The non-attendance of the pro-shooting organisations at last week’s Raptor Persecution Priority Delivery Group (RPPDG) meeting (you read about it first here but see also my further blog, the coverage in RPUK here, here and here and The Times) was a big miscalculation on their parts, and one from which their reputations are unlikely to…
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Our days in court
It’s a bit difficult to know what to say about our three days in court (5 and 6 December and 17 January) challenging the decision of Natural England to license brood meddling of Hen Harriers. The judge, is considering the cases made by our side and the RSPB that the licensing was unlawful, and the…
Another nail
River – a female Hen Harrier fledged in Bowland in 2018. Photo: RSPB The loss of yet another Hen Harrier is another nail in driven grouse shooting’s coffin. We don’t know much about River except she went to Yorkshire and disappeared on a driven grouse moor in the Nidderdale AONB. She was tagged in Bowland…
Another Hen Harrier disappears – River
RSPB press release: Hen harrier ‘River’ disappears in suspicious circumstances This is the ninth bird tagged last summer to vanish in similar circumstances Last transmission showed the bird on a driven grouse moor in North Yorkshire Police and the RSPB are concerned that the bird may have been illegally killed The police and the…
Vermin – an unacceptable term
Vermin control I have an issue with the word ‘vermin’, as one man’s vermin is another man’s cuddly mammal or brilliant bird, but the word is still very frequently used, almost unconsciously, by the shooting community to identify those species that might eat game before they are available to be shot. The way that the…
Helping the police with their enquiries…?
https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/advice/wildlife-and-the-law/wild-bird-crime/the-birdcrime-report/ The walk-out of shooting organisations from the Raptor Persecution Priority Delivery Group (revealed by this blog on Friday) is very much to be welcomed. They have played an almost entirely negative role in this group. In my opinion, justice, birds of prey and the group’s work are all better off without their presence. We…
Paul Leyland – Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary
Paul writes: Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary (Boloria selene) was a new butterfly for me last year. I knew they bred at Fen Bog, a Yorkshire Wildlife Trust reserve on the North York Moors, so I thought I’d see if I could spot one. Fen Bog is a moorland reserve with a large area of wet heath,…
Two books I’m reading at the moment
Reviews will appear closer to publication date. Rebirding by Ben Macdonald is published by Pelagic Publishing. Bird Therapy by Joe Harkness is published by Unbound.
Tim Melling – Wolf
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Tim writes: Imagine seeing a wild wolf loping across the countryside when he stops about 40m away and stares right into your eyes. It sent shivers down my spine and is one of my most enjoyable wildlife experiences ever. I have seen wolves on a number of occasions before, but this one was a particularly…
Guest blog series, A Break from Humanity (8) by Ian Carter.
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Continued from last Saturday If you read anything about the island of Colonsay you probably won’t get far without a reference to ‘the Scottish Highlands and Islands in miniature’. A cursory assessment from the deck of the ferry, followed by a twenty-minute drive around the island’s only single-track loop road showed why it had earned…