Colin Watson (November 20, 1943 – May 24, 2006) was a British egg collector who stole the

eggs Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...

of rare and wild birds from protected wildlife sites throughout

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

for over twenty years before his death. Despite six convictions and fines in thousands of pounds, he amassed the largest egg collection in the country before the collection was confiscated by agents of the

Royal Society for the Protection of Birds The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a charitable organisation registered in England and Wales and in Scotland. It was founded in 1889. It works to promote conservation and protection of birds and the wider environment thr ...

(RSPB) during a 1985 raid on his home. The collection numbered more than 2,000 eggs, including eggs from species such as

golden eagles The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known birds ...

and

osprey The osprey (''Pandion haliaetus''), , also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor reaching more than in length and across the wings. It is brown o ...

. He successfully defended himself against the subsequent charge of illegal possession in April 1985, claiming that, with the exception of sixteen eggs, he had collected his eggs before the

Wildlife and Countryside Act of 1981 The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom implemented to comply with European Council Directive 79/409/EEC on the conservation of wild birds. In short, the act gives protection to native species (especia ...

. Later in his life, he was convicted on other charges and was issued a £2,800 fine. A year later, he was accused of attempting to cut down an osprey nesting tree with a chainsaw in Loch Garten, Scotland. Family and friends claimed he had retired from egg collecting during the early 1990s, and his last conviction was 10 years prior to his death. However, he remained on several informal lists maintained by the RSPB and other organizations, detailing around 300 known or suspected egg collectors; the RSPB would log these collectors' cars if they went near the nesting sites of rare birds. He died in 2006 after falling from a

larch Larches are deciduous conifers in the genus ''Larix'', of the family Pinaceae (subfamily Laricoideae). Growing from tall, they are native to much of the cooler temperate northern hemisphere, on lowlands in the north and high on mountains fur ...

tree he climbed to observe a nest of a protected species, in woodland near the village of

Campsall Campsall is a village in South Yorkshire, England. It lies to the north-west of Doncaster, at an elevation of around 50 feet above sea level. The village contains Campsall Country Park. The village falls within the civil parish of Norton, th ...

South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and metropolitan county, metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of City of Doncaster, Doncaster and City of Sh ...

. Although he remained alive shortly after his fall, he died before the arrival of paramedics and was officially pronounced dead on the scene. An inquest at Doncaster Coroner's Court heard from Watson's wife that he had a history of high blood pressure and that he suffered from "dizzy spells". On 30 August 2006, the coroner ruled that Watson's death was accidental.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Colin 1940s births 2006 deaths Accidental deaths from falls British male criminals Accidental deaths in England Egg collectors