Uncoiling Spring

I’ve been at Stanwick Lakes each morning for the last four and although Spring still has plenty of tension in it, it is beginning to unwind. Over the past four mornings Sedge Warblers have moved from absent (to my ears) to occasional, to all over the place and everywhere I would expect them to be….

Hear hear! Hare hare!

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…

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…

Oscar Dewhurst – Blue Tit

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…