Grouse moors across Scotland will be required to hold licences and could face shooting bans as part of radical measures to combat bird of prey persecution passed by MSPs on Thursday. The Scottish parliament voted for the controls amid intense pressure from conservation scientists and campaigners after decades of illegal attacks on birds of prey […]
Tag: White-tailed eagle
From brown bears to grey wolves, Europe’s persecuted carnivores are bouncing back
In the latest of what can often seem like the “final nails in the coffin” of biodiversity across Europe, we heard in recent weeks that UK environmental protection is under threat. But while the global scale of the climate crisis and biodiversity loss remain alarming, vital new research, which I helped lead, shows there are […]
How birds of prey are exposing a toxic time bomb
Rui Lourenço first started collecting eagle-owl feathers because they were beautiful. Below the birds’ cliff-side nests in rural Portugal, he would find their shed feathers and bring them back to his ecology lab at the University of Évora. “It was just the typical curiosity of a naturalist,” he says. “Especially the flight feathers, they’re large, […]
Back from the brink: how bison, bears and beavers returned to Europe
Top predators are making a comeback across Europe, according to a new report compiled by the Zoological Society of London, BirdLife International and the European Bird Census Council for Rewilding Europe. These are some of the top species making an “exciting” recovery: Eurasian beaver Beavers started to decline in the 17th century with the introduction […]
Albie, the black-browed albatross, was blown off course and is now the loneliest bird in the Northern hemisphere
Name: Albie the albatross. Age: It’s not known how old Albie is, but albatrosses can live for more than 70 years. Appearance: A bit like a big gull, to be honest. The black-browed albatross is medium-sized – for an albatross – which is pretty damn big compared with most birds. Wingspan can reach 250cm. Guess […]
European raptors including eagles, goshawks and vultures significantly reduced in number due to lead ammunition poisoning
According to the first study to evaluate these implications across Europe, poisoning caused by preying on or scavenging animals shot by hunters using lead ammunition has left many raptors—or birds of prey—far smaller than they should be. When birds such as eagles and Red Kites scavenge carcasses or consume injured animals with toxic lead pieces […]
Why are people poisoning Britain’s sea eagles when they are such a wonderful sight?
A beautiful white-tailed eagle has once again been a familiar sight for those fortunate enough to live in the flight path of eagles recently introduced to the Isle of Wight. Thousands of Britons have witnessed and heard the gigantic two-metre wings beating overhead, as well as the cruel-beaked birds diving for fish in spectacular fashion. […]
Norfolk white-tailed eagle reintroduction project cancelled
A pioneering project to return white-tailed eagles to Norfolk for the first time in 200 years has been cancelled at the last minute to the dismay of conservationists. The UK’s largest birds of prey were to be released at Wild Ken Hill, the estate that is home to the BBC’s Autumnwatch programme, from next year, […]