Guest blog – Times are a changing by Ian Parsons

Ian Parsons spent twenty years as a ranger. He now writes books and articles on wildlife. He has contributed many articles to this blog. His book A Vulture Landscape was published by Whittles Publishing in 2020, this was followed by Seasonality in 2022. His new book, Of the Trees and the Birds is now available…

Sunday book review – Rooted by Sarah Langford

  I liked this book, which at its best is a mix of James Rebanks and Jake Fiennes at their best. It’s about farming and the changes in farming over three generations, and what might happen in future. I think the author ends up in the right place, more or less, but I wondered whether…

RSPB press release – pesticides

Lack of research, weak regulation and a mix of over 150 pesticides – all the ingredients needed for a harmful cocktail of chemicals used in our countryside Every year over 150 different pesticides are used across the UK’s countryside in a combined quantity that could cover all UK farmland over ten times every year but there…

RSPB press release – Turtle Doves

UK turtle dove survey warns of low numbers, but hope is on the horizon The first ever national turtle dove survey has estimated that just 2,100 pairs of turtle dove now breed in the UK This migratory bird is primarily at risk due to loss of habitat and unsustainable levels of hunting Although sobering results,…