Plea for wildlife sightings in Herefordshire

Herefordshire Wildlife Trust (HWT) is urging people in the county to record their sightings of wildlife.

Residents are being asked to monitor species near the county's rivers in particular. A new website has been launched by the group for people to record their sightings. "The more information we have, the better we can understand the issues," said Claire Spicer of HWT.

Herefordshire residents are being asked to monitor species near the county's rivers in particular (George Ewart).

Water quality in the county's rivers, such as the Wye and Lugg, is an ongoing issue, with a council-led commission investigating solutions. Low numbers of salmon in the waterways have been regularly reported, the trust says.

Drifts of Water Crowfoot had vanished, it added, and in 2022 the Environment Agency reported many dead fish in the Wye due to the summer's warm weather. "We know many species in our rivers are suffering from the effects of pollution but it's vital we have data to evidence this," Ms Spicer added.

HWT said it had a guide to wildlife on its website and people's records of sightings would be checked by experts and fed into a national database.