East Yorkshire nature reserve enjoys resurgence of bearded tits
'Delighted'
In 1948, the English population of bearded tits was thought to be down to just two pairs at RSPB Minsmere, the society said.The population then grew to about 100 pairs in south-east England in the early 1960s and have nearly doubled over the past 25 years.The RSPB said the resurgence was down to 25 years of dedicated reedbed management at Blacktoft, including winter reed cutting.
Mr Short said: "Watching our bearded tits darting around the reedbeds is a special nature spectacle. "Carefully managing wetlands is important for some of our rarest species and we're delighted that our management of the reedbeds is paying off. "Wetlands are important to us all and without them we would lose so much."
Listen to highlights from Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
STV News
13 hours ago
- STV News
Giant bird once hunted to extinction returns to Scotland after 500 years
Cranes, once the centrepiece of grand medieval feasts, are making a remarkable return to Scotland nearly five centuries after they were hunted to local extinction. The bird species was widely eaten until the Elizabethan era, which also meant they were extensively hunted and disappeared from Scotland during the late 1500s. But fast forward nearly 500 years and the large birds are making a comeback. In Aberdeenshire, conservationists have recorded up to six breeding pairs. RSPB volunteer Ron Macdonald said: 'In 2012, we saw the first nesting pair recorded and since then we've seen around six or seven pairs in the north east. 'The birds are doing particularly well in northern and eastern Europe, and they're now seeking out other sites with good food supplies where they can live.' Cranes are the largest bird in Scotland, standing at around four feet tall. The RSPB say the species has hit record numbers across the UK with around 250 breeding pairs. In Scotland, efforts to restore wetland and peatland have helped to draw the birds back. Ron added: 'I think it's one of the few good news stories around, because we see so many species in decline. 'I think in recent years there's been a good partnership between farmers and conservation projects, and our government also has more policies for nature restoration, particularly when it comes to wetland and bog creation.' STV News Cranes were hunted to extinction in the 16th century The RSPB say the birds have now been seen in the Black Isle, Mull and in Moray where they are breeding pairs in the area for the first time this year. They believe the success of the crane's return to Scotland shows how other wildlife species can be supported too. James Silvey, Senior Species and Habitats Officer for RSPB Scotland, said: 'The return of this iconic species to Scotland is one of the great modern conservation success stories. 'The fact the birds recolonised naturally is a result both of an increasing European population and suitable habitat in the North East of Scotland where most birds are found. 'Cranes are migratory and can turn up in some odd places as they make their way to and from their breeding grounds. For example, in spring 2025 a bird was seen on Orkney! 'Cranes are still a very rare breeder in Scotland preferring quiet areas to raise their chicks. Hopefully with time Cranes will become more common across our wetlands allowing more people to see these magnificent birds.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
Powys County Times
21 hours ago
- Powys County Times
Ysgol Calon Cymru teachers leaving after 117 years' service
A POWYS high school is bidding a fond farewell at the end of term to four teachers who, between them, have given well over 100 years of service to the school. Ysgol Calon Cymru will say goodbye to four valued members of staff this summer, as they prepare to leave the school ahead of the new academic year in September. Penny Hourahane, Meinir Jones, Nia MacMillan and Judith Sharp have each all taught at the school's Builth campus for well over 20 years. Each of them has made a lasting contribution to the school and its learners over many years. Between them, they have given 117 years of service to education and the life of the school. As they now move on – some to retirement, others to new ventures – the school has paid tribute to their impact. 'On behalf of our learners, staff, governors and wider school community, I'd like to offer our heartfelt thanks to each of these colleagues,' said Lee Powell, headteacher at Ysgol Calon Cymru. 'They have given so much to the life of the school – not just through their teaching, but through the values they've modelled, the care they've shown and the opportunities they've provided to learners in and out of the classroom. 'We wish them all the very best for whatever comes next and thank them sincerely for their service to Ysgol Calon Cymru.' Ms Hourahane is the longest-serving member of staff who is leaving. She started at Builth High School as a PE teacher in 1986, and has taken on a variety of roles in the last 39 years. She has taught several subjects including history, IT, maths and food, and supported students across a range of subjects. History teacher Ms Jones has taught in Powys since 1996 when she joined Ysgol Trefonnen in Llandrindod, moving to Builth High School in 1998. She has inspired many young historians across the school and supported their love for the subject with inspiring school trips. English teacher Mrs Sharp has worked at the school for 27 years, playing a key role in the development of literacy and literature teaching. Ms MacMillan, a passionate teacher of Welsh also based at the Builth Campus, has worked at the school for 23 years. Her love of the Welsh language and culture has helped to inspire pupils and she has supported the school's wider work in promoting Cymraeg across the community.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Revealed: The 2,000 schools where more than HALF of pupils don't speak English as their first language... so is YOUR child's one of them?
