Showing posts with label RSPB. Show all posts
Showing posts with label RSPB. Show all posts
Thursday, 3 January 2013
Sunday, 13 May 2012
Corncrake corridors - Smaull
Two pictures of corncrake corridors - fenced areas along the edges of fields at the RSPB reserve at Smaull planted with nettles to provide respite from grazing and early cover for the returning birds. One was calling from here yesterday - with possibly two more in different areas, although as they were only calling sporadically and at different times, they could conceivably have all been the same bird.
Sunday, 6 May 2012
"Welcome to Islay" at Bruichladdich Distillery Laddieshop
Monday, 26 March 2012
Thursday, 6 October 2011
Conservation and nature tourism bring economic boost
The RSPB have just published an important new report showing how valuable conservation and nature tourism is to the economy.
More and more people are enjoying nature in the UK, bringing economic benefits to local communities.
These are the findings of a new study from the RSPB looking at how conservation and nature tourism create jobs and bring money into local areas. The effects are being felt across the UK, from far flung rural areas to urban fringes.
The RSPB’s 200 reserves now attract two million visits a year. They help bring £66million into their local communities, supporting 1,872 local jobs – an 87 per cent increase since 2002.
These findings complement the Government’s recent National Ecosystems Assessment (NEA) which highlighted the economic benefits conservation delivers through clean air and water, flood defence, carbon storage and wellbeing. The NEA shows that the natural environment is worth billions to our economy every year and conserving it makes sound economic sense.
The rare wildlife habitats that are protected on nature reserves are often found in some very remote places – so the benefits they bring to rural communities can be very important.
Research by Natural England shows that people travelling within England to enjoy nature increased by 10 per cent between 2005 and 2009, despite general tourism trips declining by 9 per cent in this period. The most recent figures showed nature tourism visits reached nearly 3 billion last year with visitors spending an estimated £20.4billion in the local area.
Similar research by Scottish Natural Heritage has revealed that nature-based tourism supports spending of £1.4 billion per year, and 39,000 jobs in Scotland.
Visits to RSPB reserves grew 38 per cent, from around 1.5 million to almost 2 million in the last five years. Over 1,000 local jobs were supported by tourism to RSPB reserves in 2009, three times the number that were supported in 2002.
Reintroductions of charismatic species can also be a big draw for nature tourism. The return of the once extinct white-tailed eagle to the Isles of Mull and Skye now supports more than 150 local jobs while the reintroduction of red kites to Dumfries and Galloway has brought 20 new jobs to the area.
As well as local businesses servicing tourists, like pubs, hotels and restaurants, nature reserves create direct jobs on reserves, support local industry in the construction of visitor facilities and habitat management, and play host to farming lets where cattle and sheep graze reserve land.
Here are a few extracts from the press release accompanying the report:
These are the findings of a new study from the RSPB looking at how conservation and nature tourism create jobs and bring money into local areas. The effects are being felt across the UK, from far flung rural areas to urban fringes.
The RSPB’s 200 reserves now attract two million visits a year. They help bring £66million into their local communities, supporting 1,872 local jobs – an 87 per cent increase since 2002.
These findings complement the Government’s recent National Ecosystems Assessment (NEA) which highlighted the economic benefits conservation delivers through clean air and water, flood defence, carbon storage and wellbeing. The NEA shows that the natural environment is worth billions to our economy every year and conserving it makes sound economic sense.
The rare wildlife habitats that are protected on nature reserves are often found in some very remote places – so the benefits they bring to rural communities can be very important.
Research by Natural England shows that people travelling within England to enjoy nature increased by 10 per cent between 2005 and 2009, despite general tourism trips declining by 9 per cent in this period. The most recent figures showed nature tourism visits reached nearly 3 billion last year with visitors spending an estimated £20.4billion in the local area.
Similar research by Scottish Natural Heritage has revealed that nature-based tourism supports spending of £1.4 billion per year, and 39,000 jobs in Scotland.
Visits to RSPB reserves grew 38 per cent, from around 1.5 million to almost 2 million in the last five years. Over 1,000 local jobs were supported by tourism to RSPB reserves in 2009, three times the number that were supported in 2002.
Reintroductions of charismatic species can also be a big draw for nature tourism. The return of the once extinct white-tailed eagle to the Isles of Mull and Skye now supports more than 150 local jobs while the reintroduction of red kites to Dumfries and Galloway has brought 20 new jobs to the area.
As well as local businesses servicing tourists, like pubs, hotels and restaurants, nature reserves create direct jobs on reserves, support local industry in the construction of visitor facilities and habitat management, and play host to farming lets where cattle and sheep graze reserve land.
Tuesday, 7 June 2011
INHT to join Islay and Jura Marketing Group and RSPB Loch Gruinart at Birdfair
A joint application to the world's largest international birdwatching event by the Islay and Jura Marketing Group with RSPB Loch Gruinart and the INHT has been successful. The event, held at Rutland Water in the English Midlands, attracts around 20,000 visitors every year but Islay has never previously been represented.
A small team drawn from all three organisations will travel down to man our joint stand and promote our island as a wildlife destination for visitors.
Carl
Saturday, 23 April 2011
A few records from Alistair Hutchison - thanks Alistair...
Alistair tells us that on the night of Sunday 17th April he heard a Corncrake ‘calling’ from the vicinity
of Kilarrow House / The Glebe … whilst standing at his back door at 23.40 hours ….
He also saw his first Swallow on the 10th April and ‘noted’ a Bat on the wing at his back door on 18th April. Sadly, a Willow warbler flew into one of his windows and perished - also on the 18th April...
of Kilarrow House / The Glebe … whilst standing at his back door at 23.40 hours ….
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| Corncrake - image from RSPB |
Thursday, 10 March 2011
Tuesday, 15 February 2011
Sunday, 9 January 2011
Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos)
This Song thrush was successfully hunting for worms on the lawn in front of the doctor's surgery in Port Charlotte this morning. The population of Song thrushes has declined to such an extent in the UK that they are now on the RSPB 'Red List' because numbers of breeding birds has fallen by more than 50% since the baseline date of 1969. Globally, the species is not threatened, but the decline in the UK has been dramatic, particularly on farmland - probably due to changes in agricultural practices and the increased use of pesticides.
Friday, 10 December 2010
Thursday, 25 November 2010
Saturday, 20 November 2010
Thursday, 28 October 2010
Friday, 15 October 2010
Mark Avery of RSPB - blog
Mark Avery - Conservation Director of the RSPB
State of the UK's birds - an environmental barometer
http://nblo.gs/9amDT
State of the UK's birds - an environmental barometer
http://nblo.gs/9amDT
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