The Hills are Alive

Its all kicking off in curlew land, they are streaming back to breeding grounds now and is great to get the reports from all over the country. People are posting on Twitter about hearing them and seeing them, and on Facebook, they are working their magic again this year.  The harbingers of spring are back and ready for action.

The first curlews arrived back in lowland areas in February, the more upland birds are just getting there.  In Northern Ireland the curlews in Antrim are said to come back to the hills on St Patrick's Day - which was the 17th March.

Slemish Mountain, Antrim, where St Patrick was held captive.
From http://mountainviews.ie/summit/667/

Mike Smart, a curlew watcher and recorder in Gloucestershire, and all round good egg, wrote a great description a couple of weeks ago of two birds that had just got to a meadow in his area:

"They seem to me to adopt very characteristic behaviour; they are generally in twos, stalking round in a rather proprietorial sort of way, a little way apart, feeding quietly, and not getting very close together.  Sometimes however, they move quite close together and start courtship display, in a moderate way: running around quite quickly together, sometimes in parallel, sometimes one ahead of the other, often picking up bits of grass or vegetation as they go, and throwing it down again; this can last for ten minutes.  On one occasion, the male opened his wings slightly and did a couple of flaps, and seemed to hold his tail up, rather like a Snipe; but I haven’t seen the slow ballet with outstretched quivering wings yet."

Others are reporting the same kind of behaviour, and Noel Kiernan who watches curlews on the wild and beautiful islands on Lough Ree in S Ireland also noticed 5 pairs behaving as though they were gearing up to breeding. That lovely bubbling call will soon be trailing over the meadows and moors of Britain and Ireland - well I hope so.  Actually, not so much in Ireland as there are only 130 pairs left, but where they still hang on these wild songsters will be adding joy to people's lives in a way that cannot by valued by money.

Lough Ree from http://www.viewmounthouse.com/things-to-do/places/lough-ree

All of us curlew lovers will be watching and waiting to see how this season progresses and if curlews can hang in in our very human world. To keep this wild sprite though is a challenge, we may not be prepared to do what it takes to make room for uneconomic species, no matter how lovely and joyous they are. But I don't actually believe that - I think we will make it happen, because we are not just consumers, we are so much more.  No one just thinks about money.  We have so much in our lives that we don't put a pound sign next to. We don't charge for the time it takes to read a book, or walk outside, make a birthday cake, spend time with someone who needs us. We don't think about money when it comes to love, affection, respect, - those soul moments.

Photos by permission of Tony Cross

Post the Ireland and Slimbridge conferences more people are now involved in monitoring the birds and working out the best way to protect them - in ways that are suitable for their bit of the world.  perhaps that is putting signs up to tell dog walkers to keep dogs on leads around a known nest site until mid July.  Or maybe nests in some places may need electric fences to stop the eggs being eaten (but they won't stop the chicks being got unfortunately). Or even some lethal predator control is required in certain problem areas for the time of breeding?  Stocking density might have to be reduced.  It is all about what is needed where, and we need to have open and positive discussions about the way forwards.

But so far, the 2 conferences have shown just how much we British and Irish love these birds (and so much else too).  We don't want them to disappear, we don't just want to make money out of the land. It is clear to me we want a singing planet, not just a money-making one.  

If you are on Twitter search for curlew or curlews and you will get some great pictures and heartening tweets about the birds.  I am so grateful for those who write to me to tell me what is happening - and for being involved in the curlew groups as they gear up for the next few months.

Curlews are in a better place than they were a year ago - thank you to everyone who has been so supportive and for those rolling up their sleeves now and getting down to the serious business of looking after our birds.

Author Kathryn Norbury (The Fish Ladder) suggested making a Year of the Curlew.  Bit late for this year - but next?  Seems a great idea!

Radio Stoke, Midlands Today and News

It was a Midlands media fest yesterday.  Here is the interview I did for BBC Radio Stoke at 7.20 am on 14th March.

I then went to the Roaches on the Staffordshire Moorlands to be filmed for Midlands Today.  But it goes offline at 7.00 pm on 16th March.

