In praise of Jeremy Bowen His Today programme monologue on Trump, war in Iran, and the history of the Middle East was exactly how the BBC should be reporting on the world.

Excellent post on an unusually illuminating segment of the BBC Today programme:

In praise of Jeremy Bowen
open.substack.com/pub/brokenbo...

There’s a nature-loving majority in this country.

Those in power must listen and stop trashing our environment.

There are far more of us than there are developer lobbyists.

They have the millionaires. We are the millions.

We need a bold campaign to get our nature back.

I'd say its definitely what they mean as they say '12% of those voters observed either caused or were affected by family voting' but by choosing to use that framing they make the impact sound worse and so their report more significant.

thank you - very interesting.

I wonder if natural recolonisation of woodland is less disruptive of the carbon in the soil and if so to what extent. So much research still to be done it seems as we risk using public funds for solutions that aren't really effective at all.

Newyddion bendigedig! Excellent news!

And there’s a CrowdFunder so that we can help support this fantastic project:

www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/tirnatur

Woodcock arriving

Woodcock. Extraneous table and pomegranate halves.

Half a fox - and the wrong half at that!

Not had much luck with the trail cam to-date so thought I'd try to lure in some winter thrushes with pomegranate seed. Neighbour's dog, Robin and Woodpigeon resulted.

But then, entirely co-incidentally, one Woodcock and half a fox.

#birdingwales #rhossilibirds

I don't think the killers are too bothered about ecosystems. They need artificially high numbers of red grouse to run profitable grouse moors. Hen Harriers prey on grouse and this has a material impact on the population density. @markavery.bsky.social 's Inglorious is the book to read on this.

If 'To be a fascist is to be a Nazi', Italian fascism must have been fake news.

trees, scrub and possibly a bit of hedgerow razed to ground level

flailled hedge

a monstrous cutter on the end of a jcb

how it was before ...

Meanwhile, elsewhere in Wales, on the edge of a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation and 2 days before implementation of the Sustainable Farming Scheme:

... huge thanks to @rspbinvestigations.bsky.social team for their diligence and determination who I assume will have had none of their costs met. Anyone wishing to support them can do so here: www.rspb.org.uk/donate/help-...

Excellent series of blogs by @raptorpersuk.bsky.social on a case that illustrates the near-impossibility of obtaining a successful prosecution for killing a 'protected' Hen Harrier.

Utterly bizarre comments from the judge and a pitifully inadequate sentence but
(1/2)

Excerpt of Key Judgements from UK Gov report on Global Biodiversity Loss. Key Judgement 4 - every critical ecosystem is on a pathway to collapse

Excellent reports from the Guardian (this one and the earlier report of 8th Oct). The UK Gov statements are depressingly inadequate or, in their claim to be taking 'robust action to turn the tide of nature's decline', simply false.

Key Judgement 4 of the UK Gov report is particularly arresting:

So, the generations that have witnessed the biggest loss of nature in their lifetimes are the least likely to vote Green.

Lots of other things going on of course but nevertheless disturbing - have they simply not seen the dramatic loss of insects, birds, trees and semi-natural environments?

The habitat requirement is really very small beer given that hedgerow counts towards that 10%. The RSPB says the entry level payment 'would only help farmers "maintain" the habitats and wildlife they already have' but in practice it allows them also to rip out any habitat in excess of 10%.

Interesting and depressing that every quote from a political party is critical of the scheme in terms that it is not doing enough for farmers or food production and only the RSPB is saying its not doing enough for nature.

Country diary: Here for all to see – nature’s remarkable ability to rebound | Mark Cocker Mousley Bottom, Derbyshire: This area was a literal dump 40 years ago, devoid of life. But time and a dedicated council have worked their magic

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Tell the UK Government they must do better for nature! I've just emailed my MP to tell them what nature means to me and that I want it to stay protected. Will you take action too?

I've just emailed my MP to tell them what nature means to me and that I want it to stay protected. Labour has let us down badly with this legislation. Will you take action too? action.rspb.org.uk/page/180990/...

Merlin, honest.

View of the snow from Rhossili Down

Great to see a Merlin on Rhossili Down this morning. Also 2 Snipe and a Wren. Lots of ice, but warm in the sunshine. Snow on the other side of the estuary for the last 2 days but none here.

#birdingwales #gowerbirds @gowerbirds.bsky.social

Decision time: Tell Keir to #StopRosebank This is the moment we've been building towards: it's final decision time for the UK Government. Equinor is trying to get the new Rosebank oil field re-approved. It's up to us all to convince the Gover...

actionnetwork.org/forms/the-go...

Wow. 'No more [things I don't like and that I've got control over]. No more climate change.' Brilliant. Obviously he can stop the 'dudes in dresses' but ... climate change!?

a poor picture of a Hen Harrier on Rhossili Down

a poor picture of a Buzzard on Rhossili Down

a plucking from yesterday

A sodden Rhossili Down

Exciting times, in between the showers this morning, on a sodden Rhossili Down. A female/imm Hen Harrier and a wet Buzzard and then, on the trudge back, a male Hen Harrier. Never been happier in the rain!
@gowerbirds.bsky.social
#birdingWales #gowerbirds

Save Coul Links! Your voice could help save this precious habitat from a new threat of development.

I’m trying to save Coul Links. Will you? Remember Trump's golf course at Foveran Links which resulted in the loss of its SSSI status? Coul Links is a beautiful & unique wildlife habitat in the Scottish Highlands. But it is threatened once again with development. action.rspb.org.uk/page/166270/...

Maybe Don’t Talk to the New York Times About Zohran Mamdani It’s remarkable, the people you’ll hear from. Teach for even a little while at an expensive institution—the term they tend to prefer is “elite”—and odds are that eventually someone who was a studen…

This piece is excellent on the idiocy of balance in a world of hyper partisanship:
lithub.com/maybe-dont-t...

Snow Bunting - Rhossili Down

Snow Bunting - Rhossili Down

Very breezy walk up to the trig point on Rhossili Down this morning enlivened by a confiding Snow Bunting, looking a bit out of place really. Also 2 Chough, Buzzard, Skylark and Snipe.
#birdingWales #gowerbirds

Official confirmation of the extinction of the Slender-billed Curlew. How sad is this?

Quite. And yet still the US press normalises his actions: they say he's executed a 'transformation' of the DOJ when the word is 'corruption'. This is the man who dreamily simulated oral sex with a microphone at a rally just weeks before the election with barely a ripple of comment in the press.

It's a really heart-warming story and well done to the RSPB, FERA and the Tristan de Cunha government.

UK government response "F*ck those tiny birds no ones heard of, we're going to build 20,000 homes there for hardworking families"?

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

The constant, proudly ignorant, anti-nature statements from this government kill the soul. Great quotes from @craigbennett3.bsky.social & RSK Wilding followed by a torrent of cliche from the Treasury: 'planning system ... holding this country back' from building the homes 'hard working people need'

Donate £25 and it's worth £150 (or more with Gift Aid) to the World Land Trust who are one of the best environmental charities ...