Six species success stories to make you smile!

In a world where the news is often bleak, it can be easy to miss the many positive things that are happening. But here at the RSPB, we have plenty of good news to share.

Thanks to our many members, supporters and partners, we are saving species, preventing extinctions and bringing back nature. Read on for a taste of what’s going well for wildlife this year! 

The number of singing male Nightingales reached their second highest level in more than a decade across RSPB nature reserves. Famed for their song, Nightingales have inspired poets and musicians for centuries. But between 1995 and 2024, the UK breeding population dropped by 34%, and the iconic birds are on the UK’s Red List of Birds of Conservation Concern.  

We’ve been managing our nature reserves to support Nightingales, creating the scrub and thicket that the birds favour for breeding. The last count recorded 176 singing males in 2025, a 7% increase from 2024 and a second record high.  

Black-necked Grebes are an uncommon bird, restricted to just a handful of central and eastern England breeding sites. They have striking golden tufts that accentuate their red eyes, and are known for their beguiling courtship dance in spring.  

Following the restoration and extension of wetland habitat at Woolston Eyes in Cheshire, the wetland birds have had one of their best years yet, with a record 35 pairs recorded at the last count in 2025. 

Osprey recovery hit a milestone this year as a pair bred and successfully raised chicks on an English RSPB nature reserve for the first time ever!

Ospreys are fish-eating birds of prey that migrate from West Africa to breed in the UK. However, persecution saw them extinct in the UK by the 1990s. In 1954, a pair returned to breed in what is now RSPB Loch Garden in Scotland, with numbers slowing increasing and spreading beyond their Scottish stronghold. 

In June, a pair bred at RSPB Campfield Marsh in Cumbria, nesting on a specially built Osprey platform. The first-time parents hatched three chicks, which were named Ash, Bownes Bobbi and Beau by local school children. 

This year we celebrated four decades of a project led by the RSPB to protect and caretake the annual breeding population of Little Terns along the Norfolk and Suffolk coast. Little Terns are beach-nesting birds that are vulnerable to range of threats including disturbance by recreational visitors and from predators.  

But thanks to the dedicated efforts of volunteers and ongoing partnerships, the birds have been protected by a range of measures including 24-7 monitoring and talking to beach visitors about how they can help protect the nesting sites, including keeping dogs on short leads. Without this work, there would be very few breeding Little Terns on this coastline's busy beaches.

This year saw one of the most successful breeding seasons for Hen Harriers on RSPB Cymru nature reserves, and at RSPB Geltsdale in Cumbria. Hen Harriers are one of the UK’s most threatened birds of prey, with illegal persecution a major threat. 

In Wales, 17 Hen Harriers successfully fledged at RSPB Lake Vyrnwy, with a further four at RSPB Tanrallt and three at RSPB Carngafallt. Meanwhile, 13 Hen Harriers chicks fledged at RSPB Geltsdale. These upland birds are famed for their dramatic sky-dancing, when the male swoops and glides, showing off his incredible flight skills to attract a mate.

In May this year, Rathlin Island was officially declared ferret free — a conservation achievement that helps secure the future of Northern Ireland’s largest seabird colony. The island is home to 250,000 seabirds, including Puffins, Razorbills, Guillemots and Manx Shearwaters. For decades the birds have faced severe threats from invasive ferrets which prey on eggs, chicks and even adult birds. But now they can nest safely without any threat from ferrets.  

The success of the project is thanks to the LIFE Raft conservation project, a ground-breaking partnership project which has been supported by many RSPB members, volunteers and supporters, as well as the local community.