Can you recognise the bird above – it’s already on my list although the examples I have seen were all in fresher plumage because this is a 46,000 year old bird found preserved in Siberian permafrost. It’s actually a Horned Lark (or a Shore Lark, or maybe something a bit different and earlier than either…
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
Michael Morpurgo joins DEFRA general licence team?
I caught Tweet of the Day this morning just before making the tea and listening, briefly, for bird song (a lovely Song Thrush). Today’s presenter was Michael Morpurgo and his bird was the Magpie – listen here on BBC iPlayer. It was a refreshingly different take on things, unless it was meant seriously. While looking…
Moorland Association challenges government policy to ban burning of heather
I’ll blog more about this but it’s difficult not to giggle all the time as I write about it. To see, as I have, the feeble letter from the Marquess of Downshire to DEFRA, dated 18 September 2019, is rather amusing. I’m surprised the letter didn’t include the phrase ‘Don’t you know who I am?’….
Bird song (2) – Great Tits (1)
The Great Tit is a familiar bird on our bird feeders and in our gardens and woods, and its song is pretty familiar too. If you aren’t already familiar with it, then if you keep your ears open in the right sorts of places you will hear its song at this time of year and…
Tim Melling – White-crowned Forktail
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Tim writes: Forktails are a small family of seven species that inhabit mountain streams in Southeast Asia. They are in the Old World Flycatcher family (Muscicapidae). The White-crowned Forktail (Enicurus leschenaulti) is the largest of the family at 28cm and it is familiar to many birdwatchers as the logo of the Oriental Bird Club. They…
News round up
Here are a few things that caught my eye recently, and I will be writing more about some of them next week: Wild Justice forces DEFRA to act on non-native gamebirds – see DEFRA announcement. I wouldn’t say that this was too little too late, but it is late and it isn’t clear whether it…
Saturday cartoon by Ralph Underhill
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Coul Links, good news – RSPB press release
Scottish Government refuse Coul Links planning permission Decision warmly welcomed by RSPB Scotland The Scottish Government has confirmed today that it has refused planning permission for a golf course to be built at Coul Links in East Sutherland. RSPB Scotland, one of the Save Coul Links coalition members, hugely welcomes this decision. Anne McCall, Director…
Calder Valley hunger strike update
Statement from Treesponsibility, yesterday evening: Natural England will be conducting a site visit to the moor in the week commencing 24th February and will be analysing the evidence in the week commencing second of March. Treesponsibility will be meeting with Natural England the following week.
Guest blog – Helvellyn’s arctic-alpine plant growers by Peter Barron of John Muir Trust
After 23 years working for the Lake District National Park (LDNP) as a ranger, Pete Barron now works for the John Muir Trust. John Muir Trust is an organisation dedicated to the protection and enhancement of wild land through land ownership and partnerships, environmental education largely through the enormously successful John Muir Award and policy…