Everyone loves the Hen Harrier – don’t they?

The science suggests that there should be a lot more Hen Harriers in the UK uplands than there are at the moment. Let’s just take Scotland for the moment.  The science says there should be c1650 pairs (I have taken the central point of an estimate and then rounded it) in Scotland on the basis…

The Hen Harrier – some biology

There is a lot of nonsense talked about the Hen Harrier -and about everything else in the world I guess.  Let’s hope I am not going to add to it. Here’s my take on the biology of the bird. What they eat: Hen Harriers eat lots of things. The Langholm study showed that the density…

An open letter to the RSPB Chairman Professor Steve Ormerod

Dear Steve Hi!  Happy 60th anniversary of the Protection of Birds Act! It must be around now that you are heading off to Conservation Committee to discuss the RSPB’s conservation work.  And then, in July, there will be a Council meeting, I guess, unless things have changed a lot in the last three years (which…

Tomorrow is the 60th anniversary of the Protection of Birds Act

The 4th June marks the 60th anniversary of a landmark piece of environmental protection – The Protection of Birds Act 1954. It gave full legal protection to almost all British birds, their nests and eggs.  It was a progressive piece of environmental legislation. Back in 1954, Winston Churchill was Prime Minister of the UK, Chiang…