I emailed the BTO Chief Exec Andy Clements a few days ago (see here) and he replied (see here) and now I’ve replied as follows; Dear Andy Thank you for a rapid response (and your reply will be posted on my blog soon). Since emailing you, but just before your reply arrived, I have been…
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
And another petition to stop peat destruction….
I’ve signed this petition from the RSPB. It’s a shame that it looks so much like a name-gatherer rather than a very serious campaigning move, but you can tick the boxes saying ‘no thanks’.
Reply from the BTO
I contacted the BTO about a report they produced for Natural England and have had this rapid response from Andy Clements: Dear Mark Thank you for contacting me requesting a copy of the report to Natural England, Kettel, E & Siriwardena, GM 2018. Comparisons of breeding bird population and abundance trends within and outside two…
Press release – Ban Bloodsports on Yorkshire moors
Calderdale Council votes to support ban on grouse moor burning Wednesday, 22 July 2020 Calderdale Council has backed a ban on heather burning to save the region’s peat moors from being damaged for grouse shooting. In a motion unanimously passed by the Labour Group on Monday night, councillors agreed that the environmentally-damaging practice, which is…
Guest blog – Why councils should think about weeds in a different way 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…
Goshawk at Goathland
The Yorkshire Post reports that three gamekeepers on the Goathland grouse moor owned by the Duchy of Lancaster (HM the Queen) and managed by BH Sporting were interviewed under caution by police officers from North Yorks police back in May. It is reported that all three ‘keepers were suspended from their duties and one has…
Where to see Gyrs in Scotland
If you were driving southeast from Forres in Morayshire in this general area you should keep your eyes open for these… Yes, the Gyr Falcons are flying in rural Moray again this year, although not, it seems, in as great numbers as last year or the year before. Last year, and I assume this year,…
Pallid Harriers breed in Czech Republic for first time
Pallid Harriers bred in the Czech Republic for the first time this year – raising three young. This doesn’t sound as close to the UK as the Netherlands (bred in 2017 and 2019) or Spain (bred 2019) but the number of outlier breeding records grows all the time. I assume there is no breeding pair…
George Eustice speech
And transcript here. I didn’t mention it yesterday but when a Cornish farmer throws an ornithological fact into a speech it is often like former Prime Ministers claiming that they are keen supporters of football teams – unconvincing. Yesterday we had the Kentish Plover ‘fact’ from George Eustice in an attempt to get down with…
Licence 19020225, and its 1,156 friends
A little while ago Bob Berzins wrote two guest blogs here Natural England licences; a cover up? Part 1 and Natural England licences; a cover up? Part 2. My precis of these two blogs is as follows: Blog 1: The General Licences for the purpose of nature conservation were withdrawn by Natural England in an…