Obituary: Paul F. Haworth, ecologist and raptor expert

Died: July 28, 2018

Paul Haworth, who has died aged 67, was a clever and talented ecologist, as unassumingly adept in business as he was gifted as a field naturalist.

Committed to understanding the ecology and conservation of birds of prey, he made key inroads in advancing the care of the uplands of Britain and Ireland while working on the western edge of the Ross of Mull, in a cottage formerly occupied by a gamekeeper.

He was regularly commissioned by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) to survey remote reaches of the Highlands and Islands and to plot the nesting sites of rare raptors, especially eagles, hen harriers and merlin. Cultivating trusted friendships with local raptor workers, some of them truculent but appreciative of his straightforward narrative, Paul effortlessly amassed huge data sets on the birds.

He unearthed far greater densities of birds than previously realised, resulting in the designation of areas such as North Harris Mountains as an EC Special Protection Area for golden eagles.

New sightings were thrilling – unusual, crag nesting merlins in north west Sutherland, and new records in modern times of nesting sea eagle in the Western Isles were toasted with delight.

Covering large tracts of upland Scotland he became aware of the spread of wind farms, and the fundamental questions being posed about their impacts on birds. Rather to his surprise, he developed a commercial business to advise developers, conservation bodies and government agencies on this. Quick to point out to developers that they might not get what they wanted, and would better scaling back their plans, Paul became the ‘go-to’ expert on prospective developments –even when delivering the unpalatable truth that a development proposal was doomed.

He also established ‘Highland Renewal’, an education and arts charity managing the revival and understanding of a wildwood on Tireragan estate at the very southwest tip of Mull. In all these projects Paul worked closely with Alan Fielding.

They formed a formidable team rapidly analysing massive and complex datasets published in cutting edge papers and scientific reports for government. In 1999 they published the textbook Upland Habitats.

With Phil Whitfield, Paul and Alan led on the publication of conservation frameworks for government agencies on golden eagles (2008) and hen harriers (2011). This fourth area of work set the standard for conserving and managing these and other raptor species.

More recent work has focused on the fate of satellite tagged golden eagles, which revealed significantly clustered losses of birds in some areas associated with driven grouse moors. The 2017 report on this led to the formation of a Scottish Government group to look critically at the practices of grouse moor management.

Paul was a proud Lancastrian from Oswaldtwistle, near Blackburn, where he met his wife to be, Trish. They travelled to Connemara, where her parents lived, and in the wild sweeps of bogland and mountain, Paul found nearly 30 nests of merlin, the majority in stunted trees or small bog pools.

His passion for landscapes came partly from his studies for a BSc Geology degree followed by a Masters in Landscape Ecology. After working for Welsh Water and West Yorkshire County Council, he took up a full time PhD study examining the distribution of nesting upland birds in the South Pennines. Awarded a doctorate in 1987 from what is now Manchester Metropolitan University, his thesis drew on what became an obsession - finding nesting merlin.

He also worked for Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) on Orkney, but moved to the Ross of Mull in 1990 to lead a SNH-funded project at the University of Glasgow on factors influencing scavenging and predatory birds.

On finishing this he established himself as a freelance ecologist. Skilled as a builder (often quarrying his own stone), woodsman and horticulturalist, he created an Arcadia which became home to family, friends and hundreds of itinerant academics, field workers and students. After working for international environmental charity Earthwatch, Paul rapidly developed a workforce to gather data on the distribution and ranging behaviour of raptors.

Paul’s experience of west Ireland proved invaluable in the successful work to reintroducing golden eagles and subsequently white-tailed eagles and red kites to Ireland, many donated from eagle sites in the Western Isles.

Research gatherings at Paul’s abode engendered specially close friendships. Generous and always supportive of workers who had the good fortune to cross his path, Paul formed a particularly strong partnership and friendship with Robin Reid, who has become something of a celebrity environmentalist featured on BBC Alba..

Softly and plainly spoken, deeply intelligent and piercingly observant , Paul was happiest with his family and in small groups in the pub or at home. Cooking and listening to Van Morrison were riotously enjoyed, but not so being teased about the failings of Blackburn Rovers.

Unorthodox and resourceful, Paul energised colleagues to make a difference for birds of prey in upland Scotland. Despite his untimely death to cancer, towards the end he was totally at peace and reflected on a privileged life doing what he loved.

Paul is survived by his wife Trish, children Kathryn and Erica, grandchildren Carys and Fionn, and field companion Bam.

Des Thompson, Alan Fielding, Lorcan O’Toole and Phil Whitfield