The recovery of the red kite is a great conservation success story and it’s good to see it celebrated in the regional press like here. One of my New Year’s resolutions is to see red kites, and spend at least a minute revelling in their beauty, on at least 200 days this year. They are…
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Where was the bulldog spirit on 19 December Mrs Spelman?
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We used to talk about joined up government, but I haven’t heard the phrase used so often these days. Maybe that’s just as well when the Defra Secretary of State regards biodiversity as the spice of life and the Chancellor regards it as the kiss of death for the economy. But we would have to…
What’s behind it?
It’ll be a while, no doubt, before the Treasury Minister, Chloe Smith replies to my MP, Louise Mensch, to tell me the basis of the Chancellor‘s decision to review the Habitat Regulations that he announced, with (it seemed to me) a certain degree of vindictive delight, in his Autumn Statement. At the moment I can…
A year in blogs
Here is my review of the year in blogs – the first four of which were written whilst I was still working at the RSPB and the last eight whilst ‘just me’. January Our forests- the small sell-off and big lease-off. One of the dangers of writing a daily blog is that you might shoot…
Reindeer
Did St Nicholas visit your house on Christmas Eve and deliver presents? And was his sleigh powered by eight reindeer; Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donder and Blitzen (and then there’s Rudolph too)? Real-life reindeer, or caribou, are having a tough time of it, and not through sleigh-pulling exhaustion (see also here and here).
Hot or cold?
Did you have turkey at Christmas? Is it still hanging around – if so, have a look at this. If it’s driving you to drink have a look at this. This north American woodland species was once nearly extinct because of overhunting but now is a common sight in many US states. How many feathers…
Pandas strung up.
This shocking image of a gamekeeper’s gibbet was on view at Towcester racecourse yesterday. How awful to see so many globally threatened pandas displayed in this way. A spokesman for the Notional Gamekeepers’ Association said ‘Well, you know how it is, pandas are lovely animals but it’s a ‘balance of nature thing’ and you’ve just…
Nasty, brutish and short
I had a great aunt who believed that robins were unlucky and so when one arrived on a Christmas card the said card would be torn up and thrown on the fire. How many robins do you see on your Christmas cards? David Lack was a famous English ornithologist who did much to increase our…
Holly and Ivy
All the holly blue butterflies you will see next spring are sitting around as pupae at the moment. The spring generation – late April-end of May – feeds on holly and the summer generation – late June-early August – feeds on ivy. Spare a thought for butterflies this Christmas.
MP letters
I told you that I went to see my MP Louise Mensch a little while ago and she said that she would write to the Treasury asking for the evidence that the Habitats Regulations are a brake on the UK economy and to Defra asking about implementation of the Birds Directive (given the decline in…