A long-awaited project to boost the population of golden eagles in the south of Scotland has taken off. Three young golden eagles have been released into the wild at a secret location in the Moffat Hills. They were moved from nests in the Highlands where the majority of the birds are usually found. The translocation […]

The conviction of a gamekeeper who shot two protected short-eared owls should serve as a warning to others who commit wildlife crime, North Yorkshire Police said. Timothy Cowin, 44, pleaded guilty to two charges concerning the intentional killing of two protected short-eared owls on the Whernside Estate in Cumbria, an area managed for driven grouse […]

A farmer has been convicted of two charges of intentionally disturbing the nest of a pair of breeding ospreys. Paul Barnes, 58, from Braithwaite near Keswick, was found guilty following a three-day trial at Workington Magistrates’ Court. He drove his tractor and trailer with a group of children close to the Bassenthwaite site in June […]

  Police are investigating the suspected theft of eggs from a golden eagle’s nest in the Highlands. Officers suspect an egg collector climbed up to the nest to steal the eggs in the incident in the Kincraig area of the Cairngorms. The incident was reported to police on Monday and officers visited the nest site. […]

  A red kite has died after being caught in an illegal gin trap. The RSPCA launched an appeal for information after the bird was found in the trap on Park Avenue, Aberystwyth, on 7 May. The bird, which is legally protected, was taken to a vet with injuries including broken legs. It was put down […]

  A rare red kite had to be put down after it was found shot and blinded in County Durham, the RSPB said. The bird was found alive in Derwent Gorge, near Shotley Bridge, by a member of the public. However, after it was found to be blind it was euthanized. Since 2010, six kites […]

A Pontardawe father and son have been sentenced after illegally keeping a wild goshawk and failing to ensure urgent veterinary treatment for the bird’s severely broken wing. Paul Baker, 67, and Jess Baker, 39, pleaded guilty to a number of offences at Swansea Magistrates’ Court in May 2018, including an admission that their actions led to the goshawk […]

A head keeper employed on one of Scotland’s most illustrious grouse moors, Tillypronie in Royal Deeside, has been banned from controlling birds for three years over an alleged wildlife crime incident. He worked on an estate owned by Philip Astor, a member of the famous Anglo-American dynasty and vice-chairman of the Game and Wildlife Conservation […]

Twelve golden eagles have disappeared in an area of the Highlands RSPB Scotland dubbed a “black hole” for satellite-tagged birds of prey. Over the last seven years, the raptors’ tags have stopped transmitting in an area of moor in the northern Monadhliath Mountains. The latest disappearance involves a two-year-old male that was paired with a […]

  The disappearance of two tagged hen harriers from northern England could threaten the survival of the species, experts say. Siblings Manu and Marc were fitted with satellite tags after being born in the Scottish Borders last year. They fledged to northern England, where Manu’s tag stopped transmitting in October. Marc’s ceased on 5 February. The […]