As a BTO member I recently got an email full of interesting information about that excellent organisation and including a link on the differences between the BTO and the RSPB. The impression you might get from this is that the BTO does the science and the RSPB uses the BTO’s science to change the world. …
BLOG POSTS
All at sea over planning
Today you get two blogs for the price of none – this one’s about planning, the other is about being at sea (or they might both be about being at sea…) Government is talking tough about its contentious proposals for changing the planning system. In a joint article in yesterday’s Financial Times, the Communities and…
I’ll be Doggered if I know (1)
Today you get two blogs for the price of none – this one’s about being at sea (or they might both be about being at sea…) Last Thursday Defra issued a press release about the Dogger Bank being given extra protection under the EU Habitats Regulations as a Special Area for Conservation (SAC)(but it’s proposed…
The war on biodiversity loss, cuts and bank voles
Last week the biodiversity (and many other things) Minister, Richard Benyon, was quoted on the matter of the recovering bittern population. The Minister said “To see a species that was once extinct in the UK rise to a population of over one hundred is a real achievement. This is largely down to the work of the…
Even a dull walk is worth having
Just a few thoughts from a walk around my local patch at Stanwick Lakes in east Northants yesterday morning; not many blackberries on the bushes this year – but lots of apples in the garden a few speckled wood butterflies were almost the only butterflies compared with just under a fortnight ago warblers were very…
No longer a passenger on our planet
Thursday was the 97th anniversary of the extinction of the passenger pigeon – once the commonest bird in the world and now a distant memory. The Independent newspaper published an article by me on the subject (click here) and regular readers will know I have a bit of a thing about passenger pigeons (click here,…
Boomtime for bitterns
I’m delighted that the RSPB and Natural England have been able to announce that booming bitterns have passed the 100 mark – and reached 104 booming males in fact. Given that in 1997 (incidentally, the year before I became the RSPB’s Conservation Director) there were only 11 booming males this is a remarkable and very welcome recovery. And let’s…
CFE and NFU
Last week’s Farmers Guardian had a couple of short pieces on the Campaign for the Farmed Environment, answering the question ‘Is it working?’. I was asked to write the piece saying ‘No’ and this is what I wrote: “The CFE is a Big Society approach – ironically one set by the last Labour Government. Would…
Last day to vote…
…for your favourite wildlife friendly farmer. Rob Law – see what Jordan’s Cereals say about him here Robert Kynaston – see what Open Farm Sunday says about this LEAF farmer here Somerset and Carolyne Charrington – see what Wild Scotland says about them here David White – see what the Countryside Alliance says about him…
Gone and forgotten?
‘Farmland birds in Europe fall to lowest levels‘ is a terribly sad headline. And we should be raging that things have got so bad. The grey (or ‘English’) partridge is in free-fall right across Europe with a decline of two thirds in numbers since 1990, and of 82% since 1980 according to the European Bird…