From the end of July to the middle of August I was travelling. You might say holidaying (but some of it might be tax-deductable). Can you work out where I went from the clues below? Funnily enough I went to lots of nature reserves and a few historic monuments. It’s just for fun – maybe…
BLOG POSTS
Give oceans real protection – everyone gains
More than two thirds of the Earth’s surface is ocean and yet we give it barely a thought, at least according to a recent poll by KnowSeas which shows that only a third of UK citizens are worried by ocean health whereas around 60% of Portuguese and Spaniards have the oceans on their minds. Might…
Turtle doves under fire
I haven’t seen a turtle dove in Northamptonshire this year and it seems I am not the only one. This was a bird that I didn’t see in the north Somerset countryside where I grew up. It was only when we came on holiday to East Anglia that I saw my first turtle dove –…
Guest Blog – response to Mark Avery by Magnus Linklater
Magnus Linklater is a former editor of The Scotsman and Scottish Editor of The Times. He is trustee of an estate in Perthshire, and a regular commentator on rural affairs. I knew that taking on the RSPB would be nothing but trouble. But I was not quite prepared for the volume and ferocity of…
Man on the Earth
The death of Neil Armstrong has made us all think of those days when Mankind took that giant leap. Armstrong seems to have been a lovely, talented and modest man; and therefore a good choice to be the first of our species to step on the Moon. Few of us have had the privilege of…
Five things to do this weekend – particularly if it’s raining
Have a look at the ‘a focus on nature’ website. Launched at the Bird Fair this looks like a good initiative to me. How do ‘young people’ get the advice and mentoring that they need to get into nature conservation? I’ve offered to give a helping hand and maybe you can too? Or maybe you…
Who am I, at the Bird Fair?
Or rather, what am I? As you may have picked up, I live in rural Northamptonshire, but close to the Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire borders (bandit country?). I, therefore, am often crossing into neighbouring counties and passing the roadside signs which announce them. I was very fond of the old signs which announced that Northamptonshire was…
Send WWT £10 now! I have.
I’ve mentioned the spoon-billed sandpiper a few times in this blog (eg here and here). There is a very brave, uncertain and exciting rescue attempt being made to save this bird from extinction by a bunch of organisations: WWT, RSPB, BirdLife International and Birds Russia (with help from loads of other people). WWT have produced…
Wuthering Moors 27
Blogs entitled ‘Wuthering Moors’ form a series of articles about the Walshaw Moor Estate and its relationship with Natural England and Defra. The Observer published this letter from a sizeable group of Hebden Bridge residents who are concerned that the management of nearby grouse moors including Walshaw Moor has increased the risk of flooding for…
What would Douglas Adams think of this?
Douglas Adams, who wrote the five books in the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy trilogy, was a great environmentalist. Hitchhikers is a book about environmentalism – and the fact it is funny doesn’t make it any the less serious. At the beginning of the book, when Arthur Dent’s house is to be demolished, he is…