Parliament is dissolved in 11 days’ time and that is all the time that remains for Defra to do something this year! It could be about to release a report suggesting a lead-free future, but I somehow doubt it. It could be about to throw lots of money in the direction of the Hawk and…
Tag: hen harrier
Jilly Cooper needs your help
Jilly Cooper was talking about the vote for the national bird on the Today programme (at about 2hr 23 min into the programme) this morning and admitted to not knowing what a Hen Harrier was. This is despite her 1976 book being called…
Vote Hen Harrier as national bird
Today, the voting for Britain’s national bird starts in earnest. The 10 shortlisted species, on the basis of 70,000 votes cast last autumn are (in alphabetical order): Barn Owl Blackbird Blue Tit Hen Harrier Kingfisher Mute Swan Puffin Red Kite Robin Wren You can vote now and right up until after the polls close in…
Environmental question time
Yesterday evening I attended an environmental question time organised by the Sibthorp Trust, British Ecological Society and CIEEM, and chaired by Jonathan Dimbleby. The panellists were Natalie Bennett (Green Party), William Cash (UKIP), Barry Gardiner MP (Labour), Lord (Rupert) de Mauley (Conservative Defra minister), Baroness Kate Parminter (Liberal Democrats, Environment Spokesperson) and Dr Eilidh Whiteford…
Planning for Hen Harrier Day 2015
Earlier this week, in a secret location (so secret I almost couldn’t find it) a group of people met to talk about Hen Harrier Day 2015. Much will be revealed at the Birders Against Wildlife Crime Conference in Buxton on the first day of spring (it’s full – no places left). BAWC will be organising…
Inglorious
Inglorious: conflict in the uplands will be available for Hen Harrier Day (9 August), the Inglorious 12th and thereafter. Published by Bloomsbury in late July – but you can order it now on World Book Day.
Four weeks to go
In the eight months since I launched an e-petition on the government website to ban driven grouse shooting I have become more and more convinced that it is the right thing to do – and even that it is inevitable. Standing just short of 21,000 signatures, this e-petition now has four weeks to gather a…
Sunday book review – What Nature does for Britain by Tony Juniper
Is nature beautiful or is it useful? Should we protect nature for its own sake or for our own sakes? Is nature priceless or can it have a value put on it? The answer to these questions can all be ‘Yes to both’ but we don’t treat the natural world as though we would say…
This month’s Birdwatch
I travelled into London yesterday which meant that I could read this month’s Birdwatch (the one with the Crane on the cover). My ‘political birder’ column is about vicarious liability. Usually,I look through the accounts of the rarities in Birdwatch and think to myself a mixture of ‘I’d never have realised what that was’, ‘I wish…
A laughing matter
Birdwatching is such a laugh. Standing for 4-5 hours in the rain (which occasionally turned to sleet just to show how cold it was) and a biting wind is our idea of fun. I blame that Findlay Wilde for having a birthday and luring us all there with the promise (richly fulfilled) of cake. But…