Hen Harrier brood meddling returns to court in 2021

In January 2018 Natural England issued a licence for brood meddling (some called it brood management) of Hen Harriers. I challenged the legality of this straight away (and RSPB did soon after) and was given permission to seek judicial review of the decision (as were the RSPB). We went to court in December 2018 and…

Waitrose slipping on its lead-free promise

This blog has praised Waitrose for its stance on lead in game meat – see here and here very recently for examples. But some blog readers, obviously Waitrose customers, have suggested that the game meat on sale is not lead free. One, at least, has questioned Waitrose on this and received the reply below which…

BTO press release – Marsh Award for Innovative Ornithology goes to Dr Ellie Owen

Dr Ellie Owen of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) has been awarded the Marsh Award for Innovative Ornithology by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO). Dr Ellie Owen is a conservation scientist at RSPB Centre for Conservation Science. Ellie specialises in seabird ecology and conservation and her innovative “Puffarazzi” project breaks…

Guest blog – The Willow Butterfly by filbert cobb

filbert cobb is a regular commenter on this blog and has been since its early days (since February 2012). I suspect filbert cobb may not be his real name. He has produced three delightful guest blogs here in the past; Leopoldius, 14 November, 2018, Remember not to Forget,  30 September 2016 and The Sunken Garden,…