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Photo credit Andy Hay Politicians are skilled in the art of compromise. And yet we all know the truth about compromise – it satisfies no one. Our European institutions, namely, the Council(of Ministers from across the EU), Commission and Parliament, are now in the middle of trying to reach a...

A little over 30 years ago I started work with the RSPB, as an assistant investigations officer (see photo to the right). Well actually I was the assistant investigations officer, aiding Peter Robinson who ran ‘Investigations’. It was a UK wide remit – in those days we didn’t...

2013 is going to be an important year for the land use planning system in Scotland and a real test of the Government’s concern for the natural environment. Amongst various important changes, the third National Planning Framework (NPF) for Scotland is in preparation. The NPF provides a national...

Where does the EU budget deal leave Scotland’s wildlife and farmers? Heads of State, including Prime Minister David Cameron, reached agreement on the EU Budget last Friday. This agreement sets out overall spending on the Common Agricultural Policy and will, in due course, determine just how...

Marine Protected Areas 'must do better' for our sealife If London’s streets were said to be paved with gold, Scotland’s riches come in a more liquid form. Throughout our history, Scotland’s seas have been the place to make fortunes: from the boom years of commercial fishing...

I always look forward to reading the State of the UK’s birds , which is a great example of Government agencies and NGO collaboration. The efforts of thousands of volunteers and professional scientists is carefully presented in 40 pages to give an overview of how birds and (as birds are often proxies...

Dirtier than coal Scotland is a forested country, and our native pine forests are an important part of our identity. I’m proud that the RSPB Scotland owns and looks after some of the country’s most beautiful and important woodlands - such as the wonderful Abernethy Forest in the Cairngorms...

What role does society expect farmers to play in caring for the countryside-and are farmers in the mood to be the custodians of our wildlife? I am worried that all the efforts of those in the farming community to help address declines in wildlife in the farmed landscape are going to get ‘drowned...

Red tape makes politicians go ape...... And quite a lot of other people too! Its a pretty regular occurrence to hear business leaders, farmers, politicians, doctors, teachers and many more professions bemoaning the stultifying effect of red tape, ‘jobs worths’ and the gold plating of...

Wildlife Tourism I spend a lot of my time answering questions about where to visit in Scotland; where can I see a golden eagle? What’s the best place to see a capercaillie (the Loch Garten ‘ caperwatch ’ of course!) or where can I see the best spring flowers on the Machair? ...

I really like skylarks. I would go so far as to say I love them. It’s not because they are particularly attractive – though I do enjoy their cryptic colouration and their perky crests. No I love them because of the association they give me to the British countryside. Quintessentially the...

It’s Olympics time and this set me wondering about the extraordinary feats of our wild birds. Who flies the furthest, longest or highest? Who is the heaviest or has the longest wingspan? Or more subjectively which bird is the gaudiest or most beautiful? Whose song is the purest or loudest? Which...

Its about this time of year that the first hard evidence of how the season has been for our priority bird species begins to arrive in our offices. Warden staff on our reserves across Scotland are updating this year’s breeding season data, and off our reserves the conservation staff are now beginning...

Protected areas: our “jewels in the crown” Neither our countryside nor our seas are uniform. Some areas are better for wildlife than others. For conservation, it is important that these ‘hotspots’ are given more attention than the rest. This does not demean the ‘wider...

I saw otter last weekend. Or should I say two otters, a female and a well grown cub. The animals were playing in the sea about 50 metres offshore, diving down and coming up with crabs (Velvet swimming crabs I think) and butterfish. They porpoised through the water from one patch of rock outcrops...

Another Highland Show is over – was it the wettest on record? Certainly the mud splattered condition of my clothes and car would suggest so. But the atmosphere was all warmth – and the range of conversations I had indicated an upbeat mood in the farming, crofting and timber industries. The...

It’s always exciting to go and walk a brand new RSPB reserve, because it gives you a chance to reflect on the journey to bring the reserve into fruition and secure ownership. Each acquisition is special, and has its highs and lows. Sometimes it can take years to assemble the deal. On other occasions...

There are days when you really have to wonder about the farming press. Pages have recently been devoted in Scottish farmer, to events wreaked upon the world by birds of prey. In Scotland, thanks to conservation programmes, red kites are making a comeback, a few years behind England and Wales it has been...

On 11 th May, serial egg collector Matthew Gonshaw pled guilty to charges of taking 20 eggs of Manx shearwater, willow warbler and meadow pipit at Inverness Sherriff Court. Many of the clutches of eggs he has taken over the years were from nests in Scotland, and Sherriff Margaret Neilson decided to make...

The World Fisheries Congress has been in Edinburgh these past few days. This is the first time the meeting has been held in Europe, so a feather in the cap for Scotland. This four yearly meeting of scientists, fisheries organisations, Government officials and related professions was passionately addressed...

I spend a lot of my time talking to farmers, landowners and crofters – and sometimes rather more time in rooms with their officials and representatives than seems healthy! The days when the first question was ‘what are you here for’ is long gone. It has been one of my aims as Scottish...