Male Great Tits react more strongly to the playback of Great Tit song if it is broadcast to them from the centre of their territories than from the edge. That’s not surprising, but it is interesting. And it opens up the possibility that one can measure something about song recognition by individual Great Tits through…
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Moorland Association and Scottish Land and Estates implore their members to cease heather burning
It’s difficult to hide a fire on open moorland – this is the recent controversial fire at Deer Hill – seen from about five miles away. Both Moorland Association and Scottish Land and Estates have asked their members to cease heather burning at this time in order not to fill peoples’ lungs with smoke at…
Silence, but not silence
I’ve been able to sit in the garden quite a lot in the last few days, sometimes working, but always with binoculars at hand. At other times, I would hear planes overhead, cars on the road, school children on their ways to and from school, and at break-times in the not-too-distant school playgrounds. There would…
A local star – Ada Salter
I live in a small market town in east Northamptonshire – it’s called Raunds. A slightly unusual name which one often has to spell out to people on telephone calls; R-A-U-N-D-S. It is said to mean something akin to ‘boundaries’, perhaps because we are near where the counties of Northants, Beds and Cambs join up,…
Guy Shorrock – Mountain Gorilla
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…
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…