In the news

We've moved!

nik shelton — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 09:47:00 GMT

Hi there. Are you looking for a round up of the RSPB's latest media coverage? Well you've come to the right place - or at least it used to be the right place. This blog has now ended and there will be no more posts - but there will now be a weekly media round up on our conservation director Martin Harper's blog every Friday - http://www.rspb.org.uk/martinharper

Ta ta!

Key to success: be a partner and a thorn

nik shelton — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 16:27:33 GMT

The RSPB's press office this week was buzzing with calls from the media about the case of shamed gamekeeper Glenn Brown.

Brown was caught red handed by the RSPB’s investigations team using a live pigeon to trap birds of prey, and this week he was found guilty and sentenced to 100 hours of community service and £10,000 costs.

RSPB investigator Mark Thomas told the Daily Mail: “The population of goshawks and peregrine falcons in that area has collapsed and they are no longer producing young birds. Birds of prey are our lions and tigers – they are our most protected birds, we have an international responsibility to look after them.”

The story was also covered on the BBC One O'clock and Six O'clock news and Channel 4 News.

The RSPB’s conservation director Martin Harper was called on this week to defend its record of environmental action after criticism from former Friends of the Earth executive director Charles Secrett who railed against modern environment campaigning in an article in the Guardian.

"Shock tactics have their place, but no matter how loudly you shout, you will become background noise sooner or later,” Martin told the newspaper. “The most successful modern NGOs are those that know when to be a thorn in the side, and when to be a constructive partner.”

Nature is its own reward when a conservation project is successful. But a report out by the RSPB, covered on BBC News online, this week found that sea eagles which have been reintroduced to the Scottish Island of Mull have brought £5m to the local economy.

The Telegraph quoted the RSPB in today's paper in a story about the danger to blackbirds from the current dry weather in the south of England.

“You will be able to look at population charts for 2011 in future and say, ‘That was when we had the drought’. However, the birds have been in Britain for 10,000 years and they will recover from whatever this year throws at them,” our spokesperson said.

On Tuesday, Radio 4's Saving Species programme turned its attention to seabird species as presenter Brett Westwood visited the Farne Islands, a vital site for gannets, fulmars, puffins and guillemots. RSPB seabird expert Euan Dunn was interviewed and you can listen again on BBC iPlayer.

Laying down the law for the natural environment

nik shelton — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 14:39:00 GMT

This week saw environment secretary Caroline Spelman unveiling the Natural Environment White Paper – the first of its kind for 20 years.

This important document sets out the Government’s future policy on wildlife and habitats and so, of course, the RSPB took a close interest in what was said.

“The proposal for a series of nature improvement areas is based on a pioneering approach to conservation which brings together farmers, charities, communities and public bodies to make a real change across a whole landscape,” Conservation director Martin Harper told the Guardian. “It would see an end to the unconnected patchwork of environmental measures in our countryside which limits our potential to restore the natural environment.”

Martin also appeared Farming Today on Radio 4 yesterday to talk about the implication of the paper for farming.

The One Show this week waded into the debate on peat based compost. Presenter Dominic Littlewood visited former peat extraction site Chat Moss near Salford and spoke to the RSPB’s Tim Melling about why we are concerned about the destruction of carbon rich peatland habitats to provide compost for gardeners. You can watch the show again on the BBC iPlayer – the package on peat starts around 17 minutes in.

Fishing has been in the news a lot recently thanks to Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s Fish Fight campaign. But it isn’t just fish suffering from unsustainable fishing practices – birds do too. A study by the RSPB and Birdlife International has found that 320,000 birds a year die as a result of long line fishing, including albatrosses, shearwaters and fulmars. The RSPB’s Orea Anderson appeared on BBC Radio Scotland as well as being quoted in the Telegraph and on BBC online this week.

The excellent Radio 4 wildlife and conservation series Saving Species (Tuesdays, 11am) focussed on the issue of declines in migratory birds such as cuckoos and pied flycatchers this week. RSPB head of international research Juliet Vickery was interviewed on our work investigating the causes of these declines. Catch the show again here.

Elsewhere two RSPB appeals to the public were featured in the Telegraph this week. We called on people to take part in our swift survey to monitor these birds whose numbers are in decline and also to record the wildlife in their garden for our Make Your Nature Count survey. The results will come out soon so watch this space...