And this news report too appeared.

BBC Wildlife Magazine - Faith and Nature

I wrote an article for the March edition of  BBC Wildlife Magazine on the role religions can/should/must play in conservation.

Faith in Nature

Guest Blog for Mark Avery on Curlews

Photo by John Walters

My guest blog for Mark Avery on why I love curlews and what I'm going to do to help them recover.

500 miles for curlew

Please help spread the word about my walk for curlew, beginning April 21st.

The Curlew Walk - Flyer

How faith can help nature

In November 2015 I gave a talk at New Networks for Nature on how important world religions are for conservation. Here is a summary of the talk.

Curlew are wonderful birds that I have loved for ever. It is their almost comical small head, large bill and gangly legs that make me smile and their haunting call that evokes many feelings.

Copyright Andreas Trepte

Their Latin name is Numenius arquata.  I tried to find out why but couldn't, not at first anyway, but I did find out that Numenius of Apamea (in Syria) was a rather splendid second century philosopher who wanted to restore the ideas of Plato. He believed (putting it very simply) that living things couldn't be totally explained by referring to matter - which was cold and lifeless - or by the elements - which were in a constant state of change, Numenius believed that life must have some kind of spirit of the divine to animate it.

It actually turns out that Numenis is in fact related to the new moon, a reference to the shape of the curlew's bill, and arquata means shaped like a bow. So the Latin name for curlew is defined by its beautifully curved bill.  But I was happy to go with the philosopher because he makes an important point.

For much of the world religion plays a very important role in people's lives.  It is only in western Europe that we feel faith is personal and not to be talked about in public.  For the rest of the world religion defines individuals and communities, even whole countries.  This is a pie chart showing the percentage of different religions worldwide.

It is obvious that Christianity and Islam make up more than half the world's population .  Here is a map of the Christian world.

Christian countries are guardians of the Amazon, the Boreal forests, the Congo rainforest, sub Saharan Africa, the Arctic - to name a few of the precious ecosystems on earth.  Most of N America, the most powerful country on earth, is Christian. 

Here is a map of the strongholds of the Islamic faith.

The Indonesian rainforest is purely in the hands of Islamic countries, as well as most of N Africa.  The two biggest religions on earth are in charge of the world's most diverse ecosystems.

It is also a fact that 50% of North Americans say they trust their religious leaders more than any other group (gallup poll) and a BBC World Service survey showed that 75% of people throughout Africa trusted religious leaders over and above governments, NGOs and other civil leaders.

Religions also provide an interconnected group of people that spread over the earth, bound together across race, colour and political boundaries.  They are are also well established with roots stretching back through generations, tying people to the past as well as providing hope for the future.  All religions come with a sense of greatness outside of humanity, of sacrifice for the common good, of awe and wonder, an understanding of obedience and a sense of the long-term that goes beyond human comprehension. 

Perhaps a good example of this in poetry is God's Grandeur by Gerard Manley Hopkins.  Hopkins was a Jesuit priest.

The world is charged with the grandeur of God.
It will flame out, like shining from shook foil;
It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil
Crushed. Why do men then now not reck his rod?
Generations have trod, have trod, have trod;
And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil;
And wears man's smudge and shares man's smell: the soil
Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod.

And for all this, nature is never spent;
There lives the dearest freshness deep down things;
And though the last lights off the black West went
Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs --
Because the Holy Ghost over the bent
World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings

In fact many of the most renowned environmentalists/writers/poets have deeply religious roots, to varying degrees.  People like Wendell Berry, John Clare, David Henry Thoreau, Gilbert White, John Muir, Thomas Berry, Thomas Merton, William Wordsworth, Robert Frost. These are just a few I like very much.

But what we tend to do in western environmental circles is talk in terms of science and data, other ways are less important or soft - embarrassing even. This is a shame because all have a place at the conservation table - increasingly so.

So whether you see a curlew as a bird with a long nose that makes a lovely noise, or a "thought of God" as Thomas Merton (monk) would have said, or a divine spark of Lord Shiva or a sentient being struggling in the cycle of birth and re-birth, or a special creation of Allah - or simply Numenius arquata  - any of these are valid and all are important.

