Election watch (17) – High Peak

The YouGov poll of about a week ago put the High Peak seat into the category of ‘tossup’ which I take to be a comment on the difficulty of predicting the winner. This is hardly surprising since it was a somewhat unexpected Labour gain last time around. Because I have a soft spot for the…

Peak District bird surveys

Some bird surveys in the Peak District have been published. Well, actually, that’s not quite true; some rather obviously selective analyses of some bird surveys done in the Peak District have been promoted but not properly published. See here, here and here. Despite the fact that there is some celebratory social media coverage of these…

Yesterday in Edale

Yesterday I went to Edale and back. I met some old friends, and made some new ones, and had an interesting day – oh yes, and was called a liar by a gamekeeper. Not a bad day all round. This is an annual event which basically has the feel of a rather up-market village fete…

Guest blog – Progress in the Peak by Bob Berzins

Bob writes: I have a life long passion for the outdoors through rock climbing and fell running. A cancer scare in my thirties made me appreciate many things I simply hadn’t noticed before, from the smallest plants to the gap in the sky from a missing raptor. It’s all worth fighting for and that’s what…

National Trust makes meadow purchase in the White Peak

  National Trust Press Release Lifeline for plunging wildlife as important hay meadows saved in the Peak District   The National Trust has purchased 186 hectares (460 acres) of wildflower-rich farmland in the Peak District – securing a potential lifeline for plunging butterfly and bee populations. As Britain marks National Meadows Day, the conservation charity…

Good news from the Dark Peak

The National Trust has announced that a nest of Hen Harriers with four chicks is on their land, on a grouse moor.  They sound quite surprised by this:   ‘We’re delighted to learn of this nest.‘ said Jon Stewart, the National Trust’s General Manager for the Peak District. ‘The hen harrier has been one of…

Guest blog – Peak District Moorland Monitors

Thanks Mark, for allowing us the opportunity to introduce ourselves! We are the Moorland Monitors – a group of local people from raptor, mammal and ecological backgrounds who want to combine forces to protect the wild species and wild spaces of the Peak District grouse moors. We believe that local people and visitors can play…

Peak Park Mismanagement – who introduced the Ostriches?

In a consultation document similar to the one above, the Peak District National Park introduces the Ostrich into the uplands of England.  Rarely has a public body been seen to stick its head into the peat, but that’s what the Peak District NP is doing. Last year the PDNPA consulted on its draft plans for…