This is the companion book to the recent TV series. Reading its pages didn’t really take me back to the wonderful moving images of the TV episodes and, I’m afraid, it didn’t take me on very far. There are many great images, and quite a few moving passages of words, but it seemed to me…
Category: THE WILDLIFE NGOs – RSPB, Wildlife Trusts Wild Justice, BSBI etc
Thoughts on the RSPB AGM
I attended the RSPB’s online AGM on Saturday. It was slick, a bit uplifting, but not entirely satisfactory and not entirely convincing. Amir Khan was a very cheery President and looked entirely natural in that position. Kevin Cox (Chair) and Beccy Speight (CEO) also said good things and said them well. Nobody goofed their lines….
BSBI press release – Autumn Lady’s-tresses found in Northern Ireland.
The elegant and beautiful Autumn Lady’s-tresses, Spiranthes spiralis, an exquisite orchid with a delicate spiral of flowers, has been discovered for the first time in Northern Ireland – by a young botanist out walking with his mum! Jake Dalzell, a third-year plant ecology student at University of Cambridge, was out walking with his mum Judith…
Nah George, it doesn’t add up. More on LIARgate.
I would rarely differ from George Monbiot but I will here because I think he is probably wrong, and I am probably right. In his piece in The Guardian yesterday George essentially writes what people were saying a week ago – that the RSPB caved in to political pressure and one of their trustees, with…
Guest blog – A Farewell by Twitcher in the Swamp
If you read British Wildlife, the subscription-only magazine that was launched back in 1989, and which has now reached its 35th volume, you may know my column Twitcher in the Swamp. It began halfway through Volume 1, and finally ended at the end of Volume 34. I have grown old with Twitcher. A single page…
The Defra board – hardly a model of independent scrutiny
Comments Off on The Defra board – hardly a model of independent scrutiny
Following yesterday’s blog about the appointment of Heather Hancock, grouse moor owner, as lead non-exec on the Defra Board a few more points. the transparency data on the Defra website are out of date despite being updated on 27 July 2023 – yes, yesterday! They have information about former non-exec directors but nothing about Heather…
Guest blog – The Poundbury for Nature Wellbeing Project by Miles King
Miles King has worked in nature conservation for over 35 years. For the last eight he has run the charity People Need Nature, which promotes the sensory emotional and spiritual values of nature in people’s everyday lives. He tweets far too often as @milesking10 and also writes the occasional blog at www.anewnatureblog.com The Poundbury for…
RSPB/WTs/NT press release
Photo: Andy Hay/RSPB New study finds at least £4.4bn a year needed for nature and climate-friendly farming to meet legal targets UK and devolved governments must invest at least £4.4bn a year in nature and climate-friendly farming to meet environmental commitments. The RSPB, The Wildlife Trusts and the National Trust are calling for…
Breeding Bird Survey report 2022
Comments Off on Breeding Bird Survey report 2022
I’m a big fan of the Breeding Bird Survey – I describe it and comment on it in Chapter 2 of Reflections. I’m also a participant but even if I weren’t then I’d be poring over the annual report as soon as I could each year. And so I had my first look at the…
RSPB press release – Illegal killing major cause of death in Hen Harriers
Illegal killing major cause of death in Hen Harriers New study shows yearly survival rates of Hen Harriers ‘unusually low,’ with birds typically living just four months after fledging. Illegal killing is the main cause of death for older birds, accounting for up 75% of deaths each year in birds between one and two years…