I thought I’d go and look at the OSR yield data myself after listening to the spat between the wonderful Matt Shardlow of Buglife and Graeme Taylor, the Public Affairs Director of the European Crop Protection Association yesterday, and then again the umpiring of the spat by a bloke from the BBC’s More Or Less…
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
A dull day in Kettering
A dull day in Kettering (yesterday) was brightened up here, in the School Lane car park, by a flock of Waxwings which spent most of their time in the tops of the two Alders (what fine trees they are) shown here. I knew these birds had been here for a couple of days so…
Highlander lives – probably.
The disappearance of Hen Harrier ‘Highlander’ off the airwaves may be due to tag failure, though this isn’t yet certain, but a tagged adult female answering to the description of Highlander (brown with a white rump but with an aerial that kinks left) has been spotted in some of her earlier haunts. Good news! I…
Guest blog – A Question of Importance by Ian Parsons.
Ian Parsons spent twenty years working as a Ranger with the Forestry Commission, where he not only worked with birds of prey and dormice, but where he developed his passion for trees. Now a freelance writer, Ian runs his own specialist bird tour company leading tours to Extremadura. For more details see www.griffonholidays.com Ian’s new…
Happy Birthday (tomorrow) Matt Shardlow
Matt Shardlow was on Farming Today this morning (before I was awake for once)(click here, 9 mins in) doing a spirited job. I don’t know the ins and outs of the subject so I can’t tell you that Matt was right, but it would be possible to check. But I am sure that he sounded…
Wildlife barbecue
Here’s an example of wildlife benefitting from moorland burning (which is done to produce unnaturally high densities of Red Grouse for shooting for fun). Can anyone identify this scorched caterpillar please? The best guesses so far are Northern Eggar (but perhaps Fox Moth). Help me out please if you are an expert on barbecued…
A303 to go underground – bring on the aurochs!
Today, the day after a proposal to ‘re-wild’ the landscape around Stonehenge was posted on this blog, the government finally announces its plan to place the A303 at Stonehenge in a tunnel. This announcement – if followed through – greatly increases the scope for large-scale habitat creation – and megafauna re-introductions – at the Stonehenge…
Burning issues 2
George Eustice was right to suggest that we (for it is our money) should withdraw subsidies from grouse moors. Take a look at this fine crop of burned ground and realise that you are probably paying £56/ha to its owner every year. That £56/yr certainly pays for the matches needed to set this land alight….
Burning issues
From the heather and grass burning code: Areas within 5 metres of watercourses. There can be an increased risk of soil erosion close to watercourses (e.g. once vegetation has been removed by burning, soil could be washed into a watercourse by rainwater, or the watercourse might flow with sufficient force that its banks could…
Your favourite e-petitions – update
End the badger cull instead of expanding to new areas – Simon King – 70,315 signatures (closes 25 February) Introduce a moratorium on the hunting critically declining wading birds – Chris Packham – 23,784 signatures (closes 23 March) Develop a GCSE in natural history – Mary Colwell – 2,545 signatures after 2 days (closes…