Behind all of the numbers, there’s a great story

The RSPB annual review 2009-10

4 The highlights of our year6 Birds and other wildlife

10 Nature reserves14 People

18 Campaigns22 Northern Ireland

26 Scotland30 Wales

36 Our work overseas40 Money matters

44 A million or so thanks

3contents

It has been a challengingyear, but a good one for birdsand conservation. Withfinances ever tighter, there wasa worry that some of oursupporters would be forced toleave us. But, we are delightedto report that we ended theyear with more members thanever – 1,076,112 to be precise.We are grateful to every one ofthem. This level of continuedsupport sends a strongmessage that nature andconservation are important inall of our lives.

We have had manysuccesses over the year. Theseinclude buying and extendingour reserves, a good breedingseason for many birds,advances in RSPB research sowe can help wildlife more inthe future, more peopleenjoying nature with us andcampaigns to protect species and important places for wildlife.

Of course, we haven’t doneall this alone. Without wishingthis to turn into an Oscarspeech, we have a lot of peopleand organisations to thank forspeaking up for nature.

Our members are ourdriving force; without them wewould not exist. We have anarmy of 14,900 dedicated andenthusiastic volunteers, eachdoing their bit to make theworld a better place for wildlifeand people.

We work closely withfarmers, landowners,businesses, councils, otherenvironmental organisations,politicians, teachers – the listgoes on and on. And withoutour funders we wouldn’t beable to carry out many of ourprojects. We have mentioned,on pages 44-46, manyindividuals and organisationswho we have worked withclosely. Our thanks to them all.

It has been encouraging to see more families and youngpeople join us over the lastyear – we now have 190,000junior members, our WildlifeExplorers. Each day our e-mailsand postbag are bulging withchildren’s stories and pictures.

Wildlife Explorer BethanyBisset-Smith, aged 12, perhapssums up all of our reasons forloving nature: ‘Nature inspires.It inspires stories, poems,artwork, music and action.Nature provides. It providesfood, cures, and everydayessentials. Nature amuses. Itamuses us with its wildestcreations, oddest animals andcraziest sights. Nature changes.It changes our gardens, fieldsand parks from season toseason. Nature creates. Itcreates my favourite secretden, a snack for a long countrywalk and reason to go outside.Nature must have a futurebecause without it, our ownfuture is lost.’

Thanks to yoursupport, theRSPB achieved many things in 2009-10.

Mike Clarke, Chief Executive

5

12

56

We inspired 187,000 people tojoin the RSPB over the year andended it with a record 1,076,112

members. Thank you to you all!

Our Letter to the Future

campaign was launched, urging politicians not to cut thelife out of the countryside in the budget cuts. An

incredible 250,000 people

have signed it so far.

Bitterns had a successful year,with 33 males – more than athird of the UK population –on our nature reserves.

We were delighted that the UK

Marine and Coastal Access Act

and the Marine (Scotland) Act

came into force, after years ofcampaigning by environmentalgroups. This will give better

protection for wildlife at sea.

We welcomed 56,000 children

to our field teaching schemes. A moment holding a newt caninspire a lifetime’s passion.

RSPB supporters were amongover 60,000 people whomarched in London, Glasgowand Belfast demanding action

on climate change. We arelooking at the possible impactsit will have on wildlife.

34

the highlights of our year

My children barely givethem a second glance –so normal are they inNorthamptonshire – but I stillget a thrill when I see a redkite, all the sweeter with thethought “we helped do that”.

2010 was the year Europeshould have halted the loss of biodiversity – a ratherpassionless way of expressinga bold aim. It hasn’t been met –but it’s worth just thinkingabout what halting the lossactually means. This was athought I had when standinglistening hard in a darkCambridgeshire night for themechanical rasping song of acorncrake. We stopped therelentless decline ofcorncrakes, just in time,through research and workingwith many people in theWestern Isles. Now theirnumbers are increasing, withRSPB reserves playing a vitalrole. In Cambridgeshire, we’regiving them a helping hand tore-colonise England. The bird Iwas listening to could havehatched at Whipsnade underthe care of the ZoologicalSociety of London, beenreleased at our Nene Washesreserve and just returned fromspending the winter in Africa.

Nature conservationworks – in my job I’m luckyenough to see examples of itacross the RSPB. Your supportand the skill and dedication of

staff and volunteers across theUK and beyond is making areal, measurable, listenable,watchable difference to ournatural world and our quality oflife. Our reserves are filled withwildlife – over a thousandspecies of moth at Minsmereand a thousand types of fungiat Tudeley Woods for instance.Every day, staff and volunteersare getting involved withplanning proposals to protectwildlife-rich sites near you: atany one time, we are workingon over 1,000 cases.

As time goes on, I also seemore and more examples ofhow nature is helping man.Protecting peat bogs forwading birds keeps stores ofcarbon locked up, as well asproviding clean water. Wetlandshelp store flood water. Naturereserves contribute to urbanregeneration, such as atSaltholme, Teesside. Contactwith nature has been proven toreduce the stresses of modernlife – nature is good for you!

Of course, not everythinggoes as we would hope. There are often false starts inworking out how to reversespecies declines. But as anorganisation we never stoplearning and seeking solutions.There is no scope forcomplacency. Our contributionalone cannot stop the loss, but we are making a real difference.

The RSPB helpsbirds, and byhelping birds wehelp a myriadother creatures.

Mark Avery, Director of Conservation

7

12

56

Two pairs of common cranes

nested at Lakenheath Fen; onechick fledged, the first to do soin the Fens for 400 years.

Thirty-three bitterns out of 82in the UK boomed on 13 RSPB

reserves. They bred at RSPBLakenheath Fen for the firsttime and there were sevennests at Ham Wall, up from onethe previous year.

Marsh harriers successfullyraised two young at Radipole

Lake, the first to breed in Dorsetfor nearly 50 years.

Numbers of corncrakes onRSPB reserves increased by19% to 289 birds. Thereintroduced population at our Nene Washes reserveincreased from nine to 13 calling birds.

We identified 304 non-bird

species that have more than

20% of their UK population ordistribution on our reserves.

We found species never

recorded on our reserves

before, including reed leopard

moth at Sutton Fen, Norfolk,Breckland thyme on CavenhamHeath, Suffolk, and field cuckoo

bumblebee on Oronsay.

34

birds and other wildlife

I'd seen the adult birds,Frisa and Skye, depart togetheron a hunting trip, so I seizedthe moment. It took me over anhour to gently creep throughthe trees managing to avoidany loud breaking twigsunderfoot. I wasn't expectingto see anything but I thoughtI'd find a suitable place to sitand listen. Young sea eagles arevery vocal at this stage andeven though both adults wereaway I knew I would hear theoccasional call and maybe, justmaybe, I could piece togetherwhat had happened. At adistance I could indeed hear acall. Just the one.

Then I thought I caught thequietest hint of another call.One was loud and quite near. Icupped my hands behind myears to strain every sinew ofmy eardrums to focus on theother noise. Maybe I wasimagining the whole thing.Suddenly the sunlight throughthe trees flickered, a vastshadow passed overhead. Frisawas back. Damn it. I'd beenrumbled. But no. She circledand then landed in a tree not 50 metres away. I couldscarcely breathe and I darednot move a muscle. Amazingly,I was so well concealed andquiet even an eagle hadn't seenme. I couldn't even move myhead to look up so I just gentlyraised my eyes to see her,

preening contentedly in thesun. My hands were still halfcupped behind my ears and ittook several minutes and amillimetre at a time to lowerthem. Immediately the midgesappeared and bit and itchedtheir way all over my face but Icould do nothing to swat them.I'd come this far and there wasno way I was going to blow mycover now, it wasn't fair on theeagles. As Frisa landed, thecalls from the nest intensified.As I listened, my brain wastrying to identify the calls andwhere they were coming from.Then, as one stopped, anotherstarted. It stopped and theother started again. Then theyoverlapped. There were TWO!One was still on the nest butthe other calls were comingfrom lower down, perhaps onthe ground. By now one of mylegs was completely numb andI had to ease it carefully out full stretch to get the bloodflowing again.

Once Frisa had flown off, Icould breathe again and slowlystand. The calls from bothchicks faded but we could allrest easy again that both chickswere accounted for. Drainedafter the worry of the last 48hours, I fell into the Land Roverback on the track and removedan entire colony of ticks frommy jeans, hoping none hadventured any further.

46breeding pairsof white-tailedeaglesScotland’s white-tailed eagleshad the highest number ofbreeding pairs (46) and thehighest number of chicks (36)for 150 years. David Sexton,RSPB Mull Officer, tells uswhat it was like trying tolocate one of the chicks at Loch Frisa.

David Sexton, Mull Officer (pictured left, withBBC Countryfile’s John Craven)

8

78

1112

Our Investigations team hadanother busy year, includinghelping to recover poisoned

golden eagles in Scotland.

Three pairs of stone-curlews

nested at Winterbourne

Downs in Wiltshire, where weare returning arable land to chalkgrassland. Five pairs nested atMinsmere in Suffolk, thanks toimproved habitat.

We contributed to the thirdBirds of Conservation Concern

review. Eighteen species movedto the red list of most concern.

We completed our first year

of surveillance for bird flu onbehalf of Defra. Staff andvolunteers carried out regularpatrols for dead birds on over

60 of our wetland reserves.The disease was not detected.

Defra praised our considerable

input to bird flu surveillance

and renewed our contract untilAugust 2010, worth £200,000.

Numbers of some of our special

farmland birds have increased

by an amazing 177% since theyear 2000 at the RSPB’s Hope Farm in Cambridgeshire.The 2009 breeding season wasvery successful.

910

birds and other wildlife

One of the most satisfyingbits of my job is that the RSPBnot only helps protect importantwildlife sites, but also helpsrestore those that have beenlost. By doing this, somebreeding species close toextinction in the UK have beenbrought back from the brink.

A good example is thebittern, down to only 11booming males in the UK in1991, because of the loss ofreedbeds. We carried outdetailed research into whatbitterns need and have usedthis to help them. Bettermanagement of existing sites,such as Minsmere, and thecreation of reedbeds atLakenheath Fen, Ham Wall,Otmoor and Ouse Fen, amongothers, has meant thatnumbers increased to 33boomers on our reserves in2009, out of 82 in the UK.

The work we do on ourreserves helps much wildlife. Inthe Inner and Outer Hebrides,establishing a chain of naturereserves has been crucial tothe recovery of corncrakes. Andby helping corncrakes, we havealso helped the threatenedgreat yellow bumblebee andIrish lady’s tresses orchid.

Around the coastal and riverfloodplains of England andWales, including at BerneyMarshes in the Broads, WestSedgemoor in Somerset,

Otmoor, near Oxford, NorthKent Marshes and Ynys-hir inmid Wales, we are restoringwet meadows for winteringand breeding wading birds andducks, geese and swans.

In the Ribble Estuary atHesketh Out Marsh, we havestarted to undo a hugelydamaging project thatreclaimed some of the estuaryin the 1980s. In the FlowCountry of Scotland, we aregradually returning a landscapeto blanket bog, by removingconifers and blocking ditches.

