Winners and losers in 2015's wildlife survival

The large dog otter was caught on camera entertaining people on the riverbank in September.

The emergence of the creature was proof of the improved quality of the Severn. It was spotted catching fish close to the English Bridge in town.

And it was included today in a report on the state of nature in the UK, which outlines the winners and losers through the year.

Steve Beary, visitor services manager at Shropshire Wildlife Trust, said: "It was really good news that otters were seen in two town centres in 2015 – here in Shrewsbury but also in Colchester in Essex.

"This great news is evidence that work to keep the water clean and rivers attractive to wildlife can bring success."

• The reports of the arrival of dog otters in Shrewsbury – with one seen splashing around in the River Severn – and in Colchester, brought much enjoyment for locals but were also the result of much work to maintain water quality.

• Barn owls were spotted around the National Trust’s Malham Tarn and in Upper Wharfedale in the Yorkshire Dales, as a result of reduced grazing pressure and planting of young woodland which led to good numbers of their favoured prey, the field vole.

• Huge swarms of barrel jellyfish were reported around our coastlines, particularly around the south west of England and Wales. Experts say as sea temperatures rise and plankton blooms become bigger and last longer, there are likely to be more jellyfish occurring even further north.

• A lack of stormy weather or frosts in early autumn led to a great year for autumn colour, while there was also a “superb” apple crop in orchards in Shropshire and Herefordshire.

• Little terns had their most productive year since 2011.

• It was another record-breaking year for breeding guillemots on the Farne Islands.

• The long-tailed blue butterfly, an extremely rare migrant, returned to the south east, breeding again on the White Cliffs of Dover.[/breakout]

Otter numbers saw a sharp decline in the second half of the 20th century due to the use of pesticides, loss of habitat and hunting.

Populations are, however, recovering and in 2011 the Environment Agency announced that otters had returned to every county in England since virtually vanishing from the country in previous decades.

The National Trust also issued the findings of its annual review of the year's weather and wildlife.

According to the trust, the UK saw "unprecedented" jellyfish invasions but suffered another bad year for wasps.

The review revealed a mixed picture for the nation's plants and animals in 2015, from a superb apple crop to a difficult year for breeding frogs and toads hit by dry conditions in spring.

• Common wasps had a second bad year in a row in Shropshire. Good news for us, but not necessarily for the balance of nature.

• Frogs and toads had a difficult year as many pools dried up over the spring, and Natterjack toads struggled before the May rains arrived just in time.

• Puffins, which have been “red listed” over concerns for their survival, had a poor breeding season on the Farne Islands when their burrows were flooded.

• Concern continues for UK ladybirds, vital for pest control.

• There were 600 fewer breeding pairs of Arctic terns on the Farne Islands due to poor food supplies and stormy weather.

• Sandwich terns had a bad year at Blakeney Point, with birds already struggling due to a shortage of sand eels and then affected by stormy weather in late June. But more nested successfully at Scolt Head Island, Norfolk, as they laid their eggs earlier.

• Fungi, affected by a dry autumn after a cool, wet summer.[/breakout]

But the charity, which looks after almost 620,000 acres of land across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, warned there was also a huge challenge in reversing long term declines of around 60 per cent for the nation's wildlife.

The year began in stark contrast to 2014's stormy start with the sunniest winter on record, but spring was late and summer migrant birds were held up by northerly winds.

April was the sunniest in records dating back to 1929, but the spring deteriorated in May as the jet stream shifted south, leading to a wet and windy month followed by a generally wet and very windy summer.

The summer saw huge swarms of barrel jellyfish, particularly around the south west of England and Wales, which experts say may be due to overfishing and warming seas, leading to huge plankton blooms and fewer predators.

An "incredible number" of dolphins, porpoises and sharks have been seen this year, Matthew Oates, nature and wildlife specialist, said.

But it was another bad year for wasps, including in Shropshire, with two species of common wasp very scarce in many areas for the second year in the row.

There are fears that this indicates a wider declines in insect species.

While some people may welcome dwindling numbers of wasps, the balance of the ecological world is "delicate" and the low numbers should raise questions about the impacts it is having, he said.

Some seabirds, including little terns at Norfolk's Blakeney Point and guillemots on the Farne Islands, had great breeding years, but puffins have been placed on a "red list" of threatened birds.

The long tailed blue butterfly, a very rare migrant, has returned to the south east of England, breeding again on the White Cliffs of Dover, but there are fears for the UK's population of ladybirds, with some BBC Springwatch Facebook fans seeing none this year, the trust said.

Mr Oates said: "Every year our wildlife has to deal with our weather's highs and lows, and this year was certainly no different.

"This summary illustrates how our wildlife has fared over the last year, but long term trends show the enormous challenges we face to reverse the worrying rate of decline."

Mr Oates added: "What is certainly clear is that Britain's native wildlife has enough problems coping with all the stresses of our ever-changing climate without also having to cope with habitat losses as a result of our increasing demands on the environment."