In the Guardian there is a slightly odd story about how disadvantaged people are by not having access to National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. From Exmoor to Northumberland, the country’s poorest people are being denied access to England’s most beautiful countryside and missing out on the mental and physical health benefits that…
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
USAF to deny airspace to UK birds in The Fens
I’d never heard of Quartz so I am indebted to a reader for sending me this link which describes the search for an outfit to scare birds away from RAF (ho! ho!) Mildenhall and Lakenheath. It reminded me of when the RSPB bought Lakenheath Fen (then a bunch of carrot fields) and wanted to turn…
Coining it in
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I’m doing what I choose to do – writing, campaigning and enjoying life. And I am enjoying life very much (it’s probably much better than the alternative). And the money keeps pouring in! Here is the 6-month royalty statement for my three books with Pelagic Publishing: Fighting for Birds (2012), Behind the Binoculars (with Keith…
Guest blog – Winds of Change by Derek Gow
Derek Gow is a farmer – you can see from the image opposite he is a serious farmer. Here he writes about the future he has chosen for his farm. Winds of change For those who don’t farm it’s difficult to understand the mentality of those that do. While James Reebanks in his excellent book…
Paul Leyland – Cinnamon Bug
Paul writes: The Cinnamon Bug (Corizus hyoscyami) is a dramatic looking scentless plant bug and not usually confused with anything else in the UK. It’s about 9mm long and easily stands out against the green foliage it likes to feed on. It used to be quite rare and only seen in southern England but is…
Slightly random
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I am a BBC Radio4 addict. I find it difficult not to listen to Today, the World at One and PM through the day even when they are filled with irritating bits! I have many other favourite programmes and I even listen to Woman’s Hour quite often, but you can hear enough of female genital…
Minor update to NE Hen Harrier data (with a new error?)
Natural England has recently, but I’ve only just noticed, published an update to its Hen Harrier data to include data from this year (and some from a little earlier too). The update shows that 5 Hen Harrier chicks were satellite-tagged in England by NE in 2018: 3 have gone missing in the North Pennines (Mabel,…
Sunday book review – The Wild Remedy by Emma Mitchell
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Reviewed by Ian Carter It is increasingly widely recognised that nature is good for us. Most of us instinctively know this to be true and the science is gradually getting to grips with how this works; the biochemistry of a visit to the local woods and its impacts on our health and well-being. Science is…
Congratulations Les Wallace!
Congratulations Les Wallace! I look forward to seeing what Defra Minister, Therese Coffey, has to say on this subject. Let’s remember that Defra claims to be evidence-based in its policy making. She can’t say that this information already exists – it doesn’t. The truth is that Defra would rather pretend they know the answer than…
Tim Melling – White-rumped Snowfinch
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Tim writes: White-rumped Snowfinch (Onychostruthus taczanowskii) is only found at high altitude meadows and steppes in the Himalayas. They are usually associated with Pika colonies as they nest, shelter and roost in Pika burrows. Though the relationship with Pikas seems rather one-sided as I noticed aggression between resident Pikas and Snowfinches with an eye to…