RUBBISH anywhere is a sorry sight.  And sadly is a reflection on our society today, one where even a little respect for the places where we live and play,  seems to have evaporated.

The carefree “chuck it” brigade are no strangers to angling unfortunately, as anyone who has visited the banks of some of our put-and-take stillwaters recently can testify.  And if you happen to live near the River Kelvin, in the heart of Glasgow as I do, then the droppings of some of the more moronic species of our planet are visible for all to see.

You would have thought that the risks to wildlife from anglers thoughtlessly discarding monofilament, would have been obvious and these days widely understood. Perhaps not so.

The RSPB in its enjoyable blog on the Loch Garten ospreys, yesterday revealed that one of this year’s breeding pair is carrying 40ft of fishing line entangled with its body and says there is another length dangling over the back of the nest.

The author notes: “The line has a swivel on it joining two lengths of line of different test and this weight can swing and sway around, so possibly flip over a branch on which he might perch.”   The threat of entanglement to either of the parents or the young is carefully explained.

Clearly an osprey could have encountered the line in the water – or even attached to a captured fish – and its loss by any angler could have been accidental rather than a deliberate discard.

But it does illustrate the need for special care and caution on all our parts and a willingness on any expedition to try to ensure that the only things we leave behind are footprints.