I wrote to my MP, Tom Pursglove, only c10 days ago and have had a rapid response as follows: Dear Mark, Thank you for your email. In it, you pose several questions – the second and third of which I have passed to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, the Rt….
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
An e-petition for Badgers
Wild Justice submitted an e-petition to the House of Commons Petitions Committee over 50 days ago – they are clearly very busy but quite why it took so long, I can’t say. But after a flurry of activity yesterday it was published around 09:30 this morning and we started promoting it around 10:30. By 12:30…
Frank Hamilton 1932-2020
Frank Hamilton was a very early RSPB staff member, back in the 1950s when there were only a few handfuls of staff. He retired as Director, Scotland in 1993. Almost epitomising the early staff of the RSPB he (and most were male) was a keen birdwatcher with a huge enthusiasm for birds, nature and wildlife…
Guest blog – Hookpod Update by David Agombar
David Agombar is currently Supporter Relations Manager at BTO where he works with donors funding research projects. He is also responsible for the management of the Porzana factory which produces all the metal bird rings used in the UK. He has been a Director of Hookpod Ltd since the business was established. He was previously…
Press release – Langholm Initiative
Comments Off on Press release – Langholm Initiative
£300,000 game-changer for southern Scotland’s biggest community buyout as deadline looms A “game-changing” £300,000 has boosted a small community’s attempt to secure southern Scotland’s biggest community land buyout – bringing its funding total to £3.1 million – as a 31 October deadline looms. The Langholm Moor Community Buyout – led by the award-winning Langholm Initiative charity –…
Phew! No red tag of shame.
Two weeks ago our recycling bin’s contents were rejected so yesterday we had a brim-full bin after a month. And it has all gone. Phew! It did make me think that aside from Christmas, we could probably manage with a monthly collection, or more easily every three weeks. And our rubbish bin of non-recyclable stuff…
An interesting paper – Pb in Buzzards
This is an interesting paper. Here is the Abstract; Ingestion of lead (Pb) derived from ammunition used in the hunting of game animals is recognised to be a significant potential source of Pb exposure of wild birds, including birds of prey. However, there are only limited data for birds of prey in Europe regarding tissue…
Hawk and Owl Trust favour removal of lead ammunition
Many readers of this blog may no longer care what the Hawk and Owl Trust thinks about things, in its post Philip Merricks state, but that would be uncharitable. And so when tipped off that the H&OT have developed a policy on lead ammunition I was keen to see what it was. This is what…
Guest blog – Blake Lee-Harwood of Sustainable Fisheries Partnership
Blake Lee-Harwood is a UK-based environmental campaigner who has spent long periods working with NGOs like Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and RSPB as well as stints as a government advisor and consultant to industry. He is passionate about wildlife, and particularly the marine environment, and spends his non-working hours either mucking about with boats…
Press release – #SaveSevernsFish
Last chance to save the fish in the Severn as the Environment Agency, planning Inspectorate and Marine Management Organisation deliberates a landmark decision. This crucial decision could see thousands of fish, including cod, sprat, salmon, and whiting, drawn to their deaths each day as they are sucked into double-decker sized water-cooling systems of the new…