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…

Shiants episode six: The next phase begins

Welcome to the sixth instalment of our work on the Shiant Isles Recovery Project from Alex Kekewich. 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…

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…

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…

Red squirrels are Scotland’s native squirrel species, instantly recognisable by their distinctive ear tufts, rust coloured fur and bushy tails. The tail is particularly important as it’s used for balance, communication and as a cosy blanket. 

In Scotland there are around 120,000 red squirrels in the wild and RSPB Scotland is part of a project, called Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels (SSRS), to protect these…

How a bioblitz can help save nature

Amber Jenkins, RSPB Scotland’s Community Green Space Officer in Edinburgh, gives us the run down on the recent Edinburgh bioblitz and why events like this are so important for connecting people to nature.

I think a lot of us are probably guilty of taking wildlife for granted when we are young - I certainly was. Despite growing up in rural Wales I didn't appreciate seeing…

Raptor windfarm deaths

During late May and early June, RSPB Scotland received four separate reports of a bird of prey being found dead close to turbines at windfarms in different parts of Scotland. In this blog Richard Evans, Senior Conservation Policy Officer at RSPB Scotland, looks into the challenges that birds of prey face in modern landscapes and what these recent deaths might mean for planning policy going for…