Flying kites

nik shelton — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 14:11:00 GMT

We’re very proud of the RSPB’s farm in Cambridgeshire and we always jump at the chance to show it off in the media.

On Saturday Countryfile’s John Craven visited Hope Farm to talk to about the debate over farmland bird declines. Some believe this is down to predation by birds like magpies, but, as RSPB conservation director Martin Harper told the programme, we have managed to triple farmland bird numbers at Hope Farm simply by using wildlife friendly methods. You can watch the show on iPlayer for another couple of days.

Farmland birds were again the centre of attention on Bank Holiday Monday when early morning Radio 4 listeners were treated to a wet and windy trip round the RSPB’s Geltsdale Reserve in Cumbria. Farming Today visited the reserve to talk to RSPB staff there about how they use livestock to help maintain an upland habitat suitable for wild birds.

Also over the weekend the spotlight was shined on one of our most remote reserves, Ynys-hir in Wales. Why? Because it is the site of this year’s Springwatch of course! The show started this week, much to the relief of millions of wildlife lovers who will be glued to their screens in the coming weeks. The story was covered in the Telegraph, the Mirror and BBC News online.

The popularity of Springwatch is one of the reasons why more and more people are getting out an enjoying nature, according to an article in The Guardian this week.

“We get all sorts here, old, young, locals, passing bikers, and visitors from as far afield as Australia and America. Everyone is captivated by what they see,” the RSPB’s Geraint Williams told the paper from Glaslyn in Wales where he helps thousands of people see and appreciate the ospreys there.

The RSPB’s latest wildlife survey Make Your Nature Count starts next week and this was previewed in the media with a double page spread in the Mail on Sunday magazine and a news articles in today’s Daily Telegraph. We’ll be reporting the results back in a few weeks so lookout for those in the news.

It’s been a great year for the Cornish chough with 15 chicks hatching at four secret sites this season. The story, which was covered in the Telegraph and on BBC Online, is great news for the rare bird which is often found on coastal farmland.

On Thursday this week the Government unveiled the National Ecosystem Assessment, which seeks to show the valuable services nature provides for our society. The story made several of the papers and Martin Harper was quoted on the BBC News website saying: "The traditional view of economic growth is based on chasing GDP, but in fact we will all end up richer and happier if we begin to take into account the true value of nature.”

And if you want to read more of Martin’s thoughts on this groundbreaking new approach to nature conservation, he has written an article for the Guardian website on the subject.

One story that kept our press office busy this week was the reports from an Oxfordshire school of red kites swooping on the playground to steal food. The RSPB’s red kite expert Jeff Knott appeared on BBC Breakfast and Newsround to talk about the issue and it was also covered in the Telegraph, the Mirror and the Express.

The hot weather continues this week and the dry spell is causing problems for wading chicks on RSPB reserves, according to yesterday’s Telegraph. Phil Burston, the RSPB’s water policy officer, told the paper: “Wader chicks feed on insects along the edge of pools, but the pools are dying out and insects are scarce. The birds are having to go further afield to find food, and the further they travel the more danger they face.” The story was also featured on Radio 5Live

And finally the RSPB is one of the partners hoping to rescue one of the world’s most threatened birds, the spoon-billed sandpiper, from extinction. As reported in the Guardian, the Times and BBC Online, a team of scientists is travelling to a remote part of far eastern Russia to find some of the last remaining individuals.

baby robins, birds of prey and sat-tracked seabirds

Gemma H — Fri, 27 May 2011 11:47:00 GMT

It’s been a busy old week in the news from the RSPB.

It was a good day for us in The Times on Saturday. Firstly, Giles Coren wrote about the nest of baby robins in his garden. The famously ranty columnist told how he freaked out about the prospect of death on his own doorstep should one of the neighbourhood cats decide they fancied a feathery snack. To calm his nerves the food critic turned to the RSPB for help and was advised to keep an eye on the birds and remove the cat-scaring pail of water from under the nest in case a fledgling fell in. Then our good friend and Birds columnist, Simon Barnes discussed the illegal persecution and shooting of birds of prey. The article talked about how ospreys are nationally cherished and used the RSPB’s Loch Garten reserve, where more than two million people visit to watch ospreys take to the skies and fish the loch, as an example of just how much the birds are loved.