As we find ourselves in an increasingly religious world we need to embrace different ideas and points of view, because nature needs us to do so.

St Bueno and the Curlew

              

                        St Beuno and the Eurasian curlew ("Eurasian Curlew" by Andreas Trepte)

In the 7th C AD the grand old welsh St Bueno was sailing between  Llanddwyn and Clynnog when he dropped his prayer book onto the sea.  Suddenly a curlew swooped down, scooped up the book and took it to the shore where it was laid out to dry on rocks.  When St Bueno arrived he was so grateful he blessed the curlew and prayed for its protection.  Hence forth the nest of this most lovely of birds is very difficult to find.

In fact today in Wales it is even more difficult to find as it seems the prayer of St Bueno has run out of steam.  According to a report from the BTO this month "Curlew is one of the upland species that has shown the greatest decline (-49%) and is now considered too be the UK's highest conservation priority." Declines are particularly evident in southern Ireland and Wales.  See this excellent blog by Graham Appleton.

How can this be?  In Ireland curlew were legally shot during November but due to the drastic fall in numbers (2000 breeding pairs in 2001, less than 200 today) that was banned in 2012.  Habitat loss?  Disturbance by dogs then predation of the eggs by crows? Is this a bird out of time?

What can be done?  I might walk from Norfolk to West Ireland dressed like a curlew to raise awareness - and hopefully funds.  Anyone like to join me for sections?

I'd like to walk from possibly Westport in Co Mayo to the Wash, taking in Aberffraw to visit St Bueno's church in Anglesey.

Anyone know who could help make a curlew costume? I don't want it to be whacky, rather more beautiful symbolising what curlews have given is in terms of poetry, literature, music and art. A clothes designer who can work with something waterproof and sturdy to withstand rain and wind!

Any help gratefully received.

Killing With Kindness

Listening to all the debates and discussions about Ash Die-back has been disheartening.  Finger pointing with the benefit of crystal clear hindsight is all very easy. It's the governments fault!  It's the Woodland Trusts fault!  Etc etc.  But for me there is a much bigger picture behind this disease.  It isn't just the fault of the government for not acting more quickly, it isn't just the fault of NGOs and others who have encouraged planting trees without checking their provenance, it is the fault of the environment movement itself which has fallen into the contemporary desire for quick fixes.

For years now "plant a tree and save the planet" has been the accepted way of doing our bit to counteract our high output of greenhouse gases.  It is a guilt tamer, a conscience salver and a quick fix for the destruction of the habitats we have degraded and the species we have lost.  Most of the time it didn't matter what tree or where it was planted  as long as it was a tree and as long as it grew.  This has been our very modern approach to a problem - get a quick fix, get a sound byte and get over it.  The trees that are/were planted are often quite well grown, we can't even wait for seeds to germinate.  It all has to happen now with instant gratification because we want to feel better about being Westerners quickly.

So - we grow lots of trees from nurseries abroad, we plant great forests or small woods and we think job done.  But it isn't.

Maybe this crisis will help us all to think about our relationship with nature more deeply.  Nature doesn't do quick fixes, it beats to its own rhythm at its own pre-determined pace and history shows that whenever we try to manipulate that pace or its rhythm we run into deep trouble.  The history of catastrophic introductions to counteract pests are prime examples.

If we want to replace trees we have lost then each place has to be seen in in own right, having its own local ecology and it can't be replaced quickly.  Woodlands are like societies, we need different ages, different types to fulfil all the different needs of complex interactions, most of which we barely understand.  Most specialists struggle to fully comprehend the mysteries of a woodland, how can the rest of us re-create it with little or no knowledge?

The environment movement has made us all into ecologists - "ecology" is such a misused and misunderstood word.  It has tapped into our desire to make amends but given us the wrong toolkit to do so.  Too many people talk about ecology and conservation without a clue what those terms really mean - and damage continues to be done - we are killing with kindness.

