Stunning new pictures have emerged of two orcas off the Cornish coast – an exceptionally rare encounter that the captain of a wildlife cruise described as a “real privilege”.

The orcas were spotted on Wednesday afternoon (April 1), with AK Wildlife Cruises Falmouth identifying them as the world‑famous John Coe and Aquarius – the last surviving members of the UK’s West Coast Community of orca.

The crew said they felt “unbelievably lucky” to encounter the pair, calling the moment “truly special” given the whales’ iconic status and the extreme rarity of sightings in English waters.

Bluebell season takes place in early spring and forests across the UK are being carpeted with the stunning lilac blooms. The gorgeous flowers only appear for a few weeks each year, prompting many of us to venture outdoors to admire them.

However, if you're planning a stroll this April, there are certain guidelines you must observe. In the UK, protective regulations exist to prevent the delicate flower from declining.

The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 designates bluebells as ecologically important - and breaching the rules can result in substantial fines of up to £5,000 per bulb or even a six-month prison term in serious cases. So here's everything you need to know...

Farmland birds that "define Britain's countryside" are on the brink of being lost forever, a wildlife charity has warned.

Experts at Wiltshire Wildlife Trust say species including lapwings, snipes, and grey partridges have seen declines of about 90% in some areas where their habitats have been destroyed or damaged.

The charity is now hoping to raise £20,000 to restore hedgerows and other habitats in Braydon Forest, which runs between Wiltshire and Gloucestershire.

A family of beavers have successfully been released into the Bedfordshire countryside for the first time in 400 years.

A male, a female and two kits were introduced to the Southill Estate, close to Biggleswade, from the end of February, in a project that was two years in the planning.

The Eurasian beavers are "recognised as ecosystem engineers" and their job is to restore the ecology and use their dam building skills to create drought resilience, said Restore, a nature restoration company that worked on the release.

The RSPB has urged the public to take simple steps to protect ground-nesting birds during the spring and summer breeding season, as increased recreational activity risks disturbing vulnerable species.

More than half of the UK's most threatened breeding birds nest on or near the ground, including Eurasian Curlew, Northern Lapwing, Eurasian Skylark and Little Tern. Many of these species are Red-listed due to long-term population declines driven by habitat loss, climate change and reduced food availability.

These birds breed across a wide range of habitats, from beaches and heathland to farmland and woodland. Even familiar garden species such as European Robin, Eurasian Wren and Dunnock often nest low down in hedges and shrubs, making them particularly susceptible to disturbance.

When making Secret Garden, our main objective was to reveal the hidden lives of the animals living in our five featured gardens across Britain. But along the way, we picked up a few top tips that will help us all to encourage wildlife into our gardens.

Ecologists are asking islanders to help track small mammals through a new citizen science project called Garden Paws.

Organised by Nature Commission Guernsey, the project aims to gather more data on species that are difficult to monitor.

A recent State of Nature report found there were fewer small mammals in Guernsey and Herm than in the UK, but the reasons for this remain unclear.

The National Trust’s wetlands project officer has described the effect of four Eurasian beavers on the ecosystem as astonishing, a year after they were reintroduced into the wild in England for the first time in 400 years.

Beavers were hunted to extinction in England in the 16th century and remained absent until a year ago, when a landmark project announced by the National Trust, Defra and Natural England released two pairs relocated from Scotland into a freshwater lake in the Purbeck Heaths nature reserve in Dorset. Since their release, the beavers have constructed a 35-metre dam, improving local habitats for plants, insects, amphibians, birds and bats. Trail cameras even captured the beavers playing with an otter, while a barn owl, a protected species in the UK, was also seen flying nearby.

The project allows for the release of 10 to 25 adult beavers, with the next release expected to take place this autumn.

Each spring, one of the most enchanting sounds drifting through woodlands, parks and gardens is the gentle, cascading song of the willow warbler (Phylloscopus trochilus), which sings its melodious song high from the tree canopy.

The willow warbler's appearance is similar to the chiffchaff: both have olive-coloured plumage. The willow warbler has greenish upperparts, pale yellow underparts, and an off‑white belly which gives it a soft, understated beauty. A pale eyebrow stripe, known as a supercilium, adds to its gentle expression. Its distinct song helps tell them apart, though; while the chiffchaff repeats its sharp ‘chiff‑chaff,’ the willow warbler delivers a sweet, descending warble that is often considered one of the loveliest sounds of spring.

The Humber Forest has planted its millionth tree at a ceremony in West Park, in Goole. The event was attended by Goole councillors Anne Handley and Nick Coultish, as well as Lord-Lieutenant of the East Riding, Jim Dick, and Goole Town Mayor, James Coopers.

