FIRECREST TOURS : Guided Birdwatching & Wildlife Days

Waxwing on Rowan Ash. Today we led a tour targeting a single species - Waxwings - a species on David, Lee & Jeff's most wanted lists. With the day centered around the Tring area of Hertfordshire & the Buckinghamshire border we visited likely spots with good berry crops, primarily the Waxwings' favorite - Rowan/Mountain Ash, but also Hawthorn, one of the Waxwings' fall-back foodsources which is widespread across the area. The day was a great success starting with up to 40 Waxwings affording fantastic views & photo opportunities for all as they sporadically came in to feed on Rowan berries at one site, then 43 birds feeding on Hawthorn berries at another site, plus a bonus 10 at a third location - as you can imagine, the guys were thrilled as the Waxwings trilled! Here are a few photos I took to share with the guys as a memento of the day, though all three took some cracking photos of their own too. Waxwing warming-up in the winter sun. Waxwings resting & pree...

Last week a new scientific study was published, led by eminent researchers from the University of Cambridge, showing that three years into a five-year pledge to completely phase out lead shot in UK game hunting, 94% of pheasants on sale for human consumption were killed using toxic lead ammunition (see here). The continued use of … Continue reading "Question tabled in House of Lords on gamebird shooting industry’s failure to stop using toxic lead ammunition" RaptorPersecutionUK https://ift.tt/FafSUZD

Last month I wrote about how a number of key conservation and animal welfare organisations had apparently been excluded from submitting evidence to the Scottish Government’s independent review on whether the Scottish SPCA should be given increased powers to enable them to investigate a wider suite of wildlife crimes (see here). A Freedom of Information … Continue reading "More detail provided on why key conservation organisations were excluded from Scottish Government’s review on increasing SSPCA powers" RaptorPersecutionUK https://ift.tt/vfZD36T

The National Trust (NT) has terminated another grouse-shooting lease in the Peak District National Park after the RSPB uncovered evidence of suspected wildlife crime on one of the NT’s tenanted grouse moors. The shooting lease, on NT moorland at Park Hall, was held by a nearby grouse shooting estate called the Hurst & Chunal. It … Continue reading "National Trust terminates another grouse-shooting lease after more evidence of suspected wildlife crime in Peak District National Park" RaptorPersecutionUK https://ift.tt/ShBDkEd

Three years ago in February 2020, nine UK game-shooting organisations made a massive U-turn after years and years and years of defending the use of toxic lead ammunition, and said they wanted to drag the industry into the 21st Century by making a five-year voluntary transition away from lead ammunition (see here). A lot of us … Continue reading "New study shows pheasants still full of poisonous lead shot three years after start of ‘voluntary transition’ to non-toxic shot" RaptorPersecutionUK https://ift.tt/kXWEot5

Max Wiszniewski is Campaign Manager for REVIVE, the coalition for grouse moor reform. He’s written a comment piece for today’s edition of the National, discussing the current SNP leadership race which Max thinks is a perfect opportunity to tackle land (and grouse moor) reform. His article is reproduced below: THE leadership election for the Scottish … Continue reading "‘SNP leadership race is perfect opportunity to tackle land (& grouse moor) reform’ – comment piece by Max Wiszniewski" RaptorPersecutionUK https://ift.tt/1no7cf3

There’s been widespread media coverage of a court case at Weymouth Magistrates this week, which mostly focused on a ‘frustrated’ landowner, William Elder, throwing a dead partridge at his gamekeeper, Daniel Burden, and the gamekeeper throwing it back at his boss, after an argument about whether paying guests had been given the best opportunity to … Continue reading "Dorset landowner cleared of assaulting gamekeeper & beater after argument over low number of gamebirds available to be shot" RaptorPersecutionUK https://ift.tt/HA2xz1W

Formidable land reform campaigner Andy Wightman has revamped his ‘Who Owns Scotland‘ website – a fantastic resource for anyone interested in land ownership and a site I’ve used countless times to investigate locations of raptor persecution crimes. Here’s a new brochure from Andy to encourage new subscribers: If you have any questions about the project, … Continue reading "Andy Wightman revamps ‘Who Owns Scotland’ website" RaptorPersecutionUK https://ift.tt/oKT3umB

Last weekend at its annual conference, the Scottish Raptor Study Group (SRSG) paid tribute to Patrick Stirling-Aird MBE, who has retired from his long-held position as SRSG Secretary. The following text is a copy of the tribute to Patrick, delivered at the SRSG conference by Duncan Orr-Ewing. Patrick Stirling-Aird MBE SRSG Conference 18 February 2023 … Continue reading "Scottish Raptor Study Group pays tribute to Patrick Stirling-Aird on his retirement" RaptorPersecutionUK https://ift.tt/VuzLHGj

  Two men have been banned from owning or keeping dogs for three years under new legislative powers designed to target poachers. On 21 February2023, Colchester magistrates handed David Hilden and Tyron Young disqualification orders under section 66 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 in what is believed to be a national first, after the pair each admitted a charge of daytime trespass in pursuit of game. Magistrates made the orders after hearing both men had travelled to the Saffron Walden area from south London with dogs which were to be used to poach game. Investigating officer PC Nigel Wright, of the Rural Engagement Team, said after the hearing:  “The poaching of wild animals is extremely cruel but it can also cause a lot of damage to crops and farmland, which is very costly for the land owner or farmer. Dogs are integral to poaching and I am delighted that the magistrates were able to use this new legislation to deprive these two poac...