The Sunday Express featured this very cute image of a family of Kingfishers, taken by Oliver C Wright at RSPB Fairburn Ings reserve near Castleford, West Yorkshire. Oliver was able to get his family portrait after the RSPB’s clever idea to allow the public to bask in the beautiful metallic blues and fiery oranges of the kingfishers’ finery while ensuring the legally protected birds were not disturbed.

Tuesday was a day full of acronyms - RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) FAME (Future of the Atlantic Marine Environment) and BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation). The BBC reported news online, on Breakfast and on Radio 4’s Today Programme, how the FAME seabird-tracking project is striving to understand more about the movements of Europe's Atlantic seabirds, especially where birds, like shag and kittiwake, go to find food.

On Wednesday the Manchester Evening News announced that the RSPB’s Date with Nature peregrines nesting in the city are the first birds to use Twitter - follow them @mcrperegrines if you want to keep up to date with their comings and goings.

And on Thursday The Mirror and The Times reported how the RSPB declared this week Be Nice to Nettles Week. The prickly weed supports more than 40 kinds of insect, providing food for many birds and other wildlife so it’s actually a very important component to have in our back gardens.

Making mud in the media

nik shelton — Fri, 20 May 2011 13:21:52 GMT

The RSPB was among a group of charities which wrote to the prime minister last weekend on the anniversary of his promise to make the Coalition government the ‘greenest Government ever’.

The story was covered on the Guardian website, on BBC Online and on Saturday’s edition of Radio 4’s Today Programme.

And to combat dry weather this month we have been urging the public to help birds through by providing mud to help them build nests, and the story was picked up by the media. BBC Breakfast went along to a garden in Wiltshire to interview the RSPB’s Patrick Cashman and find out more, and the story also featured on Radio 5Live, the Guardian, the Telegraph and the Independent.

Also this week the Macdonald Task force on farming regulation reported its findings and the RSPB’s reaction was reported in Farmers Guardian, Farmers Weekly as well as online by The Telegraph and The Guardian

It’s not often the RSPB is praised for its architectural achievements, but this week we scooped two prizes in the annual Royal Institute of British Architects award. An innovative hide building at out Titchwell reserve and our Marshland Discovery Zone building at Rainham Marshes (pictured) were both winners and were featured in coverage of the award on BBC News Online and on Guardian online.

Guardian architecture critic Jonathan Glancey wrote: “In the wrong hands, and with the wrong architects, these haunting marshlands might have become acres of junk housing and other fastbuck Thames Gateway developments. The RSPB has preserved the land and been a friend to both birds and architecture.”

The gannet has landed

nik shelton — Fri, 13 May 2011 00:26:00 GMT

This week started with double page spread in the Independent featuring a stunning image of one of the UK’s most beautiful birds, the gannet, coming into land at the RSPB’s Bempton Cliffs reserve. There are about 20,000 of the birds alongside a quarter of a million kittiwakes, guillemots, razorbills, fulmars and puffins, at the site, the article says.

Cliff edges might seem like a precarious location for a nest but ducks also like to take some risks when breeding season arrives. An article in the Telegraph on Monday reports that the RSPB has been getting lots of calls from people worried about the ducks - some of which are even nesting on balconies. The story went on to be featured on ITV’s Daybreak later on in the week when the programme visited the RSPB’s Rye meads reserve to talk to Gemma Butlin about the issue.

The forests issue which made a lot of headlines earlier this year made a come back this week in the Independent which printed a prize winning article on the future of England’s woodlands. The article mentions the RSPB’s proposal for a statutory Forestry and Wildlife Service to ensure our natural landscapes and green spaces are protected for people and wildlife.

The BBC News website featured one of the more unusual bird stories of the week with a report on a scientific study showing that grazing patterns can skew the gender ration of chick broods. The RSPB’s Gareth Morgan told the website that farmland birds had declined by half since 1970 but applying this new research to help them was ‘a long way off’.

The RSPB took part in a documentary by BBC Scotland on Tuesday called Fair Game which investigated the illegal killing of birds of prey in the Scottish countryside. The film led to an item on Radio 4’s the Today Programme the next day in which the RSPB’s Duncan Orr Ewing described the calls by some gamekeepers for a cull of raptors as "bizarre", and the illegal killing of birds of prey as "a national disgrace".