Mr Dick, the Crown’s representative in the county, attended to commemorate the planting of an oak tree in the park in 1933, by Prince George, Duke of Kent. Humber Forest works with farmers, landowners, businesses and communities, and provides grants to cover up to 100 per cent of funding for planting and associated costs, as well as for at least five years of establishment.

Larger sites may be eligible for 15 years of establishment and ecosystem service payments. These trees can play a vital role in creating habitats for wildlife, improving community spaces, reducing soil erosion and flooding, and improving air quality.

A Lincolnshire nature reserve will celebrate 50 years of protecting rare coastal birds through a series of events this month.

Since 1976, wardens and volunteers at Gibraltar Point National Nature Reserve, near Skegness, have protected some of the rarest coastal birds in the area.

Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust will be marking the milestone of the reserve's Shorebird Sanctuary with four events on 17 and 18 April.

Photographers have captured a rare sighting of the UK's largest bird of prey in a moment they say they will "never forget".

A white-tailed eagle was spotted at the Cley Marshes nature reserve in north Norfolk this week, soaring in the sky and scouring for prey.

The impressive birds can grow to have a wingspan of up to 2.4m (7.8ft) and they were hunted to extinction but in recent years they have been successfully reintroduced in southern England and Scotland.

HALF A MILLION pounds needs to be raised by the end of the month in order to save a section of Upton Heath from being sold off.

Vikki Slade, Liberal Democrat MP for Mid Dorset and North Poole and the Dorset Wildlife Trust have issued a rallying public call for support as the land, currently privately owned by a third party, is heading for auction.

110 acres of heathland in Poole, with historical planning permission for mineral extraction, is due to go up for public auction April 29 by Town & Country Property Auctioneers.

Twenty years ago, on 4th April 2006, two Exmoor foals arrived at the Kielder forest in Northumberland to graze tough grass and encourage the growth of sedges and mosses loved by insects. Nicknamed Puddles and Prancer, their arrival marked the first of hundreds of Wildlife Trust projects – large and small – funded by Postcode Lottery players across Britain over the next 20 years.

Today, The Wildlife Trusts celebrate two decades of an extraordinary range of innovative nature recovery efforts, all achieved thanks to £31m raised by players of the Postcode Lottery. From beaver reintroduction trials, otter counts and inspirational education programmes to joyful community festivals – the funding has benefitted every corner of The Wildlife Trusts’ federation.

A herd of bison is having a "great impact" on woodlands just a few years after being introduced in a UK-first to help manage habitat for wildlife, conservationists say.

The bison in Blean Woods, Kent, have also been inspiring people about more wildlife-rich habitat.

With new "bison bridges" opening up in the reserve, the animals will soon be roaming across 200 hectares (500 acres) of woodland, the team behind the scheme says.

From early birds to emerging butterflies: UK shows signs of earliest spring on record

Citizen science data reveals early flowering, nesting and insect activity as global heating accelerate seasonal change Patrick Barkham Sat 4 Apr 2026 07.00 CEST Prefer the Guardian on Google

Bluebells are flowering, swallows are returning and orange-tip butterflies are flying in what could become Britain’s earliest recorded spring.

Records for early spring occurrences are being smashed as 2026 looks to be the earliest this century for frogspawn laying, blackbirds nesting, brimstone butterflies emerging and hazel flowering, according to Nature’s Calendar, which has logged citizen science records of seasonal change since 2000.

This spring has had the earliest egg-laying in an 80-year study of great tits in Wytham Woods, Oxfordshire, with the 23 March sighting beating the previous record by three days. The birds’ average egg-laying has moved forward by 16 days since the 1960s, with these tits and other species needing to ensure their chicks are fed on caterpillars emerging with the new spring leaves.

Wildlife explorer Steve Backshall has described watching two of the UK's last surviving orcas off Cornwall as one of his "greatest British wildlife moments".

Male killer whales John Coe and Aquarius are the last remaining members of the West Coast Community pod.

The bulls were seen off Lizard Point on Wednesday and filmed by the TV presenter, who lives near Penzance.

Keep Britain Tidy today thanked an army of litter-pickers who pledged to collect 451,887 bags of litter during the 2026 Great British Spring Clean.

More than 585,000 volunteers in every corner of the country took part in the national effort to remove bags of rubbish from our streets, parks and beaches and protect our wildlife.

At the same time, thousands of pupils in schools across the country took part in the Great Big School Clean, learning about the impact litter has on our wildlife and seeing for themselves that small actions, when taken together, can make a big difference.

More than 1,100 alpine gentians were recorded during monitoring carried out by the Trust’s Seasonal Ecologist, Lewis Donaghy, last summer, with many more out of reach and uncounted on inaccessible cliffs. Although the population count can fluctuate from year to year, it is a remarkable increase for this rare mountain-dwelling flower. At 1,214 metres, Ben Lawers is the 10th highest peak in Britain and is home to the most diverse range of arctic-alpine plant species in the country.

