Why I’m attending this year’s CLA Gamefair 

A redshank at RSPB Geltsdale (photo by Andy Hay rspb-images.com)

I have decided to attend the CLA Gamefair this year, being held at Harewood House.  There was a time back in the day when I was a regular attendee, but I found it more useful to meet folk in small groups, for more constructive discussions, rather than at big set pieces.  But the risk in that I suppose…

The joys of playing with mud, sticks and leaves: getting children connected to nature

A family pond dipping at Scotland's Big Nature Festival (photo by Anna Pugh)

Just a couple of weekends ago, at Scotland's Big Nature Festival, children were everywhere; hunting for bugs, pond dipping, and generally exploring the wonders of nature.  Over the weekend 1,269 children took part in nature activities, but the popularity…

Standing up for nature through the planning process

Photo by Andy Hay (rspb-images.com)

One of the most important things we, that is the RSPB do, is to stand up for nature when roads, ports, energy developments, forestry, housing or quarries threaten important areas for wildlife in the countryside.

We have done this for an awful long time, from proposals to build an airport on the Maplin Sands in the Outer Thames…

Flippin' lek! How to watch capercaillie without causing a disturbance

A male capercaillie displaying by Ben Andrew (rspb-images.com)

With the days lengthening and spring approaching it’s the time of year that capercaillie gather at their traditional lekking sites deep in the pinewoods, to go about their fascinating annual breeding displays. The birds gather at traditional ‘lek’ sites, where the males do combat…

Spring is on the way - let's connect with nature

Bluebells in bloom by Andy Hay (rspb-images.com)

With the lengthening days and the warmth now apparent when we get a bit of sun, it is increasingly clear that spring is on the way.  What a great feeling!  I for one find getting up and about seems a whole lot easier, and my energy levels are increasing as each day gets a bit more daylight.

The natural world is similarly…

Why is illegal raptor persecution still happening?

Red kite with chicks by Chris Gomersall (rspb-images.com)

My first job with the RSPB was as an Investigations Officer based at our UK HQ at the Lodge in Bedfordshire. For two and a half years I followed egg collectors, tackled falcon thieves, and assisted the police in searches of the taxidermists who had freezers full of owls, falcons, buzzards and sometimes rarer…

Red grouse. © Jeremy Wilson

The Langholm Moor Demonstration Project (LMDP)* aims to resolve the conflict between red grouse shooting interests and the conservation of raptors. It builds on the Joint Raptor Study (JRS) of 1992-1997 whose principal study site was Langholm Moor, and which showed for the first time the circumstances under which raptor populations constrained driven grouse shooting.

The new, 10-year…

Scotland must keep its eyes on the prize of truly sustainable fishing 

We are at a critical turning point for fisheries management in Scotland, but you’d be forgiven for missing that fact. When the end -of -year fisheries negotiations in Brussels concluded in the usual late night scramble, there was the predictable surge of press releases from all quarters - Governments claiming victory for ‘their’ fishermen,…

Has the environment fallen off the political agenda?

Has either of our governments forgotten the environment?  At Holyrood, Salmond, Davidson and Lamont scarcely give it a mention. At Westminster it sometimes seems to have disappeared completely from the agenda of Cameron, Miliband and Clegg.

Whilst most of the decisions that impact on the well-being of nature are taken at the Scottish Parliament, Westminster still…

RSPB Scotland calls for the licensing of driven grouse moors

Hen harrier by Mark Hamblin (RSPB-images.com)

Birds of prey have been given full protection by the law in Scotland for many decades. There is now a significant body of peer-reviewed scientific evidence; alongside many reported cases of illegal killing of birds of prey; and documented evidence of vacant traditional territories of key raptor species; to show…

What the National Planning Framework means for nature in Scotland

Last Monday, Scottish Ministers published the third National Planning Framework for Scotland (NPF3) and a new version of Scottish Planning Policy (SPP).  You can find both the NPF3 and the SPP here: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Built-Environment/planning/NPF3-SPP-Review This could be seen as a dull subject- it’s not, especially if you care about…

Cleaner and greener farming?

Yellow flag iris and machair on North Uist. Photo by Genevieve Leaper.

What to make of last week’s decisions on CAP implementation in Scotland? That’s decisions about how to spend £4.2 billion of taxpayers money, by the way[1].