Now is the time to step back, to accept we must wait and be patient and be more controlled in our responses and more informed in our choices.  Yes we have made a mess, yes it can be fixed, but not necessarily that quickly - and this generation may not see the benefits.  We have to have a mentality more like Capability Brown, the great landscape gardener.  He designed his great gardens with no expectation he would see the end result, he knew he had to wait for seeds to grow, for landscapes to fill in.  This is a mindset we have lost with our instant age.

I think this is a time of re-awakening of deeper truths which we have tried to bury as we have scrambled for the fast acting solution.  Lets stop finger pointing and start reconsidering our approach to making amends with nature - and let nature be our guide, not the zeitgeist of our fast and furious age.

The Future of the Amazon

Here is the interview I did with a Brazilian Bishop on the future of the Amazon. he was a sincere man who obviously has a great feeling for the greatest rainforest on earth.  However there is an error - the new forest code is trying to reduce protection, not increase it!  I've asked The Tablet to correct this next week.Voice of the Forest

Welcome to the Anthropocene

I talk about the Anthropocene in my Tablet article. Good film.

Wildflowers on Radio

Lady's Mantle or Cuckoo Flower in a wildflower meadow near Bicester

Last week I went to St Birinus church in Dorchester-on-Thames to see a group of parishioners, led by Linda Francis, plant a Mary Garden. This is a garden full of wildflowers that have a religious significance, particularly to do with Mary. Forget-me-nots are called Mary's Eye's, Lily of the Valley are known as Mary's Tears - see an earlier post and the Tablet article for more details.

Sunday on Radio 4 broadcast this interview this morning, along with an interview with Giles Strother from the Bucks, Berks and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust at a meadow near Bicester. This was a glorious wildflower meadow, one of a few on a farm they are hoping to buy next year. Its a great pity the producer cut out the main part of the interview with Giles who explained really well why wildflower meadows are so important to the UK - as a store of carbon (as much if not more than a woodland), as a source of pollen for a whole variety of insects, as a water storage to hold excess water etc.  And we have lost 98% of them since World War 2 due to high intensity farming and grazing.  All that was cut out so the piece that was broadcast was weak and didn't really make any sense! However - here are the photos of the wildflowers and St Birinus and we keep on...

Lilly of the Valley - or Mary's Tears - in St Birinus' Garden and parishioners planting the garden below

Nurture In His Name - film series

Here are the first 3 films in a series called Nurture In His Name - aimed at clergy and church communities to encourage environmental care.  We will do more, but so far there is an Introduction, one on Nature and one on Solar Power.  Do pass them around if you think they can be useful.

Wildflowers and Churches

The Tablet published my article on May, flowers and Mary.  We have lost 97% of our wildflower habitat in the last 30 years.Flowers of the Rarest

And some churches are doing their bit. St Birinus in Dorchester-on-Thames are just about to create a Mary Garden, a garden made of wildflowers that are associated with Our Lady.  I'll be recording a piece for Sunday on BBC Radio 4 this week which will be broadcast this Sunday (May 20th)
No 02 Spring 06

Mary's Garens exist already in some churchyards, for example St Birinus told me about St Mary de Haura, Horsham

Here is some info from them:


Mary Garden Leaflet

Swifts are soaring

There's been some great news about people taking up the request to put swift boxes on churches or religious buildings.  

My article appeared in The Tablet and was called Holy Birds of the Heavens.

Holy Birds of the Heaven : Tablet 21 April 2012

St Albans putting up swift boxes

 St Albans got on with it straight away as they already had scaffolding on the roof.

St Beuno's

St Beuno's in N Wales - the Jesuit retreat house featured in The Big Silence - are just about to put up two boxes and will send pictures when they do.

The Churches Conservation Trust have also agreed to put up swift boxes in suitable places - they have 341 churches that might work!  They are in the process of getting a plan together so I'll keep you posted.

There has also been interest from Bristol Cathedral - so watch this space for swift updates.

