Richard Wilson is an independent professional ecologist with just under 20 years experience. When in the field, he specialises in invertebrate and avian ecology, with a smattering of botanical surveying thrown in for good measure. His background as a consultant has led to a keen interest in EU and UK law in the context of nature conservation….
BLOG POSTS
No Nightingales
It’s that time of year when I make the pilgrimage to Glapthorn Cow Pasture to listen to Nightingales. I write about this almost every year (2010, 2012, 2103, 2014, 2016) because that visit to a local wood has become a tradition. I’ve been there with my mum and my late father (over 20 years ago),…
Open letter to Andrew Sells
Dear Andrew I hope you are well but I fear that the organisation of which you are the Chair, is gravely sick. Natural England seems to have caught a disease whose symptoms are an inability to work for nature conservation in the uplands but instead to align itself with one small sectional interest, grouse shooting,…
Book review – Swifts in a Tower by David Lack
This is a reprint of the classic 1956 book by David Lack but, as in the updated version of his Life of the Robin, this is updated whilst maintaining the original text. David Lack’s study of Swifts took place in the tower of the Oxford University Museum and has continued to this day. Lack’s…
Book review – Eagle Country by Sean Lysaght
Comments Off on Book review – Eagle Country by Sean Lysaght
Reviewed by Ian Carter Seán Lysaght is a poet and writer and he brings his poet’s eye for observation to this exploration of his home country of Mayo and the wider west coast of Ireland. Spurred on by an interest in eagles and the tragic history of the two species in Ireland he trawls the…
Book review – Mrs Pankhurt’s Purple Feather by Tessa Boase
Comments Off on Book review – Mrs Pankhurt’s Purple Feather by Tessa Boase
This is a very interesting book which I recommend highly as a challenging read. The author takes us back over a century to Victorian and Edwardian London where in nasty little workshops the women working in the millinery trade produced the hats to adorn the heads of rich women – many of these hats…
Tim Melling – Common Sandpiper
Tim writes: Common Sandpipers are quite unusual among British waders as they are almost entirely summer breeding visitors from sub-Saharan Africa. Most of Britain’s wading birds are winter visitors although quite a few also breed in Britain. The “kitty-needy-kitty-needy” flight call of the Common Sandpiper heralds the arrival of spring close to where I…
An Unreliable End to Birdwatching by Paul Thomas
Comments Off on An Unreliable End to Birdwatching by Paul Thomas
Paul is having a break from producing cartoons to coincide with my ‘blog sabbatical’. He seems to be working on a book. It’s been good to have him here for so many weeks using this audience as a testing ground. And I now have this image in my office:
Saturday cartoon by Ralph Underhill
Comments Off on Saturday cartoon by Ralph Underhill
Wuthering Moors 68 – the background to an unlawful decision
How did NE get into the position of allowing an unlawful Habitats Regualtions Assessment to be done? In this blog I will explain what I think has happened. But let me repeat that it is a serious matter when the government nature conservation agency produces an unlawful Habitats Regulations Assessment – Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? …