Today the RSPB has issued new advice to its million members and the public at large on feeding birds in gardens. The new advice represents a big change to current practice (amongst many), won’t be universally popular and will cost the RSPB a lot of money. This advice is based on the perceived dangers of…
Category: THE WILDLIFE NGOs – RSPB, Wildlife Trusts Wild Justice, BSBI etc
RSPB – UK’s tallest bird, the Crane, has record high year
UK’s tallest bird, the Crane, has record high year A record number of Cranes bred in the UK last year, with 87 pairs raising 37 young, bringing the total to around 250 individuals Cranes went extinct in the UK around four hundred years ago due to overhunting and the loss of wetlands, but thanks to…
BSBI – Plant of ancient woodlands confirmed in northern Scotland
Plant of ancient woodlands confirmed in northern Scotland Herb-paris, a plant typical of ancient woodlands, has been confirmed growing in upland birch woodland on a ravine ledge in East Sutherland, in northern Scotland. The plant was originally spotted by James Rainey, a botanist and ecological consultant, seven years ago but wasn’t reported to the Botanical…
Wild Justice Dartmoor victory
I was pleased to see that Wild Justice has won a judicial review of the Dartmoor Commoners’ Council’s failure to manage the Dartmoor heaths properly – click here. This case started back in 2024 and I remember writing the witness statements which set out how Wild Justice saw the issues of overgrazing and lack of…
BSBI – Vulnerable aquatic plant found in Hampshire
Vulnerable aquatic plant found in Hampshire Opposite-leaved Pondweed has been discovered at a site in the lower reaches of the River Ems in Hampshire. This is the first record for the Ems catchment area since 1887: the year of Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee. Tristan Norton, a local Government ecologist who is also the Botanical Society of…
BSBI – Ancient clubmosses rediscovered in Dunbartonshire
Ancient clubmosses rediscovered in Dunbartonshire A botanist has rediscovered four species of clubmoss – ancient plants whose ancestors fossilised millions of years ago to form Scotland’s coal forests – in Dunbartonshire. One of them, the Marsh Clubmoss, is a real rarity which hasn’t been seen in the area since 1854. Matt Harding, Scotland Officer for…
RSPB slams Labour government and supports OEP (Mark Avery wonders what the Greens would do)
Following the UK Government’s response – click here – to the OEP’s report on Protected Sites in England – click here, Gemma Cantelo, head of policy and advocacy for RSPB England, said: “Despite countless wake-up calls the UK Government still believes a business-as-usual approach will stop nature disappearing over a cliff edge. The OEP could…
RSPB – 726,000 songbirds illegally killed in Cyprus last autumn as enforcement gaps exposed
An estimated 726,000 migrating songbirds were illegally trapped and killed on the island of Cyprus last autumn, a new report from BirdLife Cyprus has revealed. Species including Blackcaps, Redstarts, Whitethroats and Willow Warblers were found to have been caught using mist nets and limesticks within the survey area, which includes land around British military bases….
BTO Conference
The annual BTO conference took place in Northampton on Saturday – and it was all very good. The venue was good, the food was good, the venue was close to the railway and bus stations and the talks were good and were enjoyed by a good audience of 300 or so. I mean it about…
RSPB – Mass death of seabirds across UK and Europe following winter storms underlines fragility of populations
Mass death of seabirds across UK and Europe following winter storms underlines fragility of populations The RSPB is calling for the urgent nationwide delivery of actions to support seabirds following the reported deaths of hundreds of Puffins, Guillemots and other species, with potentially thousands of birds affected across the UK and Europe. Seabirds have been…