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…
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
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…