BLOG POSTS
GWCT burningbloggate
For a spin doctor, Andrew Gilruth has led the GWCT into a terrible place. This is an organisation that claims it is great at science – it used to be, but its best days are long gone. But if you are going to trade on your past scientific reputation then you have to play by…
Have you been keeping track?
Have you been keeping track of the Raptor Persecution Scotland blog over the last few days? On Wednesday they posted this blog Mass raptor poisoning in Wales: police cover-up? and then followed up yesterday with this Mass raptor poisoning in Wales: police respond but questions remain. Fascinating and important stuff – hat-tip to them!
Much less murky
The GWCT, YFTB, The Times and the Shooting Times are all making hay over an embargoed scientific paper which the rest of us can’t access. It’s pretty shoddy behaviour really. They should all remove their online articles and wait for the publication of the paper in May. I contacted the authors of the paper today….
Murky
When having a go at others it is best to be sure that you are on the moral high ground and not to sink into the depths. Please note, GWCT, YFTB and The Times. Yesterday the GWCT published a blog on their website. It refers to a paper which has not yet been published, and…
Country strife from HoT
We all know that Philip Merricks loves the Hen Harrier as he has been photographed in London cuddling up to one, and so it comes as no surprise that he descibes the bird as ‘magnificent’ in his article in Country Life praising the feckless Defra Hen Harrier non-plan (Is this the glorious solution? 2 March,…
National Parks – have your say
The Campaign for National Parks wants us to have a big conversation about the future of our National Parks – what a good idea. It’s a pretty good survey and doesn’t take very long to complete. The survey has useful questions such as: Q What, if any, changes would you like to see to National…
Martin Warren to flit off in the autumn
Dr Martin Warren, one of the wisest and most knowledgeable conservationists on the scene during my lifetime, is to retire from the role of CEO of Butterfly Conservation in the autumn. He will be missed not only because he knows a lot and has never been known to say anything daft, but also because he…
That FSA response on lead
Yesterday’s response from the FSA on lead was very helpful. Here is what they wrote (in blue) and comments from me: There is no agreed safe level for lead intake. Independent scientific expert groups across the European Union advise that exposure to lead should be reduced as far as possible. You can’t get much…
Common?
I like Common Gulls – otherwise known as Mew Gulls. When people ask me how to recognise them I say they are the gulls with friendly faces (there is no feature more diagnostic of a Herring Gull than its annoyed expression). But Common is a misnomer most of the time – in these parts, Common…