In this blog Rebecca Bell, our senior policy officer for climate and energy, takes us through how strategic spatial planning, using a variety of maps, could be better used for Scotland’s long term development projects.

Mapping for the future

Wind turbines - where to put them?  How does Scotland decide whether an area of land is best used for nature conservation, or generating energy, or growing food?

RSPB Scotland…

This is the fourth post in a six part blog series about rare insects in the Cairngorms. A new project launched this year to save six endangered invertebrates in the north of Scotland and project officer Gabrielle Flinn will take a closer look at one of these species each month. This time, it's the turn of the dark bordered beauty moth. The Rare Invertebrates in the Cairngorms project is a partnership involving RSPB Scotland…

This month we’ve been focusing on corncrakes and the work being done to help these secretive birds in Scotland. Here Chris Bailey, RSPB Scotland’s advisory manager, will cover the final part of the story not yet told; the work of our own nature reserves and staff in supporting corncrake conservation.

Corncrakes on reserves

In Scotland, many of our iconic reserves on the Inner and Outer Herbidean Islands…

James Silvey, Habitats and Species Officer with RSPB Scotland, brings us this latest blog on keeping your eyes peeled when out in the wild - you never know what you might find! 

Copinsay, credit: Christine Hall.

Scotland’s islands are amazing places. Step off the ferry or plane into Scotland’s archipelago and you’ll often find yourself transported to a bizarre wildlife 'mirror land', where species thought of as rare…

On Wednesday this week The Times published a front page article and a leader comment in response to our application to appeal to the Supreme Court over the Forth and Tay windfarms. Below is the response by Anne McCall, our director, which we submitted to the paper.

Charities have a duty to challenge governments if their objects are at risk.

RSPB Scotland’s decision to challenge the Scottish Ministers’ approval of four…

Stuart Benn, from RSPB Scotland, brings us this latest blog on golden eagle tagging, investigating how and if we can identify what has happened to birds of prey using technology. 

The recent publication of the report into the fate of satellite tagged golden eagles in Scotland makes shocking reading and highlights just how big a problem illegal persecution continues to be in some areas. 

In short, some tagged birds are…

This month we’re shining the spotlight on one of our rarest, most secretive birds - the corncrake. In this, the third blog, RSPB Scotland’s Stuart Benn looks at the vital role that crofters have played in the recovery of corncrakes since the early 1990s.

Crofting for corncrakes

I can still remember the first time.

Late 1970s, I’d hitched from Glasgow through the Highlands and Skye, caught the ferry over…

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.…

As seabirds leave, or prepare to leave our shores for another year, RSPB Scotland Marine Policy Officer Peadar O'Connell brings us this new blog about seabird chicks and the future they face. 

A fluffy fulmar chick on a cliff ledge on Orkney

It’s approaching the end of the season and seabird chicks have or will soon be leaving the nest to face the great blue yonder... Most seabirds are colony nesters, this offers…

RSPB Scotland Head of Investigations, Ian Thomson, has this latest blog on the disappearance of birds of prey in Scotland.

Stories about Scotland’s birds of prey, and the threats that they face, have featured in the media a great deal in recent months. A couple of weeks ago the results of the 2016 National Hen Harrier survey were published. Disappointingly, but not surprisingly, these results did not bring good…

This month we’re shining the spotlight on one of our rarest, most secretive birds - the corncrake. In the first blog, we introduced these birds and outlined how they came to be largely confined to north and west Scotland. Chris Bailey, RSPB Scotland's advisory manager, now picks up the story about how science was used to identify the key issues affecting the species leading to the creation of management schemes…

Fifteen year old Alex Bayley was last year’s winner of the Cairngorms Young Nature Presenter competition. Earlier this year he and his family took up his prize of wildlife holiday in the Cairngorms National Park. Here’s his account of this trip and the wildlife he saw.

The search is now for this year’s winner of Cairngorms Young Nature Presenter. To find out more click here.

Cairngorms Young Nature…