English is no longer the first language for the majority of pupils at more than 2,000 schools, MailOnline can today reveal. No children at two primary schools – one in Tower Hamlets and another in Kirklees, West Yorkshire – have English as their mother tongue. Our statistics, obtained exclusively under Freedom of Information (FOI) laws, show nine in ten pupils don't speak only English at home at 107 schools. The full results of our audit, covering all 22,000 state schools, can be viewed in our search tool below. Bengali is the mother tongue of 92 per cent of the pupils at Kobi Nazrul, the primary school in Tower Hamlets where none of the kids solely speak English at home. The others speak a slew of other languages, including Indonesian and Urdu. At Pentland Infant in Dewsbury – the Kirklees school – the overwhelming majority of the children speak either Gujarati (36 per cent) or Panjabi (45 per cent). When broken down by languages, our FOI revealed Tottenhall Infant School, Enfield had the highest rate of Albanian speakers at 18 per cent. Sheffield's Netherthorpe Primary School topped the league table for Arabic (54 per cent), meanwhile Burnley Brow Community School in Oldham had the highest share of Bengali speakers (93 per cent). In terms of Chinese, St Cecilia's CofE Primary School in Wokingham, Berkshire, had the highest rate (28 per cent). Polish speakers were most heavily concentrated at St Cuthbert's Catholic Primary School in Windermere (43 per cent), while Urdu was most common at St Michael's CofE Primary School in Bolton (58 per cent). In total, English is no longer the first language for the majority of children at 2,039 schools. This includes deaf schools, where pupils' first language is BSL. Nationwide, English isn't the first language of 1.8 million pupils, or one in five pupils. Fuelled by immigration having spiralled to all-time highs, this has risen from 1.1 million ten years ago. The soaring numbers have raised concerns among critics that the slew of different languages can be incredibly disruptive in classrooms. Robert Bates, of the Centre for Migration Control, told MailOnline: 'It's a great shame that we have reached this point and it is evidence of successive governments failing to properly address assimilation issues. 'Multi-language classrooms are hugely problematic. They inevitably sap the precious time of teachers who are forced to devote additional attention to those with a weaker grasp of the language at the expense of those who only speak English. 'The resources used will be lowest-common-denominator teaching devices that provide little from the individuals to excel. 'They also foster long term division, with little incentive for those who do not speak English to improve their fluency. 'It is time for a sink or swim approach in which state funding for translation costs are stripped across the board, encouraging adult migrants and parents alike to devote greater attention to improving this pretty basic skill.' Schools have had to pivot their limited resources to provide for the needs of pupils who struggle with English. Strain has been placed on their tight budgets due to providing translated versions of resources, adding subtitling and voiceovers, as well funding in-class interpreters. Teachers have previously said schools were under mounting pressure from mass immigration and called on ministers to fund them properly to cope with the array of different languages that pupils speak. MailOnline's analysis showed the authority that had the highest rate of first language speakers other than English was Newham (66.4 per cent). Brent (63.7 per cent) and Harrow (63.6 per cent) rounded out the top three. On the other hand, our FOI found 97 per cent of children spoke English as their first language in Northumberland. Redcar and Cleveland (96.7 per cent) and Cornwall (96.1 per cent) came second and third, respectively. Experts warn that kids who aren't taught English before they get to school are less likely to do well. Ian Mansfield, head of education at Policy Exchange, said: 'These statistics demonstrate the very real pressure that mass immigration places on public services.' However, some studies suggest that pupils who speak English as a second language can outperform native speakers and their presence has no impact on the learning of other pupils. Despite the language barrier, Kobi Nazrul was regarded as 'friendly and welcoming' in a glowing report from Ofsted in its most recent inspection Depending on how close they are to English, both phonetically and grammatically, some languages can be very difficult to switch from. Alp Mehmet, of Migration Watch UK, said: 'English is the glue that brings and holds us together as a country and helps new arrivals to blend in.' Mr Mehmet, who said he was the only non-English speaker at his east London school growing up in the 1960s, added: 'If teachers have to focus their attention on children who struggle to speak English because the language spoken at home is different, the time devoted to other pupils is bound to diminish.' Jim McConalogue, CEO at the think-tank Civitas said: 'You are effectively seeing the proportion of school-age pupils in England speaking English as an additional language continuing to steadily increase over time. 'Measures to ensure English language acquisition must therefore be prioritised. 'There are some short-term challenges that the DoE need to address for students who speak English as an additional language, as a lack of emphasis on English language provision can have a detrimental impact on both these students themselves and their classmates. 'Many policymakers talk about diversity and inclusion, but relatively little is being done to support English language acquisition. 'This omission creates deeper problems not only for the individual children but society at large, around a common citizenship, a shared language and identity, belonging and social cohesion.' Some politicians believe the high number of immigrants now entering the UK need to be integrated into society by the government properly. Shadow education minister Neil O'Brien said: 'These figures underline just how serious the challenge of integration has become in some parts of the country. 'Integration shouldn't be an afterthought, it must be a priority. 'The government has totally failed to stop the boats and numbers coming illegally are massively up. 'They abandoned our plans to raise income requirements on the family route. And as well as having no plan on immigration they have no plan on integration.' Some campaigners argue the Government needs to have more involvement in schools that have especially high numbers of foreign language speakers. Chris McGovern, of the Campaign for Real Education, said: 'The Government should publish the data regarding the language of pupils in each school and ensure that non-native speakers do not outnumber native speakers of English. 'This will benefit all pupils and allow our society to become more integrated, harmonious and at peace with itself.' The FOI data, from the Department of Education, reflects the state-of-play in January 2024. In it, schools have some flexibility about how they code pupils' language. DoE bosses define the first language as 'where the pupil has been exposed to a language other than English during early development and continues to be exposed to this language in the home or in the community'. A Government spokesperson said: 'This government is determined to break down barriers to opportunity so every child, including pupils who speak a language other than English, can achieve and thrive. 'Schools are best placed to understand the needs of their pupils with English as an additional language and are responsible for determining what support to put in place. 'Additional funding is provided to schools to support pupils who need help learning how to speak, read and write English. 'More widely, to better integrate migrants into their new communities this government will introduce a new English language requirement across a broader range of immigration routes.' MailOnline's investigation comes after Keir Starmer last month warned that mass immigration risks making Britain an 'island of strangers'. Scrambling to blunt the threat of Reform, the Prime Minister vowed to give Brits what they had 'asked for time and time again'. He unveiled a package to 'take back control of our borders'. The skills threshold will be hiked and rules on fluency in English toughened under the Government's plan to bring down annual inflows by around 100,000.
