Stuart Housden's blog

State of Nature in Scotland

2013-05-23T13:50:00Z

State of Nature in Scotland

Yesterday I participated in a ground breaking event. I hosted the launch of the Scottish end of the State of Nature report. This is a collaboration of expert bodies pooling data about wildlife species and diagnosing the problems they face. 25 organisations all deeply concerned at the loss of wildlife – the species we share our islands with, came together to draw a line in the sand.

Scottish wildcat by Roger Wilmshurst.

The logistics of connecting London, Edinburgh, Belfast and Cardiff together so we could all see Sir David Attenborough’s emphatic call to arms – tested our technology. But it was a triumph!

In Edinburgh some 100 guests and partner organisations assembled at the Museum on Chambers street. After Sir David spoke, I ran through what the report contained and the key messages for Scotland. Usefully the partnership have produced a specific insert for each Country of the UK, and Scotland’s can be read here.

Fresh water pearl mussels via bbc.co.uk

The package is a triumph for the authors, including my colleagues Dr Mark Eaton, Dr David Gibbons and many others from across the partner organisations. But it is even more a celebration of all those unsung volunteers who year in year out contribute to the bird, butterfly, plant or other species surveys that take place across all corners of the UK. This knowledgeable band means we now know what is happening to 3,148 species across the UK, which although impressive is just 5% of the 67,500 we care for- our wildlife.

What I told the reception can be read here. But in essence nature must have a home in our country and so we must invest in its future so we can be certain that can happen.

With Deborah Long and Paul Wheelhouse at the launch.

I was pleased that Scottish Government Minister Paul Wheelhouse MSP joined the platform and set out some of the initiatives the Government is planning to deliver on the commitment to halt the loss of Biodiversity by 2020 (a target agreed by all EU countries) under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity. The Minister also set great store by the forthcoming Biodiversity Strategy, which has cleared the Scottish Cabinet and will be launched soon.

I think halting the loss of Biodiversity (ie the decline of wildlife) should be a minimum aspiration for Scotland. I want to see a recovery of some of the special species that Scotland is responsible for – the wildcat, pine hoverfly, Dark bordered beauty moth, Irish ladies tresses, freshwater pearl mussel and many more.

Pine hoverfly by Ross Watson

Last up was my colleague Deborah Long who runs Plantlife Scotland, but is also convener of Scottish Environment Link. She reminded everyone that we need to invest in Nature – think long term and support the efforts of small specialist organisations which encouraged volunteering, ecological expertise and lifeline projects for a myriad of species across the Country.

It was a great event, but it is the start of a process not the end in itself. We look to the Scottish Government to deliver a powerful Biodiversity Strategy that sets the right framework for real action. Which encourages the partnership and harnesses the enthusiasm of the NGO sector. And which gives the courage decision makers need to say no to developments which would damage and erode our wildlife heritage. And yes, delivers some joined up thinking across the land use policy sectors to ensure farmers, foresters, businesses and individuals maximise the wins for ‘eco-system’ services that underpin much of Scotland’s industries, but in ways that enhance wildlife and the experience of people.

Will the CAP ever fit?

2013-04-25T16:21:09Z

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 compromise agreement on how to reform the Common Agricultural Policy. The outcome is likely to be one that everyone can just about live with but which falls way short of the many aspirations for this highly complex, and expensive EU policy.

Change, as history demonstrates, comes slowly in the realm of agriculture policy; reform moves at glacial pace. There are bureaucrats and lobbyists who have spent whole careers doing nothing else! Indeed the first policy paper(which I confess to being involved with writing) the RSPB published on this subject was in the early 1980’s.The tragedy though is that the challenges these reforms must address are moving apace –much faster than the speed at which policy responses are introduced. Whether it’s environmental challenges such as rapidly declining farmland biodiversity, climate change or diffuse pollution or challenges such as improving the competiveness of agriculture and encouraging new entrants, the CAP’s response always seems to be too little, too late. This round of reforms probably will result in a CAP of a slightly greener tinge and in a somewhat more equitable distribution of funds between and within Member States. But these are minor adjustments compared to what’s needed given the crisis facing wildlife across the EU.

Whatever the EU compromise struck, probably towards the end of June, one thing is certain. The large amount of flexibility that Agriculture Ministers across Europe are calling for to enable them to respond to national and regional needs, will be core to the agreement. The Common Agricultural Policy looks less ‘common’ by the day. The upside of this will be the opportunities it gives to those Ministers who wish to be bold and forge new paths, within the framework of the regulations. Will Scotland’s Richard Lochhead be one of the bold ones?

Scotland is well ahead of the game in thinking about how to implement a new CAP and some of the options the final agreement is likely to contain – the Cabinet Secretary, Richard Lochhead, is to be applauded for this. The only problem is, we’ve started to think about modes of travel before we’ve decided our destination. Knowing where we want to go to will determine whether it’s better to go by bike, car or train and which route to take! Ambition is likely to be constrained by the resources available, especially to fund management to protect and restore our wildlife. Scotland still has rich wildlife resources in its High Nature Value Farming Areas .But those who care for this heritage face many challenges.

The decisions taken in the next 6-12 months will decide the path we set off on and the destination we reach by 2020. This is incredibly important, for it will determine what legacy we leave future generations. Will we stand then and look across Scotland’s rural landscape and see we took the right decisions? Will our communities be prosperous and invest time and energy in protecting landscapes and the finest wildlife sites? Or will we find ourselves back ploughing the same old furrow and wondering why so little has improved, and why wildlife continues to disappear from the countryside? Now is the time for vision and a clear statement of what we want the future of agriculture - and the natural environment it depends on - to look and be like. Investing in landscapes and wildlife-is not a peripheral luxury-its what taxpayers across Scotland, and the rest of the EU so evidently want. Can our politicians think about the longer term and deliver the means to do it?

