The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds has been rocked by a furious row over its controversial culling of crows and foxes on its reserves. Outraged members took to social media to say they are resigning over the killings, which are intended to protect the eggs of ground-nesting birds such as curlews. Those complaining […]
Tag: rspb
Is the RSPB to blame for the loss of England’s rare hen harriers?
The hen harrier has begun to drag its way back from extinction in England. But according to the grouse industry one organisation is stomping on its claws – the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). On Tuesday, according to the Telegraph, a report by government environment advisory body Natural England was “set to […]
Vicious murdering bully chosen as Britain’s national bird
So we’ve chosen a vicious murdering bully for our national bird? It’s bad enough that we probably plumped for our self-important red-breasted friend because the Victorians sentimentalised the robin as a symbol of Christmas. Yet I suspect that the main reason it has been chosen is because it’s the one bird most people can actually […]
RSPB’s Big Garden Bird Watch confirms many species still declining
The number of backyard researchers in the world’s biggest citizen science survey was up this year, but participants found populations of many bird species continued to decline. More than 585,000 people took part in the RSPB’s Big Garden Bird Watch. The survey took place over a January weekend, as it has for the past 36 […]
Poll: Do you agree that shooting pheasants is good for the countryside?
The UK’s managed shoot industry, which sees millions of pheasants raised and shot every year, has received support from an unexpected quarter. In a blog published on the website of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, its conservation director Martin Harper has praised the role of managed shoots in protecting wildlife. “The contribution […]
Britain’s migrating birds are drastically declining, RSPB says
Bird populations that make the great journey between northern Europe and Africa – including the nightingale and turtle dove – are drastically declining, conservationists have warned. Nearly half of the 29 summer migrants, who appear in the UK in spring to breed before returning in the autumn, show long-term population declines. The nightingale, famed for […]
Illegal bird deaths continue to rise in UK
Cases of the illegal persecution of British birds are continuing to rise, according to the latest figures from the RSPB. The Birdcrime report, published on Friday, shows there were 208 reports of the shooting and destruction of birds of prey in 2012, including confirmed shootings of 15 buzzards, five sparrowhawks and four peregrine falcons. In […]
‘Shocking’ decline of UK countryside birds revealed
Some of Britain’s most familiar countryside birds have plummeted in numbers since the 1990s, and some species have disappeared from parts of the UK, according to an authoritative annual report. Numbers of the farmland-dwelling grey partridge have halved since 1995, while the turtle dove has declined by 95%. The yellow wagtail, which inhabits farm and […]
