Roy Dennis is a senior and eminent wildlife conservationist with a lovely voice and plenty of things to say. He once worked for the RSPB as Highland Officer and before that he was the director of the Fair Isle Bird Observatory. For many, Roy is best known for his role in promoting reintroductions of mammals…
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Book review – Natures Wonder’s by Jane V. Adams
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This book will sit snugly in many National Trust shops. It takes you through the seasons and points you towards things you should see, hear, smell and feel. Almost the first thing to look for is your first Brimstone butterfly – I’ve seen a few in the last 10 days so it must be early…
Book review: Twitching by Numbers by Garry Bagnell
This book wouldn’t be everybody’s cup of tea but I enjoyed it. The author has already created a bit of a Twitter storm by offending some readers with remarks that were definitely not politically correct. I have only read the expurgated version so I am mostly unsighted on what has been removed. It would still…
Book review – The Meaning of Geese by Nick Acheson
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This is the tale of a wild goose chase although the chase isn’t that wild as it is mostly carried out on an old red bicycle (I liked hearing about the bicycle) and not all of the geese are completely wild either. The author cycles around north Norfolk during the winter and describes his encounters…
A taste of Country Life
I’ve been reading the 15 February copy of Country Life. It’s a publication I look at a few times a year just to keep in touch with what’s really going on in the countryside. It took me a while to decide whether I preferred the £19m (guide offer) c7-acre pad in Jersey or the 26.59…
Dear Natural England
Sent to ProtectedSites@naturalengland.org.uk Dear Natural England I live in Northamptonshire and am interested in the status of several local SSSIs, all of which I have visited. I have looked them up on your rather excellent website https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/SiteSearch.aspx and note that you invite users of the website to contact you for more information. So, that’s what…
Sunday book review – When the kite builds… by Mike Pienkowski
I can see a Red Kite from my Northamptonshire home every day of the year. I often pause to look at them even though I see them more often than I see a Buzzard or a Kestrel. I pause because they are just wonderful birds but also because they are a conservation success story –…
Complaint to Defra
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I complained to Defra about the fact that they took over 5 months to reply to an enquiry from my MP- see here. I received this reply this week: Dear Dr Avery, Thank you for your email of 25 January, regarding your complaint about the time taken to respond to your MP, Tom Pursglove, who…
Response from my MP
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I wrote to Defra (see following blog) and my MP (see here) about the fact that Defra took over 5 months to respond to an enquiry from my MP on my behalf. I received this response: Dear Mark,Thank you for your email.I was sorry to hear that you were dissatisfied with the length of response…
Sunday book review – Cruel Intentions by Alan Stewart
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This is the sequel to the excellent Calls from the Wild (reviewed here). PC Bob McKay gets to tackle more wildlife crimes such as Fox hunting and deer poaching. Grouse moors, and their shady managers, play large parts in this volume along with bothered Beavers, baited Badgers and disturbed dolphins. Alan Stewart writes very well…