Regular commenter on this blog Paul Fisher was the closest guess/estimate of the closing number of signatures for Gavin Gamble’s e-petition to ban driven grouse shooting which reached 48,123 (plus any remaining clicks on confirmation emails) signatures last night. I’ll be sending Paul a signed copy of Remarkable Birds in the next few days. Thank…
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Gavin Gamble’s e-petition 48,090 signatures
Congratulations to Gavin Gamble! 48,090 signatures is a massive total however you look at it (and the total will creep up a little as people click on their confirmation emails this morning). We haven’t gone away – the campaign to end driven grouse shooting continues. And thank you to all those who promoted and supported…
Any idea who that ‘keeper is?
Maybe the Vice Chair of the GWCT was having a forgetful moment…allegedly. See Sev Carrell in The Guardian (including a great quote from GWCT which says nothing at all) and Raptor Persecution UK. Why was this kept so quiet for so long? Not because of the identity of the family apparently involved, surely? There is probably…
Last day for Gavin Gamble’s e-petition
All good things must come to an end and Gavin Gamble’s e-petition is a good thing which ends at midnight today. On this rainy Bank Holiday Monday you could just spend a few moments emailing a few friends and asking them to sign up using this link https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/201443 Yesterday was a brilliant day for Gavin’s…
Bank holiday book review – Pressing On by Robert Gillmor
This book is a real treat – full of clear, crisp, concise linocuts by Robert Gillmor. Is Robert Gillmor the nation’s favourite nature artist? Who knows? But over a period of seven decades he has been publishing drawings, paintings and linocuts with subjects primarily drawn from the natural world. This book of linocuts is…
Paul Leyland – Bloody-nosed Beetle
Paul writes: It’s a pity that the appearance of this beetle isn’t quite as dramatic as its common name suggests. The name comes from the beetle’s defence mechanism, which is that when threatened the beetle releases a bright red fluid from its mouth. It’s a slow moving domed beetle, up to 20mm long, coloured black…
Natalie Bennett says ‘Ban driven grouse shooting’
Natalie Bennett is a Green Party politician, and says; ‘I first learnt about the damage driven grouse shooting moors were doing to their neighbours with disastrous land management practices after the 2015/16 floods. And I found out about the carbon emission impacts of their activities. Then I learnt about the plight of the hen harriers…
BREAKING: A new species discovered on grouse moors (by Alan Cranston)
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…
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…