Tim writes: Raccoons (Procyon lotor) were once thought to be related to bears but they are an early offshoot of the dog family. They are only found naturally in the New World and the family includes Coatis and Kinkajous. The generic name Procyon means “before the dog” indicating that distant relationship. But the specific…
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An Unreliable History of Birdwatching (38) – by Paul Thomas
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Saturday cartoon by Ralph Underhill
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Grouse petitions – they’re just like buses
There are now three e-petitions about grouse shooting on the Westminster parliament website: Gavin Gamble’s e-petition to ban driven grouse shooting, ends 2 April, currently on 19,700 signatures Jane Griggs’s e-petition in support of grouse shooting, ends 24 May, currently on 7,600 signatures Ed Hutchings’s e-petition in support of licensing, the third option, the…
Ho! Ho! Ho!
In the latest GWCT email to members and supporters, their cheery chair, Ian Coghill, spreads the Christmas good will by asking for money so that most people don’t get what they want after Brexit but what farmers and gamekeepers want! Post-Brexit Policy Appeal As we leave the EU, the GWCT…
‘New’ raptor persecution maps produced by Defra
Defra has just published old and incomplete maps of raptor persecution events on the Magic system. These are worth having a glance at and I’ll be looking at them more closely through the day, as I’m sure will Raptor Persecution UK (this is right up their street), but if you have ever looked at the…
Guest blog – Millions of Slaughtered Birds by Richard Grimmett
Richard Grimmett is responsible for overseeing BirdLife International’s conservation programmes for species, flyways, forests, marine and invasive species, as well as BirdLife’s work with the corporate sector. He has been with BirdLife (and its predecessor the International Council for Bird Preservation) since 1985. He is a keen birder as well as the author of…
Don’t presume
The Westminster government is very keen on presumed consent. This week it has said that it wishes to move towards a position of presumed consent for organ donation, ie that unless we opt out then we are presumed to be opted in. That’s fine by me However, the government had a blow this week to…
Fine art
Just have a look through this collection of artwork going on sale at Christies from Tillypronie – there are some fantastic paintings on the market including a whole clutch of Thorburns, Lodges and some Scotts too. The two illustrated here are by George Lodge and are quite superb. There is a wide variety but the…
Guest blog – Planning and biodiversity survey advice in England by Tim Reed
Although an ornithologist by training, Tim Reed has a background in monitoring and data quality- starting with standardising management planning and data recording for the statutory sector, moving on to developing the widely-used Common Standards site condition model. After a long period introducing peer-reviewable data and biodiversity and ecosystem reporting models in big corporates around…