Saving Nature in 2017

This is my last working week of the year so I thought I’d reflect on the impact that we have had over the past twelve months.

For me, the defining images of 2017 were of the British Virgin Islands before and after the devastation of Hurricane Irma. The fact that Irma struck UK Overseas Territories (UKOTs) in the Caribbean and affected the partners with whom we work made it all the more distressing.  While it is heartening to see our partners pick themselves and begin to rebuild, there is still fear for the future.  Unless we get to grips with climate change, future hurricane seasons could be even more intense.

Yet, the profile of UKOT islands has grown in recent weeks for positive reasons as well. The BBC’s Blue Planet 2 series has highlighted the incredible biodiversity importance of the marine environment around UKOTs and I am proud the RSPB is a part of the GB Oceans Coalition that has launched the #BackTheBlueBelt campaign – calling for the protection and management of 4 million square kilometres of sea.  If you have not done so already, please do contact your MP to encourage them to support this campaign.

Growing political support remains a core part of what the RSPB does which is why I am so pleased that our joint Species Champion project has helped 44 MPs use their voices for nature.  While Environment Secretary Michael Gove has said all the right things about making Brexit work for nature, the complexity of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, requires close scrutiny and exceptional collaboration by the governments across the UK to ensure the detail of any deal support ambitions to restore nature in a generation.

And the RSPB, thanks to the support of our members will do what we can to both make the case for action.  As rules about the way we can contact our members changes, it has been fantastic to know that our supporters remain loyal and want to remain active in our mission.  If you have not yet done so, please do say yes to remain connected to the RSPB.

Most importantly, perhaps, we continue to have a practical impact for nature.  Below are my highlights from 2017.  Grab a cup of tea and biscuit, put on some uplifting music and enjoy reading about what we have done together in 2017…

Our growing nature reserve network continues to help recover some of our most threatened bird species… 

…At Labrador Bay, the population of cirl buntings has increased from 7 to 29 pairs in the 8 years that we have owned the reserve and Ash Hill Farm has been acquired as a new cirl reserve.

…It’s been another good year for cranes with the first ever chick fledging from West Sedgemoor. Another 4 fledged from the reintroduced population at the same reserve and an additional 18 fledged from the native population in East Anglia (Broads and Fens), Yorkshire and NE Scotland.

…Heritage Lottery Funding has been secured for Dearne Valley to understand more about the habitat usage at a landscape scale for our endemic sub-species of willow tit. The funding is part of the Back from the Brink partnership project (see below) and the actions will include habitat management and radio-tracking studies.

… Little terns have been successful in producing…more little terns - 17 chicks fledged at Pagham Harbour, 27 at Langstone Harbour and a record 73 at Chesil Beach

Out of the 16,000 species present on our nature reserves less than 3% of these are birds. And for this reason in 2017 we have continued to ensure that the >150,000 hectares that we manage across >210 sites cater for the needs of all these species. Over the past year, a large number of featherless species were given a boost…

…A pine hoverfly larva was found at Abernethy, which suggests that our attempts to establish a second site through translocation have succeeded. At the indigenous site at the Caledonian forest in the central Highlands of Scotland, additional 19 larvae were found and more habitat was created.

...A record of great yellow bumblebee was recorded at the RSPB’s Broubster Leans reserve and 7 more at Balranald on North Uist.

…A total of 93% of UK land mammal species have been recorded on our reserves, and there was excitement when a dormouse was discovered at Radipole Lake and Exminster Marshes reserve. This complements our other reserves where this species is present, namely Garston Wood, Broadwater Warren, Wolves Wood and Blean Woods.

…At our Mersehead reserve over 200 male natterjack toads were counted this spring. The toads have responded well to the scrapes that were dug over the past three years, with 69+ spawn strings recorded this breeding season, whereas the previous high count was less than 10. Approximately 500 natterjack toadlets were counted at The Lodge reserve in 2017, five times more than were counted in 2016.

...During a survey, over 300 stems of wavy St John’s Wort were revealed this summer at our Arthog Bog reserve on the Mawddach. In the past only a small population of the plant was recorded in the site, but a lot of effort has been put on restoring the reserve, by encroaching trees and scrub, re-wetting the area, mowing, and grazing with ponies.

 Our reserves also provide welcome mats to new species whose ranges are moving northwards…

…A pair of spoonbills raised 3 young at Fairburn Ings (pictured below) this year.  This rare bird is usually found in southern and Eastern Europe, it bred for the first time after many years of absence. It’s incredibly exciting to see successful spoonbill nesting coincide with the hard work on habitat improvement.

…3 out of the 6 pairs of black-winged stilts that bred this year in the UK were on RSPB reserves, with these 3 raising 9 young. This number represents the highest count of fledged stilts raised from all 12 nesting attempts between 1983 and 2016.

…Great white egret numbers continue to grow at Ham Wall where little bitterns also bred again alongside 7 pairs of cattle egret and night herons which nested successfully for the first time in the UK. This is now the seventh species of heron breeding on the Avalon Marshes. 

We continue to make a difference for threatened species and priority habitats away from our nature reserves…

…in Scotland, efforts to save corn buntings are going well. Recovery measures have been extended to 75% of the Angus & Fife population and we were rewarded with a 16% increase in the population, bucking the national trend.

