Plans to create a wildflower meadow take shape 💚 A project to transform a recreation ground into a wildflower meadow has taken another step forward. Members of the Nature Volunteer Network and staff from the Borough Council of King's Lynn and West Norfolk have planted hundreds of native wildflower plugs in Fairstead Recreation Ground in King's Lynn. The council said it wanted to establish a diverse mix of wildflower species to enhance the meadow and support local wildlife. bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8vg…

Critically endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper, tagged in Russia, sighted again on Bengal beach 💚 A lime-green leg tag has helped birders identify a critically endangered spoon-billed sandpiper photographed at Bakkhali’s Kargil beach in South 24 Parganas as the same individual that was sighted along Bengal’s coast earlier this year. More here: timesofindia.indiatimes.com/…

After years in cramped cages, two brown bears are adjusting to their new life following a remarkable rescue mission that spanned multiple countries, was disrupted by two major conflicts and involved more than 100 people. 💚 For Bu and Tyapa, the five-year rescue journey from the Republic of Dagestan in Russia to the Irish countryside was anything but straightforward. One bear had spent their life forced to perform in a circus, while the other was confined to a cage so small they could not stand upright. Today, the bears are now adjusting to a totally different world among the trees and grass at Wild Ireland, a sanctuary for rescued animals in County Donegal. Read more: bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx62…

Seabirds and sewage among UNESCO status challenges Sewage being discharged into the sea and under-threat seabirds are among the challenges facing the Isle of Man after a decade as a UNESCO Biosphere, a report has said. The State of the Biosphere report looks back on the 10 years since the island became the world's first whole-nation Biosphere in 2016, in recognition of its thriving natural habitats from returning wildlife to new marine reserves. But it warns that while some wildlife is recovering, many species and habitats are still in long-term decline. It comes ahead of a UNESCO decision next summer on whether the island will keep its status bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwzr…

Decline in European Bees and Hoverflies Raises Alarm 👇 For more than a century, researchers and conservationists have called for urgent action to prevent the worrying decline among European bees and hoverflies. At the Doñana Biological Station in Spain, researchers led by Carlos Martinez-Nunez studied more than four million records to ascertain the reasons for the decline.  Most of the species could still be found somewhere in Europe, but many had disappeared from... gowildwithannette.com/declin…