in the Cotswolds having become locally extinct more than 40 years previously.
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Glossy ibis flock arrives at Slimbridge.Usually only seen in the UK every 5 years, a flock of seventeen have recently settled at Slimbridge.
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Minke whale stranded in CornwallA 7 metre long Minke whale washed up on Porthcothan beach. Minke sighting are unusual at this time of year.
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Great Bustards nest again in UK after 175 years waitEarlier this spring a female Great Bustard from the Great Bustard Group (GBG) reintroduction trial in Wiltshire nested and laid two eggs. Due to fears of egg thieves and disturbance from bird watchers, the announcement was delayed and the location of the nest is being kept secret.
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![news/CirlBunting[1]](/resources/listimg/news/CirlBunting[1]@small.JPG)
Cirl buntings re-introduced into Cornwall.The rare Cirl bunting was reduced to just a few hundred pairs in south Devon, but they have now been re-introduced into Cornwall.
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Basking shark sighting and a code of conduct
With the recent surge in basking shark sightings off the UK coast, especially Cornwall and the Isle of Man, the Marine Conservation Society has devised a code of conduct as to how to behave when near the sharks, whether in a boat or swimming (not advised). More.Lyme Bay Reefs devastated by fishing.
Lyme Bay Reefs devastated by fishing.
Devon Wildlife Trust has collected evidence that the Reefs in Lyme Bay have been trashed by some fishing techniques. To see the full story, and to see a video of the destruction, Click here.
Devon Wildlife Trust has collected evidence that the Reefs in Lyme Bay have been trashed by some fishing techniques. To see the full story, and to see a video of the destruction, Click here.
