Nature & Wildlife

Defra figures show UK upland birds fell 19% since 1994. Site studies suggest legal predator control helps curlew, golden plover and other moorland birds recover.

Natural England's 2005-07 survey shows Geltsdale's upland waders below the North Pennines average. What later evidence exists, and how can members help Defra?

Derbyshire farmer Geoff Eyre shares over 30 years of Peak District moorland restoration: cool burning, heather from seed, bracken control and wildfire prevention.

Gamekeepers on the North York Moors counted 46 merlin fledglings this summer, up 70% on 2025, in the eighth year of their own annual merlin count.

The Moorland Association asks the RSPB to clarify what its reserve bird data reveal and how upland management outcomes should be assessed with transparent evidence.

UK curlew have fallen 49% since 1995. Four studies find keepered grouse moor fledges nearly four times as many chicks. Evidence for Defra's gamebird call.

BTO modelling puts Curlew stability at 1.06 chicks hatched per pair, not the 0.6 fledged figure often quoted. Why the two differ, and what it means for the uplands.

Moorland holds some of Britain's best-preserved archaeology, from Bronze Age boundaries to prehistoric rock art.

An eight-year experiment showed predator control roughly tripled golden plover breeding success. Here is what the science says about waders on grouse moors.

Almost 90% of England's black grouse are found on grouse moor fringes. Here is what the research says about their recovery in the North Pennines.

Neither of England's main farm schemes funds predator control for Curlew, a BTO review finds, though Yorkshire Dales farmers say they would back it.

Natural England’s final reports show hen harrier numbers rose sharply where brood management was available, strengthening the case for future conservation licensing.