The RSPB reconnects precious Welsh landscape to protect rare Celtic rainforest and Pied Flycatchers RSPB Cymru announces the purchase of Gallt-y-bere, an area boasting a diverse range of habitats in mid Wales Landmark acquisition creates a connected landscape for wildlife at RSPB Gwenffrwd-Dinas nature reserve for the first time in 60 years The acquisition will…
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Oldest Avocet
Oldest bird of its kind discovered on RSPB nature reserve A record-breaking Avocet, found at RSPB Middleton Lakes, has been confirmed as the oldest of its kind at 36 years old – more than five times the average lifespan for the species. The individual has set a new national record after fledging in 1990, an…
Sunday book review – Forest of the Sea by David Helvarg
This is a fascinating account of the wonders of the Pacific kelp forests that run from Baja California to Alaska (and in the southern hemisphere off Chile). Like many of the world’s other great habitats, this one is under threat but we hear of a motley, diverse group of individuals who are doing their best…
Sunday book review – A Photographic Guide to Flies of Britain and Ireland by Stephen Falk, Gail Ashton, Rory Dimond and Peter Creed
I wish this book had been available through 2025 when I was carrying out a year-long bioblitz of my garden. The Diptera is a very species-rich taxon, perhaps even richer than Coleoptera in world terms, and there are over 7000 UK species. I found them difficult to catch, difficult to photograph and then difficult to…
Bass Rock and Grassholm Gannet colonies may not recover from bird flu until 2041
Two of the world’s largest Gannet colonies may not recover from the impact of bird flu until 2041, study finds Northern Gannet colonies on the islands of Bass Rock in Scotland and Grassholm in Wales may take almost two decades to recover from the impact of high pathogenicity avian influenza (HPAI), commonly known as bird…
Guest blog – Boundary Mill and A59/A56 magic roundabouts of CEP (240 MW) by Nick MacKinnon
Nick MacKinnon is a freelance teacher of Maths, English and Medieval History, and lives above Haworth, in the last inhabited house before Top Withens = Wuthering Heights. In 1992 he founded the successful Campaign to Save Radio 4 Long Wave while in plaster following a rock-climbing accident on Skye. His poem ‘The metric system’ won…
Sunday book review – Wolf Land by Elizabeth Marshall
I guess I read and review a new book about wolves every year which is quite interesting in itself since there aren’t any wolves in the UK. But we are fascinated by wolves as a species and we tend to love them or hate them. Some hanker after restoring the Grey Wolf to the…
Sunday book review – A Galloway Year by Ian Carter and Karen Menarry
One of the best things about Galloway is that it is off the beaten track and that few people go there – they all head further north or further south – but this is such a welcoming book, with gorgeous illustrations of landscapes and inviting tales of interesting walks with wildlife, beaches, good scenery and…
Sunday book review – Marine Crustaceans of Britain and Ireland by Lin Baldock, Charlotte Bolton and Iain M. T. Dixon
How many marine crustaceans are there around our coasts? Can you guess? No? Well maybe this book isn’t for you unless you are on the cusp of becoming a Pan Species Lister (see here). There are about 2,600 marine crustaceans out of a UK species total of about 3,800 crustacean species. Most of these marine…
RSPB statement re Climate Change Committee’s annual report on the UK’s progress in cutting emissions
RSPB statement re Climate Change Committee’s annual report on the UK’s progress in cutting emissions Katie-jo Luxton, the RSPB’s director of conservation, said: “Nature is our greatest ally in tackling climate change and this week’s extreme heat is yet another reminder of why we need to go further and faster. From renewable energy in the right places helping to reduce…