Coul Links is a rare duneland habitat on the Sutherland coast which is being threatened with destruction by plans to build a golf course. Here RSPB Scotland’s conservation officer Alison Searl recalls a year of nature at Coul Links and why we’re part of a coaltion of conservation organisations campaigning to save it. Details on how you can help by submitting objections are included at the end. 

A year of nature…

RSPB Scotland has recently launched it's partnership with NHS Shetland for 'Nature Prescriptions'. The benefits of contact with nature can include improvements in mental health as well as physical. On World Mental Health Day it is important to encourage increased awareness, understanding, and support worldwide for sufferers of mental illness, and anyone who experiences threats to their mental health and wellbeing…

Barn owls are classic, much loved birds of the countryside, recognisable by their heart-shaped faces, buff back and wings, and pure white underparts. Population estimates suggest we have up to 1000 breeding pairs nesting in Scotland and although they are nocturnal, you may be able to spot one hunting voles along field edges or roadside verges. The best time to keep an eye out is at dusk. Here are five facts we thought…

Why we challenged the Forth and Tay windfarms

Here Lloyd Austin, Head of Conservation Policy at RSPB Scotland, takes us through why the organisation decided to legally challenge the Forth and Tay windfarms.  

Scotland’s seas are filled with spectacular wildlife from basking sharks to orcas, fulmars to arctic terns. The waters and coastline around the country are home to globally important populations of seabirds including…

Our Seabird Policy Officer, Rory Crawford, is back with another seabird saga.

The tale of the great auk – Scotland’s great extinct penguin

After what I was saying Tuesday about taking our internationally-important seabirds for granted, I felt it important to re-tell a story that should serve as a cautionary tale. The tale of the great northern hemisphere penguin that was once common as muck – but is now exctinct…

The Scottish Raptor Study Group has recently lodged a petition with the Scottish Parliament calling for a licensing system to be introduced for gamebird hunting in Scotland. We, at RSPB Scotland, fully support it and we’d like you to support it too. Read our blog to find out why we think it’s the right move and you can find the petition by clicking here.

Scotland is home to some of the world’s most impressive…

RSPB Conservation Manager Stuart Benn is looking forward to the Big Wild Sleepout. Will you be participating?

It’s the best time of the day...

I’ve always been something of a magpie, always on the lookout for pictures or words that ‘stick to the eyes’, things that I can keep in mind and refer back to. So, when I was on the Tube a couple of weeks ago and saw an advert with the tagline – ‘It’s the best time of the…

Welcome to the fourth instalment of our work on the Shiant Isles Recovery Project from Thomas Churchyard. The project is an initiative to remove non-native black rats from the isles in order to provide safe breeding sites for Scotland’s globally important seabird colonies. It is part funded by the EU LIFE+ programme and is a partnership between RSPB Scotland, Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and the Nicolson family…

Waxwings are sprightly, stocky birds, smaller in size than a starling and easily recognisable by their prominent crest. They also have a black ‘eye mask’, a colourful pattern on their wings, and the tips of their flight feathers end in ‘spikes’ that look like pieces of bright red wax. They’re a favourite with wildlife fans and during our most recent Big Garden Birdwatch they were recorded in nine times more gardens…

Back in October David Wood, Site Manager for The Oa on Islay, asked for your support to ensure an exciting project planned for the reserve received funding from Tesco’s Bags of Help Initiative by voting at the store in Campbeltown. Here he fills us in on how things went and what happens next. 

And the winner is...

Well, the votes are in and RSPB Scotland’s Oa reserve placed a respectable third in Tesco’s Bags of Help…

For many of us spotting our first geese of the autumn is a sure sign that colder days are on the way. Find out more about these annual visitors to Scotland and some of the places where you can see them in this blog by RSPB Scotland's Jess Barrett.

Skies alive with geese

“Honk honk!” has to be one of my favourite bird calls to hear at this time of year when out on a coastal walk, wrapped up against the crisp cool…

Research team members, Davide, Niall & Laura, have this fascinating new blog giving us an insight into the Shiant Isles Recovery Project so far - as well as their work, life and wildlife watching on the Shiants!

