Ruth Tingay looking for a bacon sandwich
Congratulations to Ruth Tingay – the highly deserving Birdwatch Birders’ Choice Conservation Hero of 2018.
Ruth won by a mile – and that was richly deserved. The Raptor Persecution UK blog is a great example of how a niche interest (no offence – but it is a niche interest) can command a large audience if it caters very well for those who share that interest by providing the best news and comment on the subject.
If you are on social media then I expect that you probably follow @RaptorPersScot (the Twitter account for the Raptor Persecution UK blog) and I am always struck by the truth of the wording of the profile:
Think illegal raptor persecution is a thing of the past? Think again! Blog by @RuthTingay & others (anon)
That absolutely sums it up!
Ruth does a great job and is a raptor expert with field experience from across the world. I wrote a short appreciation of her in my column in this issue of Birdwatch (yes, I’ve known for weeks that she was the winner!) but you’ll have to buy the magazine to read that and also to read my musings over who would be my all-time conservation hero.
You’ll also have to buy a copy of Birdwatch to get most of the other winners but I’ll let you know that the Campaign of the Year was the People’s Walk and People’s Manifesto for Wildlife organised by Chris Packham (with our judicial review of brood meddling as the second place). That’s very pleasing too.
Well done Ruth and well done Chris! Another good year for the good guys!
And another good year for Birdwatch magazine too – are you a subscriber?
Congratulations Ruth. Well deserved recognition.
Yes, well done Ruth,
However what continues to make me “boil” inside is this dreadful Government which continues to totally ingnore the large demonstrations and walks of recent months. The Walk/demonstration and Manifesto for wildlife in September — totally ignored ; Second Referendum re Brexit demonstration in October — totally ignored. Instead we have a draft environment Bill which contains little or no recourse on the protection of our wildlife and a Minister (Ms Coffey) who continues to stand aside, watch and do nothing about the unfettered, illegal and worst excesses of the grouse shooting industry on our upland wildlife. On top of all this Natural England has been reduced to a puppet organisation doing the bidding of the Government.
Things could hardly get much worst for our wildlife in 2019. Let’s hope this dreadful lot are swept aside in 2019, not that I am very enamoured or impressed by Mr Corbyn and some of his lot.
Sadly we are all to blame as we don’t have a value for our ‘wildlife tourism’. Scotland does and it is worth more than shooting. Why is it important? Well the only thing Coffey has is that shooting in England is worth X amount and nothing for Wildlife Tourism. Yes there are some old figures for Norfolk – £42 million and the new Yorkshire Wildlife Triangle valued to be £15 million but what about the rest of Yorkshire. Lincolnshire is a growing force with some excellent reserves. Who is marketing them? No wildlife officer for Visit England. No interest in Cumbria with 15 million day tourists not to mention long stayers. Here are things to do in England [Cheltham races are there at the top for Mark!] https://www.visitengland.com/things-to-do ? So who is going to do the job?
RSPB are not interested and should they be now they want to promote all wildlife not just birds? Raptor Persecution is too one sided and just wants shooting banned. Natural England has no one to do the job as they are too busy killing ‘Wildlife Tourism’. My meeting with the Enivorement Minister for the other side showed no power to do the job. So who is going to pull it all together. Universities want paying. No pay master! Until this job is done you might as well whistle in the wind as you will not achieve any thing.
A well deserved “honour” congratulations Ruth.
I also liked the picture in Birdwatch of Mark and Ruth leaning on the Swinton vehicle barrier at the entrance to Steelhouse Gill on Swinton Estate well known regionally as a wildlife crime scene— its on one of the moors off this gill that Bowland Betty died and a number of breeding harriers have also ” disappeared.
So Mr dislike what is it you don’t like mention of a notorious North Yorkshire estate–Swinton, here for your displeasure are some hard facts about this estate.
1996 Gas gun in wood close to Goshawk nest– by the time removed birds had deserted
1997 Buzzards built nest in narrow oak wood on one of Swintons moors. Nest, contents and birds disappeared.
2002 neighbouring keeper caught two Swinton keepers with dogs on his moor looking for a harrier nest, they were ejected and the harriers were successful.
2003 nest building pair of harriers disappeared on Swinton after gas gun put in gill.
2006 Two pairs of harriers disappeared whilst nest building.
2007 Pair of harriers disappeared during incubation
2008 Pair of harriers disappeared whilst site selecting.
2012 Failed harrier nest found.
1981-2006 Peregrine site on one of estates moorlands occupied but never reared young.
Also at least 1 Red Kite found poisoned on the Estate and a keeper successfully prosecuted for setting a pole trap.
There are numerous other records of raptors and Ravens being seen on the estate suffering from “Malta moult.”
So please don’t patronise the estate hotel for weddings or conferences; spa; cookery school; glamping site etc. until the criminality ceases.
Congratulations Ruth. Hope that more progress is made in 2019.
Indeed Carole and there were several persecution incidents I missed mentioning too! Its why we need people like Mark, Ruth and Chris Packham along with organisations like NERF, BAWC, Revive, One Kind and RSPB.
You’re at the wrong end of Strathdearn for the burger van, it’s usually near the entrance to the distillery!
Congratulations. Rock on Ruth.
Richly deserved Ruth and rather like that chap Avery, an inspiration!