David Cameron is hopping around Europe in the vain hope of persuading other European countries to support his wish that more of the EU rules should be made voluntary rather than mandatory. He is expected to get short shrift in Madrid, Paris and Berlin but then maybe he should be heading to Nicosia and Valetta…
BLOG POSTS
There is no evidence that there is no evidence.
I’ve had a bout of man-flu recently, so I have been feeling sorry for myself and listening to lots of Radio 4 (and I’ve discovered more of the pleasures of Radio 4Extra). One of the stories that played through the last week or so was the temporary closure of Leeds General Infirmary for heart surgery. …
– quite some time ago I mentioned a joint statement by the GWCT and the RSPB on the results of the study of raptors gobbling up red grouse which took place at Langholm. I’m grateful to GWCT for putting this report on their website where anyone can now refresh their memories of the results…
Cartoon by Ralph Underhill
A couple of weekends ago I was driving down to Surrey. There was snow in the fields and snow and ice on the branches of the trees. The wind had been consistently from the east for days. It was a grey and chill day. As I drove south down the M1 I passed through several…
I hope they sink (IV)
Something for the weekend Vice Chancellor? I’m quite sure that the Vice Chancellor of Cambridge University, Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, will have been thinking about his boathouse conundrum. Here are some contributions for his weekend cogitation. It’s not going to go away – you are stick with a contentious issue. Sometimes it’s tempting to think…
It always surprises me
When I am filling in a list of species seen at my local patch of Stanwick Lakes on the fairly wonderful Birdtrack something always trips me up, mentally speaking. I go through the list in systematic order ticking off the usual mute swan, greylag and Canada geese, followed by a bunch of ducks. Then there…
What can one person do?
I was recently sent this link by a friend of my daughter – it tells an inspiring story about a man who planted a forest. Have you planted your forest yet? Have you started? People quite often ask me whether I miss the RSPB and my usual answer is along the lines of : No….
I hope they sink (III)
This is the third blog on the subject of the Cambridge University Boat Club’s misguided plans to erect their new boathouse on a county wildlife site on the edge of Ely. Today the Duke of Edinburgh visits Cambridge to be at the launch of the Cambridge Conservation Initiative. Prince Philip was the Chancellor of…
All fools
I have come to the end of March and not seen or heard a single spring migrant. Amazing. Did you notice that Oxford won the Boat Race – and I think I may have seen an otter holding on to the back of the Cambridge boat… The editor of the Independent, Chris Blackhurst, writes a…
Happy Easter
Birds’ eggs are very beautiful – there’s something about the perfect smooth oval shapes that is pleasing to the eye. Personally, I’m hopeless at identifying bird eggs – I am almost clueless about what different species’ eggs look like. This is very different from previous generations of birders and naturalists and conservationists, many of whom…