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A WILDLIFE campaigner is in the middle of a 500-mile challenge to walk across Britain and Ireland to raise awareness of the declining numbers of curlew (Numenius arquata). Mary Colwell is also a writer and producer and she began her walk on April 21 in Ireland and will finish on May 29 in Lincolnshire. Mary is raising awareness of the endangered curlew, which became a red-listed species in December 2015.

Seabirds are currently recognised as one of the most threatened groups of birds, but in Europe one species is particularly at risk of extinction: the Critically Endangered Balearic Shearwater (Puffinus mauretanicus). Although its migration occurs along the highly populated Atlantic coast (including Portugal, France and southern Britain), this long-lived seabird has been notoriously difficult to study, especially since its breeding grounds on the Spanish Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean are often inaccessible.

Publication of the BC Breeding Bird Atlas is raising alarms about the decline of several species across the province. The atlas is one of the largest citizen-science initiatives in B.C. history. More than 1,300 volunteers contributed some 60,000 hours of their time over eight years to document the status of birds. A sampling includes:

Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)

It’s promoted as being a sustainable solution to overfishing, but fish farms actually cause more problems than they solve, with little difference in environmental pollution between land-based feedlots and water-based ones. In the documentary, Kurt Oddekalv, who is a respected Norwegian environmental activist, exposes how salmon farming creates one of the most toxic foods in the world. For instance, underneath the salmon farms across the Norwegian fjords, there’s a layer of waste that reaches 15 meters high—filled with bacteria, drugs, and pesticides.

Winter 2016 bat survey results found that white-nose syndrome has spread to new bat hibernating sites in Wisconsin and is starting to decimate bat populations. "We are finding white-nose syndrome on a widespread basis, and the largest sites are all home to the fungus responsible for this disease," said Paul White, Department of Natural Resources conservation biologist leading the Wisconsin Bat Program.

A new study conducted in part by the US Department of Agriculture says that the US lost just over 44 per cent of its bee colonies between April 2015 and March 2016. That’s a lot more than the 34 per cent loss recorded two years ago, and shows a return to the troublesome 45 per cent loss recorded in 2012-13. So, that must mean Canada is in store for a similarly dramatic loss in its bee population, right? Not necessarily, says Mark Winston, a professor in apiculture and social insects at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, BC.

We performed various laboratory bioassays to assess the effects of clothianidin on the survival and behavior of winter bees. Oral lethal and sublethal doses were administered throughout 12-day. The obtained LD50 values at 48, 72, 96 h and 10 days were 26.9, 18.0, 15.1 and 9.5 ng/bee, respectively. Concentrations <20 µg/kg were found to be sublethal. Oral exposure to sublethal doses was carried out for 12-day and, the behavioral functions were tested on the respective 13th day.

The effects on biodiversity are appalling. The State of Nature report published in 2013 by leading conservation NGOs found that populations of 60% of all UK species have declined in recent decades. Since 1995 the turtle dove has declined by 96%; the willow tit by 82%; and the starling by 53%. The wood warbler, yellow wagtail, grey partridge, lapwing, snipe and corn bunting have all decreased noticeably.

The population of house sparrows in Denmark is in rapid decline, reports Kristeligt Dagblad. According to the Danish Ornithologist Association, the little birds have been disappearing – particularly from suburbs, small towns and the countryside. Their numbers have nearly halved to about 1.8 million in the last 40 years. The population of lashes and skylarks has also tumbled due to pesticide spraying and the fertilisation of farmland.

The nation’s honey bees are still in trouble, a report released Tuesday shows. Beekeepers reported losing 44 percent of their total number of colonies managed over the last year, close to the highest annual loss in the past six years. The Bee Informed Partnership, in collaboration with the Apiary Inspectors of America, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture released its annual report. The results are preliminary and could change.