Wuthering Moors 24

Could it be true, as people are suggesting, that on top of their own £1m legal costs NE picked up the tab for Walshaw Moor Estates’ legal costs? And could those legal costs have amounted to £3m of taxpayers’ money? I’ll ask NE and Defra – I’m sure they will want to tell us.

Your least favourite bird?

All birds are brilliant! It goes without saying, but I’ve said it.  But it could just be that some birds are more brilliant than others. A while back, in a blog about cormorants, I said that cormorants were quite pretty really, which might be stretching things a bit, but they wouldn’t come bottom of my…

Joining up the verges

I’ve been paying more attention to the road verges since Sarah Pettegree wrote her excellent Guest Blog here and since Plantlife launched its verges campaign. And so I was more susceptible to making the link between this press release from CPRE about lowering the speed limit in rural areas and the state of our verges. …

The rather diminished Big Butterfly Count?

It’s time for the Big Butterfly Count– good luck! Have you ever thought how beautiful are butterflies?  Me too! Then imagine this butterfly without its wings – not so pretty then is it?     And I just wonder – will the Bird Fair survive the weather given that the Game Fair has not?  And…

Wuthering Moors 23

Natural England spent over £1m of your money pursuing legal action against the Walshaw Moor Estate for alleged breaches (but a mere 43 of them) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act and the Habitats Directive.  The alleged offences related to the building of tracks, paths, car parks, grips, ponds, butts and other associated infrastructure for…