Blogs

Yesterday the great and the good of the farming industry packed into a chilly barn on the border of Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to get very enthusiastic about saving wildlife.

There was enthusiastic talk of changing the way our countryside is farmed to help protect birds, and admissions from farming leaders that the intensification of farming in recent decades has had negative impacts on the environment. They even invited government minister Hilary Benn along and nodded in agreement to every word he said.

Sound a little far fetched? Well get with the programme because things are changing in our countryside and this could be the beginning of something pretty special. Yesterday saw the launch of the Campaign for the Farmed Environment – and it’s hit the headlines in the farming press as well as the national newspapers.

The venue was the family farm of NFU president Peter Kendall and with guests including decision makers from all the main farming industry organisations, government environmental bodies and countryside conservation groups, this was clearly being taken seriously by all those involved.

But why? Campaigns, environmental schemes and rural projects are being launched all the time and few of them ever get this kind of fanfare and attention. Well a little background will help put things in perspective.

Back in the 70s and 80s grain and butter mountains caused by over production of food were resulting in falling produce prices. In response the Government introduced the policy of set aside. All this land left out of production provided a great habitat for farmland birds which was lost when the markets changed course, food prices rose and set aside was abolished in 2007.

Farmland birds are already suffering – they are now at half the level they were at in 1970 – so loss of this habitat could prove to be disastrous in the long term. In response the Government started looking for a way to replace the set aside policy and protect farmland birds and other wildlife. And after a lot of negotiation, debate and general to-ing and fro-ing, we have now arrived at the Campaign for the Farmed Environment.

It’s a voluntary scheme, so – aptly for the target audience of farmers – it’s more about carrots than sticks. But it’s one we urgently need to be successful, because if we lose skylarks from our skies, yellowhammers from our hedgerows and grey partridges from our wheat fields then our countryside will lose its heart.

Wildlife crime has been in the news again this week with a special report in the Independent on Sunday and news of a terrible breeding season for English hen harriers.

Last year the RSPB received 1,206 reports of potential offences against wild birds. Included in these were 210 reports of bird of prey killings, 133 poisoning incidents, 36 egg collecting incidents, 106 reports of illegal bird trading and 27 instances of disturbance to protected birds.

Not all of these end up in the courts, but the RSPB and our wildlife crime partners in the RSPCA and the Police pursue every conviction we can. Here’s some of those who have been collared by the long arm of the law recently for their despicable crimes against birds.

Roger Venton and Kyle Burden – Venton, head gamekeeper at Kempton Estate in Shropshire, was handed a suspended three month jail sentence, a fine and community service in January after he pleaded guilty to allowing his assistant, Burden, to use a cage trap baited with a raven. Burden was given a 26-week suspended sentence for killing badgers and buzzards on the estate.

Richard Pearson – In 2006 the home of Pearson, an illegal egg collector, was raided and officers were shocked to discover more than 7,000 eggs (pictured). Pearson was sent to jail last year for 23 weeks – one of 12 people handed custodial sentences for egg collecting since 2001.

Alistair Waters – In October last year Oban Sheriff Court in Aberdeen fined Waters £600 for recklessly disturbing a white tailed eagle nest on the Isle of Mull. Waters, eager to get a photograph of a pair of nesting eagles, had been spotted disturbing their nest just hours after an egg had been laid in it, despite the well advertised public watch points that had been provided nearby.

Robert Jenkins – Police and RSPCA officers entered Jenkins’ home in Port Talbot, Wales in May 2007 armed with a search warrant following reports of illegal bird dealing. They found 29 protected birds at the address, 22 of which had been caught from the wild, including linnets, goldfinches and chaffinches. He was convicted of possession of wild birds and fined £1,000.

Paul Cheetham and Jamie Griffiths – In August last year magistrates at a court in Rhyl described Cheetham and Griffiths’ drunken attack on a seagull as ‘sickening’. The pair, who were jailed for four months, filmed themselves on their mobile phones kicking the bird to death.

