I’m still worried about Amanda Anderson and the Moorland Association. I did hear that Amanda was sighted on a zoom call by DEFRA staff a while ago but the image was fuzzy and the normal incessant calling associated with this species was lacking – so it’s not really an acceptable record. The Moorland Association Twitter…
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
Keeping track after Lockdown
I’ve gone back to look at the BirdTrack reporting rate graphs for two species which I think exemplify Lockdown – House Sparrow and Little Egret. During Lockdown from 24 March until late May there was a big increase in reporting rate (% of complete bird species lists entered into Birdtrack) for House Sparrow. The simplest…
Guest blog – Start of the Green Recovery? by Kristi Foster
Kristi Foster is Head of Engagement for Conservation Careers, a major careers advice centre for conservationists – helping over 200,000 conservationists across the globe achieve career success. Conservation Careers believes that all wildlife is beautiful and that it deserves great conservationists working to protect it. Conservation Jobs and COVID-19 | Start of the Green Recovery?…
RSPB press release – Storm Petrels’ movements
New research has pioneered the use of GPS tags on the UK’s tiniest seabird, the Storm Petrel. For the first time several years of data have been collected on the little birds’ movements at sea. Researchers discovered they regularly travelled up to 300 kilometres to feed in the stormy waters off Shetland. The Storm Petrel…
Northumberland Hen Harrier nests
When British Birds arrived this morning that tipped me off to the six pairs of Hen Harriers that nested in Northumberland this year. Six pairs of Forestry England land and private land nearby produced 18 fledged young. A Hen Harrier named Sofia, hatched in 2018, who bred last year, was the most successful female this…
Last chance to support Cornwall Badger Project vaccination fundraiser
This crowdfunder closes at 20:05 this evening and I reckon its owners will be feeling a little despondent by the response so far. It seems an excellent and positive project which ought to be supported by those who like Badgers and that includes the farming community, I would have hoped. I’ve topped up my personal…
Passenger Pigeon Day
‘On 1 September 1914, between midday and 1 pm, in the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, Cincinnati, Ohio, a pigeon breathed her last, and with her died her species. The pigeon was known as Martha, and the species was the Passenger Pigeon. Amongst all extinctions, this example remains unusual in two respects: the precision with which…
123,678 e-actions!
An amazing total in just 24 days. Thank you to everyone who took part.
Guy Shorrock – Musk Ox
A seemingly peaceful scene of musk ox in the mountains of Dovre National Park, Norway, though an animal that commands respect and a safe distance. They were introduced from Greenland to Norway within the last 100 years and I’ve seen these huge shaggy beasts on several occasion. However, this is not about musk ox, but…
12 hours of e-action remain
I’m guessing that either you have already signed the joint Wild Justice, Hen Harrier Action, RSPB e-action or you don’t want to. But just in case you are in the ‘I must get round to doing that soon’ category then you have until midnight tonight to take action. It’s very simple, you click on this…