• Tracking bird migration – insights into remarkable journeys

    Autumn is a time of change in the natural world. Summer’s screaming Swifts are gone, so too are the Turtle Doves, Pied Flycatchers and other migrant birds that brought song and life to our cities, farmland, woodlands and moorlands. These birds make incredible journeys. And it’s thanks to technology that we’re able to appreciate those journeys in some considerable detail – from the routes they take to the timings and strategies…

  • Participatory Approaches in Conservation: a new open-access resource

    A new open-access toolkit, Participatory Approaches for Engaging Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples in Conservation, has been developed by the RSPB Centre for Conservation Science to support global conservation practitioners. It has resources and ideas for a wide range of users, including fundraisers, practitioners and community organisers involved in planning or delivering conservation programmes with local communities…

  • New publication shows an alarming deterioration in the status of UK’s breeding seabirds

    Andrew Stanbury updates us on the latest Birds of Conservation Concern update

    Few wildlife spectacles are more impressive as a busy seabird colony in the height of the breeding season. Whether that be a large gannetry, tern or auk colony, the sights and smells staying with you forever. The UK’s breeding seabirds are, however, in trouble. Today, sees the publication of updated ‘Birds of Conservation Concern’ assessments…

  • Passion, Precision & Trekking Through Darkness: What does it take to study primates in a rainforest?

    Leaping between the trees of Sierra Leone’s Gola Rainforest National Park are 12 different species of primates. Studying their lives and the threats they face is no easy task in the depths of a tropical forest. To celebrate World Primate Day, we go behind the scenes to find out what this important work is really like for those undertaking it on the ground. Join Nick Williams, Flyway Conservation Outreach Officer…

  • Exploring the impact of renewables on future land use challenges

    The transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy is an important step towards meeting net zero targets. Wind and solar are the main energy sources being pursued, but with land across the UK a finite resource, there has been debate about whether large-scale deployment of such power generation technologies on land could exacerbate future land use challenges. In a new RSPB study, we show that this need not be the case…

  • Marsh harriers unlikely to have a major impact on breeding waders

    In today’s blog, former RSPB MSc student Emily Upcott (now at the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology) shares findings from a scientific paper based on her MSc project, and the work of other MSc students, exploring conservation conflict between marsh harriers and breeding waders.  

     Full paper can be found here 

     Marsh Harriers tend to nest in tall marshy habitats like reedbeds, which are often found close to wet grassland…

  • Bitterns are booming! How to avoid a bust.

    The story of the Bittern in the UK is often heralded as a conservation success story. From a low point of just eleven booming males in 1997, the most recent counts in 2023 saw 236 males booming mating calls resonating across their reedbed habitats.

    However, a new report out this month warns that we should not rest on our laurels when it comes to the future of these enigmatic birds. Bittern – Booming or Boom And Bust…

  • From smart phones on patrol to secret DNA: Innovative science in the Gola Rainforest

    Scientific research in the Gola Rainforest of Sierra Leone and Liberia takes many fascinating forms. To celebrate World Rainforest Day, we will be exploring some of the innovative research methods that the RSPB are trialling, together with our partners, to better understand this remarkable part of West Africa. Nick Williams, Flyway Conservation Outreach Officer, picks up the story.

    A hornbill calls sorrowfully as it cruises…

  • Science, Policy, Advocacy and Activism.

    A new paper published in the journal Royal Society Open Science today https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.240498 explores the role of scientists in society at a time of great environmental change. It asks simply whether it is sufficient for scientists to be ‘honest brokers’ in decisions that affect society, as it has traditionally done, or whether something must change.

    Here the lead author, Prof. Richard Gregory…

  • RSPB shows public puffin snaps can serve as vital conservation tool .

    In today’s blog, RSPB volunteer Ali Barratt describes the results from a ground-breaking citizen science project published today in which used photographs to study Puffin diet around the UK.

    full paper can be found here

    Atlantic puffins are endangered in Europe, and numbers have been declining for decades1. Changes in prey availability through climate change, unsustainable fishing and other human activities has…

  • Breeding Bird Survey 2023 report

    Simon Wotton dissects this years survey results.  

    The 29th annual report of the BTO/JNCC/RSPB Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) and Waterways Breeding Bird Survey (WBBS) has just been published, documenting the 30th year of fieldwork.

    The report documents the population trends of widespread UK breeding bird species during the periods 1994–2023 and 1998–2023 respectively. These are the main schemes for monitoring the population…

  • Waterbirds in the UK 2022/23

    Simon Wotton digests the most recent BTO publication. 

    The 41st Wetland Bird Survey (WeBS) report, for 2022/2023, has just been published, which also includes results for the Goose and Swan Monitoring Programme (GSMP). WeBS aims to assess the size of non-breeding waterbird populations, determine trends in numbers and distribution, and assess the importance of individual sites for waterbirds. The GSMP monitors the abundance…

  • Mapping of Moorland burning in the UK

    A new study mapping moorland burning has been published by RSPB in the peer-reviewed journal Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation. https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/rse2.389

    RSPB Conservation Scientist Mike Shewring describes the main findings.  