And finally it’s good news for Asian vultures. And article on the BBC website yesterday cites RSPB research showing that a ban on a veterinary chemical is preventing the birds form being poisoned.

"The ban on veterinary manufacture and sale of diclofenac appears to be having some effect, but the job is only about half done,” RSPB scientists Rhys Green told the website. “Diclofenac use must be virtually eliminated, and not just halved, if vulture populations are to recover."

Sun, subsidies and Springwatch

nik shelton — Fri, 06 May 2011 08:53:00 GMT

The hot weather has been making the headlines this week as wildfires cause devastation across the country.

The RSPB has raised concern in the media that ground nesting birds like the twite are under threat from the fires.

RSPB spokesman Grahame Madge was quote in an today’s Times saying: ““We are in the middle of the bird breeding season. Many of the areas where the fires happened are on moorland and parkland, which are vital habitats for ground-nesting birds. Birds like the nightjar will be returning to heathland sites shortly and many will find that their nesting sites are no longer there.”

Also today in the Daily Express the thorny issue of farmland birds declines is raised with wildlife columnist John Ingham laying the blame squarely at the feet of the EU and its Common Agricultural Policy which hands out subsidies to farmers. He cites RSPB figures for the declines in grey partridge, corn bunting and turtle dove and quotes our international director Tim Stowe saying: “Europe must immediately deliver reform of the policies that are pushing the continent’s wildlife towards extinction.”

And its been a hushed secret until now, but it was revealed this week that the new series of Spring watch will come from the RSPB’s Ynis-hir reserve in Wales (pictured).

The story was covered in the Telegraph while RSPB chief executive Mike Clarke is quote on BBC News Online saying: "Springwatch does a fantastic job of inspiring millions of people about wildlife. What's especially important about it is how it encourages people out of their armchairs to enjoy wildlife firsthand. We know that these personal encounters with nature are a crucial factor in motivating people to step up and save it.”

Oil stricken penguins make international news

nik shelton — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 16:15:00 GMT

Top of the agenda for conservation news this week was the plight of the rock hopper penguins of Tristan da Cunha.

Despite its location in a remote part of the South Atlantic, Tristan is in fact part of the UK – it is one of the UK Overseas Territories. Many of these territories are outposts for threatened species but their isolation makes conservation work very difficult.

News broke early in the week that ship had run aground and leaking oil was affecting the internationally important population of rockhopper penguins.

The story was featured at home in the Telegraph, the Mirror, the Sun, Times and Independent and RSPB conservation scientist Richard Cuthbert was interviewed on the Today programme about the situation. The story was then picked up across the world featuring in the New York Times and the Washington Post amongst others.

Another international environment story with a UK link this week was the news that a report commissioned by RSPB and ActionAid has found that African biofuels could produce six times as much carbon emissions as fossil fuels.

“We are not going to let this land go even if it means shedding blood," said a local resident of the Dakatcha Woodlands in Kenya on the BBC World Service. The area is threatened with destruction to make way for a massive jatropha plantation. Jatropha is used to make biofuels which are being championed by the UK and other European governments as an alternative renewable fuel.

"The proposed biofuel plantation will devastate the woodlands, driving the globally threatened Clarke's weaver bird to extinction and depriving thousands of local people of their livelihoods," the RSPB’s Helen Byron told BBC Online.

The story was also featured in the Telegraph.

Spring has very definitely sprung in our countryside and RSPB conservation director Mark Avery joined Radio 2’s Simon Mayo on Wednesday to talk about seasonal birdsong to listen out for.

And one youngster who has a special affinity with birds is ten year-old Emmanuel Adam. The RSPB’s Val Osborne spoke to the Mirror this week about why a jackdaw has taken a particular liking to him and perches happily on his shoulder.

“Jackdaws are incredibly clever and do become humanised very quickly,” she explained.

The issue of farming and the decline of farmland birds has always been a heated one, so it was no surprise that the topic caused heated debate between the RSPB’s Mark Avery and NFU president Peter Kendall this week. The two took park in an online debate for the Farmers Guardian on Monday in which Mark declared, “The RSPB loves farmers to bits!” and hailed farmland conservation success stories including cirl buntings, stone curlews and corncrakes.