Save Our Swifts

This is a photo of swifts swooping around a medieval tower in Assisi, I couldn't believe how many there were.  The noise filled the air and they formed clouds of dark, shifting shapes against a beautiful blue sky.  They haven't arrived in the UK yet, hopefully in the next couple of weeks.

There is a lot of concern about the rapid decline of the Common Swift in the UK, and right across europe.  As we smooth out, replace, restore and otherwise blank out our old buildings we take away the holes and crevasses that swifts need.  SE England has lost 1/2 of its breeding birds.  I'll have an article in The Tablet soon asking religious buildings across Europe to put swift nest boxes on their tall towers.  This is such a simple way to care for the natural world.

You can get all the info you need from Swift Conservation

I'll post the article when it is published, but if you know of any religious buildings that already have swifts nesting in them or are planning on putting up boxes do let me know.

New Relationship With Nature - The Government is going backwards.

 

 

The Great Hall at the University of Bristol for the recording of Sustaining Life for Radio 4

Panelists Jon Bridle, Vandana Shiva, Aubrey Manning and Jacqueline McGlade - Presenter in the middle - Brett Westwood

At times it is very easy to give in to despair about what is happening to the natural world - it was hard enough in good times when governments thought they had the money for the "luxury" of  policies that protect nature, but it turns out that was little more than gardening - a nice feeling from getting Britain to look nice for those family walks in nature reserves.  True colours begin to show when economic times are harder and the desire to drive the economy by building and consuming our way out means any notions about meadows and butterflies, seabirds and wetlands are quickly dispensed of.  Now protected sites are up for grabs as the government is thinking of having another look at the Habitat's Directive - the legislation that is protecting the places many species need to thrive - and one example is revoking its objection to a new airport on the Thames estuary and - as George Osbourne put it in the Autumn Statement yesterday:
“We will make sure that gold-plating of EU rules on things like habitats aren’t placing ridiculous costs on British businesses.“   Things like habitats - pardon?

2 weeks ago the government also seemed to be massively scaling down its plans to establish Marine Conservation Zones.  127 were identified for designation this year by a range of organisations and recommended to the government for protection.  Now only a handful (no number or locations specified) will be designated initially and the remainder will be looked at again at the end of next year after "more consultations."  How much more is needed?   Isn't 2 year's worth of consultations enough?  The jungle beat is saying less than a quarter of the original number will be accepted.  Why?  Because it too difficult to accept marine protection in times when we need the sea's resources to boost the economy.  It is money talking, not compassion and care for the seas.

Jacqui McGlade in Saving Species urged governments to do what it takes to care for the oceans - after all, she said, it is probably what will keep 9 billion people alive in the future.

So on a day when one of my son's schools is shut because of demonstrations about pensions, when we heard yesterday about how the economy is worse off than we thought and when everyone is dreading the expense of Christmas because even paying the food bills is getting harder - do fish and butterflies really matter to us?  As  Harry Cotterell the new president of the CLA said “The Government is starting to melt the goldplating on this (the Habitat's) directive. We support conservation, but it is important that humans are considered as important as bats, newts and dormice.”

I am bound to disagree aren't.  And I do.  Not that humans are less important but with the notion behind this statement.  It is short sighted in the extreme and the increasing distance between our lives and our understanding of our reliance on the world around us has led us to really believe we are disconnected from the nitty-gritty rawness of earth processes.  To the money people the earth is little more than a never emptying box of resources for us to use to make money.  Well, so it could be in many ways if we treat it well, but that is not what we are planning on doing.

I think Dr Jon Bridle in the recording of Saving Species - Sustaining Life programme on Monday - put it beautifully when he said  - when will we realise that the Department of the Environment is actually the Treasury?  We place so much emphasis on industry and the economy and the Dept of the Environment is brushed into a dark corner - but the Department of the environment holds the key to the wealth of any nation.

So if the pollinators die - how will we have crops?  If we destroy the range of plants and animals that cleanse water - what will we drink?  If we poison soils what will we grow?  If we destroy the balance of the seas by removing all predators - what will happen to the 1 billion people who depend on fish for their livelihood? If we take out all mangroves where will fish breed and what will dampen storm waves?  The list goes on and on and on.

