RSPB Science

RSPB Nature Prescriptions are an innovative way to help people boost their wellbeing by connecting to nature. With the UK facing both a health and nature crisis, we’re working with health… Learning how to prescribe nature | RSPB

Ensuring these partnerships work for nature & people is key to achieving our conservation goals

Learn more about RSPBs ongoing work with healthcare providers through our Nature Prescriptions project: www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKRJ...

Increasing disconnect between people and nature has been highlighted as a risk to conservation goals

Collaborations between conservation and healthcare orgs offer a potential win-win for mental health and nature

Two people stand together in a sunny woodland, one is looking up into the canopy through binoculars.

3. Identify potential risks and barriers in green spaces for patients

Subjects raised concern for the potential emotional and physical risks in ‘wild’ green spaces

By sharing these concerns, teams can work together to increase accessibility and overcome them

RSPB staff sit together in a large field, working to identify the plants around them.

2. Define effective conservation end goals clearly and early

Many high conservation value interventions, such as wilder spaces and facilitating research, were unpopular among subjects

Without tangible gains for nature, many conservation orgs may not benefit from partnerships

Healthcare practitioners attend a session led by RSPB staff on nature prescriptions. Participants are stood in a circle outdoors, being led in an activity.

1. Establish shared language

Results showed collaborators had similar perceptions of nature, covering emotions, engagement and nature concepts

This collective understanding can ensure partners organisations are communicating effectively

In a mental-health care setting, can nature conservation and health priorities align? There is growing evidence that activities in nature could meet both health and nature conservation goals. Consequently, there is growing interest in collaborations between health and nature conserv...

Connection with nature can benefit our mental health and biodiversity, but how can conservation orgs and healthcare providers work together more effectively?

Read on to find out 🧪

Full study: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

#WorldMentalHealthDay

A Spoon-billed Sandpiper stands alone on a rocky shore. It’s distinctive spatulate bill is visible in profile.

As part of the 2024 waders update, 16 other migratory waterbirds had their red list status uplisted

The decline in so many wader and shorebird species is deeply concerning and shows the urgent need for more effective conservation action across the flyway

A ringed Eurasian Curlew picks its way through short brown grass towards the camera.

The loss of this species is a stark reminder of the threats our own Eurasian Curlew faces

With the UK hosting 25% of the breeding population, it is vital that we continue to protect breeding and non-breeding sites from development and lobby for nature-friendly farming

Reasons for its decline aren’t fully understood but likely include habitat loss though drainage of wetlands

Additionally, hunting pressure may have further hastened declines

A lone Slender-billed Curlew stands in a flat landscape, its long beak clearly visible in profile.

The Slender-billed Curlew historically bred in marshes along the forests and steppe of Siberia and was common in the 19th century before declining severely

Despite years of searching their breeding and non-breeding areas, this species hadn’t been sighted since 1995

Global extinction of Slender‐billed Curlew (Numenius tenuirostris) In the current biodiversity crisis, conservation efforts are often focused on extinction prevention. However, it can be difficult to determine if a species is extinct, especially if the species has…

Slender-billed Curlew declared officially extinct by ICUN

This marks the first known global bird extinction from mainland Europe, North Africa and West Asia 🌍

Read on for a summary or check out the research which led to the decision here:
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

A cuckoo sits on a branch, its yellow eye clear in profile.

Did you know? Most birds can see in UV

Unlike humans, birds have an extra type of light receptor in their eye allowing them to see into the UV spectrum, this can help them spot food and make feathers look more distinctive.

#ScienceFactFriday

A sitting fulmar turns its head to the side, making the unusual shape of its nostrils clear.

Did you know? Some bird noses leak salt

Seabirds like Fulmars and storm petrels, drink seawater and use glands at the top of their beak to excrete excess salt, their tube-shaped nostrils then help funnel it away from their eyes.

#ScienceFactFriday

Volunteers needed: Join the 20th Bearded Vulture International Observation Days 2025 (IOD) - Vulture Conservation Foundation Grab your binoculars and head outdoors to help monitor one of Europe’s rarest and most impressive birds of prey! This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Bearded Vulture International Observation D...

Inspired by last month's #InternationalVultureAwarenessDay ?
Why not join in the Bearded Vulture International Observation Days (IOD) 🪶

When: 11th Oct
Where: Alps, French Pyrenees, Massif Central, Andalusia, Maestrazgo and Bulgaria

Register here: 4vultures.org/blog/volunte...

