There is currently a petition initiated by Ed Hutchings to establish a system of licensing of driven grouse shooting in England.  While the case for reform is being made down south, I thought it would be timely to provide an update on what is happening north of the border. I have therefore asked my colleague, Duncan Orr-Ewing who is Head of Species and Land Management for RSPB Scotland, to provide an overview of what is…

It is 8.20am on Sunday morning.

My daughter and I are sitting at our kitchen table.  I have had my porridge, she is eating marmite on bread.

We are about to take part in Big Garden Bird Watch.  My wife and son are not.

My daughter is in charge of the technology and the bird watching.  I am just here.

This year, we have a new feeder (identical to our old one) for our small and very messy suburban garden.  I have a theory…

It was deeply disappointing that the first deed since the publication of the 25 year environment plan was Natural England’s announcement that it had consented a license to trial brood management scheme for hen harriers. 

Regular readers of this blog will be aware of the serious reservations that we have with brood management (for example see here).  This will do nothing to address the primary threat to hen harriers…

If, like me, you believe that politics can change things for the better, then the first environment speech from a Prime Minister in a generation is not immaterial.  It is a sign of personal commitment and that matters when there is 24/7 scrutiny of government performance.

So I was delighted to be able to listen the Prime Minister’s speech at the London Wetlands Centre today.  This accompanied the publication of the…

Tomorrow is an important day for the environment.  The Prime Minister will be launching the Government’s 25 year plan for the environment.  Regular readers of this blog will be aware that this has been a long time coming, its gestation stemming from the Conservative 2015 election manifesto commitment to produce a plan to restore biodiversity in 25 years.  I have written about it on several occasions - Oct 2015, Apr…

During the first week of the new year, I try to get to RSPB reserves that I haven't yet visited.  Shockingly, until last week, I hadn't been to our sites on the Ribble (Marshside and Hesketh Out Marsh) or the Dee (Burton Mere and Parkgate) estuaries.  These are remarkable places and I was lucky to witness the wildlife spectacles provided at high tide last week.  On the Dee, I was one of hundreds of people lining…

I have talked quite a lot on this blog recently about Brexit, farming and the importance of well-designed domestic agriculture policy to effectively support farmers and nature in the future. A growing number of farmers are indicating that they wish to see this too. Today I am very pleased to host a guest blog from Martin Lines, Chair of the Nature Friendly Farming Network, which launches at the Oxford Real Farming Co…

Above the fireplace in the main meeting room at the RSPB's Headquarters hangs a portrait of one of our founders, William Henry Hudson.  I knew little about his backstory until my colleague, Conor Jameson, explained how Hudson grew up in Argentina and fell in love with the wildlife of Patagonia before moving to England in his 30s.  Here, he continued his passion for natural history but also for writing novels (for which…