New report shows how the expansion of offshore wind could be a catalyst for marine restoration New report from experts from conservation and energy shows how we can deliver offshore wind safely and help threatened seabird populations to recover and thrive again The UK’s coast and seas are home to amazing wildlife above and below…
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
Book review – Through a Vet’s Eyes by Sean Wensley
Comments Off on Book review – Through a Vet’s Eyes by Sean Wensley
To say that I enjoyed this book wouldn’t quite be right because it is about man’s inhumanity to other living creatures, but the author, a vet, has a gentle and engaging manner which makes this a very good read. I learned a lot, and most of it was disquieting. The author is keen on wildlife…
Guest blog – Saving Dead Wood (1) by Les Wallace
Who I am – Scottish with a fascination for wildlife from childhood – in lieu of formal qualifications (and not being able to flash them about!) – was on the 1990 International Youth Conservation Exchange to Hungary, was the 1993 winner of the BBC Wildlife Magazine ‘Realms of the Russian Bear’ competition and spent nearly…
Good news on Hen Harriers
This news from Natural England is very welcome – for two main reasons. First, it is good news, and second, it is fairly informative and doesn’t look as though it was written by the shooting industry. 119 Hen Harrier chicks fledged from 49 nests (actually from the 34 successful nests, and some nests were re-nests…
RSPB press release
RSPB warns of nature disaster as Tory leadership rhetoric targets laws that protect wildlife RSPB warns that loss of vital laws that protect wildlife, and the bodies that enforce them, will result in a disaster for nature and development free for all. RSPB calls on Tory leadership candidates to urgently commit to high standards and…
Truss beats Sunak – a dead cert?
I’ve made money over the years on political betting, although I nearly got my fingers burned over Brexit and Trump but, in both cases, could see which way the wind was blowing right at the end. The largest bet I’ve ever had was on the result of the 2001 general election which looked like a…
From the Guardian, 27 June 1987
This newspaper (pages 1-2 and 31-32) has been lining a drawer since before our children were born but it relates to Nicholas Ridley’s plans to privatise the 10 regional water authorities in England and Wales, and thus was a step on the road to the mess that is water and sewerage services and their regulation…
Les faisans et les squamates – evidence from Belgium that Pheasants reduce reptile numbers.
Pheasants eating reptiles, but not simply eating them, eating them in such large numbers that they disappear from areas of ‘massive’ releases. I’m assuming that the main mechanism is from devouring the snakes and lizards rather than the other possible mechanisms but, to be fair, this study cannot distinguish mechanisms. You could say, that since…
Guest blog – Save Danes Moss by Simon Browne
Simon enjoys watching wildlife and hands-on conservation work in his spare time. Voluntary work includes being a parish councillor, which allows some championing and practical enhancement of the local environment, but he finds the battles against development that involves extensive nature destruction very frustrating, though necessary. The work of the Save Danes Moss group has…
Sunday book review – Rooted by Sarah Langford
I liked this book, which at its best is a mix of James Rebanks and Jake Fiennes at their best. It’s about farming and the changes in farming over three generations, and what might happen in future. I think the author ends up in the right place, more or less, but I wondered whether…