Ronan Dugan is a research assistant at the RSPB Centre for Conservation Science and is one of 6 full time fieldworkers on the RSPB/SNH National Golden Eagle Survey 2015. The six-month survey of golden eagles, which started in January, is co-funded by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and the RSPB. Surveys will be carried out by licensed surveyors from the RSPB Centre for Conservation Science in collaboration with those…

It's not just leaves falling from our trees this season! RSPB Scotland's Molly Martin shares tips and tricks for identifying some common nuts you find in autumn as well as some interesting facts.

Sea eagles return: a forty year success story

RSPB Scotland’s Paul Walton and Richard Evans reflect on the successful reintroduction programme that brought sea eagles back to Scotland after an absence of nearly 60 years.  

The sight of a sea eagle provokes delight and excitement. Yet, this sight – so iconic in Scotland – was absent for much of the 20^th century, until a conservation effort brought…

Scotland's Grand Canyon- a tour of opencast coal sites in East  Ayrshire

One of the perks of working for a nature conservation organisation is the occasional opportunity to get out of the office and see colleagues in action and the special places for wildlife we fight for.

Over the past year, RSPB Scotland staff have been working to highlight the sorry state opencast coal mines have been left in across Central Scotland…

RSPB Scotland project officer for the Western Isles, Victoria Anderson, has this new blog about wildlife watching on Lewis.

Wildlife watching on Lewis

Any visit to the Western isles must include a trip to our hidden gem of a reserve at Loch na Muilne near Arnol on the Isle of Lewis. In recent days after a long wet and windy winter the reserve has sprung into life.  

Loch na Muilne

Wildlife watching on Lewis is hard…

Senior Conservation Officer Hywel Maggs talks about the work we are doing with farmers in Scotland to help save the curlew.

Saving the curlew in Scotland

Scotland holds approximately half of UK breeding curlews. Most are found on moorland and hill farms, but like the rest of the UK population, they are declining. In areas such as Cairngorms National Park, Caithness and the Clyde Valley, farmers are working with conservationists…

In our latest blog, Louise Cullen from RSPB Scotland brings you this overview of the reintroduction of beavers to Scotland. 

We got some good news last month, some really, really good news in fact: Scotland’s beavers are here to stay. Roseanna Cunningham, the Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform, announced that these mammals, which are currently living wild in areas like Tayside, would be…

Senior Land Use Policy Officer, Jim Densham, brings us this latest blog on the importance of Scotland's blanket bog habitats and what needs to be done to protect them. 

Being called a wet blanket is not a term of endearment, far from it in fact. It refers to someone who discourages enjoyment or fun, and alludes to using a wet blanket to smother a fire. It’s funny how a potentially life-saving thing…

Check out this fun-guy. Photo by Andrew Parkinson.

Working for a nature conservation charity has its perks, particularly the chance to learn about our natural environment from experts sitting just a few desks away. At lunchtime the other day,  I attended a Fungi Forum presented by Chris Knowles, a trainee ecologist with RSPB Scotland. Chris specialises in fungi and has written a number of blogs over the course of the…

We are delighted to be able to share with you that RSPB Scotland have taken on a new site, Glencripesdale nature reserve, located on the Morvern Peninsula, on the south shore of Loch Sunart in the Western Highlands of Scotland. Izzy Baker tells us more.

Why Glencripesdale?

Glencripesdale nature reserve is part of Scotland’s rainforest, a very rare habitat that is fragmented and under threat.

When you hear the…

Allan Whyte, RSPB Scotland Marine Policy Officer, gives us some good news about seabirds.

Good news for Scotland's seabirds

There is a glimmer of hope reflecting on Scotland’s sea. Invariably it is bad news when seabirds make the headlines, but recent announcements by the Scottish Government have bucked the trend.

14 draft Special Protection Areas (SPAs) have been announced for seabirds, along with the designation…

 

I have a bit of a confession to make. Moths used to really give me the willies.

In fact, if I’m completely honest, they’re still not my favourite beastie. But the thing about working for a conservation charity like the RSPB, is that I can’t really avoid them. So like those giant spiders that suddenly appear indoors in September (eek!) I’ve had to find a way to live with them.

But I think it…

Jim Densham, Senior Land Use Policy Officer with RSPB Scotland, is back with another blog on the For The Love Of...campaign that we are part of.