But it is more than that isn't it.  Its not just about us - it truly isn't.  We are diminished and degraded if we fail to protect the planet we live on - fail to care about it, respect it and marvel at it.  In the superb "British Wildlife" magazine Peter Marren says:

We plainly need an independent voice that brings to an issue nature as a whole, not in terms of preconceptions of human health or happiness ... but for its own sake.  This voice would not be diverted by "environment" concerns (which are invariably about the human environment ... but would talk about the real wild plants, animals, invertebrates and fungi, in all their glorious individuality, complexity and vulnerability.  We need someone to tell the politicians about the natural world as it is.

On Monday night the Great Hall at the University of Bristol hosted the recording of a very important debate for  Radio 4 - a special edition of Saving Species called Sustaining Life.  it examined the relationship between a growing human population and our demands on the earth - and the survival of the natural world.  No one listening could be in any doubt about our place in nature, our dependence on its health and why it is important to love it for what it is.

I love working on this series - it does exactly what Peter Maren wants to hear - a voice for nature  that says it as it is.  It champions all of life, big small and the seemingly irrelevant; and it tells the world it is worth protecting because it exists.  The recognition that we have a duty of care towards the earth can only make us more fully human - but we need a change of heart.

Brett asked the panel if they thought we are entering a new age of creativity, where we view the world differently and live in a more creative way that allows all of life on earth to flourish.  They thought we could do that, given a drive from governments, organisations and from the people themselves.  We have to want to change - but do we?

Saving Species - Sustaining Life will be broadcast on Dec 23rd at 8.00 pm

I was also delighted yesterday by a speech given by Pope Benedict to a gathering of young people in Italy: 

"Dear friends the Church, while appreciating the most important scientific research and discoveries, has never ceased to remind people that by respecting the mark of the Creator in all creation, we achieve a better understanding of our true and profound human identity. ... If, in fact, human activity forgets to collaborate with God, it can do violence to the creation and cause damage which always has negative consequences, also for mankind. ...  Respect for the human being and respect for nature are the same thing, they grow and find their just measure if we respect the Creator and His creation, both in the human creature and in nature".

If 1 billion Catholics REALLY took this to heart, the world would be a different place.

People and Wildlife - A Shared Earth - BBC Recording

If anyone can come to a recording of a BBC Radio 4 programme on Monday 28th Nov in Bristol, 6-9 pm that would be great.  It is free and everyone welcome.

The programme will be broadcast on Radio 4 on Dec 23rd in the "Any Questions" slot at 20.00 and repeated on Dec 24th.  The theme of the debate is how an increasing human population is or will affect the natural world - can billions of people really coexist with wildlife and wilderness? As the world population grows is it inevitable that we will see more degradation of nature and a reduction in species?  Does this really matter?

The team of experts discussing how to share the planet are:
Vandana Shiva an independent environmentalist from India
Professor Aubrey Manning, professor emeritus from Edinburgh University and an animal behaviourist.  He is also a patron on Population Matters
Professor Jacqui McGlade, Head of the European Environment Agency and advisor to the Gaia Foundation
Professor Paul Bates from the geography Dept of Bristol University, a water specialist

The evening will have film clips as well as a panel discussion - and 2 guest performers, a poet, Miles Chambers and a writer AL Kennedy.

We hear a lot about how environmental issues like lack of water, depletion of resources, climate change etc will effect US - but what about the effects on the others we share this planet with, the plants, insects, mammals, fish. reptiles etc?

All these are great speakers and I am sure will contribute to an otherwise very human centred debate.

If you want a ticket please go to this link to order one.

Brett Westwood is chairing, described by the Guardian as Radio 4's chirpiest presenter and a tonic on a dreary day!

I'm producing, so come up and say hello.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b010x8sq

Seals and Spoons

 Grey seal

Spoonbill sandpiper

I have come across 2 inspiring things in the last few days - one is the attempt to save the spoonbill sandpiper from extinction, the other is a lovely lady in Cornwall who is doing her utmost for grey seals.  What beautiful and iconic creatures these are (I meant the seals here but Sue is a lovely creature too!)

