It’s not a tribal blog, it’s a dialogue

Every so often, I aim to produce a pithy (under 800 words) piece always with links to references.

Do apply to do a guest blog – note same word count and references if possible. Be prepared for ‘light touch edit’ to ensure positive, rather than divisive, engagement with the widest range of views.

Blogs and vlogs

Knotty water

This post is not about flooding.  Well, not entirely. Perched on my ‘fence’, I see knotty problems that require us to swallow our partisan positions to work together while being more realistic about our needs. Perhaps I try and cram too much into blogs that conflate a number of issues but I’m going to take the liberty … Continue reading Knotty water

Crow politics

Ravens tumble over hills as I travel north for a novel workshop and south to Parliamentary meetings on biodiversity. The corvid family are well known opportunists. Optimistic even. Like the vision behind the ‘Understanding Predation’ workshops set up by Scotland’s Moorland Forum (29 organisations including RSPB, Scottish Wildlife) to ‘build a shared evidence base that critically … Continue reading Crow politics

Bunting’s hero

David Blake of Cranborne Chase AONB, Wiltshire shares his thoughts on how farmers can work together to help farmland birds and other wildlife. The South Wiltshire Farmland Bird Project (delivered by the Cranborne Chase AONB) started in 2009 designed specifically at reversing the decline of corn bunting (pic above), grey partridge, lapwing, tree sparrow, turtle … Continue reading Bunting’s hero

Martian spud

Whole countries (or even a Hollywood star on Mars) have relied on the potato. The chips were down when Matt Damon, marooned on the Red Planet, discovers his only of bag of spuds and propagates a life-saving crop within his space hut. The potato has the accolade as being the first ever crop grown in … Continue reading Martian spud

Nobel dung

Advances in vet and human medicines may have unintended consequences for the environment. A few years ago a pest controller told me how lucky I was to live in one of the UK’s most rural counties (Powys). He added that, due to the prevalence of livestock farming, worm parasites were a problem for not only … Continue reading Nobel dung

Game cuckoos

The Game Fair was a meeting place for all those interesting in the countryside. Not just in fieldsports, but in all conservation activities intrinsic to the countryside. Away from PR departments, media spinners, membership targets, HQ directives; people from conservation NGOs, farming, birding, walking, shooting, hunting, fishing, and a multitude of outdoor interests swapped anecdotal … Continue reading Game cuckoos

Nature with teeth

The excitement around rewilding must be harnessed by the widest cross-section of society, if it is to find a place as a conservation ‘tool’. To be honest, I like the idea of a few unfettered landscapes with large predatory animals lurking in the undergrowth. Untamed countryside complete with deep growl, loud snort and piercing scream. … Continue reading Nature with teeth

Fair Game

I want a thriving uplands. Can you see my head? Just. An ‘iconic’ upland bird found only in heathery spots in the UK. Humans strive to manage habitat and control predators so that I produce good numbers to be flushed wild to the gun. Contrary to what you may hear, work is in progress on … Continue reading Fair Game

Raptor brutal

Extraordinary experiences with raptors make for deeper thoughts (refreshed Nov 2022, Jan 2024) I lie in a rowing boat, rod to one side, drifting across the lake in the Welsh mountains listening to brown trout rising. Gazing up, my eyes focus on two spots getting larger by the second…they loom into view, I realise it’s … Continue reading Raptor brutal