Unwavering commitment to tackling wildlife crime

2013-04-25T09:57:00Z

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 have specialist Investigations staff based in Scotland, or indeed anywhere away from the Lodge. So I travelled far and wide, often clocking up 50,000 miles a year in pursuit of egg collectors, falcon thieves, poisoners and rogue gamekeepers.

The persecution of raptors was an abhorrent crime then and remains so today. I well remember discovering huge chest freezers full of dead raptors that had been sold or passed to a taxidermist by gamekeepers and the like. But to be honest if you had told me then that 30 years later this despicable persecution would still be rife, I would have found this impossible to believe – oh the naivety of youth!

The RSPB is steeped in the drive to protect all native bird species. For example we campaigned to offer raptors legal protection. We successfully banned the evil pole trap in 1904, and worked tirelessly throughout our history to see our internationally important birds of prey protected. First through local Acts of Parliament and then latterly by drafting what became the 1954 Protection of Birds Act.

Given this I do find it disappointing that anyone should think I – or the RSPB - would do anything that gives comfort to anyone who persecutes birds of prey. By being steadfast in this subject we have won praise but also made many powerfully connected enemies. Just read some of the letters in Shooting Times or even from journalists of the standing of Magnus Linklater. I know firsthand that some charitable trusts and corporate sponsors who don’t favour applications for support from RSPB – simply because of our unyielding support for birds of prey and our desire to see the law upheld.

Many people share our passion, but it saddens me that some of them use their zeal to target the RSPB as happened recently in the Sunday Herald. I don’t doubt for a minute that these critics are just as concerned as I am about what happens in the uplands of Britain to our hen harriers, golden eagles, peregrines and other birds of prey. But in my view their energies would be more constructively directed at MPs and MSPs to strengthen the legislations to protect birds of prey – and at the courts to raise penalties for those who break the law.

Contrary to their assertions, the Scottish Birdfair held at Hopetoun House on 11-12^th May – does not give cover to lawbreakers, nor does it signal any lacking of our commitment to tackle wrongdoing without fear or favour. We are committed to our continuing resolute opposition to the despicable perpetrators of raptor crime. And on my watch that will never change.

2013 is an important year for the land use planning system & real test of Government's concern for the natural environment

2013-02-20T11:35:00Z

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 spatial overview of the country and indicates what type of development the Government believes should happen, and where.

Menie Estate SSSI May 2006 (prior to Donald Trump's development)

To be honest the Scottish Government have a lot to prove to show that the planning system isn’t all about how unpopular, environmentally damaging projects can be bulldozed through against the wishes of local people and those of us who care about Scotland’s wildlife. Although they made a promising start to their first term in Government by refusing consent for the Lewis wind farm in 2008, that was quickly countered when they went out of their way to call in, and overturn, the local authority’s decision and approve Donald Trump’s SSSI wrecking golf course in Aberdeenshire. They also put forward a number of environmentally damaging proposals in the last NPF, NPF2. Not least of these was a coal fired power station at Hunterston in Ayrshire, which would have concreted over a large part of an important intertidal sand flat for wintering water birds as well as emitting masses of additional greenhouse gas emissions. The power station was vigorously opposed by RSPB Scotland, a coalition of other environmental and faith organisations and received well over 20,000 objections (making it the most unpopular application ever in Scotland) before it was eventually abandoned by the developers last year.

The proposed Hunterston development would have damaged important habitat for wintering water birds like redshank (photo: Andy Hay)

NPF2 isn’t all bad though. It includes some promising wording on the value and importance of Scotland’s natural environment. It also identifies a “Central Scotland Green Network” (CSGN) as a national development, which aims to improve the quality of the natural environment across central Scotland, as well as providing new opportunities for sustainable transport and recreation. RSPB Scotland are making real progress towards helping deliver the CSGN through our Inner Forth Futurescape and our role as part of the Inner Forth Landscape Partnership.

We believe the next NPF needs to improve on this. As well as providing further support for the CSGN, it should identify the value of existing important areas for wildlife across Scotland and seek to improve their quality and add to them by identifying a “National Ecological Network” as a national development. This would enhance our existing network of protected wildlife sites and make them more resilient to the effects of continued pressure from development, other land use change and the effects of climate change. RSPB Scotland and the Scottish Wildlife Trust have jointly submitted a proposal for a National Ecological Network to the Scottish Government and we hope they will take it forward.

Protecting and enhancing our natural environment and creating new “green” infrastructure for wildlife will be every bit as important to creating a country where people want to live, work and invest as developing the built infrastructure so beloved of those convinced that “concrete pouring” is all that the economy needs . This is the year of natural Scotland, what better legacy than a commitment to enhance and invest in wildlife and green space? Or will we see more power stations and golf courses on protected wildlife sites in NPF3?

Where does the EU budget deal leave Scotland's wildlife and farmers?

2013-02-12T10:10:00Z

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 much public money will be spent supporting Scotland’s farmers in future years. Scotland gets a poor deal from the CAP - especially for its Rural Development Programme which is severely underfunded. The reasons for this are in part historical -Scotland didn’t adopt things like agri-environment programmes until quite late in the day, so didn’t build up a ‘budget’ to work with. But all this is water under the bridge and hopes of a better deal for wildlife friendly farmers had been raised by EU Commissioner Ciolos. Unfortunately nothing about the deal struck by the Heads of State bodes well for increasing the funding available for those farmers who produce food in harmony with the environment – our High Nature Value farmers - of which we have a good many in Scotland.

Such farmers are dependent on support that compensates for the physical constraints of the land being farmed and on schemes that pay for environmental land management. Regrettably, it’s exactly this kind of support that will get the smallest share of the CAP – just 23% of the total. Meanwhile, direct payments will continue to receive the lion’s share of the CAP budget and proposals to ‘green’ these payments have been greatly watered down. We now need Cabinet Secretary, Richard Lochhead to enter quickly into discussions with UK and other devolved country Ministers to determine how the overall (and inadequate) UK pot of money will be divided. And we need all Ministers to agree to use the option to move money from poorly targeted direct payments into Rural Development Programmes to support wildlife friendly farming and sensible business diversification.

