Read me

Three magazines arrived at home last week and I’ve enjoyed reading each of them – and each is packed with good wildlife information. Birdwatch – for which I write a monthly column (the political birder) – is always excellent.  I was talking to another Birdwatch contributor the other day and we agreed that we were…

Five common half-truths of nature conservation

The following are my five top half-truths of nature conservation. What do you think – have I got these right? Which have I missed out? Think global – act local. This one drives me mad – not because it is completely wrong but because it is rarely completely right but is trotted out as a…

Oscar Dewhurst – Cormorant

  Oscar writes: This Cormorant was taken in London last week. The reason for the dark colour of the water is that the water is under a bridge, and the reflection of the bridge’s underside is very dark. Because the cormorant was in the sun I had to underexpose, resulting in a completely black background….

Blog rained off

This blog was going to be about  a boat trip on the Exe Estuary and all the exciting birds I saw.  However, it’s been raining in the West (or Wet) Country so the Avocet Cruise was cancelled (maybe it was the wind as well). Taunton races inspected and went ahead but Torquay’s game against Northampton…

Scottish farmers call for raptor action

Argyll farmers want something to be done about White-tailed Eagles. White-tailed Eagles do eat dead lambs and they probably eat a few live ones too – particularly sickly ones. It;s also true that White -tailed Eagles are likely to reduce Golden Eagle numbers in coastal areas.  However, this is a magnificent native bird whose contribution…