This piece in The National is a hoot. You can always spot dodgy pseudo-science when something is aiming to ‘prove’ something rather than to investigate it. And in this case gamekeepers are going to collect data on birds of prey on grouse moors. Quite what all this is about, who knows? We know birds of…
Category: BAN DRIVEN GROUSE SHOOTING
Update on 2020 Hen Harrier brood meddling (2)
This is information that I was sent last week by Natural England about this year’s activities in Hen Harrier brood-meddling. I have disclosed here less detailed information about the nest and release localities than I was given, as that seems wise. Intervention nest 1 Four chicks were taken from a nest in North Yorkshire on…
Dear First Minister – from Chris Packham
Dear Nicola and Roseanna I hope you are both well in these strange and worrying times. I’m writing about the White-tailed Eagle which has recently been found poisoned in the Cairngorms National Park, which by now you will be familiar with. And I’ll speak candidly and frankly. We, that’s every decent, law abiding, well informed…
Dear First Minister
Dear First Minister and Cabinet Secretary I am writing to you about the poisoned White-tailed Eagle that was found on a grouse moor in the Cairngorms National Park. I’m sure you’re getting lots of emails on this subject and I know you will read very few of them. No matter, somebody will read this and…
Update on 2020 Hen Harrier brood meddling (1)
Natural England issued an update on their controversial Hen Harrier brood meddling project on Friday but I’ve only just seen it. They’ve also sent me (and the RSPB) a further update from their legal department because both RSPB and I are taking legal action against this daft project. First, the Natural England blog. As reported…
Goshawk at Goathland
The Yorkshire Post reports that three gamekeepers on the Goathland grouse moor owned by the Duchy of Lancaster (HM the Queen) and managed by BH Sporting were interviewed under caution by police officers from North Yorks police back in May. It is reported that all three ‘keepers were suspended from their duties and one has…
Licence 19020225, and its 1,156 friends
A little while ago Bob Berzins wrote two guest blogs here Natural England licences; a cover up? Part 1 and Natural England licences; a cover up? Part 2. My precis of these two blogs is as follows: Blog 1: The General Licences for the purpose of nature conservation were withdrawn by Natural England in an…
I’ve been away
I’ve been away for a few days for a family wedding in Edinburgh. It was a slightly strange but very happy event with few guests (six of us) and where the wedding breakfast was held in the open air, by the Scottish Parliament looking up at Arthur’s Seat, drinking champagne and eating take-away pizza. But…
Four weeks today…
… is the … …twelth, the traditional start of the grouse shooting season. There are all sorts of reasons why the grouse shooting season might be a damp squib this year. First, the weather may not have been perfect for Red Grouse this year and there are reports of Red Grouse numbers being low in…
The Midhope track
Regular readers with good memories will remember the Midhope Track. This is what it looks like at the moment (above). The logs from the image below have been added to the plastic track but they are now sinking into the bog. Bob Berzins wrote about this track back in January 2019 and February 2017 (click…