To explain this another way - I want farmers and crofters in Scotland to receive positive help to care for our wildlife, not find that they are better off by ignoring it, or worse still being paid to do things that wreck it. If we want to protect what makes our countryside special-the flowers, the birds and the patchwork of moor, mountain and wetland then we must invest in its future. That is why the reform of the CAP is so important to everyone, and not just farmers. To read more visit: http://www.rspb.org.uk/news/339926-uk-leaders-urged-to-save-wildlife-after-terrible-european-budget-deal.

It’s a start of another year – and it will be a challenging and potentially testing one!

2013-01-07T15:18:14Z

It’s a start of another year – and it will be a challenging and potentially testing one!

Firstly there is the Year of Natural Scotland to celebrate. This is stacking up to be something special and certainly RSPB Scotland will be offering a warm welcome to visitors young and old at our nature reserves and many events across the country. But we want it to be more than just a celebration – we must have a legacy. The Natural environment needs care and investment – resilient though it is it does not come free. We will be watching to see how the Scottish Government responds to this closely.

One of our flagship event is the 2^nd Scottish Bird fair, which is being held on the 11^th and 12^th of May. It’s already stacking up to be bigger and better than last year with more exhibitors and more of our conservation partners attending. Do come along and join in the fun! And we are also celebrating the wildlife and conservation champions who go the extra mile to look after our famous wildlife and beautiful landscapes. Why not nominate somebody or your local group for an award? The Nature of Scotland Awards are open for nominations.

But what of the practical work we hope to do in 2013? There are so many exciting projects and we could spend our budget five times over on plans to restore habitats, create wetlands or open new visitor facilities, but a few of my highlights are :-

The Flow Country of Caithness and Sutherland

RSPB Forsinard situated in the Flow Country by Eleanor Bentall

One of the world’s most amazing deep blanket peatlands extending to over 500,000Ha – and in the heart of it are special areas offered European protection for their wildlife. RSPB Scotland is leading a partnership of community, forestry and conservation bodies to restore a huge area for its wildlife and for its carbon storing qualities. A Phase 1 pass has been awarded by the HLF for which all the partners are very grateful. Work now starts in earnest to win the crucial 2^nd stage pass – and with it the financial support to invest in education, research and practical conservation work restoring even more of this beautiful and remote area.

Further front edge science in the Marine Environment

Adult shag fitted with GPS tracker by Andy Hay

The RSPB is part of the FAME project, which is using new technology to monitor where the sea birds which nest around the coast of Scotland go to feed. Our sea bird colonies contain some 45% of all the sea birds found in the EU – but many are in steep decline. Knowing the causes of this, and where the birds are foraging for food to feed their young is essential if conservation measures are going to work.

Look at these maps showing where nesting razorbills and fulmars go to find food – Quite extraordinary stuff which is changing the way we think about sea birds and thus the way we do marine conservation. It’s costly work to do, but the results are quite simply stunning.

Management for breeding waders – lapwing, redshank, snipe and curlew.

Young lapwing on farmland by Andy Hay

These lovely birds are declining across much of the farmed landscape. Either areas are becoming undergrazed and rushy, or they are being drained and re-seeded for more intensive agricultural use, often as early cut silage fields. Add to that the blocks of forestry planted near suitable wet meadows (waders avoid forestry) and grasslands – and you can understand why this group of birds need help.

On our reserves we have been trialling a range of techniques to help waders – numbers have responded well at a number of sites. At others problems with spring flooding or predation from foxes or badgers have thwarted us. But RSPB Scotland reserves are now amongst the best places to watch a Lapwing displaying eg at Loch Leven or Insh Marshes.

We plan further habitat improvements – cutting and grazing rank vegetation, improving water control and where necessary either fencing out ground predators or where that’s impossible and necessary,controlling foxes by shooting.

We are also working with many farmers and crofters via our Wader Friendly Farming Initiative (WFFI). I am pleased the SRUC, NFUS,SNH and Crofting foundation back this – but we desperately need more farmers and crofters to sign up for a free advisory visit – if you know anyone who has waders on their farm or croft and may be interested please contact Chris Bailey at chris.bailey@rspb.org.uk Alternatively have a look at our wader management web pages using the WFFI link above.

So these are just some of the exciting projects that we are working on in Scotland. It’s important to remember that Scotland’s wildlife needs investment and the practical support of land managers, farmers, foresters and decision makers if it is to thrive. You can all help with that, by joining the RSPB, supporting the many local groups who are working across the country getting their boots muddy, campaigning to protect wildlife sites,volunteering at a nature reserve, or leading a group of youngsters into the outdoors to show them the wonderful wildlife on our doorstep. Make that your resolution for 2013!

Marine Protected Areas 'must do better' for our sealife

2012-12-14T12:50:00Z

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, through the extraction of hydrocarbons and vast expansion of aquaculture, to the modern day, with renewable energy the new industry on the block. With all this activity, it became clear that marine environmental protection- and with it, better planning- were critical.

Following a decade of campaigning, RSPB Scotland were delighted to see the Marine (Scotland) Act finally become law in 2010. We even went so far as to brief our partners in the EU about its excellence. After years of the Marine environment being the poor cousin, here was an opportunity to ensure it was placed at the heart of decisions on how and where human activity took place at sea. And there is no doubt the legislation is commendable in its scope and approach.

The origins of this legislation (and its English equivalent) lie in the “OSPAR Commission”- which implements the Oslo & Paris Conventions on the North East Atlantic. This initiative was taken forward at the 2002 Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development where world leaders agreed to a network of marine protected areas by the end of 2012. I was pleased to be present at this gathering and even more delighted to see Scottish ministers lead the way in supporting this commitment.

