Last October, the RSPB launched a new Upland Burn Reporting App, allowing members of the public to share records of recent and active burns in the English Uplands. Over the last 6 months over 270 burns have been reported by members of the public.
These reports provide a snapshot of the extent of burning throughout the English uplands and will be used as evidence to support the RSPB’s position that the actions by the…
Today’s blog is written by Charlie Nixon, Policy Officer for the Oxford-Cambridge Arc, on the importance of a larger than local planning approach for a green Oxford-Cambridge Arc...
In 2015, to support economic growth and connectivity in South-East England, the Government proposed substantial new infrastructure, business and residential development between Oxford and Cambridge, centred around a new railway line…
For many, travelling to other countries conjures up the possibility of...
If you ask a child where bird’s nest, they are likely say a tree, hedge or nest box. It’s an image we’ve all grown up with but for some of our most threatened species it’s simply not true. Over half of England’s most threatened breeding species nest on or near to the ground, including curlew…

What do you most value about England’s National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs) and do you think they should be richer in wildlife than the rest of the countryside?
These were just two of the questions in a new independent survey commissioned by the RSPB. The results are presented in our report published today called “Natural Parks?” (see the link below).
The results show that…
Wild Fell is a new book, published by Doubleday, from Lee Schofield, who works for the RSPB at Haweswater in the Lake District. Informed by the local land, its history, and the people who have shaped and continue to shape it, the book documents how Lee and his team have worked alongside landowner United Utilities at Haweswater to make the land work better for nature, water, the climate and for people. The RSPB's Nick…
The government is asking for everyone’s views on changes to England’s protected landscapes – our National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs). RSPB Site Policy Officer David Hampson takes you through the survey …
Wildlife has been vanishing from our protected landscapes, like it has across England. There are now 40 million fewer birds in our skies compared to the 1960s.
This…
RSPB England Senior Policy Officer, Carl Bunnage, reflects on what has gone wrong with England’s planning system, why it is contributing to nature’s decline, and whether there is a better way ...
We live on a small and congested island, with lots of competition for how we use land. Is it to be used for growing our food, building our homes on, providing places where we can relax and play, or for the roads and…
We often tend to think of threatened birds as living out in the wider countryside, like curlew, hen harrier and lapwing. Yet many of the birds which can be seen in our parks and gardens are struggling to survive and thrive too. You may have even counted some of these species on your recent Big Garden Birdwatch! The latest Birds of Conservation Concern 5 report, which was released in December 2021, shows that 1 in 3 s…
RSPB England Senior Policy Officer Jess Chappell explains why the absence of nature from UK Government’s “levelling up” missions is cause for concern
This week UK Government finally set out their proposals for “levelling up” - a term that we first heard from the Conservative Party ahead of the 2019 general election. But what exactly does, and should, this mean for the natural world?
We had…
RSPB Policy Officer David Hampson explains why we all need to speak up for nature in a new consultation on the future of England’s National Parks and AONBs
The results of the Peak District National Park’s recent survey show the huge public demand for restoring wildlife to England’s protected landscapes – our National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs…
RSPB Senior Policy Officer Olly Watts calls for RSPB supporters to respond to to Westminster Government's consultation of horticultural peat ...
An end to peat use in gardening is finally in our grasp, with a Government consultation on a legal ban for England and Wales now open.
The RSPB and our NGO colleagues have worked towards this since the launch of the Peatlands Campaign Coalition (PCC) in 1990 – yes, that’s…