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A day at the races? No. An afternoon at the football? No. Jogging with six friends? Of course not. A day on a grouse moor? Of course old boy. Rich people travelling from the towns to the uplands, drinking and shooting and then travelling home? An epidemiologist’s nightmare! The track and trace records for these…

Did you watch this yesterday evening? I did and I was a bit disappointed by it until it got onto the current and other pandemics. Yes the early part of the programme was interesting and beautifully filmed but there were rather too many talking heads whose soundbites were bookended by stunning or disturbing imagery. The…

UK failure on international environmental targets revealed by the RSPB on eve of major UN report    RSPB analysis of the UK’s self-assessment reveals the picture may be worse than reported, raising doubts some targets have not been met and highlighting areas where the UK has regressed  The UK must recognise the opportunity to make urgent changes at home…

The daft government brood-meddling scheme, one of the most controversial so-called conservation actions of my time in nature conservation has always been controversial but following the recent news on Hen Harriers it is in even greater trouble. Brood -meddling (called brood management by its supporters) consists of removing young Hen Harriers from their nests, rearing…

It was the best of times (the most glorious spring ever), it was the worst of times (a tiny virus had cut us off from normal life) but these tales of three naturalists capture the contradiction that many of us experienced. Were we allowed to enjoy ourselves when hundreds were dying? Was it OK to…