Chris Monk
Well-known member
The Times August 30, 2006
:egghead:
By Andrew Norfolk
ONE of Britain’s most infamous collectors of rare eggs fell to his death from a tree that he was climbing to reach a bird’s nest, an inquest was told.
Colin Watson, 62, may have suffered a dizzy spell before plunging from the 12m (40ft) larch tree. The father of three died after a broken rib punctured his heart.
After the fatal accident in May, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds described Mr Watson as “more than a little bit of a nuisance to us”.
The former power station worker had a string of convictions for illegally taking eggs from rare birds.
In 1986 he took a chainsaw to a tree at Loch Garten, near Aviemore, Scotland, and tried to cut it down to get to an osprey’s nest.
Doncaster Coroner’s Court was told that the fall happened as Mr Watson, from Wistow, North Yorkshire, was exploring a wood near Doncaster, South Yorkshire, with a friend, David Sargeant.
Mr Watson had spotted what he believed to be a sparrowhawk’s nest, the court was told. He began to climb the tree and was three quarters of the way up when Mr Sargeant heard “the sound of breaking branches and a thud”. By the time paramedics arrived, Mr Watson was dead.
A post-mortem report found that he died from a punctured heart caused by one of the rib fractures he sustained in the fall. The egg collector had a history of high blood pressure and his widow, Patricia, said that he regularly had dizzy spells.
Stanley Hooper, the South Yorkshire Coroner, recorded a verdict of accidental death.
He said: “There has been suggested to me a reason why Colin Watson might have wanted to climb up a tree at the age of 62 but, because of the way the law operates, I’m not concerned in this inquest as to why he climbed up a tree. I’m satisfied he fell from the tree in the middle of the afternoon on May 24.”
It has been illegal to take eggs from birds’ nests since 1981 and offenders can be fined up to £5,000 or jailed for up to six months.
Although Mr Watson had not appeared in court since 1996, his numerous convictions for egg theft had led to fines totalling almost £6,000.
On raiding his home in 1985 the RSPB found more than 2,200 eggs, including those of the golden eagle, osprey, red kite and sparrowhawk. The collection was believed to have been one of the largest in private ownership in Britain.
Mr Watson was fined £1,700, but he successfully appealed on the ground that all but 16 of the eggs had been collected before the practice was banned.
An RSPB spokesman said yesterday that Mr Watson had been known to the society “for a long, long time. We have had to devote a lot of our resources to nest-protection schemes as a result.”
He estimated that during the 1990s, at the height of egg-collecting’s popularity in the UK, a hard core of about 300 collectors “were serious enough to pose a threat to some of our rarest birds”.
“Colin was one of the most notorious and for a time one of the most convicted, but his death was obviously a tragic accident and we would not have wanted anyone to lose their life in such a tragic manner,” he said.
WATSON’S RECORD
1980 Inverness - Taking golden eagle eggs. Fined £400
1982 Shap, Cumbria - Disturbing peregrine falcons. Fined £250
1985 Selby, North Yorkshire - found possessing more than 2,000 eggs, including those of golden eagles and ospreys. Fined £1,700. Later won an appeal but collection not returned
1988 Perth - found possessing equipment capable of committing an offence and attempting to take golden eagle eggs. Fined £2,000
1990 Lerwick, Shetland - Found with equipment capable of committing an offence and in possession of two snipe eggs. Fined £1,300
:egghead:
By Andrew Norfolk
ONE of Britain’s most infamous collectors of rare eggs fell to his death from a tree that he was climbing to reach a bird’s nest, an inquest was told.
Colin Watson, 62, may have suffered a dizzy spell before plunging from the 12m (40ft) larch tree. The father of three died after a broken rib punctured his heart.
After the fatal accident in May, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds described Mr Watson as “more than a little bit of a nuisance to us”.
The former power station worker had a string of convictions for illegally taking eggs from rare birds.
In 1986 he took a chainsaw to a tree at Loch Garten, near Aviemore, Scotland, and tried to cut it down to get to an osprey’s nest.
Doncaster Coroner’s Court was told that the fall happened as Mr Watson, from Wistow, North Yorkshire, was exploring a wood near Doncaster, South Yorkshire, with a friend, David Sargeant.
Mr Watson had spotted what he believed to be a sparrowhawk’s nest, the court was told. He began to climb the tree and was three quarters of the way up when Mr Sargeant heard “the sound of breaking branches and a thud”. By the time paramedics arrived, Mr Watson was dead.
A post-mortem report found that he died from a punctured heart caused by one of the rib fractures he sustained in the fall. The egg collector had a history of high blood pressure and his widow, Patricia, said that he regularly had dizzy spells.
Stanley Hooper, the South Yorkshire Coroner, recorded a verdict of accidental death.
He said: “There has been suggested to me a reason why Colin Watson might have wanted to climb up a tree at the age of 62 but, because of the way the law operates, I’m not concerned in this inquest as to why he climbed up a tree. I’m satisfied he fell from the tree in the middle of the afternoon on May 24.”
It has been illegal to take eggs from birds’ nests since 1981 and offenders can be fined up to £5,000 or jailed for up to six months.
Although Mr Watson had not appeared in court since 1996, his numerous convictions for egg theft had led to fines totalling almost £6,000.
On raiding his home in 1985 the RSPB found more than 2,200 eggs, including those of the golden eagle, osprey, red kite and sparrowhawk. The collection was believed to have been one of the largest in private ownership in Britain.
Mr Watson was fined £1,700, but he successfully appealed on the ground that all but 16 of the eggs had been collected before the practice was banned.
An RSPB spokesman said yesterday that Mr Watson had been known to the society “for a long, long time. We have had to devote a lot of our resources to nest-protection schemes as a result.”
He estimated that during the 1990s, at the height of egg-collecting’s popularity in the UK, a hard core of about 300 collectors “were serious enough to pose a threat to some of our rarest birds”.
“Colin was one of the most notorious and for a time one of the most convicted, but his death was obviously a tragic accident and we would not have wanted anyone to lose their life in such a tragic manner,” he said.
WATSON’S RECORD
1980 Inverness - Taking golden eagle eggs. Fined £400
1982 Shap, Cumbria - Disturbing peregrine falcons. Fined £250
1985 Selby, North Yorkshire - found possessing more than 2,000 eggs, including those of golden eagles and ospreys. Fined £1,700. Later won an appeal but collection not returned
1988 Perth - found possessing equipment capable of committing an offence and attempting to take golden eagle eggs. Fined £2,000
1990 Lerwick, Shetland - Found with equipment capable of committing an offence and in possession of two snipe eggs. Fined £1,300
