You may remember the film Kes (director, Ken Loach) if you are a certain age, and you may well have had to study the book A Kestrel for a Knave at school if you are of another certainly younger age. In either case you will associate the name Barry Hines with that story of a…
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
Cartoon delayed
Due to circumstances beyond Ralph’s control, and my control, his cartoon will appear later this evening. I was out for most of yesterday afternoon, all evening and into the early hours of today. I was at the Ricoh arena in Coventry at a Bruce Springsteen concert – and very good it was too. I was…
39,000
Yesterday we reached 39,000 signatures – that was quite a slow 1,000 signatures. Although that last 1,000 took 11 days, let’s just remember that last time around there were two periods of a month which only produced 1,000 signatures. We are still whizzing along. And already today we are half way to the next thousand…
Poletrap updates
From Rob Cooke, Natural England’s Director of Terrestrial Biodiversity: ‘Natural England is extremely disappointed to hear of the recent case in Yorkshire in which three pole traps were set. We strongly condemn the use of these barbaric, indiscriminate traps, which have been outlawed for more than a century, and urge anyone who has evidence of…
Search is on for Britain’s greenest youngsters
Ecotricity, the green energy company that supplies my electricity, is looking for the greenest youngsters in Britain. And by youngster we mean 11-16 year olds. If you are in the relevant age group and can submit your application (video, recording or written text) by 8 June you may win yourself and your parents a weekend…
RSPB appeal for information about Goshawk disappearance in Peak District
The RSPB has just released this to local media (links added by me): The RSPB is appealing for information after a Goshawk nest failed in suspicious circumstances at Dove Stone in the Peak District. On 10 May, a local raptor worker discovered the freshly abandoned Goshawk nest in conifer woodland in the Longendale Valley, which…
Someone mentioned the pole traps but I think they got away with it…
This appeared on the website of the former newspaper The Independent yesterday evening. Well done Guy Shorrock for some excellent quotes which I hope will be carried forward into the RSPB statement on Monday. The GWCT now take over from the Moorland Association in having given the most fatuous quote of the year on raptor…
Shhhhh! Don’t mention the poletraps…
It’s all very quiet isn’t it? Considering how many organisations are falling over themselves to spout their enormous concern about wildlife crime against birds of prey on grouse moors when it comes to providing a solution for the grouse moor managers (poor things!) there is very little discussion of this admission of guilt by a…
Environmental consensus on Remain option
The Wildlife Trusts were, as I recall, the first wildlife NGO to support the option of the UK remaining in the EU and that was back in March. And their statement was admirably clear: ‘The Wildlife Trusts believe that our wildlife and habitats will be better off if they continue to benefit from EU environmental…