A peak inside life on the ‘enchanted isles’ 

As hail, rain and strong North-Westerly winds batter the Shiant Isles, the isolated Research Team is now forced to seek shelter in the Bothy, the only…

Exciting news! We have been shortlisted by the European Outdoor Conservation Association for a potential award of nearly 20,000 Euros. Our project will re-connect Abernethy to its neighbouring Caledonian forest, Glenmore, through the planting of 30,000 native trees, re-establishing a huge wildlife corridor. The stunning Caledonian forest once covered large parts of Scotland, but today just 1% remains. The RSPB’s Abernethy…

Kate Bellew, Conservation Planner from RSPB Scotland, tells us of her recent nature exchange programme in Norway.

Norway Norway over the sea

Earlier this summer, I was lucky enough to get offered a place on one of Archnetworks structured training programmes in Norway. I jumped at the chance to explore a place with so much wildlife – including beavers, moose, reindeer, wolves, lynx and bears! 

University of Hedmark…

Limited edition pin badge to celebrate Livingstone’s bicentenary

photo via www.worldbirdinfo.net

Calling all pin badge collectors!

2013 is an important year as it is the bicentenary of the birth of David Livingstone, the famous 19^th century explorer who travelled extensively through Malawi and southern Africa. To mark the anniversary, RSPB Scotland, in partnership with the Scottish Government and the Scotland…

Are you looking for a New Year’s resolution? Why not volunteer for RSPB Scotland? Here Bethan Jones, our Volunteering Project Officer, takes you through five ways you could get involved in our work across the country this year.

Five ways to volunteer and help save nature in 2017

Looking to broaden your skills in the New Year? Want to help save nature in your spare time? What better way to begin 2017 than to…

If you’re a fan of feeding the birds in your garden I imagine you’ll know a starling when you see one, but there’s more to these beautiful birds than meets the eye! Starlings are noisy, gregarious and can be found in pretty much every part of Scotland, expect for some of the most northerly areas of the Highlands. They’re one of our most common garden birds – they came in at number two in our Big Garden Birdwatch this…

Jenny Tweedie from RSPB Scotland fills us in our winter visitors and good places to see them.

Pink-footed geese (Chris Gomersall, rspb-images.com)

Geese must be one of the most gloriously visible heralds of winter. When their massive skeins start to appear overhead, colder days are sure to follow, and a whole new exciting season of wildlife watching gets underway.

I love watching geese, or listening to their breathy…

Jill Harden,  Project Archaeologist at RSPB Scotland, uncovers an industrial gem at our Airds Moss nature reserve.

Airds Moss – a hidden industrial gem

 Archaeological sites are extremely varied in type, period and extent and this is reflected in the range that is protected by law as being of national importance. Scheduled monuments don’t just include prehistoric burial mounds or Roman forts. There are also medieval…

Pauline Gray is a volunteer at RSPB Scotland Loch Lomond and as part of Volunteers’ Week 2017 has shared her experience with us of what’s she’s been involved in since starting with us.

My time at RSPB Scotland Loch Lomond

I would love to share with you my time being a Volunteer at RSPB Scotland Loch Lomond.  I have been volunteering for almost two years now and it has been the most amazing experience…

This summer, researchers will be out and about fitting satellite tags to seabirds as part of the Seabird Research and Tracking (STaR) project. The aim is to learn more about where fantastic species like shags, kittiwakes and razorbills forage for food. This summer, STaR team member Derren Fox is back in Orkney. Read on to find out about his work.

Tracking seabirds and tackling the Stenness Monster

Team Orkney saw a…

If you’re fortunate enough to work for the RSPB, you get the opportunity every seven years to take a well-earned sabbatical of up to four weeks. You can go and work on another conservation project at home or sometimes abroad, usually with Birdlife International. Or you can design your own sabbatical but it must meet strict criteria. It’s a very worthwhile employment benefit which helps to refocus and refresh valued staff…

Allison Leonard is a warden with RSPB Scotland who looks after five reserves in Central Scotland, including the Forth Islands Fidra and Inchmickery. Allison brings us this update on how different seabirds are faring in the Forth this year and tells us about a couple of exciting opportunities for you to get out and see them!

Seabirds of the Forth

It can’t be easy raising your young whilst perched precariously on the…