Blogs

It's a million dollar question, or rather a trillion euro question, because the deal that might get done at next week's EU Budget summit (7-8 Feb) will have huge implications for how much funding is available for nature conservation and wildlife friendly farming schemes from 2014 onwards. ...

The debate over neonicotinoids continues, with the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) recently publishing a scientific opinion on the risks posed by three of the main neonicotinoids on the market. For anyone not familiar with the subject: neonicotinoids are a group of pesticides widely used in...

On Friday we held our annual RSPB breakfast at the Oxford Farming Conference . It is a great chance to talk to people from across the agricultural industry, and celebrate the efforts of wildlife-friendly farmers all across the UK. Our Chief Executive, Mike Clarke, was joined by Bill Jordan, cofounder...

The turn of the calendar year is often marked by a review of the year that has drawn to a close. Thinking back across the last 12 months, I’ve decided to share just one thing from 2012. It’s an article by Fenland farmer Matthew Naylor. You can read it here . Why did I choose this? ...

On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me … two turtle doves. 26 December is, as the traditional Christmas song goes, the second day of Christmas and the Operation Turtle Dove partnership is launching an exciting competition today! Operation Turtle Dove is a new partnership...

By Chris Bailey, Advisory Manager, Scotland On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love said to me twelve drummers drumming. Or was the drumming really snipe ? Well probably not around Christmas. “Drumming” is the vibrating call a male snipe makes during the breeding season. I wonder...

The mellifluous call of the curlew is often described as a pipe, so the piper of today’s tale is this moorland and wetland bird. Although present across much of the UK, the greatest breeding numbers are found in North Wales, the Pennines, the southern uplands and Eastern Highlands of Scotland,...

The leap-tastic hare is an obvious choice for the tenth day of Christmas. I’ve read that they can leap an impressive 2m, but I also discovered (according to Wikipedia ) that hares were a traditional gift of love. Perfect for this season of goodwill! The brown hare is a shy creature that thrives...

I can’t exactly explain what makes me smile about the term ‘waggle dance’, but somehow its inherently amusing. But it is also fascinating; the waggle-dance is a figure-of-eight dance the honey bee uses to tell other members of the hive where to find food, water or a new housing location...