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You might be surprised to read that our work is far broader than nature reserves and Big Garden Birdwatch. Read more about what else we do.

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Mark Avery's blog

I'm the RSPB's Conservation Director. My aim with this blog will be to comment on matters of conservation importance and give you a few insights into the RSPB's conservation work - there's plenty to write about!

Some updates

25 Feb 2010 7:37 AM
  • Comments 1

Here's a bit of a hotch-potch of updates and snippets:

  • Big Garden Birdwatch - there are some interesting results in there but the full analysis will take a while.  Paper forms are still arriving and so it takes quite a while before the dataset is 'stable' and the final analyses can be done.  But it looks like a bumper year for participation with a mixture of interesting rises and falls for our garden birds.
  • my garden birdwatch - I saw a female blackcap in my garden when I did BGBW - and I've seen it on the three weekends since too!  Did she arrive just before the BGBW weekend (maybe pushed our way by the cold weather on the continent)? or is it just that I am now noticing her? and will I see her this weekend?
  • congratulations to Peter Kendall on being re-elected as President of the National Farmers' Union for England and Wales!  Peter, as I've said before, is a very smart operator (although we don't always see the world in exactly the same way!).  Peter will now be able to devote even more of his time to making the Campaign for the Farmed Environment a great success.
  • A reeling grasshopper warblerEDM 654 - every day MPs are adding their names to this Early Day Motion calling for enforcement of the law on bird of prey protection.  See this blog on Saturday for a full update - but thank you to all of you who have written to your MPs on this subject, and thank you to the MPs who have signed. 
  • eagle owls - there is a pair of eagle owls nesting, again this year, on one of our nature reserves somewhere in the UK.  I'll keep you posted on their progress.
  • I see in today's Times that Sellafield may be considering a cull of gulls as the nuclear-contaminated site is 'overrrun' with wildlife.  This seems like a good metaphor for how the world is run - we muck up the planet but the wildlife suffers!
  • Climate Gate is still in the news but there is far less in the news about how world leaders and governments are getting on post-Copenhagen!  Are we any closer to a climate solution?
  • our Letter to the Future campaign is going great guns!  We, including you, I hope, have reached 154, 431 signatures (at 0936 this Thursday morning) but if you have a look after reading this blog it will no doubt be even higher!
  • the photograph accompanying this blog is of a grasshopper warbler - one of the most skulking birds I know.  How did the photographer get such an amazing image of this species?  Can you see the bird's ear - that dark opening in line with its lower mandible?
Comments
  • 25 Feb 2010 6:31 PM

    Hi Mark on various websites I am astounded at how all farmers are seen as raptor killers and for sure though I  often defend them think there must be some truth in it but feel it is over exaggerated.Suggest that with you having Peter Kendalls ear so to speak could you persuade him to try and get over to farmers it would do their image a lot of good to become raptor friendly and get this over to the public.Would be interested in what you think anyway.

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