UK Wildlife News: Stories and Photo Projects 20th July 2025
Over the past week, three very different stories have underscored both the fragility and resilience of Britain’s natural world—and offered fresh inspiration for wildlife photographers, nature lovers, and conservationists alike. From the grassroots rescue of hundreds of hedgehogs struggling in record summer heat, to the formal protection of historic peatlands on our industrial heartlands, and the kickoff of the Big Butterfly Count that unites citizen scientists across the country—each narrative invites us behind the scenes with our cameras in hand. Below, we explore why these stories matter, and suggest practical photo projects and techniques to help you document—and amplify—the work of conservation in action.
Hearts & Spines: Documenting the Hedgehog Rescue Surge
Why It Matters
In mid‑July, Hedgehog Street and partner wildlife centres in southern England reported a 50 percent increase in rescue calls, nursing over 600 hedgehogs in a single week. Heat stress, dehydration, and injuries from strimmers and garden machinery laid bare the vulnerability of these urban and rural visitors. Thanks to volunteer “hog hospitals”—backyard pens offering shade, water, and medical care—many of these spiny mammals recovered and were released into carefully prepared gardens. Photographing this operation shines a light on community‑led conservation at its most immediate and personal.
Suggested Photo Project: “From Suffering to Release”
A. Rescue Portraits
Setup: Coordinate with your local hedgehog rescue centre. Seek permission to photograph arrivals: hedgehogs in clean pet carriers, handlers clad in gloves gently transferring them into recovery pens.
Gear & Settings: A 24–70 mm lens at f/4–5.6 gives flexibility in tight, indoor spaces. Use a tripod where possible, keep ISO under 800, and shoot RAW to manage mixed lighting.
Goal: Capture the texture of spines against soft bedding, and the calm focus of volunteers at work.
B. Close‑Up Character Studies
Setup: In a shaded “studio” corner, position a neutral backdrop (dark fleece or mat). Photograph stable animals exploring a shallow dish of water or sniffing out mealworms.
Gear & Settings: A 100 mm macro lens at f/8 keeps quills and whiskers crisp. Diffuse natural light or a small LED panel from one side to model the hedgehog’s form without harsh shadows.
Goal: Show the individual personality of each animal—nose, ear, eye, and quill detail—that draws viewers into their plight.
C. Release Day Landscapes
Setup: Photograph the release in a garden set up for hedgehog success: log piles, shallow water dishes, hedgehog highways in fences. Plan for dawn or dusk when light is soft and animals are most active.
Gear & Settings: A wide-angle lens (16–35 mm) at f/11 to encompass both hedgehog and habitat. A low shooting angle (ground level) emphasizes the animal’s world.
Goal: Contrast the small, round hedgehog against the broad expanse of its renewed home, illustrating conservation’s payoff.
Bog to Bloom: Capturing Britain’s New Peatland National Nature Reserve
Why It Matters
On 14 July, Natural England designated 7.5 km² of historic lowland peat—Risley, Holcroft, and Chat Moss between Liverpool and Manchester—as England’s newest King’s Series National Nature Reserve. Once a by‑product of the Industrial Revolution, these mosslands are now being re‑wet, planted with sphagnum moss, and managed to support curlew, sundew, adders, and an array of invertebrates. The reserve not only locks carbon and alleviates flooding but reconnects urban populations with deep‑time landscapes.
Suggested Photo Project: “Resurrecting the Moss”
A. Before‑and‑After Timelapse
Setup: Identify a restoration feature—perhaps a newly blocked drain creating a shallow pool. Mount a camera on a fixed tripod, noting exact position, angle, and settings for repeated monthly captures.
Gear & Settings: A 35 mm prime at f/11 ensures a wide, sharp vista. Use manual exposure and focus to maintain consistency.
Goal: Produce a timelapse or side‑by‑side gallery showing water levels rising, vegetation greening, and wildlife colonizing.
B. Microcosms of Recovery: Moss & Sundew Macros
Setup: Seek out sphagnum cushions and carnivorous sundew patches. Photograph early morning to catch dew droplets—literal gems of the bog landscape.
Gear & Settings: A 100 mm macro at f/16 gives you enough depth to keep tentacles and moss heads in focus. Natural diffused light or a portable LED ring ensures even illumination.
