Following today’s news from Natural England on breeding numbers of Hen Harriers in England this year, the RSPB says: The news that 60 hen harrier chicks have fledged in England this year is encouraging, and testament to the crucial monitoring from raptor workers. However, while 24 nests monitored is an improvement on the 7 nests in…
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Natural England/DEFRA press release – Hen Harriers have record-breaking year (in England)
A record-breaking year for hen harrier breeding Natural England has recorded the best year for hen harrier breeding in England since Natural England’s Hen Harrier Recovery Project was established in 2002, with 60 chicks fledged from 19 nests across Northumberland, Yorkshire Dales, Cumbria and Lancashire in early summer 2020. The success has been down to…
RSPB press release – the planning system
The government is approaching a “fork in the road” that could “change the course of the future for nature” as it plans to shake up the country’s planning system, wildlife conservation charity the RSPB has warned. Today the UK’s largest conservation organisation the RSPB is asking people to speak up for nature and ensure wildlife…
Where are they now…?
I’m still worried about Amanda Anderson and the Moorland Association. I did hear that Amanda was sighted on a zoom call by DEFRA staff a while ago but the image was fuzzy and the normal incessant calling associated with this species was lacking – so it’s not really an acceptable record. The Moorland Association Twitter…
Keeping track after Lockdown
I’ve gone back to look at the BirdTrack reporting rate graphs for two species which I think exemplify Lockdown – House Sparrow and Little Egret. During Lockdown from 24 March until late May there was a big increase in reporting rate (% of complete bird species lists entered into Birdtrack) for House Sparrow. The simplest…
Guest blog – Start of the Green Recovery? by Kristi Foster
Kristi Foster is Head of Engagement for Conservation Careers, a major careers advice centre for conservationists – helping over 200,000 conservationists across the globe achieve career success. Conservation Careers believes that all wildlife is beautiful and that it deserves great conservationists working to protect it. Conservation Jobs and COVID-19 | Start of the Green Recovery?…
RSPB press release – Storm Petrels’ movements
New research has pioneered the use of GPS tags on the UK’s tiniest seabird, the Storm Petrel. For the first time several years of data have been collected on the little birds’ movements at sea. Researchers discovered they regularly travelled up to 300 kilometres to feed in the stormy waters off Shetland. The Storm Petrel…
Northumberland Hen Harrier nests
When British Birds arrived this morning that tipped me off to the six pairs of Hen Harriers that nested in Northumberland this year. Six pairs of Forestry England land and private land nearby produced 18 fledged young. A Hen Harrier named Sofia, hatched in 2018, who bred last year, was the most successful female this…
Last chance to support Cornwall Badger Project vaccination fundraiser
This crowdfunder closes at 20:05 this evening and I reckon its owners will be feeling a little despondent by the response so far. It seems an excellent and positive project which ought to be supported by those who like Badgers and that includes the farming community, I would have hoped. I’ve topped up my personal…
Passenger Pigeon Day
‘On 1 September 1914, between midday and 1 pm, in the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, Cincinnati, Ohio, a pigeon breathed her last, and with her died her species. The pigeon was known as Martha, and the species was the Passenger Pigeon. Amongst all extinctions, this example remains unusual in two respects: the precision with which…