A year ago this very important paper looking at the fate of satellite-tagged Hen Harriers was published in Nature Communications. It’s open access and so you can read it but it does take quite a bit of reading. Here is my post from last year which explains what the paper found – several people have…
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Natural solace
I keep hearing that we are confined to our homes but that is a very urban perspective on social isolation. For those of us who have countryside on our doorsteps we are much better off. Yesterday I walked the five paces from my front door to the car, drove about three miles and went for…
Nature as a source of solace, in times of corona
Yesterday I spent some time looking out from my front door as the school children were heading to school. They didn’t seem to me to be whining but some had shining faces and many did have satchels or their modern equivalents (see here) but there were definitely fewer of them than usual. And I wondered…
Nature conservation under coronavirus
Our wildlife conservation organisations are small, medium or large businesses within one very particular sector. I ‘phoned around a few of them today to ask what they are doing as a result of coronavirus. Just about all of them said that they were sticking to government guidelines – and they are all waiting for, and…
Cheltenham – the craic
The allure of the Cheltenham festival (of racing) for me is rather little about horses. I know very little about horses – almost all of them look much the same to me. The attraction is mostly about the people – so much of the attraction of life is about the people isn’t it? Going to…
Thanks for your advice…
… on who I should vote for as Labour leader. I have voted for Keir Starmer.
Confidence?
A good chunk of biological reality puts government in its place. As a biologist, though far from an epidemiologist, I listen to government ministers, radio presenters, a rag bag of political pundits, talking about coronavirus and I just keep thinking ‘You don’t have a clue what you are talking about, do you? You said that…
Ecohustler – a new voice
Ecohustler says it is ‘An ever-expanding galaxy of immersive, investigative, uncomfortable, and occasionally uncouth ecological news‘. Here are three recent articles: The race to rewild Bristol, Greta and the Cinderella crisis A message in the floods
British Wildlife February 2020
This issue of British Wildlife is a cracker – but then, they all are. Miles King on ‘What Legacy for Gove?’ Stephen Harris ‘Stop Vilifying the Urban Fox’ Patrick Barkham ‘What next for HS2?’ Peter Marren ‘Will Natural England Survive?’ And many other good and regular features, but the thing to which I always turn…
Bizarre
Whilst soil quality is a neglected aspect of environmental health and water quality is clearly very important, this would make a good undergraduate essay topic. Why has the history of nature conservation been so wrong in concentrating on site designation and protection, species protection, a proper planning system, reducing overexploitation, preventing the introduction of invasive…