Not much has happened this week – although the ‘ban’ e-petition gained a signature! My copy of Nature’s Home magazine came through the post and I can see why that hasn’t produced many signatures for licensing from its alleged readership of over 1 million. The small article hidden on page 41 hardly quickens the pulse….
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Ravens
The decision of SNH to issue a licence for a mass cull of Ravens in Perthshire is absolutely stunning in its stupidity – see here. The next thing they’ll suggest is taking away Ravens from their nests, raising them in captivity and then letting them go again a few weeks later – see here. It…
A quick Swift
I saw my first Swift of the year this morning at Stanwick Lakes. In fact it was my earliest record there since I started using Birdtrack in 2005. Spring really has arrived when the Swifts are back – although it was just the one for me this morning! And I still haven’t seen a House…
Guest blog – Fox hunting crimes by Ian Carter
Moving to Devon 18 months ago has been a real eye-opener in relation to wildlife crime. There is plenty of industrial-scale Pheasant shooting but Buzzards exist at high densities and even Goshawks seem to be doing well, with several breeding sites within a few minutes’ drive of the house. Raptor persecution no doubt occurs on…
Paul Leyland – Eyed Ladybird
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Paul writes: I went to Bempton Cliffs in East Yorkshire on Wednesday to look for Puffins, Gannets etc., but also kept a lookout for insects. I was rewarded when I came across this beautiful Eyed Ladybird (Anatis ocellata) sunning itself on the timber barrier along the cliff edge. It was extra special because it’s the…
Wild food (31) – Common Sorrel by Ian Carter
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Many common garden ‘weeds’ are technically edible but hard to get excited about. The Dandelion is perhaps the most abundant and is no doubt very good for you but the leaves are undeniably bland. Common Sorrel, another widespread grassland plant prone to appearing on unkempt lawns, at least has a bit of bite to it….
Sunday book review – Curlew Moon by Mary Colwell
Yesterday was World Curlew Day. Everybody likes Curlews these days. GWCT and Curlew Country want your money to save the Curlew, BTO want your money to save the Curlew and RSPB is spending over a million pounds over five years on Curlews but isn’t gagging for your money it seems! Wow! The author of Curlew…
Tim Melling – Robin Accentor
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Tim writes: to British birdwatchers this will look like the result of a unnatural union between a Robin and a Dunnock. But this is actually a high altitude Himalayan Dunnock relative known as a Robin Accentor (Prunella rubeculoides), whose scientific name translates as Dunnock, like a Robin. It looked and behaved just like a…
Cuckoo!
I’ve spent the last couple of days with the World Land Trust at the BTO HQ in Thetford (thank you! BTO). There was a meeting of partners from across the world (mostly Latin America but also Vietnam, Malaysia, India and Madagascar) and so I was seeing images of Jaguars, Orangutans and a wealth of…
An Unreliable History of Birdwatching (54) by Paul Thomas
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