The Moorland Association is trying to big up the Hen Harrier breeding season already – and it’s only late June! If you shouldn’t count your chickens before they’re hatched you certainly shouldn’t count your Hen Harriers before they are fledged (naturally, in the wild) and even then you shouldn’t count on them surviving. Here is…
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It might be you, or me, but actually it’s Mairi.
I’ve been checking my garden, and the local patches of open space with grass, to see whether amongst all the Starlings and their noisy hungry young, there might be a Rose-coloured Starling (aka Rosy Pastor). And so it was with some envy that I received this photo of two Rose-coloured Starlings in my inbox from…
Scottish gamekeeping party?
Reports of a new political party, the Scottish Gamekeeping Party seem to be exaggerated. That’s a shame. I had been planning to join and had jotted down a few points for the manifesto; free pints and chasers in all pubs for those wearing ridiculous amounts of tweed health warnings on all farmed meat ‘WARNING: does…
Press release – UK now values nature more by National Trust
UK values nature more as a result of lockdown, according to summer solstice poll A third of adults are more interested in nature as a result of lockdown More than half say they plan to make a habit of spending time in nature ‘when things go back to normal’ Just over two thirds of adults…
Guest blog – Afterwards… by Louise Bacon
I used to be a biochemist studying human immune system malfunction whilst being a part-time naturalist and conservationist. Then I converted to being an environmental data geek, which is what I do part of the time in a vague attempt to pay the bills. I have been a birder since childhood, and am now the…
Political wildlife protection
People say that wildlife protection should not be a political matter – by which they usually mean a party political matter. But it is, and it should be. Let’s examine the protected status given to Mountain Hares in Scotland by the Scottish Parliament yesterday after a vote of MSPs. First, it was a great result!…
Press release – Langholm Initiative
First £1m secured for community’s dream of huge nature reserve The Scottish Land Fund has awarded the Langholm Initiative charity £1 million towards the purchase of 10,500 acres of Langholm Moor in the south of Scotland, which would see the local community creating a vast new nature reserve. The charity hopes to buy the wildlife-rich and culturally…
Press release – Scottish Rewilding Alliance
SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT VOTE A BLOW TO ENDING BEAVER DEATHS The Scottish Rewilding Alliance welcomes the attempt by Mark Ruskell MSP to amend the Animals & Wildlife (Penalties, Protections and Powers) (Scotland) Bill to require the government ensure ‘favourable conservation status’ for Scotland’s beavers before issuing lethal control licences. The attempted amendment followed the announcement by…
Information request to Natural England
The following information request has been sent to Natural England: Dear Natural England.I write to request information under the EIR/FoI regulations.My request is in relation to individual licences issued by NE for the purposes of killing bird species such as Carrion Crows, Jays etc.My request is in response to information that has been obtained by…
Guest blog – Natural England licences; a cover up? Part 2 by Bob Berzins
Bob Berzins is a campaigner and activist. His novel Snared is available now. His previous guests blogs here all focus on the management, or mismanagement of upland areas such as the Peak District, Walshaw Moor and the North York Moors. Continued from Part 1 – click here. Continuing my efforts to find out what individual…