RSPB in some trouble

Indications have been growing for some months that the RSPB is in trouble but it’s no use hiding it any more. Many organisations go through what seem like interminable reviews, and RSPB has had its share in the past decade or so, but this one is pretty serious. The jobs of hundreds of staff have…

Guest blogs for this site – guidance

This blog has published over 400 guest posts since May 2011. Do you recognise any of these names; John Burton, Peter Cairns, Ian Carter, Andy Clements, Ian Coghill, Mary Colwell, Kerri ni Dochartaigh, David Fursdon, Derek Gow, Jeremy Greenwood, Miles King, John Lawton, Dara McAnulty, Lucy McRobert, Peter Marren, Stephen Moss, Andrew Painting, Alick Simmons,…

Illegal use of lead ammunition to shoot Mallards continues

This paper looks at lead pellets retrieved from shot Mallards in the 2020/21 shooting season at a time long after the use of lead ammunition to shoot ducks was made illegal in England (similar but slightly different rules apply in other UK nations). Most Mallards in the study were shot with lead ie they were…

Guest blog – Viewers May Find Scenes in This Nature Programme Upsetting by Beth Richardson

Beth is a Sussex-based nature writer who has enjoyed writing for websites, local newspapers and monthly regional and charity magazines. She has recently completed an MA in nature and travel writing at Bath Spa University and hopes to use her new skills and experience in purpose-led PR to write about conservation and rewilding. Warning: Viewers…

English Hen Harrier numbers slump

Natural England has published, in more detail than in previous years (click here), the numbers of Hen Harriers nesting in England – they are down this year. Numbers in 2024 are lower than in 2023 and 2022 and only slightly higher than in 2021. This year puts an end to a run of years of…