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Wildlife NGOs in 2013

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This year has been difficult for our wildlife NGOs.  Money is tight and the government is hostile to nature. The Grasslands Trust disappeared from the Tangled Bank of wildlife NGOs and many others have had to cut their expenditure (and their staff). There have been encouraging signs of NGOs working more closely together – most…

BTO thrushes coloured in my local picture

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I went out over the Christmas period to count thrushes for the BTO. The winter thrush survey hasn’t really caught my imagination, and I don’t hold great hopes for it producing fascinating results, but the BTO asked me to do it and so I did it gladly. It wasn’t onerous –  a bit of countryside…

I shall be doing RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch with my MP

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I’m very glad that my MP, Andy Sawford, has said that he can do the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch with me on the weekend of 25/26 January. Why not invite your MP too? Why shouldn’t 660 MPs be part of the 500,000 people taking part – giving wildlife an hour of their year? Think how…

Sunday Book Review – And After That He Ate Them by Leon Hills

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This book is for children but I enjoyed it, and I suspect younger children will too. A frog wanders around and comes across various other creatures, all of whom he engages in conversation before he eats them! The illustrations are big and bold and attractive.  In each there are half a dozen hidden mini-beasts for…

Old squaw in east Northants

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It’s not every day that you see a globally threatened bird species in Northants. And it’s not every day that you see a sea-duck in Northants. So you can appreciate that it isn’t even every other day that you see both rolled into one – a Long-tailed Duck in east Northants.  However, there have been…

The King George – not just a warm-up for Cheltenham

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The King George VI chase is racing’s Boxing Day highlight.  Second only to the Cheltenham Gold Cup in steeplechasing’s league table of prestige, this is usually a mid-winter battle between the best chasers of Britain, Ireland and sometimes of France too. The King George is often won by the same horses in successive years.  The…

Wildlife defence in England – a hollow force?

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During his/her annual speech last night the Chief of the Environmental Defence Staff was horribly misquoted as  saying; I can understand, completely, that in times of slightly lower national richness we must clobber the environment for all it is worth.  I have, of course, no argument with our ‘greenest ever Prime Minister’ on that score. …

Introducing Oscar Dewhurst

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Oscar Dewhurst is an 18 year-old wildlife photographer and birder from London. He’s been birding since he was 10, and photographing since he was 13, mainly in his local area of Southwest London, particularly at the WWT London Wetland Centre. Oscar’s work has been commended in several competitions, including the Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of…