Environment news

• I was a hardcore twitcher. I understand why the Cocos booby has Australia’s birders in a frenzy | Andrew Stafford

  13-06-2026 22:00
  Twitchers can be the subject of derision but they have greatly expanded our understanding of birdlife in the age of extinctionThe discovery of a black-headed gull in Geraldton, Western Australia, has put Australian birders in a bit of a flap. Normal people might wonder why, considering it is abundant in the northern hemisphere – it is the ubiquitous resident seagull in London. But twitchers, the bucket listers of birding, are proudly not normal.As a semi-reformed, semi-retired twitcher, yo
  
  Read more

• ‘Flamin’ cockatoos’ have lost much of their habitat to bushfires. Can the species survive?

  13-06-2026 22:00
  Two fires in 12 years wiped out all but a handful of the mature native pines in Victoria’s Wyperfeld national park, a key breeding ground for endangered pink cockatoosGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAt the entrance to Wyperfeld national park, in north-west Victoria, more than a dozen pink cockatoos are sprinkled across a hedge row of pine trees like Christmas decorations. These are Aleppo pines, not the native conifers that the birds rely on for nesting habitat a
  
  Read more

• Denial is back in vogue. As Australia leads climate talks, it’s beyond time we took the issue seriously

  13-06-2026 22:00
  It is unlikely that many voters are flocking to Pauline Hanson for her scientific insights – but that is where they are lining up, regardlessWant to get this in your inbox when it publishes? Sign up for the Clear Air Australia newsletter herePolitics is disconnecting from long-held assumptions at historic speed and no one knows where the great unhinging will take us. On the climate crisis, denial is back in vogue – depending on what the algorithm feeds you.One Nation’s surge in
  
  Read more

• Freedivers, leftover cables and bits of clay: Cuba gets inventive to save its pristine reefs amid US blockade

  13-06-2026 13:00
  
  With limited resources and sanctions tightening, conservationists are forced to find new ways to protect the coral reefs of Ciénaga de Zapata national parkAt 8am, scuba divers gather to collect plastic and drinks cans from the sea at Cuba’s Ciénaga de Zapata national park. Amid a power crisis that has virtually paralysed the country’s economy, they use an electric trailer to move to a designated spot. In only a few hours, they have collected five sacks of cans and waste
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Tropical heron spotted in UK for first time as more exotic birds arrive to thrill birdwatchers

  13-06-2026 09:00
  
  Appearance of a western reef heron in north Wales is unlikely to be the last, as heating temperatures mean species can survive Britain’s winter, say expertsIt is a tropical bird typically encountered between west Africa and India, but last week a western reef heron arrived in north Wales in what is believed to be the first ever sighting in the UK.The heron was first spotted in Foryd Bay at the weekend before flying to nearby Caernarfon harbour where it fed among the boats. Continue reading
  
  Read more

• ‘Fast-track’ regulation could expose Britons to harmful chemicals, say campaigners

  13-06-2026 07:00
  
  Exclusive: Fighting Dirty taking legal action against government over proposal it says could import weaker standardsAn environmental campaign group is taking legal action against the government over proposals that it claims could fast-track chemical hazard classifications from other countries with lower standards into UK law.Fighting Dirty claims proposals to change the classification and labelling of potentially hazardous chemicals could result in the UK weakening standards on cancer-causing su
  
  Read more

• Country diary: It’s a painted lady summer, the stuff of lepidopterists’ legend | Phil Gates

  13-06-2026 06:30
  Wolsingham, Weardale: These stunning butterflies are here in incredible numbers this year, yet what’s most remarkable is their multigenerational migrationThere’s a painted lady basking on the footpath. Her orange, black-tipped, white-spotted wings, a little worn after her long journey, blend with shadows and sun-flecks on heatwave-baked mud, so she’s almost under our feet before she takes flight. And here’s another, nectaring on a dandelion; and another; then several more
  
  Read more

• Trees may store less planet-heating carbon than hoped, study suggests

  13-06-2026 06:00
  
  Photosynthesis does not always result in wood growth, a key factor in carbon dioxide sequestrationTrees may not be able to store as much planet-heating carbon as hoped, a study suggests, with researchers finding photosynthesis does not always lead to wood growth.Scientists studied 137 sites across the US and found trees stopped growing months before the point in the year at which photosynthesis stopped. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

Follow @UK_Environment on Twitter!