I was sent this photo by a reader of this blog. It comes from ‘An Illustrated Manual of British Birds’ by Howard Saunders (1889) :- ‘As regards the British Islands, the epithet “common” is annually becoming less and less applicable to this species; but there are wild and wooded districts in England – especially…
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BASC and Moorland Association are uncharitable
It is difficult to believe, and I don’t believe, that BASC and the Moorland Association aren’t putting out misleading information about grouse moors to MPs (see my analysis of their ‘misinfographic’ here). I contacted both BASC and the Moorland Association to ask them whether they stood by every word of their information the other day….
Be there online
Next Tuesday’s Rally for Nature is just about full – physically full. If you want to attend the speeches etc then you will have to get a move on and register very soon to avoid disappointment. However, you can still email your MP and tell them and their political party to do more for wildlife….
Last chance
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Today’s the last chance to have a go at this simple little quiz. Any entries to be posted as comments on this blog by 10pm. Which five species of bird have I seen over the years at Stanwick Lakes and omitted from the list? A signed copy of A Message from Martha or…
Vaccination of badgers
The good thing about this strange statement from the NFU is that they are wanting more vaccination of badgers. One of the strange things is that they seem to think that it is the job of wildlife charities to provide it rather than their own industry or government. This represents, it appears, quite a lurch…
Guest Blog – Of nests and nets by Dave Leech (BTO)
Dr Dave Leech is a Senior Research Ecologist at BTO, where I oversee the Nest Record Scheme (NRS) and the two standardised ringing projects, the Constant Effort Site (CES) scheme and the Retrapping Adults for Survival (RAS) scheme. My job involves developing survey methodology, analysing data and communicating the results to volunteers and the general…
Inglorious 12
This infographic has been sent to MPs by the Moorland Association and BASC recently. It allows me to make a few points. 1. They say: ‘Managing heather helps preserve and protect UK’s biggest carbon store‘. Not so according to The Times (1 October) reporting a recent study by Leeds University : ‘The owners of…
Dear Andy – letter to my MP
Dear Andy I hope you are well. I’ll be coming to parliament a week today on a rally organised by the RSPB, the Wildlife Trusts and the League Against Cruel Sports, and supported by some other countryside organisations too. If you are around and could spare a few moments to talk then I’d be very…
If nothing happens, something will happen
It seems like the grouse shooters are in a corner and they are not sure what to do next. So they are falling back on the tactic that has served them well up until now – do nothing, give no ground, wait and see. Grouse shooting is in a corner – a corner of its…
Oscar Dewhurst – Stonechats
Oscar writes: While walking through a heathland last year I came across a family of Stonechats moving through the heather. I positioned myself slightly ahead of them and waited for them to come closer, which, luckily for me, they did. This image shows the two young birds perched on top of a clump of…