I keep an eye on what rare birds are present in Northants although I rarely do anything about them! Two or three weeks ago, on a Sunday, there was a pair of Black-winged Stilts at the local Summer Leys nature reserve only a few minutes away from my home. I didn’t rush off to look…
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Making Hay and a Shared Planet
I enjoyed travelling over to Hay-on-Wye a few weeks ago to be a panellist on the Shared Planet programme that will be broadcast today at 1100 and next Monday (23 June at 9pm). I’d never been to the Hay Festival, and I’d often wondered what it was like. I haven’t been to Hay-on-Wye for about…
Another unsatisfactory response from Defra
I met up with Sir John Randall MP earlier in the week for a chat about a range of issues – mostly about birds as Sir John is a keen birder. Yes, we covered Malta, Hen Harriers, the banning of driven grouse shooting and a range of other topics. We also talked about diclofenac use…
Malta
I recently received this letter from the British High Commission in Malta after emailing them to ask them, what they were doing on my behalf to make my feelings about illegal spring hunting clear to the Maltese government. Dear Dr Avery, Thank you for your email about the hunting of wild birds in Malta….
The right Spot
I did almost the same thing two years ago – almost to the day. It was sunnier in 2012, though. I headed off to Achurch churchyard to look for Spotted Flycatchers. Isn’t it awful that I have to have a special trip to see them in my part of the world? Churchyards seem to be…
Make something happen
I’ve already supported this idea with just a few quid – it won’t take many more people to copy me to get this idea off the ground. See what you think of ‘Go Find It’ – sensory outdoor treasure hunt card game (of all things!) which is allegedly for children but I can imagine some…
Please support Roy
Roy Taylor is an ex-colleague of mine at the RSPB. He started working for the RSPB, on Song Thrushes, when I was Head of Research, so that must be around 20 years ago. I remember visiting Roy in his Sussex study area on a very hot day in summer where we ate ice-creams quite a…
…a long time in politics
Although you may well know the results of the EU elections when you read this post, I am writing it before they are announced. I wonder what they will be? The council elections (there weren’t any where I live) show a surge of support for UKIP – which I find depressing. It looks as though…
The Laburnum is buzzing
This Laburnum in the garden looks very pretty at the moment, don’t you think? If you stand back and look at it, it’s really lovely. And I can see it from several rooms in the house, so it’s brightening my days right now. But if you stand underneath it, as I did, it hums. It…
Natura 2000 Day – nature feeling the pinch
This is, apparently, the second ‘Natura 2000 Day’. Natura 2000 sites are those designated under the Birds and Habitats Directives of the EU – how dull does that sound? But some of your best birding moments have been spent in such places – The New Forest, The Wash, The Coto Donana, the Camargue, the Danube…