The lesser-spotted woodpecker and the willow tit are the latest birds to attract the attention of the Rare Breeding Birds Panel, which will now be collating records on them in an attempt halt their decline. The lesser-spotted woodpecker, smallest of the woodpeckers and a quieter tapper, has declined by 76% between 1970 and 2008 and the willow tit by a horrifying 91%.
The panel, which was formed in 1972 to provide information to government agencies and conservation groups, is also looking, for the first time, at the long-eared owl, short-eared owl and Arctic skua, bringing their list to 103. The RSPB's conservation director, Martin Harper, comments: ‘When Britain was carpeted with forest, the lesser-spotted woodpecker could have been among our most widespread birds. Perhaps its best hope for survival lies in the larger tracts of ancient woodland. Knowing the distribution of the species will give the best chance of hanging onto this endearing bird.'
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Uniquely unique? The Yorkshire grain silos transformed into a home that's a symphony in glass, steel and curvesAmid the beautiful countryside of North Yorkshire, on the edge of the Castle Howard Estate, The Silos is a property for which the word 'house' simply doesn't cut it. And that's not the only way in which it's made us throw out the dictionary.
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Polluting water executives now face up to two years in prison, but will the new laws make much of a difference?The Government has announced that water company executives caught covering up illegal sewage spills could now be imprisoned for two years, under new laws — but many still have their doubts.
