Yesterday’s blog considered an interesting report by gamekeepers about the state of the countryside and today’s blog is about a slightly dull report by the BTO, RSPB and the JNCC about the state of breeding bird populations in the countryside. Yesterday’s report was based on a questionnaire survey whereas this one is based on tens…
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An interesting report
At the Game Fair – I said those couple of days could keep this blog going for ages – I picked up a report by the National Gamekeepers Organisation considering the state of nature on commercial shoots. It’s an interesting read. With the snappy title ‘Gamekeepers and Wildlife’ this report compiles information from a postal…
Bitter harvest?
Around where I live the combines are out in the fields working by day and into the night. It’s a bit unusual that some farmers are getting in their wheat before the end of the barley or rape harvests. The high prices of wheat mean that everything depends on a good wheat harvest and yields…
TMS caught out by Batesian mimic?
England won the second test match yesterday on a very warm day. After listening to see whether Bresnan would get a hat-trick (he didn’t) I nipped out to post some copies of my book to very astute purchasers. This is becoming a regular afternoon outing and that’s fine by me. My route takes me through…
Do let it grow under your feet
I am quite busy in my post-RSPB life but I do find I have more time to read things that I would have meant to read in the past, but around to which I would not have got. This report, Nature’s Tapestry, is a good example of something which I am glad that I can…
Something for the weekend sir?
I love farmers. Well, admittedly not all of them, but then I don’t love all birdwatchers, all RSPB members or all of anything – maybe all hen harriers? But I do love the fact that some farmers are doing a fantastic job with the help of my taxpayer’s money on their farms. We have come…
The raptor haters – Sir Max Hastings
The raptor haters is an occasional series of articles on people who slag off birds of prey. Just over a week ago I was sitting next to Sir Max Hastings at the Game Fair and got on surprisingly well with him but he’s gone down in my estimations, not that that should worry him too…
Save the BBC Wildlife Fund – and help it save wildlife
Have a look at this and see what you think. There were just over 300 signatures a few moments ago – let’s see how many we can sign up by the end of today as a start. As a former Environment Secretary Lord Patten should be sufficiently naturally cultured to know that this is a…
Mark Avery is working hard…
Comments Off on Mark Avery is working hard…
Mark Avery is working hard for someone else right now – today’s blog will appear later in the day. Blogging for Nature is my book of blogs from my RSPB days. It contains 143 blogs out of over 700 which I wrote during my last two years as the RSPB’s Conservation Director. The last blog…
Big Society and forestry and farming
Forestry came up in the debate in which I participated at the Game Fair. Remember the Government was heading towards a consultation on its Big Society/Small Government plans to sell off or hive off some of the forest estate to communities and businesses when it scrapped the consultation and promised to think again, and along…