Standing up for Nature
And to end Passenger Pigeon Day – here’s a reminder of the Corner Laughers’ song, Martha (Cincinnati, 1914). Midsommar (solstice single) by The Corner LaughersI see the Corner Laughers are coming to the UK again this autumn (they must like it) and have dates around the place – I may go see them in…
Around this time, 102 years ago, the last Passenger Pigeon on earth died in a cage in a zoo in Ohio. A Message from Martha by Mark Avery is published by Bloomsbury – for reviews see here.
Today is the publication date for my latest book, Remarkable Birds. It’s a very attractive book, which I can say because I had only a little to do with the choice of illustrations and the laying out of the book. I wrote the words in between the marvellous artwork! The cover is an Audubon –…
‘On 1 September 1914, between midday and 1 pm, in the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, Cincinnati, Ohio, a pigeon breathed her last, and with her died her species. The pigeon was known as Martha, and the species was the Passenger Pigeon. Amongst all extinctions, this example remains unusual in two respects: the precision with which…
The world’s most-loved Hen Harrier gets all the glamour gigs but I enjoyed the Bird Fair too – I’ll give you some thoughts tomorrow. But here are some images with just a few words. I see that Simon Lester has his own version of the Q&A at the Bird Fair out on the GWCT website….
Duncan Thomas works for BASC – he is their North of England Director. His Twitter handle is @DuncanBASC. Mr Thomas will, I understand, be on Countryfile this evening talking about grouse shooting. Over the last year and a bit Mr Thomas has shown a rather persistent interest in my finances (nothing to see here!). In…
On Saturday afternoon – one of the first warm days of the spring – I headed into London to watch a film in the Barbican. The Messenger is about the threats faced by songbirds – not just in the US and Canada but also in Europe and elsewhere. It’s a good…
Five years ago today I left the RSPB and started life as a …well, I didn’t know what I was going to do, but I knew it was time for a change. Now I tend to call myself a writer and environmental campaigner. In that time I have written seven books – so I probably…
On this day in 1900, the last wild Passenger Pigeon (perhaps) was shot in Ohio. It ended up in the Columbus Ohio History Center where it is still on display – and goes by the name of Buttons because when first stuffed, buttons were used for its eyes. Here are some lightly edited extracts from…
I have a few gigs on over the next couple of weeks; On Wednesday (20 Jan) I am talking to what will probably be mostly a bunch of undergraduates in Cambridge – the Cambridge Nature Society – in the new David Attenborough Building, Room 1.25 A+B at 7pm (about life in general and driven grouse…