I drove for an hour after dark on a warm evening and hardly saw an insect. None squashed on the car. Where have they gone? And in my blog for the RSPB today I discuss the declines of common wildlife, including farmland birds on both sides of the Atlantic. Our ‘new Elizabethans’ poll is…
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Late bits
Apologies, to the two three people who might notice, that this blog is ‘late’ this morning – I went out to listen for corncrakes at the Nene Washes yesterday evening and so was home late – no corncrakes. In a week when the government made a welcome U-turn on buzzard control (which was even mentioned…
New poll – new Elizabethans
You may have noticed that the BBC has compiled a list of new Elizabethans as a celebration of the Diamond Jubilee. 60 men or women who have lived during the Queen’s reign were selected for their contributions to the new Elizabethan age. One of the selected 60 is naturalist and broadcaster David Attenborough. If you…
Gone twitching – not really
At the weekend I went on a twitch, looking for a rare bird – except it is just a rarer bird rather than a really rare one. I realised that I didn’t see a spotted flycatcher last year, partly because I was looking at mountain bluebirds instead, and I hadn’t seen one yet this year…
Buzzards – where next?
Yesterday Defra did a U-turn on their proposals to investigate buzzard control for the benefit of pheasants. It’s not easy for governments to do U-turns, although this one is getting the hang of it, and we should thank Defra Minister, Richard Benyon for his re-think. Thank you! The RSPB did a good job, after being…