Not so brrrr!

Yesterday the thaw came. When I ventured out of the house at lunchtime yesterday it was almost warm!  There was still snow on the ground but it was getting slushy. The garden bird count was much lower – an experience it seems of many of us. The Fieldfares had gone back to the fields; there…

Thank you again – you eco-zealots!

Over the last few years we have been on a journey together. Those of us who are affronted by the scale and impacts of wildlife crime, and/or those who object to driven grouse shooting as an unsustainable leisure activity which is underpinned by wildlife crime, have used a range of techniques that are available to…

Paul Leyland – Gasteruption jaculator

Paul writes: This strange looking creature, with a marvellous name, is a parasitic wasp. It is quite harmless to humans as the appendage to its abdomen is not a sting but an oviposter. The wasp searches out for nests of solitary wasps or bees. Once a nest is found the wasp bores its oviposter into…

Trusted trustees (4) – GWCT’s Ian Coghill and James Paice

The longest-ever serving GWCT Chair, Ian Coghill is standing down after eight years, in July.  He will be succeeded by former Defra Agriculture Minister of State, Sir James Paice. Ian Coghill has led the decline in reputation of the GWCT over the last eight years, although Chief Executive, Teresa Dent, must take a large share…

Brrrrr! 2

It’s still snowy here in east Northants – snowy and misty. Yesterday I saw 23 species of bird from the house: Red Kite, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Woodpigeon, Collared Dove, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Blackcap, Starling, Song Thrush, Blackbird, Fieldfare, Robin, Dunnock, House Sparrow, Pied Wagtail, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Reed…