The recent and escalating coronavirus crisis is making people within society acutely aware of their own mortality, along with that of family, friends and loved ones. Aside from some negative aspects reported in the media, the way most of society has responded to help and support each other in the face of this existential threat…
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This morning
When I went to check if the milk had been delivered at 0620 this morning I found a pint of skimmed milk and a decorated pebble. The pebble made me happy and I’ve been using it as a paperweight while reading some papers for a meeting, out in the garden, in the sunshine. Every time…
Moorland managers exhibit further lack of control
West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service has ordered landowners to stop heather burning with “immediate effect” after 15 (some reports say 20) fire vehicles, and crews, had to respond to a fire that got out of control. Nick Smith, assistant chief fire officer with West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, said; We are disappointed to…
RSPB press release – #BreakfastBirdwatch
RSPB’s Breakfast Birdwatch From today, Tuesday 24 March, the RSPB begins a daily Breakfast Birdwatch, taking place between 8-9am weekdays, at a time when many of us would have been commuting to work, doing the school run, or otherwise unable to enjoy the splendour of nature, from the safety of our homes. Using #BreakfastBirdwatch on…
Chatting to Charlie
Comments Off on Chatting to Charlie
Charlie Moores is a very nice man. His latest good idea is to have a series of podcasts ‘checking in’ with various people. Here’s him checking in with me – recorded on Sunday morning – where we talk about life, birds flying past, Wild Justice’s legal challenge against Natural Resources Wales and a few other…
My column in April Birdwatch
The editorial team at Birdwatch are very kind to me, my copy deadline for each issue has gradually crept closer to publication day to enable my political birder column to be vaguely topical. And so it was first thing on 10 March that I sent Rebecca Armstrong my words for the April issue and it…
Response, of a kind, from DEFRA
Guy Shrubsole asked DEFRA some questions – see here. They redacted some information on apparently scientific reports they had received. I asked them some questions about that. They have replied as follow. I do have some queries and some grounds for complaint. This letter could be summed up in two words and it doesn’t take…
BTO news
Quite often BTO News is something that I have a quick flick through, tell myself I’ll read it properly later and then sometimes the next thing I do with it is recycle it. But other times I read it closely. This time I seem to have a little more time and motivation to read it…
Bird song (9) – Great Tits (3)
Song has a clear territorial function in many birds, and certainly in Great Tits. A male Great Tit’s territory is the area which he defends from other, neighbouring Great Tits, it is the area within which his mate will lay her eggs and it is the area most used for much of the nesting season….
Paul Leyland – Buff-tailed Bumblebee
Social Distancing Week 1, Buff-tailed Bumblebee I had great plans this year to visit several parts of the UK looking for new insects, unfortunately the plans have come to a halt. I have decided instead to search locally, avoiding as much human contact as possible. Fortunately I live in a quiet area of North Yorkshire…