While the focus of ourefforts is nature, we are alsoproviding for people. Not only isthere the sheer enjoyment thatnature offers, but also the othercontributions our reservesmake, such as protectingpeatland carbon stores,improving water quality andflood defences.

On the visits that I make toreserves, it always strikes methat it is far harder to restore alandscape than to destroy it.Success requires not only asound practical project and thefunding to do it, but consentsfrom regulators, public support,and huge commitment fromstaff and volunteers. Manyhave involved innovativepartnerships with the publicand private sector, as well asmany funders. Nature thanks you all!

From sandybeaches to the tops ofmountains, ournature reserveshave somethingfor everyone.

Gwyn Williams, Head of Reserves and Protected Areas

11

12

56

During 2009-10, we bought twonature reserves – Wallasea

Island and Crook of Baldoon,taking the total number to 209.

We were able to extend: Snape, Geltsdale,

Bracklesham Bay, Langstone

Harbour, Lydden Valley,

Rainham Marshes, Portmore

Lough, Vane Farm, Forsinard

Flows and Balnahard.

RSPB nature reserves cover anarea of 143,200 hectares –0.6% of the UK’s land surface.That’s a lot of land for wildlife.

We are working with others inthe Peak District: at Dove

Stone to manage a UnitedUtilities catchment area 12 milesfrom Manchester; and with theNational Trust at Eastern Moors,12 miles from Sheffield.

Seven Welsh Black cattle havebeen helping to keep the grassthe right height for birds on ourRamsey Island nature reserve.

Work started on the Titchwell

Marsh Coastal Change Project

to tackle coastal erosion. A new sea wall will protect thefreshwater marsh. We willcreate saltmarshes and build a new hide.

34

nature reserves

In February, we welcomedour 100,000th visitor toSaltholme, just a year since we opened. We are particularlyproud of achieving this figure in so short a time, as it’s three times the number we expected.

As well as proving to be ahit with people, Saltholme hasalso been very popular withwildlife. 2009 was a hugelysuccessful breeding seasonwith numbers of lapwings,redshanks, pochards, yellowwagtails and great crestedgrebes all increasing.

The new cockleshell islandsattracted the returning commontern colony and providedfantastic views of tern chicksright outside the visitor centre.

Other wildlife successesover the past year include thediscovery of otter prints, as wellas a water vole survey thatconfirmed we have a colony on

site. We have created a feedingstation for the water voles and a viewing station so that visitors can see thesefantastic creatures.

The reserve has gained a reputation for rare birds too – a purple heron, citrinewagtail, blue-winged teal and a pair of bitterns have all been seen.

The centre has alsoimpressed with its strikingappearance and eco-friendlyfeatures, such as rammed earthwalls, a kind of storage heatermade out of squashed soil, andits own mini sewage treatmentworks. It has won severalawards for architecturalexcellence and forsustainability.

So quite a year for theRSPB’s fledgling reserve.People love it! We are bringingwildlife into the heart ofindustrial Teesside.

100,000visitors to RSPBSaltholme We hoped our Saltholmenature reserve nearMiddlesbrough in Teessidewould be a success when itopened in January last year –and it was! Visitor OfficerEmily Smith reports on abusy year.

Emily Smith, Saltholme Visitor Officer

12

78

1112

Almost three-quarters of landmanaged by the RSPB is a Site

or Area of Special Scientific

Interest – it’s good for wildlife!

Our reserves protect more than 5% of the UK’snative Caledonian pine

forests, reedbeds, FlowCountry deep peat blanket

bog, wet grassland andbrackish lagoons.

We have been finding out moreabout archaeological features

on our English reserves, thanksto a grant from English Heritage.

Over 13,300 species have been recorded on our naturereserves – about a quarter of

the UK’s land-based species.More than half are insects anda quarter are fungi. There aredoubtless more to discover.

A trial of electric fences to keepout predators found 78% of

lapwings nested successfullywithin; 18% had success outside.

We are working with the mineral

extraction industry to turnsites into wildlife havens aftermining has finished. WithTarmac at Langford Lowfields,we are creating the largest

reedbed in the East Midlands.

910

nature reserves

Have you ever thoughtabout what got you excitedabout birds and other wildlife?

I was very lucky. Mygrandparents had a caravannext to the RSPB’s naturereserve at Snettisham inNorfolk. Even at a young age, I was allowed to visit thereserve on my own. I wouldpractise using my newbinoculars and would attemptto identify the birds that I sawwith my prized guidebook. On many occasions, I wasaccompanied by my Granddadwho patiently helped me toname the baffling array of birdson The Wash.

I find it sad, that for manychildren (and increasinglyadults) opportunities to enjoywildlife are less common. Thepressure of work, the allure ofshopping and the unfoundedfear of accidents in thecountryside are all factors thathave led to a generation that is increasingly disconnectedfrom nature.

I am proud to say that theRSPB is fighting back! TheRSPB has over 200 naturereserves across the UK, ofwhich 184 have public access.We continue to add newreserves for people to enjoy –you can read about thesuccesses of the first year atSaltholme in Teesside on the

previous pages. This reservefilled a gap in north-eastEngland.

But you don’t have to travelfar to enjoy nature with theRSPB. Over half a millionpeople counted the birds intheir garden from the comfortof their armchair as part of theBig Garden Birdwatch. Anotherhalf a million people stumbledacross a Date with Natureproject as they went to work,shopping or on holiday. I amsure that not many expected tosee peregrines, white-tailedeagles, red deer, starlings andwater voles as they left thehouse that morning!

I would be lying if I claimedthat this approach is innovative.We celebrated 50 years ofshowing visitors ospreys atLoch Garten in Highland.Thousands of people havemade the pilgrimage to watchthis wild soap opera unfold.Since 1959, visitors will haveseen 141 eggs laid and 86chicks successfully fledge.

In 2009-10, we met 3.5 million people and gavethem a first-hand experience ofnature. I hope that each willhave been inspired to go on toprovide the moral, financial andvoluntary support necessary tocarry on protecting wildlife: avirtuous circle which is bothgood for people and for wildlife.

The RSPB isabout more than just birds.Without people,there would beno RSPB.

Paul Forecast, Head of People Engagement

15

12

56

More than half a million people

took part in the Big Garden

Birdwatch and our Make Your

Nature Count summer survey.

Over 56,000 children got close

to nature through our field

teaching schemes. Although aslight reduction on previousyears, almost every organisationreported a difficult year withschools organising fewer visits.

Twenty-four of our fieldteaching sites now have theGovernment Quality Badge,with six rated as outstanding.

Over half a million people

saw species as varied as house sparrows, white-tailedeagles, peregrines, red deer and water voles at our 80 Date

with Nature events across the UK.

Natural historyTV presenter

Kate Humble was elected asPresident, bringing a passion forwildlife and the environment.

We launched our online

community, where supporterscan chat with each other online,upload photos, ask questions

and share their favourite

moments with nature. Visitwww.rspb.org.uk/community

34

people

Recently retired, I jumpedat the chance to get out to thecoast, by volunteering at theSeabird Centre on RathlinIsland in Northern Ireland.

The working day began witha walk from the volunteeraccommodation to the WestLighthouse where the SeabirdCentre is located. It beat mostcommuter journeys: no trafficand fabulous coastal views. Theonly sound was birdsong: thebuzzing call of redpolls, linnets,goldfinches, singing skylarks,stonechats, sedge warblers,displaying lapwings andsometimes choughs.

The full ‘seabird experience’began as you descended thepath to the viewing platform.The sight and sound ofthousands of birds on the cliffsand rock stacks was amazing,not to mention their ownspecial aroma.

My role involved preparingthe centre for the visitors bymaking coffee and tea, andgetting the viewing platformwith its five telescopes andbinoculars ready for the firstpeople who arrived either bythe ‘puffin’ bus, on foot or bybicycle.

I showed visitors the birdsand told them all about them.Most people came to see thepuffins; many had not seen apuffin before. The ’scopes weretrained on them and it wasgreat to hear visitors’

exclamations of joy as they sawthese birds. The overallspectacle was awe-inspiring;thousands of guillemots andrazorbills nesting on the rockycliffs and stacks with goodnumbers of puffins on thegrassy banks. In early July, theyoung kittiwakes werehatching. There can be no morerewarding a task than showingadults and children close viewsof a pair of kittiwakes rearingtheir chicks.

Peregrine falcons bred close by and hunted regularly.Gannets fished out at sea.Sometimes, Rathlin Island’sbreeding choughs announcedtheir arrival with their repeated,ringing calls and performedacrobatic displays.

Visitors came from all partsof the world. I talked to peoplefrom 20 different countriesduring my two-week stay.Some were knowledgeablebirders; others came just to seethe puffins. All, withoutexception, were entranced bythe spectacle. Quite a fewvisitors chose to join the RSPB– parents in particular seemedto like the idea of their childrenbeing part of a charity thatsaves habitats and wildlife.

My time at the SeabirdCentre was a brilliantexperience: a dream role for a volunteer. I was welcomed by all.

14,900 volunteersAlison Rymell is just one of our 14,900 incrediblevolunteers, without whomwe couldn’t achieve manythings. She explains what itwas like to show visitors theseabirds on the westernmosttip of Rathlin Island inNorthern Ireland.

Alison Rymell, Volunteer (pictured left)

16

78

1112

Wildlife Explorers, our juniormembers, raised over £33,000

to help wildlife through our Savethe Rainforest Animals appeal.

More farms are being surveyedas part of the Volunteer &

Farmer Alliance project, thanksto funding from the EU’s LIFE+fund. Farmers find out whatbirds they have on their farmsand how they can help them.

The great work farmers do forwildlife was celebrated in ourNature of Farming Awards;Michael Calvert was the winner.

Supporters of appeals

made a huge contribution toconservation projects, includingreintroducing cranes, stopping

the illegal killing of migratory

birds and the save the

albatross campaign.

We celebrated 30 years of

residential volunteering on ourreserves. Over 700 people helpus for a week or more each year.

Nearly 550 volunteers

collected money for the RSPB as part of our first Love Nature Week. Somedressed up in costumes toattract attention, and we raisednearly £20,000. Thanks to all!

910

people

I love albatrosses. Havedone since I saw my first one.That was ‘Albert’, a vagrant,black-browed albatross thatvisited Hermaness – thenorthernmost tip of the BritishIsles – from 1972 to 1995.

So, I was thrilled to hear ofthe latest successes of theSave the Albatross campaign,working with our partners inBirdLife International. We nowfund 16 people in the AlbatrossTask Force, working withfishermen off the coast ofSouth America and southernAfrica to prevent albatrossesbeing killed on longline fishinghooks.

Using simple techniques,they’ve reduced albatrossdeaths by 96% off Chile and by85% in south African waters.

Last October, thousands ofRSPB supporters were amongthe 60,000 people marching inLondon, Belfast and Glasgow todemand action on climatechange. This march, organisedby the Stop Climate Chaoscoalition, was the largest UK environmentaldemonstration ever.

We gathered 15,000signatures calling on theGovernment to say no to coal-fired power stations. Thishelped to fight off a new coal-fired power plant at Kingsnorthin Kent. We’re still fighting asimilar damaging proposal atHunterston in Ayrshire.

