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…
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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…
I hope they sink (II)
The Beds, Cambs and Northants Wildlife Trust has really got stuck in to the Cambridge University Boat Club issue – see their website here. A letter has been submitted to the Daily/Sunday Telegraph from prominent environmentalists asking the Cambridge University Boat Club to reconsider its position – if not published by Telegraph newspapers it will…
‘Protect creation’ says Pope Francis
This blog asked some time ago whether the choice of the new Pope would have any environmental importance – and my hopes weren’t that high, to be honest. Pope Francis mentioned the environment and the need to ‘protect creation’ in his first mass. That’s a good start (see coverage here, here, here but particularly…
Book Review – Bird Conservation by Williams et al
Bird Conservation – global evidence for the effects of interventions by David R Williams, Robert G Pople, David A Showler, Lynn V Dicks, Matthew F Child, Erasmus KHJ zu Ermgassen and William J Sutherland. Published by Pelagic Publishing. Paperback £34.99, Hardback £64.99, e-Book £19.99. 575 pages. This is a very useful reference book for conservation…
Well done Hawk and Owl Trust!
The Hawk and Owl Trust are throwing their support behind the e-petition on the licensing of grouse moors and gamekeepers. Well done! Let’s see what other bird conservation organisations do… But you can sign up here – it’s going well, so far.