Alan has always been a birder. In the 1950s, his father used to take him bird watching on Graveney Marshes in North Kent (what a great shame they are now to be more or less completely covered in solar panels). During his earning days, amongst other assignments, he was the environmental manager for a large…
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Sunday book review – Uplands and Birds by Ian Newton
This is a monumental book of over 600 pages. It is everything one would expect from one of the UK’s greatest ornithologists; breadth, depth and clarity. This book, the author stresses, is about the uplands and about birds, but it isn’t just about upland birds. That’s true, but it is very birdy nonetheless. It acts…
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…
Saturday cartoon by Ralph Underhill
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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…