Today may be a momentous day in the Westminster Parliament but not because of the days spent toiling over the crafting of a response to the Wild Justice e-petition to ban driven grouse shooting. The response is the usual old guff, presumably signed off by Therese Coffey, and can be read on the petition site,…
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Garden birds August 2019
August is a month of disappearing Swifts although I sometimes see them over the garden into September. The latest record so far this year has been 27 August. I wonder whether there will be any more over the next few days. If not, it’ll be about 8 months until I can look up from the…
The RSPB has a problem over its position on driven grouse shooting
Here are three somewhat disguised but accurate quotes from RSPB local groups on the subject of driven grouse shooting: I am Group Leader for the ******* Group. I have been an RSPB member for [decades] and a volunteer for [decades]. However, I struggle to see how DGS as a licenced activity would enhance biodiversity, combat…
Ban driven grouse shooting – 102,000 signatures
Here’s the ever-growing list of constituencies with more than 200 signatures already: Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey, Drew Hendry MP (SNP), 467 signatures Calder Valley, Craig Whittaker MP (Con), 452 signatures High Peak, Ruth George MP (Lab), 445 signatures Bristol West, Thangam Debbonaire MP (Lab), 396 signatures Sheffield Hallam, Jared O’Mara MP (Ind), 386 signatures…
100,000 signatures in 20 days
The significance of the 100,000 signatures for a ban on driven grouse shooting in a UK e-petition are various. And they come not so much because of the number of supporters but even more so in the speed of that support. 100,000 signatures inside 20 full days is impressive by any standards. It is impressive…
Top Trumps! 100,000 signatures
It’s that day again
1 September 1914 saw the death of a female Passenger Pigeon in Cincinnati Zoo. That bird was called Martha and was the last Passenger Pigeon to draw breath – the last individual of what had not long before been the most numerous bird species on this planet. This is my book on the subject (still…
Tim Melling – Hen Harrier
Tim writes: according to the RSPB, 2019 was a record year for Hen Harriers in England with 33 young fledged from 9 nests. But it is within my memory that 30 pairs nested in Lancashire’s Forest of Bowland alone. Nine nests for the whole of England is perilously low. Quoting from RSPB recently “Hen harriers…