It was great to see theMarine and Coastal Access Act(UK) finally come into force inlate 2009, and the Marine(Scotland) Act early in 2010.This followed nine years ofcampaigning, with Wildlife and Countryside LINK andEnvironment LINK in Scotland,for protection for our wildlife atsea. Thousands of you signedpetitions and lobbied politicians– repeatedly – to call for newlaws. Now the tough work ofputting those laws into practicehas begun. We’ll be working toensure that the MarineConservation Zones aredesignated where our mostthreatened sealife needs them.

I’m appalled that kites,peregrines and other birds ofprey are still being killedillegally. We presented 210,567pledges of support for ourcampaign to stop this to DefraMinister Huw Irranca-Daviesand to governments in Wales,Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Your response to this and to our Letter to the Futurecampaign has been fantastic.Signatures on the latter arenow over 250,000. This showshow passionate people areabout sparing wildlife from thecoming cuts in public spending.

The RSPB has beencampaigning to save nature forover 120 years. We’ll keepcampaigning for as long as thethreats continue.

The RSPB was founded in1889 by peoplecampaigning.And we are stillspeaking upfor nature.

Paul Lewis, Head of Public Relations

19

12

56

RSPB supporters joined 60,000

people on marches in London,Belfast and Glasgow urging foraction on climate change.

As part of the Stop Climate

Chaos coalition, we handedover 15,000 signatures to EdMiliband MP, calling on the UKGovernment to say no to new

coal-fired power stations andyes to green energy.

The UK Marine and Coastal

Access Act and the Marine

(Scotland) Act came into force,after a decade of campaigning.

We launched our Letter to the

Future campaign urgingpoliticians to ensure nature andthe environment don’t suffer toomuch in the budget cuts. Anamazing 250,000 people have

signed already!

210,567 of you signed our bird of prey campaign urging an end to the illegal killing

of birds of prey.

We produced two major

reports with farming andenvironmental partners,pressing for major reform

of the Common Agricultural

Policy to benefit the farmed environment.

34

campaigns

I've had to take dead birdsto the vets many times before,but this time I had a real sinkingfeeling. Minutes after handingover the limp corpse I wasstaring at an X-ray, whichconfirmed my worst fears.

I could see 11 pieces ofgunshot in what had been amagnificent, female peregrine.She had been slaughtered –most probably on her nest. Theinscribed metal ring on her leggave a tiny insight into her life.She hatched seven years ago inShropshire and, at the time ofher death, was in her prime.Quite probably, she had chicksthat depended on her andwould now starve.

I felt sick and disgusted.How can people stoop so low?

2009 was a terrible year forcowardly crimes against birdsof prey, including eagles and

peregrines. I work in theRSPB's investigations team andthis has been one of the worstyears I can remember.

In the last few weeks,barely a day has gone bywithout us getting a call aboutperegrine persecution andother crimes against birds ofprey. It’s shocking that in the21st century, these fabulousbirds are still routinely shot,trapped and poisoned.

One of my colleagues inScotland went to investigate a dead golden eagle found inArgyll. The police suspect that it was illegally poisoned, using a bait with a very toxic chemical.

I'm desperate for theperegrine and golden eagledeaths not to be mere grislystatistics. We must put an endto this appalling practice.

11pieces ofgunshot Mark Thomas from ourInvestigations team wrotethis piece from the heart andinspired thousands of peopleto sign our pledge to stop theillegal killing of birds of prey.

Mark Thomas, Investigations Unit

20

78

1112

Mitigation measures to protectwhooper swans were acceptedfor the dualling of the A6, whichlinks Belfast and Londonderry.

After nearly a decade ofcampaigning, the PolishGovernment announced an

alternative route for the Via

Baltica expressway that avoids

important Natura 2000 sites,including the Biebrza Marshes.

We objected to the proposed

eco-town at Weston Otmoor,next to a meadow rich in

plants. It wasn’t shortlisted.

Plans for an M4 relief motorwaythat would have damaged theGwent Levels Site of Special

Scientific Interest weredropped. We were part of theCampaign Against the LevelsMotorway (CALM) Alliance.

RSPB letter writers helped put pressure on the Bulgarian

government to protect

important sites for birds.

We withdrew our objection tothe dualling of the A11 throughBreckland, after the HighwaysAgency agreed to createadditional stone-curlew habitat

to replace what would bedamaged by the road.

910

campaigns

Watching the release of 26 red kites over the stunninglandscape of County Down inJuly was a fantastic experience.Now in the second year of thismajor reintroduction project,we are bringing back a bird thatwas driven to local extinction200 years ago. Watching thesebirds take their first flight andknowing we made it happenleft a big lump in my throat. Thisis conservation at its very best,working with our friends in theForest Service, Golden EagleTrust and the Welsh Kite Trust.

The value of our naturereserves in Northern Irelandhas never been moreimportant. Although breedingwading birds like the lapwingand curlew continue to declineelsewhere, our hard work topurchase and create suitablewetland habitats provided ahome to over 200 pairs ofthese birds. We also providedhomes for around 3,000 pairsof terns and gulls, more than25,000 wintering waterbirdslike the black-tailed godwit andbrent goose, and some of ourmost threatened species, suchas the chough, roseate tern andgolden plover (left).

And there’s plenty of otherwildlife on our nature reserves.Whether it’s the beautiful Irish

whitebeams around LowerLough Erne, the inquisitive Irishhares on Rathlin Island or thedelicate Irish lady's tressesorchids around Lough Neagh,we will continue to safeguardthese for future generations.

Our long-term anddetermined work with thepoliticians in the NorthernIreland Assembly really paid off.We finally convinced them toban the use of lead shot inwetlands. This will spell the end of the long, painful andunnecessary poisoning of birdslike whooper swans.

Our field teaching work withthe College of Agriculture, Food& Rural Enterprise in CountyAntrim richly deserved itsQuality Badge award. We gave4,000 children an out-of-classroom experience they willnever forget. Watching theexcitement when these kidsfind their first dragonfly nymphin their pond dipping trayreminds me of what hookedme on nature and my lifelonglove of the countryside.Inspiring our young people is soimportant to our work to makea better future for birds andpeople. We look forward togiving lots more schoolchildrena taste of nature in the coming years.

Red kites are not the onlybirds flying highover NorthernIreland.

James Robinson, Director, RSPB Northern Ireland

23

12

56

After years of campaigning bythe RSPB, the Northern IrelandGovernment introduced a ban

on lead shot over wetlands.

Land purchases at Portmore

Lough have doubled the size ofthe wet grassland, giving ourgrowing lapwing populationareas to expand into. Grazing byour resident Konik poniescontinues to benefit the wildlife.

We were the first organisation

in Northern Ireland to beawarded the Learning Outside

the Classroom Quality Badge.

Golden plovers are nowbreeding at our Aghatirourke

reserve. At Lough Beg we'vebeen working with landownersto restore 500 hectares of wetgrassland to bring backbreeding wading birds.

More people than ever aresupporting us in Northern

Ireland, with our highest everincrease in members.

Michael Calvert from Co. Downwon the RSPB’s Nature of

Farming Award. Michael'senthusiasm and dedication toprotecting the wildlife on his 80 hectare farm shone throughduring the competition.

34

northern ireland

On a gloriously sunny day,Portmore Lough shimmersblue. The reeds rustle gently inthe breeze, Konik ponies comedown to the water’s edge for a drink, taking a break fromtheir roles as the reserve’slawnmowers. A lapwing fliesoverhead, its rounded wingsunmistakeable.

This is conservation at itsfinest. We are re-creating thefenland here on a grand scale.Stopping to pause andappreciate the lough’s beautymakes all the hard work seemworthwhile.

We have cleaned andcleared ditches, wideneddrains, installed sluices andcontrolled willows and rushes.The conditions are just right forthe wetland wildlife.

With support fromBiffaward, we were able to buyan additional 11 hectares here,which we are making perfectfor lapwings.

The rushes were up to ourshoulders, so we had to getspecial machines in to get rid ofthem. To improve the waterquality, we deepened the maindrain between the fen andmeadows. We also installedsluices to allow us to raisewater levels and collectrainwater. Nearly fourkilometres of ditches

were re-filled with water to benefit newts and frogs, and give wading birds, including lapwings, a place to forage.

With this new area, we now hope to attract 20 pairs of lapwings. John Scovell,Portmore’s Warden, says thisis a figure that we could onlyhave dreamed of 10 years ago.

Other wading birds willbenefit too, including snipe.Over the winter, more than2,000 golden plovers fed on the meadows, a wonderfulsight in the wintry landscape.

We have discovered 233 different species of insecton the reserve, which shows just how well the wet fenland is faring.

A new species of beetle forIreland was discovered here,Sinodendron cylindricum, avariety of rhinoceros beetle, sowe have big beasts as well!

We dug some pits andflooded them to try to attractthe rare Irish damselfly. These have also managed toentice a rare water bug onlyrecorded once previously inNorthern Ireland.

Within weeks of openingthe drains, little egrets arrived,their glistening white feathersreflecting in the lough. We alsosaw signs of otters. Magical!

11more hectares atPortmore LoughWe have to look after ournature reserves to get themin tip-top condition forwildlife. At Portmore Lough,the wildlife is showing its approval.

Siobhan Dignan, Volunteer

24

78

1112

In County Down, we released

26 red kites in the second year of the reintroductionprogramme.

Our field teaching work withthe College of Agriculture, Food & Rural Enterpriseprovided 4,000 children with an out-of-classroom experience.Getting your hands dirty is good!

We talked to over 30,000

people in Northern Ireland,inspiring them about nature

and our work.

Numbers of tree sparrows

around Lough Neaghincreased by 35%, thanks to a partnership project to help them, which involved seven local councils.

Volunteers gave over 21,000

hours of their time to helpnature. They are a vital part of our team.

Our nature reserves providedhomes for over 3,000 pairs

of terns and small gulls. These include roseate terns andMediterranean gulls, which arerare in Northern Ireland.

910

northern ireland

I love visiting our Abernethynature reserve. A walk throughthe towering Scots pines, withthe smell of pine resin and aglimpse of a red squirrelleaping from branch to branchis something magical. I wasparticularly pleased to be at theLoch Garten Osprey Centre oneSaturday in June. The specialoccasion? Celebrating 50 yearsof showing visitors the ospreys.Since 1959, over 2 millionpeople have enjoyed the sightsand sounds of the world’s mostfamous ospreys.

There were excitingdevelopments for other naturereserves in Scotland as well.Thanks to the support of ourmembers and Scottish NaturalHeritage (SNH), we were ableto buy the Crook of Baldoon, amagnificent stretch of coastalwetland in Dumfries andGalloway. In the spring, you canhear the bubbling call ofcurlews, one of nature’s mostevocative soundtracks. Inwinter, you can forget the coldfor a moment as you marvel atthousands of ducks, geese andswans, all busy refuelling afterflying from places such asGreenland and Scandinavia.

We also extended ourForsinard Flows nature reserve.It’s an incredible experiencewhen you’re immersed in thedepths of the bog: a hen harrierglides overhead, the distant callof a greenshank rings over the

bog and dragonflies dart about. At Forsinard, we are restoringbog at a landscape scale,working closely with the local community.

