The new SoS at Defra, Angela Eagle I wish Angela Eagle well in her new role as Secretary of State at Defra. She has the experience of being a junior minister in Defra and a range of other departments that will equip her for this important role. The eagle has landed. Not that most Prime…
BLOG POSTS
A year of solar
These seven south-facing solar panels were installed in early July 2025 so we’ve had them, and the battery they fill when our electricity production is greater than our immediate need, for just over a year. Overnight, when there is no solar generation, we use whatever electricity is stored in our battery and then switch to…
The Evolution of Chris
It’s generally the case that the second in one of these series of wildlife documentaries is really good – and that is true of this one. You will watch the first episode to see what’s what and if you come back to the second and see something amazing then you’ll be hooked for the rest…
Book scams
I’ve written a few books and it’s lovely to get feedback on them – especially positive feedback (but negative feedback sometimes makes me smile too!). Recently there has been a wave of positive feedback and offers of help. Emails, of various sorts have arrived to tell me how brilliantly well-written are my books (so true!),…
Sunday book review – This Beautiful Country by Edward Cutler
I’ve never been to Italy despite the food and the culture, and that is partly because I was rather of the mind that it wasn’t a great place for wildlife. I think that may have been based on an overly bird-centric view of wildlife as Spain, Greece and the former Yugoslavia exert stronger pulls for…
Sunday book review – Planning for Nature by Simon Marsh
The author worked in my directorate at the RSPB for many years and so I know him and I know he knows this subject well. I didn’t know that he could write as well as he does here, though. Simon admits to being a town planner in his first words in this book and he…
Sunday book review – The Butterfly Season by Lea Korsgaard
The author spends a spring and summer trying to see all the butterflies that occur in Denmark. She doesn’t seem to know quite why she wants to do this but she does. And she starts from a position of a great deal of ignorance about the 60+ species on her must-see list. The butterflies of…
The Nature of the C of E
Yesterday I posted a very short blog with links to the Guardian story about a decision on nature conservation made by the Church of England (CofE) and the two papers which formed the background to the decision. I’ll call the first paper the Proposal and the second paper the Response. The Guardian article But let’s…
Yesterday’s decision by the C of E on nature restoration – some reading
This was the Guardian’s report of yesterday’s decision which was leapt on by campaigners. Take a look at the paper that was put to the meeting: And take a look at the paper in response: I’ll come back to this later this week.
Henry Mayer-Gross
UPDATE – this post and its sharing on Bluesky @markavery worked! Thank you for sharing and responding. More news in due course if I am allowed. I’ve been contacted by the Looted Art Commission who are trying to track down Henry Mayer-Gross (an ornithologist who was appointed as the BTO’s first Nest Records Scheme…