This week sees world leaders gathered in Barcelona to try to find a way forward before December’s crunch meeting of the UN climate change convention in Copenhagen. Here, our Head of Climate Change Policy, Ruth Davis, gives us her thoughts as the talk begins.

Once again, representatives from 192 nations are gathering to discuss how (and indeed whether) to avert the end of the world. 

This time the climate change cavalcade has pulled up on the warm but rather desolate concrete spaces of portside Barcelona and for once, it seems minds are beginning to concentrate.

The question is, will it all be too late? There are only five days of official negotiating time left before Copenhagen.

Many think a deal in December without the USA is unthinkable, yet the Americans cannot make firm offers on emissions cuts or finance without domestic legislation to back them up. There is no chance of that before December, and so little chance they can play a full part.

Other countries will ask why the world should wait. Why should America be given yet more time and patience when people in Africa are already dying because of climate pollution?

So, should we push for an ambitious, legally binding treaty in December or counsel patience and look for the foundations of an agreement that could allow the US to join later?

In the end, it isn’t our call. What power we have comes from our ability to watch, analyse, explain and complain. We are, simply, here to tell the truth.

The truth is that time is running out for the Arctic, for the Amazon, for the millions of people who live in land threatened by floods and droughts.

We need a legally binding deal with the kind of ambition that will rescue us from dangerous climate change. That means deep, deep cuts in emissions from developed countries like ours, and action to halt and reverse tropical forest loss. We need a fair deal, which protects vulnerable people and ecosystems from the impacts of climate change, and helps poor countries cut emissions without stifling development.

If world leaders cannot deliver this in December, then shame on them. Yet, if they do fail we will not give up. We will demand they keep coming back until that fair, ambitious and binding deal is concluded.

Exactly 150 years ago, in 1859, when Charles Darwin wrote On the Origin of Species, the countryside around his Kent home would have looked much the same as it does today.

However, the father of evolutionary science would probably find it incredible to realise the number of changes which have taken place in our bird populations since then.

Several species extinct in the UK in Darwin's lifetime have bounced back thanks to conservation efforts. However great his biological insight, the 'great man' would probably have not have believed that red kites would be flying again over English skies or that the avocet would have recolonised and would be spreading around our coastline. However, birds like the corncrake would still have been heard in south-east England and birds of farmed landscapes, such as the corn bunting and grey partridge, would have still been ubiquitous in many parts.

The truth is that over time bird populations change, but the realisation is that they change rapidly. The publication of the State of the UK's Birds report over the last ten years has revealed a surprising trend: rare birds in the UK are doing much better than common ones.

This year, for example: the great bustard nested for the first time since 1832; the bittern had their best year on record; and cranes nested in the Fens for the first time in four centuries. The lesson that we need to learn - and fast - is how we can transfer the successes from conserving rare birds and apply them to ensuring a future for our common ones.

We should take a great deal of solace from the fact that some of our marshes now resound to an orchestra of bittern and crane accompanied by the aerial displays of marsh harriers. However, spare a thought for the skylark the next time you're lucky enough to hear one soaring above a wheat field. Despite providing the soundtrack to virtually all those glorious days of summer we enjoyed as children this favoured songster is declining rapidly, along with many other common birds.

The trick is to try to get all of our bird populations in healthy state. The conservation movement has proved that the commitment, public will and practical experience are there in abundance to restore the ravages of changes in our countryside. We now need the funding to ensure a healthy future for all of our species. The skylarks will sing to that!

Today’s Daily Telegraph told the story of a couple accused of causing a rat infestation by feeding birds in their garden.

This comes as worrying news on the eve of Feed the Birds Day – but fear not, this is a very rare occurrence among the two thirds of population who regularly leave food out for birds over winter.

The RSPB’s advice is that when feeding birds householders should put out an appropriate amount of food for birds to consume during the day so that it doesn’t build up and get left out overnight when it can attract vermin.

Gardens are a hugely important habitat for songbirds, providing a refuge, especially in winter when food is more scarce. The aim of Feed the Birds day is to promote sensible and responsible bird feeding and show that it can be a real joy.

