Golden Eagle found shot in the Scottish Borders - Police Scotland appeals for information. 'Hamlet' is the sixth victim of eagle persecution in south Scotland in recent years. Details in blog ⬇️ #RaptorResearch #WildlifeCrime #BirdingScotland 🌍 raptorpersecutionuk.org/2026/02/09/g...

Bearded Vulture 'Centenario' found dead in Picos de Europa www.rarebirdalert.co.uk/v2/Content/B...

Wave of poisoning incidents hits vultures across Africa www.rarebirdalert.co.uk/v2/Content/W...

Great to hear that a Gadwall duckling (from a brood of seven) colour-ringed at Wheldrake Ings in August 2012 was spotted at Hemingbrough Brick Pits at the weekend, producing valuable information on a 13/half year old female - presumably still breeding in the local area @yorkbirding.bsky.social

UK also has massive issue of SGAR poisoning: virtually every barn owl, kite, kestrel ingests rat poison. If invented today they'd never be licensed. But they're not banned because food/hygiene industries can't yet do without them. But to have them available in supermarkets/garden centres is insane.

A well-run project that restored the north-west European population of Dalmatian Pelican would be a massive boost to the global population of this threatened species and is supported by the chair of the IUCN pelican specialist group. But no, let’s take pot-shots.

Stanford Reservoir - 2025 annual ringing report (& birding year summary) www.stanfordrg.org.uk/srg_statisti... 14,070 birds ringed by Stanford Ringing Group in 2025 inc Barred Warbler, Wood Warbler, Pied Fly, Firecrest, 54 Gropper. 53 controls & 51 recoveries. Well done to all in the group.

Hebrand Russel also responsible for Chinese Water Deer which has spread into arable from initial wetland habitat. I think chainsaws, tractor flails and bulldozers may have had more impact on hedges and shrubland than deer. Turtle Doves need weeds also, scarcer due to herbicides. Doves need ponds.

Satellite-tagged Hen Harrier that gamekeeper Racster Dingwall chose not to shoot (to avoid unwanted attention), found poisoned 3 months later nr another Yorkshire grouse moor. The bird that almost got away. New extended RSPB covert footage ⬇️ #RaptorResearch raptorpersecutionuk.org/2026/01/30/s...

BREAKING NEWS....Gamekeeper Racster Dingwall pleads guilty to conspiracy to kill a Hen Harrier on a grouse moor in Yorkshire Dales National Park ⚖️ New blog ⬇️ #RaptorResearch #WildlifeCrime raptorpersecutionuk.org/2026/01/29/g...

The RSPB has reported that seven satellite-tagged Hen Harriers are suspected or confirmed to have been illegally killed in England during 2025, all on or close to land managed for grouse shooting:

“72% of satellite-tagged Hen Harriers were confirmed or considered likely to have been illegally killed, and this was ten times more likely to occur over areas of land managed for grouse shooting relative to other land uses.”

Satellite-tagged Hen Harrier called Edna "suspected illegally killed". Was she killed & dumped at a windfarm in Northumberland as a ploy to cover up the crime? New blog ⬇️ #RaptorResearch #WilldifeCrime 🌍 raptorpersecutionuk.org/2026/01/19/s...

Yet another one... #RaptorResearch raptorpersecutionuk.org/2026/01/19/s...

Willow Tree Fen roost Ad Drk RB Merganser found by @matthewfitzgerald.bsky.social, the obvious highlight! First for the site! Also, 4 Cranes, 25 Pink-Footed Geese, 24 Marsh Harrier, 59 Goosander, 85 Whooper Swans, Bittern, C Egret, 2 GW Egret, Oystercatcher & 2 Raven @lincsbirding.bsky.social

Great Grey Shrike - Fillingham, Lincolnshire Great to see my first GG Shrike this afternoon. showing off its surprising hovering and quartering skills for minutes at a time! Then to the NE coast for Hen Harrier (m&f), thousands of Pinkies, 40 Whoopers and a Woodcock @lincsbirding.bsky.social

