The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) is advertising an exciting new position as the Welsh Raptor Monitoring Coordinator, to support the newly-funded Welsh Raptor Monitoring Project.
This project is funded by the Nature Networks Programme and is being delivered by the Heritage Fund, on behalf of the Welsh Government.
This is a permanent, full-time role based in the BTO Cymru office in Bangor, although you will be able to work from home part of the time on a hybrid working regime. Salary: £30,135 per annum + 11% employer pension contribution.
The role will involve developing, coordinating and promoting the project and its data collection methods, training and reporting.
The full job description can be downloaded here:
Closing date for receipt of applications is Sunday 5th May and interviews will be held at Bangor during the middle of the week commencing 13th May. If you have any questions, please contact recruitment@bto.org
For further details and to apply for this position, please click here.
Raptor Persecution UK 
The BTO area a funny old lot… They provide essential avian data but appoint a life-long shooter as their Patron, as if it doesn’t matter.
I would have thought that having the Prince of Wales, a member of the Royal Family, who seems to gather very positive support from the media and much of the population would have been a positive asset for the BTO? Especially since the current Prince of Wales seems to have taken up the legacy of his father and openly supports conservation and wildlife matters?
Much has been written about the benefits of a charity having a Royal patron, which can include access to greater fund raising opportunities, professional networking opportunities and partnerships, as well as things like raising the profile of the charity, or even providing those who work in the charity with a sense of pride in that they have such a high profile patron.
Whilst I don’t fully understand how someone who apparently shoots and kills wildlife is able to reconcile this with supporting wildlife conservation. Perhaps their relationship with nature is complex and whilst they shoot game birds, they also understand the importance of conservation?
A similar line of reasoning can also be seen in the fact that many people find the thought of an animal suffering abhorrent, but still eat meat.
So, I have no concerns with the BTO having the Prince of Wales as their patron, especially if this encourages the wider population to consider the importance of protecting the environment, wildlife conservation, and looking after nature.
Likewise King Charles became patron of the Wildlife Trusts when he was the Prince of Wales, and I understand the Trust views his support over many years as incredibly valuable.
Hopefully the BTO will also benefit from having the current Prince of Wales as their patron. If that helps nature, is it a bad thing?
“So, I have no concerns with the BTO having the Prince of Wales as their patron, especially if this encourages the wider population to consider the importance of protecting the environment, wildlife conservation, and looking after nature.”
But the BTO do none of those things themselves: protect the environment, wildlife conservation or look after nature.
“Likewise King Charles became patron of the Wildlife Trusts when he was the Prince of Wales, and I understand the Trust views his support over many years as incredibly valuable.”
That would be the same Wildlife Trusts who decried the cancelling of HS2 Phase 2 and claimed “The UK Government’s HS2 scheme received cross-party support and had *the potential to help deliver on commitments to reverse the decline of wildlife and bring about nature’s recovery*”
Really? HS2 help halt the decline of wildlife?
My local Wildlife Trust refused to even complain about the proposed destruction of a rare bat colony using a railway tunnel for the sake of reducing a rail journey by a mere 48 seconds. They left it to me to take the UK Government to the European Court of Justice over its failure to uphold the Habitats Directive.
I’m curious why you should think that Royal Patronage from life-long shooters encourages the public to ‘help nature’ but not to similarly ‘support shooting’?
i used to be a shooter but a shooter that respected wildlife!,
“i used to be a shooter but a shooter that respected wildlife!,”
Let me guess… by spreading a load of lead around, just killing wild waterfowl and waders, or by intensively breeding alien species and releasing them into our countryside by the million?
Or, was it only corvids you killed?
I’m struggling to find where the ‘respect’ is?
didn’t shoot any corvids as i couldn’t eat them,are you a vegetarian/vegan
“are you a vegetarian/vegan”
No. Do you think eating meat is excuse for dumping lead and millions of alien birds across our countryside, then?