Return of white storks to the UK described as 'emblem' for nature recovery
White storks, once common in Britain, disappeared centuries ago due to hunting and habitat loss, but conservationists are working to reintroduce them.
A reintroduction project in southern England, started in 2016, uses rescued storks to establish breeding colonies and attract wild birds.
The Knepp Estate in West Sussex, which has been "rewilded" since 2000, provides a habitat where storks thrive due to healthy soils, diverse insect life, and suitable nesting trees.
The first chicks were born in 2020, and in 2024, at least six birds born at Knepp returned from migration to nest in the colony, indicating a healthy ecosystem.
The success at Knepp demonstrates that habitat restoration can lead to the return of species, with white storks serving as an "emblem for nature recovery" and positively impacting other wildlife.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sky News
an hour ago
- Sky News
Spending Review 2025: Faster drug treatments and longer-lasting batteries to come from £86bn science and tech package
Research into faster drug treatments and longer-lasting batteries will form part of the £86bn science and technology funding due to be unveiled in the government's spending review next week. On Wednesday, Chancellor Rachel Reeves will unveil how much taxpayer money each government department will get. Each region in England will be handed up to £500m to spend on science and technology projects of their choice, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) says. In Liverpool, the funding is being earmarked to speed up the development of new drug treatments, while in South Wales, it will fund longer-lasting microchips for smartphones and electric cars. Overall by 2030, Ms Reeves's spending package will be worth more than £22.5bn a year, the government says. "Britain is the home of science and technology," she said on Sunday. "Through the 'plan for change', we are investing in Britain's renewal to create jobs, protect our security against foreign threats and make working families better off." Science and technology secretary Peter Kyle added: "Incredible and ambitious research goes on in every corner of our country, from Liverpool to Inverness, Swansea to Belfast, which is why empowering regions to harness local expertise and skills for all of our benefit is at the heart of this new funding - helping to deliver the economic growth at the centre of our plan for change." 3:54 Flat real-terms budget 'won't be enough' Regional leaders such as North East Mayor Kim McGuiness and West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker welcomed the funding promise. But the announcement was met with caution by industry leaders. John-Arne Rottingden, chief executive of Wellcome, the UK's biggest non-governmental research funder, said: "While it's positive under the financial circumstances, a flat real-terms science budget, along with continuing barriers such as high visa costs for talented scientists and the university funding crisis, won't be enough for the UK to make the advances it needs to secure its reputation for science in an increasingly competitive world." He claimed the UK should be "aiming to lead the G7 in research intensity" to "bring about economic growth" and "advances in health, science, and technology that benefit us all". Director of policy and public affairs at the Institute of Physics Tony McBride expressed similar concerns. "To fully harness the transformational potential of research and innovation - wherever it takes place - we need a decade-long strategic plan for science," he said. Mr McBride said a "plan for a skilled workforce... starting with teachers and addressing every educational stage" is key - something he hopes will feature in Ms Reeve's spending review. Among the other announcements expected are a potential scrapping of the two-child benefit cap and a green light to a new nuclear power station in Suffolk - Sizewell C.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
One of NHS's biggest AI projects is halted after fears it used health data of 57 MILLION people without proper permissions
NHS England has paused a ground-breaking AI project designed to predict an individual's risk of health conditions after concerns were raised data from 57 million people was being used without the right permissions. Foresight, which uses Meta 's open-source AI model, Llama 2, was being tested by researchers at University College London and King's College London as part of a national pilot scheme exploring how AI could be used to tailor healthcare plans for patients based on their medical history. But the brakes were applied to the pioneering scheme after experts warned even anonymised records could contain enough information to identify individuals, The Observer reported. A joint IT committee between the British Medical Association (BMA) and the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) also said it they had not been made aware that data collected for research into Covid was now being used to train the AI model. The bodies have also accused the research consortium, led by Health Data Research UK, of failing to consult an advisory body of doctors before feeding the health data of tens of millions of patients into Foresight. Both BMA and RGCP have asked NHS England to refer itself to the Information Commissioner over the matter. Professor Kamila Hawthorne, chair of RGCP, said the issue was one of 'fostering patient trust' that their data was not being used 'beyond what they've given permission for.' She said: 'As data controllers, GPs take the management of their patients' medical data very seriously, and we want to be sure data isn't being used beyond its scope, in this case to train an AI programme. 'We have raised our concerns with NHS England, through the Joint GP IT Committee, and the committee has called for a pause on data processing in this way while further investigation takes place, and for NHS England to refer itself to the Information Commissioner. 'Patients need to be able to trust their personal medical data is not being used beyond what they've given permission for, and that GPs and the NHS will protect their right to data privacy. 'If we can't foster this patient trust, then any advancements made in AI – which has potential to benefit patient care and alleviate GP workload – will be undermined. 'We hope to hear more from NHS England in due course, providing definitive and transparent answers to inform our next steps.' Katie Bramall, BMA England GP committee chair, said: 'For GPs, our focus is always on maintaining our patients' trust in how their confidential data is handled. 'We were not aware that GP data, collected for Covid-19 research, was being used to train an AI model, Foresight. 'As such, we are unclear as to whether the correct processes were followed to ensure that data was shared in line with patients' expectations and established governance processes. 'We have raised our concerns with NHS England through the joint GP IT committee and appreciate their verbal commitment to improve on these processes going forward. 'The committee has asked NHS England to refer itself to the Information Commissioner so the full circumstances can be understood, and to pause ongoing processing of data in this model, as a precaution, while the facts can be established.' 'Patients shouldn't have to worry that what they tell their GP will get fed to AI models without the full range of safeguards in place to dictate how that data is shared.' An NHS spokesperson confirmed that development of the Foresight model had been paused for the time being.
