Artist Jackie Morris says; ‘The language we use when it comes to our fellow species on this planet needs to change. Birds are not commodities to be exploited for sport, and the persecution of raptors and other wildlife in areas where shooting is practiced is appalling. The industrialisation of the ‘shoot’ has given rise 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
Yesterday
Thank you to everyone for your birthday wishes yesterday for me and my binoculars – we were together all day and had a good day’s birding at Titchwell RSPB reserve in Norfolk where the sun shone for all of our visit. In these days of social media I found I have birthday wishes arriving from…
Bank Holiday book review – Kinder Scout by Ed Douglas and John Beatty
Sometimes a book arrives in the post, out of the blue, and I wonder why I was sent it. That applied to this book although I wasn’t complaining as it’s beautiful and has an interesting story to tell. The ‘people’s mountain’ refers to the Kinder Mass Trespass of 1932 which hastened (or just perhaps delayed,…
John Ranson says ‘Ban driven grouse shooting’
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John Ranson is the Environment Editor of The Canary and says: ‘As environment editor on a mostly political website, I’m always looking for topics that cross the boundaries of nature, politics and social justice. I was already a Hen Harrier Day regular and of course the issue of driven grouse shooting is completely tied up…
My binoculars’ birthday
My binoculars are 42 years old today and I happened to get them on my eighteenth birthday so… My binoculars say ‘Ban driven grouse shooting’. To give my binoculars a birthday present that they will love, please sign Gavin Gamble’s e-petition which calls for a ban of driven grouse shooting. Signature count – 42,540, 42,541…
David Cobham – 1930-2018
It was with sadness that I learned on Monday of the passing of David Cobham, author, film-maker and conservationist. My sympathies are with his wife Liza Goddard. David was an enthusiast on birds of prey and wrote two good books on the subject, A Sparrowhawk’s Lament (2014) and Bowland Beth (2017). I will miss the…
Ian Parsons says ‘Ban driven grouse shootng’.
Ian Parsons of Griffon Holidays says: ‘The killing of raptors and other wildlife, not to mention the huge amount of environmental harm that driven grouse shooting does, has to stop. Griffon Holidays exists to show people the brilliant raptors etc of Extremadura in Spain, these brilliant birds generate money for ourselves and for the local…
#justice4henharriers update
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I posted a short update on the Crowd Justice website earlier today – see here. And I’ve spent most of the day sending emails to our lawyers giving them more juicy information tom help our case. That’s all I can say for now.
Chris Hind says ‘Ban driven grouse shooting’
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Chris Hind says; ‘I live near the Geltsdale Nature Reserve and every spring we are out on the uplands looking for potential breeding Hen Harriers. Driven grouse shooting takes place on two blocks of moorland adjacent to the reserve where we hope Hen Harriers will breed. I would love to see these fantastic birds…
John Armitage says ‘Ban driven grouse shooting’
Former RSPB regional officer John Armitage, who has years of experience of Bowland and the north of England generally, was the person who, back in 2013, started an e-petition calling for licensing of driven grouse shooting. That e-petition received the usual casual brush off from Defra (and unfortunately only luke warm support from the RSPB)…