Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation: hands-on conservation

The honey buzzard is one of Britain's most enigmatic and elusive birds, poorly named (being neither a buzzard nor an eater of honey) and under-reported.  In August, Roy Dennis and his team, having discovered a honey buzzard nest in woodland in Moray, where Roy lives, fitted a highly sophisticated satellite transmitter to a female chick. A month later, the bird left on migration for Africa, but experienced the most dramatic start to her journey, blown eastwards across the North Sea to Denmark. She survived, and after several days' rest, continued on her journey, correctly turning south towards her destination.Tim Mackrill tells the story of her journey so far, and describes what might yet be waiting for her, while Roy explains more about the species as a whole.Producer: Moira DennisContributors (in order of appearance):  Roy Dennis, Tim MackrillSupport the show

The project to reintroduce white-tailed eagles to the Isle of Wight continues, and in this - the second year of five - seven birds have been released.  This podcast picks up the story from when they were taken south from Scotland to their new home - pilot Graham and his daughter Helen Mountford of Civil Air UK making two voluntary trips to fly the birds to the Isle of Wight - but instead of focussing on the fortunes of this year's birds, we look instead at a major milestone in the project overall.  One bird - G3-24 - has returned to the Isle of Wight after two months in Scotland. What this means for the project as a whole is discussed by Roy Dennis and his colleagues, as they outline what they hope for the future and reflect on the wider purpose of this reintroduction project. Producer: Moira DennisContributors (in order of appearance): Tim Mackrill, Steve Egerton-Read, Graham Mountford, Helen Mountford, Ian Perks, Fraser Cormack, Leanne Sargeant, Roy Dennis, Lucy AllenMusic credit: Realness by Kai Engel, form the Free Music Archivehttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Support the show

In the previous podcast, Ian Perks described his work collecting eagles for translocation from nests in the Western Isles to a new home on the Isle of Wight.  Now, the chicks safely collected, it's time to care for them while they wait to be taken south. This is the 2020 cohort for the white-tailed eagle reintroduction programme, a joint venture between the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation and Forestry England which had a successful start twelve months ago.  In this year of lockdown, though, it's not as straightforward as it might be, with the usual team unable to travel to help feed the eagles and drive them south.The challenges of this year of Covid 19 are dealt with, though, and the birds successfully taken for release on the Isle of Wight, thanks largely to a father-and-daughter volunteer team with exactly the right skills for this project.Producer: Moira DennisContributors (in order of appearance): Leanne Sargeant, Ian Perks, Moira Dennis, Roy Dennis, Graham Mountford, Phoebe Dennis, Helen MountfordMusic: Realness by Kai Engel, downloadable from the Free Music Archivehttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Support the show

In early August 2020, seven white-tailed eagles were released on the Isle of Wight in the second year of a five-year project to establish a breeding population there.  Using an audio diary recorded by Ian Perks of the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation, this podcast looks back at the early stages of this year's work, and finds out how some of the chicks were collected from their nests.  The podcast follows Ian and Justin Grant as they travel to the Western Isles, where with the help of Robin Reid of the RSPB, they check nest sites for suitable candidates for translocation.  The Covid 19 outbreak meant a very different way of working for the team, but this podcast hears how, while observing lockdown rules, the project was able to continue uninterrupted.   One of the biggest differences was that, due to the Covid 19 outbreak, the nests had not been checked in advance this year.  Many were found to have only one young, and chicks can only be taken from nests with at least two. In some cases, though, Ian fitted a satellite radio to  single chicks, meaning that data will be fed back from birds that will fledge in the Western Isles as well as on the Isle of Wight.Ian and Fraser Cormack later made trips to Mull, Skye and Sutherland, in the north of the mainland, in an effort to get as many chicks as possible for translocation, before the birds were sent south to the Isle of Wight, to be kept in hacking cages prior to their release.Contributors (in order of appearance):Tim MackrillIan Perks Fraser CormackRoy DennisRobin ReidProducer: Moira DennisMusic: Realness by Kai Engel, downloadable from the Free Music Archivehttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Support the show

