The idea of giving an outgoing Chair of a statutory agency the opportunity to reflect on the state of the world is a good one – particularly if they grasp the opportunity , which Andrew Sells did this morning. He went out of his way to talk up vicarious liability and removal of the general…
Tag: hen harrier
NE Chair breaks ranks and calls for Vicarious Liability
Giving evidence to the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee this morning, the outgoing Chair of Natural England, Andrew Sells, said that he, personally (ie not as NE Chair), favoured the introduction of vicarious liability for wildlife crimes. He added that he was surprised that Defra had ruled it out. Mr Sells did not have…
An encounter – briefly
I was at Cheltenham racecourse on Saturday – a delightful afternoon with friends but not a profitable visit. A large part of my enjoyment of racing is the journey to and from the racecourse. The trip to Cheltenham through the Cotswolds was lit up with autumn colours, and the beechwoods before Adlestrop, still copper-gold in…
Defra – political purgatory?
I couldn’t help smile at Jeremy Paxman’s opinion of Therese Coffey in this article from last year. But it was Paxman’s remark that Defra was… … a place of political purgatory, where ambitious politicians suffer torments in hope of preferment somewhere else https://www.ft.com/content/17bedfec-da71-11e7-a039-c64b1c09b482 …that really caught my eye. We’ve had some shocking ministers in Defra…
Southern Arizona remembered
I was in southern Arizona at the end of May, for a couple of days. Both days were with the excellent bird guide Richard Fray – see two previous blogs from 2013 where I also was shown loads of birds by Richard (here and here). The second day this year was rather similar to my…
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…
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…
12-0 and 0-7; quite striking results!
The news of the four Hen Harriers which disappeared mysteriously on grouse moors in Scotland is shocking. That is, shocking in the sense of morally reprehensible rather than really rather surprising. As I mentioned in my earlier blog, an interesting aspect of this news is the revelation that 12 young Hen Harriers have been discovered…
Press release from Huddersfield Birdwatchers’ Club
An account of the Birds of the Huddersfield District was written in 1915 by Huddersfield man Seth Lister Mosley and is one of the most important books in the history of local and national ornithology. However, it is very rare and little known outside specialist circles, but is full of interest for a present day…
KOS it makes sense!
I spoke at the Kent Ornithological Society’s conference in Canterbury on Saturday. I’d like to thank the organisers for inviting me and laying on a great day for us all. The road to Canterbury passes too close to Rainham Marshes to ignore them (and a Cattle Egret or two), and too close to Gravesend not…