An emergency plan is being drawn up to save the capercaillie, one of the UK’s most elusive and threatened woodland birds, after its numbers plunged. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds said the latest population survey found its estimated population had fallen from roughly 1,114 in 2015/16 to about 542 birds last winter, […]
Tag: Cairngorms National Park
Ospreys make triumphant return as breeding pairs spread across UK
“I’m over the moon. We’ve waited a long time for this.” Beth Dunstan, environmental project manager at Belvoir Castle is celebrating the birth of the first osprey chicks in Leicestershire for two centuries this summer, one of a series of recent successes in bringing the osprey back across the UK. The birds of prey were […]
Scotland changes course to save its last native wildcats
Great Britain has lost its entire suite of top land predators over the past few thousand years: wolves (Canis lupus), brown bears (Ursus arctos) and lynx (Lynx lynx) have all vanished from the island, largely due to habitat loss, hunting and persecution. Now it’s on the verge of losing a much smaller one, and its […]
Gamekeepers and shepherds furious at plan to cull deer and regenerate lost woodlands in the Scottish Highlands
In the Scottish Highlands, a five-year plan to drastically reduce deer numbers and replant devastated woods has generated outrage and protests among gamekeepers and shepherds. The Cairngorms National Park Authority’s recommendations aim to make considerable changes to the park, which is the UK’s largest, with a focus on addressing climate change and biodiversity loss. This […]
Rewilding: should we bring the lynx back to Britain?
The maverick rewilder Derek Gow is wearing an extremely small pair of coral pink shorts as he introduces his three new Eurasian lynxes. He looks like Tiger King’s Joe Exotic on the wrong side of the Atlantic. The shy new arrivals are joining a menagerie of animals at his rewilding project in Devon. They are […]
Wild beaver numbers surge to 1,000 across Scotland’s southern Highlands
Wild beavers have colonised lochs and rivers across the southern Highlands of Scotland after a sharp surge in their numbers. A survey by NatureScot, the government conservation agency, estimates 1,000 beavers now live in the wild, reaching rivers north of Dundee in the east, westwards to Crianlarich, north of Loch Lomond, and south to Stirling […]
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 […]
Win a Break to Scotland’s National Parks
There has never been a better time than the Year of Natural Scotland 2013 to discover Scotland’s two beautiful National Parks. Uncover stunning scenery, fascinating wildlife and a variety of outdoor activities including wildlife watching in the Cairngorms National Park and Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park. WIN a natural break in Scotland’s National […]