Standing up for Nature
It was on 23 April 1889 that the first Little Owl nest was found in the UK – at Lilford Hall, not far from where I now live. The 4th Baron Lilford had introduced the non-native Little Owl into the UK (others were trying too) and it was his gamekeeper who found that first nest…
I blogged about the Swansea Bay tidal lagoon project last week and suggested that wildlife NGOs should probably get behind it – unless they have spotted something that I have not. It looks like it should produce a decent amount of renewable energy and not do much harm top wildlife. It seems that the NGOs…
If you are a large company seeking to spend lots of money on a large development which will earn you millions of pounds then here is some advice – treat European wildlife designations seriously. That’s all there is to it really, but history shows that companies tend not to behave as though ‘a few birds’,…
Malta is a member of the EU but seems to think that it can break and bend the rules of the club by allowing spring hunting of migrant birds that pass across this Mediterranean island on their way north. Birds of all sorts are killed at this time of year. The other evening a party…
I had a look at the Pasque Flowers at Barnack last week – they were wonderful but should be much more numerous now. Happy Easter!
You can go through life being against things. There are plenty of things that I am against, eg cruelty, unfairness, putting sultanas in apple pies, racism and illegal raptor persecution. You could spend a whole lifetime objecting to things but sometimes you have to be in favour of something. When it comes to climate change,…
That’s right – 14 Red Kites. This case shows the power of poisons and the vulnerability of raptors that will feed on carrion. You don’t need many people to be putting poisons out in the countryside to make a hole in raptor populations. I saw…
It was the snails that got me thinking… On my walks at Stanwick Lakes, at least on those fairly early in the morning, I am sometimes struck by the trails of snails, and the occasional slug, across the gritty tracks. Although almost all the molluscs are departed one can see where they have been on…
I haven’t seen many butterflies yet this year – a few Peacocks, lots of lovely Brimstones and some very welcome Small Tortoiseshells. But I am keeping my fingers crossed for a sunny, warm summer with lots of butterflies on the wing. Last year, do you remember?, consisted of a grotty spring and then a fine…
As well as those dozen dead Red Kites and four Buzzards in Ross-shire there has been a poisoned Peregrine found in southern Scotland and a Buzzard trapped in the Peak District. What is it with some land managers in this country? It’s spring, time to kill off some wildlife. At least these examples have come…