...The EU LIFE Project Godwit, which we are leading in partnership with WWT, is now up and running. 26 black-tailed godwits were raised in captivity and released through our head-starting programme, which has enabled us to boost the productivity of the species to one of the highest levels in recent years.  A pair of black-tailed godwits also successfully fledged two young at Newton Marsh. 

…of the 27 wood warblers fitted with geo-locators in 2016, three returned and two tags were retrieved. The data analysis showed that birds passed through Italy, crossed the Sahara in 1-2 flight, and had a lengthy 1-2 month stopover in Burkina Faso before spending the rest of the winter in Liberia within calling distance of Gola Forest (see below). These are the first UK-breeding wood warblers to have had their migratory journeys mapped.

…In September, we reached a major milestone in our battle to save Lodge Hill, the most important site for nightingales in the UK. The planning application for 5,000 houses was withdrawn, with more than 10,000 people objecting to the application to build on this incredibly important SSSI.

...A partnership programme that only launched recently, will improve habitats for birds, butterflies and other species, restore blanket bog and help produce drinking water at a lower cost across Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and Scotland. The Co-operation Across Borders for Biodiversity (CABB) project, supported by the European Union’s INTERREG VA Programme and managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) will target on restoring 2,228 hectares of blanket bog and also raise the awareness in the communities involved of the environmental, cultural and historical importance of these wetland habitats.

Internationally, we continue (with and through BirdLife International partners) to save special places and provide a lifeline to some of the world’s most threatened species…

…Our vulture programme in Nepal is celebrating a major milestone as six captive-reared, Critically Endangered, white-rumped vultures have been released into the wild after 7 years in captivity. This exciting news followed the thankful end in this region of diclofenac sales for veterinary purposes and a partial recovery of the wild population of the species.

…In Sierra Leone, $1.8 million has been secured from the West Africa Biodiversity and Climate Change Programme to scale up conservation work across the 350,000 hectares of the Greater Gola forest landscape. At the same time we have worked with 1,500 farmers to produce rainforest friendly cocoa, with 12 metric tonnes exported and the first trial RSPB Gola chocolate bars produced. Target species favoured by the conservation methods are the white-necked picathartes and the pygmy hippopotamus.

…Thanks to grants of £1.75 million from the UK Government and $2 million from the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation, the RSPB Council have given the green light for mouse eradication on Gough (another UKOT island) in 2019 to prevent the critically endangered Tristan albatross and Gough bunting from becoming extinct.

…Our work on bycatch in gillnet fisheries has led to a complete ban on hunting of black guillemot in Iceland. The focus is now on reducing bycatch in gill nets, which will benefit long-tailed duck, scaup and velvet scoter in the UK.

…The Albatross Task Force has been so successful that black-browed albatross has recently been down-graded to ‘Least Concern’. Argentina has announced new measures to introduce bird-scaring ‘Tori lines’, which are predicted to save 9,000 albatross lives a year

...The level of illegal bird-trapping on Cyprus appears to have reduced this year thanks to the combined efforts of BirdLife Cyprus, the Sovereign Base Authorities and the RSPB Investigations team

 We have also begun to do things differently…

…The ‘Puffarazzi’ project brought in more than 1,400 pictures of puffins from 602 people over 39 sites across UK and Ireland. Tracking 22 and 11 puffins respectively on the islands of Shiants and Unst also revealed foraging patterns for the species.

…Through a new coalition Rethink Nature*, we have forged a partnership with Natural England to save England’s most threatened species from extinction.  The HLF funded the Back from the Brink programme aims to save 20 species from extinction and benefit 200 more, whether animal, plant or fungus. The 19 projects span large parts of England, from halting the decline of the Cornish path moss, only found in Cornwall, to monitoring the recovery of pine martens in Northumberland.

...Our Saving Nature Scheme is empowering volunteers to carry out direct, hands-on action to recover and conserve species in the UK.  Volunteers are being trained and equipped to undertake high-end, skilled tasks from radio-tracking and ringing birds to flying drones for monitoring, providing them at the same time enhanced opportunities for lifelong learning.  

…The Nature Friendly Farming Network has launched and will provide a platform for farmers to use their voices to advocate for farming that works for people and wildlife.. Farmers have come together to demonstrate what they do for wildlife, whilst still producing plentiful quality produce by building markets for nature friendly farming products. The members are committed to secure farming policies that support wildlife, sustainable agriculture and fairness for farmers. 

It's been quite a year. None of this work would have been possible without the tireless effort of staff, volunteers, our partners and supporters past and present.  And that is why I shall be thinking of former RSPB staff members who have passed away this year (and their families) including last week, Ian Baker and Tim Cleeves.  Our job is to ensure their legacy continues. 

Have a great break over Christmas and here’s to saving more nature in 2018.

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*Rethink Nature is a partnership of seven conservation charities Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust, Bat Conservation Trust, Bumblebee Conservation Trust, Buglife, Butterfly Conservation, Plantlife and the RSPB

Photo credits

British Virgin Island: Earth Observatory

Crane: Nick Upton (rspb-images.com)

Cirl bunting: Andy Hay (rspb-images.com)

Fairburn Ings: David Wootton (rspb-images.com)

Nightingale: John Bridges (rspb-images.com)

Little tern: Ben Andrew (rspb-images.com)

Great yellow bumblebee: Mike Edwards (rspb-images.com)

Gola rainforest: Caroline Thomas (rspb-images.com)

Black guillemot: Chris Gomersall (rspb-images.com)

Puffin: Chiara Ceci (rspb-images.com)