Tim writes: Not your classic full-on bird portrait but this is the kind of view you tend to get of Lesser Whitethroat. This was really difficult to capture through a tiny gap in the foliage. They usually skulk about in bushes unless you catch them singing in the spring. This one was collecting insects to…
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
Saturday cartoon by Ralph Underhill
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NE ‘compliance’ and information requests
Comments Off on NE ‘compliance’ and information requests
I sent this to NE this morning; The ICO guidance to public bodies on Time Limits for Compliance states that bodies such as NE should be able ‘account for, and justify, the length of time taken to meet the obligation’ when the ‘authority complies close to, or on, the final day of the 20 working…
A response from NE
Here is a response from NE to an information request from myself to follow up an earlier one. We discover not very much in the first answer, and that the MoU has not been renewed a year after it expired from the second answer. This is another example of an information request, a pretty straight…
Bowland’s burning
This image, from a walker, shows moorland burning a few days ago on Forest of Bowland grouse moors. This burn was on the slopes of Conder Head. Now, the Duke of Westminster’s Abbeystead Estate has signed up to the voluntary agreement not to burn blanket bog – so was this a transgression? According to this…
MPs’ responses on #peoplesmanifestoforwildlife
Not a great deal of MP action this week. I had a letter from my own MP (dated 23 October) in response to my email to him (8 October) saying that ‘In order to ensure that Ministers are aware of your concerns and to provide you with an official and fully informed response’ … ‘I…
Red Kites in October
I’m keeping a note of whether I see Red Kites on each day through the year – the October tally was an impressive 24 days out of 31. January: 22 days out of 31. February: 24 days out of 28. March: 26 days out of 31. April: 20 days out of 30. May: 7 days…
Dutch People’s Walk for Wildlife
Last Sunday some friends in The Netherlands had their own Walk for Wildlife – and they had better weather than we did! Here is the message that Chris Packham sent them in advance. And a link to an account of the walk – in English (and for our Dutch readers here, here) It looks good…
Wight White-tails?
Press release from Roy Dennis Foundation and Forestry Commission England: White-tailed Eagle. Photo: Mike Crutch Invitation to White-tailed Eagle public meetings Members of the public are being invited to three public meetings to be held on the Isle of Wight on 12th and 13th November to find out more about a proposed project aiming to…
Banning driven grouse shooting – a rising tide.
Let us start with a quote: 31 October 2016 Therese CoffeyI have heard the concerns of some hon. Members that birds of prey, particularly hen harriers, are deliberately being killed. The Government take the illegal persecution of raptors very seriously. On the missing hen harriers in the last fortnight, the matter has been referred to…