On Saturday, as part of the nationwide event, RSPB staff and volunteers up and down the country will be encouraging people to do things like leave out seed and put up bird tables in their gardens. There will be events at RSPB reserves with activities for all the family – we’re sure that people will get as much out of the day as birds will.

To find out all about the day, what’s happening near you and how you can get involved visit the web page here - http://www.rspb.org.uk/feedthebirds/

British farmers should not expect a future free from regulation if they are going to tackle food security and environmental challenges, according to RSPB conservation director Mark Avery.

This remark was made in response to a question from a farmer in the audience who was keen to see regulations removed from farming at a discussion at the Conservative Party conference which was covered in today’s Farmers Weekly.

The role farmers play in the environment is set to come under close scrutiny soon when the National Farmers Union launches its Campaign for the Farmed Environment. The campaign is the industry’s plan for recapturing the benefits to wildlife that were lost as a result of the removal of set-aside from the countryside.

Farmers are being asked to take land out of production, sow seed-rich field margins, plant hedgerows and protect watercourses so that birds, small mammals and invertebrates.

The RSPB has been developing ways for farmers to tend their land with wildlife in mind at its own Hope Farm in Cambridgeshire – which gives me a great chance to trumpet how successful the farm’s feathered occupants have been this year.

We’ve had another record year with 44 pairs of skylarks compared with 23 last year, five grey partridge pairs against last year’s three and 33 linnet pairs to 2008’s 18. Other species that are up are yellowhammer (39 pairs, up from 35 last year), whitethroat (48, up from 31) and greenfinch (20, up from 14). The total number of farmland bird birds at Hope Farm has risen 177 per cent since we bought the land in 2000. All that and our crops yields are above the national average.

All this proves that if we put in the effort we can ensure that our farmed countryside is able to put food on our tables, and provide a home for threatened wildlife at the same time. And if that happens then surely we’re all winners..

The Environment Agency has issued a warning over a pollution incident on the River Trent where cyanide and sewage were released into the water killing hundreds of fish.

Pollution incidents like this are one of the many threats facing our waterways in the UK. The RSPB, the WWF, the Association of Rivers Trusts and the Angling Trust recently launched the Our Rivers campaign to call for action to protect the UK’s waterways and its wildlife.

Here's what the RSPB's director of conservation Mark Avery had to say on the story.

“A recent report revealed that three quarters of our rivers are failing European targets for water quality, and now this incident has shown the devastating impact pollution can have on wildlife.

“The Government must surely now see the vital importance of putting in place tough legislation to protect our waterways – and the wildlife that rely on them – from the serious threats they face. And these laws need to be enforced so that those causing the damage are held to account.

“I understand hydrogen peroxide is being pumped into the river to mitigate the effects of the pollution. This sticking plaster will help deal with the emergency but it’s just not sustainable in the long term to be pouring more and more chemicals into our waters – we need to make sure that this kind of thing cannot happen in the first place.”

To find out more about the Our Rivers campaign and to adopt a stretch of river near you visit the website at www.ourrivers.org.uk

Kate Humble was this weekend announced as the new president of the RSPB.

She is only the second woman to fill the role. The first female president of the RSPB was also the first person of either sex to hold the post. In fact Winifred Cavendish-Bentinck, Duchess of Portland was remarkable in all sorts of ways.

As you may have surmised from her name, she wasn’t short of a bob or two.  Her husband, a relative of the Queen Mother, was a horseracing magnate and politician. While he trained Derby winning horses, she made a name for herself as a pioneering animal rights activist and conservationist.

As well as being vice president of the RSPCA she remained president of the RSPB for an extraordinary 65 years. We’ll have to wait until 2074 to find out whether Kate can beat that record.

Other presidents include another wondrously monickered member of the nobility, Tufton Victor Hamilton Beamish, Baron Chelwood, a war hero and politician who fought hard for the introduction of the Protection of Birds Act 1954. Later, from his seat in the House of Lords, he championed the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 – but will be remembered by Private Eye readers for inspiring the satirical character Sir Bufton Tufton.

