GWCT News Blog

From here on in, the two most used rat poisons, bromadiolone and difenacoum will be as good as useless on my shoot, and if we were daft enough to use them, we would simply be risking sending the chemicals up the food chain to the likes of our barn owls, kestrels and red kites, while having no significant impact on the rats.

The Owl Box Initiative strives to be a conduit for collaboration and knowledge sharing between land managers, volunteers and conservation organisations, and recently, I had the honour of meeting with Major (Rtd) Nigel Lewis, a prominent volunteer ornithologist who runs the Lewis Raptor and Owl Group, based in Wiltshire.

Each development stage of a barn owl chick is crucial to increase their chances of successfully fledging, so we take this opportunity to look back at these important stages before the chicks in the Owl Box LIVE nest start to fledge.

Here are a few of our non-game research findings that you might not be aware of from the GWCT.

The original blog we wrote has, not surprisingly, generated some comment, particularly with respect to the suggestion of a derogation on its use on kale in wild bird cover.

Protecting an area for a species works in theory, however, that does not mean they will go there!

Following the recent reintroduction of White-tailed eagles to the Isle of Wight in southern England, proposals are now being made for a second re-introduction of eagles to East Anglia. 

Watch this short video from the Fieldsports Channel, featuring an interview with GWCT Communications Director Andrew Gilruth.

Bees’ Needs Week is an annual event coordinated by Defra and delivered in partnership with several charities, businesses, conservation groups and academic institutions to help raise awareness of bees and other pollinators. Events to celebrate insects are taking place across England from 9-15^th July.