A sobering picture of the health of the west's natural world has been published today.
A groundbreaking report launched by a coalition of leading conservation and research organisations reflects the first-ever stock-take of Britain's native species.
The State of Nature report reveals that 60 per cent of the species studied had declined over recent decades, with more than one in ten of all the species assessed under threat of extinction.
Farmland, woodland , grassland, fresh water and wetland, coastal and urban habitats and species
are under threat across the former Avon, with woodland moths, the common toad, the swift, and the breeding lapwing all suffering.
However, the report also identifies areas of hope, with success stories including the restoration of more than 60 hectares of wildflower grasslands on 28 farms by Avon Wildlife Trust.
The trust's Brown's Folly nature reserve, near Bathford, is home to 11 of the UK's 17 bat species including the greater horseshoe bat.
The report also mentions the health of bluebell woodlands such as Folly Farm in the Chew Valley.
Trust director of conservation programmes Lucy Rogers said: "Our nature, nationally, regionally and locally, is in trouble. We are now very concerned for our once common wildlife found in the wider countryside, as well as our rare species protected in nature reserves."
Trust reserves manager Joe Middleton added: "It is time for us to take action to save nature and we are calling on people to give their support.
"We can all do something for nature, whether it is volunteering on a nature reserve, surveying species, making wildlife-friendly gardens, supporting campaigns or by becoming a member of a conservation charity such as Avon Wildlife Trust."
In Wiltshire, grey partridge numbers have declined by 69 per cent since 1995, with the curlew population down by 41 per cent over the same period.