The spoonbill sandpiper is on the verge of extinction and there are less than 100 breeding pairs left.  They fly between eastern Russia (where they breed) and Burma/Bangladesh (where they over-winter) and stop over at wetlands throughout Asia on the way.  As so much wetland has now been turned into industry and reclaimed for agriculture these vital refueling grounds are disappearing. And if they do make it to their wintering grounds they are slaughtered by hunters - not necessarily deliberately, often as by-catch.  To hear more go to the Radio 4 website for Saving Species where this story was featured this week.

The situation is so critical that an expedition set out earlier this year to collect eggs from the breeding grounds, incubate them, then bring the 13 chicks to Slimbridge in Gloucestershire where they will hopefully breed a protected population that can one day be returned to the wild.

What I love about this project is the fact we still care enough to go to so much trouble to save them.  Thank God we do.  A world without this beautiful bird would be an impoverished world indeed.

Grey seals are reasonably common along the coast of Cornwall but amazingly very rare worldwide.  They are our largest mammal and always a major attraction, but it is surprising how little we know about them - or how little protection they get.  Sue Sayer is an inspirational lady who gave up her job to find out more about seals and to spread the word about understanding and protecting them.  I interviewed her recently for a Radio 4 series I am making on naturalists (A Life With...) to be broadcast over a week between March 19th and 23rd 2012.  I met 4 other wonderful people making this series and I'll do a special blog about it nearer the time.

Sue has just written a book about her findings, Seal Secrets, which will be published in March.  Look at the seal group  website for more details about the work Sue and the other members of the group are doing - they are great.

Keep up the good work WWT and Sue and all the others - the natural world needs you.

Green Pilgrimage Network

 Awards ceremony

 St Francis Basilica, Assisi

I have just returned from the launch of the Green Pilgrimage Network in Assisi (October 29th - November 3rd 2011).  10 founding faith organisations pledged to make their sacred site green and sustainable for pilgrims - and not just the site - to encourage pilgrims to make their journeys to and from home as environmentally sustainable as possible, in line with their beliefs that all the faiths preach care for the earth.

The pictures above show both Fr Peter Massengill from the Franciscans and the Mayor of Assisi receiving their certificates to congratulate them on being founder members.  They were presented by Princess Michael of Kent and The Hon Mrs Sara Morrison, former International President of WWF.  To see more pictures please visit the ARC Flickr site.

Both Tony Juniper and Prof Chris Baines gave keynote speeches, both of which were excellent.  it is good to see real, heartland environmentalists at a religious event - at long last.

It was a wonderful few days, Assisi is gorgeous, the weather superb and the hearts sincere - what more can you ask?

I think this has huge potential and I hope the founder members carry out their pledges and inspire others to follow.  More on this to follow soon....

The Purring Dove

picture from Eco Tourism Blog

Turtle Doves have a habit of getting under people's skin. Perhaps it is the insistent, soft purring call that soothes, like feathered kittens. Their gentle call heralds warmer months - if swifts and swallows are the visual clue, then the turtle dove is the sound of summer. Or was.

This site, Macaulay Library, has a recording of their call - in Kenya.

Solomon refers to them: Song of Solomon 2:12:
The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.

And Jeremiah 8:7
Even the stork in the sky knows her seasons; and the turtledove and the swift and the thrush observe the time of their migration; but my people do not know the ordinance of the Lord.

They are a dove of woodland edge, open forest and scrubland, arriving in the spring and leaving again in July, back to south of the Sahara. But in the last 25 years their population has catastrophically declined by 90%.

It is a great sadness that a beautiful dove, once so common flocks of them could be seen sitting on telephone lines, is now mainly restricted to a few parts of the SE.

Changes in Africa? Changes here? Is the flight now too perilous? We share a common humanity with our brothers and sisters in Africa - and we share many of our birds. I hope we can all find a way to reverse this trend. Everyone should hear Solomon's dove.