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.