What do you think was the first thing to catch my eye as I opened up the VC yesterday morning?
I'll give you a couple of clues:
1) It made me feel I should be hearing Sir Attenborough in his characteristic voice over...'This courtship display is one of the most elegant and iconic we may have the privilege to witness...(pause for emphasis)...in the British Isles...
2) The persecution of these birds, for the fashion industry, was part of the reason the RSPB was founded way back in 1889.
Got it?
It was a pair of great crested grebe dancing the courtship two-step in front of the VC! What a lovely sight to start off a sunny Sunday.
As I mentioned, it was to protect birds such as the great crested grebe and little egret, whose numbers we often take for granted these days, that the RSPB was originally started as a campaiging organisation.
We have a long history of campaigning, and we're still at it today. Please help our important campaign work by visiting the campaigns pages at www.rspb.org.uk/steppingup and signing our petition to protect raptors from persecution.