The head gamekeeper and two underkeepers on the Goathland estate were interviewed under caution by North Yorkshire Police on suspicion of being involved in the goshawk’s death in May, with their solicitors present. They voluntarily attended the interviews, but would have been arrested had they not done so. The crime took place on one of […]
Tag: Bird of Prey
Harpy Eagle: Saving the Amazon’s largest raptor for more than 20 years
The harpy eagle (Harpia harpyja) lives in tropical forests stretching from the south of Mexico to the north of Argentina. But it’s in the Brazilian Amazon that a project has been working intensively for its conservation for more than 20 years. Created in 1997, the Program for the Conservation of the Harpy Eagle by the […]
87 bird crime incidents last year and just one conviction, says RSPB
Birds of prey were shot, poisoned, trapped or illegally killed in 87 confirmed incidents in 2018 that led to just one successful conviction, according to the RSPB’s annual Birdcrime report. This persecution of raptors including peregrines, buzzards, red kites and owls is the tip of the iceberg, with many more birds vanishing in mysterious circumstances, […]
Scotland’s golden eagles are dying in agony, all in the name of sport
Somewhere bleak and unforgiving in Scotland, a golden eagle is suffering an agonising death. The young bird of prey was photographed last week with a metal trap clamped around its leg in the Crathie area of Deeside in Aberdeenshire. The tourist who took this distressing image sent it to the police who expressed serious concerns […]
4 Conservation Success Stories: We Really Are Making a Difference
With all the disturbing stories in the news about extreme weather events, global politics and human rights abuses, it’s easy to overlook that there is also a lot of good happening in the world. One such area is in conservation, where we are seeing a number of great success stories. Here are just four cases […]
Booted eagle
Aigle botté – Aguila calzada, Hieraaetus pennatus, Spain, 2017/08/24, Nikon: D500 + 800 mm f5/6E, This migratory eagle nests in southern Europe and winters in Africa and Asia. With a friend we arrived at the spot very early and he had assured me that the weather report said bright and sunny after a small […]
Elanus caeruleus – Black-winged kite, the parade
Accipitriformes – Accipitridae With the Nikon 500 mm at arms length from the car. On the first pictures, the bird is hunting. Most of the time it positions itself back to the sun to see its prey better. At the same time, it surveys its territory for intruders such as other birds of prey and […]
POLL: Should grouse shooting on highland estates be banned?
Highland estates could be forced to apply for licences to shoot grouse in a further crackdown by Scottish ministers on the illegal persecution of birds of prey. Aileen McLeod, the Scottish environment minister, said she had ordered a review into the stricter legal controls imposed on game estates in Europe as conservationists disclosed that at […]