Introduction: This blog was prompted by reading the Draft Management Plan for the Forest of Bowland National Landscape (the new name for the Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty). I have written several earlier versions of this blog and electronically ripped them up and put them in the bin. This is where I…
Category: THE WILDLIFE NGOs – RSPB, Wildlife Trusts Wild Justice, BSBI etc
Research in Cumbria explores how fungal networks shape upland treescapes
New scientific research in Cumbria explores how hidden fungal networks shape treescapes in the UK’s uplands Cumbria Connect, the landscape-scale nature recovery programme, has secured new funding for its science programme to investigate how underground fungal networks influence the success of woodland creation in Cumbria’s upland landscapes, at a time of unprecedented national ambition to…
RSPB – Capercaillies at Abernethy Forest
Boost for one of the UK’s rarest birds at key site The RSPB has revealed a promising increase in the number of Capercaillie at RSPB Abernethy in Scotland with 30 lekking males recorded in 2025, a 50% increase since 2020. The Capercaillie was once more widely spread across the UK but is now confined to native pinewood forests of Scotland where their total population is estimated at 532 birds. The…
Rare Pennine wading bird given boost as RSPB survey reveals Dunlin breeding success
Rare Pennine wading bird given boost as RSPB survey reveals Dunlin breeding success First-ever large-scale survey reveals rare Dunlin still breeding across the North Pennines, offering new hope for a declining species. RSPB-led project uses technology – including drones, cameras and acoustic recorders – to uncover hidden upland bird populations. Partnership conservation delivers results, with Dunlin chicks…
RSPB – Gamekeeper pleads guilty in Hen Harrier persecution case
Gamekeeper pleads guilty in England’s first-ever Hen Harrier persecution case On 29 January at York Magistrates Court Racster Dingwall – a head gamekeeper on the Conistone and Grassington Estate in the Yorkshire Dales National Park – pleaded guilty to conspiring to kill Hen Harrier. Footage and sound recordings obtained lawfully by the RSPB’s Investigations team were…
Guest blog – Is this a mole trap I see before me by Alick Simmons
Alick Simmons spent most of his career in public service serving as the UK Food Standards Agency’s Veterinary Director (2004-2007) and the UK Government’s Deputy Chief Veterinary Officer (2007-2015). He is the current chair of the Zoological Society of London’s Ethics Committee on Animal Research and a member of the Wild Animal Welfare Committee. He…
RSPB Hen Harrier press release
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…
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…