UK Wildlife News: Stories and Photo Projects 27th July 2025
After years of sobering headlines about species loss and habitat degradation, the past week brought three stories that struck a different chord. None of them are triumphs, not yet. But they are signs of hope—small surges in life where once there was silence. They also offer wildlife photographers a powerful prompt: to seek out what’s returning, and to document that recovery with care, skill, and intention.
This week’s stories:
A boom in insect life after a warm, wet spring
The rediscovery of rare bats in southern England
The return of water voles to a Welsh river system
Below, we explore how each story can become a meaningful, ethical photo project—complete with gear tips, techniques, and ideas for framing the narrative.
🐞 Project 1: Insects Rebound – A Closer Look at the Little Things
This summer has seen a surge in insect numbers across the UK. Ladybirds have appeared in swarms at unexpected locations like Lord’s Cricket Ground, butterflies have returned in strong numbers, and farmland birds and bats are thriving thanks to the boost in food supply.
While conservationists are rightly cautious—one good year doesn’t rewrite decades of decline—this brief recovery offers a window for photographers to connect with insect life in a creative and rewarding way.
📷 Photography Idea: “Life in the Margins”
Focus on macro life in overlooked places: a ladybird on a cricket stanchion, butterflies on verge flowers, moths drawn to honeysuckle at dusk. Look for insects interacting with their habitat—pollinating, feeding, pairing off—rather than isolating them against plain backdrops.
📸 Gear Suggestions:
Lens: 90–105mm macro lens or extension tubes on a 70–200mm
Lighting: Use a ring flash with diffuser or a handheld reflector to soften shadows
Other: A beanbag, kneeling pad, or ground mat to get low without disturbing habitat
🔧 Techniques:
Shoot early in the morning when insects are sluggish and light is soft
Use a tripod or monopod for stability—especially at f/11 or narrower
Try manual focus and focus stacking if your subject allows for it
Set aperture around f/8–f/11 to get enough depth while still separating the subject
💡 Storytelling Tip:
Avoid focusing purely on the insect in isolation. Show the plant, the field margin, the urban space they’re reclaiming. Tie your images to wider stories about recovery—caption them with weather context, blooming cycles, or changes in species abundance.
🦇 Project 2: Rediscovering Rare Bats – Documenting Elusive Lives
Greater mouse-eared bats, once thought extinct in Britain, have been confirmed in Sussex, and new signs of grey long-eared bats have emerged in Kent. These animals are among the UK’s rarest mammals, and their reappearance is tied to careful conservation and the slow success of rewilding projects like Knepp Estate.
Bats are notoriously hard to photograph well, especially ethically. But their story can still be told through careful planning, non-intrusive methods, and creative framing.
📷 Photography Idea: “The Edge of Light”
Instead of chasing close-up flight shots (which often require disturbance or artificial roost setups), focus on atmospheric imagery. Think dusk silhouettes, motion blur, or habitats where bats are returning—old barns, wet meadows, woodland edges.
📸 Gear Suggestions:
Lens: 70–200mm f/2.8 for low-light flexibility, or 300mm+ if shooting from distance
Camera settings: High ISO capability (ISO 3200–6400), fast burst mode
Extra: External mic or bat detector for passive audio logging
🔧 Techniques:
Use slow shutter speeds (1/10s–1/50s) with panning to capture flight trails
Pair a static scene (tree canopy, moonlit sky) with ambient bat presence for layering
Try infrared or long exposures at known flight paths if local permissions allow
Capture human elements in conservation—monitoring gear, roost signage, volunteers
💡 Storytelling Tip:
Consider building a visual story about absence and rediscovery. Include textures such as peeling barn doors, dark corridors, thermal surveys to create atmosphere. Bats are rarely seen; this makes them more intriguing, not less.
🐀 Project 3: Water Voles Return – Life Along the Riverbank
In Wales, 140 captive-bred water voles were released into the River Thaw, building on a 200-vole reintroduction last year. These animals which were once common in UK rivers have vanished from much of their range due to habitat loss and predation by invasive mink.
Early signs suggest the project is working: feeding signs and fresh burrows hint at vole expansion. This is a quiet conservation win and a great subject for patient, fieldcraft-based photography.
📷 Photography Idea: “The Riverbank Diaries”
Water voles are shy, low-profile animals. To photograph them ethically, you'll need persistence and a non-invasive approach. The story isn’t just the vole it’s the burrow, the nibbled reed, the restored channel, the act of return.
📸 Gear Suggestions:
Lens: 300–500mm lens with fast autofocus
Support: Beanbag or low tripod with gimbal head for hide use
Hide: Pop-up hide or natural cover like willow or reedbeds
🔧 Techniques:
Visit at dawn or late afternoon—listen for “plop” sounds or rustling
Watch for feeding platforms: flat grass patches by water
Use burst mode for short action bursts—swimming, grooming, reed-chewing
Maintain distance—don’t approach burrows or feeding areas directly
💡 Storytelling Tip:
A photo series on water vole signs—gnawed stems, burrow entrances, latrines—can be just as compelling as animal portraits. Pair wide shots of restored riverbanks with detail shots to show scale and impact.
Bringing It All Together: Hope, Light, and Presence
These stories aren’t unrelated. Each one reveals something about how wildlife responds when pressure is lifted: when grazing is managed, predators controlled, habitats rewetted or left alone. For wildlife photographers, they’re also a reminder to look beyond the species list and see the ecological relationships in play.
🔄 Shared Themes for Projects:
Recovery: Can you frame a photo essay around rebound, rather than loss?
Habitat: Shoot the places—not just the animals. Riverbanks, hedgerows, rewilded pasture.
Community: Show the people involved—volunteers, researchers, local landowners.
🧭 Ethical Reminders:
Don’t bait, flush, or overlight nocturnal animals
Avoid nesting sites or active burrows
When in doubt, photograph signs of life—not life itself
Use long lenses and leave no trace
Final Thought: A Year Worth Watching
Whether it’s moths in the garden, bats in the eaves, or water voles pushing back into neglected rivers, 2025 is shaping up to be a year of subtle comebacks. None of these species are “safe” but they’re still here.
And for those of us who photograph the wild, that’s enough to grab the camera and go.
Which of these stories inspires you most? Have you seen signs of recovery in your patch? Tag @the.wildlifenomad on Instagram and use #StoryBehindTheShot to share your work.