Britain’s rarest breeding bird raised four youngsters at secret location A pair of Montagu’s Harriers, Britain’s rarest breeding bird, have successfully raised four youngsters at a secret location in England The pair of birds which arrived in May have been closely monitored by the RSPB who, working closely with a farmer, installed a protection fence…
Category: THE WILDLIFE NGOs – RSPB, Wildlife Trusts Wild Justice, BSBI etc
More Hen Harrier killing
RSPB press release: Chicks fledge with RSPB support after suspicious loss of parent Hen Harriers. In May 2025, over a period of eight days, four breeding male Hen Harriers suspiciously disappeared from their nests in northern England – two from RSPB Geltsdale Nature Reserve in Cumbria, and a further two from the Forest of Bowland…
RSPB press release: Drought adding to challenge of caring for Sherwood Forest’s iconic Major Oak
Drought stress adding to challenge of caring for Sherwood Forest’s iconic Major Oak Pioneering techniques and technology are being used by Britain’s largest conservation charity to deliver bespoke care to one of the nation’s most famous and beloved trees. But the recent heatwave is bringing an additional challenge as attempts continue to address complex issues…
Good news on lead ammunition
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Yesterday’s news that a ban (almost total) on lead ammunition use is coming is welcome. Assuming that it all goes smoothly (I believe it will) then it will bring to a happy conclusion decades of campaigning. But why has it taken so long? So very long? Lead is a poison and it has gradually been…
Guest blog – Reintroductions 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…
Tony Marr 1939-2025
Tony Marr was born in Glasgow but he will always be associated with Sussex where he was one of a small group of birders in 1962 who founded the Sussex Ornithological Society (other leading lights being Richard Porter, Chris Mead, Bill Bourne and Mike Shrubb). He attended Steyning Grammar School and was encouraged in his…
Press release – AFFRIC HIGHLANDS
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Highland red deer tracked by GPS in innovative landscape-scale study of behaviour and habitat use A pioneering scientific research project using GPS collars has been launched to track red deer movement and behaviour in the west Highlands to help land managers take informed decisions about how to manage deer health, numbers and habitats. The study…
Press release SCOTLAND The Big Picture – drone-seeding takes off
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Rewilding takes off: drone-seeding success offers hope for expanding remote woodlands An innovative rewilding experiment on a hillside on Scotland’s west coast has yielded promising results, raising hopes for faster, more cost-effective reforestation of the country’s wild and rugged uplands. At Dubh Allt, a 780-acre landholding near Roshven on the Moidart peninsula, forester and landowner,…
RSPB press release – Singing success for one of the UK’s rarest insects
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Singing success for one of the UK’s rarest insects The Field Cricket was previously threatened with extinction in the UK but has since made an incredible comeback following successful conservation efforts by a range of organisations including the RSPB. The males are known for their singing, using specially adapted veins on their wings to…
BSBI press release – Hunting for Wales’ missing wild plants
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This summer, botanists are out scouring Wales’ most special wildlife sites, trying to re-find wild plants that haven’t been seen for decades. They are taking part in a project, run by the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI) with funding from the Welsh Government’s Nature Networks Programme, to refind priority plants in Wales. BSBI…