That was quick! Less than four and a half days. And 919 people donated (actually 920 now) – that’s amazing. And it shows the passion for Hen Harriers and the strength of feeling against this daft brood management plan but also, I suspect, against all the other nonsense going on thanks to Defra and…
BLOG POSTS
Wemmergill Moorland Plan
Wemmergill Moor is where a young Hen Harrier ‘disappeared’ in February – the latest of so many. It is also the first site where NE agreed a Moorland Management Plan with the estate. These MMPs are the response of Defra and NE to the fact that they have been told by the European Commission that…
Shiants declared rat-free
Brighter future for seabirds as Shiants declared rat free Internationally important seabird colony The Shiant Isles have been officially declared rat-free, thanks to a four-year partnership project to restore them as a secure haven for nesting seabirds. A month-long intensive monitoring check in February found no sign of rats. This means that none has been…
Guest blog – the 25-year plan and my visit to No 10 by Findlay Wilde
Last November I was invited to meet with Sir John Randall, the PM’s special adviser on the environment, to discuss environmental policy and some of the many issues that need addressing. During that meeting with Sir John (and you can read the full details here), I talked about how I can see the impacts of…
Marc’d down on Wemmergill
The news (RSPB blog, RPUK blog) of yet another disappeared Hen Harrier from the cohort of 2017 youngsters is not a great surprise. There aren’t that many left! But the location is interesting – Wemmergill Moor. Wemmergill Moor is a big-name grouse moor. Until 2006, this moor, of 17,000 acres had been in the same…
Wuthering moors (63) – waiting for an answer
I sent this FOI/EIR request to Natural England a week ago: Please send me the Habitats Regulations Assessments for the Catchment Restoration Plan for Walshaw Moor Estate and all associated documents, email correspondence etc. Note that I am requesting the Habitat Regulations Assessments – plural, as I believe that more than one version exists and…
February Red Kites
I’m keeping a note of whether I see Red Kites on each day through the year – in January I saw Red Kites on 22 days out of 31. February has had a higher strike rate – 24 out of 28 days.
Local Issue – chicken farm update
You might remember a few blogs about the proposal to build an intensive broiler unit locally to me (Local issue – further comments, 1 December 2017; Local issue – seems I was right (2), 2 November 2017; Local issue – seems I was right (1), 1 November 2017; Local – bird records, 26 October 2017;…
Guest blog – Real country people by Norman McCanch
Norman McCanch was born in South Wales and trained as a taxidermist, then worked as a Lighthouse Keeper with Trinity House, before studying Graphics and Illustration in Kent. He subsequently worked in a boat yard, in the Agricultural supply industry, as a part-time gamekeeper and as warden of two different Bird Observatories. He worked on…
We are 19,700 signatures ahead
The supporters of a ban on driven grouse shooting, are now 19,700 signatures ahead of the forces of conservatism who wish this unsustainable hobby of shooting birds for fun and profit to continue. But it’s not quite as simple as that, as there are three e-petitions including Ed Hutchings’s e-petition, supported by the RSPB, which…