What an opportunity it is too, full of ambitious commitments which should help recover Scotland’s beleaguered seas, including duties on ministers to declare a network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and create a National Marine Plan. Cross-party and industry support gave this idea real momentum, which one might have expected to continue for many years after the words became law.

Now, 10 years after the summit, and a couple of years since the legislation was passed, the reality is rather different. The plans to roll-out marine renewable energy and an oil and gas strategy aiming at £30bn in annual sales continue apace but we are still without the National Marine Plan, now two years late – the very document that is supposed to ensure these activities happen sustainably and that essential marine assets, especially wildlife, are not damaged inadvertently by the dash for development.

Most worryingly, the process of identifying protected areas – the cornerstone of any conservation programme - is the greatest missed opportunity. The marine environment has been notoriously under protected; despite Scotland’s international importance for marine creatures, from the highly visible seabirds and cetaceans, through to undersea communities of corals and sponges. It has too often been out of sight and out of mind. There is not one protected area safeguarding the important places where seabirds feed at sea. We hoped this would be rectified by the process to identify MPAs, but sadly they have been almost completely ignored in the process of selecting the proposed MPAs. The Scottish Government says seabirds will be adequately protected by sites designated under EU legislation – the current state of play gives us little faith that this will be the case with modest areas alongside breeding colonies protected, but nothing to safeguard the huge congregations found around our seas in the autumn and winter.

It is a big leap forward to have new protected areas in Scotland’s seas – but why the lack of ambition? Why, despite the promises made, does the environment get sidelined by politicians as secondary to economic interests? Even economically speaking, this is short-sighted - work commissioned by Scottish Environment LINK conservatively indicated that a network of Marine Protected Areas could bring as much as £10 billion in economic ‘value’ over 20 years to our economy.

Ecological sustainability is the foundation of economic sustainability. Surrounded as we are by such dazzling seascapes and productive waters, the Scottish Government forgets that at our peril.

State of the UK's birds

2012-11-21T15:21:00Z

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 for the Natural environment) our natural habitats are faring.

This year’s report is as eye opening as ever, with its cover picture of a Southern rock hopper penguin (yes it’s a British bird and it occurs on a UK overseas territory), to the list of surveys current and planned (p. 36/7), it’s full of facts, things to celebrate and things to worry about. Quite rightly its release earlier in the week attracted much publicity and once again shows how serious evidence can have an impact. The question I suppose is can it influence politicians and decision makers to do the right thing? Having the evidence to underpin your case certainly helps, but bitter experience shows that alone it is often not enough – but let’s not be downcast.

From a Scottish perspective there is certainly some good news. Birds like Great spotted woodpeckers, goldfinch, great tits and whitethroats are on the up. We also know that thanks to the hard work of RSPB Scotland and many farmers and crofters, rare species like corncrakes are doing pretty well. The black grouse too has recovered from its low point 5 or 6 years ago thanks to efforts by landowners, forestry and conservation bodies.

Great spotted woodpecker by Tom Marshall

But this good news is somewhat overshadowed by the bad. Willow tits are in deep trouble down over 60% in 15 years and they have disappeared from much of their range in Scotland. The Arctic skua which nests on Orkney and Shetland has crashed and is now less than 1,500 pairs. Repeated food shortages have disrupted the breeding success of this lovely piratical seabird.

Arctic skua chick by Andy Hay

Seabirds in particular are now in serious trouble. The species most affected are those which feed on sandeels – particularly surface feeders like Arctic terns and kittiwake. Species such as Gannets which take discards and plunge dive for bigger fish continue to do well. It is the terns and kittiwakes where the problems occur. Indeed RSPB Scotland staff are reporting the loss of whole colonies of kittiwakes on Orkney and only tiny numbers of chicks in formerly thriving Arctic tern colonies on Shetland. The fall in breeding productivity and survival of these birds has been related to declines in sandeels – probably linked to changes in the zooplankton caused by warming seas.

Arctic tern by Chris Gomersall

One of the more curious facts from the report is on page 21, where an estimate of the biomass of all wild birds in the UK is given. This shows starkly that non native birds like Canada geese and pheasants make up approximately a quarter of the total bird biomass in the UK, despite forming only 3% of the bird population! One wonders what impacts this must have on the ecosystems into which they have been introduced – and how much commoner foxes and other generalist predators must be as a result! A quite thought provoking statistic.

Lastly on the seabird theme I am shocked by the serious declines in long -tailed ducks and velvet scoters. These birds nest around Finland and in the Baltic – they have crashed in numbers. I love visiting the sea wall at Musselburgh to watch them displaying in late winter on the sheltered waters of the Firth of Forth. This is a great wildlife spectacle which we cannot let go – for they are such wonderful birds and off the coast of Edinburgh is one of the best places in the UK to see them.

Long-tailed duck by Danny Green

We need to protect these Scottish wintering grounds through establishing Marine Protected Areas for them, and work internationally to save these species on their Baltic breeding grounds. Support our campaign to establish Scottish MPAs here.

Dirtier than coal

2012-11-12T09:53:00Z

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 National Park – but as well as conserving forests, we’re also ready to fell them when that’s the right thing to do for nature. Look at our work at Forsinard Flows, for example, where we’ve been restoring an enormous peat bog by removing hundreds of hectares of plantation forestry that should never have been established in such a precious place in the first place.

Bog pools and conifer plantation, Forsinard Flows

That’s why I read the RSPB’s new report – Dirtier than coal? – with great interest.

The premise of this report is that burning whole trees in power stations emits more carbon than burning coal. This is because wood is less energy dense than coal, which means it is bulkier to transport, requires drying, and is less efficient to burn.

Governments across the world, and the growing bioenergy industry argue that the emissions that come out of the chimney in a power station when wood is burnt can be counted as zero as they are neutralised by regrowth of the forest following harvest. In reality, it takes time for trees to regrow and recapture the carbon, thus a ‘carbon debt’ is created when the wood is burnt, and it can then take decades or even centuries for forests to regrow, recapture this carbon and repay the debt.

