Category Archives: Uncategorized
Buttons and the road – Day 7
I liked Coshocton very much, and if I find other places as nice, that would be good. I am, now, in Wisconsin, which means I have done a lot of driving today. I drove through Chicago with Ol’ Blue Eyes on full volume, and on ‘repeat’, singing ‘My kind of town, Chicago is…’ over and …
Oh Ohio! – Day 5
Today I had the worst breakfast I’ve ever had in the USA so the names and locations in this tale have been changed to protect the guilty. But the food was not the worst part (there are happier bits later in the blog). The coffee wasn’t good, the eggs were only OK, the toast wasn’t …
Sunday – Day 4
One of the noticeable things about America is the number and variety of churches. I don’t go to church but I am quite proud of my local church at home. It has an impressive spire, medieval wall paintings and has dominated the landscape for hundreds of years. If I come home after dark I can …
Day 2 – Louisiana to Kentucky
Jet lag is a funny thing. Despite having a very long day yesterday, and feeling knackered as I crawled into bed, I woke after just over four hours and have been awake from 0230 local time until after 2200 local time (although, the six hours that someone gave me as extras yesterday have been reduced …
Book review – Looking for the Goshawk by Conor Jameson
I liked Conor’s previous book, but I like this one even more. Whereas in Silent Spring Revisited Conor lived through the events described but seemed, to me, to be a little detached from them, this is a book where he describes what he did, and where he went, to get to grips better with a …
A national species? It’s got to be the bluebell!
BBC Wildlife is running a poll for Britain’s national species. The species that makes most sense to me is the bluebell (championed by Plantlife). The bluebell is found just about everywhere in the UK and we hold a larger share of the world’s bluebells than any other country (it’s also found in Ireland, the Netherlands, …
Guest Blog – Why I don’t submit records to Birdtrack by Keith Bennett
Keith is an academic at Queen’s University Belfast, living in Kircubbin on the Ards peninsula, Northern Ireland. His research and teaching focus on ecological and evolutionary responses of organisms to the climate changes of the ice ages (the last couple of million years). He enjoys watching birds anywhere, any time, from the first bird he …
I will miss…
I set off for the USA on Thursday. I will miss: bluebells, orchids, black hairstreaks, Duke of Burgundy butterflies (again), spotted flycatchers, May blossom, cricket, decent beer, the Today programme, Desert Island Discs, the NGO State of Nature launch and the Derby. I will not miss: Defra, George Osborne, cutting the grass, rain stopping play …
I hope they sink (VII)
Yesterday East Cambridgeshire District Councillors voted by eight votes to three to approve a boathouse complex at Ely (although subject to addressing ecological conditions via conditions and with the approval delegated to the Head of Planning). It is exceptionally unusual for a planning decision to go ahead in this way when the statutory advisor on …
Scottish Birdfair
This weekend it’s the Scottish Birdfair and it looks like a good programme of talks and events (although the weather might not be so good on Saturday). Some have criticised the choice of venue for the event because of links between Hopetoun House and the Leadhills Estate where various dark deeds happened and others were …