The government 25-year plan for the environment is a significant document. It covers most of the correct ground and says many good things. The proof of it, as noted by many others, will be in the extent to which it is delivered, but in six months Michael Gove has moved the Conservative Party quite some…
Tag: hen harrier
Quite interesting – but not very meaningful
This article by the Countryside Alliance is quite interesting but not very convincing. The CA says that it believes that the most pressing issue for shooting is to self-regulate. I think that we can take that to mean that they are scared of anyone else regulating them – and so they should be because…
Guest blogs of 2017
Comments Off on Guest blogs of 2017
I welcome guest blogs here – they provide a change of pace, a change of perspective and the possibility that different issues will emerge. Thank you to all who have taken up the offer and written a guest blog. In 2017 there have been 53 of them. Guest blogs here by Birding for All, WWT…
Guest blog – Licensing by Ed Hutchings
Born in East Anglia, but raised in the Arabian Gulf, Ed Hutchings was always going to have two things – itchy feet and an inquisitive mind. After leaving university with a degree in hospitality, he embarked on a career as a sommelier for a decade, working at various Michelin-star restaurants; in the process winning the…
‘New’ raptor persecution maps produced by Defra
Defra has just published old and incomplete maps of raptor persecution events on the Magic system. These are worth having a glance at and I’ll be looking at them more closely through the day, as I’m sure will Raptor Persecution UK (this is right up their street), but if you have ever looked at the…
Guest blog – Millions of Slaughtered Birds by Richard Grimmett
Richard Grimmett is responsible for overseeing BirdLife International’s conservation programmes for species, flyways, forests, marine and invasive species, as well as BirdLife’s work with the corporate sector. He has been with BirdLife (and its predecessor the International Council for Bird Preservation) since 1985. He is a keen birder as well as the author of…
Guest blog – Ban driven grouse shooting by Gavin Gamble
Gavin Gamble is a thirty-something Naturalist, Environmentalist and occasional ink-slinger currently studying Natural Biology and Environmental Science with the Open University alongside full time employment. He is also the author of the latest petition to ban driven grouse shooting from our uplands. I suspect many of Mark’s regular readers readers will…
Some books
It is around now that this blog would normally list its books of the year, but this year you’ll have to wait until the very end of the year for that list. However, it is surely worth noting that this Christmas, and every other day from now on, there is quite a choice of books…
Nightjars by Gordon Yates
Gordon Yates has supplied some fantastic Hen Harrier images for this blog, but he takes other photographs too – see his website. I’ve never seen Nightjar chicks – aren’t they amazing? Seen here with the female at the nest (such as it is). A reminder of balmy summer days in these early days of December.
Guest blog – Ramble Against Raptor Persecution by Dara McAnulty
My name is Dara McAnulty, I’m a 13 year old aspiring naturalist, scientist and conservationist living in Northern Ireland. I write a nature blog called Young Fermanagh Naturalist and I try to do what I can to raise awareness about local as well as national issues which face our wildlife and environment. Ramble…