Steven writes: I occasionally post comments on Mark’s blog as Apus Apus. This is my second guest blog (the first was “The taming of nature”) and this time I have written about rewilding and what it means to me. If you’re reading this, I hope you’re interested in rewilding and its ability to transform…
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
Wombling on
The Wombles are fictional furry-nosed creatures with several top-20 musical hits. The Dartford Warbler is a real long-tailed Sylvia warbler most often found on the UK in areas of lowland heathland with a voice that will sell few records. What’s the connection? There’s a Dartford Warbler on Wimbledon Common, the alleged home of the Wombles…
That rival e-petition
The ‘rival’ e-petition, the one which aims to protect driven grouse shooting, is half way through its six month existence. It must reach at least 100,000 signatures for respectability and to give any credence to the idea that driven grouse shooting is a remotely popular activity. At the halfway stage it is floundering at under…
Talking
I’m giving a couple of talks before the end of the month, and until the end of the year. Phew – it’s been a busy and exciting year. I’ve met lots of kindred spirits, been asked some good questions, been treated to some pretty good birding and fine conversations between Falmouth and Perth, and between…
Planet Earth 2
No snakes! Where were the snakes? No slithering chaser snakes, just cute Bobcats, Grizzlies and Snow Leopards. Considering the difficulty of glimpsing a Snow Leopard (I’m told), the cameraperson who got four of them in shot at once (a mother and her daughter with two randy males) must have thought that all their Christmases had…
The RSPB and driven grouse shooting
It’s certainly not my place to be setting out the RSPB’s position on driven grouse shooting but there have been signs, some public and some less obvious, that the RSPB is losing patience with driven grouse shooting and with Defra. Let’s just recognise that the RSPB has come a long and slightly difficult way since…
Oscar Dewhurst – Horned Screamer
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Oscar writes: This was taken at the same place as the Hoatzins and I was particularly pleased to get it as despite seeing these birds last time I was in Peru I couldn’t get close enough for any photos. They are similar size to Canada Geese, but bulkier, and look bizarre with the protruding structure…
Writing competition – Invertebrates category winner, Sue Croxford
Sue Croxford is the winner of the Invertebrates Category in this blog’s writing competition. A copy of Remarkable Birds is in the post to her. Sue writes: I am lucky enough to live in the beautiful Chiltern hills with my husband, two children and a bonkers labrador. We spend a lot of time outside exploring the weird…
Sunday book review – Winter by Melissa Harrison (ed)
This book is on the same model as the preceding three volumes: an anthology of seasonal nature writing with a mixture of work from well-known and older writers and some very modern pieces too. I liked Spring, Summer and Autumn and I like Winter too. It felt as though there were more poetry in this…
Tim Melling – the rare and beautiful Netted Carpet Moth
Tim writes: As a teenager I remember reading E B Ford’s New Naturalists book on Moths, where this species was on a plate labelled “Moths with Restricted Distributions” that showed fifteen of Britain’s rarest moths. The first moth in this plate was the beautiful Netted Carpet from Windermere. Since that day it is a species…