Ten wildlife and conservation organisations are calling on the Scottish Government to impose a three year ban on all Mountain Hare culling on grouse moors until safeguards are in place to inform sustainable management, and to meet international conservation obligations. The organisations are: Highland Foundation for Wildlife John Muir Trust National Trust for Scotland RSPB…
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The curse of the Otter strikes again
Do you remember our attempt to persuade Cambridge University not to build a new boatyard on valuable wildlife land at Ely (see here, here, here, here)? Well, we didn’t exactly win that one, but have you noticed that Cambridge has lost all three men’s Boat Races since? And all three women’s Boat Races? And…
Labour’s nature deficit
Whenever I am feeling a bit out of sorts with the Labour party I read the words on the back of my membership card which says ‘by the strength of our common endeavour we achieve more than we achieve alone’. I believe that stuff. The trouble is, when it comes to environmental issues, I am…
Henry goes to…?
Henry looks sad. Poor Henry! Where is Henry? #HaveYouSeenHenry?
Oscar Dewhurst – Blue Tit
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Oscar writes: In Suffolk one morning the reed beds took on a wonderful golden colour due to the low sun and carpet of mist across the tops of the reeds. I desperately wanted to find something to photograph in this gorgeous light, and fortunately I noticed a group of blue tits feeding on the reed…
Malta’s missed opportunity – statement from BirdLife Malta
Although the result is not yet official, it seems certain that the Maltese people have voted 51:49 in favour of spring hunting. Steve Micklewright, Director of BirdLife Malta, one of the organisations leading the campaign to abolish spring hunting said, “This was an incredible opportunity for the people of Malta to stop the senseless killing…
That was close – but no cigar!
The Maltese people have voted by a very small margin, 51:49, to keep spring hunting. That’s very, very close but it’s a result. I wonder what the next step is. Maybe our wildlife NGOs really should think of a campaign to boycott Malta now. The accepted wisdom has been that too hard a campaign from…
Sunday book review – The Shepherd’s Life by James Rebanks
I recommend this book as the antivenom to George Monbiot’s book on rewilding (Feral), and vice versa, for this is a book that will make you like sheep and those who, to some extent, look after them in the hills. It’s a very good read and I enjoyed it very much. However, this book is…
Partly uncoiled
I had kept an eye on the weather forecast and rain was heading our way so I was at Stanwick Lakes for a bit of spring-spotting at 0700 this morning. It was cold again – it felt like the weather had stepped back to early March from mid-April. There was lots of song – Chiffchaffs…
Still coiled
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On Wednesday morning it was a lovely warm day and I thought I’d check how Spring was coming along before putting on a suit and heading to London to see my publisher, Bloomsbury, and then go to lunch with Lord Gnome. Stanwick Lakes was full of song: Chiffchaff song, Song Thrush song, Chaffinch song, Wren…