The Wombles are fictional furry-nosed creatures with several top-20 musical hits. The Dartford Warbler is a real long-tailed Sylvia warbler most often found on the UK in areas of lowland heathland with a voice that will sell few records. What’s the connection? There’s a Dartford Warbler on Wimbledon Common, the alleged home of the Wombles…
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That rival e-petition
The ‘rival’ e-petition, the one which aims to protect driven grouse shooting, is half way through its six month existence. It must reach at least 100,000 signatures for respectability and to give any credence to the idea that driven grouse shooting is a remotely popular activity. At the halfway stage it is floundering at under…
Talking
I’m giving a couple of talks before the end of the month, and until the end of the year. Phew – it’s been a busy and exciting year. I’ve met lots of kindred spirits, been asked some good questions, been treated to some pretty good birding and fine conversations between Falmouth and Perth, and between…
Planet Earth 2
No snakes! Where were the snakes? No slithering chaser snakes, just cute Bobcats, Grizzlies and Snow Leopards. Considering the difficulty of glimpsing a Snow Leopard (I’m told), the cameraperson who got four of them in shot at once (a mother and her daughter with two randy males) must have thought that all their Christmases had…
The RSPB and driven grouse shooting
It’s certainly not my place to be setting out the RSPB’s position on driven grouse shooting but there have been signs, some public and some less obvious, that the RSPB is losing patience with driven grouse shooting and with Defra. Let’s just recognise that the RSPB has come a long and slightly difficult way since…