• A Rambling with Brambling

    I enjoy sharing my wildlife knowledge with other people and I’m a strong believer that it is an important role in helping others to gain a better understanding of special places like Sherwood Forest.

    The BBC’s Autumnwatch is always popular...

  • Cairngorms Futurescape Wader-friendly Recipe Competition Launch

    There is a wealth of fantastic local produce farmed in Badenoch and Strathspey. Locally farmed cattle and sheep provide tasty ingredients for delicious recipes; both traditional and with a modern twist. The extensive grazing that is a feature of the Strath...
  • Protecting Europe's special places

    After all the excitement with Northern Ireland’s Planning Bill (see yesterday's post), it’s worth remembering another piece of draft law which is still progressing, this time on a much broader canvas. The Environmental Impact Assessment...
  • Good news for the natural environment! Northern Ireland Planning Bill withdrawn

    Written by Colum Delaney, RSPB Northern Ireland Policy Advocacy Officer RSPB headquarters in Belfast was buzzing on Tuesday (22 October) following the news that Minister for the Environment, Mark H Durkan, had withdrawn the Northern Ireland Planning...
  • Northern Ireland Planning Bill withdrawn

    Hot on the heels of my post yesterday, I am delighted to report that today the Northern Ireland Environment Minister, Mark H Durkan, has withdrawn the Planning Bill. He cited concerns that the bill was unlawful and would breach human rights. As I said...

  • Civil rights to be curtailed in Northern Ireland

    As I blogged on 23 September, these are challenging times for planning in Northern Ireland.

    The Planning Bill being considered by the Northern Ireland Assembly, places economic matters front and centre in planning decisions. It also prevents any legal...

  • Red letter day for red-breasted geese

    Failure to Protect Key Sites for Birds lands Bulgaria in court

    The red-breasted goose is one of Europe’s rarest geese and the vast majority of them (up to 90% of the world population) winters on the Dobrudzha Black Sea coast region of Bulgaria and Romania...

  • New tool to help put a value on Nature’s services – by Dr Richard Bradbury

    Wildlife and our fabulous natural world underpins so much of our lives – RSPB’s Head of Environmental Research, Dr Richard Bradbury, describes how those benefits can be measured.

    Protected areas and other wildlife rich sites often provide...

  • Introducing the Living Loch Leven Futurescape!

    Hello and welcome to the first Living Loch Leven Futurescape blog! As many of you reading this will already know, Loch Leven is a very special place for wildlife and attracts thousands of visitors every year to experience its natural splendour. This time...
  • Stories of the Forth

    Joanne's been out and about again, this time finding out about the wildlife experiences of people living around the Forth......

    Last month I was lucky enough to attend a couple of events in the Inner Forth at which I got to meet some very enthusiastic...

  • Every Little Bit Helps

    Our breeding waders, especially lapwing, redshank, curlew and snipe, are in catastrophic decline. RSPB Insh Marshes has put in place a regular programme for cutting back rank, overgrown vegetation and reducing scrub. However, nature reserves cannot...
  • Aviation capacity – an issue for our times

    Sir Howard Davies speech, today , on national airport capacity marks eleven months of work by the Airports Commission – at this stage there are no definitive answers but there are some pointers. You can read the whole speech here . Naturally...
  • Celebrating Nott's historic heathlands

    In the heart of the historic Sherwood Forest lies the small historic ex-coal mining village of Clipstone. The old headstocks, grade two listed structures, can be seen from miles away and are an iconic feature of the landscape. Nestled in the south of...

  • UK's best wildlife sites challenged by EU review

    The European Commission has today responded to calls to slim-down its approach to regulation as opinion polls across the continent suggest that citizens feel that Brussels is out of touch with them. It is strange, to say the least, that they’ve decided...

  • An Inspiring Day!

    As soon as I got out the car this morning I knew that Autumn had arrived, to be more specific, the rain smacking against one side of my face told me that summer was well and truly over! Around the Inner Forth however, this time of year actually feels very...

  • Giving nature and people a home

    In our work to save special places, the RSPB has a lot of experience in dealing with proposals for new housing, so any announcement on future housing plans is worth a close look.

    Ed Miliband's speech at the Labour Party conference yesterday included...

  • A Date with Agriculture

    I recently attended the Laughton & District Ploughing Match . It was my first match and I had some fantastic chats with local farming folk as well visitors from further afield. In short, loved it! ...and met some pretty amazing people too! Farmers...
  • Challenging times in Northern Ireland

    As showcased in our recent report Planning Naturally, the RSPB is involved in the planning systems of all four countries of the UK. I have just returned from the annual meeting of RSPB planners, which was hosted by our colleagues in Northern Ireland....

  • Is this the end of big bad barrages?

    The coalition Government has responded to a damning report by the Parliamentary Energy and Climate Change Committee into the latest proposal for a Severn barrage by largely agreeing that the plans did not stack up in economic terms neither could it credibly...

  • Nature networks go global

    Last week Manchester played host to the International Association for Landscape Ecologists' european congress . Although I wasn't able to join the proceedings in Manchester, I was part of a team leading a field trip for 20 delegates showcasing...
  • A Chance to Share

    Futurescapes is RSPB’s contribution to delivering Landscape Scale Restoration and our work across Scotland shows that this approach of thinking on a big scale and working with a wide range of partners is helping us to achieve even more for birds...
  • Winged travellers head for Thames Estuary hub

    As summer eases into autumn the natural world is all change. As I set off for work this morning an excited straggle of swallows swept over the house, no doubt just beginning their flight to winter warmth in Africa. Around our coasts and on wetlands...
  • Water, water, everywhere!

    Hello and welcome to the first North Lakes Futurescape blog post. I will be blogging from now on alongside Amy Hannan. Together we’ll be sharing the things we love about the work we do in the northern part of the world famous Lake District National...
  • There's no place like home

    How does that old saying go? A man’s home is his castle – it’s his sanctuary, the place where he eats, sleeps and raises his family. Now imagine if yours was under threat. If the only way of life you and the generations before you have...
  • Intrepid nature heroes in the Thames

    Today's guest blog comes from the Greater Thames - in an area of heavy industry, commercial shipping and intensive farming; you would be forgiven for thinking that the Thames is no place for a wildlife haven! Hello! My name is Stef Lawrence...