This blog is not about birds, nature conservation, politics or any of the usual subjects. The lady picture above died 96 years ago today and was named Lucy Jane Saint. She was my mum’s aunt – although she died eight years before my mother was born. My Great Aunt, known to her family as ‘Jinny’,…
BLOG POSTS
Saturday
This is the first time for years and years the RSPB AGM has been held away from London (and it’s back in London next year). The ICC in Birmingham was a short walk from New Street station and a perfectly good venue. As I arrived I remembered that I had been here before – for…
Guest Blog – There is nothing Green about these Country ‘Sports’ by Caroline Allen of the Green Party
Caroline Allen is a practising vet and the Green Party Spokesperson on Animals as well as Co-Chair of London Green Party. Caroline has worked on many animal-protection issues, most recently campaigning against the badger cull, expansion of factory farming and the overuse of antibiotics in animal farming. Shooting birds such as grouse and pheasants is…
Oscar Dewhurst – Stonechat
Oscar writes: While in Richmond Park one morning I came across a group of Stonechats moving through the bracken. With a bit of patience, one landed close to me, allowing me to get this image of it. Nikon D800, Nikon 600mm f4 AFS-II, Nikon 1.4x TC
Sunday book review – The Ash Tree by Oliver Rackham
This book was written in response to the recorded arrival of Ash dieback disease in the UK in 2012. Apparently it is the first book ever written about what is the one of the UK’s commonest trees. Oliver Rackham is one of the UK’s experts on the countryside, its history and its woodland and so…
Happy Birthday Andy Clements
I wouldn’t normally use this blog to wish a happy birthday to a friend but Andy Clements’ 60th birthday deserves celebrating. Andy is a great birder, a great bloke, a great conservationist and a great bloke (no harm in saying that twice). He has done (is doing!) a great job leading the BTO and is…
Retired hurt?
I was looking forward to seeing a titanic battle between (Sir) Ian Botham and the RSPB on Newsnight tonight. Given that Beefy is an all-rounder, would the RSPB field its Director, Scotland, Stuart Housden, to block the balls in Boycott-fashion or would Martin Harper be sent out to fire down a few bouncers at a…
A few things
Here are a few things in brief: the farmland bird index declined in 2013 (as predicted here) – and to their lowest level ever. You are living in a country with fewer farmland birds than at any time in your life. Doesn’t it make you feel good? I’ll blog in more detail on this next…
I was going to ignore this but…
Read this, then this, then forget about it. ********************************************************************************************************************** But hang on a minute. maybe we shouldn’t just ignore this attack on the RSPB by the shooting community – for that appears to be what it is. And it is timed to appear just before the RSPB AGM. Sir Ian Botham owns a shoot and…
Margate and more
Yesterday I went to Margate. I went to other places too, but I went to Margate. It was a funny day in a way – it had elements of looking backwards as well as living in the moment and a bit of looking forward. I woke early, I often do, and that made the rest…