Next up in the 1970s was respected broadcaster Robert Dougall whose claims to fame included presenting the first ever BBC Nine O’Clock News and being the voice which informed the nation over the radio waves that war had been declared on Germany. He also seems to have ushered in a dynasty of teenage indie musicians with grandchildren in the bands The Pipettes and NME favourites Joe Lean and the Jing Jang Jong.

In the 1980s presidents included Max Nicholson, a founder of both the WWF and the British Trust for Ornithology, and Mastermind presenter Magnus Magnusson.

I’ve started so I’ll finish…

Later presidents included veteran broadcaster Jonathan Dimbleby and the outgoing incumbent, respected television wildlife presenter Julian Pettifer.

So Kate is following in some fairly hallowed footsteps in her new role. But like many of those who have gone before here she has something vital for the job - an infectious passion for nature which we’re confident will inspire our members and the wider public.

So we hope you’ll join us in raising a glass and wishing her the very best of luck.

“Have you heard the news?

“No. What?”

“There’s a cull of parakeets! You don’t even need a licence, you can just go out into your garden and shoot the little devils.”

“Whoa! Hold on there Annie, don’t get your gun just yet. I think you’ve been misinformed….”

Indeed you have, Annie. There is no cull of parakeets. Worth saying again, that: there is no cull.

No one has suggested one and the RSPB is certainly not backing one, although anyone caught up in the recent media froth about this could be forgiven for thinking otherwise.

There has been a change to the licensing system for anyone wanting to kill the birds. Not very exciting but very important, because if you killed a parakeet without good reason you would be in serious trouble. 

From January, the birds will be added to something called the ‘General Licence’. This means ‘owners or occupiers of land’ will not have to apply to Natural England for an individual licence to kill the birds if they are causing a problem. Instead, the onus will be on them to prove they had a legitimate reason to kill them.

In the case of ring-necked and monk parakeets, that could be to prevent serious damage to crops or to conserve other wild birds. It will also be permitted to control monk parakeets (restricted to a tiny pocket in Hertfordshire) on public health and safety grounds.

In effect, the powers that be are trusting people to act responsibly. The Wildlife and Countryside Act is very clear about the penalties for anyone abusing that trust: Anyone who intentionally kills, injures or takes a wild bird is looking at a fine of up to £5,000 or as much as six months in prison.

So, contrary to some reports it is not ‘open season on parakeets,’ nor can you simply ‘take a pop at a parakeet’.

Click here for our Director of Conservation’s take on this.

As a wildlife conservation charity we are not usually concerned with the activities of beautiful, leggy film stars – but Disney’s latest cinematic offering may change all that.

The Crimson Wing opens in cinemas today and follows the amazing and often strange habits of the occupants of Lake Natron in Tanzania – a million and a half lesser flamingos. 

Flamingos are fascinating creatures. They survive on algae only found in alkaline lakes which contains the pigments that give the birds their pink feathers. They lay just one egg each breeding season and after the young have hatched they are gathered into large crèches of up to 100,000 chicks marshalled by a few adults.

The huge numbers of these birds on Lake Natron have created a stunning spectacle for the filmmakers behind The Crimson Wing, but this could fool you into thinking that this species is safe from impact of human interference.

However they have been under major threat from proposals in the past to build a soda ash extraction plant nearby. The impact of this development would have had a devastating effect on the sensitive natural balanced of the unique habitat provided by Lake Natron, and, in turn, a worrying knock on effect on the flamingos which live there and make up three quarters of the species’ world population. Conservationists remain constantly vigilant against the possibility of similar developments in the future.

We’re sure these amazing birds are set to become a hit with cinema goers – and let’s hope that the attention this film raises will ensure their story, like the best Hollywood tales, has a happy ending and plenty of sequels.

Rivers have been in the news today on our screens and in our newspapers because England and Wales are failing to meet European targets for water quality.

This is an issue that has been highlighted by the Our Rivers campaign which the RSPB is part of, along with the WWF, the Angling Trust and the Association of Rivers Trusts.

Pollution from chemicals like phosphates and nitrates is a major issue for wildlife – often because it means plants which grow in rivers can’t survive so other wildlife has nothing to eat or shelter in.

