Five minutes with Schöffel Countryside Awards finalist Jim Allsop
Jim Allsop has spent a decade turning Monkwood, a 270-acre site near Chesterfield, into a haven for wildlife.
Get information on the legal shooting season for mammals and birds in the UK.
Apply for funding for your project or make a donation today
Comprehensive information and advice from our specialist firearms team.
Everything you need to know about shotgun, rifle and airgun ammunition.
Find our up-to-date information, advice and links to government resources.
Everything you need to know on firearms law and licensing.
All the latest news and advice on general licences and how they affect you.
This year has seen the six osprey nest sites in the South Lakes assisted by BASC successfully fledge chicks, giving cause for celebration by conservationists and local landowners.
A total of 15 chicks have been recorded from the sites. All of these have now received an official British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) leg ring and an individual marker, allowing them to be monitored for conservation reasons over the coming years.
“A complete success” was the verdict of Mike Thornley, BASC’s north regional officer and project lead, when discussing the 2021 osprey breeding season in the area. He continued: “As well as six nesting pairs rearing 15 chicks, we have also had many more immature ospreys in the area searching for future partners.”
BASC’s osprey project, which is funded by BASC legacy donations, is a feather in the cap for landowners and the local community, who take pride in the prevalence of ospreys in the area.
Following successful fledging from their Lake District residences, the new osprey chicks will embark on an epic migration to West Africa in the near future.
It is expected that they will return to the South Lakes in a couple of years. This was certainly the case for the bird known as YC, a standout success of BASC’s osprey project.
Having hatched three chicks this year with his mate, he has now successfully raised 15 young ospreys. At the age of 13, YC is a pillar of the project.
YC, we salute you.
This year has seen the six osprey nest sites in the South Lakes assisted by BASC successfully fledge chicks, giving cause for celebration by conservationists and local landowners.
A total of 15 chicks have been recorded from the sites. All of these have now received an official British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) leg ring and an individual marker, allowing them to be monitored for conservation reasons over the coming years.
“A complete success” was the verdict of Mike Thornley, BASC’s north regional officer and project lead, when discussing the 2021 osprey breeding season in the area. He continued: “As well as six nesting pairs rearing 15 chicks, we have also had many more immature ospreys in the area searching for future partners.”
BASC’s osprey project, which is funded by BASC legacy donations, is a feather in the cap for landowners and the local community, who take pride in the prevalence of ospreys in the area.
Following successful fledging from their Lake District residences, the new osprey chicks will embark on an epic migration to West Africa in the near future.
It is expected that they will return to the South Lakes in a couple of years. This was certainly the case for the bird known as YC, a standout success of BASC’s osprey project.
Having hatched three chicks this year with his mate, he has now successfully raised 15 young ospreys. At the age of 13, YC is a pillar of the project.
YC, we salute you.
Jim Allsop has spent a decade turning Monkwood, a 270-acre site near Chesterfield, into a haven for wildlife.
Artist and author Will Garfit explains how his small shoot turned 69 acres of gravel workings into a haven for 148 bird species and over 460 plants.

BASC’s Sam Walker joins the beaters at Ponsonby Farms in Gloucestershire to see a wild grey partridge recovery, built on shoot management, in action.