‘A 21st century charity must rediscover the urgency, passion and anger of the volunteers that started the great causes in the Victorian period. Our organisation depends entirely on our supporters and our future depends on our ability to empower them to act and generate ownership of the strategic direction of the organisation. We will find…
Year: 2017
Flying noses
I am a birder, but I have got used to looking for signs of spring other than the arrival of warblers and hirundines, Wheatears and Garganey, Sandwich Terns and Ring Ousels. On Sunday morning, Willow Warblers and Blackcaps were adding their songs to those of many Chiffchaffs at my local patch of Stanwick Lakes. I…
Guest blog – The National Trust and Nature by Simon Pryor
Simon Pryor is the National Trust’ Natural Environment Director and is responding to my blog (and your comments) last week. Hi Mark I’m glad you wrote a blog on the announcement of out ‘ambitions for nature’; and as we’d all expect, you asked some probing and provocative questions! So thanks…
The RSPB on driven grouse shooting
Martin Harper has penned (or keyboarded) an interesting BB eye in this month’s British Birds magazine. It is entitled ‘Why it is in the driven grouse industry’s interest to clean up its own act’ and it rehearses the long list of ills with intensive management of driven grouse moors with which so many of us…
Sunday book review – What Good are Birds by Antonio Sandoval Rey
Reviewed by Ian Carter Not What Birds are Good? as I initially thought having misread the title but What Good are Birds?, a somewhat broader and altogether more interesting question. His initial answer (to an inquisitorial family passing his regular sea-watching spot in Galicia, north-west Spain) was rather good I thought – ‘for flying’…