I’ll bet you a pound to a penny that the Hen Harrier, named Rowan, found dead in Cumbria, did not die of natural causes. Any takers? Amanda? Liam? Andrew? Well done to the Hawk and Owl Trust for funding this satellite tag in a joint project with Natural England. No doubt Natural England will have…
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
FoE begins to expose scale of taxpayer handouts
Grouse moor owners are receiving massive handouts from taxpayers on land used for the hobby of grouse shooting, reveals a study by Friends of the Earth in today’s Guardian. It won’t come as a surprise to readers of this blog that the future of grouse shooting is being debated by MPs in Westminster Hall on…
Guest blog – Royal Patrons 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. He stood down from that position recently but will still be working hard for WLT into the future. John has just started blogging himself, here. One of my…
Gems from the written evidence 12 – Tweed Ecology Ltd
This one’s a bit different and rather interesting – extracts from the evidence of Tweed Ecology Ltd: Braithwaite’s assessment of Greenlaw Moor Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), the largest SSSI in Berwickshire is particularly damning: – ‘Botanically, this is moorland at its worst, as the cycle of muirburn optimised for grouse has gradually eliminated…
Don’t pass on the Hen Harrier
This is a beautiful sight, a rare sight, an endangered sight. It’s a food pass between a male Hen Harrier (the grey upper bird) and its mate who will take the food back to the nest and feed it to their chicks. Wouldn’t you lover to see these avian gymnastics in a National Park…
Gems from the written evidence 11 – Bob Berzins
More extracts of evidence pertaining to the Peak District – this from the evidence of Bob Berzins: I have enjoyed the outdoors all my life but over the last 10 or 15 years, especially since reports like Peak Malpractice, I have seen signs of wildlife persecution and understood the significance of damage to protected habitats….
Gems from the written evidence 10 – Nick Brown
More written evidence from the Peak District – this time extracts from Nick Brown’s evidence: We had visitors from Holland and France here recently and they wanted to see the National Park’s moorlands and especially its wildlife. I had to tell them that while they would see plenty of heather and some grouse, they would…
Defra admits it hasn’t a clue
Here are two answers to questions from Defra in response to questions from Kerry McCarthy MP: On subsidies for grouse shooting: http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2016-10-20/49693/ On the financial contribution of driven grouse shooting: http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2016-10-20/49691/ Defra doesn’t know how much of your money it pays to grouse moors. Defra hasn’t a clue whether driven grouse shooting contributes anything to…
Gems from the written evidence 9 – Peak District Raptor Monitoring Group
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More extracts from evidence from the Peak District – the Peak District Raptor Monitoring Group; In the Dark Peak area, Goshawk declined from 11 pairs in 2000 (23 in 1994) to just 1 successful nest from 3 pairs in 2015; the other 2 pairs both failed due to confirmed illegal persecution. Without immigration of…