Sunday’s was the 600th Standing up for Nature blog since I started writing them 571 days ago. The day passed almost without me noticing the landmark.
In those 571 days this blog has grown from an audience of zero to well over 7000 unique visitors a month according to the statistics provided by Google analytics.
What they say about Mark Avery:
‘Britain’s premier wildlife blogger’ – The Independent newspaper
‘wildlife guru‘ – The Guardian newspaper
‘you b***ard blogger‘ – a prominent farmer
‘Best blogger in the business‘ – Stuart Winter, birder, journalist and author
I’m grateful to those people, like Andy Clements on Monday, who have contributed Guest Blogs. There is another one already received and ready to be posted (probably later this week), one more, definitely promised, and several more of a more tentative nature. I welcome Guest Blogs provided they are: relevant (to nature conservation in some way, and mostly with a UK focus), legal (I don’t want to be sued for libel for what you write – I don’t mind so much if it’s what I write), literate (I make typing errors and grammatical and spelling mistakes, I know, but I’ll not correct yours) and interesting to this audience. Get in touch if you have a Guest Blog to offer.
Most of the words on this blog, though, are written by me. The deal is this – I write what I want to write and you can read it if you want to – but there is no compulsion. You also can comment on this blog and I’m grateful again to those who regularly do, but it’s always nice for me to see new names and fresh perspectives so if you are a regular reader then please think about commenting too – we’d love to hear from you. Hardly any comments are not posted, and very few are ever edited (where they are then I say so).
The shape of this blog is pretty much set, I think. You’ll continue to be offered my thoughts on nature and the organisations whose actions influence its fate.
I’m likely to continue to write about the fate of farmland birds, the fate of raptors, marine protected areas, the RSPB, the National Trust and many other conservation organisations, nature politics and national politics where they impinge on the fate of wildlife. I’ll throw in a few book reviews and reports on events which I attend and I’ll tell you a bit about my experiences of the natural world.
If you enjoy the blog and would like more of me – and a proper story – then why don’t you buy Fighting for Birds – 25 years in nature conservation which can be bought from Amazon, the publisher, at many RSPB , Wildlife Trust and WWT centres and from some good bookshops.
Why not be one of the few people to buy a hardback?
Available as an e-book too, so if you are the President of the NFU, a nasty gamekeeper or George Osborne then you need not fear that anybody need know you are reading Avery’s book.
Have you noticed the difference in hair colour between these two images? I have!
[registration_form]
Really enjoy reading your blog mark. Please never stop fighting for birds. Sue x
Keep it up Mark! Your blog is always top of the reading list.
AT the excellent North of England Raptor Forum (NERF) Conference last Sunday your blog came up in conversation a few times. It is certainly considered to have influence by many. Brilliant. Essential reading.
Hello Mark,
The rise in your blog figures is unsurprising with a generational shift to social media . That and something very relevant to say!
Hopefully the 7000 are actively encouraging others to hold authorities (local and National) to account for their actions and how they impinge on OUR environment.
Otherwise there is an element of “preaching to the converted”.
Joining the occasional e petition is no substitute for lawful and peaceful protest of issues. Hopefully this blog (and others) will get the population engaged. A personal letter to your MP still carries far more weight than a “click a button” mass email shot, So write to your MP and hold them to account! I hear constantly how our public representatives are all useless, they’re not but we get the politicians we deserve.
Great book, by the way (I have the elusive hardback copy) and hopefully I’ll get to hear you speak at Slimbridge in January
John
John – thank you. I agree with what you say although there is, as is often the case, a hierarchy of engagement. Moving people up the ladder of engagement is what we need to try to do. And if someone clicks a button and does nothing else in their life it is (very slightly) better than if they hadn’t.
And our public representatives are not all useless by any means – I agree. And if they are all usueless – why didn’t we elect the less useless ones?
Thanks for buying, and reading, Fighting for Birds. Very few hardbacks sold but the author and publisher are very grateful to everyone who paid the extra!
Hi Mark,all I can say is that you are a great champion of helping wildlife and always look forward to what you say in your blog.Always find it amusing that while you come over as quite strong with criticism you are also generous in forgiving things such as my grammar.
Dennis – many thanks!
I too enjoy reading your blog and sometimes the comments and even the “Guest” blog and really enjoying the weekly cartoon too. I do think that if it takes me twenty minutes to read a post (my fault, my illness) I would still like to see (or should that be hear) an audio version of the book, I guess I’ll have to wait for the library and a certain charity organisation to do it!
As for the difference between the two images….thats what I call artistic liscense 🙂
Douglas – thank you. Not so much artistic license as the passage of time.
I very much enjoy reading your blog and posting the occasional comment. There is always a lot to learn and that goes equally for the comments too. You have a very knowledgeable and thoughtful readership and I mine that knowledge constantly.
On another note, I believe that one of those two images has been photo-shopped. Can you confirm or deny this?
Nick – thanks! Nothing photo-shopped in the top one.
Good work indeed!
Mark
Here’s to the next 600!
Last week, I gave a unscripted talk to MSc Biodiversity & Conservation students at Leeds Uni; my old Uni and the course I did some 12 years ago. Recommended your blog as an excellent site to keep up to date with current nature conservation affairs and issues.
Keep on typing! I’ll keep on reading!
Richard
Richard – many thanks!
The comment from a prominent farmer Mark,that is what you do really well,publishing more or less everything and finding it all amusing.
He has really let the side down as I thought you had just about won them all over,what a pity he does not realise you enjoy him being angry and he ought to praise you so giving you less pleasure.
Mark, I admire how you run the blog and marvel at where you get the energy from. I am a farmer and you might win me over yet ! Keep trying !