    Moorland burning in the UK, conducted for Red Grouse shooting, deer and livestock grazing, has come under increasing scrutiny due to evidence of…

  • Bitterns Booming Success

    As we enter the new breeding season, Simon Wooton reflects on the results from a record year in 2023.  The story of the Bittern continues to be one of UK conservation success, with 2023 continuing the trend of a steadily increasing population. ...
  • Devasting seabird declines following the 2021–22 avian influenza outbreak

    This week sees the publication of a new RSPB Research Report that provides updated colony counts for seabirds across the UK, following the 2021–22 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) outbreak. In today’s blog, Linda Wilson, Senior Conservation Scientist, explains the key findings and what this tells us about the effects of HPAI so far on the UK’s seabirds.

    Back in May 2023, a major programme of…

  • Investigating routes of finch trichomonosis transmission in gardens - a new research study and an appeal for your help.

    An adult Greenfinch displaying typical symptoms of trichomonosis.

    Photo attribution: Chris / The last of the Greenfinches: Yarburgh 2010 /CC BY-SA 2.0

    What is trichomonosis? 

    Garden bird trichomonosis is a disease caused by the protozoan parasite Trichomonas gallinae, which causes lesions in the gullet, preventing swallowing of food and water. Therefore, affected birds often become emaciated and may die of starvation.…

  • Another record year for the UK’s breeding Cranes

    New figures show Cranes continue to recover after going extinct in the UK 400 years ago. In today’s blog Andrew Stanbury, RSPB Conservation Scientist, takes us through their comeback and how conservation action has played a vital role.

    Credit:  Nick Upton (rspb-images.com) 

    All too often in nature conservation, stories are full of doom and gloom; highlighting species in steep decline. However, today is World Wetland…

  • Further declines of the Capercaillie in Scotland

    Last autumn we announced the provisional results of the sixth national Capercaillie survey. This week saw the publication of the scientific paper for the survey in the journal Bird Study. Here, Nick Wilkinson, Conservation Scientist, explains more about the survey findings. 

    Capercaillie - Ben Andrew (rspb-images.com)

    The latest national survey showed that the Capercaillie population in Scotland had fallen to an estimated…

  • What makes collaborations work in landscape and seascape scale conservation?

    Blog by Dr Natasha Constant, Senior Conservation Scientist, and Joelene Hughes, Principal Conservation Scientist

    In landscape-scale conservation projects, collaboration is key for success. Collaboration is often necessary between multiple people from different backgrounds that may have a variety of values and ambitions for the landscape. Understanding what individual behaviours help collaborations to work, and the broader…

  • Intercontinental collaboration secures a migratory bird population

    Ten years ago the Egyptian Vulture population in eastern Europe was in freefall, because too many birds were killed by human activities wherever they went along their migratory journeys. By expanding conservation efforts across three continents, conservationists have now shown that even such globetrotting species can be rescued. Steffen Oppel explains in a new paper published recently.

    Egyptian vulture in flight (c)…

  • 2023-24 MSc project opportunities

    The RSPB supports and supervises a wide range of MSc projects each year. If you are interested in any of the projects below and you are already enrolled on an MSc course at a university, send an e-mail with “MSc project” as the subject to the project coordinator listed in the advert. 

    Woodland expansion in the presence of deer

    At RSPB Abernethy in the Scottish Highlands, native woodland expansion is a core…

  • Habitat and other environmental correlates of the decline of breeding Whinchat in the UK since the mid-1990s

    A scientific paper, just published in the journal Bird Study, shows that rates of declines in breeding Whinchat in the UK since the mid-1990s have varied with habitat and other environmental conditions. Conservation Scientist Andrew Stanbury explains.

    Over the last century, Whinchat have been lost as a breeding species from most of the UK lowlands due to changes in grassland management as a result of agricultural intensification…

  • Seabirds Count: an update of the status of our seabirds

    This week saw the publication of a new book entitled Seabirds Count – A census of breeding seabirds in Britain and Ireland (2015-2021). The book, co-produced by JNCC, RSPB, BirdWatch Ireland, the National Parks and Wildlife Service (Ireland), and published by Lynx Edicions, documents results from the fourth census of Britain and Ireland’s internationally important breeding seabirds. Today’s blog, by Dr Allan…

  • The latest Wild Bird Indicators

    The official results for the UK and England Wild Bird Indicators have been released by Government today. Here, Fiona Burns, Principal Conservation Scientist, gives a breakdown on the results and what this means for conservation.

    The new Wild Bird Indicators for the UK were published by Defra yesterday, and can be found online here. Similar metrics have also been released for England, and can be found here. Today’s update…

  • New study reveals active revegetation speeds up peatland recovery

    Guest blog by Jess Allan (MSc Conservation graduate, UCL and Science & Research Project Manager, The Tree Council)

    Peatlands are critically important wetland ecosystems, storing more carbon than any other land-based habitat, helping to store and slowly release water, and providing vital habitat for birds and other animals. Peatlands also harbour weird and wonderful plant species such as Sphagnum mosses, and carnivorous…