Standing up for Nature
This is a good science programme – from Canada – Quirks and Quarks. I guess I was a quirk. Have a listen to the last 10 minutes of the programme to hear me (although the whole show is interesting) talking about Passenger Pigeons, and remember, A Message from Martha would make a good Christmas present…
I’m vegetarian four days a week and so I get a bit annoyed if I have beefy rammed down my throat all the time. It’s a bit unclear what the beef is that Ian Botham has with the RSPB except for the fact that they exist. He thinks they should tell the world that they…
I’ve spent some time with Chris Packham this year. We both talked at the Hampshire Ornithological Society AGM on my birthday in March, and chatted about Hen Harriers on that day and wound each other up on the subject. We stood together as part of the ‘Sodden 570’ on Hen Harrier Day in the Peak…
Note from Mark: apologies to Ralph and all of his fans (in which number I include myself) for the non-appearance of a cartoon last weekend. The cartoon was sent by Ralph but did not arrive with me.
I’ve had a reasonable, in an unreasonable sort of way, amount of abuse over my position that we should ban driven grouse shooting. Most of it is anonymous, most of it on Twitter, and almost all of it from people who have a tiny Twitter following. This reassures me that the people who don’t like…
A review of A Message from Martha in the Guardian. This book has had mostly good reviews, and some very good reviews, and a couple of stinkers. Obviously, as an author one tries to believe the good reviews and tries to dismiss the bad ones, but the bad ones tend to stick in one’s mind…
I have had a response (Tuesday evening) from Defra to my request for information on the Hen Harrier Sub-group. Most of it is a series of e-mails trying to fix dates for meetings but there are just a few interesting bits too. The information will also be published on www.govuk – good luck to you…
The continuing decline of farmland birds in our countryside (red line) is a clear sign that we are farming unsustainably (there are plenty of other signs – but this is a pretty good one). Yes 2012-13 was a pretty bad period for resident birds (and we are mostly talking residents here) but hardly one out…
I had a response (yesterday evening) from Defra to my request for information on the Hen Harrier Sub-group. Most of it is a series of e-mails trying to fix dates for meetings but there are just a few interesting bits too. The information will also be published on www.govuk – good luck to you if…
A little over two years ago I interviewed a certain Dr Mark Avery for a podcast. Mark had prepared a list of ’10 things we can all do to become activists’, and it had some inspiring sentences written into it. Perhaps not ‘Ask not what your country can do for you‘ inspiring, but practical, sensible,…