The RSPB's new campaign hits the headlines

nik shelton — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 16:57:00 GMT

The big news from the RSPB this week was the launch of our Stepping UP for Nature campaign – the most ambitious campaign the charity has launched in its 122 year history.

The Today programme on Wednesday headed out into the Fens to investigate the way our natural environment has changed over the years, visiting the famous Holme Fen Post and the RSPB’s Lakenheath nature reserve. They also interviewed the RSPB’s director of conservation Mark Avery and the environment secretary Caroline Spelman. It’s well worth a listen and you can catch it here.

Mark also appeared on BBC Breakfast television to talk about the campaign and the launch was also covered on Farming Today as well as in the Mirror, the Daily Telegraph, Farmers Guardian and elsewhere.

Seizing the moment for our seas

Grahame Madge — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 17:34:00 GMT

The state of Europe's seas received significant welcome attention this week with many journalists – including those of the Independ ent, Guardian, Daily Telegraph and BBC News Online - following EU Commissioner Maria Daminaki's comments on the wasteful practice of Europe's fishing fleet discarding a million fish every year. At last there is recognition that the discarding fish is no longer ethically justifiable and must be banned before the balance of life in the seas is destroyed. Maria Damanaki told fisheries ministers that throwing away fish was wasteful, unethical, damaging and must end.

Her call – welcomed by the RSPB - for a Europe-wide ban on discards came as Britain, Denmark, France and Germany signed an accord in which they called for the wholesale reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). The concern over discards has followed the hugely successful ‘fish-fight’, led by celebrity chef Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall. The initiative, which was promoted by Channel 4, saw over 650,000 people sign a petition calling for the practice The item was covered by the Daily Telegraph and Daily Express

A protective shell may have shielded turtles and tortoises but the Independent reports these are now the most endangered group of higher animals, with more than half of their 328 species threatened with extinction because of unsustainable hunting; large scale collection for the pet trade and widespread pollution and habitat destruction. Among birds one in eight of the world’s species are facing extinction.

The numbers of hen harriers have declined by a fifth according to new research. The RSPB blames the decline of hen harriers on illegal persecution on managed grouse moors. Reacting angrily, grouse moor estate managers have said they were being unfairly blamed for the killing of birds of prey. Members of the Scottish Parliament will soon vote on the Wildlife and Natural Environment Bill, which BBC News Online reports would allow those killing birds of prey to be convicted more easily.

Is your garden harbouring an alien? That’s the question being asked this week, as a host of popular plants are threatening to take over the countryside, according to Plantlife. A report – covered in the Daily Mail - names 92 non-native plants sold by garden centres and pond specialists that are in danger of spreading into the wild. Plantlife says many of the species could become the next Japanese knotweeds – alien plants choking the countryside after being set loose by careless gardeners. Plantlife is calling for urgent action to curb the spread of the invaders – and for two plants to be banned from sale.

A cuckoo has reportedly arrived in the UK two months early, according to the Daily Telegraph. The RSPB has said that cuckoos have been recorded in Britain as early as January, but such early sightings was unusual, occurring only every 25 years. “It’s not a sign of climate change or weather cycles changing’” said an RSPB spokesman: “It is more likely an individual in the population has got horrendously lost and out of sync.”

For peat's sake!

nik shelton — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 16:49:00 GMT

Spring is just around the corner and many of us are looking wistfully at our gardens and thinking about bringing it back to life with bulbs, flowers, creepers, fruit, vegetables, hedgerows and everything else green and growing.

Next month is also the Coalition Government’s first full budget. How are the two connected, you may wonder. Well the big story for the RSPB this week was our proposal, backed by several other conservation groups, for a levy on peat based products.

“Peat bogs are full of rare wildlife and suck up carbon, helping to tackle climate change. However the vital natural habitats, including many bogs in Ireland, are being dug up for compost to spread on gardens,” said a story in The Telegraph.

An article in The Times reported that: “Britain’s leading gardening charity has clashed with powerful conservation groups over a campaign for a punitive tax on bags of peat”, saying the RHS has chosen not to support the call for a levy.

The issues was also covered in the Express, the Irish Times, BBC News online and RSPB conservation director Mark Avery was interviewed on Radio 4’s Today Programme about the issue of garden peat.

