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A Focus On Nature, Issues in conservation
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Giving Up Time For Nature by Findlay Wilde.
I’m Findlay Wilde. I am really interested in wildlife, especially birds. I want to do everything I can to protect nature now and in the future, as well as enjoying it of course. I have been blogging about my wildlife journey for over a year now and engage with nature in lots of different ways; I am a trainee ringer, I participate in the BTO’s Birdtrack and Garden Birdwatch surveys and I am starting to do surveys of my own on my local patch. I really hope to start volunteering with some of my local NGOs soon. You can follow my wildlife journey on my blog: wildeaboutbirds.blogspot.co.uk.
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Nature Reading Roundup: February. A new series of articles by Chris Foster.
Chris is a birder who is slowly evolving into an amateur naturalist, one increasingly keen on finding, learning about and promoting more ‘obscure’ wildlife. Through his writing he tries to get across the sheer beauty of nature, but also wants to highlight just how much fun – for want of a better word – wildlife can be. He is employed by Reading University as a Teaching Associate in the School of Biological Sciences, focussing primarily on engaging students with species identification, biological recording and conservation philosophy. He is in the early stages of a PhD in invertebrate landscape ecology, through which he ultimately hopes to make a contribution to conserving the sorts of bird and insect rich landscapes he loves to spend time in.
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Fulfilling my childhood dream: jungle living. By Matt Williams.
Matt has been a member of the RSPB since the age of five and has never looked back. He remembers writing to Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth at the age of seven, shocked at the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest. His passion for the natural world has led him to work for a range of NGOs as both an employee and volunteer, as well as running his own projects. Professionally, Matt specialises in climate change policy, communications and youth engagement. He has worked and volunteered for the RSPB in a number of roles, including as a membership recruiter, an assistant warden and in the climate change policy team. He is a founding member and former Co-Director of the UK Youth Climate Coalition and attended a UN climate conference in 2011, and holds degrees from the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, and a diploma from the Institute of Political Studies in Paris. During 2013-14 Matt is working in Borneo, Indonesia, as Communications Manager for the Orangutan Tropical Peatand Project.
Issues in conservation, Species
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If you like it then should you put a ring on it? By Lucy McRobert.
Lucy McRobert is an environmental historian, nature writer, researcher and Creative Director of the ‘A Focus On Nature’ scheme, which seeks to encourage young people into nature conservation in Britain. She gained an award-winning First Class degree from the University of Nottingham in 2012, and whilst an undergraduate was runner-up in BBC Wildlife magazines’ ‘Nature Writer of the Year’ competition. Lucy has written for several publications and most recently has started penning her own column in Birdwatch; she now works for the Wildlife Trusts as a Researcher on Tony Juniper’s forthcoming publication examining What has Nature ever done for Britain? and has recently been appointed as Outreach Officer for the Rutland Osprey Project.
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The Written World. By Beth Aucott
Beth takes an active interest in the science and ecology behind nature conservation and has graduated with an MSci in Zoology from the University of Nottingham. She is now keen to remain within the scientific realms of nature conservation, enhancing her knowledge with further study or fieldwork. In her spare time, Beth is found with sketchbook in hand, as she finds that combining the creativity of art with the practicality of science helps her to convey her passion for the natural world.
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What can conservationists learn from elephants? By Matt Williams
Matt specialises in climate change policy, communications and youth engagement. He has worked and volunteered for the RSPB in a number of roles, is a founding member and former Co-Director of the UK Youth Climate Coalition and recently co-authored a letter that was published in the Sunday Times, with 100 signatories including Sir David Attenborough, calling on the Government to maintain the role of the natural environment in the national curriculum. During 2013-14 Matt is working in Borneo, Indonesia, as Communications Manager for the Orangutan Tropical Peatand Project. [Read More]
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Teen Wolf – The Rewilding of Britain’s youth as the key to an eco-revolution. By Peter Cooper.
Pete is an amateur naturalist and wildlife photographer, and as of September 2013, a Zoology undergraduate at the University of Exeter Cornwall Campus. He also has a particular love for nature writing and the way it straddles both the biological and cultural aspects of nature, and currently writes blog articles on wildlife-related issues for the Independent.
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Argyll eagle action – Scotland’s soaring reputation could be shot at? By Ewan Miles.
I used to dream of seeing the bird that has the sunlit eye
You will never forget the first time you see one fly
The sight of a soaring eagle over a Scottish landscape is one to admire
An iconic symbol of courage and strength that has the power to inspire
– Ewan Miles
White-tailed eagles in the UK ruled our skies for thousands of years with records dating back to c 2450 – 2000 BC but as some of our wildscapes slowly turned into manscapes they were persecuted to national extinction by the early 20th century. By the middle of the century a re-introduction programme was in place to give white-tailed eagles a chance to colonize our country again. Due to incredible work by committed conservationists, in this present day, the birds are beginning to get a foot hold in our landscape once more.
In January 2014 some Argyll farmers spoke out and want action taken on the increasing white-tailed eagles in the district and there were some comments that really stood out. The sea eagles were referred to as ‘aliens’ which is of course completely untrue. Another comment was their worry of the intrusion of sea eagles affecting the golden eagle. If you look at the bigger picture, they used to live side by side for thousands of years in the UK. The biggest standout comment was “it’s only a matter of time before a small child is attacked”. This statement is not constructive and worthless to discussion.
© Ewan Miles
Of course the interest of livestock loss during the lambing season is the concern of farmers. White-tailed eagles are known to feed on dead lambs and potentially weed out weak lambs but there is little evidence of birds targeting healthy stock. Overall, an eagle’s impact on lambs and hoggs is minimal. If there is a diverse environment and abundance of natural food then there is no need for eagles to go after domesticated animals. In terms of the worry of birds increasing in numbers, during the lambing season, eagles are extremely territorial so there is never going to be more than one pair working an area.
Some people need reminding of the simple fact that this is not our world; we share it with millions of species. We are a part of nature, we rely on nature and we all need to learn to live with nature.
© Ewan Miles
Scotland’s eagles are an important part of the country as nature-based tourism is valued at 1.4 billion pounds directly towards the Scottish economy. Tourism spending on nature-based activities in Scotland is worth nearly 40% off all tourism spending in the country. Viewing wildlife is the sole reason for millions of visitors to Scotland every year.
Any negative media publicity or any action on eagle control measures is very dangerous and could tarnish the country’s reputation and affect rural economies reliant on wildlife tourism. For example, if I was looking for locations around the world to view wildlife, countries’ reputation through media and journalism dictate everything. If I was to focus on whale watching, the nations that would put me off visiting are those that still participate in the brutal whaling industry. If I wanted to view large bird migrations then the massacres in Malta, for example, would stop me from visiting the country which has huge potential for tourism were it not for the large murder of migrants each spring and autumn. Publicity of control measures and talk of culling iconic species could have a big knock-on effect for Scotland.
Let’s hope this talk of eagle action is put to bed and we can carry on improving Scotland’s great reputation as a world class wildlife destination. Eagles will always mean a lot to me as my early encounters with them inspired me to a lifetime’s love of the natural world. Now that is power and value that you cannot put a price on.
This article was re-printed with permission of the author from: http://raptorpolitics.org.uk/2014/01/21/argyll-eagle-action-scotlands-soaring-reputation-could-be-shot-at/
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