Press release – Trees for Life

Volunteers isolate at Highlands ‘lost world’ to save thousands of young trees A team of six people from Trees for Life have been voluntarily isolating themselves at the charity’s flagship Dundreggan rewilding estate in Glenmoriston, near Loch Ness in the Highlands since 23 March – to save more than 100,000 native young trees from being…

Marian Spain confirmed as Natural England CEO

Marian Spain has been appointed as the ‘new’ chief executive of Natural England, taking the post on a permanent basis after serving as interim chief executive since December 2018. Environment Secretary George Eustice said: I want to thank Marian for all her excellent work over the last year. As we focus on setting environmental policy…

If Starlings had…

If Starlings had contrails, like planes, then the sky above my garden would be painted with the paths of Starlings taking food to their recently hatched young. Starlings are single-prey loaders when their chicks are young (they fly out from the nest to collect one item of food and fly back to the nest with…

Bird song (45) – Nightjar

I think of Nightjars as being birds of southern England but they are actually quite widely found in the UK including parts of Wales, northern England and southern Scotland. But I first heard them on the Somerset Levels in my youth and my strongest memories of them are on heathlands in Dorset, Hampshire, Norfolk and…

Brood meddling doomed for 2020?

Natural England is expected soon to bow to the almost inevitable and drop any plans for brood meddling of Hen Harriers in 2020. All Natural England fieldwork is suspended at the moment in line with government instructions on non-essential travel. Natural England is re-allocating staff resources to priority areas in an attempt to ensure that…