I had hoped there would be a Gardiner in Defra after the election, but I had hoped it would be Barry Gardiner MP. What has happened is that Lord Rupert de Mauley has gone and he hasn’t been replaced as a full minister (and as far as I can see he hasn’t got another job…
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The grouse moor industry
Henry is, by chance, very topical this week, seeing as how he is in the Forest of Bowland. Yesterday, Henry reminded us of how many Hen Harriers used to nest in that area in the recent past. The number of nests has often been in double figures – several times higher than the current whole…
Henry in Bowland 2
Henry is pining for a ringtail. He’d heard that the Forest of Bowland was his best chance for a hot date. ‘this one looks rather cute’ Henry told me. ‘I’m sure you’re right, Henry’, I said ‘They all look much the same to me’. Henry gave me a bit of a glare, I thought. He…
Henry in Bowland
Yes, Henry is in the Forest of Bowland – the so-called stronghold for Hen Harriers in England. Henry was pretty brave to show up here as three male Hen Harriers have disappeared from active nests in this area this season. There may be lonely ringtails around, but are the risks worth taking Henry? It was…
Howzat!
You might see some coverage in the papers today that has been generated by a press release from You Forgot the Birds – but probably not much coverage. You’ll remember that these are the people, ‘led’ by Sir Ian Botham, who tried to give the RSPB a hard time last autumn and succeeded in stiffening…
Have You Seen Henry
Comments Off on Have You Seen Henry
What a glorious day! Here Henry is relaxing in the sunshine somewhere in the north of England. A car drove past and didn’t give Henry a glance! But this general area is a place where everyone ought to be looking out for Hen Harriers. And there are nowhere near as many of them as there…
Really?
The Defra Press Office has just confirmed to me that Lord Gardiner has been appointed as their Lords minister. I phoned them just now. The Defra Press Officer seemed surprised I should ask, and seemed to think the appointment was made last Thursday. But the government website does not mention his name. Lord Gardiner is…
Guest blog – “So, Ben, about this list…” by Ben Hoare
Ben Hoare has been a natural history editor for 20 years. One of his first jobs was deciphering the pencil scrawl of ornithologist Hadoram Shirihai in Eilat – he was paid in ‘life ticks’, including Basra reed warbler, Nubian nightjar and Southern pochard. In 2009 (by now earning real money) Ben became Features Editor of…
Round up
A few things: I enjoyed being at the Norfolk Bird Fair on Saturday. I gave a talk about Passenger Pigeons and Hen Harriers to c70 people and I thought it went well. I sold a few books, had a few chats, met a few friends and saw a Hobby overhead – did anyone else see…
Sunday book review – On a Wing and a Prayer by Sarah Woods
This is a lovely book. I did wonder whether I was going to enjoy the travels of a lone woman through the rainforests of central and South America in search of lots of things including Harpy Eagles – but I very much did. Sarah Woods now works for the RSPB, which I didn’t realise until…