Standing up for Nature
This is a book about lockdown and the fact that it has appeared well within a year of the start of UK lockdown last spring is quite an achievement by the author and the publisher – so, well done both! This is essentially a diary of how Stephen Moss, author, broadcaster and naturalist (particularly birder)…
Tim writes: here is my best Jack Snipe photograph to date. I spotted this one sat right in the open and it froze completely while I watched it for about 20 minutes. I crept as close as I dared then squatted to get a low camera angle and took a series of shots. I then…
Sometimes it’s difficult to tell why something happens. Back in summer 2019 I was up in Scotland for a few days and I wrote about buying some biscuits – yes, all human life is here! Going back and reading it again I’m not ashamed of it – it has some biology in it as well…
Last spring I wrote series of blog posts, 50 in all, about bird song – we were all in lockdown and people were listening more. The blogs went down very well. Well, now is a good time to revise, or simply start, listening to bird song and getting to recognise the species involved. Of course,…
I’m a fan of Ed Balls – I had a bit to do with him in the distant past when he was Gordon Brown’s SpAd in the Treasury and use to hold regular meetings with a bunch of NGOs, and through the time when he was an MP and a minister. I also reviewed his…
I really need a haircut – my last was in July – but at least the Ivy to the right of the archway has had one. This is a tiny proportion of the Ivy in the garden (which is a joy) but the management plan now includes a timetable for cutting each year.
No environmental content in this speech but that is understandable. I preferred to read the speech than listen to it. I’m happy with Mr Starmer so far – he’s sensible, he’s for fairness and he has some experience of doing a difficult job in the real world. I’m keen to hear what he will say…
…looks interesting. Feargal Sharkey, Richard Benyon, George Monbiot and Ben Goldsmith – a heady mixture… I’ll watch with interest. It’s good to see a member of the DEFRA board and an ex-DEFRA minister have so much faith in our environment department that they join a campaigning group.
Gordon Yates is a wildlife photographer and many of his superb images of Hen Harriers have graced these pages over the years. He sent me this image of a Jack Snipe in the snow and said that it was the first he’d ever managed to photograph. It’s rare to see the bird this well. Jack…