The distinctive and exceptionally rare alpine gentian is adapted to growing in harsh mountain environments and is typically found across alpine regions of Europe, Asia, and North America. It emerges from winter dormancy, revealing its striking star-shaped blue flowers sprouting from its trumpet-shaped calyx. The discovery marks a significant recovery for the annual flower, which has declined since monitoring began on Ben Lawers in 1981.

Also known as the ‘snow gentian’, this species is only found in locations where snow usually lasts until late spring or early summer. But increasing temperatures caused by climate change, and the resulting less persistent snow cover at high altitudes, pose a major threat to this already incredibly rare species. More competitive species, including grasses, can take advantage of longer growing seasons, colonising patches of bare soil and sparse vegetation, which are essential for the germination of the alpine gentian seeds.

Ministers have pledged £90 million to safeguard hundreds of England’s most threatened native wildlife from extinction.

This funding, which the Environment Department (Defra) calls the largest-ever investment in species protection, will support efforts to reintroduce or bolster populations of birds, beavers, beetles, snails, spiders, and seahorses across England.

Hundreds of local projects will receive a share of £60 million through Natural England’s species recovery programme over the next three years, Defra said.

Swifts are wheeling, screaming endurance athletes. They don’t touch the earth for nine months of the year and fly about 14,000 miles annually – travelling from sub-Saharan Africa to nest in the UK, then back again. In Britain, they’re the sign that summer is coming or taking its leave. In between, they provide a heart-soaring display of beauty. No wonder they’re beloved.

“Swifts spark joy,” says Hannah Bourne-Taylor, a passionate swift advocate and author of Nature Needs You: The Fight to Save Our Swifts.

“I used to lie on the kitchen table with my head outside the window watching them,” says Edward Mayer, founder of Swift Conservation. “They’re absolutely gorgeous … Like an aerial shark, in perpetual motion.”

Discover some of the special species living in a garden pond, with entomologist Ben Keywood.

One of the most impactful ways to support wildlife in your garden is to create a pond. Ponds provide a valuable source of drinking water for birds, hedgehogs and other wildlife, as well as a home for a large range of aquatic invertebrates.

A good wildlife pond needs to have a deeper middle and shallow sides; you can even create a pebble beach along one edge for insects to safely wade and drink. It's also important to make sure that there are safe places around the edges of the pond for wildlife to hide. You can add logs or large stones, or let native grasses and marginal plants grow. Frogs and newts can shelter here when they leave the pond but have quick access back into the water when needed.

Work to improve drainage on a motorway has been paused and will take several more months to finish, after dormice were found on site.

National Highways began work on the M5 in Somerset in October last year, to alleviate flooding on the verges and carriageway near junction 26 for Wellington.

It involves the de-silting of ditches, replacing blocked drainage pipes and resurfacing and was due to finish by the end of February, but is now expected to go on until the end of April.

A record number of cranes bred in the UK last year as the once-vanished bird continues its comeback, conservationists said.

Cranes went extinct in the country around 400 years ago as a result of over-hunting and the loss of their favoured wetland habitat.

But wild recolonisation from Europe since the late 1970s, backed by efforts to protect existing habitat and create new wetlands – along with a concerted reintroduction scheme which saw conservationists dress as cranes to hand-rear young birds, have enabled the bird to stage a comeback.

I remember, as a child, hanging on to one specific party balloon for what seemed like years. I don’t remember how or where I acquired it, but it had initially floated high, bobbing against the ceiling, and, over time, lost its buoyancy, coming to rest on the carpet. Yet, when a family friend asked if they should pop the now sad-looking balloon, I assumed they were joking – like when an adult asks, teasingly, if they should eat your last slice of birthday cake – and was distraught when they followed through. I didn’t care that it had become grubby and partly deflated – I’d had that balloon for what felt like for ever.

This, it turns out, is the problem with many balloons. Not that clingy young children might become over-attached to them, but that they are often a single-use plastic – and even biodegradable alternatives such as latex balloons do not decompose quickly, meaning they can pose a significant risk to wildlife and the environment. In 2019, scientists found that balloons eaten by seabirds are more likely to kill them than other kinds of plastic – yet they do not seem to have been earmarked in the same way as, for example, plastic straws. If anything, balloon-based decor has become more popular in recent years, with balloon arches or tunnels deployed not just at birthdays but at events ranging from baby showers to shop openings. Balloon drops are used at New Year’s Eve celebrations and graduation parties, and balloon releases have also endured – particularly at funerals, where the unleashing of helium-filled balloons signifies the letting-go of a loved one.