Birdwatcher and conservationist, walker, beer lover and Burnley fan
Skipton, Yorkshire
Joined October 2012
- Tweets5.7K
- Following464
- Followers282
- Likes42.3K
Tim Quantrill retweeted
Wouldn't it be hypocritical if one of the biggest gobs blaming badgers for the decline in ground nesting birds spent this week cutting hay and silage. The fledgling skylark I photographed June 18th last year would have been mince. 1000s of fields being cut, but lets blame Badgers
Gas guns back in operation on Threshfield Moor today @RaptorPersUK to scare birds of prey. Nothing like getting away from the noise of town to the peace and quiet of the countryside!
Flock of 100+ golden plover flying in formation over Fountains Fell this afternoon @nybirdnews plus my first swallow of the year heading north
Interesting rock above Addingham in West Yorkshire @gow_derek - LOUP carved into one face but I can't find any records of the rock being named, like a lot on Rombalds (Ilkley) Moor are. Loup Scar at Burnsall is a few miles away as are other wolf rocks/crags in North Yorkshire
Heard first chiffchaff of the year today downstream of Bolton Abbey @nybirdnews plus flocks of dozens curlew and oystercatcher and a couple of pairs of goosander
Glad someone has finally been convicted of trying to kill one of our hen harriers. So many disappear in suspicious circumstances so hopefully others will be discouraged - but the level of fine and lack of sanction for the shooting estate leads me to think nothing much will change
BREAKING NEWS....Gamekeeper Racster Dingwall pleads guilty to conspiracy to kill a Hen Harrier on a grouse moor in Yorkshire Dales National Park ⚖️
New blog ⬇️
raptorpersecutionuk.org/2026…
Good news if he's pleaded guilty - I just hope prosecutors haven't done a deal for a lesser offence for which he gets a slap on the wrist
Trial due to start today for gamekeeper Racster Dingwall, accused of conspiracy to kill a Hen Harrier on a grouse moor in the Yorkshire Dales National Park.
NB: Comments turned off as legal proceedings are live ⚖️
raptorpersecutionuk.org/2026…
Tim Quantrill retweeted
We are devastated to share the news that three white-tailed eagles have disappeared in suspicious circumstances.
We are asking anyone who may have information to help the police investigation to please come forward.
forestryengland.uk/news/thre…
@RoyDennisWF @ForestryEngland
Oh my god! Fantastic work by those concerned but just so horrible that so many have been slaughtered in this fashion, particularly in the Yorkshire Dales and Nidderdale. Why aren't the authorities cracking down on this? Because they don't want to upset the shooting industry
New independent report reveals locations of poisoned raptors in northern England 2015-2023 - information that has been suppressed by government.
New blog ⬇️
raptorpersecutionuk.org/2025…
A ban on selling peat isn't scheduled until 2031 "when Parliamentary time allows". This is ridiculous, it's been years and it still hasn't been done. Good news on peat restoration and agro-forestry though which is expected to ramp up from 2026 - providing Defra funds are there!
But where are the follow up questions investigating the fact that a monoculture of heather is allowing the beetle to build up its numbers and the consequences of climate change in the future. Again hand-fed a story on a plate with little critical thought
bbc.com/news/articles/cvg42z…
Great campaign from @FriendsDales - let's hope having more people on the ground and awareness will make landowners and gamekeepers have second thoughts about persecuting raptors in the Dales and @JulianSmithUK can support it and urge people to sign @NYorksPolice access agreement
EYES ON THE SKIES - new campaign led by @FriendsDales to raise awareness of raptor persecution in the Yorkshire Dales National Park.
New blog ⬇️⬇️
raptorpersecutionuk.org/2025…
Important report but once again a sad state of affairs re raptor persecution in Yorkshire Dales National Park and Nidderdale National Landscape. Too many incidents and not enough breeding pairs
yorkshiredales.org.uk/about/…
Great news and well done Defra for standing up to the shooting lobby. Now we just need to police this - and where should we report suspicious fires? I note the press release says where owners can ask for exemptions but no link for the public to report possible transgressors!
More excellent news: UK government bans burning on deep peat in England.
Govt responded to the science rather than the hysteria & rhetoric of the grouse shooting industry 👏
Ban comes into force 30 Sept 2025.
Defra press release ⬇️
raptorpersecutionuk.org/2025…
Tim Quantrill retweeted
📢BREAKING NEWS - & it's EXCELLENT news!
Judge rules RSPB covert video surveillance IS ADMISSIBLE EVIDENCE in prosecution of gamekeeper Racster Dingwall, who's alleged to have been involved in the shooting of a Hen Harrier on Yorkshire Dales grouse moor.
raptorpersecutionuk.org/2025…
Great news so many Yorkshire Wildlife Trust reserves are now included in the Wild Ingleborough National Nature Reserve. Let's hope all the remaining blanks will be managed sympathetically so the whole area will be connected for Nature in the Dales
bbc.com/news/articles/cre5dp…
Another important and shockingly revealing book from @guyshrubsole . Anglian Water is now proposing a huge new sterile and carbon-consuming reservoir in the Fens. Couldn't they just reinstate the meres like Whittlesey that were drained? Restoring nature and supplying water 1/2
So sad to realise we've lost so much - in fact it was stolen from us. We should reclaim all the land that was enclosed and pay the landowners what they compensated the people with at the time - zilch! (Of course, with the accumulated interest on that included!)
Tim Quantrill retweeted
Yorkshire water has failed the people of yorkshire. Not only is the river low now, but it will have more abstracted. The Salmon parr, which I was filming today, a fish already in decline and fighting for its own survival. Will now have to fight harder to survive.
