• Champions stepping up to save turtle doves in 2018

    June has been a BIG month for turtle doves. One of the UK’s (and Europe’s) most threatened birds, their plight has inspired farmers, politicians, birders and nature-lovers to step up to help save them. We reflect on what could prove to be a pivotal time for this perilously rare summer visitor and British breeding bird.

    Earlier this month, one of our most threatened birds, the turtle dove, gained a new …

  • Farming for turtle doves in Essex

    Photo: Martin Smith, by Sam Lee (RSPB)

     

    Burnham Wick Farm is a medium-sized arable farm. Since Martin Smith took over its management in 2003, he has worked hard to develop a thriving arable environment, whilst promoting habitat diversity. An appreciation of farmland wildlife and its coexistence alongside productive farming has clearly been a strong motivation for Martin’s work.

     

    In recognition of his achievements…

  • Great Yarmouth Air Show: Our position

    Author: Jeff Knott, RSPB in the East's Regional Director

    Back in January, Theresa May launched Defra’s long-awaited 25 year environment plan. A plan slathered in promises to secure a generational turn around in the fortunes of our natural world. One key idea was to create a ‘world-leading environmental watchdog’ to ensure the interests of our environment had a strong voice in decision making.

  • The Lazy Dad Wild Gardening Post

    Blogger: Adam Murray, Communications Officer

     

    I grew up hating gardening. It was that chore my Mum and Dad made me and my siblings do to earn pocket money. Mow the lawn, do the weeding, dig a hole or two (don’t ask). When all we really wanted to do was go play on our spokey-dokey laden BMX bikes or run across to the field opposite to play in the little wood and get grubby.

      

    I am now in my mid-thirties, have…

  • A future for turtle doves as Springwatch stars?

    As I watched the first week of BBC Springwatch last month (is it June already?!), it was impossible not to marvel at the technical and cultural achievement of the series' producers in painting this intimate portrait of our native wildlife. Familiar recurring characters the blue tits and wrens sit alongside new cast members like the leverets (young hares) and little owl on our TV screens, while the perennially engaging…

  • Eggs stolen from nests of rare little terns in Suffolk

    The little tern is one of the UK’s rarest seabirds, having suffered chronic declines over the past 25 years. These little birds travel a 6,000 mile round trip each year to breed on the beaches of the British Isles, but their numbers have been declining as they struggle to find safe beaches to nest and feed their young, free from predators and human disturbance.

    In the 1980s there were 2,500 breeding pairs, this…

  • Improving our presence on Facebook

    BLOGGER: Adam Murray, Communications Officer

    The RSPB currently has 52 Facebook accounts which include regional, reserve, country, volunteering, online shop and national pages.

    This lack of consistency is confusing. It makes it difficult for good people to find what they’re looking for and for.

    It is not practical for every reserve to have its own account, as we are lucky enough to have over 200 nature reserves…

  • Pear trees not just for partridges

    Blogger: Adam Murray, Communication Officer

    You may find yourself humming the classic Christmas line about a partridge in a pear tree this festive season, but pear trees can be a great gift for all sorts of other wildlife too.

    We are encouraging people to think about planting pear trees now, to benefit birds and other garden wildlife in the future.

    At the time when most of us are thinking about all the chocolates…

  • Hen harriers dropping like flies

    Blogger: Erica Howe, Communications Manager

    We reported on some rather shocking news this week. The hen harrier is the bird most likely to become extinct in England because of human pressure. I’ve only ever seen a hen harrier once; on a visit to RSPB Titchwell Marsh last Christmas. As I stood on the path i was freezing with the bitter wind blowing through my rather unsuitable, not-very-winterproof-coat! My eyes were…

  • First sounds of Spring

    Blogger: Steve Rowland, Public Affairs Manager

    Spring seemed a long way off last week as I took my lunchtime walk through the woods, the leaves on the trees were yet to unfurl, the ground was bare and covered in a mulch of last autumns dead leaves, and a light, cold wintry rain drizzled down.

    And yet I realised that my mind had picked up on the subtle changes in the quality of light and drawing out of the days. I became…

  • Nature Wow!

    Author: Emily Kench. This piece originally appeared in the Eastern Daily Press on 19 August 2017.

    All nature has a ‘wow factor’. Everything from the emergence of dragonflies from deep within the darkest pond water, to the swifts that eat and sleep in the air, to the intricate underground labyrinths of rabbits, constructed for their huge families – every obscurity and complexity amazes.

    However, it…

  • Show the Love for Halvergate Marshes

    Show the Love for Halvergate Marshes

    Mark Smart - Senior Site Manager of Berney Marshes and Breydon Water

     

    The impact of climate change

    Whether you’re a climate change sceptic or completely accept it, we must all appreciate that our weather systems are changing and becoming increasingly unpredictable.

