As an example of life getting somewhat back to a new normal, the annual Society of Wildlife Artists’ exhibition opened at The Mall Galleries on Wednesday and closes on Sunday 24 October. It’s well worth a visit. On Wednesday evening, a slightly nervous group of guests arrived at the exhibition for the annual BTO Awards…
BLOG
Eagles off – beyond our ken.
There have been rumours of this for quite a while but this news is very disappointing. The account on the website is very apologetic and rightly so, I think, as this will feel like a let down for many supporters of the project. I have heard that as well as some local birders’ being uneasy…
Sunday book review – A Spotter’s Guide to Countryside Mysteries by John Wright
This is a bit like an i-Spy book for grown-ups, or semi-grown-ups. It’s an anthology of interesting things to look out for in the countryside, grouped in three sections; field, wood and seashore. The seashore section is short and felt a bit like a refreshing dessert after a sizeable starter in the fields and a…
A normal couple of days for my friend, Chris?
Yesterday my mate Chris Packham was handing in a petition to Buckingham Palace asking the Royal Family to rewild their extensive land holdings as a tangible and visible token of their support for UK nature conservation. It’s the type of thing Chris does – he’s a campaigner, he’s an advocate and he puts himself about…
Sunday book review – The Implausible Rewilding of the Pyrenees by Steve Cracknell
I’ve written several times that rewilding isn’t all about letting wolves and bears loose in the countryside, it’s about habitat restoration and letting nature take its course rather more. But this book is about the impacts of top predators on the pastoral communities in the Pyrenees (mainly) to which they have returned on foot or…