Ornithologists kill critically endangered hummingbirds – an open letter In a paper recently published in The Auk, October 2018, (Sornoza-Molina et al 2018) a group of ornithologists collected seven specimens of a hummingbird new to science, and then declared that because of its extremely small range, it must be critically endangered (CR under IUCN Criteria). They…
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This is a good idea apparently getting nowhere
I keep an eye on the UK Parliament petition site and this one caught my eye. I think it is a very good idea. No, really, a very good idea. But very good ideas can wither through lack of promotion. There is practically no chance that any of our wildlife NGOs will take up this…
Save the date – 7-9 December BTO Conference
Details of the BTO conference can be found here. I can’t make it this year – but it does look like a conference with plenty of high points.
Minister – do your job!
Dear Dr Coffey, Each week seems to bring news of another Hen Harrier disappearing on or near a driven grouse moor. You must have been briefed on the findings of the study presented in Vancouver back in August on the analysis of NE’s Hen Harrier data. You do know that the science suggests that there…
Save the dates – 15-17 November, N3N
The 10th anniversary New Networks for Nature conference is this week, starting on Thursday evening and ending Saturday afternoon. I’ll be there on the Friday and I am particularly looking forward to the chat between Caroline Lucas and Barbara Young. Click here for more details – please note, ticket sales close at 9am on Wednesday…
Remember (2)
It seems appropriate today to mention this review of a book about Second World War British prisoners of war. Birds in a Cage by Derek Niemann was reviewed here on 14 November 2012. An extract: Birds in a Cage is the story of four British prisoners of war, Second Lieutenant Peter Conder, Second Lieutenant John…
Remember
The children at this local school are young enough to be my grandchildren. My two grandfathers were either down a Welsh coalmine or looking after horses on the Front in the First World War. I don’t remember my grandfathers because they both died when I was very young but their wives were important characters in…
The banned Iceland Christmas video
Great publicity for Iceland stores, and odd that this could not be broadcast…
Cross? No, staff are quite pleased actually…
James Cross steps down today and Marian Spain of Plantlife appointed interim Chief Executive of Natural England. See announcement here on the awful GOV.UK site.
No ordinary bird!
I came across this card whilst on a secret mission…somewhere in the general area of the Cotswolds. There are several people to whom I can imagine sending a card headed ‘No ordinary bird’ and obviously the Hen Harrier is no ordinary bird to me, and many readers of this blog. But I was interested when…