This is a book about butterflies in the USA – and about the people who like butterflies and the people met ‘on the road’ while looking for butterflies. The road is quite a long one as Bob Pyle tried to see all the USA’s butterflies in a year – which meant criss-crossing the USA several…
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Sunday Book review – Birds of the Heart of England, edited by Trevor Easterbrook
This volume is about the birds of 12 10-km squares in the middle of England, centred on Banbury. The Banbury Ornithological Society was founded in 1952 and this volume is a very impressive record of their work (and play) over the last six decades. I used to live in this area, and am ashamed to…
A tangled bank
If you subscribe to the excellent British Wildlife then you may have seen my article praising the wildlife NGOs for the State of Nature report which came out in June. I didn’t get the impression at the Bird Fair last week that any follow up is planned. Maybe I’m wrong, but…
NoFA Nick?
This is just a reminder to vote in the annual RSPB/Butterfly Conservation/Plantlife/Daily Telegraph Nature of Farming Award poll. You, we, get the chance to choose who we think is the UK’s most wildlife-friendly farmer. This year there are eight finalists and they all look good. You have to choose and cast your vote by…
M&S – a response
This response from M&S at 1653 this afternoon – just so that you know I haven’t been sitting on it. It seems that M&S are beginning to get their heads around these matters. No promise to do anything about labelling on the issues surrounding lead. I suggest that either M&S label all their shot game…
Grouse – various
Isn’t nature wonderful – the image at the head of this post is of strongylid worms (the white things) crawling out of some red grouse poo. It’s possible that quite a few people and organisations feel like they are in the ‘grouse poo’ at the moment but, on the other hand, maybe they are all…
M&S: the smoking gunner?
How interesting that the meat buyer for M&S, Tom Harvey, is, in his own words ‘a massive fan of anything shooting/game or wine related‘ according to his Twitter account. There is nothing wrong with that, of course. If he’d like to buy me a glass of decent Rioja then I’d be very happy to…
How (and why?) M&S are getting it wrong
Yesterday’s blog seemed to hit the right note with many people but the lack of responses from M&S are not going down well. Selling game in a couple of stores is hardly a make or break decision for M&S – you’d think that a bit of unfavourable reaction would persuade their accountants not to bother….
M&S, the grouse, the lead and the hen harriers
I am a fan of Marks and Spencer (M&S) – but maybe that is going to change. I am signed up to their email newsletter (which only yesterday was telling me about offers on champagne and lingerie – how sadly they misread my lifestyle!), I tend to seek out their stores in London to buy…
Bird Fair 2013 – Day 3
Heroes and villains? People-watching is very interesting at the Bird Fair – it’s almost as much fun as birdwatching. I spotted four people at the Bird Fair over the weekend whom I regard as heroes – and none was wearing a VIP badge. Ian Newton: Professor Ian Newton OBE, FRS, FRSE is the leading British…