This blog asked some time ago whether the choice of the new Pope would have any environmental importance – and my hopes weren’t that high, to be honest. Pope Francis mentioned the environment and the need to ‘protect creation’ in his first mass. That’s a good start (see coverage here, here, here but particularly…
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
Book Review – Bird Conservation by Williams et al
Bird Conservation – global evidence for the effects of interventions by David R Williams, Robert G Pople, David A Showler, Lynn V Dicks, Matthew F Child, Erasmus KHJ zu Ermgassen and William J Sutherland. Published by Pelagic Publishing. Paperback £34.99, Hardback £64.99, e-Book £19.99. 575 pages. This is a very useful reference book for conservation…
Well done Hawk and Owl Trust!
The Hawk and Owl Trust are throwing their support behind the e-petition on the licensing of grouse moors and gamekeepers. Well done! Let’s see what other bird conservation organisations do… But you can sign up here – it’s going well, so far.
Winter still
It’s not exactly spring-like is it? My chances of seeing/hearing chiffchaff, willow warbler, sand martin, swallow and wheatear in Northants by the end of March are virtually nil (and I haven’t troubled the scorer with any of them yet). There was, apparently, an arrival of wheatears on the south coast last Saturday, and one popped…
I hope they sink
I was an undergraduate at Cambridge but I hope that the Cambridge boat sinks in Sunday’s University Boat Race. Why? Because the Cambridge University Boat Club is planning to build a new boathouse (although it is far more than just a boathouse) on one of the best sites for otters in Cambridgeshire, and its impact…
Vote for Abernethy, please
Sometimes opportunities come along when you may make a difference that is far in excess of the effort that you expend. An example of such an opportunity is the public poll organised by the European Outdoor Conservation Association (of whom I had never heard before this week – so they have gained some good publicity)…
I’ll be turning off my lights…
…and computer at 2030 for WWF’s Earth Hour. Will you join me and hundreds of millions of others?
That’ll teach us – or not.
It might not have been like that exactly but there is no denying that early experience of nature, good or bad, will influence adult perceptions. I know that being introduced to wildlife and landscapes, very gently, by my parents was an important factor in shaping my view of the world. And similarly at school…
Birdtrack gets even better
Have you had a look at Birdtrack recently? Do! You’ll be impressed.
Spring in Lincolnshire!
On Tuesday evening I gave a talk to the Lincolnshire Bird Club. I set off on Tuesday afternoon from my home in east Northants and before the car had warmed up I’d seen a pair of tumbling lapwings in a place where I wouldn’t normally see them. It must be spring! A little further down…