Kara Brydson, Senior Marine Policy Officer at RSPB Scotland, tells us about a recent visit to one of the wildlife wonders of the world.

Visiting Scotland's seabird cities

Imagine leaving work at the end of an unremarkable day. Within the hour you’re at what Sir David Attenborough calls ‘one of the wildlife wonders of the world’. That’s what I did on Wednesday night, along with 30 others on an RSPB Scotland ’Date…

In the early hours of this morning, a long awaited deal on Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) reform was struck between the Irish Presidency and the European Parliament.  Negotiations were tortuous, but ultimately a compromise was reached on the key sticking points in the reform. 

The compromise signals a turning point for EU fisheries, and is a landmark in the fight to save our seas, but falls short of ending overfishing by…

Remember the virtual balloon race, Race for Nature?  Roger and Carol Newton were the lucky winners of the trip to the Belfry and Middleton Lakes.  They tell us about their adventure.

What a surprise and what a prize!  A 3 day all expenses paid visit to The Belfry and the RSPB Reserve Middleton Lakes !  As golfers we had always wanted to visit the Belfry and enjoy a round on one of the country's most famous courses and…

By Colum Delaney, Policy Advocacy Officer, Northern Ireland Headquarters

It is very nearly there!  On Tuesday 30th April the Bill passed the Consideration Stage and on Monday 14th May passed the Further Consideration Stage of the legislative process.  This is when any late suggested amendments to the Bill are debated and accepted or rejected by the NI Assembly.

In total there were 20 amendments lodged.  Of these 14 had…

What were a Gannet and a Black Guillemot doing in Cardiff on Wednesday morning? Well on Wednesday 22 May we (that’s RSPB Cymru and 25 other wildlife organisations) launched the State of Nature Report in Techniquest, down in Cardiff Bay. For a low down on the evening check out this blog.

But to give the day a marine feel and to grab some attention, the two of us made our way to the steps of the Sennedd to hand…

Today is the start of the two day European Maritime Day Conference, which is being held in Malta this year.  This annual event is organised by the European Commission (Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries) to encourage better stewardship of Europe’s coastal zones, seas and oceans, and highlight the crucial contribution that our marine environment plays in delivering sustainable growth.

To coincide…

It's been an important week for our marine environment, with the Common Fisheries Policy under discussion, and the first small steps towards a review of the seabird killer PIB.  Check out Martin's blog for the latest update.

By Alec Taylor, Marine Policy Officer

I’ve just popped out of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO)’s meeting of its environmental subcommittee. I say committee, but it’s more like a UN General Assembly, with hundreds of delegates from all over the globe and interpretation into at least five languages!

It would be a future meeting of this group that would discuss and ultimately decide whether…

By Euan Dunn, Principal Marine Advisor

On Monday and Tuesday next week, the Council of Fisheries Ministers are meeting in Brussels, under the Irish Presidency and Irish Fisheries Minister Simon Coveney. 

They will have a huge say in deciding the fate of European fisheries for the next ten years and beyond.  They will be making crucial decisions about the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy, a once-in-decade oppor…

 Emily Scragg, Senior Research Assistant with the Seabird Tracking And Research team on Colonsay, tells us about her preparations for the upcoming season.

Greetings from the STAR (Seabird Tracking And Research) team on Colonsay!

It is our fourth year here on the island (and my first) carrying out seabird tracking work with the previous three years tracking carried out as part of the Future of the Atlantic Marine Envi…

Following last week’s blog from the wonderful rubbish-busting team on Coquet Island, our equally wonderful team on Ramsey Island sent me these pictures (thanks Lisa!).

After just one storm one of Ramsay’s beaches was filled with plastic bottles (enough to fill 20 bin bags – yes, twenty, from just one small beach!), along with the usual monofilament fishing line, rope, aerosols, and even part of an…

A few years ago I spent a lucky three months on a remote Fijian island.  I was volunteering in a conservation project that ultimately contributed to the waters around the tiny island being designated a Marine Protected Area.  It was an amazing experience that was full of wonderful surprises.

