Colin Watson, 63, had a string of convictions for plundering rare birds’ nests going back 26 years. He had one of Britain’s largest private collections of birds’ eggs – more than 2,000 – most of which was confiscated by the RSPB in a raid on his house in Wistow, West Yorkshire, in 1985. His obsession brought him notoriety the following year when he tried to cut down a tree in Loch Garten, Speyside, Scotland, with a chainsaw to reach an osprey nest. On 24 May, he was three-quarters of the way up a 40ft (12m) larch in woods near Campbell, Doncaster, when he lost his footing and fell to his death. According to his son Kevin, he no longer collected eggs and had been looking for a sparrowhawk nest to photograph when he fell.

D.Mail, D.Mirror, Sun, 27 May 2006