It's exactly a year since the release of six white-tailed eagles on the Isle of Wight, a return to a place where they last bred in 1780.  It's a good moment, then, to take a look at the progress of the birds released in 2019, and to hear about the impact they have had on some of the people who have encountered them.   In this five-year project, working in partnership with Forestry England, the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation aims to translocate up to sixty white-tailed eagles from Scotland to the island.  In this, the second year, the Covid 19 outbreak has naturally meant a different way of working, but a second batch of birds has been released, as planned.  Future podcasts will look at the detail of how this translocation was carried out: how the birds were collected from their eyries, how they were cared for by Roy and his team at his home in the Scottish Highlands, moved to the Isle of Wight and finally released in early August of this year. Already, a bond is forming between one of the 2019 birds and the new arrivals, and fascinating satellite data is telling Roy and his colleagues about the way that eagles learn their landscape, shedding light on the amazing journeys they undertake in the years before they are old enough to breed.Producer: Moira DennisContributors (in order of appearance): Fraser Cormack, Tim Mackrill, Dave Sexton, Pauline Jacobs, Roy Dennis, Ian Perks, Steve Egerton-Read, Ed Drewitt, RJ MacaulayMusic credit: Realness by Kai Engel, from the Free Music Archivehttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Support the show

8th April 1960 was the day when Roy Dennis saw his first ever osprey, while working at the famous Loch Garten site in the Highlands of Scotland. Sixty years on, he's still working with the birds, and this podcast was recorded in early March as (with colleagues Fraser Cormack and Ian Perks) he sets out to rebuild a local osprey nest which is in danger of collapse.  It was built back in 1967 by only the second osprey pair in Scotland and rebuilt by Roy seven years later, after it crashed to the ground, taking with it the chick inside it. Once the new nest was in place, Roy placed the chick in its new home, where the adult birds continued to feed it, and it survived. Since then, the nest has remained a successful breeding site, but the tree on which it sits has now started to lean and looks in serious danger of collapse, so it's time to intervene once more. Using techniques borrowed from the birds themselves, Roy, Ian and Fraser use material from the old nest to make a new one, building a framework of dead sticks lined with moss on a platform hoisted into the tree as a base. It's a tried and tested technique, and the provision of such nests enables ospreys to establish successful breeding partnerships and, it's hoped, boost overall numbers. While the Scottish population has grown to more than 300 pairs since that first pair sixty years ago, it is still far smaller than it could (or should) be, and the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation engages in direct, hands-on conservation as a means to enable it to grow further.   This podcast was recorded before the introduction of restrictions on movement due to coronavirus.  Support the show

This week's podcast hears from the Isle of Wight, ten weeks after the release of six white-tailed eagles in the last place they bred in England, 240 years ago.   Two of the project's  volunteer team - biologist Tracy Dove and ornithologist Jim Baldwin - and Forestry England's White-Tailed Eagle Project Officer, Steve Egerton-Read, talk about whether there has been an 'eagle effect' on the island since their release.  Has widespread interest in the birds spread out to a broader interest in nature and the environment?   Of course, with a project like this, aiming to introduce 60 young eagles to the island over five years, ups and downs are to be expected, and the three discuss how they have reacted to the highs - the presence of eagles once again on the island and the fact that most are thriving and learning to survive independently - as well as to the lows, including the death of one of the birds.Producer: Moira HickeyContributors (in order of appearance):  Steve Egerton-Read, Tracy Dove and Jim BaldwinMusic credit: Realness by Kai Engel, from the Free Music Archivehttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Support the show

The white-tailed eagle had been absent from Scotland for forty years when the very first attempt at reintroduction took place in 1958. A later project, led in 1968 by Roy Dennis and George Waterston on Fair Isle, between Orkney and Shetland, was groundbreaking but also unsuccessful, due largely to the very small number of birds involved.  This podcast, though, hears from John Love, in conversation with Roy, as he talks about his ten years on the Hebridean island of Rum, site of the first successful reintroduction of sea eagles to Scotland, led by John in partnership with Roy and others. Eleven consecutive years and a total of 83 eagles brought in from Norway (with invaluable support from the RAF) led to success for this precursor to similar reintroduction projects, such as the current one on the Isle of Wight.Producer: Moira HickeyContributors (in order of appearance):  John Love, Roy DennisMusic credit:  Realness by Kai Engel, downloadable from the Free Music Archivehttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Support the show

