A week today…

…we should be half way through Day 1 of a scheduled one and a half day hearing in front of three Appeal Court judges on brood meddling of Hen Harriers. I don’t know which court we are in or who the judges will be, yet. And whatever happens, we will have to wait a matter…

Guest blog – Pheasants and Adders by Nigel Hand

Nigel Hand, a professional herpetologist, has been at the forefront of UK reptile and adder conservation and research for over twenty years, developing a methodology of external radio transmitter attachment to track this relatively small snake.  His monitoring reptiles and radio tracking adders has provided valuable insights into their secret habits and the issues they…

Bird song (6) – Blackbird

I walked to the postbox down our street the other evening. The post is collected at 9am but so often when I think ‘I’ll pop along in the morning’ I later end up thinking ‘Missed the post again’. So in the evening gloom I strolled along the road past Victorian red-brick houses on the right….

Sunday book review – An Indifference of Birds by Richard Smyth

This short book is a good read, and is a very different, but not indifferent, book. It only amounts to just over 100 pages but there are more novel perspectives in here than you’ll find in many books three times the length. And the author writes in an engaging manner. There are five chapters (Messy…