Taking conifer trees as an example, research has shown that burning the whole tree – including the trunk – emits 49% more CO2 than coal.

The Scottish Government have shown leadership on this issue, recognising the serious problems associated with using trees for industrial electricity generation. Critically, they have proposed a cap on the size of power stations they will support with public subsidy. However, they need to go further and ensure support for burning whole trees is ruled out entirely.

This isn’t just a carbon issue though. Across the UK, plans to burn trees in power stations will create an enormous demand for wood – Government projections suggest it could be as high as six times the total current UK wood production. Most of this wood will, of course, be imported from countries like Canada, the Baltic States and the USA, where their forests are already under serious pressure for the existing wood and paper industries.

That’s why conservation groups like the Dogwood Alliance – who work to protect the extraordinary wildlife of the USA’s Southern Forests – are opposing plans for new pellet plants that are coming forward to supply the UK and European bioenergy market.

I wish them the best of luck, because just as Abernethy is one of our great treasures, the Southern Forests are part of their natural heritage, and I for one do not want to see electricity generation in Scotland or the rest of the UK causing wildlife decline there, particularly when we have a huge renewable energy resource of our own in the wind, sun and waves.

What role does society expect farmers to play in caring for the countryside- and are farmers in the mood to be custodians of our wildlife?

2012-10-17T14:10:00Z

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 out’ by the row over the badger cull. I am a bit of an observer on the sidelines, as Defra’s plans don’t affect Scotland, and just as importantly we are thankfully free of the bovine TB in Scotland. The RSPB’s views on the badger cull are set out here. We don’t consider the science justifies what is proposed.

But the stance adopted by the Government in England is a worry. Serious evidence and rational views promoted by well regarded scientists are being ignored, or in some cases traduced by some of the sillier statements from the NFU. It’s also noteworthy that you don’t see these farm leaders making rousing speeches exhorting farmers to do more for wildlife on their farms – instead lots of good people quietly get on with it below the radar – the RSPB actively celebrates them through the popular Nature of Farming Award, sponsored by the Daily Telegraph and run with our partners in Plantlife et al.

The big risk is that the approach adopted over the badger cull will create division between people who should work together, and equally worryingly some of the farmers who go the extra mile for wildlife may feel discouraged or isolated. The media will make this a farmer vs. animal lobby debate.

I think we are going through an odd time at the moment. Some farmers seem to be increasingly intolerant of the bits of nature they cannot bend to their will. And rather than work on the basis of evidence, science and pragmatic compromise politicians are selling wildlife short. This applies in Scotland as much as England.

Recently through some parliamentary questions from Alison Johnstone MSP we discovered that the Scottish Government and SNH were licensing the culling of some 600 ravens annually. It is permitted to licence the killing of ravens to prevent serious losses to crops, livestock and property. And don’t get me wrong ravens can attack young lambs. But 600 ravens out of a population estimated to be between 2,500-6,000 pairs (but more post breeding) is a fair percentage. It’s fair to ask what steps the farmers who suffer the losses are taking to minimise such impacts before reaching for the gun. And are some sporting estates controlling ravens under the cover of preventing loss or damage to sheep rearing interests-but really trying to rid themselves of another wild predator of red grouse - something not permitted by the legislation (or warranted)?

The publication Scottish Farmer is full of letters and comment based on anecdote often showing an implacable hatred of raptors, ravens and now geese. A recent letter stated that tolerance of Sparrowhawks by SNH had driven blackbirds to local extinction . In fact breeding blackbird numbers in Scotland are up 24% in the last 15 years. In Dumfries and Galloway a small population of red kites are reportedly decimating sand martin numbers – again the data shows sand martins are actually increasing all across the UK.

I am afraid farmers cannot divorce themselves from nature and control the wildlife they have on their land to suit these prejudices. The law, EU policies and the public think differently. And the public do have a say as they give their money very generously to farmers. Farmers should also be aware that serious declines in many of the bird species (and lots of bees, butterflies, plants and so on) found on farmland – started in the early 1970’s (and perhaps earlier but the data are scant) well before the recovery in numbers of buzzards, sparrowhawks or red kites. And although what has happened to some birds is stark-it is no less so for other groups of once common creatures.

Photo: Mike Edwards

No bird of prey has destroyed the great yellow bumble bee – once found in many parts of the UK, but now confined to Orkney, along the Caithness coast and parts of the Hebrides.(see map from NBN below). It was farming changes that caused it to decline. Detailed scientific investigations by bodies such as the BTO, RSPB, GWCT and NERC/ITE have produced copious evidence that changes to farming practice – often quite subtle changes, have had a huge impact on wildlife in the countryside all over the UK.

Great Yellow bumblebee records: 1900-1990 (yellow) and 1990-2010 (red). Data from NBN

The loss of stubbles as farmers adopted winter sown crops was one of the biggest changes. The drainage of wet areas, the loss of flower filled hay meadows to green silage fields and the switch away from mixed farming have all played a part. Specialisation, bigger machinery, pesticides and fertilisers have boosted production but have combined to leave less space for wildlife-not just birds. But rather than be implacably opposed to each other-many farmers/crofters and bodies like the RSPB recognise that we need farmers skills to help solve these problems-without them it’s simply not possible. So we must find sensible ways to do this-and lobby jointly for the policies, such as a well funded agri-environment schemes, to make it happen.

