Hazel dormice are thriving at a National Trust estate in Devon, where habitat work and regular monitoring have helped their numbers stay stable despite declines elsewhere. Rangers weigh and record the mice each year, and the trust is planting more hedges and trees to help them spread across the estate.
A pet budgie named Luna escaped through a window forced open by a storm in Northampton and was found hiding in a storm drain a mile from home. A passing driver spotted her and alerted the RSPCA, who rescued her and reunited her with her owner, Cimberley Frost.
Colourful mandarin ducks have been appearing across the West Midlands, drawing birdwatchers and photographers to beauty spots such as Sutton Park. Experts say their numbers in Britain have grown strongly in recent years, with breeding numbers rising sharply since the mid-1990s.
A seven-month-old cat that had gone missing while his family was on holiday was found wandering on a moorland fell in Cumbria by a group of walkers. The walkers flagged down a car whose driver turned out to be the owner's neighbour, and the cat was reunited with his family.