    Gone are the balmy summer days I remember as a child and teenager in the 80s, and gone are the predictable…

  • Woodland in grave danger

    Blogger: Erica Howe, Communications Officer 

    It’s a sad day when you have to point out the glaringly obvious! Today, The RSPB is expressing serious concern over potential damage to one of Suffolk’s most ancient areas of woodland. You would think that in a time of such overwhelming environmental concern, this kind of thing would not be allowed to happen.

    You can read about this in today's  EADT:

    http:…

  • A Volunteer’s View: A Deer Safari at Minsmere

    Carol Miller, Community Fundraising Volunteer

    In the early morning mist of mid-October, I set off for my pre-booked 90 minute Red Deer Safari. As I waited for the start of the safari outside the visitor centre, I watched various birds visiting the bird feeders including long tailed tits, great tits, and blue tits. A jay was flying around the trees nearby and a squirrel scurried along the path, stopped in front of me…

  • Did you go BIG with your bird watch this weekend?

    Blogger: Erica Howe, Communications Officer

    With a few days of January left all I can say is it has been a funny old month! I’ve seen people out and about wearing flip flops, I’ve even seen folk out in the city with shorts on. I’ve seen people eating their lunch outside and I’ve been out on my bike with only a few light layers on. Hardly typical behaviour for January. Then again, looking out my window it has started…

  • Saying it with flowers

    Blogger: Niki Williamson, Fenland Farmland Bird Adviser

    Have you ever wondered why flowers make people smile?  Many things that make us happy are things that promote our survival - a good square meal, a thirst-quenching drink on a sunny day. 

    But what about flowers?  Sure they’re nice to look at, but you can’t really live off them, or use them to fight off predators.  But I love walking to my front door through…

  • Swifts, Swallows & House Martins - I am a bit clueless

    Blogger: Adam Murray, Communications Officer

    I don't know about you but I have loved having our summer visitors here. As they soar overhead in the evening I wish I knew a little more about which was which – I know it shouldn’t really matter and I should be happy to just enjoy their flirtatious skirting of rooftops. There is something maybe geeky or nerdy about it, identifying something, giving it a name, putting it…

  • No longer scared of the snake in the grass

    Grass snake image copyright Kevin Simmonds, www.wildlifeimagery.co.uk
    Snakes are up there with spiders and sharks in the ‘horror movie’ wildlife list. An unexpected encounter with a snake is guaranteed to make your heart beat raise a notch or two. Our primeval instincts kick in and for many of us our first thought is ‘danger!’
    Snakes well and truly get bad press; if they’re not portrayed as…
  • Pied wagtail wonder

    I’ve had a rather entertaining fortnight. Autumn Watch may be over for another year, but something equally addictive has managed to catch my attention recently.  Every time I head out in the crisp winter air for a stroll or I layer up my jumpers, coat and scarf to walk to work, I am followed by a new-found friend. It isn’t guaranteed where i’ll bump into him, but I can assure you that at some point during my journey…
  • Christmas shopping worth while

     
    With more and more people filling the shops to rush out for a last-minute Christmas pressie (or if you’re anything like me, you won’t have even started) I do often wonder about all the millions of pounds that we spend each year on gifts for our loved ones, friends and family. In a time of such financial hardship, it always amazes me how generous people are at this time of year and how much time, effort…
  • Soaring spirits, but a stark reminder

    RSPB images
    It was a gloomy day in November and I was running a tedious errand that took me towards the Norfolk coast. Driving along, I wondered if I would see any pink-footed geese munching on the harvested sugar beet tops. ‘That would brighten my journey’, I thought to myself, ‘otherwise I really will have to eat the whole of that family sized chocolate bar calling my name from the passenger seat’. …
  • Welcome Back H

    Blogger: Kathryn Leigh, Date with Nature Officer

    Well, it's that time of the year when H, our model heron needs to get himself spruced up. After one hell of a season last year, H was rushed to hospital for a minor operation on one of his legs. This did not go well, and the procedure was more complicated than first thought, with the result being an overnight op in theatre. The good news is H is out today, he is looking…

  • What can I do with my summer holidays?

    At a loose end this summer? Or even got a spare ten minutes? Then read on to find out how you can Step Up for Nature this month.

    Campaign: CAP reform e-action - The EU will fail to get anywhere near its recently adopted biodiversity target without sufficient funds for farmers and land managers to help protect and enhance the farmed environment and its wildlife through the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). With cuts…

  • Afraid of Raptors?!

    Blogger: Simon Tonkin, Senior Farmland Conservation Officer

    All this royal wedding stuff has left me wondering a few things about how great it is to be British, but also two issues in particular that I'm not so happy about. I pondered whilst watching the public royal hysteria, what it must have been like in our countryside during those previous royal weddings.

    Isn't it really frustrating and absolutely shameful…

  • Farming fuming

    Blogger - Erica Howe, Communications Manager

    It’s been a shocking week to say the least! And it’s only Tuesday!

    The RSPB announced today that the EU are planning to sever a rather important leg from our Common Agricultural Policy. That all sounds rather jargonny I know so i’ll try to make it as simple as possible. Our old friend Mark Avery couldn’t have put it better himself.

    Farmland covers…