Birds, butterflies and dragonflies: Wildlife comeback on estate where nature runs free

A countryside in southern England has been transformed into a wildlife success story.

The rewilding project at Knepp Estate in West Sussex has seen a huge increase in birds, butterflies and dragonflies over 20 years.

Instead of carefully controlling everything, rewilding is a way of looking after land by letting nature do more of the work itself.

In 2000, the owners, Isabella and Charlie, stopped farming in the way that had previously, and instead allowed natural processes to return.

Isabella said they had "absolutely no idea" they would see such big changes in wildlife. But new surveys show the results have been dramatic.

Bird numbers in one part of the Knepp Estate are now more than ten times higher than they were nearly 20 years ago.

Back in 2007, scientists counted 55 birds from 22 species along a set walking route. In 2025, they counted 559 birds from 51 species on the same route.

Some of these birds are very rare and are on the UK's "red list", which means they are endangered.

There are very few nightingales, famous for their song, left in the UK, with estimates suggesting fewer than 5,500 pairs.

But their numbers here have increased from just nine singing males counted at the estate in 1999 to 62 in 2025.

This wildlife boom has happened because the land has changed, says ecologist Fleur Dobner.

"And it's increasing still, year-on-year, we're getting higher and higher numbers of what we're recording," she added.

Grazing animals like longhorn cattle, deer, ponies and pigs help create a mixture of habitats, including grassland, scrub, woodland and open areas.

Rivers have been restored to a more natural shape, beavers have created wetlands, and white storks have been brought back to the area.

Insects have benefited too.

The number of butterfly species has more than doubled in some areas, and Knepp is now home to one of the UK's largest populations of purple emperor butterflies.

Isabella Tree explained that having lots of insects is "absolutely key, because that's what counts in the food chain". More insects mean more food for birds, which are also food for larger birds of prey.

Having seen the change in the land and watching food chain in action, Ms Tree says "every single day is astonishing" on the estate.