An opening title appears on screen with the title Annual Report 2020-2021 and an illustration of a person sitting in a wildflower meadow looking out at a scene with birds and butterflies flying around. Bird song plays in the background.
RSPB Chief Executive Beccy Speight appears on screen to talk about some of the highlights of the last year that you can find out more about in the RSPB’s Annual Report. She provides the voice over for the film clip and says:
“Of course, I can’t talk about the past year without also mentioning the Covid-19 pandemic, which brought change for all of us. At the RSPB, it meant closing some of our reserves some of the time. It meant shutting down some of our fieldwork and also furloughing some of our staff and others needing to work from home.
The pandemic brought many challenges and changes and one of the changes was as our world got smaller we felt that much closer to nature. Nature kept us going.
(On screen are images of birds at bird feeders and people birdwatching)
“And we could really see that with our annual Big Garden Birdwatch. More than a million of you spent an hour watching the wildlife on your doorstep, recording over 17 million birds.
(On screen is an image showing the contrast of a beach covered in litter and one that’s pristine, followed by a gannet flying over. This is followed by an image of the cover of the RSPB’s ‘Lost Decade for Nature’ report, a littered beach, smoking factory chimney and deforestation followed by a totaliser showing the growing tally of supporters for Revive our World. This is followed by film of the countryside, rolling hills, water flowing, wildflowers in a meadow and a bee on knapweed)
“We also saw this upsurge of love for nature in our Revive Our World Campaign.
This coincided with a damning report showing that the UK had completely failed to stop environmental decline in the last ten years. But you responded! An incredible 80,000 of you signed up to support the campaign in the first few weeks, joining us to call for legally binding targets to restore nature by 2030, alongside a true green recovery from this pandemic.
(Next is an image of a steam in an upland area, followed by people out in the countryside with rifles. A female hen harrier flies out from among some heather and there is then a close-up view of a female grouse, which is followed by a male grouse calling.)
“Meanwhile in 2020 we carried out a major review of gamebird shooting, which grew from our concerns about the environmental impacts of intensive shooting. We believe all intensive gamebird shooting should be regulated to reduce the negative environmental impacts. We’re glad to see that there has already been progress as the Scottish Government have announced proposals to introduce licensed grouse shooting measures.
(A Covid-19 testing and vaccination centre sign is then displayed, followed by film of a curlew, some cranes are stood preening and a flock of cranes fly across the screen.)
Despite the many hurdles the pandemic presented, this past year has seen some fantastic species successes. Crane numbers hit a record high after becoming extinct in the UK nearly 400 years ago, with over a third of the UK’s crane population now found on RSPB reserves.
(A close up of a stone-curlew shows its stunning yellow eye and beak and an avocet is then shown gently lowering itself on to a nest full of eggs).
Stone-curlews on our reserves have had their best year yet with 29 pairs in 2020 and avocets bred at Pulborough Brooks for the first time ever.
(A shop visitor is shown being served at an RSPB shop, then volunteers can be seen working outside on habitat management moving clippings of pruned trees and bushes. The film then moves to Northern Ireland and some curlew chickens hatching, followed by the scenes of peatland fire the eggs were rescued from and finally a young curlew is shown flying to freedom from the enclosure it was safely reared in).
Across the four countries, dedicated staff and volunteers have been working incredibly hard to do the best they can for nature. In Northern Ireland, our Portmore Lough reserve provided a safe haven for five curlew chicks after Lough Neagh Landscape Partnership staff rescued the curlew eggs from devastating peatland fires.
(The seascape of Hoy nature reserve is shown, followed by a kittiwake, merlin and an Orkney vole.
As a partner of the Orkney Native Wildlife Project in Scotland we’ve made good progress in safeguarding the future of the islands’ incredible native wildlife, including the endemic Orkney vole.
(The welcome sign and the new visitor centre at South Stack is then shown, followed by a view of the new seating area and visitors gazing out to sea with the lighthouse in the background as seabirds fly to the cliffs).
“Wales opened a new visitor centre at South Stack with better facilities and stunning views of the Irish Sea.
(Then a boat is seen skimming across the sea before a view of Coquet Island is shown with swirls of birds flying above. A roseate tern is seen flying in with a tiny fish in its beak. A group of puffins are stood in a group together before the scene shifts to a group of roseate terns making use of their special nestboxes and some close ups of the birds with fish in their beaks).
“And in England we celebrated 50 years on Coquet Island, a vibrant habitat 2 kilometres off the Northumberland coast. It’s home to 35,000 nesting seabirds including 25,000 puffins and the UK’s only breeding colony of roseate terns, which are at their highest level since the 1970s with 130 pairs.
(A view of the Island of Tristan da Cunha is seen in landscape and then from above. A glimpse is then given of the underwater world being protected including shoals of colourful fish. On land, a colony of rockhopper penguins is shown, followed by some black-browed albatrosses.)
“Away from our own shores we’ve still been able to deliver some tremendous conservation impacts. Working in collaboration with partners in Tristan da Cunha, a UK Overseas Territory in the South Atlantic, we announced in November the establishment of a Marine Protection Zone, covering almost three quarters of a million square kilometres. This will give further protection to tens of millions of vulnerable seabirds and one of the only known blue shark pupping areas in the world.
(Beccy Speight is back on screen to present the end of the film clip).
“I couldn’t possibly cover everything that we’ve achieved over the past year, there’s simply too much of it. But I do know that we wouldn’t have been able to do it without our fantastic staff, our wonderful members and supporters and our volunteers who gave us over 900,000 hours of their time. This is a really vital year for nature, there are important global summits taking place and we won’t rest until we know that the future of the natural world is safe. But I do know that we’ll need more people of all ages and backgrounds standing with us, standing up for nature.
“Thank you so much for all your support in such a challenging year. With you, I know we’ll keep working together for a world richer in nature.”
A closing title then appears with birdsong in the background and the same illustration as the opening titles with the words:
See it for yourself
Annual Report 2020-2021.
rspb.org.uk/annualreport
Ends
