In Martin Harper’s blog at the beginning of the week were embedded a few words of support for Ed Hutchings’s e-petition on licensing of grouse shooting. These are the words: ‘For the past four years, we have argued that a system of licensing of driven grouse shooting is essential to help protect our amazing upland…
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Good news for farmland birds and taxpayers
An RSPB -led study demonstrates that well-designed agri-environment schemes can help farmland birds to recover towards their previous levels. This information is important at a time when the UK may be escaping the constraints of the EU Common Agricultural Policy and will be free to do a better job (or indeed a worse one) in…
Tim Melling – Hawfinches
Tim writes: 2017 has seen a massive influx of Hawfinches into Britain and some have turned up in places that they don’t usually occur, including this one near Barnsley. It was feeding on the seeds of Field Maple. Hawfinches are Britain’s largest breeding finch, but they are also probably our most elusive. They spend…
Guest blog – Bird of the Year by Ian Parsons
Ian Parsons spent twenty years working as a Ranger with the Forestry Commission, where he not only worked with birds of prey and dormice, but where he developed his passion for trees. Now a freelance writer, Ian runs his own specialist bird tour company leading tours to Extremadura. For more details see www.griffonholidays.com This is…
Tim Melling – Augur Buzzard
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Tim writes: The Augur Buzzard (Buteo augur) is found in upland areas of Ethiopia, plus many areas further south in Africa. It has two colour forms; a pale morph with a white body and underwing coverts, and a black morph like this one. They have an easy-to-recognise shape with bulging wings and a very short rufous…