Conservation organisations in the Netherlands are advancing plans to explore the reintroduction of Dalmatian Pelican, a move that could see the species return to parts of its former range after an absence of several hundred years:

Demand from the Gulf for elite falcons is helping drive an illegal trade in wild British Peregrine Falcons, according to an investigation by The Guardian:

Yorkshire gamekeeper pleads guilty to bashing Buzzard to death with stick - fine £1,215. markavery.info/2026/01/12/r... Very clear images of illegal cruelty. Not picked up in Defra welfare strategy released before Christmas. #Hovingham #yorkshire #IdontlikeMunday #rspb 👏👏👏

Lincs & Norfolk today w/ @matthewfitzgerald.bsky.social Black-Bellied Dipper (lifer) at Bintree Mill and 3 Hen Harriers (1 male) at Roydon Common the best. Also, Merlin, 20+ Marsh Harrier, 2 Bewick's Swans, 150+ Whooper Swans, 700+ DB Brent Geese, 5 Goldeneye, best of the rest

Welcome news & long overdue from a Westminster Government. England lags behind on so many issues. #RaptorResearch raptorpersecutionuk.org/2026/01/09/d...

Peregrine found with gunshot injuries - police appeal for information. Details in blog 🔽 #RaptorResearch #WildlifeCrime raptorpersecutionuk.org/2026/01/11/p...

Lincolnshire Police are asking for help: who might own a pack of foxhounds misusing a level crossing, causing a passenger train to emergency brake and killing two dogs. Someone on horseback may be a witness, apparently. It's a mystery! @protectthewild.bsky.social www.lincs.police.uk/news/lincoln...

Like reintroductions, reinforcements only work when the drivers of species declines have been eliminated. One populist rewilder claims of 50K Water Vole releases; unlikely to be successful if these are not associated with long-term Mink control/eradication.

2/2 In 2024, licensed bird ringers caught and ringed 865,934 wild birds! Bird ringing reveals extraordinary insights into how long birds live and how far they move, helping us to understand the drivers behind population and distribution changes. Report ringed birds via www.ring.ac

Stanford Reservoir - amazing year on the patch - 157 species for the site (all obs). 5 patch ticks for me - Lesser Scaup & Barred Warbler (both 1st records for Northants & site), Glossy Ibis (new for site), Wood Warbler & Slav Grebe - Happy New Year. @lrosbirds.bsky.social

⭐️ Recap of 2025 - Our Biggest Stories of the Year ⭐️ 👉 In November we submitted our application to become a UNESCO Global Geopark... with the backing of Sir David Attenborough! 🌐 Read more: www.charnwoodforest.org/charnwood-fo...

Much less time in the field for me in 2025 but it ended on a high when this white-morph Snow Goose appeared among the local Whooper Swan flock on Christmas Eve. Seemingly wedded to the swans having presumably arrived with them in the autumn …

⭐️ Recap of 2025 - Our Biggest Stories of the Year ⭐️ 👉 Back in November researchers announced that a new fossil species had been named from the rocks of Bradgate Park: Charnia brasieri 🌐 Read more: www.charnwoodforest.org/researchers-...

What else is there to say that hasn't already been said thousands of times before!?!

Young Peregrine euthanised after suffering gunshot injuries in Leicestershire. Sad news from @leicsperegrines.bsky.social who are working hard to encourage public engagement. Please give them a follow. #RaptorResearch #WildlifeCrime raptorpersecutionuk.org/2025/12/24/p...

The Peregrine on the left, shot and left suffering so badly that it had to be euthanised within a few months of leaving the nest. Peregrines aren't easy targets, so whoever shot it was experienced at shooting at birds and knew what they were doing. The usual suspects.

That's where my patch yearlist will probably stay now. 141 overall, 137 personally. Some highlights from this year. Nightjar, Gannet, Rock Pipit, Osprey, Marsh Harrier, Merlin, Goshawk, C. Egret, Bittern, C. Scoter, L. Gull, Med Gull, Wh. Swan, C. Redstart, J. Snipe & Woodcock Merry Christmas 🎄

Fourth White-tailed Eagle 'disappears' - RSPB Offers £10k reward The newly revealed disappearance adds to three earlier cases involving satellite-tagged birds now under police investigation. www.rarebirdalert.co.uk/v2/Content/F...

