Protected areas: our “jewels in the crown”

Neither our countryside nor our seas are uniform.  Some areas are better for wildlife than others.  For conservation, it is important that these ‘hotspots’ are given more attention than the rest.  This does not demean the ‘wider countryside’ – we will never secure our wildlife for future generations in protected areas alone,which is why the RSPB is championing…

I saw otter last weekend.  Or should I say two otters, a female and a well grown cub.

The animals were playing in the sea about 50 metres offshore, diving down and coming up with crabs (Velvet swimming crabs I think) and butterfish.  They porpoised through the water from one patch of rock outcrops to another.  Occasionally above the din of the rain on the Landrover roof you could hear a whistled squeak as they called…

I don’t know about you but I think the coasts and islands of Scotland are special beyond measure. Whenever I board a Cal Mac ferry you look forward to the journey with great expectation. It’s not just the sense of leaving the mainland and the anticipation of reaching your Island destination. The journey itself offers myriad experiences – the light on the water, mist or rain over distant hills and cliffs, white…

Another Highland Show is over – was it the wettest on record?  Certainly the mud splattered condition of my clothes and car would suggest so.  But the atmosphere was all warmth – and the range of conversations I had indicated an upbeat mood in the farming, crofting and timber industries.  The food hall was also doing great business, and it’s remarkable how the range and quality of goods on offer – from our entrepreneurial…

It’s always exciting to go and walk a brand new RSPB reserve, because it gives you a chance to reflect on the journey to bring the reserve into fruition and secure ownership.  Each acquisition is special, and has its highs and lows.  Sometimes it can take years to assemble the deal.  On other occasions it’s a mad rush, as out of the blue land is put on the market.  Just occasionally a benefactor approaches the…

The other evening I at last visited Alastair and Liz Robb at their Townhead farm a few miles up in the hills above Stirling.  Alastair is the second generation of his family on the farm, which they have owned since 1960’s. Alastair runs 1,100 ewes and about 90 suckler cows on the 850Ha of pasture, within the more extensive grasslands and moorland edge that make up the farm.  It was a cool evening as I drove up the…

The capercaillie is an iconic species of the Highlands, and although everyone loves them there is a lot of argument as to what to do for them and where. But, we need concerted action to ensure the species’ continued survival in Scotland.

The latest population estimate for capercaillie in Scotland (and The UK) is 1228 birds based upon data from the 2010/11 national survey. Increasingly the population of capercaillie…

There are days when you really have to wonder about the farming press.  Pages have recently been devoted in Scottish farmer, to events wreaked upon the world by birds of prey.  In Scotland, thanks to conservation programmes, red kites are making a comeback, a few years behind England and Wales it has been said.  But evidently the 150 or so pairs of Scottish red kites are causing havoc in contrast to the 1000+ pairs in England…

On 11^th May, serial egg collector Matthew Gonshaw pled guilty to charges of taking 20 eggs of Manx shearwater, willow warbler and meadow pipit at Inverness Sherriff Court.  Many of the clutches of eggs he has taken over the years were from nests in Scotland, and Sherriff Margaret Neilson decided to make an example of him.  This is not the first time Matthew Gonshaw has appeared in court.  He has five previous convictions…

The World Fisheries Congress has been in Edinburgh these past few days. This is the first time the meeting has been held in Europe, so a feather in the cap for Scotland. This four yearly meeting of scientists, fisheries organisations, Government officials and related professions was passionately addressed by HRH The Prince of Wales, or the Duke of Rothesay as he is titled in Scotland, urging delegates to manage fisheries…

I spend a lot of my time talking to farmers, landowners and crofters – and sometimes rather more time in rooms with their officials and representatives than seems healthy!

The days when the first question was ‘what are you here for’ is long gone.  It has been one of my aims as Scottish Director to make the RSPB a credible rural voice.  Of course RSPB Scotland is a farmer, indeed quite a big farmer. Much…