Tim writes: I was driving in South Yorkshire back in February when I spotted this female Sparrowhawk dispatching a Woodpigeon. I pulled in the car just beyond and leaned out of the window to photograph the encounter. Believe it or not a Woodpigeon weighs about 450g whereas a female Sparrowhawk weighs just 260g (and…
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
An FoI response from NE – ( inc in part Bowland Gull Cull 11)
A while ago I let NE know what I thought of them and asked a few questions of them. Fair dos, they have come up with a decent-ish response. We learn that the long-running and long overrunning NE Hen Harrier research project will get an airing in Vancouver in August, that the southern reintroduction project…
Guest blog – UK Swift Awareness Week 16th-23rd June by Dick Newell
Lifetime bird watcher and over 60 years an RSPB member, Dick Newell, retired from the software industry, now devotes time to devising ways to help Swifts, which led recently to the BTO giving a Marsh Award for Innovative Ornithology to Action for Swifts. actionforswifts.blogspot.com documents a large number of case studies, designs and ideas. Dick…
Wild Food (37) – Pignut by Ian Carter
Pignuts are umbellifers (in the carrot family) and are like miniature versions of the more familiar Cow Parsley. To help confirm the identification, look closely at the finely divided leaves, especially those towards the base of the plant. If you grow your own carrots you may notice the similarity in leaf structure. In favoured meadows…
Guest blog – Conservation Science v Conservation Action by John Burton
John Burton is one of the most experienced and free-thinking of British conservationists. He was a founder and the first chief executive of the World Land Trust. John blogs here. I regularly see comments on the NFU (National Farmers Union) written by conservationists, pointing out that , for instance, they do not represent all…
Book review – When the Last Lion Roars by Sara Evans
Comments Off on Book review – When the Last Lion Roars by Sara Evans
Reviewed by Ian Carter This new book describes Lion conservation today and how we have arrived at the current situation. It rattles along at a lively pace and sets out the information very clearly, making it easy to assimilate. The writing style is akin to that of a well-written, well-researched, newspaper article – highly…
Tim Melling – Kingfisher
Comments Off on Tim Melling – Kingfisher
Saturday cartoon by Ralph Underhill
Ralph writes: a few months ago a member of Natural England staff asked me if I could do a toon about spiders. Unfortunately this is the best I could come up with!
Wild food (36) – Dryad’s Saddle by Ian Carter
Comments Off on Wild food (36) – Dryad’s Saddle by Ian Carter
This is a common and widespread bracket fungus often found in the summer on dead or dying deciduous trees. It can grow to a huge size, perhaps as large and heavy as any British species. The problem is the large and easy-to-spot specimens are not much use as food as they quickly become tough and…
Wild food (35) – Mint by Ian Carter
The smell of mint induces a feeling of nostalgia in me that no other plant can match. One of the few jobs I was trusted not to mess up as a small child was to go out into the back garden to gather a few springs of mint for the Sunday roast. It must have…