Author: Mark

Born Bristol, UK Educated: Cleeve House School Bristol, Bristol Grammar School and Downing College Cambridge Ph.D. University of Aberdeen, Winter activity of pipistrelle bats. NERC post-doctoral Research Fellow, Edward Grey Institute, Oxford University Former Conservation Director of the RSPB, 1989-2011

Kepler 438b

Mark 6 Comments

Kepler 438b is one of the most Earth-like planets yet discovered. It circulates its sun every 35 days, the sky is red, and its likely to be rocky and hot – but there might be life there.  And it’s only 470 light-years away! We keep wondering whether there is life on other planets but pay…

Defra – what are you for? 1

Mark 7 Comments

Defra – what are you for these days? You seem to lack energy (and direction and even any ideas). The performance of Defra has been woeful under the coalition government. Apart from the introduction of a small amount of money for Nature Improvement Areas (of which we have heard very little since) what has Defra…

QI

Mark 3 Comments

Thank you to everyone who has told me that my name was mentioned on QI at the weekend – and so it was! I quite like QI, and find myself watching it on Dave when there really doesn’t seem to be anything else on TV. Here is the link to the programme and I recommend…

Very grey…

Mark 16 Comments

I went twitching yesterday…sort of. In fact, I went twitching on Sunday too, but only yesterday was successful. There is a Great Grey Shrike in Northants, and that doesn’t happen that often, and not often in the first days of January, so I thought I’d go and have a look for it. Sunday was a…