Ralph writes: if we are going to succeed at tackling big problems like climate change and raptor persecution we need to understand that people are influenced by their emotions and values. Humans as a species are not fact-processing machines and we need to adapt our approaches with this in mind – for more information see…
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Bird Fair Day 1
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Well, that just shot past. I missed the opening ceremony. I gave half a talk and Tristan Reid gave the other half – it seemed to add up to a proper talk in the end. A lady was emotional about the fact that Turtle Doves had not turned up in her village this year –…
The book to buy at the Bird Fair
This morning I am talking about Passenger Pigeons in a double act with Tristan Reid in the Main Event Marquee at 1100 (until 1145). Come and listen to the tale of the Passenger Pigeon and what it signifies for us today in a countryside which is losing its farmland birds – and another pigeon, the…
Right arguments – northern, rocky maths
If there were any doubt about the fact that the establishment is mobilising to defend the indefensible – driven grouse shooting – then you only have to pick up the right wing press to have your doubts dismissed. In the run-up to Hen Harrier Day and the Inglorious 12th the defenders of driven grouse shooting…
Guest poem – The Blood and the Purple (to mark Hen Harrier Day) by John Smart
I and a colleague, who does much work for the Essex Wildlife Trust, attended the ‘Hen Harrier Day’ protest event on Sunday, at Derwent Water in the Peak District. It was heartening to mingle with so many like-minded folk who are appalled at the persecution of raptors across the grouse moors. And even more dismayed…
20 things you must do at the Bird Fair
Buy a copy of A Message from Martha Miss the opening ceremony (it’s not exactly Danny Boyle) but if you find yourself waking up at the end of it then do stay for an interesting talk by Tristan Reid about running for Turtles Doves and some other bloke about a bird that’s been extinct…
A Swift exit?
Last year, the last evening with Swifts above my house was 8 August. This year, my last record so far, was the morning of 9 August before heading off to the Peak District. Are they really gone? I have seen them on evenings at home after days at the Bird Fair before – we’ll see….
Hen Harrier Day – some ‘thank you’s
I was thanked a lot on Saturday, Sunday and subsequently for organising the Hen Harrier Day event in the Peak District. It really didn’t take much organising – it took a bit of nerve though! Here is a run-through of the roles of organisations and individuals in making Hen Harrier Day happen. Some people’s roles…
And at the end of the Inglorious 12th…
…over 14,000 folk have signed the e-petition to ban driven grouse shooting (making it the 11th most successful Defra-related e-petition ever). This is the summer of the Hen Harrier. Things are changing. You are making that change happen. Thank you.
The media war
First things first, no-one much would be talking about Hen Harriers today if it weren’t for Hen Harrier Day and an e-petition to ban driven grouse shooting. Well done us! Standing in the rain in Lancashire, Northumberland and Derbyshire (and in the sun in Dorset – yes, I’m envious) is changing the story. Chris Packham…