ENGLAND'S natural landscapes are considerably poorer than they used to be, according to a report published today which reveals the country has lost 500 of its natural species in the last two centuries.

Some have vanished entirely from the planet. The great auk, for example, which used to breed on Lundy, was last seen near Iceland in 1844.

The mainly rural Westcountry has suffered other losses. Some, like the red squirrel, have disappeared from the region – but still cling to survival elsewhere.

Other species still exist, but only in small and threatened numbers.

But there are rays of hope – the new Natural England report does feature a number of species that have turned the tide and are beginning to thrive. Cornwall's emblematic bird, the chough, is probably the best known of the creatures which have returned from oblivion.

Lost Life: England's Lost and Threatened Species, identifies 492 animals and plants that have become extinct in England – it also focuses on nearly 1,000 native species which have been given conservation priority status because of the severity of the threats facing them.

The indictment on the way we have handled the natural world in our very own back yard comes at a significant time – this is the International Year of Biodiversity.

"Extinctions do not just happen abroad," said a Natural England spokesman. "They have been happening here too. Lost Life charts the decline and loss of hundreds of species across England over the last 150 years, including many here."

Gwilym Wrenn said: "The message is that we must take more care of our environment because it is weakened every time a single species is lost, and because it is our environment too, we are all at risk of losing when biodiversity declines."

Winners include the bittern as well as heath, high brown and marsh fritillary butterflies – which are all returning to the region thanks to conservation work.

Losers – apart from the great auk and red squirrel – include the corncrake, which became extinct in Somerset in the 1950s and the cuckoo, which has declined in the Westcountry by an alarming 69 per cent in the past six years.

Less well known creatures like the large marsh grasshopper and the black-veined white butterfly have vanished completely.

Many plants have also disappeared – bog rosemary, veilwort, white beak sedge and cutgrass have all gone from favoured habitats, while the greater water parsnip is now restricted to just a few Westcountry sites.

The sea has also suffered losses. Off Cornwall, the undulate ray is found in such low numbers that it is categorised as an endangered species.