Last week I was, kind of, on holiday in mostly sunny Yorkshire. It was good fun. It started with the film premiere in Hebden Bridge which was very enjoyable (I know how to let my hair down when on holiday!). Sunday – a boat trip out from Bridlington on the Yorkshire Belle – Arctic, Great…
BLOG POSTS
Can I travel anywhere with a clear conscience?
Countries are like people – none is perfect and none is absolutely beyond redemption (one hopes). Only in the oldest and simplest of western films (and I like westerns), the most tribal of politics and the most intolerant of minds are people good or bad with no shades of grey in between. You’re not perfect…
Wild food (3) – Hazel Nuts by Ian Carter
This is one of my favourite wild foods and between early August and October (in a good year), I don’t go for many local walks without risking my teeth and cracking open at least one or two. The Hazel would have been one of the first trees to recolonise Britain following the last ice age…
Sunday book review – Landskipping by Anna Pavord
Reviewed by Ian Carter Landskipping is a very individual and reflective account of the British countryside and how it, and our appreciation of it, has evolved over time. It is loosely divided into three parts, covering the history of landscape painting and landscape tourism, the all-pervasive influence of farming, and the importance of a…
Tim Melling – Great Northern Diver
Tim writes: In Britain we call this bird Great Northern Diver, whereas in America the standard name is Common Loon. In Britain we prefer the name Diver, because Loon has another meaning (fool) and we would not want to lumber a bird as majestic as this with such an insulting name. But Loon was used…
An Unreliable History of Birdwatching (26) by Paul Thomas
Saturday cartoon by Ralph Underhill
Comments Off on Saturday cartoon by Ralph Underhill
Moorland Imbalance (6)
I’ve enjoyed the response of the GWCT to my criticisms of their little booklet: The Moorland Balance, Moorland Imbalance (1), Moorland Imbalance (2), Moorland Imbalance (3), Moorland Imbalance (4) and Moorland Imbalance (5). Their little booklet would be better entitled the Bluffer’s Guide to Moorland Imbalance. And I’m sure we will hear some of the…
Those NE Hen Harrier data
Even with the minimal amount of data disclosed by NE on their Hen Harrier study, it’s possible to start making some initial explorations of the data. Here are some initial thoughts which must be accompanied by the massive caveat that this is based on a few minutes playing around, and away from my home computer,…
Guest blog – Can Lebanon control Illegal Hunting? by James Hogg
James (@JWTHogg) writes: I grew up on a farm on the edge of the North York Moors and have always been interested by nature and always wanted to be able to put a name to everything. Over the years this has grown to a love of birds and luckily circumstances have allowed me to travel…