By Cleo Small, Senior Policy Officer (Global Seabird Programme)

Did you see the news this week about the widespread outrage at the proposed merger between the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and National Oceanography Centre?  The merger is being put forward as a cost-cutting exercise by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), and will be decided this week.

Now more than ever we need UK science in polar regions…

Shag, Jane Smith

A chance encounter on a remote cliff top between an artist and a scientist was the inspiration behind a new art exhibition at Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum.

Ellie Owen is the RSPB’s lead scientist for the Future of the Atlantic Marine Environment (FAME) project, and was working on the seabird cliffs of Colonsay when she met wildlife artist Jane Smith. 

Since then Jane…

I love balloons.  There’s something inherently joyful about them – the bright colours, the association with parties and celebrations, and the way they can float in the air, light as a feather.

It has made balloon races a popular choice.  People release hundreds of balloons, accompanied by a great roar from the crowd, and the owner of the one that gets the furthest wins a prize - or just the kudos of winning…

Did you see the Guardian or the Mail this morning? 

Welsh environment minister John Griffiths has today called for Mr Cameron to stop dragging his feet and introduce a plastic bag levy in England. 

In July, supermarkets in Wales reported reductions of up to 96% in single-use plastic and paper bags since the charge was introduced October 2011.  This is against a background of overall increases in use across the UK for…

I grew up on the south coast of England, close enough to Chesil Beach to make it a good day trip destination.  Famous for fossils, I loved searching for the stony remains of curious creatures I (mostly) couldn’t name.

I think the most exciting find I ever made was a fossilised shark’s tooth. They are actually quite common, but I only ever found one (I still have it). Sharks have been gliding the oceans for…

Fifty-one years after John F Kennedy’s inaugural address, I think that what was perhaps his most famous quote is still stirring stuff.  I have shamelessly pinched it to make my own version:

"Ask not what nature can do for you - ask what you can do for nature"

I was thinking about this after I read this Guardian article yesterday.  This sobering tale talks about the 100 endangered species the International…

By Tessa Cole, RSPB Senior Research Assistant, FAME

Now we’re very nearly at the end of the seabird breeding season I’ve got a chance to breathe and write a blog!  Every year it amazes me how quickly the work escalates as the auk chicks hatch and again how quickly the cliffs empty and turn in to ghost cities when the auks fledge. Seabird colonies are always noisy atmospheric places but when the auk chicks…

Earlier this month we celebrated National Marine Week, slap bang in the summer holidays.  Many of you have been getting involved and showing you care about our spectacular coasts and wildlife. 

It kicked off in fine style with an update from our colleagues in Wales showing Environment Minister John Griffiths how much the people of Cymru care about our sealife, presenting him with an image of a Manx shearwater made up…

This week I’ve been waxing lyrical about our coasts, and I thought I would round off the week with a celebration of our marine and coastal wildlife.

I have a soft spot for arctic terns.  Apart from being incredibly graceful, they manage a gob-smacking annual migration of over 22,000 miles.  It's the longest migration of any bird, and worthy of our admiration for that fact alone.

Arctic tern, Farne Islands;…

Look at the colour of that sea.  Glorious!  A tropical beach?  No, it's St Ives in Cornwall.  We really do have world class coasts!

Looks nice and clean too.  Yesterday I made a little plea about beach litter, including cutting down on plastic bag use.  You may remember it's a bit of a bug bear (or is that 'bag bear'?!) of mine....  I've just seen that four excellent organisations have joined together to organise…

I’m getting excited as I’m off to Holkham Bay on the North Norfolk coast this weekend.  The big skies and wide golden sands fringed by woodland are a great place for pretty much anyone, whatever your interests. I love to let my dogs run free, take a salty dip, kayak through the saltmarshes, and the wildlife is always a draw.

Holkham Bay (with my dog in the foreground!)

Whilst there, I’ll be heading just…

One of the things I enjoy when strolling along the coast is seeing beach art of all kinds.  Elaborate and inventive sandcastles are the result of hours of fun and imagination.  As a kid I was never that good at the construction (my enthusiasm for tall structures overtook my knowledge of sand physics and engineering!), but I was great at finding shells and pebbles to add the finishing touches to my siblings’ masterpieces…

It seems the UK summer has finally arrived, at least in parts.  Hurrah, just in time for the school holidays!  And as it's National Marine Week, it seems the perfect time to talk about our superb seaside.

