Traditional pack of hounds and riders on Dartmoor 2014. There is no suggestion intended that the individuals who appear in this image were, are, or ever have been engaged in illegal activities. I’ve been meaning to write this for a while but was inspired to finish it by watching Chris Packham’s video, filmed at a…
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
Wild Justice becomes member of Wildlife and Countryside Link
Wild Justice has, today, become the 51st member of Wildlife and Countryside Link.
Two mornings of Sand Martins
I haven’t been out much recently but yesterday morning I had a walk around my local patch of Stanwick Lakes and the star bird was the Sand Martin – there were hundreds of them! Sand Martin – in flight meal. Photo: Tim Melling In fact, a local birder who gets out earlier than I, said…
Therese Coffey – unsuited for her job
The latest in a series of fumbling performances by the biodiversity minister. Would Therese Coffey ever have got her job if there had been an interview which explored the candidate’s knowledge and suitability for the role? It’s a relief that as a Parliamentary Under Secretary we only pay her £96,375 for such consistently sparkling performances….
Big flock of Goshawks in Northants
On my walk around Stanwick Lakes this morning, in a cold northeasterly wind, I saw a pair of Sparrowhawks do a bit of half-hearted display, and a Red Kite cruised past, and Kestrel and Peregrine are always possibilities, but if I had see five Goshawks I would have been very surprised. Gos is on my…
Brexit
I’m sure you share my gratitude to our politicians that they have handled this difficult issue so well and that the environmental issues wrapped up in our future have been given such a high profile over the last almost three years. It makes me very proud of the UK.
Which way is BASC facing on Hen Harrier killing?
I gave BASC some credit for their rapid condemnation of the killing of Hen Harriers after the publication of the analysis of the NE satellite-tagging data. But now that Duncan Thomas has voiced his views, presumably his employer’s views too, on TV, along the lines of ‘there’s a tiny amount of persecution occurring and we…
Wuthering Moors 83
The Walshaw Moor Estate has withdrawn its clearly flawed planning proposal for a new track across Walshaw Moor. This brings to an end the latest chapter of this long-running story in which this blog has played its part. And this article in the local Burnley Express shows moorland monitors visiting Walshaw Moor.
Yorkshire Wildlife Trust press release
Give Peat a Chance and Save the World Yorkshire Wildlife Trust are launching a national appeal to restore the ‘brown and broken’ Yorkshire peatlands to their former glory in an effort to combat climate change and flooding. Buckden Pike. Photo: Gordon Haycock Peatlands are the most iconic of Yorkshire’s landscapes, but 80% of them are…
Paul Leyland – Eristalinus aeneus
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Paul writes: This is one for my “Insects seen while Birdwatching” list. It was at Titchwell at the weekend. After spending time in the first hide watching Avocets I had a quick check on a patch of flowering Alexanders in a sunny spot outside and this is what I found. It’s the first time I’ve…