In his statement to Parliament, Cabinet Secretary, Richard Lochhead said, “The CAP must support productive agriculture. But it must also…

Connecting more children with nature in Glasgow

What’s your first memory of the outdoors? I remember grasshoppers covering a picnic blanket as we sat in a meadow! Later when I was 8 or 9, I used to hunt for birds nests and I am sorry to admit I took the odd egg, but even more importantly I can remember finding a  chiff-chaffs nest (I was 11), and looking at the tiny egg, and putting it back into the domed nest…

Better farming regulation not less

Farming, like most sectors, is subject to a wide range of rules and regulations but in recent years the industry has made the charge that it is subject to too much ‘red tape and bureaucracy’. In Scotland, this led to the Government asking Brian Pack OBE to conduct an independent review. The ‘Doing Better Initiative to Reduce Red Tape in Agriculture’ recently produced an …

The sea. Perhaps it’s the juxtaposition between its great power and its unequivocal beauty, but there is something about the sea that captivates the mind. Or at least my mind. It is full of special places, which are home to the most amazing variety of creatures, perfectly adapted to their environment. It also offers great experiences. Gannets plunging into the waves as they hunt for fish-an amazing sight that can be…

View of RSPB Insh Marshes, a natural floodplain.

It would be difficult not to be aware of the floods south of the border with the devastation dominating the headlines and grabbing much political attention. Scotland may seem to have escaped relatively lightly but the distressing consequences of flooding will be fresh in the minds of the people of Comrie and parts of Dumfries & Galloway, which have experienced their…

The annual horse-trade of fish stocks, where European fisheries ministers argue over how long and how hard vessels can fish, was concluded in December. Media attention focussed on the reaction of fishermen’s representatives and the impact on the Scottish fleet. Few commentators, and even fewer journalists asked if the deal was sustainable, and followed the advice of the fisheries scientists. But in Scotland at least it…

The festive season is fast approaching and thoughts turn inevitably to Christmas wish lists and the gifts we’d like to buy for our loved ones. Children everywhere are penning, texting and maybe even tweeting their most wanted lists to Santa, as anxious parents examine their bank accounts and decide what might make it down the chimney.

Politicians don’t often join the Christmas pageant and don a red suit but they…

This year we are sandwiched between two great sporting events in Britain; The London Olympics of 2012 and the Glasgow Commonwealth games in 2014.

The memories that stay with me from sporting events like the Olympics and previous Commonwealth events are the energy and enthusiasm of the crowd, the look on the athletes’ faces when they cross the finish line. It’s an exhausted expression which tells its own story of the…

Let's have a proper debate about restoring our native wildlife

Scotland is a big place.   It covers 78,000 square kilometres and much of it is extensive farmland, remote forest or deer grazed mountains and peatlands. It is not wilderness of course – for the hand of man and evidence of his grazing animals can be seen if you look, even in the remotest areas.

People have had a big impact on the Scottish landscape…

Ensuring mountain hares thrive in the uplands of Scotland

 Photo by Edwin Kats

Birdwatchers and naturalists cannot help but look forward to treats that the changing seasons ahead promise. As we move towards late autumn, I always look forward to seeing mountain hares starting to lose their cold brown summer coats and grow in their snowy white winter fur, ready for icy days ahead. A gorgeous creature, beautifully adapted…

Open cast coal mining – has it become just too unsustainable?

Despite well publicised good intentions to ‘decarbonise’ the economy and encourage renewable energy, opencast coal mining remains big business in Scotland (or at least it did until recently). Around a third of total UK production was mined in Scotland in 2010[1]. And it remains supported by the Scottish Government, who state on their website…

The RSPB is very proud of its longstanding history in standing up for wildlife. From our foundation in 1889 where we campaigned for the ending of the plumage trade – a fashion responsible for the destruction of tens of thousands of egrets, birds of paradise and other species – we have been giving nature a voice to politicians and decision makers, asking them to act in the best interests of our wildlife and countryside…

State of Nature in Scotland

Yesterday I participated in a ground breaking event.  I hosted the launch of the Scottish end of the State of Nature report.  This is a collaboration of expert bodies pooling data about wildlife species and diagnosing the problems they face. 25 organisations all deeply concerned at the loss of wildlife – the species we share our islands with, came together to draw a line in the sand.

 Photo credit Andy Hay

Politicians are skilled in the art of compromise. And yet we all know the truth about compromise – it satisfies no one. Our European institutions, namely, the Council(of Ministers from across the EU), Commission and Parliament, are now in the middle of trying to reach a compromise agreement on how to reform the Common Agricultural Policy. The outcome is likely to be one that everyone can just about…