Let’s finish on geese. Geese graze grasses, and salt marsh and bog plants. Scotland is famous for its wonderful flocks of wintering geese. As farmers improved fields for agriculture, including wetlands and Merse where geese were always found – the geese soon learnt that these more productive swards were not just good for cattle and sheep, they were more nutritious for them too. Better nutrition means more survive the winter and return to their high arctic winter grounds in good condition. Breeding productivity increases..more return. So the geese are taking advantage of the farmland intensification that has been driven by production orientated Government subsidies, latterly via the CAP. Farmers now find that geese are damaging these intensively managed fields of grass. They want goose populations reduced, and the Government (ie you the taxpayer) to pay for this and compensate them for their losses. Geese have always been a part of the landscape – arriving every winter from the high Arctic. We have a legal and moral duty to care for them. We must also recognise that some farming systems in Scotland are highly valuable for wildlife. Big numbers of geese can cause farmers to change these beneficial practises so that areas which support corncrakes and corn buntings are lost. We need to explore all options so that wild goose populations and high nature value farming can coexist – that will need flexibility from all sides and a calm evidence based approach-with farmers playing their part as the custodians of the countryside and our wildlife. I for one am happy to lead RSPB Scotland down that path-who is joining me on the journey?

Red tape makes politicians go ape...

2012-10-05T08:30:00Z

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 EU rules that we in Britain apparently have to put up with. But the evidence to support this charge is less compelling as the ‘Davidson’ review demonstrated.

Sometimes I have been known to express my frustration with regulation! You can imagine the scene. RSPB Scotland is preparing to restore an area of habitat to its former glory – so it supports more scarce and declining species. Species which have been listed by the UK Government, and the Scottish Government as priorities for conservation action. The habitat was afforested by non-native conifers some 25 years ago (with no environmental considerations) by the previous owner who received a large slab of taxpayers money for his pains. Our proposals to restore the area are held up by 18 months so that an Environmental Assessment can be carried out and interested parties consulted. Were they consulted when the damage was done? Was an environmental assessment required? You can guess the answer!

So I do understand the frustration people can have with ‘mindless’ bureaucracy, which does not appear to be joined up or ‘sensible’, but imagine the scene for a moment if industry, developers,farmers or the forestry industry were allowed a free for all. Factories could discharge pollution into our rivers and seas. Smokestacks would belch toxic fumes into the air impacting our health and wellbeing. Your neighbour could extend his house blocking your amenities, farmers could drain wetlands, plough up moorlands, even kill protected species they viewed as pests, and spray pesticides willy nilly. Ancient woodlands could be felled without any sanction. Developers and Local authorities would construct new roads, housing and factories, often in inappropriate places of high landscape or conservation value. Or they would build in floodplains where storm events would flood out the new homeowners.

The fact is regulation is necessary to curb individual behaviour for the common good. To stand up for the wider public interest against short term gains. That way we can protect what is precious, and ensure our health and the environment is cared for-for the benefit of all,including those generations yet to come. But still the pressure to look for a light touch approach seems relentless as is the pressure on the regulators themselves, such as SEPA, or Planning authorities.

The latest red tape review affecting rural areas has recently been announced by the Scottish Government. My old friend Brian Pack has been pressed into service again. He has a wise head on his shoulders. I am confident the team chosen to do this task will approach their work thoughtfully under his lead. They should look at reviews which struggled to find gold plating of EU Environmental requirements. The review should be evidence led, and not be swayed by loud voices with vested interests. Certainly improvements can always be made and any unnecessary duplication should be challenged. But industries which rely on large sums of public money should not begrudge the public in having a say on how those businesses are conducted. That is why farmers who receive payments from the CAP are subject to ‘Cross Compliance’ or GAEC. This requires them to follow rules to maintain the land in Good Agricultural and Environmental Condition. In my view much energy is given over to the agricultural- from tagging sheep, measuring the exact boundaries of fields, deciding if land is rough grazing or not for example, and nowhere near enough on the Environmental. Including protecting watercourses and wetlands, keeping the scrub and hedges of value to wildlife, looking after protected areas and obeying laws not to poison protected birds and the like.

But as in all things the health of our people, the look of our countryside and the wildlife it supports depends on a balance of regulation which is open and fairly applied, and incentives which invest in those qualities that make our countryside (& towns and cities) something to be proud of. I certainly support the view that taxpayers should pay farmers and others for going the extra mile and changing their practises to benefit conservation-but all farmers, especially if they take the subsidy should deliver the basic requirements to protect soils, water and wildlife. If Brian Pack and his team can focus down on what really matters, and make regulation efficient and proportionate-in a way which helps improve our farmed Environment and the wildlife it supports, he will have done all society a big favour-not least the farming community.

Wildlife tourism

2012-09-18T11:16:00Z

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?

Photo: Desmond Dugan

Wherever I travel people think of Scotland as a great place to see nature and are envious of what we have on our doorstep. Sadly that enthusiasm doesn’t always seem to be shared by some of my fellow citizens who complain vocally about geese, raptors, ‘balance’, introduced beavers and so on. At times you begin to wonder if they would prefer their native animals to be removed entirely!

Hopefully that will begin to change with the launch next year - 2013 - as the year of Natural Scotland. This will celebrate our wonderful landscapes, wildlife and outdoors. I hope it’s not a flash in the pan – and certainly RSPB Scotland is fully behind this Government initiative. I hope too it persuades decision makers in our Government to invest in caring for nature and make wise decisions about development impacts – protecting the best of what is on offer for wildlife and people to enjoy. And to be honest we could do rather better as a Nation to recognise and act on this, challenging short term decisions which can lead to long term degradation of the natural environment.

Given the interest in Scotland’s coasts, seas and landscapes from growing numbers of ‘eco’ tourists, it was quite a contrast to find myself in the Kruger National Park in South Africa for a week in late August. This is one of the great national parks of South Africa, but it is very accessible for large numbers of South Africans as well as overseas tourists. Unlike ‘our’ National Parks it is given over to wildlife (&low key tourism). The park saw its beginnings in 1926. In 2002 the fences to the North and East were taken down so animals can now roam into equivalent areas in Mozambique (Limpopo NP) and Zimbabwe (Gonarezhou NP). The scale of the Kruger is huge over 19,485 sq km(nearly a quarter of the area of Scotland!).