The release of six white-tailed eagle chicks on the Isle of Wight in August this year was just one of the early steps on a very long road.  The ultimate goal of the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation and Forestry England is to see the species breed again in England after an absence of 240 years, but first the eagles have to learn where they fit in this unfamiliar landscape.The podcast hears about the experience of the Irish White-Tailed Eagle Reintroduction project, which released 100 chicks over 5 years from 2007, and saw the first successful breeding in 2012.  The bird is not an easy one to track down, even if satellite-tagged: it spends long periods simply sitting still, either waiting to hunt, eating or digesting its food, so sightings of the bird that has roamed from the Isle of Wight to Oxfordshire have been few and far between, despite the fact that it's our largest bird of prey.  Even if we humans struggle to see it, though, the local birdlife is always well aware of its presence, and the podcast explores the relationship between other carrion eaters - such as red kites, jackdaws and magpies - and this mighty newcomer to their patch.Producer: Moira HickeyContributors (in order of appearance):  Roy Dennis, Fraser Cormack, Allan Mee, Tim Mackrill, Ian Lewington, Steve Egerton-ReadMusic credit: Realness by Kai Engel, from the Free Music Archivehttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.Support the show

As the satellite-tagged osprey Deshar continues to seek a permanent spot in West Africa in which to settle, this podcast looks at how ospreys on their first migration have to compete for space with older birds unwilling to give up prime locations.  Roy Dennis explains how  ospreys learn to adapt to fishing in foreign waters, facing new hazards such as crocodiles,  and hears from The Gambia on how juveniles cope with the hostility of more experienced birds.  Because each bird is an individual, with its own particular skills, we also hear how some are simply better than others at finding enough to eat.From Morocco, too, we hear news of what killed Carr, the brother of Deshar, whose remains were found on the edge of a reservoir in Morocco.  At first thought to have fallen prey to a fox or a dog, the bird was not, in fact, killed by a mammal at all, and Roy explains how a glance at the feathers and bones was enough to explain its death.Producer: Moira HickeyContributors (in order of appearance): Roy Dennis, Junkung Jadama, Mike Crutch Music credit: Realness by Kai Engel, from the Free Music Archivehttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Support the show

With the migrations of young ospreys Carr and Deshar being followed step-by-step online, with detailed data fed back via their satellite tags, this podcast hears what has happened to them, and looks at the dangers faced by all young birds as they fly south to Africa.   Starting with the example of one young osprey, translocated from Scotland to Poole Harbour by Roy Dennis and his team, along with ten other chicks, the podcast looks at the slim chances of a safe arrival at their wintering grounds for juvenile birds, and hears stories of amazing birds which survived, against all the odds, to return to breed in Scotland.  With our increasing ability to engage with the journeys of individual birds, via satellite technology, are we able to remain objective when one fails to complete its migration?  Producer: Moira HickeyContributors (in order of appearance): Brittany Maxted, Lucy Allen, Liv Cooper, Tim Mackrill, Roy DennisSupport the show

Two juvenile ospreys - Carr and Deshar, satellite-tagged by Roy Dennis in the summer -  are on their way from the north of Scotland to their wintering grounds in Africa.  Migrating for the first time, and entirely on instinct, the birds, both from the same nest, are flying independently and taking very different routes.  Crossing sea, desert and mountain ranges, the birds are being followed online by the children of two local primary schools, closely associated with the nests and the local estate. This podcast outlines the hazards the birds are facing, but also the huge value of engaging children in the importance of protecting wildlife.   Education is also key in The Gambia, and the podcast hears from both ends of the ospreys' flypath about the benefits they bring, as well as the dangers they face. Support the show

Of the six white-tailed eagles released on the Isle of Wight in August by the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation, in partnership with Forestry England, five have been content to remain largely on the island.  The sixth, named Culver after Culver Cliff, the last place in which sea eagles bred on the Isle of Wight more than 200 years ago, set off for a mammoth journey to London and beyond, returning after eight days to where he began.This podcast talks to people who saw him pass overhead - and surprisingly few did, considering that he's a bird with an eight-foot wingspan - and explores what those sightings meant to them. Producer: Moira HickeyContributors (in order of appearance): Pauline Jacobs, Ed Pack, Roy Dennis,  Penny Green, Tim Mackrill, Steve Egerton-Read, Wesley SmithMusic credit: Realness by Kai Engel, from the Free Music Archivehttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Support the show

