BREAKING NEWS: Scientists have been astounded by the discovery of a new species on Britain’s uplands. Given the scientific name Apodemus loricatorum aprilis asinus, it is found only on driven grouse moors. Research has shown that it can survive only in that specialised environment and scientists are excited by its extraordinarily rapid evolutionary development. Professor…
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Sunday book review – Our Place by Mark Cocker
This is the best book on the state of nature since George Monbiot’s Feral and deserves to be read just as widely. It’s been quite a long time in the making. I interviewed Mark Cocker for Behind the Binoculars back in January 2014 and at the same time he interviewed me and a few…
Guest blog – Balls by Olaf Lipor and Ian Parsons
We hear so much about the introduction of the government’s new ‘Fat Tax’ that we no longer really listen to the detail. But, as birdwatchers, we really should be listening, because this new tax is going to hit us very hard financially. The new tax will substantially increase the price of foods that are high…
Tim Melling – Merlin
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Tim writes: Photo-opportunities of perched Merlins are few and far between. So I could hardly believe my luck when I spotted one on a roadside post some distance ahead. I took a few record shots then inched closer in the car until it was only about 25m away. It then turned its head and made…
Red Kites in March
I’m keeping a note of whether I see Red Kites on each day through the year – in March the tally has been 26 days out of 31. January: 22 days out of 31. February: 24 days out of 28. That makes 72 out of 90 overall. That’s an even higher strike rate than…
Two-way splits
Gavin Gamble’s e-petition continues to motor along – it passed 44,000 signatures this morning and must, surely, be heading for well above 45,000 signatures by midnight on Monday? Generally speaking, we know that support for banning driven grouse shooting is greatest from rural constituencies (not townies at all). But all signatures count, and there are…
An Unreliable History of Birdwatching (51) by Paul Thomas
Update on Gavin Gamble’s e-petition
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Yesterday another eight Westminster constituencies joined the ‘100 signatures’ club taking the total past 100 to 102 constituencies. And the last 24 hours delivered 600 signatures in total – a very good day. The total is now 43,886 signatures in favour of banning driven grouse shooting. Another 38 constituencies are in the 90s and many…
Saturday cartoon by Ralph Underhill
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Guy Shorrock – White-necked Picathartes
Back in 2006 I had the opportunity to do an RSPB sabbatical colleagues to assist with some bird surveys in the Gola rainforest in Sierra Leone, West Africa. This is the largest remnant of Upper Guinean Tropical Rainforest left in Sierra Leone. It covers nearly 700 square kilometres with more than 330 bird species,…