Standing up for Nature
There are two gorgeous, beautiful, male Reed Buntings that are still visiting the garden together. They must be half a mile, in a straight line, from the nearest possible nesting habitat so I am interested in their behaviour. Could they be miniature Tory canvassers trying to highlight the Conservative success in introducing same sex marriage…
Henry and I were in Yorkshire yesterday, but as he drove me home (what a clever Hen Harrier he is) we passed Lilford in the Nene Valley and I realised that today was an anniversary. Little Owls were successfully introduced into the UK at Lilford Hall by the 4th Baron Lilford in 1889; on St…
In Spain last week I talked to some environmentalists about the politics of nature conservation in Spain. Some of it sounded quite familiar. They were concerned about the Juncker review of the Birds and Habitats Directives; they felt that their government was not doing enough, and they were nervous about the results of the regional…
Is that a very large Hen Harrier or a very small Richard Porter? It’s both! Henry knew that he’d get a nice cup of tea chez Porter (and he also got some nice chocolate cake too). I know, it’s not exactly a mate for life, but it’s good to have cake now and again to…
The caption to this image (taken by Ed Hutchings – thank you Ed) would have to be, ‘Lord of none of what he surveys’. From the top of this dune in the Coto Donana one could see for miles. Some of Lawrence of Arabia was apparently filmed here. Looking over the marismas one got a…
Flying up and down in north Norfolk can be a bit scary. Too many bad things have happened in that part of the world. But today Henry seems to have found somewhere safe to settle for a while. I don’t think he will find a mate here – but I found a delicious bacon sandwich…
Let’s start at home – for we English anyway. On Friday, a consultation closes on whether the government should go ahead with a further tranche of designation of Marine Conservation Zones. And the answer is ‘they should’. The UK Marine and Coastal Planning Act is five and a half years old. Under its provisions Marine …
This blog is four years old today. There have been over 2111 blog posts and over 26,000 comments in that time. This blog is an independent voice for nature, primarily in England, but in the UK, the EU and the world. Apart from Guest Blogs, every word of it is written by Mark Avery. It’s…
Henry is visiting the area where a record number of poisoned birds of prey were found, leading to the conviction of a former gamekeeper. Henry may not have a girlfriend but he does have balls! #HaveYouSeenHenry? You remember, do you, the events which led to the conviction of the Stody Estate’s former gamekeeper Alan Lambert…
Stuart Housden writes: On 21st April 1945, seventy years ago, Derek Ratcliffe climbed to his first peregrine’s nest in the north Pennines. He was then a schoolboy at Carlisle Grammar School, but described that day in his memoir In Search of Nature as his ‘red letter day’. In fact, he was almost killed, as the…