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

Sunday book review – Audubon at Sea by Christoph Irmscher and Richard J. King (eds)

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This is not a picture book, although there are plenty of Audubon’s sketches and reproductions of his finished artwork in these pages. This is a book of Audubon’s words, some of which were intended for publication and others which were more private jottings, or accounts meant for the later reading by his family.  In our…

Sunday book review – Trees by Peter A. Thomas

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  The New Naturalist series has become rather patchy in my view, in terms of the quality of the content and of the quality of production. This volume is a good one on both counts. It was a pleasure to look through the pages and find a wide range of informative and legible photographs, diagrams…

Guest blog – Blue Frogs and Scimitar Cats by Les Wallace

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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…

RSPB press release

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The RSPB is today warning that vital laws that protect nature in England will be under threat in Autumn when the new Prime Minister assumes office. The warning comes as both candidates in the Conservative Party leadership contest have spoken recently of their commitment to reviewing remaining EU laws currently in English legislation. This, the RSPB…

Defra – just the job!

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Which is your favourite Whitehall government department? It’s got to be Defra hasn’t it? They are the ones who are going to solve England’s environmental problems including those of our wildlife. Floods, pesticides, sewage discharges, bird/poultry flu, a new agriculture policy post CAP, wildlife crime, habitat loss and degradation, overfishing, tree diseases, non-native species and…

Always think of the land!

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It’s somewhat ironic that a few weeks after the Labour Party said it was dropping its policy to renationalise water utilities the idea is gaining more currency in public debate. On Today this morning, at around 08:23,  Baroness Young, a Labour peer, was asked about the idea and sounded somewhat sceptical and on PM this…

The eve of the Inglorious 12th

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Tomorrow is the Inglorious 12th – the start of the Red Grouse shooting season. Since the first Hen Harrier Day events on 10 August 2014 in Derbyshire, Northumberland, Dorset and Northern Ireland we have come a long way, together. Driven grouse shooting is on its knees and cannot survive long. That’s partly because of the…

Letter to my MP

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Dear Mr Pursglove, First, congratulations on your promotion to Minister of State at the Home Office and Ministry of Justice.  As your colleagues resigned in droves I wondered whether you would be one of the few remaining government ministers. I am writing to you about an endangered bird called the Woodcock. It’s a wading bird,…