Quite rightly overseas visitors are asked to make a serious contribution to the parks running costs – a conservation fee of some $20 USD per day is levied and I for one did not begrudge this one bit. It pays for the infrastructure, but also the anti-poaching patrols. Sadly I saw some evidence of what poachers can do, with a lion with an appalling snare wound seen near Pafuri at the northern end of the park. Hopefully after some veterinary attention the lion will recover.

I saw four of the big ‘five’ – lion, rhino(white), elephant(many), buffalo (lots) – but missed leopard. When you see your first elephants in the wild you sort of wish you had never seen them in a zoo – they are just such extraordinary animals. The Kruger has big herds.

If my tourism dollars can help ensure my kids and grandson can see landscape scale habitats, full of all the mammals and birds you would expect – from top predators down, then that suits me just fine. So well done SAN parks – and the people of South Africa who have set aside serious areas of land for nature. I think we in Scotland, and the UK should be humbled by this and could learn something. Not least the need for the Governments of the UK as well as ‘eco’ tourists, to contribute more to protect and enhance our wildlife and countryside.

By the way I saw the bird ‘big 6’ – Martial eagle, Ground hornbill, Kori bustard, Saddle billed stork---but can you name the other two?

Give skylarks space to improve their fortunes

2012-08-17T15:46:00Z

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 sound of a soaring skylark as it ascends from a grassy hill slope into the summer sky is worth more than anything (listen here). I also love those October days on the East coast – say at Barns Ness in East Lothian, when on a cool Easterly wind the call of groups of skylarks can be heard as they head inland after crossing the North sea, escaping the hard winters of Scandinavia which will freeze the ground and deny the larks access to the food they need.

Photo: Ben Hall

Skylarks are amongst the most widespread birds in the UK, they can be seen from Cornwall to Caithness and from Fermanagh to Norfolk – at virtually any time of the year. But how many of our fellow citizens know if they have seen or heard a skylark? Can they hear them above the roar of the traffic?

Sadly the ability to see one has halved in the past 40 years. Estimates from the BTO/RSPB/JNCC Breeding Bird Survey show that trend appears to be continuing, but at a faster rate in England than Scotland. That’s probably because Scotland still has a lot of Spring sown arable crops-which the birds favour and that also means lots of winter stubbles. They are still widespread, but rather than every walk in the countryside being accompanied by the distant song from a soaring male lark, you make a mental note if and when you hear one these days.

Why has this happened? Relatively few of the skylarks preferred farmland and fields have been covered by roads and housing – they still remain so some other factors are at work. Skylarks nest on the ground in grass or crops, they feed insects to their young, and in winter they depend on grass and weed seeds. A simple life that for generations was amply provided for – but sadly less often nowadays.

If you nest on the ground you are vulnerable to farming operations like rolling fields, harvesting crops or cutting silage. A skylark needs 40-45 days to lay a clutch of eggs and rear young to the stage they can fly. In the more intensive arable regions there is simply not enough time between agricultural operations to allow this. Furthermore the switch to winter sown cereals mean that in the spring as skylarks try and nest the crops are already well grown and too dense for skylarks to nest in (the loss of winter stubble also means no gleanings either).

Photo: Chris Gomersall

In dairy and intensive beef rearing areas, grass fields are lush because of the investment farmers make in fertiliser, rolling the fields, drainage and the like, to increase yields of grass – cut as silage for the cattle. We all know that dairy farmers in particular are up against it financially, so what they are doing makes good economic sense so who can blame them. Again skylarks find such fields rather hostile for breeding with rolling and early cuts of silage in particular making life nigh on impossible, and there is not much food for them either.

This combination means that skylarks in the lowlands are pushed to grassy margins or along ‘tram’ lines through the arable crops-where the wheels of the tractors keep areas open, but we now know this makes them and their nests more vulnerable to ground predators like foxes.

It’s only in the Upland fringe, where extensive farming practises hold sway do they hold their own. Interestingly they can also breed on higher areas of saltmarsh which escape the tide, and which in winter have many saltmarsh plant seeds to feed on. But help is at hand. At our Mersehead reserve on the Solway, our use of Spring cropping and broad field margins has seen skylarks increase from a handful of pairs to over 200 in the space of 10 years. And better still at the RSPB’s Hope farm we have pioneered skylark ‘patches’ for winter sown arable cops. These small areas are sown at lower seed density, cost the farmer little by way of lost production (indeed the English Higher level agri-env scheme will even pay you to do it), and skylarks love them. When set-aside was widespread we found that birds like skylarks, lapwings and grey partridges loved the fallow weedy fields and numbers increased locally. So the lessons are clear, give skylarks some space on the farm and we can improve their fortunes. Recently I helped launch a new initiative with the SAC, one of the UK’s largest agricultural research and training institutes, to investigate how we can make dairy farms better for birds like skylarks. Farmers want to know practical low-cost actions they can take to help birds-and we are at the forefront in trialling this.

So lets celebrate the skylark and encourage and reward farmers to give just a little piece of their farms for this truly wonderful bird, that has inspired so many down the years about the British countryside.

Olympic birds

2012-07-31T14:15:00Z

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 bird is the tastiest? Clearly French President Mitterand knew the answer to the latter as his dying wish to eat a dish of Ortolan buntings was reportedly granted – despite the birds being legally protected!

Migration throws up all sorts of surprises. I remember as a school boy I saw a dainty Pallas’s warbler in a small wood on Beachy Head. A tiny leaf warbler less than 4” in length with a lemon rump, wing bars and a flashy head pattern. It seemed so exotic and the thought it should have been wintering in the foothills of the Himalaya’s and the forests of Northern Thailand just seemed so amazing to me those 40 years ago – just as it does today.