Showing the Love to Nicola Sturgeon

It was Valentine’s last Saturday. How did you show the love? I bought flowers for my wife but I also sent a Valentine’s message to Nicola Sturgeon the First Minister! Its no secret. I even spent Valentine’s day asking others to send her…

Alexa Morrison, Conservation Policy Officer at RSPB Scotland, takes a look at fracking and the different types of unconventional gas proposals coming forward in Scotland.

Fracking is a hot topic in Scotland – what is RSPB Scotland’s position?

Fracking and unconventional gas are coming under some intense heat in Scotland at the moment. You might feel it’s hard to avoid the subject, with even the world’s…

The Scottish Government's consultation on its energy strategy closes on Tuesday 30th May. Here Rebecca Bell, RSPB Scotland's senior policy officer, set out our position on it and how you can also let the Government know your thoughts.

Getting our energy system right for wildlife

Sometimes our work to save nature means dealing with immediate threats to wildlife – such as the Shiant Isles Seabird Recovery…

This blog on the intriguing yellow-browed warbler comes to you from John Bowler, RSPB Scotland's man on the Isle of Tiree. 

This autumn (2016) has been a record-breaking year for sightings of yellow-browed warblers. Formerly a rare migrant to Britain, numbers of these tiny, brightly-marked warblers have been increasing here in recent years. They breed in Siberia and normally migrate south-eastwards to winter…

Dolphinwatch is back for 2018 and it's even bigger than before thanks to some new funders. RSPB Scotland's Adam Ross fills us in on the project. 

Dolphin watching in Aberdeen

Dolphins might not be the first things that spring to mind when people think of RSPB Scotland but, honestly, who could resist those smiles? The bottlenose dolphins which frequent Aberdeen harbour are fantastic indicators of ecosystem health…

RSPB Trainee Ecologist, Chris Knowles, explains the difference between slime moulds and fungi.

When is a fungus not a fungus?

I’ve been having a fabulous autumn, everywhere I go the world is sprouting mushrooms... and looking for mushrooms is usually why I am outside. I like to think I’m pretty good at finding them too, so it is always a little disconcerting when I’m led astray by puzzling pretenders.…

When was the last time you spotted a hedgehog or a badger? What about a squirrel or a fox? And could you identify a great crested newt if one popped up in your garden?

During our Big Garden Birdwatch this year, we asked everyone taking part to record the birds visiting their outdoor space during a one hour slot of their choice. But we also asked people to tell us about the ‘other wildlife’ they were seeing too.…

Seabird Tracking and Research (STaR) team member, Ruth Brown, gives us an update on her work tagging seabirds on Colonsay.

Chicks galore!

For the fifth year running the RSPB STaR team has returned to the island of Colonsay for the summer months. This year the team consists of Tessa Cole, who is well known to many local residents after four seasons on the island, and myself, who is new to the project. Colonsay is part…

The Scottish Government has recently put forward 10 marine sites to be officially designated as protected areas for the seabirds that use them. A public consultation is open now, to get your views about whether they need to be protected. We will be responding and asking that they are all designated as soon as possible and you can support our call to action here. Read our blog to find out why we think this is the right…

RSPB Scotland's Senior Conservation Planner Kate Bellew reviews the campaign to #SaveCoulLinks so far and discusses the importance of taking action for this triple protected wildlife site against a backdrop of increasing global concern for the environment.

Chiffchaffs are one of the first birds to arrive back in Scotland in spring after spending the winter months in warmer places. In celebration of their return RSPB Scotland’s Jess Barrett brings you five facts you need to know about these birds.

Five facts you need to know about chiffchaffs

1. Chiffchaffs have an onomatopoeic name

Many of you will be familiar with the “chiff chaff, chiff chaff” call of a chiffchaff…

Jim Densham, from RSPB Scotland, brings us this latest blog on climate change and Show the Love ahead of Valentine's Day. 

Did you ‘Show the Love’ for nature this weekend? Many people did and were getting out into nature, the countryside, and onto RSPB Scotland reserves to say they don’t want to lose special places and nature because of climate change. A new report shows the wide variety of places…

RSPB Scotland Conservation Manager, Stuart Benn, tells us about a recent protest against raptor persecution in Inverness.

It’s time to get MAD about wildlife crime!

In late March, at least 14 red kites and 5 buzzards were poisoned near Inverness making it one of the worst recorded cases of bird of prey killing ever in the UK.

Of course, the RSPB condemned the killings but what made this one different was that…