As the chair of trustees of the World Land Trust I’m keen that as many people as possible support the work of this small but highly effective conservation charity. But also as chair, I get a closer look inside the organisation than most, and my admiration for the small UK team, our partners in organisations…
BLOG POSTS
Swifts – counting the days
I’ve seen Swifts on an unbroken run of 84 days this year since 1 May (and on one early date of 19 April). All of those days, bar one last week when we were away in Scotland, were in the skies above our home. I am pretty sure that this has been a very good…
Guest blog – Imagining the uplands by Ben MacDonald
Ben Macdonald is a conservation writer and television producer. The paperback of his book Rebirding is now available from £8.70 here. Twitter: @Rebirding1 Imagine that you want to upgrade your car. You walk into a showroom. There are three models available – all with various degrees of rust. The showman explains at great length that…
Dear Andy (2)
I emailed the BTO Chief Exec Andy Clements a few days ago (see here) and he replied (see here) and now I’ve replied as follows; Dear Andy Thank you for a rapid response (and your reply will be posted on my blog soon). Since emailing you, but just before your reply arrived, I have been…
And another petition to stop peat destruction….
I’ve signed this petition from the RSPB. It’s a shame that it looks so much like a name-gatherer rather than a very serious campaigning move, but you can tick the boxes saying ‘no thanks’.
Reply from the BTO
I contacted the BTO about a report they produced for Natural England and have had this rapid response from Andy Clements: Dear Mark Thank you for contacting me requesting a copy of the report to Natural England, Kettel, E & Siriwardena, GM 2018. Comparisons of breeding bird population and abundance trends within and outside two…
Press release – Ban Bloodsports on Yorkshire moors
Calderdale Council votes to support ban on grouse moor burning Wednesday, 22 July 2020 Calderdale Council has backed a ban on heather burning to save the region’s peat moors from being damaged for grouse shooting. In a motion unanimously passed by the Labour Group on Monday night, councillors agreed that the environmentally-damaging practice, which is…
Guest blog – Why councils should think about weeds in a different way by Amanda Tuke
Amanda is a nature and environment writer and blogger based in the wilds of suburban south London. She writes mainly about suburban wildflowers, insects and birds on her blog. Her nature writing has appeared in anthologies, on the London Wildlife Trust blog and in Devon Life Magazine. She also blogs on www.freelancenaturewriter.com about her…
Goshawk at Goathland
The Yorkshire Post reports that three gamekeepers on the Goathland grouse moor owned by the Duchy of Lancaster (HM the Queen) and managed by BH Sporting were interviewed under caution by police officers from North Yorks police back in May. It is reported that all three ‘keepers were suspended from their duties and one has…
Where to see Gyrs in Scotland
If you were driving southeast from Forres in Morayshire in this general area you should keep your eyes open for these… Yes, the Gyr Falcons are flying in rural Moray again this year, although not, it seems, in as great numbers as last year or the year before. Last year, and I assume this year,…