We have been heavilyinvolved in trying to ensure the best places for wildlife inScotland are safe fromdevelopment. While we are infavour of renewable energy inappropriate places, we objectedto an application for more than150 wind turbines on Shetlandbecause of the potentialdamage to populations of red-throated divers, whimbrels,merlins and other birds.

Birds have had mixedfortunes: record numbers ofblack-throated divers, ospreysand white-tailed eagles. Butother birds of prey, includinggolden eagles, have continuedto suffer from persecution.There was great support for ourcampaign to stop illegal killing,including from Government andsome enlightened landowners.

All of our successes arethanks to lots of people: ourmembers, our partners, such asSNH, and our funders. Wecouldn’t have done it withoutyou all! Our partnership withThe Famous Grouse and theirBlack Grouse whisky, whichraises money to help thespecies, won us the ‘BestPartnership Award’ at theScottish Charity Awards. I’ll drink to that!

From newnature reservesto recordnumbers ofbirds, it was quite a year in Scotland.

Stuart Housden, Director, RSPB Scotland

27

12

56

We have now recorded 4,100 species of wildlife at our Abernethy National Nature

Reserve in Highland.

Seabirds in Scotland had theirbest breeding season for a

decade in 2009. Despitenumbers still being historicallylow, Arctic terns at North Hill inOrkney fledged more than 220

chicks, after none in 2008.

Red-necked phalaropes

increased from 17 males at 10sites in 2008 to 26 males at 15

sites in 2009.

The Climate Change

(Scotland) Act 2009 waspassed. It includes emissionsreductions targets of 42% by

2020 and 80% by 2050.Meeting this must not damage the natural environment.

Research has shown that thenumber of red kites in north

Scotland is artificially low

because of illegal killing.

The Langholm Moor

Demonstration Project had asecond successful year. Workingwith five gamekeepers, we havefound that providing other foodfor hen harriers meant no redgrouse chicks were taken.

34

scotland

The Western Isles havefound a new place in my heart– their glorious machair habitatand wildlife have finallybeckoned me. The machair is a'low-lying fertile plain' and arare habitat that I'm proud to beworking with crofters toprotect. Think white sandybeaches, an amazing carpet offlowers, plus all of the otherbirds and creatures that thrive there.

One of the characteristics ofmachair is that it is made from‘wind-blown shells and sand’.Standing among the machair ona June day, you certainly seehow the wind is important inthis environment, as it whipsacross the beach, over thedunes and rustles your hair.Carried on the wind are theevocative cries of breedingoystercatchers, lapwings,redshanks and dunlins.Beautiful flowers carpet everyinch of ground and threatenedgreat yellow bumblebees dancefrom flower to flower. Acorncrake calls and allures youto seek, but usually not to find,since it favours skulking aroundout of sight among the plantsof the machair’s grassland.

‘And how are you findinglife on these Isles?’ asks MrMacCuish, a local crofter.‘Wonderful, what isn’t there tolike?’ I respond. Meetingcrofters is one of the mostprivileged parts of my work

here and I have learned somuch about the croftingsystem, its history and itsmodern development throughour day-to-day conversations,often over a Hebridean sconeand a cup of tea. Myexpectations before I arrived ofhow special life might be herehave already been exceeded.

The project that I amworking on is co-fundedthrough the EU’s LIFE+programme and is a partnershipbetween the RSPB, ScottishNatural Heritage, Comhairlenan Eilean Siar and the ScottishCrofting Federation. It aims tosupport the unique croftingsystem that sustains the richwildlife associated with themachair of these isles. Usingseaweed as a natural fertiliserand binding and stacking corncrops in the field to dry theseed are some of the traditionalpractices that are increasinglydeclining. Farming efficiencyand pressure on time begin torender these methods lessviable. Damage to crops fromgeese is another element thatthe project will be addressing.

‘So how do you see thefuture of crofting?’ I ask MrMacCuish. ‘Now that’s adifficult question,’ he replies.Saving Scottish machair willcertainly be a challenge, but aworthy one and I am alreadyregretting the day I will have todepart these special isles.

£2mfor machairRare, stunning, pristine andfragile. Just some of thewords to describe themachair habitat in westernScotland. Julia Gallagher puts it into her own words.

Julia Gallagher, Advisory Officer for the Conserving Scottish Machair LIFE+ Project

28

78

1112

We celebrated 50 years ofshowing people ospreys atLoch Garten, Highland. Thewebcam is very popular too.

Working with The Famous

Grouse has gone from strengthto strength. Sales of Black

Grouse whisky have brought in£139,000 to help this iconicspecies. We inspired visitors toThe Famous Grouse about them.

Around 5,000 pupils took part inour Bird Friendly Schools

projects in Scotland, with evenmore on the waiting list.

The Marine (Scotland) Act

2010 was passed, whichcomplements the UK legislationand introduces a new system of marine planning and arequirement to establish a

network of protected areas.

We bought the Crook of

Baldoon nature reserve,extended Forsinard Flows andrevamped Barons Haugh.

A wind farm at Stacain inArgyll was rejected by theScottish Government becausethe area is important for golden

eagles. Sadly, this decision wasthen overturned because of atechnical matter.

910

scotland

It’s been an exciting timefor the RSPB in Wales over thelast year.

I can’t convey the feeling ofjoy amongst RSPB Cymru staffon the day when the WalesTransport Plan was publishedand we found out that theGwent Levels would be sparedfrom a proposed M4 toll road.

For years, we had beencampaigning along with otherenvironmental groups againstthe new motorway, whichwould have threatened theimportant wildlife of the area.There was much relief whenthe Welsh Assembly threw out the proposal.

Another success was withWales’ new agri-environmentscheme. The Welsh AssemblyGovernment opted for theGlastir scheme, which is theone we recommended. Ourconservation team workedwith, and advised, the WelshAssembly Minister for Rural Affairs. Since theannouncement, RSPB staffhave been working on the draftGlastir scheme, recommendingchanges to make the schemeas good for wildlife as possible.

Our nature reserves gofrom strength to strength. Wecelebrated 40 years of RSPBYnys-hir in June with an openday that attracted over 250

people. A local café providedlocally-sourced produce and the day was topped off with amusic evening in the villagehall. Also at Ynys-hir, a grant ofnearly £700,000 from theHeritage Lottery Fund hasenabled us to start restoring a large area of floodplaingrazing marsh, which will be good for lapwings, reedbuntings, curlews, otters and hares.

At Newport Wetlands, wewere very pleased to beawarded the RICS CommunityBenefit Award for the RSPBEnvironmental Education andVisitor Centre. Over 800 GirlGuides visited the reserve totake part in a wide range oftasks and games, includingpond dipping, watching wildlifeand minibeast hunting. There isnow a new playing area forchildren, which allows us tooffer a great day out to evenmore people.

We had successes with thewildlife on our reserves too –common sandpipers and watervoles bred for the first time atRSPB Conwy, shovelers werenew breeders at NewportWetlands and the first short-eared owls in over 20 years fledged from RamseyIsland in Pembrokeshire. Great news!

From modelpuffins towinning awards,it’s been a busyyear for theRSPB in Wales..

Katie-jo Luxton, Director, RSPB Cymru

31

12

56

Little Chef customers votedRSPB Conwy nature reserve

as one of the best places for afamily day out.

A record seven pairs of hen

harriers nested at RSPB Lake

Vyrnwy nature reserve inPowys, fledging 10 chicks. Twoother pairs nested just outsidethe boundary of the reserve.Things are looking up!

We bought a café next to our

South Stack nature reserve onAnglesey, so visitors can enjoytea and cake, as well as puffins.

Over 9,000 schoolchildren

enjoyed our field teaching

in Wales. From pond dipping to finding minibeasts, childrenhad a great experience during their day outside of theclassroom.

Kittiwakes on Ramsey Island

had a better year, reversing arecent decline. The 225 pairs

were the highest for four years.

The Welsh AssemblyGovernment Deputy Minister forSkills, John Griffiths, launchedthe Real World Learning

Cymru Partnership, which weare chairing. This encouragesout-of-classroom learning.

34

wales

We are trying to lure puffinsback to breed on Ramsey Islandby placing 150 model decoysaround the island. Puffins usedto breed on Ramsey back in the1800s. The last known breedingrecord is from 1894. Shortlybefore this date, we know thatrats arrived on the islandthrough shipwrecks. An olddiary found from that time talksof ‘rats swarming up the cliffsas the ship lay floundering onthe rocks’. Because puffinsnest in burrows, their eggs andchicks were easy prey for therats and it wasn’t long beforethe birds were wiped out onthe island.

Over 100 years later, in thewinter of 1999/2000, the RSPB,with a team of experts fromNew Zealand, spent fourmonths eradicating the rats.They succeeded and in the nine years since we’ve alsoseen an increase in our other burrow-nesting species. TheManx shearwater populationhas gone up from around 800pairs (a small number managedto survive during the ‘rat years’)to over 2,000 pairs.

Wheatears have reached anall time high of 115 pairs (theynest in the old stone walls) and,

just last year, storm petrelsbred for the first time onRamsey.

The return of the puffinwould complete the set.However, they are notoriouslydifficult to tempt to newbreeding sites. They aregregarious birds and prefer tosee others established beforemaking landfall themselves. Wehope that by putting life-likemodels at strategic pointsaround the island, the intrepidfew visiting birds that we seeshowing an interest from thewater each summer might beenticed to make that allimportant first landing. Onceashore, they will find thousandsof ready-made burrows thanksto the island’s rabbitpopulation.

In a time when seabirds arestruggling around the UK it isimportant to try and redressthe balance of previous man-made problems. This willnot happen overnight and maytake years to come to fruition, ifat all. It has worked at othersites around the UK andabroad, with Ailsa Craig inScotland being a recentsuccess. We’re hopeful.

150model puffinson RamseyIsland Sometimes conservationmeans being creative. Whatbetter than some modelpuffins to attract the realthings back to Ramsey?

Greg Morgan, Ramsey Warden

32

78

1112

We are very grateful to our 821

volunteers across Wales, whodedicated 51,751 hours of theirtime to help wildlife.

Another three chicks fledged atthe Glaslyn Osprey Project

near Porthmadog, a successfulsixth year watched by over30,000 visitors. For the firsttime, a Welsh-hatched ospreysuccessfully bred in the UK.

100,000 starlings put on afantastic display before theyroosted at our Morfa Mawr

nature reserve in North Wales.

We were delighted that, after 10 years of campaigning, the

Marine and Coastal Access Act

came into force, giving theWelsh Assembly Governmentnew powers to protect marinewildlife and manage our seas.

We recruited a record number

of members in Wales, with3,267 new ones by the end ofthe year.

Over 500 people signed RSPB Cymru’s petition, which called on the NationalAssembly for Wales to hold an inquiry into why the

2010 biodiversity targets

had not been met.

910

wales

Mae hi wedi bod yn amsercyffrous i’r RSPB yng Nghymrudros y flwyddyn ddiwethaf.

Roedd staff RSPB Cymru igyd yn llawenhau ar y diwrnod ycyhoeddwyd CynllunTrafnidiaeth Cymru a chawsomwybod na fyddai ffordd dollarfaethedig yr M4 yn cael eichreu ar Lefelau Gwent.