Following the sentencing last week of criminal gamekeeper Paul Allen in Dorset (here), I’ve been reviewing the responses from various organisations including the RSPB (here), the game-shooting industry (here) and Dorset Police (here). Today I’m reviewing Natural England’s response. Natural England (NE) published the following blog (reproduced below) on the day Allen was sentenced (16th … Continue reading "Natural England’s response to sentencing of criminal gamekeeper Paul Allen" RaptorPersecutionUK https://ift.tt/Ai9cKRI

There’s a two-page spread in today’s Mirror newspaper on the ‘rising crimewave of raptor persecution across the UK’, written by Environment Editor Nada Farhoud. There isn’t anything in this article that regular blog readers won’t already know about but that’s not really the point. It’s good to see the extent of these crimes being exposed … Continue reading "‘Rising crimewave of raptor persecution across UK’ – feature article in The Mirror" RaptorPersecutionUK https://ift.tt/UpVBnSr

Well it’s taken them long enough, but finally Dorset Police has managed to issue a statement about the conviction and sentencing of criminal gamekeeper Paul Allen, who pleaded guilty to multiple wildlife, poisons and firearms offences whilst working on the Shaftesbury Estate in March 2021. You’ll recall I was surprised when Dorset Police failed to … Continue reading "Dorset Police response to sentencing of criminal gamekeeper Paul Allen" RaptorPersecutionUK https://ift.tt/oEVWthf

Further to last week’s blog about criminal gamekeeper Paul Allen’s sentencing for committing multiple wildlife, poisons and firearms offences on the Shaftesbury Estate in Dorset (here), here is a round-up of responses from the organisations within the game-shooting industry who also serve on the Raptor Persecution Priority Delivery Group (RPPDG), whose main objective is to … Continue reading "Game-shooting industry’s response to sentencing of Dorset gamekeeper Paul Allen" RaptorPersecutionUK https://ift.tt/sN2LPzk

Fifteen plastic sacks full of pheasant remains have been found dumped in the River Dyfi near Machynlleth in Wales. The first nine sacks were found on 14th February, seemingly thrown from a bridge near Glantwymyn, probably in the hope they’d be washed out to sea. However, likely due to the weight of the dead birds … Continue reading "15 sacks of pheasants dumped in Dyfi River in Wales – police investigating" RaptorPersecutionUK https://ift.tt/4T9eQAX

Further to yesterday’s news that criminal gamekeeper Paul Allen had escaped a custodial sentence despite committing multiple wildlife, poisons and firearms offences whilst employed on the Shaftesbury Estate in Dorset (here), the RSPB has issued the following press release: Gamekeeper fined as dead birds of prey and poisons found on Dorset estate Gamekeeper Paul Allen … Continue reading "RSPB’s response to sentencing of criminal Dorset gamekeeper, Paul Allen" RaptorPersecutionUK https://ift.tt/m7vJP9c

BREAKING NEWS….. Further to this morning’s blog (here), criminal gamekeeper Paul Allen, 54, of Baileys Hill, in Brockington, near Wimborne, has been given a suspended custodial sentence and a small fine after he pleaded guilty to multiple wildlife, poisons and firearms offences whilst working on the Shaftesbury Estate in Dorset in March 2021. For possessing … Continue reading "Criminal Dorset gamekeeper Paul Allen receives suspended custodial sentence, despite multiple wildlife, poisons & firearms offences" RaptorPersecutionUK https://ift.tt/5yJFMKs

Paul Allen, 54, the gamekeeper convicted last month of multiple wildlife, poisons and firearms offences committed on the Shaftesbury Estate, Dorset in March 2021 (here) is due to be sentenced at Weymouth Magistrates Court this afternoon. You may recall, following the discovery of a poisoned red kite on the estate in November 2020, a multi-agency … Continue reading "Convicted Dorset gamekeeper Paul Allen due to be sentenced today" RaptorPersecutionUK https://ift.tt/gZtspAI

If anyone has been wondering why no progress whatsoever has been made to tackle the illegal killing of birds of prey in England, I give you Natural England’s senior management team: RaptorPersecutionUK https://ift.tt/UbnkIRt

Last November I was reading an online article on the Teeside Live website about the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in North Yorkshire being dubbed ‘the bird poisoning capital of the UK‘ (here). The article was illustrated with various photographs, including this image of a poisoned red kite that was reportedly found dead … Continue reading "Red kite found poisoned on Swinton Estate – North Yorkshire Police refuses to investigate" RaptorPersecutionUK https://ift.tt/Fu32TdK