Peter Marren dropped a stone into the pond whose ripples continue to spread. His article in the Independent, followed by pieces (here and here) by the Independent’s Environment Editor Mike McCarthy, and aided and abetted by this blog, have opened up a debate on the tangled bank of UK wildlife NGOs – do we have…
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Coach me
Last Sunday I was one of 33 mid-Nene RSPB Local Group members who set off from east Northants at 7ish for the delights of the RSPB nature reserve at Titchwell. And delightful it was, too. Heading across the Fens we hoped that the forecast rain wouldn’t arrive before we’d seen a few decent birds. Just…
Wildlife NGOs as football clubs
It’s Saturday, and although I no longer have a local football team to support since the demise of the mighty Rushden and Diamonds (which has been made worse by the fact that Kettering now use ‘our’ Nene Park ground – although they do have the good grace to keep up their tradition of losing there)…
Bits and pieces
– The Independent has come back to the subject of NE’s treatment by the coalition government and the need for an independent voice for nature – and this blog even gets a mention – do remember to go out and buy Birdwatch – if only to read everything else in it other than my first…
Buy Birdwatch today
Buy Birdwatch today, or tomorrow, or soon, if you’d like to see my first monthly column as the ‘Political Birder‘. I’ll be writing about those issues that affect the birds you see around you – and asking you to do something about them. I see Birdwatch‘s website describes me as a ‘regular’ – I still…
NPPF – what do we want? And has Simon Jenkins shot the National Trust’s campaign in the foot?
This blog, prompted helpfully by reader Richard Wilson, attempted to spell out why the government’s proposed planning reforms are bad news for wildlife (click here but do read the comments as well as the blog). I don’t know how good a job I made of it but I haven’t found anything much better on the…
A natural solution
How do you feel about these two technological breaks-through which might change your life (if you live long enough)? Laser fusion is a way of forcing atoms together to make new atoms with the release of energy. Make a load of heavy hydrogen atoms come together to make helium and neutrons are released which produce…
The tangled bank
This is quite a long blog – for you it’s a ‘cup of tea and two chocolate digestives’ blog, for me it was a ‘two glasses of Rioja’ blog. And I write of the subject covered by Peter Marren in his thought-provoking opinion piece in the Independent last week (and the news piece written by…
My autumn – how about yours?
This is the ivy in my garden – it was buzzing with hoverflies, flies, wasps, ladybirds, a red admiral and spiders yesterday. I like looking at ivy at this time of year – in the sunshine – as it attracts lots of insects. And it’s worth a careful look – the more you look the…
The mouse that roared
I bet my former colleague Simon Marsh had a bit of a busy day yesterday – and probably the day before too. The Daily Telegraph published an opinion piece by Simon telling of his disappointment in the way that the government’s planning reforms have turned out. Not much news there you might say as that…