A Long-eared Owl stares through foliage at the camera. A label points to the long horn-like feathers on its head, labelling them as plumicorns.

Did you know? Plumicorns aren't for hearing

The long, pointy feathers on some owls' heads are neither horns not ears, but specialised feathers called plumicorns. Their function is not yet fully understood but could help with camouflage

#ScienceFactFriday

Very pleased to be a part of this research contribution into the ongoing impact of HPAI on seabirds; led by @sue-lewis.bsky.social alongside fellow authors from @rspbscience.bsky.social @rspbengland.bsky.social @ukceh.bsky.social & @seabirdcentre.bsky.social

An RSPB staff member downloads tag data from a base station in the field.

However, authors advice users to plan for the high volumes of data which need to be stored and processed after collection

Additionally, new tech needs to integrate with existing approaches and learn from observer expertise

📷 Jake Stephen

A lone puffin stands on the side of a cliff, a place easy for seabirds to reach but challenging for researchers to access.

These automated approaches to monitoring seabirds can help overcome challenges such as remote populations, poor visibility and limited replicability

📷 Sam Turley

A scientist in the field holds a small GPS tag in their hand, in the background are other pieces of kit such as gloves and tape.

In recent years, projects monitoring wild bird populations have benefited from several new advances in monitoring tech such as:
- UAV and fixed cameras
- Thermal imaging
- Acoustic data loggers
- Biotelemetry

📷 Sam Turley

Opportunities and challenges for new technologies in seabird population monitoring Abstract. Monitoring of seabird population size and demography has for decades relied on observer-based methods. While such methods have allowed the accumu

New technology may aid seabird monitoring in difficult to access populations but managing high volumes of data output is essential 🪶

Read the new paper here:
doi.org/10.1093/ices...

The decline seen across habitats is deeply concerning, with 42% of species declining in the short term

These indicators reflect the broader state of UK wildlife, meaning we need to take bigger and more effective action if we want to halt the loss of species from our landscapes

Seabirds are vital indicators of ocean health. Yet the UK seabird indicator shows a 37% long-term decline, driven by mounting pressures

Further declines in the short-term demonstrate the need to protect our seas now in order to secure our seabirds' futures

The farmland bird indicator saw the largest declines of 11% over the last 5yrs

With specialists such as Turtle Doves and Grey Partridge experiencing strong long-term declines

However, the woodland bird indicator shows signs of stabilising after a decade of steep decline

Over the last 5 years, the all-species index, which compiles >100 species trends, declined by 4% in the UK and 7% in England

Recent sharp declines in farmland birds and seabirds have strongly contributed to this overall pattern

Wild bird populations in the UK and England, 1970 to 2024

Latest government stats show a continued decline in many bird species across the UK 🪶🧪

www.gov.uk/government/s...

These data are made possible by the dedication of expert volunteers, allowing us to track common bird populations for >50 years

The Gola Rainforest

New job alert: An amazing opportunity - our International science team are hiring for a 2yr position (initially) for an experienced scientist to work on tropical forest conservation 🌍🧪

Full details here: app.vacancy-filler.co.uk/salescrm/Car...

📷Nick Williams/RSPB

⬇️ @wclnews.bsky.social @britishecologicalsociety.org
UK target to protect 30% of land & sea for nature by 2030. But just ~6% of land across the UK is properly protected with just 5 years to go...."

Here's how to fix this:

www.wcl.org.uk/assets/uploa...

@rspb.bsky.social @rspbscience.bsky.social

Technical Officer - Conservation Science | RSPB We're seeking a highly motivated person with excellent practical and design skills to join the Conservation Science Technical team. Collaborating closely with other scientists and colleagues across RS...

We're hiring!🧪🪶

Join our Conservation Science Technical team and help design and develop field equipment for research activities such as tracking and monitoring

Full details here: app.vacancy-filler.co.uk/salescrm/Car...

Inspired by #InternationalVultureAwarenessDay?

Why not join the SAVE online open day 🪶🌏
Sept 10th at 7:30 AM (UK time)

Hear about progress on vulture conservation and recovery from partners across South and South-East Asia

Register here: rspb.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Save Vultures – Working for the recovery of Vultures Saving Asia’s Vultures from Extinction (SAVE) is a consortium of organisations from six range countries (Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Cambodia and Myanmar) with established expertise in…

With the establishment of VSZs in Nepal and India, BirdLife and SAVE partners across Asia are supporting the future of vultures

Read more about the ongoing importance of regulating veterinary drugs like diclofenac here:
save-vultures.org/2025/09/new-...