I have childhood memories of brilliant beach holidays in Cornwall.  We would set off late at night to avoid the worst of the traffic - my gran, parents, 3 kids and the dog all in a Hillman Hunter with vinyl seats and…

By Gareth Cunningham, Marine Policy Officer, Wales

Last Wednesday (25th July) I and other RSPB Cymru staff accompanied the Environment Minister John Griffiths to RSPB Ramsey Island, and on a boat trip around RSPB Grassholm Island. The trip was organised to help raise awareness of marine issues in Wales, and to highlight the need for seabird colonies to have protected areas at sea, where they feed or rest on the sea…

 By Kate Sugar, Senior Marine Policy Officer

You might have noticed that, over the weekend, Bradley Wiggins became the first British cyclist to win the Tour de France EVER – great work Bradley! You might also have noticed that this weekend, for a lot of the country (sorry to those bits still waiting for it) the summer sun finally made an appearance – about time!

So with all these historic events going…

By Alec Taylor, Marine Policy Officer

In June, The RSPB and the Wildlife Trusts took members of the marine planning team from the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) to Flamborough Head and Bempton Cliffs, which are home to more than 200,000 breeding seabirds, as well as seals, orchids, lichens and so much more. It’s a really special place. It’s also on the northern boundary of the first two marine plan areas, which…

Here's a little league table that I have:

1) Ireland
2) Marks & Spencer
3) Wales
4) Northern Ireland
5) Scotland

"What does the table mean, and what is M&S doing in amongst a list countries?", you may ask.....  Well, the clue is in the picture.  The table is about charging for single-use plastic bags.  A teensy eensy levy, e.g. just 5p a bag has helped reduce the numbers of these resource-wasting wildlife…

By Tessa Cole, RSPB Senior Research Assistant, FAME

It’s been almost a month since I last wrote a blog, with lots happening in the mean time. So far this season, we have ten tags back from shags on Colonsay.  This may not seem a lot when you consider we’ve been working every dry day for the last month, but it just shows how time consuming the process is. Putting a tag on a bird can take a day but retrieving the…

By Euan Dunn, Head of Marine Policy

Today’s EU Fisheries Council is make or break for the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). The Council will seek to agree on a so-called General Approach to the reform, setting out detailed positions on the entire proposed basic regulation of the CFP. Legally, this is a procedure not often used, but essentially it would lock the Council’s position on the core of the…

By Gareth Cunningham, Swyddog Polisi Morol/ Marine Policy Officer, RSPB Cymru

To mark the celebration of world oceans day in true style RSPB staff in Wales embarked on the challenging task of constructing a giant leatherback turtle from willow – all with the help of a few passers-by.

Throughout the day the turtle took shape, although at some times it wasn’t clear if it was a turtle or a small boat! The wicker…

We love balloons. Just look at the size of the one that we took on a climate change march a couple of years ago! They are fun, joyful, and perfect for celebrations such as the Jubilee and the Olympics.

Today we are joining forces with the RSPCA, the Marine Conservation Society, the National Farmers’ Union and the Soil Association, and asking people to take a little care with party paraphernalia such as balloons…

By Tessa Cole, RSPB Senior Research Assistant

I thought I’d take a rainy windy day to update you the first three weeks of this year’s RSPB seabird tracking efforts: two projects, FAME (Future of the Atlantic Marine Environment) and a new project ‘tracking 2012’ which sees us extending the number of sites we are able to work in. This is the third year FAME has been collecting data on where seabirds are foraging…

I might have been lamenting the wettest April since records began here in the UK (it did slightly dampen a week on the glorious north Norfolk coast), but the weather had a bigger impact on brave British adventurer Sarah Outen.  It kept her on the shores of Japan, no doubt a little frustrated as she waited to set off on the next stage of her incredible London2London loop of the world.  But the weather lamented at last…

By Colum Delaney, Policy Advocacy Officer (Northern Ireland)

2012 could be a watershed year for Northern Ireland’s marine environment.  

After years of campaigning, the NI Marine Bill is finally being discussed at Stormont, with the legislation expected to be on the statute books by 2013. This crucial piece of legislation will determine how our seas are managed in the future.

Of course, the hard work begins…

Guy Shorrock (rspb-images.com)

I was excited to read that last week the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) made a landmark decision - all longline vessels in the Indian Ocean will now be required to use two seabird bycatch mitigation measures.  This follows a similar decision made by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) last November.

This is great news for albatrosses, who often…