I am grateful to Steve Ormerod for his guest blog of yesterday. It was good of him to respond, as he did – he didn’t have to at all. As Steve wrote, the RSPB and I share almost completely common ground on the problems as we see them. Maybe we differ here or there, but…
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
Where was I? 2
On my recent trip abroad I also saw Clouded Apollo butterfly, Fire Salamander and a tree gnawed down by Beavers. Other birds included River Warbler, Pygmy Cormorant and White-tailed Eagle.
A bit scary
It’s been a bit odd over the last few months – being on the same side of an argument as David Cameron and George Osborne. My instincts are always to take what they say with a pinch of salt (as pictured right) but the size of the pinch just keeps growing as the Brexit/BRemain debate…
Guest blog by RSPB Chair of Council, Prof Steve Ormerod
Mark, As I promised, I’m responding to your questions and challenges set out in your earlier blog. You regularly and accurately point out that we are all basically after the same thing: we a future for England’s moors and hills that is free from the illegal killing of birds of prey and where land management…
38,000 – and your help needed please
Yesterday when I was in…oooh!…nearly gave it away then…our e-petition passed 38,000 signatures. That is, in two months, a third of the time available, we are well past a third of the way towards the 100,000 signatures needed to generate a debate in Westminster on the future of grouse shooting, and therefore to bring the…
Mini round up
I’ve been away for a few days and I’d love you to guess where I’ve been. A mini-round-up: worrying signs on the West Pennine Moors that development is planned (more on this later) a month ago, and 7000 signatures ago, I posted this and tomorrow morning the RSPB will reply here M&S are not responding…
Where was I?
I’ve been abroad in Europe for the last few days. Where do you think I was? I saw my first ever singing Barred Warbler (having seen lots skulking in bushes on the east coast of England over the years), my first ever White-backed Woodpecker and quite a few Ferruginous Ducks. Where would you go to…
Tick! Tock! National Trust
I am sure, absolutely sure, completely and utterly sure, that the NT has not been sitting on its hands for nearly a month since the ‘man taking his model Hen Harrier for a walk’ incident. However, we have heard nothing publicly from them about their ‘investigation’ of the matter which clearly followed a police investigation…
Oscar Dewhurst – Oystercatcher
Oscar writes; most of my Easter holiday was spent revising for exams, although I did manage to get out to Suffolk for a week to do some photography. While sitting in one of the hides on Minsmere’s scrape two Oystercatchers started wheeling round in front of the hide. I had to contort myself into various…
Sunday book review – Nightingales in November by Mike Dilger
This book has a clever title and a lovely cover by Darren Woodhead. Its author is also a lovely guy: a good broadcaster, great conversationalist and a real laugh. However, despite all that, I’m not won over by the book. It is also based on a clever idea – take a dozen birds and write…