Today's top stories, click on the headline to read more.

 

CJS's pick of the countryside and wildlife news, updated weekdays. Sign up here to receive our daily briefing.

If you've followed a link from a story which is no longer on this page please try either the Week's News page, for items from this last week, or Archive for earlier articles.

---

New seagrass meadow discovered in Northern Ireland by PhD student using DAERA technology - DAERA

A new seagrass meadow has been discovered at Strangford Lough by a PhD student using DAERA technology.

Seagrass is an important marine habitat for storing carbon, known as a ‘blue carbon’ habitat, the preservation and restoration of which serves as a vital action in our response to climate change. Seagrass was once widespread throughout Northern Ireland’s shallow coastal waters, but like much of Europe, it has suffered significant losses due to coastal development, pollution, and disease.

Rebekah Bajkó, a Queen’s University Belfast doctoral student studying marine habitat restoration, was investigating the innovative remotely sensed data provided by the DAERA’s ‘Coastal Observatory’ data viewer and noticed a distinctive pattern in the tide-swept Narrows of Strangford Lough at Granagh Bay.

She passed this information to a local diving club and they arranged a dive to see if her hunch was correct. Much to Rebekah’s joy, a lush seagrass meadow was found, and one of the divers, marine biologist Bernard Picton recorded a video of the meadow. This was then analysed by Dr Christine Morrow under the DAERA Environment Funded Queen’s Marine Biodiversity Data Portal NI project.

Upon further checks with DAERA, it was confirmed that this particular seagrass meadow, of the species Zostera marina, had never previously been recorded within the Strangford Lough Marine Conservation Zone.

Queen’s University Belfast PhD Student Rebekah Bajkó said: “I’m delighted to have contributed to this discovery and am really pleased that the technologies available to us are enabling such finds.”

UK publishes first post-EU assessment for habitats and species - JNCC

The conservation status of nationally important habitats and species across the UK and its offshore waters is being published under a new domestic reporting framework. This framework replaces former EU reporting obligations. JNCC has today (22 January 2026) published the report covering UK offshore waters. Reports for the four UK countries are being published separately, with all administrations due to release their findings by the end of January.

For over thirty years, JNCC has coordinated the production of UK Article 12 and Article 17 reports for submission to the European Commission. These reports tracked progress towards meeting the objectives of the Birds Directive and Habitats Directive.

Since leaving the EU, the UK no longer needs to report on habitats and species to the European Commission. However, understanding the condition of these habitats and species is still important for UK biodiversity and so equivalent reporting was retained in updated UK law to ensure continued protection of important habitats and species.

Under the updated UK laws, separate reports must be produced covering nationally important habitats and species in each of England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and our UK offshore marine area every six years.

For each of the country reports, JNCC has coordinated this first round of Habitats Regulations reporting under the UK's domestic framework. Data from all four nations will help to track the conservation status of nationally important wildlife and habitats, both on land and offshore, and covers the period 2019-2024. This approach maintains long-term tracking of environmental trends while respecting devolved responsibilities.

RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch 2026 - RSPB

Cold weather in Europe could mean bumper year for migratory birds in gardens

• The RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch is the largest garden wildlife survey in the world and provides a snapshot of how garden birds are faring in the UK.
• In 2025, almost 600,000 people across the UK took part, counting more than 9 million birds.
• RSPB says that the recent cold and unsettled weather across Europe and the UK could mean a bumper year for migratory birds such as Fieldfare and Redwing

Cold and unsettled weather in Europe could make 2026 a bumper year for migratory birds in gardens, says the RSPB today (23 January 2026) as it launches its annual Big Garden Birdwatch, the world’s largest garden wildlife survey.

This year’s event takes place on 23, 24 and 25 January 2026, and experts say a cold spell in the UK coupled with the extreme cold weather that's been seen across Europe, could mean an exciting year for the Big Garden Birdwatch. People may even see larger numbers of migratory birds such as Fieldfare or Redwing in their local outside space.
These birds spend a large proportion of the year on the continent, but each year many fly from as far away as Poland and Scandinavia to spend the winters in the relatively mild UK. When there’s particularly cold weather, or less food availability on the continent, many more choose to make the journey.

Last year saw around 3,000 Redwing and Fieldfare recorded in the Big Garden Birdwatch (3,201 and 2,885 respectively).

Almost 600,000 people took part in the Big Garden Birdwatch in 2025, counting more than 9 million birds of over 80 species – an amazing achievement. The survey provides a valuable snapshot of how our most common garden birds are faring and taking part is one positive way to take action for birds and nature. 

CJS is not responsible for content of external sites. Details believed correct but given without prejudice.
Disclaimer: the views expressed in these news pages do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of CJS.