The Guardian’s environment editor John Vidal gave an overview of the forestry sell off debate at the weekend following the Government’s recent u-turn on the issue. The RSPB, he says, suggests selling off the Forestry Commission’s commercial plantations and investing the money in our wildlife rich woodlands.

“These could be managed by a new combined state wildlife and forestry conservation service made up of Forestry Commission people and Natural England,” he writes. “The ancient woodlands would be restored, says the charity, the heaths would be protected and there would be more access and wildlife.”

The Daily Mail was looking to the skies this week to assess the fortunes of the red kite, one of the UK’s greatest conservation success stories.

“In Victorian times they were treated like vermin and hunted to the brink of extinction,” the article explains, “But red kites are once again flourishing across Britain, thanks to the efforts of conservationists.”

Elsewhere in the national media this week the RSPB was one of the several conservation groups who have contributed towards a new website, visitwoods.co.uk, which allows users to search for their nearest woods, according to the Guardian and The Telegraph today (Friday February 25) reports that the RSPB’s free surveys for farmers are now available across Scotland.

And finally a Daily Mail report on the health benefits of bird watching, as revealed by a Harvard University study, quotes an RSPB spokesperson saying: "Time spent in natural environments is known to promote a positive outlook on life and enhance our ability to cope with, and recover from, stress, illness and injury."

What more encouragement do you need to get outdoors this weekend, shake off the week’s stress and enjoy the wonders of nature on your doorstep?

We can’t see the wood for the trees

nik shelton — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 16:16:00 GMT

We can’t see the wood for the trees with media coverage this week and forestry issues have once again been at the top of the agenda.

Plans for a partial sell-off of the Forestry Commission and its sites have got politicians, environmental groups, and everyday people who like a walk in their woods up in arms. The RSPB has been among those making its opinions clear, cautiously welcoming government promises that protecting and enhancing wildlife was to be a key test for the sales, but condemning it for undermining protection with the public bodies bill.

Among those including the RSPB’s opinions were The Independent and The Guardian.

Linked to the forestry issues, was the announcement this week that the RSPB and the National Trust, two of the UK’s largest conservation organisations, are to co-manage a piece of land together for the first time.

For the next 15 years they will manage the Eastern Moors, on the outskirts of Sheffield, a major gateway to the Peak District national Park, which is one of the most visited national parks in the world. The Daily telegraph was among those who picked up this story.

The RSPB was once again in dispute with other so-called conservation charities over the reasons for the decline of some species of song birds. The RSPB blames changes in the countryside. But, Songbird Survival, which is funding an £88,000 cull, blames larger birds. If a new study finds a link, it could lead to a much wider cull extending to protected species such as sparrowhawks and buzzards.

This story led to widespread media coverage including the Daily Mail and BBC Radio 5 Live, and letters in response in nnewspapers including The Independent and The Times.

Coverage of the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch continued with a vengeance over the weekend, with several mentions in both print and broadcast media.

Dermot O’Leary waxed lyrical about the survey on his Radio 2 show, and the story was also on Radio 2 news reports, 5 Live Morning Reports, BBC World Service and BBC online. Print coverage included Daily Express and Express Saturday magazine, Saturday Telegraph, The Independent, The Guardian, and The Observer.

Follow up pieces this week urged people to make sure their hour spent watching the birds counts by ensuring they submit their results. Among those nudging people to fill out their forms were the Daily Express and The Sun.

Big Garden Birdwatch fever hits the nation

Gemma H — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 10:42:00 GMT

It’s been a busy week here at the RSPB press office - we’ve had it all!

Watching birds in the garden, culling cormorants and crows, saving our forests, the discovery of an exotic bird, and even rapper Tinchy Stryder have all been in the news and linked to the RSPB one way or another. Here’s a rundown...

Well, as last week's news blog rightly predicted, this year's Big Garden Birdwatch has received some great media coverage, and it's still coming. Up to now The Telegraph, Daily Express, BBC Online, Radio 4's The Today Programme and the Daily Mirror have all featured news about the world’s biggest wildlife survey. Even Bill Oddie got in on the act with a great piece in The Guardian about the joys of watching birds and encouraging people to get involved in one of the biggest events in the RSPB calendar.

The Minister for the Natural Environment and Fisheries, Richard Benyon, got himself involved too, taking part in the birdwatch with our director of conservation, Mark Avery, in St James Park.

