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

Press release – Wildlife App from Bumblebee Conservation Trust

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3D app brings UK bumblebees to life on your phone A wildlife app launched today by the Bumblebee Conservation Trust gives users a new view of bumblebees through an augmented reality 3D function. The free ‘What’s That Bumblebee’ app lets people engage with nature in a different and fun way by bringing a three-dimensional bumblebee…

WWT stirs itself on lead

Mark 4 Comments

This article by the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust on lead ammunition is well worth a read. James Robinson, Director of Conservation, is quoted as saying: Health, surely, is at the forefront of all our minds right now, yet countries blocking this proposal are passing up a golden opportunity to protect the health of their citizens,…

Those Birdtrack House Sparrows revisited

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You may think that I have a ‘thing’ about this, maybe an unhealthy obsession, but it’s just something that interests me. I noticed that the reporting rates of many birds on the excellent Birdtrack system had changed during lockdown, and in predictable ways. Birdtrack was telling us about our behaviour as birders as much as…

BASC spoke with forked tongue?

Mark 10 Comments

BASC is doing this a lot. One day they say something quite sensible and almost moderate, and the next they say something utterly ridiculous (and keep saying it for ages). One day they seem quite reasonable, and then they switch back to ranting and rudeness. If BASC were a person you’d be beginning to doubt…

Paul Leyland – Large Skipper

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Paul writes: I found my first Large Skipper (Ochlodes sylvanus) close to home on 23 June. They always appear along the field path which runs next to my house, this year a little later than normal. Even though I see them as close as two metres from the house boundary I have never seen one…

Tim Melling – Crossbill

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Tim writes: Crossbills are one of the first birds to start breeding, sometimes as early as January, but March is more usual. They typically lay four eggs and the female does all the incubation while the male brings her food. Incubation lasts 12-16 days and the young fly about 25 days after hatching. When the…

Press release from Leigh Day law firm

Mark 14 Comments

Court of Appeal agrees to hear HS2 environmental challenge The Court of Appeal has decided to hear Chris Packham’s appeal regarding an application for permission for judicial review of the Prime Minister’s decision to proceed with the HS2 railway project. The hearing has been listed for Wednesday, 8 July, 2020. Lord Justice Lewison held that…

Jane V. Adams – Stag Beetles

Mark 7 Comments

Jane is a naturalist, photographer and nature writer living in Dorset. Her work has appeared in books, anthologies and blogs for charities such as The Wildlife Trusts and the International Bee Research Association. When she’s not exploring Dorset’s lanes and countryside she can be found lying on her stomach watching insects in her garden. Jane’s…