Ers blynyddoedd, roeddemwedi ymgyrchu ar y cyd âgrwpiau amgylcheddol eraill iwrthwynebu’r drafforddnewydd, a fyddai wedi bygwthbywyd gwyllt pwysig yr ardal.Bu cryn ryddhad panwrthodwyd y cynnig ganGynulliad Cymru.

Cafwyd llwyddiant arall gydachynllun amaeth-amgylcheddolnewydd Cymru. DewisoddCynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru’rcynllun Glastir, sef yr un agymeradwywyd gennym. Bu’ntîm cadwraeth yn cydweithiogyda Gweinidog dros FaterionGwledig Cynulliad Cymru ac ynei gynghori. Ers y cyhoeddiad,mae staff yr RSPB wedi bod yngweithio ar gynllun drafft Glastirac yn cymeradwyo newidiadaua fydd yn sicrhau mai’r cynllunhwn fydd yr un gorau posibl ifywyd gwyllt.

Mae ein gwarchodfeyddnatur yn parhau i fynd o nerth inerth. Ym mis Mehefin cafwyddathliad o’n 40fed pen-blwyddyn Ynys-hir, gyda diwrnodagored a lwyddodd i ddenu dros250 o bobl. Darparwyd

cynnyrch o ffynonellau lleol gangaffi lleol a chafwyd diweddgloteilwng i’r diwrnod gyda nosongerddorol yn y neuadd bentref.Hefyd yn Ynys-hir, mae grant obron i £700,000 gan GronfaDreftadaeth y Loteri wedi’ngalluogi i ddechrau ar y gwaith oadfer arwynebedd mawr o gorsbori ar y gorlifdir a fydd yn ddai’r gornchwiglen, bras y cyrs, ygylfinir, y dyfrgi a’r ysgyfarnog.

Yng NgwlyptiroeddCasnewydd, roeddem yn falchiawn o dderbyn Gwobr BuddCymunedol ROCS am GanolfanAddysg Amgylcheddol acYmwelwyr yr RSPB. Daeth dros800 o Geidiau draw i’rwarchodfa i gymryd rhan mewnystod eang o orchwylion agemau, yn cynnwys rhwydo’rpwll, gwylio bywyd gwyllt achwilota am chwilod. Bellachmae yma fan chwarae newydd iblant, sy’n ein galluogi i gynnigdiwrnod i’r brenin i hyd yn oedmwy o bobl.

Cawsom lwyddiannaugyda’r bywyd gwyllt ar eingwarchodfeydd hefyd – nythoddpibyddion y dorlan a magoddllygod pengrwn y d∑r am y trocyntaf yn RSPB Conwy,nythodd yr hwyaden llydanbigam y tro cyntaf yngNgwlyptiroedd Casnewydd allwyddodd tylluanod clustiog ifagu cywion ar Ynys Dewi yn Sir Benfro am y tro cyntaf ersdros ugain mlynedd.Newyddion gwych!

O balod ffug iennill gwobrau,bu’n flwyddynbrysur i’r RSPByng Nghymru.

Katie-jo Luxton, Cyfarwyddwr, RSPB Cymru

34

12

56

Pleidleisiodd cwsmeriaid bwytai’rLittle Chef mai gwarchodfa natur

RSPB Conwy oedd un o’r mannaugorau ar gyfer diwrnod i’r teulu.

Nythodd y nifer uchaf eto sef saith

pâr o fodaod tinwyn ar warchodfanatur Llyn Efyrnwy’r RSPB ymMhowys a hedfanodd 10 cyw o’rnythod. Nythodd dau bâr arallychydig y tu allan i derfynau’rwarchodfa. Mae pethau’n gwella!

Prynwyd caffi ger ein gwarchodfanatur ynYnys Lawd ar Ynys Môn,felly bydd ymwelwyr yn gallu mwyn-hau te a chacen, yn ogystal â phalod.

Daeth dros 9,000 o blant ysgol

draw i fwynhau ein gwaith

addysg maes yng Nghymru. Orwydo’r pwll i chwilota am chwilod,mae’r plant yn cael profiad arbennigyn ystod eu diwrnod oddi allan i’wdosbarth ysgol.

Cafodd gwylanod coesddu Ynys

Dewi flwyddyn dda, gan wrthdroiprinhad diweddar. Roedd y nifer o 225

pâr yn uwch na’r 4 blynedd ddiwethaf.

Lansiwyd Partneriaeth Dysgu yn y

Gwir Fyd Cymru, a gadeirir gennymni, gan John Griffiths, DirprwyWeinidog dros Fedrau CynulliadCenedlaethol Cymru. Mae’r cynllunyn annog dysgu oddi allan i’rdosbarth ysgol.

34

wales

Rydym yn ceisio denu palodyn ôl i nythu ar Ynys Dewi drwyosod 150 o balod ffug oamgylch yr ynys. Arferai’r pâlnythu ar Ynys Dewi yn ôl yn yr1800au. Daw’r cofnod olaf obalod yn nythu o 1894. Ychydigcyn y dyddiad hwn, rydym yngwybod bod llygod mawr wedicyrraedd yr ynys arlongddrylliadau. Mae henddyddiadur o’r cyfnod hwnnw’nsôn am ‘lygod mawr yn heidio ifyny’r clogwyni wrth i’r llongdaro yn erbyn y creigiau.’Oherwydd bod palod yn nythumewn tyllau, roedd yn hawddi’r llygod mawr fwyta eu hwyaua’u cywion a chyn bo hir nidoedd yr un pâl ar ôl ar yr ynys.

Dros 100 mlynedd ynddiweddarach, yng ngaeaf1999/2000, treuliodd yr RSPB,ynghyd â thîm o arbenigwyr oSeland Newydd, bedwar mis yndifa’r llygod mawr. Cafwydgwared â’r llygod mawr i gyd,ac yn y naw mlynedd ers hynnyrydym wedi gweld cynnydd yny nifer o rywogaethau eraill sy’nnythu mewn tyllau. Maepoblogaeth yr aderyn drycinManaw wedi codi o oddeutu800 pâr (llwyddodd nifer fechani oroesi yn ystod ‘blynyddoeddy llygod mawr’) i dros 2,000 pâr.

Mae’r tinwen y garn wedicyrraedd ei nifer uchaf o 115 pâr(mae hi’n nythu yn yr hen

gloddiau cerrig) a’r llynedd,nythodd y pedryn drycin am ytro cyntaf ar Ynys Dewi.

Byddai dychweliad y pâl yncwblhau’r casgliad. Foddbynnag, mae hi’n eithriadol oanodd eu denu i safleoeddnythu newydd. Yn adarcymdeithasol, mae’n wellganddynt weld bod adar eraillwedi sefydlu yn rhywle cyniddynt ddod i’r lan eu hunain.Drwy osod y modelau o balodmewn mannau strategol oamgylch yr ynys, rydym yngobeithio y bydd yr ychydig oadar anturiaethus a welwn yndangos diddordeb o wyneb ymôr bob haf yn cael eu denu ilanio am y tro cyntaf pwysighwnnw. Unwaith y byddantwedi glanio, bydd yma filoedd odyllau parod ar eu cyfer diolchi’r boblogaeth o gwningod ar yrynys.

Mewn cyfnod lle mae adarmôr yn brwydro o amgylch yDU mae’n bwysig ceisiogwneud yn iawn am broblemaublaenorol a achoswyd ganddyn. Ni fydd hyn yn digwydddros nos ac efallai y bydd yncymryd blynyddoedd i lwyddo,os o gwbl. Mae’r cynllun wedillwyddo ar safleoedd eraill arhyd a lled y DU a thramor ac ynddiweddar llwyddwyd i ddenupalod yn ôl i Ailsa Craig yn YrAlban. Rydym yn obeithiol.

150o balod ffug arYnys DewiAmbell dro mae cadwraethyn golygu bod yn greadigol. Aoes ffordd well o ddenu palodgo iawn yn ôl i Ynys Dewi nagosod palod ffug yno?

Greg Morgan, Warden Ynys Dewi

78

1112

Rydym yn hynod o ddiolchgar i’n 821

o wirfoddolwyr ledled Cymru, sy’nrhoi 51,751 awr o’u hamser igynorthwyo bywyd gwyllt.

Hedfanodd 3 chyw ym Mhroject

Gweilch y Pysgod Glaslyn gerPorthmadog yn y 6ed blwyddynlwyddiannus a ddenodd 30,000+ o ymwelwyr. Am y tro 1af,llwyddodd aderyn o nyth Cymreig i fagu cywion yn y DU.

Cafwyd arddangosfa ryfeddol gan100,000 o ddrudwennod cyn iddyntglwydo yn ein gwarchodfa natur ar

Morfa Mawr yng Ngogledd Cymru.

Ar ôl deng mlynedd o ymgyrchu,roeddem yn falch iawn o weldDeddf y Môr a Mynediad

Arfordirol yn dod i rym, gan roipwerau newydd i LywodraethCynulliad Cymru i warchod bywydgwyllt y môr a rheoli ein moroedd.

Llwyddwyd i recriwtio’r nifer uchaf

eto o aelodau yng Nghymru, gyda3,267 o aelodau newydd erbyndiwedd y flwyddyn.

Arwyddodd dros 500 o bobl

ddeiseb RSPB Cymru yn galw arGynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru igynnal ymchwiliad i ddarganfod

pam nad oedd targedau

bioamrywiaeth 2010 wedi

eu gwireddu.

910

It has been a verysuccessful year for ourinternational work, though notwithout its challenges. Some ofthe difficulties we and ourBirdLife Partners face includethe increasing impacts ofclimate change, agriculturalexpansion, industrial andtransport developments, andthe destruction of rainforests.

Against that background it isvery pleasing to report somemajor successes. These includepreventing a Polish forest andmarshes being destroyed bythe Via Baltica road and creatinghunting-free sanctuaries across huge steppe lands inKazakhstan. We have seenincreases in the populations ofsome hugely threatened rarebirds, such as the Azoresbullfinch. Common birds inMalta, such as cuckoos andgrey wagtails, have increasedas shooting pressures havedecreased. And special placesfor wildlife have been givengreater protection in manyparts of the world.

Our major partnershipprojects in Sumatra, SierraLeone, Belarus and Ukrainecontinued to develop, whilework to restore the vulturepopulations of India and Nepalreached another milestone incaptive breeding. The AlbatrossTask Force continues to carryout sterling work to reduce thedeath toll of these graceful birds.

Satellite tracking a sociablelapwing from its breedinggrounds in central Asia toSudan and back three timesincreased our knowledge of themigration of this special bird.We have also discovered thatshooting of the birds in Syriaposes a major threat.

It has been our mostsuccessful year ever inattracting grants for some ofour ambitious project work,restoring the rainforests ofSumatra and the damaged peatbogs of Belarus and Ukraine,courtesy of the GermanMinistry for Environment. Wewere delighted to be awardedthree Darwin Initiative grants tosupport work in Kazakhstan, onTristan da Cunha in the SouthAtlantic, and for Asian vultures.

