Galapagos Islands welcome vermilion flycatcher chicks

Vermilion flycatcher bird in the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

Vermilion flycatcher in the Galapagos Islands

(Image credit: Stefano Paterna/Alamy Stock Photo )

published 18 May 2023

An effort to save the tiny bright birds known as Darwin’s flycatchers seems to be bearing fruit. When Charles Darwin visited the Galápagos Islands nearly 200 years ago, he noted that they were teeming with little vermillion flycatchers. By the 2010s, however, the birds’ numbers had fallen so low there were fears that they could become extinct. Since then, conservationists have worked to trap the rodents that were preying on the birds, and cut back thickets to help them reach food – and the approach seems to have worked: the birds have had their best breeding season yet, with 12 chicks recorded on one island.

Syrian 10-year-old is Cornwall’s chess champion

A 10-year-old from Syria has become Cornwall’s youngest-ever chess champion. Rami Taleb, who in his home country held the title of Arab champion under six, fought off adult competitors to win the Cornwall County Chess Association’s open contest last month. He told the BBC he had started playing at the age of four, and that he had not been expecting to win, but got “lucky this time”. His father said he was “very proud” of Rami. “For him chess means the whole world,” he added.

Artificial rock pools create habitats for marine life

Concrete sink-like structures that were attached to harbour walls and other infrastructure on the south coast in 2020 have become home to a variety of sea creatures, raising hopes that these artificial rock pools could be used to create habitats for marine life in other urban coastal locations. The 114 pools were installed at three sites in total. In and around the 45 pools on a sea wall near Poole, researchers counted 65 species, including crabs, barnacles and sea squirts, whereas there were only 40 species on the harbour wall.