Continuing the story of the translocation of eleven osprey chicks from Scotland to Poole Harbour on the south coast of England.  The birds are released but stay close by, until the urge to migrate sends them on a hazardous journey to Africa.  Producer: Moira HickeyContributors in order of appearance:Fraser Cormack, Ian Perks, Alan Campbell, Tim Mackrill, Roy Dennis, Jason Fathers, Lucy Allen, Paul Morton, Brittany Maxted, Liv Cooper.Music credit: Realness by Kai Engel, from the Free Music Archivehttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Support the show

Continuing the story of six white-tailed eagle chicks, translocated by the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation, working in partnership with Forestry England, from nests in Scotland to the Isle of Wight, off England's south coast. This project aims to re-establish the birds in the place where they last bred in England, 240 years ago. The podcast records the work that went into preparing the birds for their release, and hears how emotional it can be to see these majestic and long-absent birds return to the skies over England.   Producer: Moira HickeyContributors (in order of appearance): Dave Sexton, Steve Egerton-Read, Leanne Sargeant, Pete Campbell, Tim Mackrill, Fraser Cormack, Roy Dennis, Ian PerksMusic credit: Realness by Kai Engel, from the Free Music Archive https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Support the show

The release of six white-tailed eagle chicks on the Isle of Wight has made national headlines, as it's a reintroduction of Britain's largest bird of prey after an absence of 240 years.  The white-tailed eagle was killed out by man, rather than by poor habitat or inadequate food, and it's hoped that the 60 birds which are due to be released in the five years of this project will go on to establish a population, building on the success of similar reintroductions in Scotland.This podcast looks at the work of the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation, acting in partnership with Forestry England, and focusses on the hands-on conservation carried out by the team, turning ambitious wildlife theory into exciting and groundbreaking practice.Producer: Moira HickeyContributors (in order of appearance): Roy Dennis, Fraser Cormack, Ian Perks, Tim Mackrill, Anya Wicikowski, Jane Harley, Mike Crutch, Pete CampbellMusic credit: Realness by Kai Engel, form the Free Music Archivehttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Support the show

Continuing the story of a batch of osprey chicks being translocated from the Highlands of Scotland to Poole Harbour on the south coast of England, this podcast explains how to care for young birds, and how Roy Dennis learned the skills he has needed to carry out successful translocation projects over many years.   Music credit: Realness by Kai Engel, form the Free Music Archivehttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Contributors in order of appearance: Ian Perks, Tim Mackrill, Roy Dennis, Fraser Cormack, Jason Fathers, Brittany Maxted, Lucy Allen, Olivia Cooper, Paul Morton. Producer: Moira Hickey Support the show

Roy Dennis specialises in the translocation of species: moving birds, in this case osprey chicks, from one area to another, to help grow the population. This is hands-on conservation: the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation prides itself on its direct and proactive approach to wildlife conservation.It is year three of a five-year project, with the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation, working in collaboration with the conservation charity Birds of Poole Harbour, aiming to send a total of 60 young ospreys from the Highlands of Scotland to the south coast of England.  It's not that Scotland has 'enough' ospreys and can afford to pass some on: it's more that a population at saturation point, as it is in Roy's study area, means that birds have less chance of breeding.  If some young are moved, the idea is that they will return from migration, if they survive, to find a mate in their adopted area, and have the space to breed there without undue competition from other ospreys. In recordings made largely as they carry out their fieldwork, Roy and his team (Tim Mackrill and tree climbers Fraser Cormack and Ian Perks) describe the privilege of working with these special creatures, and of being allowed an insight into the lives of a species which, only recently, was on the brink of extinction in the UK.    Roy has worked in conservation all his life and has seen the osprey population grow from a single pair in Scotland in 1960, the only ones in the UK at that time, to two pairs in 1963 - a slow growth in the face of egg thieves and persecution - until now, when there are around 300 pairs in Scotland, a small population in the north of England, ten pairs at Rutland Water (where Roy carried out a translocation project in the 1990s) and a further small population which has spread from there into Wales.Future podcasts will follow the osprey chicks' journey from Scotland to Poole Harbour, their weeks there spent 'learning' their new landscape and, once they can fly, their eventual release back into the wild.   Music credit:  Realness by Kai Engel, from the Free Music Archive https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Contributors in order of appearance:Roy DennisTim MackrillIan PerksFraser CormackProducer: Moira HickeySupport the show