Starting a crowd funding campaign is a little like throwing a party – when you start, you imagine what great fun it will be and how everyone will want to come. Then as the time approaches you begin to wonder whether it is going to be such a success and as the hour draws near…
BLOG POSTS
#justice4henharriers
Last week I met two barristers and a couple of solicitors and was advised that there is a good legal case on which we can challenge the ridiculous plan by Michael Gove’s Department of the Environment (Defra) to remove eggs or chicks of Hen Harriers from grouse moors – a scheme they call brood management…
Paul Leyland – Clytus arietis
Comments Off on Paul Leyland – Clytus arietis
Paul writes: This is a small longhorn beetle, averaging about 14mm body length, commonly known as the Wasp Beetle. This mimicry of the Common Wasp (amongst others) helps protect it from predators, mainly birds, even though it is harmless. It’s a good pollinator of flowers as it likes sunbathing in hedgerows and woodland rides in…
Wild food (29) – Tadpoles by Ian Carter
The second half of winter is perhaps the least productive time of year for foraging. Spells of cold weather have eliminated all but the hardiest of wild flowers. Most of the nuts and berries have been consumed or have rotted away. There are a few winter season fungi but many of those seem to fade…
Sunday book review – The Long Spring by Laurence Rose
I enjoyed this book a lot. It is written by a former RSPB colleague of mine and his knowledge of birds and nature conservation are clearly demonstrated in this book. But he can write too! The long spring starts in Spanish Ceuta on the north African coast at the beginning of February, and ends…
Tim Melling – Leopard Cat
This wild Leopard Cat (Prionailurus bengalensis chinensis) was photographed at night by torchlight, but with no flash. I spotted him in a roadside tree as we were driving past at Labahe in China. I managed to shine a flashlight on him long enough to capture a photograph. About the size of a domestic cat but…
An Unreliable History of Birdwatching (46) by Paul Thomas
Comments Off on An Unreliable History of Birdwatching (46) by Paul Thomas
Saturday cartoon by Ralph Underhill
Nothing much to see here
My main source of income these days comes from writing – I am a writer. One of the things about writing is that there is often a long tail to your income. It’s a long thin tail rather than a long fat tail (in my case, anyway!) but it is a long tail. I am…
Bird flu – a few more cases
Since I last updated you on Defra’s updates… … there have been a few further cases in ‘wild’ birds.