Things that have caught my eye in a busy week:
- at least two pairs of Bee-eaters have hatched young at East Leake – and Mark Thomas from RSPB was on Today this morning talking about it (he’s very good with the media)
- official announcement of the West Pennine Moors SSSI (a few fields were snipped off the original proposed boundaries) – hooray!
- you can’t take your Purdeys on ScotRail trains – a nation mourns.
- JOB: Conservation Director World Land Trust
- Lynx Trust apply to reintroduce Lynx into the UK – Kielder first
- there’s always something I remember just after I post these round-ups…
Blogs:
- Martin Harper, RSPB takes a similar line to my own on Gove’s speech; A reflection on Michael Gove’s first major environment speech
- Raptor Persecution UK posts a series of articles on the enormously expensive and ill-starred proposed southern reintroduction of Hen Harriers to Wiltshire, no, Exmoor, no, hang on, Dartmoor with birds from grouse moors, no, Scotland, no, Spain, no, maybe France, and if not France then we’ll try the Moon; start here and work back for a full bag of laughs at Natural England
- Finn’s a mum!: by Findlay Wilde and by RSPB Skydancer
Must remember and drop Scotrail an email thanking them for looking after my safety and ensuring that there is a greatly lessened chance of a terrorist going on a shooting spree now on their trains and this has put my mind at ease.
I shan’t mention that putting the glorious 12th at risk is a major feature, because although it is true, that isn’t the response they want and if I did mention that then they might relax that rule if they get too many of those. Nobody likes being a pawn in someone elses struggle. Let the shooters be the ones that look like they are trying to make Scotrail the pawn and let them get the organisation’s back up.
Serious question, were Hen Harriers ever resident in southern England.
If not surely it could not be a re-introduction.
What a crackpot idea anyway as the French population is declining it seems and if they bring some here and they stray north that will be a complete shambles.
Reading what Jeff Knott writes to NE what a shock as he made out he was one of the good guys.
Looks as if the RSPB is even worse than it looked.
Dennis – when much of southern England had unenclosed heathland then Hen Harriers were widespread – it’s a long time ago – around 200 years or more.
Jeff does seem to be wanting the RSPB to be in but not in and out but not out. Maybe he could help David Davis with Brexit talks. Or maybe not.
Lol
Reintroduction means reintroduction?!
Just to be clear, we don’t support a reintroduction scheme as its not the priority for now – ending illegal killing is. But if it can be shown to comply with IUCN criteria (and some big Qs to answer there, not least why persecution wont stop the project working) then wouldn’t oppose it.
Jeff – how narrow (and sharp) does that fence on which you are sitting feel to you?
You already have all the information that you are ever likely to get on this subject – or enlighten me what you are waiting for…
Sorry Jeff,thought you were one of a very few bright lights to myself at RSPB but that comment about as clear as mud.If your bosses forcing this on you then time to bail out.
Why ever bring declining species in France for the guns on Grouse Moors because that is a serious risk and anyway our southern bird species do not need any more Raptors.For goodness sake even though I love seeing Raptors we already have more Peregrines,Red Kites and Buzzards than we have ever had in recent times anyway why add Hen Harriers in the mix,get them in their own habitat and area where they would be by their choice.
Thank you Mark.
Tongue in cheek but Dorset have now a new species of farmland birds.
We have two pairs of Cattle Egrets that have reared four chicks that are spending their time amongst cattle on the farm where they were hatched.
It sounds as if the farmers who have a farm shop have been quite happy with their breeding and reading between the lines my guess would be that they and four birders have kept them safe and farmers are allowing birders to park and view them.
Really proud day to have a happy farmers tale,think us southerners are lucky to have almost no bird persecution.
What makes this instance more ironic as it is on the doorstep of one prominent conservationist who delighted in telling me farmers always wiped out any wildlife on their farms.
Seriously bad attitude and not helpful to better relations between both sides.
I think in general ordinary farmers do not deliberately harm wildlife, the loss of wildlife is a consequence of how a generation of farmers were brought up to maximise production.
To change things in my opinion will need a big change in subsidies and attitude but the country will always need high food production with ever increasing population and buying in food from other country’s likely to be more expensive.
With a foot in both camps I hope some solutions are found.
Mark/Dennis – Unless those involved in the project can show that illegal killing wont stop it succeeding, then I cant see how it can work. But as we’ve not seen their proposals yet, seems reasonable to listen?
Jeff – it would have to be another part of the plan that would address illegal persecution – and the rest of the plan didn’t address illegal persecution. So it’s difficult to see how a reintroduction plan which doesn’t address illegal persecution could address illegal persecution.
Jeff,the salary’s that several top people at the RSPB get they ought to be able to work out that decades of listening and talking have taken the p*** out of the RSPB.
Lots of us simply find it all unbelievable.
I’ve read the series of articles over at RPUK with varying degrees of incredulity and annoyance. But nothing has angered me as much as the RSPB’s weaseling contributions.
How can they have known enough to withdraw support from the plan as a whole, but not know enough to oppose what is probably the most contentious element of it?
Trying to be on everybody’s side at once is not a good look.