I am a birder, but I have got used to looking for signs of spring other than the arrival of warblers and hirundines, wheatears and garganey, Sandwich terns and ring ousels. I can just about recognise a few butterflies and even some of the commoner spring plants. But I have become quite adept at spotting…
BLOG POSTS
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To Dave Webster Interim Chief Executive Natural England Dear Mr Webster I am writing to you, again, concerning the Natural England decision to reach an agreement with the Walshaw Moor Estate over their past, present and future management of moorland and blanket bog. I believe that this enquiry falls under the remit of the…
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To Richard Benyon Parliamentary Under Secretary Defra Dear Richard I am writing to you concerning the Natural England decision to reach an agreement with the Walshaw Moor Estate over their past, present and future management of moorland and blanket bog. I believe that this enquiry falls under the remit of the Freedom of Information…
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Dear [name of civil servant] I am writing to ask you about your role, if any, in the Natural England decision to reach an agreement with the Walshaw Moor Estate over moorland management. I believe that this enquiry falls under the remit of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004,…
Wuthering Moors 10
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to: Dave Webster Interim Chief Executive, Natural England Dear Mr Webster I am writing to you concerning the Natural England decision to reach an agreement with the Walshaw Moor Estate over their past, present and future management of moorland and blanket bog. I believe that this enquiry falls under the remit of the Freedom of…
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Steve Downing, Chairman of Calderdale Raptor Study Group said, “At the beginning of August 2010 I visited Walshaw Estate with a friend looking for merlin, short-eared owls and hobby. Whilst we were there we noticed that a stream appeared to have been diverted and converted into a vehicle track, a separate track on another part…
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Walshaw Moor is owned by Richard Bannister who almost always seems to be described as ‘wealthy’ so I guess he must be. He lives near the estate and is a director of Walshaw Moor Estate alongside being an apparently successful businessman. As far as I can recall, he and I have never met but he…
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If you aren’t interested in what I am beginning to think of as the ‘Walshaw Moor affair’ then come back to this blog tomorrow – but if you are, then come back to this blog during the day to see a range of blogs on the subject. The story so far: the peculiarly British sport…
Nature of Harming ‘award’ – who’s the April fool?
The result of the Nature of Harming ‘award’ is as follows: 1st The coalition government 626 votes 2nd The NFU 225 votes 3rd Gamekeepers who break the law 193 votes Thank you to everyone who voted and even more thanks to all who commented on the poll. The victor wasn’t really in doubt from Day…
Ramblings
It was my birthday on Thursday and I was in my car for much of the day so it reminded me of the USA trip to which I was looking forward (rightly) this time last year. Driving through southern England is a bit different from driving on the open roads of much of the USA…