Goal: Highlight the delicate structures—tentacled leaves that glue insects, spongy moss heads—that embody the reserve’s rebirth.
C. Aerial & Elevated Panoramas
Setup: Where regulations allow, use a drone or climb a legal vantage to capture the mosaic of ditches, pools, and emerging peatland flora. Early mist adds atmosphere.
Gear & Settings: A wide‑angle drone camera (or 16–35 mm on a DSLR at f/8), shooting in RAW. Keep shutter at 1/200 sec and ISO at 200–400 to freeze movement.
Goal: Show scale—the ribbon of restored mossland snaking through former industrial hinterland, now a green lung for wildlife and people.
Wings in the Wild: Big Butterfly Count 2025
Why It Matters
The Big Butterfly Count (BBC) launched on 18 July, calling on volunteers to spend 15 minutes in a flower‑rich patch and log butterfly sightings. Early data show rebounds in gatekeeper, ringlet, and common blue populations—good news after low counts in 2024. Butterflies serve as sensitive gauges of climate and habitat health: every fluttering sighting logged via the BBC app feeds into national trends that shape conservation priorities.
Suggested Photo Project: “Count & Capture”
A. Timed Portraits During Your 15 Minutes
Setup: As you count butterflies, have a second camera ready: a 300 mm prime on a monopod. When a target species—say, a gatekeeper—lands, switch quickly and photograph it feeding.
Gear & Settings: 300 mm at f/5.6, continuous‑focus (AF‑C), burst mode at 5–7 fps. Aim for shutter speeds of 1/500 sec or faster; ISO 400–800 balances speed with low noise.
Goal: Couple each count entry with a sharp portrait that illustrates the species’ field marks and feeding behaviour.
B. Nectar Corridor Composites
Setup: Identify key nectar plants—knapweed, wild marjoram, scabious. Photograph each with visiting butterflies against a uniform background (e.g., distant hedgerow). Later, assemble a multi‑panel composite.
Gear & Settings: 100 mm macro at f/8 to keep both insect and flower in focus. Use natural light; position yourself so the sun backlights wings for translucence.
Goal: Create a visual guide to local butterfly–plant interactions, perfect for blog posts or gallery walls.
C. Citizen Scientist Portraits
Setup: Document the human side: families crouched in gardens with clipboards, seniors peering through reading glasses, school groups on meadow walks.
Gear & Settings: A 24–70 mm zoom at f/4 gives framing flexibility. Use fill flash or reflector to balance faces against bright skies.
Goal: Show that conservation is a collective endeavour—data gathered by real people in real places.
Weaving the Three into One Narrative
By interlacing these three strands—mammal rescue, habitat restoration, and insect monitoring—you can create a multi‑medium conservation feature for your blog or portfolio:
Project Title: Threads of Resilience
Structure:
Chapter 1: “Spines in the City” – Hedgehog rescue documentary and release panoramas.
Chapter 2: “Bog Reborn” – Peatland timelapse, moss & sundew macros, aerial mosaics.
Chapter 3: “Flutter & Flourish” – Butterfly count portraits, plant‑pollinator composites, volunteer portraits.
Visual Cohesion:
Apply a gentle, natural color grade—slightly muted shadows, warm highlights—to unify indoor rescue scenes with outdoor landscapes.
Use consistent caption formatting: location, date, conservation note, and technical data (lens, aperture).
Engagement Tools:
Embed an interactive map marking your shoot locations with links to volunteer pages (Hedgehog Street, Natural England, Butterfly Conservation).
Invite readers to contribute via a hashtag—e.g., #ThreadsOfResilience—and showcase their best images in a monthly community gallery.
Provide downloadable “Field Guides” for hedgehog-friendly gardens, peatland flora IDs, and butterfly count cheat sheets.
Final Thoughts
Photography can translate facts into feelings, turning data about rescued mammals, restored wetlands, and rebounding insects into images that move hearts and minds. As you head into the field this summer, let these three stories guide your lens: document resilience in action, celebrate the dedicated hands that work behind the scenes, and spark conversations that help secure Britain’s wild future. Charge your batteries, pack your rucksack, and go tell the story of a landscape, and its people, fighting back.