Saving England's most threatened species from extinction
Archive:
Emberiza citrinella
26th September 2018
Male yellowhammers are unmistakeable with a bright yellow head and underparts, brown back streaked with black, and chestnut rump. In flight it shows white outer tail feathers. They are often seen perched on top of a hedge or bush, singing. Its recent population decline make it a Red List species. See all species Roots of...
Read moreStag Beetles are one of the largest species of beetle in the UK, with some males – including their characteristic ‘horns’ - reaching 70mm long. Females are smaller, up to around 50mm long. Their larvae feed underground on decaying wood, and as such this species is reliant on the preservation and creation of deadwood habitats....
Read moreA delicate, beautiful and sweetly-scented plant, with a single spike of pale flowers. It grows in a wide range of places, from bogs to grassland, and even into woodland. It’s widespread, but has declined drastically – disappearing from more than half of its former range in just 50 years, especially in the east of England....
Read moreA very attractive plant with deep red cup-shaped flowers that resemble an anemone. The petals have a dark basal spot with black anthers. Plants can grow up to 50 cm tall and are often branched. Although records are widespread throughout southern Britain with isolated sites as far north as central Scotland, it has never been...
Read moreThe Adder is one of our three native species of snake and our most widespread, being found from the south of England to the north of Scotland. However, populations in central Britain are in decline. The Adder is easily recognised by a dark, continuous 'zig-zag' stripe along its back. The background colour varies from grey-white...
Read moreThe flowers closely resemble little flies, attracting insects to pollinate them. They are not easy to spot as their rather drab colouring blends with the surrounding vegetation, but they often form colonies of ten or more plants. The species declined dramatically before 1930, especially in East Anglia. The losses have continued since, but at a...
Read moreThis unusual plant was first discovered in 1963 and was only recognised as a separate species in 1976. It’s currently only found at two sites in Cornwall and these are the only known sites in the world. Surveys have revealed that the combined area covered by this moss is only 0.16msq – about the area...
Read moreThese remarkable creatures are among the rarest and most threatened invertebrates in the UK. They are 2cm long and chunky, black or brown with striking yellow wing-bases. They are 2cm long and chunky, black or brown with striking yellow wing-bases. They can’t fly, but can walk up to 100m a day. Their wing markings resemble...
Read moreThe Chequered Skipper is a butterfly that was first discovered in the UK in 1798, but died out in England in 1976. Our Roots of Rockingham project – led by Butterfly Conservation – reintroduced the Chequered Skipper to a secret site in the Rockingham Forest area in 2018. See all species Roots of Rockingham project...
Read more25th September 2018
The Violet Click Beetle is known from only three sites in England, where it is dependent on rotting hollows in ancient trees. Our Ancients of the Future project is trialling ‘beetle boxes’ - wooden boxes filled with sawdust, leaf mould and pigeon poo that emulate the rotting hollows in an ancient trees – to find...
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