None of our internationalwork is possible without ourcolleagues and partners in oursister organisations across theglobe. We continue to fund andwork closely with BirdLifeInternational, the globalpartnership of bird conservationorganisations. We are closelyinvolved with partners in the 26 countries. It is pleasing tosee them achieving increasesin membership, in income andin conservation work. It makesme proud to see our effortsrewarded, and some of ourmost threatened birdpopulations pushed back fromthe brink of extinction.

Our workoverseas takesus to all fourcorners of theglobe. We speakup for lots ofglobal wildlife.

Tim Stowe, Director, International Operations

37

12

56

Satellite technology enabled usto track a sociable lapwing for

17,000 miles and discover astopover site in Kazakhstan.

Our Harapan Rainforest

project in Sumatra receivedour largest ever single grant of

£6.6 million, from the GermanMinistry for Environment,through KfW, the Germandevelopment bank.

Research showed that a rat

eradication programme toprotect seabirds on Henderson

Island in the Pacific is feasible.

At our vulture programme in

India, we achieved the world’s

first ever hatchings of slender-

billed vultures in captivity. Thiswill help them recover fromhuge declines through poisoningby a drug used on livestock.

We work with other BirdLife

Partners in 26 countries,combining our expertise toachieve great things for wildlife.

We were pleased that there wasno legal spring hunting ofquails and turtle doves in Malta.The European Court found Maltain breach of the Birds Directivefor allowing a hunting season forthese birds in previous years.

34

international

I’ve always been fascinatedby the sea, and originallywanted to be the captain of asmall fishing vessel. I actuallyended up as part of theAlbatross Task Force inUruguay.

My last trip at sea lasted 15 days, aboard a vesselfishing for swordfish. We choseit to test a tori line (a line ofstreamers to scare awayalbatrosses) as part of theexperimental work thatAlbatross Task Force Uruguay iscarrying out this year.

We set ten lines, five withand five without the tori line.Despite a couple of minorglitches, the tori lines worked

well and scared away seabirds. Getting the crew used to

using these tori lines is achallenge, because they haveto do something different intheir daily routine. However, itwas a pleasure to work withthem, finding the mostcomfortable way to incorporatethe task into their day andtrying to ensure that it wouldbe as little effort as possible.

Watching alongside thecrew, we got predictableresults. The hooks set underthe protection of a tori linecaught no birds, while thosewithout ended with seabirdsbeing killed. This was a veryimportant step.

96%fewer albatrossdeathsNow we have come up with simple steps to stopalbatrosses being caught onfishing lines and drowning,we have seen 96% feweralbatrosses killed in Chile.Martin Abreu describes whatit’s like being on-board tryingto help fishermen to save albatrosses.

Martin Abreu, Albatross Task Force

38

78

1112

We were pleased that UK

bases in Cyprus took action toreduce the illegal killing of

migrant birds.

Work with BirdLife Internationalin Belarus to restore huge peat

wetlands was boosted by agrant of £0.6 million from the German Ministry forEnvironment, through KfW, theGerman development bank.

A similar project for £4.6 millionstarted with our partner inUkraine, allowing us to protectits amazing wetland wildlife.

We were delighted that Sierra

Leone and Liberia agreed tocreate a massive trans-boundaryGola Peace Park. Our surveysin the rainforest of Gola, wherewe are working, found several

butterflies new to science.

At Altyn Dala in Kazakhstan,we helped stop the hunting of

saiga antelopes in 1.3 millionhectares of steppe grassland.

We have started a project withour BirdLife International

colleagues to study wherewarblers spend the winter inWest Africa. This should help us discover the reasons whysome are declining.

910

international

40 money matters

Here’s to 2009-10

Weathering the storm was the dominant theme in our report on 2008-09 and with the continuedeconomic uncertainty it may yet be the dominant theme for 2010-11. So, let’s pause for a moment to celebrate2009-10; not a self-congratulatorycelebration, but one to acknowledgethat, even in tough recessionary times,there are many individuals andinstitutions with sufficient passion fornature and the environment to continueto give it their support. Undoubtedly,resolve will be tested in the weeks andmonths ahead but the fact that supporthas held firm to date is surely worthy of a glass or two of whatever ticklesyour fancy!

The headlines

You can see more detail of our incomeand expenditure on page 42, but here’sa summary of where we are. ◆ We spent £86.3m on charitable

activities in 2009-10; 6% ahead of2008-09.

◆ With net income having risen by10% to £94.7m, our operatingstatement shows £8.4m available toadd to financial reserves –increasing the total from £24.5m to£32.9m.

◆ But this increase in financialreserves has to be treated withcaution, as the trustees need toearmark over half of this increase(£4.9m) for specific purposes.

◆ The earmarked sum is partly tocover expenditure that wasscheduled to be spent in 2009-10but had to be carried forward to

a scale previously unimaginable. Wereceived £2.3m of this in 2009-10.

Wallasea Island

And whilst on the subject of large-scaleprojects, we should mention thefunding associated with the acquisitionof Wallasea Island. It is difficult toenvisage how this project could havebeen contemplated without ourpartnerships with Crossrail and theEnvironment Agency. Crossrail arecontributing to the project as the bestmeans of securing a dedicated site fordisposal of excavated material fromtheir tunnelling. The imported material isan essential part of our habitat design.The Environment Agency is contributingto meet its obligations to re-createintertidal habitat that will be lostthrough maintaining sea defenceselsewhere. These contributions explainthe sharp year-on-year increase in the“Grants, commercial donations andtrusts” line on page 42. The expenditureis shown in “Acquisition of naturereserves”.

RSPB trading

Retail, catering, mail order and trade (egvia DIY stores and garden centres) eachrecorded healthy growth, with mailorder in particular benefiting fromrecent investment in service levels. Ourcustomers certainly appeared toappreciate the improvements and votedwith their orders. Even the Bank ofEngland noted that the sale of bird foodwas one of few activities to prosper inthe depths of a snowy UK winter!

Legacies

Last year we reported that legacyincome appeared to be falling and thatwe would have to adjust to lowerexpectations; barely was the ink dry onthat observation before the trendreversed and by year-end incomefinished above the prior year level. Thiswas clearly assisted by recoveries inhouse prices and stock markets, but weare very pleased to admit that we gotthis projection wrong. These wonderfulbequests are so important to our workand we are extremely grateful to allthose who contribute in this way.

EXPENDITURE

We find ourselves in the slightly curious

2010-11 (for example because ofpoor weather), partly to cover a landpurchase commitment for whichincome was received in 2009-10 andfinally as a precautionary measure inanticipation of a tough 2011-12, in the wake of the public sectorexpenditure cuts.

◆ This still leaves £3.5m to bolster ourmodest free financial reserves,taking them to £13m. Thisrepresents about nine weeks’expenditure.

INCOME HIGHLIGHTS

Membership

Throughout the recession, one of themost reassuring trends has been thenumber of RSPB members joining andrenewing each month. Achievingmembership growth during a recessionwas always going to be tough, so to be able to report an increase to1,076,112 members and subscriptionincome growth of 2% is pleasing to say the least. If you are a member,thank you for your support.

International funding

One of the more surprising incomestreams of the year must be that arising from our relationship with aGerman development bank. Thisorganisation shares the RSPB’sdetermination to make a significantcontribution to addressing the issue of climate change. The bank in questionis KfW and their medium-termcommitment to these projects, totallingmore than £10m, will help underpin ourforestry work in Indonesia and torestore peatlands of Eastern Europe on

Before you start yawning, have a look at how wedid at balancing our books during a time that wasdifficult for all. You and all our supporters helpedus to weather the storm.

The financial year

2009-2010

position of needing to report on whatwe haven’t spent as well as what wehave. For a variety of reasons, mostnotably the unusually persistent snowover the winter, progress was delayedon several major projects, particularly atnature reserves. Examples includefurther development of visitor facilitiesat Minsmere and Fowlsheugh. Asmentioned in the summary above,financial provision has been made for acatch-up, weather permitting.

More nature reserves

In spite of expenditure constraints, wewere able to continue adding highpriority sites. Inevitably (and justifiably),Wallasea dominates the RSPB's UKland acquisition headlines – but withmore than a little help from ourmembers, we were also able to add thefantastic Crook of Baldoon, a coastalwetland in Dumfries and Galloway. Ofcourse, adding to existing reserves isevery bit as important as acquiring newones and we are pleased to reportextensions to old favourites such asRainham and Vane Farm.

Not taking grants for granted

Much of the RSPB’s income growthover recent years has come in the formof grants. As these are often restricted, the work they support is typically of aproject nature, such as reserveimprovements at Rainham andSaltholme and modifications at TitchwellMarsh in anticipation of continued sea-level rise. Grant funding is a vital sourceof income and we had to be mindful ofthe possible consequences of the long-anticipated cuts in public spending andavoid overstretching corecommitments.

Behind the scenes support

There is an ever-present temptation toscale back on the support services suchas Finance, Personnel and computertechnology – or, worse still, on the long-term income-generating capacityof the organisation. Indeed, savingswere sought and made in these areas;but it was also necessary to invest. Theupgraded trading process is an obviousexample – for success depended uponthe services mentioned workingtogether; and the upgrades weredelivered on time and on budget. We

seem to be: How soon? How deep?And for how long?

For the RSPB’s part, cost constraintand some quite remarkable incomesuccesses have put us in good shape toface 2010-11. It is of course you,through your support, who really set thepace at which our conservation workprogresses and, as always, we arehugely appreciative. But we would liketo record here also our appreciation ofRSPB staff. They took in their stride thepay freeze of 2009 and, together withour industrious volunteers, respondedto the economic challenges with thesame enthusiasm with which theyembrace every challenge. Their hardwork, constraint and creativity,combined with your financial support,has enabled work to continue apace onmost fronts. We are confident that thissuccessful partnership of supporters,volunteers and staff will continue toserve well the interests of conservationand our birds, through whateverchallenges lie ahead.

Here’s to 2010-11...and beyond!

have similarly invested in scaling up ourmember recruitment activities – and to great effect.

Pensions

We commented last year that mostpension schemes had suffered in thewake of the financial crisis and that theRSPB’s scheme was no exception. Withthe three-yearly valuation behind us, wenow know the scale of the problem –without changes, annual contributionswould need to increase by at least £2m;a level we could not contemplate. Whilea proportion of the shortfall is the resultof increased longevity, most is due tothe reaction of the financial markets tothe banking crisis which, given time,should reverse. But such a “wait andsee” approach is not to berecommended (and nor would it beacceptable to The Pensions Regulator).

Over recent years, many changeshave been made to the scheme,including increased retirement age,increased employee contributions,introduction of a lower risk alternative for new members of staff – and, yes,increased RSPB contributions. Afterlong deliberations, further changes havenow been agreed to reduce the rate atwhich pension entitlement is earned inthe final salary section and to introducean arrangement to reduce RSPBexposure to rising life expectancy. Thesavings made as a result of thesechanges will enable the RSPB to meetthe increased pension obligationswithout significant impact onoperational budgets.

