Year in Review 2012: British wildlife

This year has seen unsettled and unpredictable weather, from scorching temperatures to blustery showers. The extreme weather impacts wildlife. Here are some of the highs and lows through the year drawn up by the National Trust.

Gallery View:Year in Review 2012: British wildlife
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  1. March: Supposedly extinct large tortoiseshell butterflies were seen at Newtown on the Isle of Wight. Badgers (pictured) struggled to find food in dry soil, as much of England was gripped by drought an
  2. May: There was widespread failure of spring fruit blossom such as apple as a result of the wet weather. Cuckoos failed to breed at the National Trust nature reserve at Wicken Fen, Cambridgeshire, for
  3. June: This month saw spectacular orchid displays, especially of bee orchids (pictured), in many places, while hundreds of fly orchids appeared on Dunstable Downs. Large blue butterflies emerged in goo
  4. July: The arrival of Spanish super-killer slugs was reported. More than 10,000 pyramidal orchids flowered at Sharpenhoe Clappers, North Chilterns. It was also a good year for dragonflies (Image Broker
  5. August: There were very low numbers of wasps, and it was also a bad summer for beekeepers. Swifts (pictured) departed for Africa after a very poor breeding season (Rex Features)
  6. October: There was a massive landfall of thrushes from Scandinavia at sites on the east coast on the 22nd, while pheasant bins (pictured) were emptying faster than normal, targeted by unusually hungry
  7. December: It was a very poor year overall for holly berries because of the wet spring, but there was a reasonable crop in northern areas and on high ground, where trees flowered later, catching the sp