Rare Bird Alert asked people, any people (but over 750 people), to express their views on whether they would support the Hawk and Owl Trust in taking part in a brood management trial. Do have a look at the selection of comments on the Rare Bird Alert website too. Only one in six people agree…
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All’s white with the world
I was keen to have a look at my local patch, Stanwick Lakes, in yesterday’s snow. I’m like a big kid really – snow still makes me excited. Just like removing all the furniture from my living room on Monday made sounds echo in it, a covering of snow lying all over the ground and…
Compromising
There is no stopping the Hawk and Owl Trust’s Chair, Philip Merricks, in his eagerness to tell us all how brilliant a brood management scheme is, and how popular it is, and how clever it is, and yet there is little start to him telling us what it is. We are told by Philip that…
Not BGBW
I enjoyed the Big Garden Birdwatch and saw quite a few birds. But although a Song Thrush was singing early on the morning on Sunday, probably in the garden but it was still dark, I didn’t see one in my hour of recording. Today, I watched a Song Thrush spend ages in the garden –…
North America beaver cull starts on advice from Tangling Rust
July 2014: Angling Trust welcomes decision to remove beavers from river March 2012: Angling Trust urge Minister Benyon to halt spread of beaver October 2009: Angling Trust policy against beavers President Obama and Prime Minister Harper issue joint declaration to rid North America of beavers after briefing from Tangling Rust. ‘We hadn’t realised they…
Beavering away – or, actually, here to stay.
Harry Barton, Chief Executive of Devon Wildlife Trust, said: ‘We are delighted by Natural England’s decision to grant us a licence to give these beavers a long term future on the River Otter. It’s the result of a great deal of effort by our charity, supported by partner organisations across the UK and, most importantly,…
My BGBW #BGBW
I’ve just finished my Big Garden Birdwatch. I started at 1030 but then was on the phone for quite a while. Whose ears were burning? It was a good BGBW – no cats and lots of birds! Blackbird 4 Chaffinch 2 Reed Bunting 1 House Sparrow 4 Great Tit 1 Starling 5…
Don’t forget…?
Mark writes: I’ll be doing the Big Garden Birdwatch on Sunday – probably while listening to Desert Island Discs, drinking tea and eating a Digestive Biscuit or two. The garden has been quite bird-filled recently with occasional Reed Buntings as well as the more usual Starlings, Blue and Great Tits, Robin, Blackbirds, House Sparrows,…
Collaboration or collaborationism?
As I understand it, the non-joint non-plan for ‘managing’ the almost non-existent English breeding Hen Harrier population would have involved fiddling about with one of the nests in Bowland this year (had the landowner requested it). The two nests were ‘too close’ together despite the rather large gap to the next pair of breeding Hen…
Defra probably has one more bad decision left in it
Given the dire (egregious, failing, risible, adrift) performance of the Defra Ministers who take our money to make the environment better it is to be hoped that they simply keep their heads down and fade away once the general election campaign starts in earnest. Though I fear that it’s just possible that Defra has one…