Daily Mail
9 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Is this the world's toughest job... catching tiny ANTS at 1,700 sq-mile beauty spot?
IT'S a task that makes looking for a needle in a haystack seem easy – hunting down a tiny insect in a vast area of Scottish wilderness. Yet as part of a remarkable project to save one of the country's rarest creatures from extinction, trackers are now being challenged to scour the Cairngorms National Park in search of the narrow-headed ant. It may not have the same profile as other at-risk animals such as the rhino or panda, but conservationists believe the half-inch long ant deserves to be protected – as it plays a surprisingly large role in the well-being of our ancient pine forests. In Scotland, narrow-headed ants are known to nest in just a handful of places in the Cairngorms, while the UK's only other recognised population is found at a single site in Devon in the south-west of England. And despite previous conservation schemes, its numbers are declining at a worrying rate. Now the body which runs the 1,700 square-mile Cairngorms National Park wants to reverse the insect's fortunes by setting up a captive breeding programme. The park authority has set aside £50,000 to hire experts to carry out an 'ant captive rearing project' that will last for up to three years. The aim is to establish at least 50 'farmed' colonies and build up large populations of the creatures in captivity – before later releasing them into new sites in the wild. The first major hurdle, however, involves being able to track down and capture enough of the ants to start the breeding programme. Cairngorms conservation officer Hayley Wiswell said: 'This work is ground-breaking and could completely change the fate of the species in the UK. 'But finding the nests can be challenging. They're about the size of half a football, sometimes even as small as a fist. 'They're made with pine needles, twigs, heather, moss and grass, so they're really well camouflaged. 'And they're found in woodland among pine or birch trees, on lumpy, mossy ground with lots of hummocks, hollows and deep heather. Sometime you don't see them until you're on top of them.' To set up the colonies, the trackers will need to find queens and males from different nests. Ms Wiswell added: 'You have to sit by the nest early in the morning on a cloudy but mild day – and as they come out, you have to pick them off the surface really quickly. It's tricky because the queens in particular are really fast – you have to sneak up on them and grab them.' Caution is needed as the ants can deliver a sharp, pin-prick bite. The narrow-headed ant – scientific name Formica exsecta – is black and red, with a characteristic notch in the back of its head. It builds a distinctive domed nest typically containing around 1,000 individuals. Males are up to 10mm long while queens are slightly larger, at around 12mm. Queens and males from different nests will be put together in a netted cage to mate before being moved to 'ant modules' – purpose-made enclosures that replicate an underground nest's tunnels. The aim is for the queen to start producing eggs which will then seed the captive colony. The ants will be kept in their modules under close supervision for 12 months until they are self-sufficient enough to survive in the wild. Ms Wiswell added: 'Nobody's done this before – it's really experimental.' Despite the difficulties, she explained that the tiny ants offered huge benefits for the environment. 'They are a keystone species, doing all kinds of things in the ecosystem,' she said. 'They're highly predatory and prey on herbivorous insects like caterpillars which can defoliate plants. They also interact with the soil because their nests are largely subterranean – earthworms, for example, are significantly more prevalent around ant mounds. 'They also pick up and disperse plant seeds throughout the environment. And of course they provide a food source for lots of other animals, like badgers and pine martens.' Nests have been identified on the Mar Lodge Estate, a national nature reserve that covers 70,000 acres in the Cairngorms and is run by the National Trust for Scotland. The recruitment advert for trackers says: 'The species is considered to be vulnerable. Captive breeding is considered to be the next step to securing the future of this species at Mar Lodge Estate, near Braemar, and to expand the population on Deeside. 'This work is still very much experimental, and as such methods for captive rearing will need to be tested. ' Anyone taking on the task of tracking the narrow- headed ant is advised they should have access to a 4x4 vehicle, or be willing to mountain bike, walk and camp overnight in remote locations.