Looking to the future

The months ahead will be a challenge.The entire charity sector seems to be inthe brace position, fearful of the directand indirect impacts of public sectorcuts. The questions on everyone’s lips

Alan Martin,

Honorary

Treasurer

Alan Sharpe,

Director of

Finance

42 money matters

OPERATING STATEMENTfor the year ended 31 March 2010 2010 2009 £m £mINCOME Membership subscriptions and donations 37.0 36.4 Legacies 27.9 26.6 Grants, commercial donations and trusts 31.8 25.5 Commercial trading 19.6 17.6 Land rents, farming and advisory 4.6 4.7 Financial income – interest and profit on sale of fixed assets 1.0 1.0

TOTAL INCOME 121.9 111.8COST OF GENERATING INCOME Cost of goods for resale 12.0 10.4 Other cost of generating income 15.2 15.1

TOTAL COST OF GENERATING INCOME 27.2 25.5

NET INCOME AVAILABLE FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES 94.7 86.3

EXPENDITURE ON CHARITABLE PURPOSES Acquisition of nature reserves and operating assets 9.2 9.3 Conservation on RSPB nature reserves 27.6 25.2 Conservation – research, policy and advisory services 32.0 30.0 Education, publications and films 13.3 13.0 Membership services and enquiries 3.8 3.9 Governance 0.4 0.4

TOTAL EXPENDITURE ON CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES 86.3 81.8

NET OPERATING INCOME 8.4 4.5

OTHER MOVEMENTS Gain / (Loss) on investment assets 1.8 (2.1) Pension scheme (1.9) (1.5) Stock, debtors and creditors 1.1 0.6

TOTAL OTHER MOVEMENTS 1.0 (3.0)

MOVEMENT IN AVAILABLE CASH AND INVESTMENTS 9.4 1.5

STATEMENT OF NET ASSETSas at 31 March 2010 2010 2009 £m £m

Nature reserves 118.8 109.6 Tangible assets 4.2 4.2

Cash and investments 30.1 20.6 Stock, debtors and creditors 2.8 3.8

Pension liability (34.7) (22.1)

NET ASSETS 121.2 116.1

FINANCIAL RESERVESas at 31 March 2010 2010 2009 £m £m

Available reserves 32.9 24.5 Held for specific purposes (19.9) (15.0)

FREE FINANCIAL RESERVES 13.0 9.5

Representing future expenditure cover of 9 weeks 7 weeks

INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’

STATEMENT TO THE TRUSTEES

OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY FOR THE

PROTECTION OF BIRDS

We have examined the summarised financialstatements set out on page 42.

Respective responsibilities of trustees and auditorsYou are responsible as trustees for thepreparation of the summary financialstatements. We have agreed to report to youour opinion on the summarised statements’consistency with the full financial statements.

Basis of opinionWe have carried out the procedures weconsider necessary to ascertain whether thesummarised financial statements areconsistent with the full financial statementsfrom which they have been prepared.

OpinionIn our opinion, the summarised financialstatements are consistent with the fullfinancial statements for the year ended 31 March 2010.

Horwath Clark Whitehill LLPChartered Accountants and RegisteredAuditors, St Bride’s House, 10 Salisbury Square,London EC4Y 8EH, UK

29 June 2010

THE FULL AUDITED ACCOUNTS wereapproved on 29 June 2010 and, together withthe Annual Report, have been submitted tothe Charity Commission. The opinion of theauditor was unqualified. These summarisedaccounts may not contain sufficientinformation to allow for a full understandingof the financial affairs of the charity. Forfurther information, the full accounts, theauditors’ report on those accounts and theTrustees’ Annual Report should be consulted.Copies can be obtained, free of charge, fromthe Director of Finance, The RSPB, UKHeadquarters, The Lodge, Sandy,Bedfordshire SG19 2DL.

Signed on behalf of the Council:

Ian Darling, Chairman, 29 June 2010

What moneywe receivedand what we spent2009-10

INCOME

Membership subscriptions

and donations 30%

Legacies 23%

Grants, commercial

donations and trusts 26%

Commercial trading 16%

Land rents, farming,

advisory and financial

income 5%

EXPENDITURE

Education, publications

and films 15%

Conservation on

RSPB nature

reserves 32%

Conservation – research, policy

and advisory services 37%

Acquisition of nature

reserves and operating

assets 11%

Membership services

and enquiries 4%

Governance costs 0.5%

44 a million or so thanks

Members

The support and loyalty of our membersis critical to the success andachievements of the RSPB. Meeting therigorous conservation targets that weset would not be possible without theenormous contributions that membersmake. Members help in many ways, allof them equally important: financially,through volunteering, by supportingRSPB campaigns through letter writing,and by helping to deliver RSPB projectson the ground through local groups.

Community groups

RSPB local groups, RSPB WildlifeExplorer groups and RSPB Phoenixgroups worked unstintingly over theyear. Local groups provide a great focusfor us in local communities, involvemany people in our work, and raisedover £298,000 for RSPB conservationprojects. Wildlife Explorers (our juniormembers) raised more than £33,000 toplant trees in Sumatra through the Savethe Rainforest Animals appeal.

On behalf of the RSPB, RSPB localgroups and Wildlife Explorer groupsthroughout the UK, we would like tothank Awards For All (supported by the‘good cause’ Lottery distributors acrossthe UK) for their continued support oflocal projects through their communitygrants scheme.

Volunteers

The RSPB enjoyed the support of over14,900 volunteers last year, giving theRSPB 812,480 hours of their time. Thisis equivalent to an extra 416

Heritage Lottery Fund

The Heritage Lottery Fund has providedessential support for RSPB projects torestore and secure natural heritage forcurrent and future generations to enjoy.The RSPB is indebted to HLF for itscontinued support of our work.

Charitable Trusts, Non-Governmental

Organisations and individual donors

We are grateful for the support receivedand would particularly like to acknowledgethe following:

H B Allen Charitable TrustA J H Ashby Will TrustBasel Zoo – Across the RiverThe Baxters FoundationBBC Wildlife FundMohamed bin Zayed Species

Conservation FundBirdLife InternationalBirdLife Preventing Extinctions

Programme Lost Species Fund

British Trust for OrnithologyCambridge Conservation Initiative Care-for-Nature TrustThe Charities Advisory Trust (Good

Gifts)City Bridge TrustConservation International – Global

Conservation FundCritical Ecosystem Partnership Fund

(CEPF)Peter Cruddas FoundationDansk Ornitologisk ForeningDisney Worldwide Conservation FundThe Jane Durell Charitable TrustEllon FoundationEsmée Fairbairn FoundationDonald Forrester TrustThe Gannochy TrustThe Helen and Horace Gillman TrustsGroombridge and Eridge Alternatives

to Rubbish (GEAR)Highland Foundation for WildlifeAlan John Fraser Hoby Discretionary

TrustInternational Association for Bear

Research and ManagementInternational Union for Conservation

of Nature (IUCN) Ibis ProjectJ E V B Charitable TrustRufford Maurice Laing FoundationThe A G Leventis FoundationR S MacDonald Charitable TrustThe MacRobert TrustMichael Marks Charitable Trust

full-time staff working for natureconservation. These volunteers helpedwith virtually every aspect of theRSPB’s work, and we cannot thankthem enough for their generoussupport. Additionally, 529,076 peoplespent an hour doing the RSPB’s BigGarden Birdwatch, and 69,239 took partin our new Make Your Nature Countsurvey.

Legacies

Once again, we are deeply impressedby the generosity of people whoremember the RSPB in their wills. Thisincome makes a tremendous differenceto the amount of conservation work theRSPB is able to undertake. We aregrateful to each and every one, and wewould like to recognise them all byname, but this is not practical. However, there are a few people thatwe would like to mention for theirspecial contributions:

Eric Desmond BoylandEileen Doris CallanJoan Dora CraneStephanie Neville DaviesThomas Henry FarrerGeorge HeathElsie Sheila KendallRaymond Collie LangRichard Martin LeeDonald Bruce MoseleyHarry Albert RuffleAnnette Barbara SmithMargaret Mary Turner

We couldn’t have done this alone. There are lotsof people – individuals and organisations – whohave helped us to speak up for nature. Here arejust a few of our supporters who we would like togive a big thank you to.

1,000,000+thank yous

William and Doreen MossMull and Iona Community TrustMull Eagle WatchNatural Research LtdThe Nature Trust (Sandy)Harold James Newcombe

Discretionary TrustDaniel O’Connor Discretionary TrustOglesby Charitable TrustThe David & Lucile Packard

FoundationPaignton Zoo Environmental ParkThe Jack Patston Charitable TrustPensthorpe Conservation TrustPeople’s Postcode TrustRestore UKThe Robertson TrustThe Helen Roll CharityJohn Graham Russell Discretionary

TrustSantander UK Foundation LtdScottish Crofting FoundationScottish Environment LINKScottish Power Green Energy TrustSeaWorld & Busch Gardens

Conservation FundThe Shears FoundationShropshire Wildlife TrustNini Isabel Stewart TrustSussex Ornithological SocietyTeesside Environmental TrustThe Tree CouncilTubney Charitable TrustMuriel Maud Florence Goldsmith

Walker Discretionary TrustWhitley Animal Protection TrustWildfowl & Wetlands Trust WWF

Landfill Communities Fund

We are grateful for funding support fromthe following organisations through theLandfill Communities Fund:

Aberdeen GreenspaceAberdeenshire CouncilThe Alpha Programme managed by

Groundwork Northern IrelandAngus Environmental TrustBarr Environmental LtdBelfast City CouncilBiffawardCory Environmental Trust in BritainDown District CouncilFalkirk Environment TrustGlasgow City CouncilGrantScapeGreen Leeds LtdHighland Council

Holiday CottagesHSBC Climate Change PartnershipICB-DiademJarrold CalendarsLafarge Aggregates LtdLandmarc Support Services LtdLoaf MarketingLochcarron of ScotlandMineral Products AssociationThe Mitsubishi Corporation Fund for

Europe and AfricaNikon UK LtdThe Puppet CompanyPURE Questmark LtdRedeem plcRobinsonsScottish & Southern EnergyScottish PowerScottish Power Renewables (UK) LtdSevern Trent WaterSouthern WaterSuttons Consumer Products LtdSwarovski OptikTalisman EnergyTarmac LtdTurcan ConnellUnited UtilitiesViking Optical LtdVolvo Ocean RaceWessex WaterWild Republic (UK) LtdW. Moorcroft plcWoodmansterne Publications LtdYorkshire WaterZeon Ltd

Support from statutory sector and

other public bodies

We are grateful for co-operation andsupport from organisations of many kinds,and would especially like to thank:Advantage West Midlands’ Natural

Assets Programme in partnership with Natural England

Arnside & Silverdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) Sustainable Development Fund

Basildon District CouncilBig Lottery Fund’s Awards for All

ProgrammeBig Lottery Fund – Community

Sustainable Energy Programme

Bonn Convention for Migratory Species (CMS)

Cairngorms National Park Authority

Ibstock Cory Environmental TrustLisburn City CouncilNewry & Mourne District CouncilPerth & Kinross Quality of Life TrustShanks First Fund and Argyll & Bute

