Tim Melling – Nightjar

Tim writes: I came across a Nightjar, hiding in plain sight on a tree stump, and what an amazing camouflage he has.  First of all his body is wedge-shaped with a dead flat back, but also his belly is flush to the ground, looking for all the world like a chunk of wood.  He had…

If you think this is bad…

Jason Endfield has done a great job in unearthing more information about Natural England issuing licences for bird killing – this time the culling of Starlings – see here. People are up in arms on social media about why Natural England has continued to issue licences to a farmer when the conditions of the original…

The Midhope track

Regular readers with good memories will remember the Midhope Track. This is what it looks like at the moment (above). The logs from the image below have been added to the plastic track but they are now sinking into the bog. Bob Berzins wrote about this track back in January 2019 and February 2017 (click…

Guest blog – Farmed to hell? by Louise Bacon

Farmed to hell? I spend a lot of my time in the farmed environment.  I live surrounded by arable, and have to pass through it to get anywhere.  At work recently (I work in the Polar Data Centre at British Antarctic Survey) we had a midsummer solstice challenge for running/walking, simply personal achievement, nothing else….. …

Press release – Morecambe Bay Extinction Rebellion group

For Peat’s Sake: What Next? MBXR Press Release A series of XR Webinars and Assemblies addressing peatland management, biodiversity, burning and flooding in Bowland, Pendle, Calderdale and similar uplands. Weds July 8th. 7-8.30pm. Peat:Si Thomas, Peatland Restoration Officer, Cumbria Wildlife Trust. Thurs July 9th 7-8.30pm. FloodingDr Rod Everett. Backsbottom Farm, Roeburndale Sat July 11th. 1.30-4.30pm….

News from Iceland

The sole Fin whaling company in Iceland, Hvalur ehf, has bought half the shares in one of Iceland’s largest waste disposal and recycling companies (Íslenska Gamafelagið). What’s that all about? Diversification? And it was reported yesterday that three shareholders of Hvalur hf are suing the company in order for it (the company) to redeem their…

Petitions Committee doing its job

You may have received an email like this one from the Petitions Committee: You recently signed the petition “Legal rights for ancient trees”: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/300050 The Petitions Committee (the group of MPs who oversee the petitions system) have considered the Government’s response to this petition. They felt that the response did not directly address the request…

RSPB position on gamebird shooting

I’d have thought that we must start to hear something about the RSPB’s review of its position on gamebird shooting fairly soon. If RSPB is to announce something at its AGM in October then that is only three months away and that will require RSPB Council signing off any new position at its August and…

Shooting Badgers (3)

The information on Badger culls in the 2014 IEP report were collected by observers. These are people who go out with shooters and watch and record what happens. Now it seems fanciful to me to imagine that shooters behave in exactly the same way when they know someone is monitoring what happens as they do…