We’re not quite half way in the life of this petition supported by just about all the wildlife and environmental groups in England (it is largely, not completely, an English matter but that doesn’t prevent any UK resident helping wildlife in England). But I would say that we are not yet half way to respectability…
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Sunday book review – Butterflies by Martin Warren
Arguably, there are too many natural history books published these days – but this isn’t one of the surplus. This is an excellent read and packed full of information from an acknowledged expert of many years standing. Martin Warren is the former Chief Executive of Butterfly Conservation (I was actually on the interview panel which…
Tim Melling – Bar-tailed Godwit
Tim writes: the two British Godwits are easy to tell apart if you see them in flight. Black-tailed Godwit has a black tail and a huge white wing stripe whereas this Bar-tailed Godwit has a barred tail and no wing stripe, rather like a Curlew. The names of both of these birds were coined in…
Saturday cartoons by Ralph Underhill
There are now just two Saturdays before this blog goes into a much reduced state of activity (see here). Today and last Saturday Ralph and I have chosen some of our favourites of his cartoons that have appeared here over the years. There are a lot to choose from: Ralph’s first cartoon here was in…
Garden thoughts
A flip side of being able to nip down to Stanwick Lakes regularly this year (see yesterday’s blog), unlike last year, is that I spend less time tuning in to Spring in the garden. But, it has recently been so cold , it’s the wind you know, that sitting in the garden is currently less…
Spring uncoiling at Stanwick Lakes
This Spring is different from last in so many ways. Every Spring is different, but each has Hope written through it. It’s a time when things get better – the days get longer, they get warmer, and the natural world springs into a greater abundance of sound and colours each day. As far as Nature…
Guest blog – HS2 Limited and Natural England – Partners in Crime? by Dominic Woodfield
Dominic Woodfield is the Managing Director of Bioscan, a long established and well-respected consultancy specialising in applied ecology. He is a life-long birder, a specialist in botany, habitat restoration and creation and in protected fauna including bats, herpetofauna and other species. He is also a highly experienced practitioner in Environmental Impact Assessment and Habitats Regulations…
Pheasant predation on Swallowtail pupa filmed
The British subspecies of the Swallowtail is pretty much restricted to the Norfolk Broads and is a species whose numbers have increased in recent years although its distribution may have contracted. It’s a species of conservation concern and is the subject of conservation measures and studies. Kevin Radley and Hannah Breach are carrying out an…
Five weeks and 106,000+ signatures.
Another week, and another 6-7000 signatures – solid but not enough, in my view. Weekends are always slow, and this week has seen a three-day weekend, and the sun shone for some of it too – always bad for petitions. The future 1 April 2030 newspaper was a good attention raiser – every Westminster MP…
More riches of authorship
This book is out of stock at the publishers, Bloomsbury, and has been for quite some time now, but then it was published in 2015 (hardback) and 2016 (updated paperback). So if you see one in a bookshop just blow the dust off it, please. I received my royalty payment for 2020 recently and it…