Congratulations to the re-elected NFU President, Peter Kendall, whose speech at the NFU Conference was described as ‘shocking and regressive‘ by one of his own members on this site on Wednesday. That farmer said he voted for the NFU in the Nature of Harming ‘award’ and writes rather harshly that ‘Peter Kendall is a PR…
BLOG POSTS
Guest blogs
I’m grateful to the growing number of people who have posted Guest Blogs on this site. So far, the following have occurred: ‘Mr White’ on the demise of the RSPB’s Mark Avery Peter Marren on the state of wildlife NGOs, statutory agencies and more. Ian Coghill on the work of the GWCT David Bullock on…
Green Greeks
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Beware Germans bearing gifts may be the watchword in Athens now, but if you raise your eyes above the floor to the heavens, or just short of them, then you may see signs of green shoots of growth in the Greek economy. Or at least on the roof of the Treasury in Athens. These…
Guest blog – Gary Burgess, a pigeon fancier
Hi all I’m Gary Burgess and I’m a Pigeon Fancier and would like to thank Mark for this opportunity to write this Blog. I grew up in the late sixties/seventies. It now seems such a long time ago, almost like the dark ages. I was fortunate back in those days to live in an urban…
The NFU elects…?
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Today the NFU Council will elect its new President, Vice President and Deputy President – except there is a fair chance that all three will be re-elected. The NFU has a very progressive voting system – in some ways. If you are the incumbent then you need to get an increasing proportion of the votes…
It’s mad!
Yesterday’s blog suggested a different way of paying by results for success in agri-environment schemes – regional top-ups for participating farmers if the regional farmland bird index rises. It’s a tricky thing to administer, perhaps, but it is essentially a good idea (in my humble opinion). This month’s copy of The Field – with an…
Paying farmers by results 2
Last week I posted a blog about paying by results in agri-environment schemes which generated lots of comments. Here’s another way that we could pay by results. Like any system, including the current failing one, this proposal has its problems of monitoring, cost, fairness etc but it’s worth thinking about alternatives when the current system…
Just another member
I was up in t’northwest this week and managed to fit in a visit to the RSPB’s Leighton Moss nature reserve. I hoped to see a few good birds, remind myself of what a pretty place it is, maybe have a spot of lunch in the cafe and slip out again without being recognised as…
Nature of Harming update
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There is a clear leader in this poll but it’s nip and tuck for second place. But comments keep accruing – there are well over 100 already.
Book review and readers’ offer: Bird sense – what it’s like to be a bird, by Tim Birkhead
Seeing, hearing, touch, taste, smell, magnetic sense and emotions are the chapters under which Prof Tim Birkhead FRS discusses what it’s like to be a bird. It’s a good read and I learned a lot about how we people sense the world around us as well as how birds sense it differently. How do birds…