The Big Schools' Birdwatch was also launched this week with a feature on ITV1's Daybreak. The RSPB's Youth President, Nick Baker, was on the couch talking about the wildlife survey - which is the biggest one of its kind in UK schools - and how to get involved. It even managed to grab the interest of fellow guest, ultra-cool and down-with-the-kids rapper Tinchy Stryder, who happily played with a cuddly blackbird toy to become the newest in a long line of celebrity RSPB fans, giving us a bit of street cred in the process!

'We're not out of the woods yet' was the response from us this week as we cautiously welcomed news that protecting and enhancing wildlife is to be a key test for how the Government plans to dispose of England’s Public Forest Estate. The Independent quoted the Mark Avery saying 'we need to be reassured that whoever manages former state-run forests, whether private individuals, companies, leaseholders or trusts and charities, will protect our native wildlife'.

On Wednesday the announcement of a large-scale trial corvid cull caused a conflict of opinion between the RSPB and Songbird Survival. We don’t believe there’s any evidence to support claims that crows, magpies and the like are responsible for the songbird decline, it’s changes in farming techniques that have considerably affected their numbers. The Times and Daily Mail featured the story, and RSPB species policy officer, Jeff Knott, went head to head with a Songbird Survival rep in a 5 live Drive interview.

And that wasn’t the only bird cull called for this week. The Daily Express told how anglers are campaigning for permission to kill large numbers of cormorants during their breeding season in order to protect fish stocks. Fisheries minister Richard Benyon announced a review of the system for culling cormorants but we think it’s a bad idea. The RSPB’s Grahame Madge got our point of view across on Farming Today in an interview that also featured a member of the Angling Trust.

And finally, a bird which has only been recorded three times in the UK was found dead in a garden in Devon reports BBC Online and The Telegraph. Identified by the RSPB as an American purple gallinule (a species of waterbird, similar to a colourful version of our resident moorhen), its though the death may have been due to exhaustion brought on by the cold weather.

With a week as unpredictable as this, there’s no predicting what’s in store for us come Monday morning.

Don't let the bustards get you down

nik shelton — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 17:06:00 GMT

We kicked off the week nice and early on Monday morning this week by chatting to the Chris Evans breakfast show on Radio 2 about dead birds.

It may not be the most welcome subject for the breakfast table but the recent mysterious reports of bird flocks falling out of the sky across the world have been keeping us very busy throughout January. It’s either down to pesticide poisoning, fermented grape juice or fireworks. Or, quite probably, something else entirely.

Last weekend the RSPB’s conservation director Mark Avery appeared in the Sunday Times taking the Environment Agency to task over the health of our rivers. The Agency recently hailed the Noughties the best decade for UK rivers – but in fact wildlife is suffering along our waterways as a result of pollution and over abstraction. Click here to read the article if you have a subscription to the Times website.

The world’s heaviest flying bird – the great bustard – hit the headlines this week with coverage in the Independent and Daily Telegraph as well as on the BBC news bulletins on Radio 2 and Radio 4. A project to reintroduce this magnificent bird to the UK, backed by the RSPB, the University of Bath and Natural England, is celebrating getting European money to fund four new staff members and new monitoring equipment.

But our favourite bustard piece appeared in the Guardian’s leader column on Thursday suggesting Colin Firth for the lead role in a film about the project. We’ve bought our popcorn already.

The biggest conservation story of the week was the release of a Government report on wild bird populations which highlighted the catastrophic declines in farmland birds in the UK. The report showed seabird populations remain above 1970 levels while woodland birds have declined.

But the most worrying fall in numbers is in our farmed countryside where species such as grey partridges, corn buntings and skylarks have all suffered in recent decades. The story was picked up across the national media with the RSPB’s reaction to the news being covered in The Guardian, Daily Mail, Daily Telegraph, The Times, Daily Mirror and The Sun.

Also this week news of a new project bringing wildlife to Bupa care home residents was featured in the Telegraph and on the BBC News website.

And readers of Telegraph, The Field, Readers Digest, Countryman and Woman and Home were this week given a sneaky peek of the biggest event in many RSPB members’ calendars – Big Garden Birdwatch. The event always manages to capture the public’s imagination and gets great coverage in the media. Watch this space...