On 3 May, at Norwich Magistrates court, Lingham was given a 12-week suspended sentence and ordered to pay £483 in costs having pleaded guilty to four charges relating to the taking and possession of wild bird eggs – all offences under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981. Lingham also pleaded guilty to breaching a 10-year Criminal Behaviour Order which banned him from visiting nature reserves in Norfolk during the bird breeding season.
Norfolk Police were first alerted to the case on 9 June 2023 when a remote wildlife camera set up to monitor breeding Nightjars (Caprimulgus europaeus) at Holt Lowes Nature Reserve showed a person, later identified as Daniel Lingham, stealing eggs directly from a Nightjar nest. On 25 June, Norfolk Police, supported by the RSPB and NWCU, conducted a search of Lingham’s home which led to the discovery of over two thousand eggs hidden in display cases around his property. The clutch of Nightjar eggs stolen from the nest at Holt Lowes earlier that month was found hidden behind a bath panel along with an egg blowing kit – equipment used by egg collectors to remove the contents of the egg.
RSPB Images
Stronger sentencing for offences relating to egg collecting were introduced in 2001, under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act, which enabled Magistrates to impose an unlimited fine and/or up to six months imprisonment per egg. Once introduced, this amendment effectively deterred many large-scale egg collectors but did not dissuade Daniel Lingham. Lingham was charged with the possession of almost 4,000 wild birds’ eggs in 2005 and almost 5,000 in 2018 and was given custodial sentences in both cases. As this latest case shows, the risk of facing imprisonment has not deterred Daniel Lingham from committing these crimes.
Over one thousand eggs found at Lingham’s home in 2023 were from nests of Red or Amber-listed species including Linnet (114 eggs), Song Thrush (153 eggs) House Sparrow (154 eggs), Greenfinch (79 eggs), Yellowhammer (68 eggs), Greenfinch (79 eggs), Marsh Tit (12 eggs), Willow Warbler (5 eggs) and Nightjar (15 eggs). Handwritten labels showed that Lingham removed complete clutches of eggs, frequently return to the same nest later in the breeding season to steal subsequent re-laid eggs.
Previous offences and this latest case have highlighted that Lingham has a particular interest in Nightjar eggs. Since 2005, including this latest case, Lingham has been found in possession of a total of 180 Nightjar eggs, which were all believed to have been taken from nests in the Norfolk area. An Amber-listed migratory species, the Nightjar travels thousands of miles from sub-Saharan Africa in the spring to reach its favoured breeding grounds in Europe. Many of Norfolk’s nature reserves provide the perfect habitat for these incredible birds, making it a stronghold for this species in the UK.
Tom Grose, RSPB Investigations Officer: “It's clear Lingham has a serious disregard for nature and the law, driven by his obsessive need to collect eggs. It was hoped that the behaviour order, issued in 2018, with its additional tougher penalties would have seen an end to Lingham's offending but sadly that hasn't happened. This latest hearing has rightly taken into account his mental health issues, but we are concerned that the penalty given today may not effectively deter or prevent Lingham from committing these offences again and fear that we will see Lingham in court again.”
PC Chris Shelley, Operation Randall Rural Crime Team, Norfolk Constabulary: “It is disappointing that we are here again for a third time with Lingham again having taken whole clutches of eggs for his personal collection and having a huge negative impact on local wild bird populations Having today been sentenced we hope this is an opportunity for him to reflect on his behaviour and get the help he needs to end his illegal egg collecting. Although the hobby has largely fallen out of favour we remain alive to the risks and ask the public to be alert too under Operation Owl, a national initiative that asks the public to be our eyes and ears out in the countryside to tackle the taking of wild bird eggs. In the UK all wild birds, their nests, and their eggs are protected by law and if you see any suspicious activity please call Norfolk Police on 101.”
The RSPB wish to thank Norfolk Police and the National Wildlife Crime Unit for their excellent partnership working.