Today another conviction at court for the illegal keeping of pesticides (along with firearms offences) once again highlights the problems of trying to establish who was actually responsible for the poisoning of a bird of prey.

The laying of poison baits in the open countryside has been illegal for over 100 years yet here in the 21^st century this pernicious practice continues. Whilst shooting raptors is of course illegal…

Recent multi-agency work by statutory agencies and RSPB Investigations has demonstrated what can be achieved with a collective approach.

 Next week I will have been working for RSPB Investigations for precisely 30 years and raptor persecution has never been far from the headlines. Whilst there has been a welcome increase for many species, such as common buzzards, red kites, marsh harriers and ospreys, the picture for several…

Another satellite tagged hen harrier has suddenly and unexpectedly disappeared, strengthening the RSPB’s call for the urgent licensing of grouse moors.

Reiver being tagged as a chick in 2021

Reiver, a young female, fledged from a nest on Langholm Moor in the south of Scotland this summer. She was fitted with a satellite tag while still in her nest, as part of an RSPB project to help understand the journeys made…

This summer, for many of us, the allure of an escape to the Lakes, the Dales, the Peak District or the Highlands of Scotland is more appealing than ever. With more folks holidaying closer to home, the RSPB’s Investigations Team is asking locals and visitors alike to be alert to threats and dangers to wildlife, and report anything which might appear suspicious, to help keep our countryside safe for people and wildlife…

Plenty has changed over the past year, but raptor persecution sadly remains a problem that won’t go away. Last spring the RSPB reported on the ‘surge’ in cases during the first lockdown, and while the RSPB Birdcrime 2020 report won’t be published until later this year, early indications suggest 2020 was a depressingly bad year.

With this backdrop, it is clear that increased pressure on the raptor…

We were devastated to learn of yet another suspected poisoning incident at Titterstone Clee, Shropshire, resulting in the death of at least one peregrine and the failure of any eggs they were incubating.

The Shropshire Peregrine Group, who had been observing the site, were glad to see the return of a pair of peregrines to the disused quarry in early April this year. This is a nest site which has been used in the past…

Yet another satellite-tagged hen harrier has disappeared in suspicious circumstances at a crucial time in the breeding season.

Yarrow being fitted with her satellite tag last summer. Photo credit John Wright

Yarrow, a female hen harrier, hatched in the Scottish Borders in summer 2020. She was fitted with a satellite tag, which provided scientists with regular updates on her whereabouts. But transmissions from her tag…

• The repeat offender was caught with nearly 200 birds’ eggs at this home
• Among the collection were curlew eggs, a species in rapid global decline

Black-headed gull eggs at Potter's home

A man found with a collection of almost 200 eggs has been sentenced today at Sheffield Magistrates’ Court. Terrance Potter, 63, was given a 12-week sentence, suspended for 12 months, for offences relating to the taking and…

In 2020, the Welsh Government provided supportive funding for an investigative role in Wales, in an effort to monitor the extent of raptor persecution across the country and bring those responsible to justice. Niall Owen, our newly appointed Raptor Officer gives an overview of his work, what is to come, and how you can help in the fight against raptor persecution.

Wales is known for its natural beauty, and we are privileged…

Another hen harrier has disappeared in suspicious circumstances in an area dominated by driven grouse shooting, this time a young female named Tarras.

Tarras was satellite-tagged as a chick in the nest on Langholm Moor in Scotland in 2020 as part of the Hen Harrier LIFE project. After fledging, thanks to data sent by her tiny tag, we followed Tarras as she explored the North Pennines Area of Outstanding National Beauty…

By Howard Jones, RSPB Investigations Officer

Throughout 2019 and 2020 the RSPB Investigations team were watching a grouse moor in North Yorkshire where a live, tethered eagle owl was being set out in the open as a gunman waited nearby. What was he doing? Our suspicions were confirmed when we caught a shocking crime on camera at the height of lockdown last spring.

Lockdown last spring was an anxious time and, for us, brought…

• Yet another bird of prey illegally killed during lockdown 2020
• The RSPB and National Trust are calling for urgent action to end the illegal killing of birds of prey

A peregrine falcon, which was found dead on a driven grouse moor in the Upper Derwent Valley, has just been confirmed as illegally poisoned following official toxicology analysis – adding to the growing list of protected birds of prey illegally killed…

A recent graphic case of a red kite killed by a pole trap unfortunately shows the barbaric methods still being deployed to kill birds of prey on shooting estates in quiet parts of our countryside.

