Legal challenge to Environment Agency’s decision to grant a permit for one of Europe’s biggest waste incinerators A campaign group, representing seven villages in Essex, has issued a legal challenge against the Environment Agency over concerns that residents will be exposed to the potentially hazardous effects of the development of one of Europe’s biggest waste…
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
Social distancing and shooting
You can’t shoot a virus. If I were running a shoot, which I’m not, I’d be pretty uncertain as to what I am allowed to do from Monday onwards when the rules in England change. But the rule of 6 seems to apply to everyone, including those shooting Red Grouse and Partridges, whose seasons are…
Guest blog – From Wasps to Wildflower Nectar by Amanda Tuke
Amanda is a nature and environment writer and blogger based in the wilds of suburban south London. She writes mainly about suburban wildflowers, insects and birds on her blog. Her nature writing has appeared in anthologies, on the London Wildlife Trust blog and in Devon Life Magazine. She also blogs on www.freelancenaturewriter.com about her…
Kingfisher reporting rate
Yesterday’s BirdTrack reporting rate graph was Kingfisher. I’m not sure I would have identified this species from its reporting rate – it’s not a very common/obvious species because its reporting rate is quite low. What happens in June – September? Is this when juveniles disperse and there is more whizzing around and indeed more calling?…
Sunny September?
A warm, sunny day in September feels like a gift. A warm, sunny day in September with the buddleia in flower is even more of a gift. It’s Red Admiral time and there have been quite a few in the garden. They are beautiful and provide a wonderful end to butterfly times which started back…
Dull title, important paper
You may remember the EMBER study which was published in 2014? I’ve always thought that it was an important study and a good study, although it deals with a bunch of science that is not my area of expertise. Certainly, if true, its findings are important because it forms part of the basis for the…
Congratulations!
Congratulations to Benedict Macdonald and Dara McAnulty for winning their categories of the Wainwright Prize. Ben’s book, Rebirding, won the new category for global conservation. Dara’s book, Diary of a Young Naturalist, won the category for UK nature writing.
Press release – The Langholm Initiative
£1m capital investment from South of Scotland Enterprise for community moorland buyout South of Scotland Enterprise’s Board has announced up to £1 million financial support to the Langholm Initiative charity in its venture to purchase part of Langholm Moor from Buccleuch Estates. The Langholm Initiative is spearheading a campaign to raise enough funds to buy…
Register for the RSPB AGM
If you are an RSPB member, and there are over a million of us, then you can attend the AGM. This year, it is online and could end up being the biggest Zoom call in history. You have to be an RSPB member (I am) and you have to register (I have). One of the…
Blackbird reporting rate
Yesterday’s Birdtrack reporting rate graph was Blackbird. The biggest clue is the high reporting rate through the year. As with all the reporting rate graphs (reporting rate is the proportion of all complete lists of birds in which the species is recorded) the shape of the graph is affected by where birders go and what…