The BBC Wildlife Power List is being talked about wherever I go – well, not in the Post Office, or the supermarket, or the garage… But talked about by the nature conservation community? It certainly is! Thanks very much to Ben Hoare for his Guest Blog on the subject on Tuesday – some interesting points…
Category: THE WILDLIFE NGOs – RSPB, Wildlife Trusts Wild Justice, BSBI etc
Robin Page – a nation giggles at him
Robin Page’s outburst against – well, against so many things – has been derided in the Guardian ahead of Saturday’s Tooth and Claw debate in Norwich. The most telling quote is: When asked by the Guardian why he had not cited any science to back up his assertion that raptors were suppressing native birds,…
Meat-free week – support World Land Trust (please)
Next week, 23-29 March, is meat-free week. As someone wh0 has at least four meat-free days most weeks, this probably isn’t going to be too much of a stretch for me, and a friend of mine who has given up meat for Lent will just breeze through it. My vegetarian and vegan friends (actually, do…
Not so Fine Shade (8) – perfectly Fineshade!
Yesterday evening’s decision by East Northants District Council was the right one, and was arrived at through a mixture of heart and head. David Williamson, speaking for the Forestry Commission demonstrated no ecological understanding of the importance of this site and his message to the councillors was essentially ‘Don’t worry dears, it’s all OK really’. …
Not so Fine Shade (4)
Many people have contacted me over the role of NGOs in the Fineshade case. It’s not universal, but there has been a lot of criticism of the Woodland Trust for being very keen on ancient woodland, and being very keen to be paid to plant completely new woodland, but being a bit ambivalent about spending…
Not so Fine Shade (3)
This morning a group of about 20 concerned locals gathered in the Fineshade car park to meet the local MP, Andy Sawford. It was good to see Andy paying attention to this local rural case, though, as he said, he doesn’t have a vote, but if he did, he said he would vote against the…
Not so Fine Shade
Fineshade Wood is not far from where I live, so I feel a bit guilty that I haven’t paid more attention to what is going on there. It’s a place I know, and like, and visit now and again, but it’s c40 minute journey from where I live, so if I want to visit a…
Hawk and Owl losing trust
The Hawk and Owl Trust has failed dismally to explain their position as far as I am concerned. This statement appeared on the Hawk and Owl website which I now intend to analyse: Philip Merricks, Chairman Hawk and Owl Trust 20 Jan 2015 ‘You will be aware that the RSPB formally announced last year that,…
RSPB, Countryside Alliance and the Charity Commission
You might have wondered what happened with the complaint about the RSPB from Sir Ian Botham and others to the Charity Commission. Or maybe you thought it was so daft that you weren’t wondering at all. Well, I was wondering why we hadn’t heard anything about it and now I know why. Although Beefy’s complaint…
B(l)ooming great!
There are more Bitterns breeding in the UK than at any time in living memory. In fact, there are about 13 times as many bitterns now as there were in 1997, as there are over 140 booming males compared with 11 then. That’s one hell of a recovery – in fact, one heaven of a…