Six more rare Hen Harriers vanish on or near grouse moors with another confirmed poisoned Seven RSPB satellite tagged Hen Harriers are suspected or confirmed to have been illegally killed in England on or near land managed for grouse shooting in 2025 – with three in just thirteen days. Hen Harriers are a protected, Red-listed…
Author: Mark
Born Bristol, UK
Educated: Cleeve House School Bristol, Bristol Grammar School and Downing College Cambridge
Ph.D. University of Aberdeen, Winter activity of pipistrelle bats.
NERC post-doctoral Research Fellow, Edward Grey Institute, Oxford University
Former Conservation Director of the RSPB, 1989-2011
Bird flu in wild birds in UK 2016-2026
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has published positive cases of bird flu in wild birds since the last two weeks of December 2016. These figures used to be updated weekly but updates are now less regular – click here. Positive cases are dead birds sent in to the authorities in each of…
BSBI press release – 2026 New Year Plant Hunt
As the climate warms, hundreds of wild flowers bloom in midwinter Thousands of citizen scientists took part in the Botanical Society of Britain & Ireland’s fifteenth New Year Plant Hunt to find wild or naturalised plants flowering in midwinter. Their observations are providing us with robust evidence of how our wild plants are responding to a…
RSPB’s reaction to OEP’s report on environmental improvement ‘progress’
RSPB’s reaction to Government Watchdog’s report on environmental improvement progress The Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) has shown that progress remains far too slow on environmental improvement. This puts economic growth, net zero, and public health at risk. Beccy Speight, RSPB chief executive, said: “Nature in England is still in freefall, and the UK Government…
RSPB press release – Yorkshire Buzzard basher pleads guilty
Gamekeeper filmed brutally killing protected Buzzard In March 2024, secret RSPB filming caught gamekeeper Thomas Munday brutally killing a protected Buzzard whilst it was caught in a cage trap on a pheasant shoot near Hovingham, North Yorkshire. Today, at Scarborough Magistrates Court, Munday pleaded guilty to killing a Buzzard and was fined £1,215. Although cage…
RSPB report on farming
The RSPB sets out vision for how farming can help save nature In a brand-new report, published at this week’s Oxford Farming Conference, the RSPB sets out how farming can help reverse wildlife declines. The RSPB calls on governments to make three key steps to support farmers in making this transition, as well as detailing how…
Guest blog – Let’s Ban Bio-beads by Chris Corrigan
Chris Corrigan is CEO of the Sussex Wildlife Trust and has worked in nature conservation for almost 40 years. He spent most of his career with the RSPB, most recently as Director England, but has also worked for BirdWatch Ireland and Butterfly Conservation and is a trustee of the South Georgia Heritage Trust. He is…
Twelfth Night wildlife round up
Opinions differ as to how and when one ‘should’ take down Christmas decorations, just as they do about how and when one should take down Venezuelan presidents. But on the former I stick to the Twelfth Night rule which gives me an opportunity to have a look at all the Christmas cards that have arrived….
Sunday book review – Pan-species Listing by Graeme Lyons
If your New Year resolution is anything to do with seeing more wildlife, becoming a little better at identifying what you see or getting to the top of the list of individuals who have seen the most species of wildlife in the UK then this book is for you. The author is widely recognised as…
Guest blog – Walshaw Turbine 16 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…