OK – time for another little quiz, thanks to the wonder of Birdtrack. The list below is a birdlist from a site I have visited many times, not primarily to see birds, but then you can’t help but see birds if you have your eyes and ears tuned in. Mallard Pheasant Grey Heron Red Kite…
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Not so Fine Shade (5) – privatisation by the back door?
This is a piece I have just had published on the Guardian website which puts Fineshade into the wider political context. Why has the FC allowed Forest Holidays to submit a planning proposal with such inadequate data? Where are those who opposed forestry privatisation when it was proposed by the front door, now it is…
Squeal, squeal, trill, croak – but not a peep.
A walk around Rainham Marshes RSPB nature reserve last week was a great pleasure. The weather wasn’t bad and the birds weren’t bad either. There were supposed to be huge flocks of Marsh Harriers darkening the sky, but I didn’t see a single one. It was a day more for listening than looking, actually. A…
Not exactly how I would have put it, but…
This e-petition is protesting about the back-door privatisation of our forests with Fineshade as an example. It’s not really worded in the way I would have worded it, and I’m not sure that it is aimed at the correct government department either, but the gist is right and I have signed it with pleasure. Maybe…
Not so Fine Shade (4)
Many people have contacted me over the role of NGOs in the Fineshade case. It’s not universal, but there has been a lot of criticism of the Woodland Trust for being very keen on ancient woodland, and being very keen to be paid to plant completely new woodland, but being a bit ambivalent about spending…
Oscar Dewhurst – Arctic tern chick
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Oscar writes: Another taken on the Isle of May. Before the boat docked at the island we could hear the calls of Arctic Terns at their breeding colony. Unfortunately you had to walk along a path through the colony to get to other parts of the island. They are fiercely protective and will dive-bomb intruders, so…
Sunday book review – Horus the Peregrine Falcon by John Miles
This book is aimed at children but I’m just a big kid so I enjoyed it too. Horus, a young Peregrine, lives in London and visits many well-known London landmarks. The point is made that he may be safer in the city than if he ventured onto a grouse moor (which did make me smile)….
Saturday cartoon by Ralph Underhill
Stephen Hawking warns that attempting to contact aliens could invite disaster.
Round up
Some stuff that caught my eye: e-petition to ban driven grouse shooting stands at 20,752 signatures. Thank you everyone. By the way, this is more than 10,000 more than GWCT, BASC etc could scrape together for their e-petition which tells you quite a lot. The Lodge Hill proposal has been ‘called in’ Countryside Alliance Chair…
Not so Fine Shade (3)
This morning a group of about 20 concerned locals gathered in the Fineshade car park to meet the local MP, Andy Sawford. It was good to see Andy paying attention to this local rural case, though, as he said, he doesn’t have a vote, but if he did, he said he would vote against the…