There are many ways to target and kill birds of prey (raptors). In a previous blog I mentioned some of the new technology being used by the raptor killers. One of the most unpleasant ‘traditional’ methods is the use of metal…

Could you help us tag more harriers?

The Nidderdale Raptor Study Group, in collaboration with the Northern England Raptor Forum (NERF) have set up a new and generous fundraising opportunity to raise money for the RSPB Investigations Team.

Yorkshire-based artist Dan Evans is kindly creating an A2-sized oil painting of a male hen harrier, which has been donated to the Nidderdale Raptor Study Group for an online auction;…

The RSPB has just issued the following press release:

• The bird was found freshly dead within the Peak District National Park
• An x-ray revealed a piece of shot lodged in the bird’s chest
• The RSPB encourages anyone with information to come forward

The bird, which hatched only this year, will have been in the air barely eight weeks

The RSPB is appealing for information regarding the death of a protected buzzard…

Continuing advances in wildlife forensics can sometimes help establish the circumstances of a bird’s death or injury. However, some cases will probably always remain a mystery.

We recently received the result of wildlife DNA forensic work undertaken by Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture (SASA) in relation to two hen harrier deaths. The most recent case related to a failed breeding attempt in Forest of Bowland…

The RSPB is appealing to the public for information regarding the illegal shooting of a protected bird of prey.

The buzzard was taken to a vets but sadly had to be euthanised due to its injuries

On 10 October 2020, members of the public out walking stopped to watch a buzzard in flight, on land adjoining the south-west boundary of the RSPB’s Northward Hill reserve near High Halstow. One of them started filming it on a…

The RSPB has just issued the following press release:

South Yorkshire Police and the RSPB are appealing for information regarding the poisoning of a young peregrine falcon found on the outskirts of Barnsley in July this year.

The bird was discovered ill and unable to fly in the Fish Dam Lane area, on 4 July 2020. Sadly the bird, a juvenile which will have only hatched this spring, subsequently died. The body was forensically…

The RSPB has just issued the following release:

North Yorkshire Police and the RSPB are appealing for information regarding the illegal poisoning of two protected peregrines at a disused quarry near Tadcaster – adding to the body count of birds killed this spring.

This male peregrine was found poisoned at a disused quarry

The police received information from a local birdwatcher about the first dead peregrine on…

The Peak District National Park should be a safe haven for spectacular species like peregrines, but a number of recent incidents highlight continuing problems. 

In May this year RSPB raised concerns about the surge in raptor persecution cases during Covid lockdown. Amongst the many reports received were three involving dead peregrines in Staffordshire. It has now been confirmed three peregrines and a buzzard were illegally…

We have just issued the following release:

The RSPB is once again urging the Government to step in and support licensing of grouse shooting to address the illegal persecution of birds of prey following the suspicious disappearance of yet another satellite-tagged hen harrier.

A male hen harrier (credit Andy Hay, RSPB Images)

Dryad, a male hen harrier, hatched at a nest in the Forest of Bowland this summer. He was fitted…

By Mark Thomas, Head of Investigations UK

On 3 September Natural England (NE) and Defra announced ‘A record-breaking year for hen harrier breeding’ stating that 60 chicks had fledged from 19 nests across Northumberland, Yorkshire Dales, Cumbria and Lancashire during 2020. Whilst the increased number of fledged young is encouraging, as is often the case with hen harriers, what is not mentioned is often of more interest…

The RSPB has just issued the following release:

Three golden plover chicks and one curlew chick are getting a second chance at life after being found, as eggs, in a property in Huddersfield.

Two of the golden plovers, credit Jack Ashton-Booth

In April, following a report of suspicious behavior, South Yorkshire Police executed a search warrant at a Huddersfield address with the RSPB. Officers seized over 200 birds’ eggs…

Yesterday the RSPB issued the following release:

Two red kites and one hen harrier – one of England’s rarest breeding birds – have vanished suddenly and unexpectedly in the same area of the North Pennines AONB since last October.

BB (centre) being tagged as a chick

The birds, all of which are protected by law, were wearing satellite tags to help experts understand more about their lives after leaving…

The RSPB has just issued the following release:

One dog has died and another became ill after consuming a ‘cocktail of poisons’ in Nidderdale, North Yorkshire – a known blackspot for bird of prey persecution.

Molly, a springer spaniel, and Poppy, a cocker spaniel, took ill suddenly after going for a walk on 23 April 2020 south of Pateley Bridge, within the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding National Beauty…