CouncilSITA TrustSmith Skip LtdSolway HeritageSouth West Environmental Action

Trust (SWEAT)Staffordshire Environmental FundSt Modwen Environmental TrustTrust for Oxfordshire’s Environment

with funds from Viridor Credits’ Oxfordshire Fund

Ulster Wildlife Trust Landfill Communities Fund

Veolia Environmental TrustVeolia Havering Riverside TrustVeolia Pitsea Marshes TrustViridor CreditsWaste Recycling Group Ltd (WRG)

through GrantScape’s Biodiversity Challenge Fund

Waste Recycling Group Ltd (WRG) through Waste Recycling Environmental Ltd (WREN)

Business supporters and

trading partners

The RSPB enjoys successful partnershipswith business supporters to our mutualbenefit. We would particularly like toacknowledge the following:

A&C Black (Publishers) LtdBBC Countryfile MagazineBBC Worldwide LtdBemroseBooth LtdBoehringer IngelheimBP through the Scottish Forest AllianceThe Caravan ClubCEMEX UK LtdChevronConcept Research LtdCo-operative Financial ServicesCo-operative GroupCrossrail LtdDorling Kindersley LtdEarthwatchEnesco LtdEuropean Bank for Reconstruction

and DevelopmentThe Famous GrouseFulham Heating Merchants LtdGDF Suez Energy UK LtdGoldman SachsHanson Aggregates Ltd

46 a million or so thanks

Cairngorms Local Action Group LEADER 2007-2013, jointly funded by the Scottish Government and the European Community

Centre for Ecology and HydrologyCeredigion County CouncilCoast, Wolds, Wetlands and Waterways

LEADER, through the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE), jointly fundedby Defra and the EU

Communities and Local Government (CLG) administered by Cambridgeshire Horizons

Countryside Council for WalesThe Crown Estate’s Marine

Communities FundDepartment for Business Enterprise

& Regulatory Reform (BERR) under the Low Carbon Buildings Programme Phase 2 (LCBP2)

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)

Defra through the Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund, administered by Natural England

Defra – Darwin InitiativeDepartment for International

Development (DfID)– Civil Society Challenge Fund

Department of Agriculture & RuralDevelopment (DARD)

Department of Energy and Climate Change

Devon County CouncilDorset AONB Sustainable

Development FundDorset County CouncilDumfries and Galloway CouncilEast Midlands Development AgencyEnglish HeritageEnvironment AgencyEnvironment Agency WalesEnvironment WalesEuropean Agricultural Fund for Rural

Development (EAFRD)European Commission – DG

EnvironmentEuropean Commission –

Environment and Natural Resources Thematic Programme (ENRTP)

European Commission – LIFE-Nature European Commission – LIFE+

Lake District National Park AuthorityLancashire County Council, through

the Lancashire Locals Climate Change Fund

Lancashire County Council Local Gateway Grant

Leeds City Council Key FundMinistry of DefenceNatural EnglandNatural England – Access

Management Grant SchemeNatural England – Access to Nature,

part of the Big Lottery Fund’s Changing Spaces programme

Natural England – Countdown 2010 Biodiversity Action Fund

Natural England – Wetland Vision Grant Scheme

Natural Environment Research CouncilNorthern Ireland Environment AgencyNorthern Ireland Tourist BoardNorthumberland Coast AONB

Sustainable Development Fund

Oldham Improving PerceptionsOrkney Islands CouncilScottish Agricultural CollegeScottish Environmental Protection

AgencyScottish Government Rural Payments

and Inspections DirectorateScottish Government Science

Engagement Grants SchemeScottish Government Third Sector

Enterprise FundScottish Natural HeritageSomerset County CouncilSouth East England Development

Agency (SEEDA)South Pennines LEADERStaffordshire County Council through

the Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund

Strathclyde PoliceTeignbridge District CouncilUSAID STEWARD ProgrammeUS Fish and Wildlife ServiceWales Council for Voluntary Action –

Russell Commission YouthVolunteering Grant

Welsh Assembly GovernmentWelsh Assembly Government

through the Department of Economy and Transport

Yorkshire Dales National Park Yorkshire Forward

Information and Communication

European Commission – LIFE+ Nature and Biodiversity

European Commission – Tropical Forests and Other Forests in Developing Countries Programme

European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)

ERDF – INTERREG IVA 2 Seas Cross-border Cooperation Programme 2007-2013

ERDF – INTERREG IVB North Sea Region Transnational Cooperation Programme 2007-2013

ERDF – INTERREG IVB North West Europe Transnational Cooperation Programme 2007-2013

European Union (EU) – EDF-9 (through DG Development)

Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) / DfID – Overseas Territories Environment Programme (OTEP)

Forestry Commission EnglandForestry Commission ScotlandForestry Commission through Better

Woodlands for WalesForestry Commission WalesForth Valley & Lomond LEADER 2007-

2013, jointly funded by the Scottish Government and the European Community

French Government’s Fonds Français pour l’Environnement Mondial (FFEM)

German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU), via KfW Development Bank

German Government’s Centrum für Internationale Migration undEntwickling

Heritage Lottery FundHighland LEADER 2007-2013, jointly

funded by the Scottish Government and the European Community

Homes and Communities Agency’s Parklands Funding administered by Essex County Council

Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC)

Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council

This is a story about four people namedEverybody, Somebody,Anybody and Nobody.

There was an important job to be done[nature conservation] andEverybody was sure thatSomebody would do it.

Anybody could have doneit, but Nobody did it.

Somebody got angry aboutthat because it wasEverybody’s job.

Everybody thought thatAnybody could do it, butNobody realised thatEverybody wouldn’t do it.

Everybody blamedSomebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.

1person who canmake all thedifference – you

12

56

If you are already an RSPB

member, thank you. If not,please consider speaking up fornature by joining us.

Sign our Letter to the Future

and add your voice to a quarterof a million others. Please help

us urge the Government toensure nature is not forgotten.Go to www.signtheletter.org.ukor call 01767 693680.

Become a volunteer and joinnearly 15,000 others who care.Call 01767 680551 or visitwww.rspb.org.uk/volunteering

Buy from the RSPB shop.

Whether you need gifts, optics,bird food or chocolate, buying

from us will help wildlife.Shop at www.rspbshop.co.uk or request a catologue on 0845 1 200 501.

Leave a lasting legacy. Nearly athird of our income comes fromgifts in people’s wills. Call 01767680551 for more details.

Get out there and enjoy

nature! We love nature and wewant everyone else to love ittoo. Remind yourself what it’sall about and spread themessage. Show your family andfriends just how amazing it is.

34

47how you can help

Please make sure you are Somebody whogives nature a voice. See below for how

you can help.

Based on Charles Osgood’s A poem about responsibility

ENGLAND

Midlands Office46 The Green, South Bar,Banbury, Oxfordshire OX16 9ABTel: 01295 253330Eastern England OfficeStalham House, 65 ThorpeRoad, Norwich NR1 1UD Tel: 01603 661662London Area OfficeSecond Floor, 65 Petty France,London SW1H 9EU Tel: 020 7808 1240Northern England OfficesWestleigh Mews, WakefieldRoad, Denby Dale,Huddersfield HD8 8QD1 Sirius House, Amethyst Road,Newcastle Business Park,Newcastle upon Tyne NE4 7YL 7.3.1 Cameron House, WhiteCross Estate, Lancaster LA1 4XQFor all offices, ring 0300 777 2676 South East England Office2nd Floor, Frederick House, 42 Frederick Place, Brighton,East Sussex BN1 4EA Tel: 01273 775333South West England OfficeKeble House, SouthernhayGardens, Exeter, Devon EX1 1NT Tel: 01392 432691

NORTHERN IRELAND

Northern IrelandHeadquartersBelvoir Park Forest, Belfast BT8 7QT Tel: 028 9049 1547

SCOTLAND

Scotland HeadquartersDunedin House, 25 RavelstonTerrace, Edinburgh EH4 3TP Tel: 0131 311 6500East Scotland Office10 Albyn Terrace, Aberdeen AB10 1YP Tel: 01224 624824North Scotland OfficeEtive House, Beechwood Park, Inverness IV2 3BW Tel: 01463 715000South and West Scotland Office10 Park Quadrant, Glasgow G3 6BS Tel: 0141 331 0993

WALES

Wales HeadquartersSutherland House,Castlebridge, Cowbridge Road East, Cardiff CF11 9ABTel: 029 2035 3000North Wales OfficeUnit 14, Llys Castan, Ffordd yParc, Parc Menai, Bangor,Gwynedd LL57 4FDTel: 01248 672850

Our supporters have beenmagnificent over the lastyear. They’ve been with ushelping to reverse the declinein farmland birds, on boatssaving albatrosses, enjoyingour nature reserves andgiving a voice to nature in allcorners of the globe as wellas in their back gardens.Thank you if you are one of them. Please join us to create even moresuccesses this year.

Photos: front cover by Andy Hay (rspb-images.com); page 2,Arctic tern by Andrew Parkinson (rspb-images.com); page 5,Mike Clarke by Andy Hay; page 7, Glanville fritillary by RichardRevels (rspb-images.com); page 8, David Sexton and JohnCraven by Tom Marshall (rspb-images.com); page 9, white-tailedeagle by Danny Green (rspb-images.com); page 11, blackgrouse by Mike Lane (rspb-images.com); page 12, otter byDanny Green (rspb-images.com); page 13, Saltholme visitorcentre by Andy Hay (rspb-images.com); page 15, boy by EleanorBentall (rspb-images.com); page 16, Alison Rymell by MatthewRymell; page 17, Rathlin Island by Simon Watterson (rspb-images.com); page 19, Marine Bill hand-in by Grahame Madge(rspb-images.com); page 20, peregrine by Mark Hamblin (rspb-images.com); page 21, golden eagle by Danny Green (rspb-images.com); page 23, golden plover by Mike Lane(rspb-images.com); page 24, lapwing by Steve Knell (rspb-images.com); page 25, Portmore Lough by Andy Hay (rspb-images.com); page 27, wind turbines by Ernie Janes(rspb-images.com); page 28, great yellow bumblebee by MikeEdwards (rspb-images.com); page 29, machair by LaurieCampbell (rspb-images.com); page 31, boy pond dipping byAndy Hay (rspb-images.com); page 32, puffin by Steve Round(rspb-images.com); page 33, Ramsey Island by Chris Gomersall(rspb-images.com); page 34, brown hare by Andrew Parkinson(rspb-images.com); page 35, short-eared owl by David Kjaer(rspb-images.com); page 37, Sumatran tiger by iStockphoto;page 38, black-browed albatross by David Osborn (rspb-images.com); page 39, Albatross Task Force by GrahameMadge (rspb-images.com); page 41, money by iStockphoto;page 47, person on Cairngorms by Mark Hamblin (rspb-images.com)

www.rspb.org.uk

UK HEADQUARTERS

The RSPB, The Lodge, Sandy, Bedfordshire, SG19 2DL. Tel: 01767 680551

CONTACT US

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a registered charity: England & Wales no. 207076, Scotland no. SC037654 350-0251-09-10

The RSPB speaks out for birds and wildlife,tackling the problems that threaten ourenvironment. Nature is amazing –help us keep it that way.

We belong to BirdLife International, the global partnership of bird conservation organisations.