This is the book of the radio programme. Have a look at that cover – very clever! And quite pretty, too. I’m almost totally addicted to Radio 4 and so I have heard bits of several of the radio programmes that make up the subject matter of this book. The basic idea is that each…
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
Another selection of Ralph Underhill’s cartoons from 2014
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Autumnwatch – looking forward to the Hen Harrier update
When Springwatch ended (in the spring!) we were all trying to assimilate the fact that five male Hen Harriers had ‘disappeared’ from active nests in Lancashire and Cumbria. Since then a highly experienced nest photographer, Gordon Yates, has written a Guest Blog here explaining how unlikely this is to happen (and the photographs on this…
Lord Krebs on Badgers
My old boss, Prof Lord Krebs, was on Farming Today (8 mins in) being interviewed by Anna Hill on Wednesday morning. Lord Krebs provided a masterclass in sticking to the facts, despite some niggling questions from Ms Hill, and getting the message across very clearly. The message was that the ‘too-early-to-tell-really-but-the-figures-are-out-there’ results from the Badger…
Don’t get too attached to Holly and Chance
Members of the public will be able to follow the movements of two female Hen Harriers tracked via satellite tags as part of the RSPB Hen Harrier LIFE+ Project. A new website will enable us all to follow the movements of Holly and Chance as they travel around the country. For security reasons, in other…
Charming
I’ve been driving around a lot over the last week and you see things as you travel. I’ve seen moor-burning on or near Walshaw Moor, I’ve seen a rutting Red Deer stag with a harem of hinds near Otley, I’ve seen Red Kites in several places where they wouldn’t have been in the fairly recent…
Thank you Tim Bonner, Andy Richardson and Chris Packham
When the Countryside Alliance called for the BBC to sack Chris Packham a guy called Andy Richardson started an e-petition asking for the same here. You can still sign it if you really want to add your name to the 2768 names already there. But then a ‘Don’t sack Chris Packham’ e-petition sprang up –…
Last chance for Big Match Fortnight for World Land Trust
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During Big Match Fortnight, which ends tomorrow 15 October, any money you and I donate to the excellent World Land Trust will be matched by kind donors up to a limit of £250,000 – so ‘our’ £250k turns into £500k – simples! Why not stump up some cash now – please? I have.
22,399 signatures
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A strange-looking milestone perhaps… But last year this was the number of signatures gathered by my (our) previous e-petition to ban driven grouse shooting. That one was launched in late May 2014 and lasted until the beginning of the general election campaign in late March 2015. This year we have reached the same milestone, not…
Guest blog – Puppet Sex and Stanley Johnson by Lyn Ebbs
By education and training I am a microbiologist and worked in the NHS and biotech sector. I finished my working career in clinical research and patient safety in the pharmaceutical industry, so am a firm believer in evidence-based science. I’ve been a member of the RSPB for many years and started volunteering for them when…