Action Needed to Protect the Curlew

The evocative call of the Eurasian Curlew is a unique and special sound that could be a thing of the past if sufficient action is not taken to prevent the decline of this iconic species. My own local area, on the north Essex coast, still has a good deal of suitable habitat for their overwinteringContinueContinue reading “Action Needed to Protect the Curlew”

Who will win the Hedge Cutting debate? Birds v Contractors

In this week’s Farmers Weekly it is difficult to ignore their campaign to repeal the August hedge cutting ban. It seems that the furrows in the brows of contractors are getting deeper and two years after the ban was put in place they continue to call for its reversal. It is an issue that seems toContinueContinue reading “Who will win the Hedge Cutting debate? Birds v Contractors”

A Farming and Conservation Partnership Success Story: The Cirl Bunting

According to the State of Nature report released earlier this year 12 out of the 26 breeding farmland birds are red listed (the highest category of risk of further decline or even extinction). Since 1970 the number of farmland birds has declined by 54%. Although it must be mentioned that since the early 1990s, when conservationContinueContinue reading “A Farming and Conservation Partnership Success Story: The Cirl Bunting”

A brief introduction to soil biology

One week has, rather predictably, not been enough to do justice to the subject of soils. Nonetheless, I hope I have been able to trigger an interest among some of you and have inspired you to find out more. I will certainly return to the subject in the (near) future but this post is theContinueContinue reading “A brief introduction to soil biology”

Sunday in Somerset

This afternoon I was fortunate to spend some time with prolific author Stephen Moss and fellow AFON committee member Matt Williams, exploring an area of Somerset I had not previously thought of visiting: immediately south of Burnham on Sea. ”What’s different?” Stephen asked Matt and I as we set out along the grassy wall. HisContinueContinue reading “Sunday in Somerset”