Police and wildlife authorities are investigating the disappearance of White-tailed Eagles at several sites across the UK, amid concerns that the birds may have fallen victim to poisoning or other deliberate acts:

A hard ban can't come soon enough. They've been acting like they're above the law since day 1.

Willow Tree Fen pm 20/11/25 15 Crane, 247 Whooper Swan, 30 Marsh Harrier, 1-2 Merlin, Peregrine, Sparrowhawk, 44 Goosander, 3 GW Egret, 3 C Egret, Bittern, 7 L Egret, L Owl, G Woodpecker, 3 Stonechat & 5+ Snipe @lincswildlife.bsky.social @lincsbirding.bsky.social @matthewfitzgerald.bsky.social

FOURTH White-tailed Eagle disappears - RSPB offers reward for information leading to a conviction for this one or any of the other three. New blog ⬇️⬇️ #RaptorResearch #WildlifeCrime raptorpersecutionuk.org/2025/12/19/f...

More detail about the missing White-tailed Eagle in mid-Wales. Not the first investigation into raptor persecution in this area. Press release from Dyfed-Powys Police & commentary from me 🔽 #RaptorResearch #WildlifeCrime @iolowilliams.bsky.social raptorpersecutionuk.org/2025/12/19/m...

On the face of it a video of a 1st win little gull at Paphos Headland today which is a decent enough record. The star of the video though is a Mediterranean monk seal in the bottom right on 8 secs & top on 13 secs. Cyprus population 20 - 22 individuals it's the rarest seal in the world! #Cyprusbirds

Conservationists rescue oldest known wild Bearded Vulture The oldest Bearded Vulture ever recorded in the wild was recently rescued in the French Alps by some of the same conservationists who released him 37 years ago. www.rarebirdalert.co.uk/v2/Content/C...

First year of Wildcat reintroduction project hailed a success NatureScot-backed research confirms that breeding and release has delivered high survival and early breeding success for Scotland’s Wildcats www.rarebirdalert.co.uk/v2/Content/F...

Press release from Police Scotland 🔽 #RaptorResearch #WildlifeCrime raptorpersecutionuk.org/2025/12/18/m...

❓ Did you miss our recent public talk by Dr Duncan McIlroy on Charnwood Forest's newest fossil? 🌟 We've got you covered - watch the recording on our Youtube channel and discover the wonders of our fossil, Charnia brasieri! 🌐 youtube.com/live/poR8iv7...

Hard to imagine mainstream news trumpeting the killing of the biggest Red Deer of the year, or the heaviest Pink-footed Goose, largest Red Fox, or even the biggest Brown Trout. But championing the killing of marine wildlife for sport is just fine, totally normalised. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Willow Tree Fen this pm 15 Crane, 35 Marsh Harrier, 207 Whooper Swan, 38 Goosander, 10 L Egret, GW Egret, 8 G Heron the best Great to see my first European Eel tonight even if it was being wolfed down by a Heron @lincswildlife.bsky.social @lincsbirding.bsky.social @matthewfitzgerald.bsky.social

Latest Greenland White-fronted Goose population estimate: 13,303. Now 13,302 (that we know of). I dread every ringing recovery that lands in my inbox - another bird lost to illegal shooting in Iceland. We can’t afford to lose any more. 📸David Dinsley

The European Bewick's Swan population more than halved between 1995 and 2020, accordingly to a newly published paper:

📉 Our new paper shows Bewick’s Swan numbers in NW/NE Europe have fallen to ~12,900 birds - a 56.7% decline since 1995, with further losses predicted by 2026 unless survival or breeding success improves. Flyway-wide conservation is urgent. 🦢 Download paper > tidsskrift.dk/Wildfowl/art... #Ornithology