Another issue facing rivers is over abstraction – stretches of the Kennet in Wiltshire have dried up entirely on a number of occasions in recent years because of water companies abstracting water to supply nearby Swindon. You don’t need much imagination to figure out for yourself the devastation this wreaks on wildlife.

Anglers, boaters, wildlife lovers and walkers are all concerned about the pressures facing rivers and the wildlife that rely on them. But our waterways aren’t just there to provide the background for a weekend hobby – they are the veins and the lifeblood of our towns and countryside.

Much of our drinking water comes from rivers. Rivers feed wetlands which are rich habitats for all kinds of animals including wading birds like redshanks and black tailed godwits. And of course all rivers eventually flow into the sea which is vitally important in all sorts of ways.

So whether you’re stopping off on a country stroll for a game of pooh sticks or reeling in a tasty trout after a lazy day on the riverbank, remember that unless we make the effort to take care of our rivers now we may pay a much bigger price later on.

Anyone who cast a casual eye over last weekend's Observer may be wondering why the RSPB is being accused of environmental 'vandalism’.

The issue at stake is our drive to recreate threatened lowland heathland by not replanting commercial conifer plantations when they are harvested. This is something we are doing with a great deal of success at our Farnham Heath reserve in Surrey and it’s all helping towards the Government’s UK target for heathland recreation which the Forestry Commission is also signed up to. According to the Confederation of Forest Industries, however, this sort of conservation work is ‘absolutely crazy’.

It’s easy to get emotive when it comes to making large scale changes to the face of our countryside. It’s also easy to get emotive about the loss of heathland – a rugged and dramatic landscape which inspired Thomas Hardy’s Return of the Native - and heathland wildlife like the strange and beguiling nightjar, the secretive smooth snake and the colourful ladybird spider

But let’s not go there. Let’s just present some cold hard facts and you can make up your own mind.

Conifer plantations are planted with the specific intention of being harvested. They are not rare or endangered – nor is the wildlife you find in them. Heathland is rare – in fact lowland heathland is under greater threat of disappearing than rainforest. England has just one sixth of the heathland it had 100 years ago, while conifer woodland is a relatively recent addition to our landscape in southern England.

Threatened native species which rely on heathland include Dartford warblers, natterjack toads and grayling butterflies amongst others.  However there are no threatened native species which rely on commercial conifer plantations for their survival.

The RSPB is an active campaigner on climate change and we recognise the importance of trees for capturing carbon. Which is why we are not advocating an overall UK-wide reduction in forest cover. We just want it to be in the right place – and former heathland is not the right place.

We are planting more woodland across the UK than we are removing. In fact we estimate that for every tree we remove, we plant two more. At our Geltsdale reserve in Cumbria we have planted 100,000 trees over 200 hectares whilst at the Forest of Bowland in Lancashire the RSPB and United Utilities have planted a similar area with new woodland.

The Government is just about to publish its thoughts on whether we should remove conifer plantations to help recreate heathland while we still can. If ministers base their decision on facts rather than blinkered emotion and climate change misinformation then we’re confident it will be the right one.

We had some great news to tell about one of the oddest birds in Britain this week – the bittern.

The shy reed dwelling birds – whose instantly recognisable call lends them their nickname ‘boomer’ – were in serious trouble throughout the latter half of the 20^th century. In 1997 there were just 11 booming males recorded.

After a concerted conservation effort there are now 82 males – the highest recorded number for 120 years

To celebrate the revival of these curious and elusive creatures, here’s 10 fascinating facts about bitterns to impress your friends with.

* The bittern has had many different names over the years including bitter bum, bog blutter, bog-bull, bog bumper, bog drum, boom bird, bottle-bump, bull of the bog, bumpy cors, butter bump and heather blutter.

* The bittern’s booming call is lowest pitched song produced by any European bird and also carries over the furthest distance –up to three miles.

* Fenlanders once believed that the call was made by the birds blowing into reed stems.

* Bitterns have in the past been considered an evil omen and in the Bible a bittern's boom pronounced the doom of Babylon.

