Pignuts are umbellifers (in the carrot family) and are like miniature versions of the more familiar Cow Parsley. To help confirm the identification, look closely at the finely divided leaves, especially those towards the base of the plant. If you grow your own carrots you may notice the similarity in leaf structure. In favoured meadows…
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Guest blog – Conservation Science v Conservation Action by John Burton
John Burton is one of the most experienced and free-thinking of British conservationists. He was a founder and the first chief executive of the World Land Trust. John blogs here. I regularly see comments on the NFU (National Farmers Union) written by conservationists, pointing out that , for instance, they do not represent all…
Book review – When the Last Lion Roars by Sara Evans
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Reviewed by Ian Carter This new book describes Lion conservation today and how we have arrived at the current situation. It rattles along at a lively pace and sets out the information very clearly, making it easy to assimilate. The writing style is akin to that of a well-written, well-researched, newspaper article – highly…
Tim Melling – Kingfisher
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Saturday cartoon by Ralph Underhill
Ralph writes: a few months ago a member of Natural England staff asked me if I could do a toon about spiders. Unfortunately this is the best I could come up with!
Wild food (36) – Dryad’s Saddle by Ian Carter
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This is a common and widespread bracket fungus often found in the summer on dead or dying deciduous trees. It can grow to a huge size, perhaps as large and heavy as any British species. The problem is the large and easy-to-spot specimens are not much use as food as they quickly become tough and…
Wild food (35) – Mint by Ian Carter
The smell of mint induces a feeling of nostalgia in me that no other plant can match. One of the few jobs I was trusted not to mess up as a small child was to go out into the back garden to gather a few springs of mint for the Sunday roast. It must have…
Raven crowdfunder launched – please support
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In a bold but sensible move, Ruth Tingay and the Scottish Raptor Study Group are seeking leave for a judicial review of SNH’s careless and foolish licensing of a Raven cull in Scotland. Please support it with your dosh – I have.
Guest blog – The Hunting Act by Tim Bidie
I am a 63 year old retired British and Sultan of Oman’s Army Officer living overseas, in Oman, running a small business advisory consultancy in Muscat, helping small to medium sized British and European Companies achieve business there. I am a salt water (mainly) catch and release fly fisherman who occasionally shoots for the pot…
Aaaaah – of course!
Michael Gove has done nothing visible to me to deal with the many ills and misdemeanors of driven grouse shooting. In fact, he is said to have told representatives of grouse shooting that he was seeking to ‘protect their vulnerable flank’, whatever that might mean (grouse shooting has enough exposed flanks to be spherical). Crispin Odey is a…