I’ve just given the GWCT some money as they have a crowdfunder running so that they can study Woodcock, and I like Woodcock. Earlier this week, I gave some money to Birders Against Wildlife Crime so that they can study birds of prey: I like birds of prey too. The two appeals would make an…
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Bird flu outbreak in Pheasant farm in Lancashire
Bird flu has been confirmed in a Pheasant ‘farm’ near Preston, Lancashire says Defra. The Pheasant is a non-native species which is reared in captivity in the UK and released in its tens of millions into the UK countryside each year. Millions of Pheasant poults are imported into the UK and these represent a risk…
Winter Woodcock – watch (don’t shoot)
Did you see the Woodcock on Winterwatch last night? Didn’t you just want to shoot them? No? How strange. If you did shoot them then you wouldn’t have to tell anyone and we wouldn’t have any record of your behaviour. We wouldn’t know if you shot more this year than last year, for example. Woodcock…
Moorland Management Plans in England
It’s a long time now since I worked in nature conservation and so increasingly I find that the jargon has moved on from that with which I used to be entirely comfortable. When Moorland Management Plans came up in a conversation with an old friend I had to admit to being unaware of what they…
Are you a wildlife enthusiast?
Are you a wildlife enthusiast? I bet you are! If so, the Forestry Commission in England would like to hear your views – so you should take the opportunity to give them. Takes about 7 minutes, is not too taxing! Click here. Some of the questions are a bit odd but it’s nice to be…
BAWC crowdfunder going well
Was it really only yesterday that Birders Against Wildlife Crime launched their crowd funding appeal to set up a raptor-tagging project? In just over a day it has already raised getting on for £5,000 out of an initial target of £10,000. Thank you to everyone who has contributed so far. The project involves satellite-tagging raptors…
Guest blog – Make Great Britain Green Again by Richard Benwell
Richard has worked in the Westminster parliament as a researcher in the House of Lords and as a Senior Clerk for the Energy and Climate Change Committee. He is now Head of Government Affairs at WWT after spending a couple of years as a Parliamentary Officer at the RSPB. “Make America…
Oscar Dewhurst – Tufted Duck
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This was another image from my first trip out in 2017. Seeing clear skies forecast for the following morning, I set my alarm early and was in Richmond Park before sunrise. I wanted to photograph the ducks and geese around the pen ponds, but into the sun, so positioned myself low to the water and…
Books in book shops
No book review this week – I haven’t had time to do a particular book justice in my reading. But I have been in a few bookshops in London. It’s always good to see one’s own books on sale, even if they sometimes take a bit of tracking down sometimes. This copy of Remarkable Birds…
Tim Melling – Tufted Tit Tyrant
This tiny, beautiful bird occurs in montane forest all along the Andes, but occurs more generally in Patagonia right down to the coast. But they did not seem particularly common, and they were always on the move when I saw them so never easy to connect with. I photographed this individual in a Southern Beech…