And one less pleasant surprise. 

The amount of litter that washed up on the beach round the headland (where the prevailing winds…

There is a picture at the bottom of this blog post - I have put it at the bottom so you can choose to scroll down and see it, or not.  I warn you, it is heart breaking.  

It is a picture of two dead guillemots, covered in PIB.  They are hardly recognisable as birds, let alone guillemots.  In the background there are more dead bodies.  These are just some of the birds collected from just three beaches in South Cornwall by…

 Last summer our very own Clydach Wildlife explorer group  visited Skomer island.

Armed with video cameras they filmed the puffins and made a short video about why our seabirds need better protection - not just on shore but at sea too. The RSPB continues to call on Welsh Government to deliver its duties and provide protection for seabirds at sea, and hopes to have some positive messages to tell you in 2013! 

www.youtube…

Gannets and guillemots: Ian McCarthy

Hundreds of seabirds, mostly guillemots, have again been washed up along the south coast of England covered in a debilitating sticky substance.  This is a virtual repeat of the incident back in February this year when over 500 birds were found from Devon to Dorset. See the February pages of this blog for more information.

This time however the tide of dead birds is further west in…

New report from Parliamentary Committee

Today the Parliamentary Science & Technology Committee releases their report into the way that science and evidence are used in the marine environment, following their enquiry at the end of 2012. I’d encourage you to have a read of it, as it contains some strong messages to Government, in particular on the recent selection of Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) in England and…

Great news - We are pleased to announce that the RSPB Ramsey Island reserve has gone multi-media!

Armed with a digital camcorder - our Wardens Greg and Lisa are going to bring you snippets of island life and its amazing wildlife, plus some of the surround ing area like Grassholm.

We've already uploaded some videos, here's some examples;

www.youtube.com/watch

Some fantastic footage of common Dolphins swimming…

www.youtube.com/watch

Wes, one of the small but dedicated team working at Coquet Island, made this video to help encourage people to show their much needed support for our sealife.  It's brilliant - just 28 seconds long, worth watching, and worth sharing (please......).

The consultation for England's seas closes at the end of this month , and the process is currently stuck in Northern Ireland - so show your support…

By Sharon Thompson, Senior Marine Policy Officer

Thursday night saw the last in the present series of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s FishFight ‘Save our Seas’ campaign. This programme highlighted a number of important marine conservation and sustainability issues including:

• Illegal fishing (in marine reserves in Thailand) – highlighting the need for proper enforcement both inside and outside Marine…

Don’t be surprised if you see sharks, starfish, skate, seabirds and SCUBA divers ‘swimming’ up the South Bank this morning.  

Led by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and FishFight, the Marine Conservation Society, Sea Life, British Sub Aqua Club and supporters are marching on Westminster, calling for better protection of our marine environment.

As we said last week, we welcome all efforts to highlight…

By Rory Crawford, Senior Policy Officer (Global Seabird Programme)

It definitely has less of a ring than Hugh's Fish Fight, but this week's show had a distinctly less fishy flavour – it focussed on krill, the tiny crustacean that props up the Antarctic food web. I don't say that to gloss over the krill itself – to my mind it's a bonnie little creature – but it is food to some of our planet's most incredible species…

By Colum Delaney, Policy Advocacy Officer, Northern Ireland

In June 2012, more than 200 school children made the journey from the gates of Stormont, to the steps of Parliament Buildings. Dressed as starfish, puffins and all other manner of sea creatures - they sang, chanted and really made their voices heard for a Northern Ireland Marine Bill. In addition, a life size (approx 25 feet long) wicker basking shark model…

Check out this post on our Notes on Nature blog.  Great stuff!

Andy Hay (rspb-images.com)

By Helene Jessop, Conservation Assistant, South West

The RSPB has written a piece for The Ecologist on the recent PIB seabird incident and our call for change. We’ve set out a five-point plan of what we think needs to happen, so that further tragic incidents are prevented.

To recall, between 29 January and 6 February 2013, more than 500 seabirds were killed or rendered helpless by a pollution event off the south…