* Bitterns will seek out open water in hard winters and occasionally mistake roads for wetlands. They have been seen in some strange places including a bus stop at Stoke Newington in London, the central reservation of a motorway at Durham, and a shop window at Gravesend in Kent.

* Roast bittern was a fenland delicacy in the 19^th century and was known as fenman’s turkey. However skill and specialist knowledge was needed to prepare them in order to rid them of their natural unpleasant odour.

* 204 bitterns graced the table for a banquet to mark the investiture of George Neville as the Archbishop of York in 1465, alongside 400 swans, 2,000 geese and 1,000 capons.

* When alarmed a bittern often points its bill skywards and freezes. It will stay motionless in this position for up to 45 minutes.

* The railway line between Sheringham and Norwich was named the Bittern Line in honour of the birds which are heard booming from the reedbeds of the Norfolk broads.

* In the 1950s Lord Buxton, creator of the Anglia TV series Survival, offered a £1,000 prize to anyone who could capture a booming bittern on film. 

Have you ever bought a national lottery ticket? And did it make you a millionaire?

No, thought not. But don’t worry, it has helped bring people and nature together in one amazing little corner of England. 

An RSPB nature reserve that has revived the relationship between local people and wildlife in an industrial northern town has scooped the top environment prize in The National Lottery Awards.

Staff and volunteers at RSPB Old Moor, near Rotherham and Barnsley, are celebrating the £2,000 prize in the awards ‘Best Environment Project’ category.

Using £885,000 of Lottery funding, the RSPB has helped to regenerate the local landscape, which for years served the mining industry as a coal depot. This vital second chance has allowed the area to become a thriving wetland habitat for wildlife and birds, which now flourish in an area recovering from industrial decline.

The response from local people since its opening just five years ago has been overwhelming and its urban location puts it right on the doorstep for nature-lovers in Barnsley, Rotherham, Sheffield and Doncaster. 100,000 people now come through the doors each year.

And this is all indicative of a national trend that has seen a surge of people wanting to experience nature and wildlife on their doorsteps.

In 2007-08 there were 1.9 million visits to RSPB reserves:  the highest number ever.  With over 180 RSPB nature reserves offering public access, we have something for everybody, from the naturalist wanting to see a water vole to the A-Level students studying the remains of an Iron Age hill fort. 

We guarantee every visitor who comes to one of our reserves the opportunity to be inspired by and connect with nature. So next time you’re on your way through Yorkshire and you want to see what all the fuss is about then please pop in and pay Old Moor a visit. There’ll be a steaming hot cup of tea and the chance to discover something amazing waiting for you.

The ever controversial issue of GM food has reared its head again in the news this week.

The papers have responded to a report from the Food Standards Agency and Defra with stories about the supermarkets ending their GM ban and calls for a proper national debate on the issue.

The arguments for and against GM are often based on ethical or heath grounds. But we should also be considering the affect on wildlife both in the UK and across the globe.

Over to the RSPB’s head of countryside policy Sue Armstrong Brown with some food for thought…

“Supermarkets are concerned about the high cost of keeping GM off the shelves but what are the true costs of the GM already hidden in the food we eat? The FSA/Defra report on the issue was triggered by concerns about UK food security and supplies of GM soya imports needed to feed our farm animals. It said ‘the UK is reliant on imported protein for animal feed, significant amounts of which is derived from GM crops’.

Are we really sure that a system so heavily reliant on soya imported from Brazil and Argentina is secure, let alone environmentally sustainable, in the longer term? The destruction of natural habitats and clearance of land to grow soya (whether GM or not) is already threatening thousands of species, such as the giant anteater, in the wildlife-rich Cerrado savannahs of Brazil and Paraguay.

If the supermarkets want to educate us and re-open the GM debate, they should start by telling us about the GM already in our food and the long-term security of the livestock sector. We need to support the struggling extensive grazing systems around the UK that are so important for our wildlife and landscapes, but are at a competitive disadvantage to systems that make much more use of unsustainably cheap soya.”