Modern technology in the form of GPS satellite tags is revolutionising our ideas about the distances and speeds birds travel. The great albatrosses are now known to circumnavigate the Southern Oceans – effortlessly riding the storms of the roaring 40’s. From such data we have discovered a bar-tailed godwit has flown from Alaska over 11,000km non-stop across the Pacific to land in its wintering quarters on North Island, New Zealand. This must rank as one of the most phenomenal journeys regularly undertaken by any living creature and the energy reserves needed to sustain days of continuous flight over the Ocean sees the birds weight drop substantially in the process. How do they do it! It must be like one of those sequences in a wartime film as the needle on the aircrafts fuel tank sits on zero. You can see bar-tailed godwits on British estuaries in the Autumn and Winter. Some certainly pass south to West Africa – and I have seen them on coastal lagoons in Namibia – so these are immense travellers.

Wandering albatross by David Tipling

The Arctic Tern is also a prodigious migrant. It nests around Scotland and as far North as Northern Norway. Arctic terns winter around South Africa and some venture even further South to the edge of the Antarctic ice shelf. They are long lived birds, so they may make the round trip twenty or more times in their busy life times. Researchers estimate that with stops for feeding they fly at least 70,000km each year!

It is the mysteries of birds, their ability to travel seemingly at will, such vast distances that fascinates us, and in times past we set our yearly clocks by them. The arrival of swallows or storks in Europe greeted Springtime. The calling Turtle dove mentioned in the Bible heralded a time of plenty, as the sound of the “turtle” was heard in the land. Geese migrating from the Arctic to our shores always excites me – the first pink-feet over my Edinburgh home in mid September tells me winter is coming.

There are lots of other record-breaking species. The world’s heaviest flying bird is the great bustard-a fully grown male tipping the scales at 40lbs.

Great bustard by Gordon Langsbury

The worlds fastest (in level flight) is thought to be the needle-tailed swift at 105mph, but a diving peregrine falcon clocks speeds of some 200mph.

The biggest eagle is the Philippine eagle, but the Stellers sea-eagle is heavier and the Harpy eagle pushes both close. I have seen Harpy eagles in Brazil-and would love to see the other two. The Philippine eagle is teetering on the edge of extinction though and a trip to Japan in winter is needed to see a Stellers.

The most common sea bird is the Wilsons petrel. And, the bird with the biggest wingspan is the Wandering albatross which can sport wings up to 3.7m(12ft 2”)! What other champions can you name?

You can get hung up on these statistics – and birds are just such a joy that does it matter if your favourite is not a podium winner? What matters is that people care about conserving them, something I have done from my earliest memory.

Early look at the breeding season

2012-07-23T09:43:00Z

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 to get a snapshot of what’s been happening in wider areas. This is always something I await with keen interest, because its ‘bums on nests’ and successful fledging we are after! Birds are amazingly resilient and are adapted to withstand bad weather, predation or other causes of nest failure. But prolonged cold wet weather is about as challenging as it gets for most of our birds. So at best 2012 is going to be a mixed picture.

Early in the season cold, drying winds from the high latitudes swept the North and West and kept grass growth in check, and this delayed the arrival of corncrakes. We now know these birds winter in West Africa, and migrate back across the Sahara and up the western seaboard of Europe to reach their breeding grounds in the Hebrides. On arrival the cold conditions and late grass growth on Tiree, Coll, Islay and Colonsay meant that corncrakes struggled. I anticipate 2012 will not be their best year – but it’s certainly not a disaster. In contrast – and somewhat surprisingly perhaps, Lapwings have done well. Many of the early broods of waders survived and fledgling rates on places as diverse as Loch Leven, Loch Gruinart on Islay and the reef on Tiree have seen plenty of chicks fledge, including this very cute ringed plover with it’s chicks. My visit to Alastair Robb’s farm in June confirmed this as he had plenty of lapwing and redshank broods.

Photo: John Bowler

Seabirds have had a mixed season. Once again Arctic terns on Shetland have struggled, with sandeels so scarce many did not bother to even lay eggs. In contrast reports from Argyll indicate healthy and active colonies. On Tiree our warden John Bowler was delighted to find over 50 pairs of Little terns nesting, producing plenty of young. This scarce species is now a rare breeder in Scotland and elsewhere, and Tiree is a stronghold.

Choughs seem to be faring well with 11 fledged chicks on our Oa reserve on Islay, with a further 3 pairs (up 1) on Smaull farm which we also manage with a local grazier.

On Shetland the beautiful red-necked phalaropes on Fetlar and nearby islands have increased this year – especially on areas we are managing for them. The totals are not yet in but it would look to be over 25 breeding males –the best for a while.

But the bad weather has had serious impacts. Red grouse across Scotland lost eggs or young broods to the cold wet weather, so there are fewer fledged broods at Abernethy this year. Similarly we anticipate Black grouse in the Highlands will have suffered. Reports of Capercaillie broods are also few and far between – hit by the heavy rains in early June which is a critical time for them. At our reserve at Loch Leven great crested grebes had their nests flooded out, as did many coots and other species on the Loch shore.

At home in Edinburgh I have seen fledged Song thrushes in the garden, family parties of Long tailed tits and even saw a roving family group of Crossbills (which are early breeders), so some of our passerines are doing better than expected. At our offices in the Gyle Edinburgh a pair of Pied wagtails fledged two young in a flower pot! A small brood – and late - perhaps a second attempt?

Birds of prey have had mixed fortunes too. In the North and far West, where it has been drier things have gone well. But the cold wet weather in the East and South has made life tough. Broods are small, or nests have failed. At Loch Garten one Osprey chick succumbed early on, though two healthy chicks remain. At the RBGE our Sparrowhawks only have two young left with a bigger bird eating its smaller sibling! A sign these dashing hawks are finding hunting difficult.

(Please visit the site to view this video)

The Red kite monitoring indicates early broods have done fairly well, but brood size seems down on past years. Watch the Aberdeen Red kite web cam here.

So that’s an early taster – hard work managing habitats, working with farmers and graziers, guarding sensitive nest sites and liaising with land owners can all be swept away, literally in an instant, by the weather. But our job is to give birds and all the species we care for their best shot.