The worrying state of our wildlife.

Almost one in five of British mammal species face a high risk of extinction in the British Isles, according to the first comprehensive review of their populations for more than 20 years launched today.

The review – commissioned by Natural England working in partnership with Scottish Natural Heritage, the Mammal Society and Natural Resources Wales – also found other mammals such as the hedgehog and water vole have seen their populations decline by up to 66% over the past 20 years.The current estimated population of 522,000 hedgehogs, for example is 66% lower than estimated in the previous comprehensive review in 1995.

Thanks to misguided human activity of one kind or another we are leaving a grossly damaged world to future generations. For some species they will be reduced to looking at old Victorian taxidermy.

"Extra". On a happier note the sycamore aphids seem to be thriving in our garden! They may be only 2-3 mm long but there an awful lot of them!