BBC Wildlife - UK (2021-12)

discoverwildlife.com BBC WILDLIFE 13

Roy Dennis

receives

RSPB award

Raptor conservationist

wins the charity’s most

prestigious prize

F

ield ornithologist, wildlife

consultant and raptor specialist,

Roy Dennis MBE, has devoted his whole

life to protecting and enhancing nature.

He was recently awarded this year’s

RSPB Medal “in recognition of major

achievement in the cause of conservation”.

The success and range of projects

undertaken by Dennis over the years has

been phenomenal, most notably involving

rare birds and the reintroduction of lost

species, such as the white-tailed sea eagle.

“My lifetime in conservation has been

wonderfully rewarding, from the first pair

of ospreys with the RSPB at Loch Garten

to the restoration of red kites to England

and Scotland, and sea eagles to the Isle of

Wight,” he says.

In 1992, Dennis was awarded an MBE for

services to nature conservation in Scotland,

and in 2004 he was voted the RSPB Golden

Eagle Award winner.

“I’m encouraged to see great steps

forward in ecological restoration but, at this

time of global crisis, it’s for the young to lead

the way and be the ones who refuse to give

up,” he adds. SN

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During cold, dry spells,
a snail will retreat into
its shell. It can stay
in there for several
months if necessary.

Dennis has

worked hard to

restore ospreys

to Britain since

the 1960s