Standing up for Nature
Paul writes: I see lots of black beetles and many of them are quite difficult to identify. This is one of the easier ones. It is quite large, 18 – 26mm long, with a chunky looking body and distinctive orange tipped antennae. It belongs to the family Silphidae, commonly known as burying beetles. They emerge…
I really hadn’t appreciated that the collective name for a bunch of martens was a ‘richness’ until reading this book. And there are many individually-known Pine Martens that feature in this book, all living on the westernmost peninsula of Britain, on Ardnamurchan. The book is an account of the behaviour of Craig, Clive, Chris, Chloe,…
I wasn’t expecting to see lots of dung flies in Iceland – but I did. On a cool day, and a short walk, I saw more Yellow Dung Flies in Iceland than I have all year in Northants. On the other hand, I was vaguely expecting to see a Puffin or two if I went…
sad news from Malta – the great Joe Sultana passed away on Tuesday, aged 78. Joe was a passionate campaigner and advocate for birds on Malta and in the Mediterranean in general. He led BirdLife Malta for many years and his son, Mark, is now BirdLife Malta’s CEO. Campaigning against bird killing (much of it…
This is from the 1990s (a reader believes)… And this is from the latest issue…
Defra doesn’t have a clue about who the Secretary of State has met recently. That’s the most charitable interpretation of their behaviour. In March this year (Defra have the date wrong in their response) I asked Defra the following questions: What meetings has Michael Gove had with Ian Coghill (GWCT) and/or The Ninth Marquess of…
Dear Mr Pursglove It has been some time since I wrote to you during which time the Conservative-run Northants County Council has basically gone bust, and the Conservative government has made a terrible mess of Brexit. But I write to let you know that on 22 September I will be travelling down to Hyde Park…
I met this Raven in Iceland. It seemed to have bought itself a kebab and was eating it on the top of this rock. It was so engrossed that it let me get very close. Well, maybe it was quite a tame Raven – it was right in the centre of Reykjavik with people passing…
Hen Harrier, Hilma. Photo: Steve Downing. Hen Harrier, Octavia. Photo: Steve Downing Hen Harrier, Heulwen. Photo: Guy Anderson. Three more young Hen Harriers have disappeared – all in areas of driven grouse shooting. See the RSPB Skydancer blog for details. Rory Stewart’s Hen Harrier Inaction Plan is working very, very badly – just as many…