Red kites steal knickers
July 5th, 2009 | by lucy |
In London during Shakespeare’s time, Red Kites snatched food from people’s hands and plucked “lesser linen” left out to dry on hedges. This was the hey day of the scavenging bird of prey, protected by Royal Decree for helping to clean the city’s stinking streets. Since then the fortunes of the Red Kite have waned to the brink of extinction but they’re on the rise again, thanks to a hugely successful conservation effort. And it’s been observed that their underwear-stealing habit is unchanged. Not only knickers, but crisp packets, gloves and handkerchiefs have been found decorating their nests. Full story: RSPB
A new measure to help the rapidly declining British eel population will oblige owners of weirs and locks to install bypasses, allowing the fish to swim up and down stream unhindered. See 
When asked what he thought about 
Prisoners from a number of prisons in the UK joined the hundreds of thousands of Britons recording sightings at last weekend’s annual Big Garden Birdwatch.
The eel population of the Thames has dropped by 98% in 5 years and conservationists can only speculate why. The Thames eels (Anguilla anguilla) are born 4000 miles away in the Sargasso Sea, located in the North Atlantic Ocean, from where they migrate to British fresh waters. After up to 20 years they return to their breeding grounds to spawn and die. To make these long journeys the eels rely on ocean currents, which are susceptible to changes in temperature.
Disease and pollution could also be causing problems for the eel. Although the Thames has revived since its “biological death” in the 1950s, the river remains under heavy urban pressure. And the Sargasso Sea, in contrast with its romantic image, suffers from a particularly high concentration of non-biodegradable plastic waste, trapped there by ocean currents. 
