Latest news with #WildlifeAndCountrysideAct
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Snake-like reptile spotted slithering through garden in Worcester
AN EAGLE-eyed photographer spotted a snake-like reptile as it slithered through his garden. Worcester News Camera Club member Brian Smith snapped what he described as "quite a large" slow worm in his garden in Worcester. Despite its remarkable similarity to a snake, the creature is known as a legless lizard. Snakes and legless lizards have several key differences including legless lizards possessing ears and eyelids, and being much smaller than snakes. Slow worms typically grow no bigger than 50cm, while Britain's largest snake, the grass snake can be as long as 150cm. The lizard favours humid conditions and shaded areas such as grassland, heathland and the edges of woodlands. Slow worms are also protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which makes it a criminal offence to injure, kill or sell one of the creatures.
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Rare bird of prey 'once on brink of extinction' spotted over North East skies
Birdwatchers in the North East were treated to a rare spectacle earlier this month as a marsh harrier—a bird once on the brink of extinction in Britain—was seen soaring over the region. The sighting marks a significant moment for North East conservationists and bird enthusiasts, who described the appearance as both "unexpected and thrilling." The marsh harrier is the largest of the UK's harrier species and is easily recognisable in flight by its long wings held in a distinctive V-shape. The marsh harrier (Image: STEVE RAINE/CAMERA CLUB) This most recent image, taken by Northern Echo camera club member Steve Raine shows the majestic bird in full flight. Once reduced to a single breeding female in the UK by 1971 due to habitat loss and persecution, the species has made a dramatic comeback. Thanks to decades of conservation work, the UK population now exceeds 500 breeding pairs, primarily in East Anglia, the Somerset Levels, and parts of Scotland. Despite this recovery, marsh harriers remain an amber-listed species under the Birds of Conservation Concern and are protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Typically, marsh harriers breed in extensive reedbeds and feed on frogs, small mammals, and wetland birds such as moorhens and coots. Read next: Sir John Hall hails 'moment in history' after first Durham Reform council meeting Daughter still searching for answers in dad's infected blood death 49 years on Tragedy as body found in search for missing GP and Northern Echo columnist lick here to join our WhatsApp community and get breaking news updates direct to your phone. While traditionally summer visitors that migrate to Africa for the winter, a growing number are now overwintering in the UK—another indicator of the species' adaptability and increasing resilience. 'This is a fantastic example of how targeted conservation can reverse the fortunes of a species,' said one birder. 'Seeing a marsh harrier here in the North East is still uncommon, but it's happening more often—and that's a really hopeful sign for our wetlands.' With sightings increasing and habitats slowly recovering, enthusiasts are encouraged to keep an eye on reedbeds for future glimpses of this striking raptor.
Daily Mail
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Hollyoaks star Davinia Taylor 'wins planning battle to give her £1.7million rural mansion a luxury makeover after bio hazard discovery'
Hollyoaks star Davinia Taylor has reportedly won a planning battle to give her £1.7million a makeover. The actress, 47, bought the rural retreat with her husband Matthew Leyden four years ago. And now she has got the go ahead to transform the mansion into a gym and health spa amid her move to a bio-hacking lifestyle. Davinia is set to convert a derelict barn at the sprawling property into a mini wellness treat featuring a gym, sauna and two spa treatment rooms. The barn, which used to be stables, will also be kitted out with a lobby for checking in guests, staff areas and even an en-suite bedroom for one employee who will help run it. But there could be a problem to contend with, after a bat survey held before the development kicked off found that a protected species of bat, pipistrelle bats, had flown into the barn. The Wildlife and Countryside Act says it is an offence to intentionally or recklessly harm or disturb pipistrelle bats, so Davinia will have to install bat boxes on the barn and nearby trees if she wants to go ahead with the development. According to The Sun, an ecologist report read: 'Due to the transient nature of bats, their presence can never be entirely ruled out and a precautionary method of working should be adopted. 'Therefore if bats are found during any stage of the development, work should stop immediately and a suitably qualified ecologist should be contacted to seek further advice.' It comes days after Davinia revealed that if she had 'one more drink, she could have died' as she opened up about her former party life. The former actress, who ditched the party scene to live a healthy life style, has confessed that she kept drinking through her 20s until she hit rock bottom. Davinia was famed for her position in the notorious Primrose Hill party set, where she joined her then-husband Dave Gardner in partying through the Nineties with pals including Kate Moss, Sadie Frost and Jude Law. And now, Davinia, who has been sober for 17 years after battling alcohol addiction, has become a fitness guru and credits 'biohacking' for her 'biological age of 20'. Chatting to the Sun, Davinia explained that she 'flatlined' and was drinking to survive rather than for enjoyment. She told the publication: 'I was constantly hungover, riddled with anxiety, and alcohol didn't work for me any more. 'Not even a glass of red wine would lift me. 'I was shown these awful videos of myself drunk, and numerous times I was told by doctors, 'one more drink will kill you'. Biohacking involves making small, strategic scientific-backed changes to habits and behaviors to improve things like cognitive function and weight management. Davina ditched her party girl ways in favour of a cleaner existence, after a 12-week rehab stint in South Africa where she was eventually able to kick her habits. The former actress described her battle with alcoholism as a an 'eternal hell', because she knew she shouldn't be drinking but was in a heavy period of withdrawal Once she got clean, Davinia said she became addicted to other areas of life, such as eating when she gained 'stones', before eventually finding a happier balance. She shares son Grey, 17, with Dave, and Luxx, 13, whose father has never been revealed, and Asa, six, and Jude, seven, with her partner Matthew Leyden. Davinia recently told The Sun how she wishes her mother, who died in 2013, could see the woman she has become. She said: 'For her to see me now, as a mother – happy, settled and not needing the fineries to support my ego – would have made her really proud.' At one point in her life, Davinia faced a custody battle and was suicidal, however, now she said her old self would not have been able to recognise the woman she is today. Explaining why her younger years were so wild, Davinia said that she has a high dopamine drive, meaning the impulsiveness to do things to feel alive was stronger. She said that this is a classic symptom of ADHD, but that it is not as widely diagnosed in women as it is in men. 'A girl with ADHD will be referred to as 'Dolly Daydream', and that was me,' she said. 'I'm hoping over the next few years that a lot of women my age realise they can get help for it now – it's not too late.'
