Did St Nicholas visit your house on Christmas Eve and deliver presents? And was his sleigh powered by eight reindeer; Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donder and Blitzen (and then there’s Rudolph too)? Real-life reindeer, or caribou, are having a tough time of it, and not through sleigh-pulling exhaustion (see also here and here).
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Hot or cold?
Did you have turkey at Christmas? Is it still hanging around – if so, have a look at this. If it’s driving you to drink have a look at this. This north American woodland species was once nearly extinct because of overhunting but now is a common sight in many US states. How many feathers…
Pandas strung up.
This shocking image of a gamekeeper’s gibbet was on view at Towcester racecourse yesterday. How awful to see so many globally threatened pandas displayed in this way. A spokesman for the Notional Gamekeepers’ Association said ‘Well, you know how it is, pandas are lovely animals but it’s a ‘balance of nature thing’ and you’ve just…
Nasty, brutish and short
I had a great aunt who believed that robins were unlucky and so when one arrived on a Christmas card the said card would be torn up and thrown on the fire. How many robins do you see on your Christmas cards? David Lack was a famous English ornithologist who did much to increase our…
Holly and Ivy
All the holly blue butterflies you will see next spring are sitting around as pupae at the moment. The spring generation – late April-end of May – feeds on holly and the summer generation – late June-early August – feeds on ivy. Spare a thought for butterflies this Christmas.
British Wildlife
You can find an article by me in the current edition of British Wildlife – it’s about farming and doesn’t mention Peter Kendall. It does mention farmer-bashing, Defra Ministers, the Farmland Bird Index and asking for our money back – but that’s enough clues, you will have to read the article to fill in the…
Just like Cleopatra’s nose?
It was a dreary morning and I felt a bit grumpy as I made my way past Birmingham on the M42 heading south. It was rainy and drizzly and the traffic was difficult. I was surprised to see snow on the Malverns to my right and not at all surprised that I could hardly make…
Costs and benefits in Wonderland
I am still waiting for a copy of the letters that my MP, Louise Mensch, should by now have sent to the Treasury and Defra asking for the evidence from HMT that the Habitats Regulations are a brake on the UK economy (and Defra’s response to the fact that I intend to make a complaint…
Sunday bits and pieces
I think I delivered some quite thoughtful blogs to you this week, even if I say it myself (which I just have), and all of them attracted great comments from you readers – for which many thanks. I get a lot from your comments and I am certain that it is the mixture of blog…
Boffins – for or against?
Italy finally persuaded Berlusconi to sling his hook and instead brought in a technocratic government of experts. With wildlife in a sorry state in the UK would you like to see some Ministers in charge of the natural environment who know what they are talking about? Well, the fact is, that you already have them…