Three things you can do: 1. Please come to Hyde Park on Saturday 22 September and walk for wildlife. 2. If you can’t come, then show your support on this virtual wall (an idea suggested by a reader of this blog). 3. Chip in to help fund the costs of this event.
BLOG POSTS
NE and grouse moor Hen Harriers
I asked NE some questions about their role in protecting two nests of Hen Harriers in Yorkshire last summer (2018). The two nests were on the same estate and one male was paired with two females. Natural England’s account of what happened on this moor does not fully accord with what local raptor workers tell…
Paul Leyland – Orange-backed Tachinid
Paul writes: the Orange-backed Tachinid (Tachina fera) is a fantastic fly. It’s quite large, reaching 16mm long and easily recognisable by its colours and spiky appearance. It is fairly well distributed throughout England and Wales but less common in Scotland. I usually see them in August and September, I found this one recently at Harlow…
Writing competition
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This blog’s 2018 writing competition is to make the case that any particular month of the year is either the best or the worst month for enjoying nature in the UK. How you treat that subject is up to you. There will be a prize, a signed copy of my book Remarkable Birds, for what…
Tim Melling – Ural Owl
Tim writes: the Ural Owl is a close relative of Tawny Owl, but it is much larger with a much longer tail. The owl is about half a metre long with a wingspan well over a metre (<134cm), and weighing more than a kilogram. Tawny Owl by comparison has a wingspan just under a metre…
Saturday cartoon by Ralph Underhill
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A Labour MP writes
I was interested to see this response that a blog reader received from their Labour MP. I long for the day when I have a Labour MP, but as I don’t, I cannot write to check how close this is to the standard letter sent out to constituents by other Labour MPs. But maybe you…
Celebrating Peter Melchett
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This website, Celebrating Peter, has been set up so that people can share their memories of the late Peter Melchett. There are already some poignant and touching tributes to him there.
Icelandic whaling review
When I met the Prime Minister of Iceland in her office on Tuesday the most interesting thing that she said was that there would be a review of the sustainability of whaling in Iceland and that there would be no whaling until that review was completed. This review has been talked about for quite a…
Press release from Leigh Day – brood-meddling judicial review
A legal case to challenge the trial of brood management of endangered hen harriers will be heard in the High Court on 5 and 6 December 2018. Permission was given in July for a judicial review of Natural England’s decision to grant a licence to allow brood management of the birds. The case is being…