I figured it was about time to upgrade how my blog was looking, so I changed its appearance. I decided I wanted to put more of an emphasis on my photographs and the old look didn't really show that too well. I hope you all like it.
Monday, 7 May 2012
Short-eared Owl
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| Short-eared Owl |
I was running out of hope especially because the battery in my SLR was flat and I hoped the bird would not land anywhere which would have made a good photograph. I was leaving the moors when I saw the bird siting on a fence post for about 15 minutes and I realised I probably wasn't going to get a better opportunity to photograph such a magnificent bird. Clambering into the boot of the car (I couldn't get out the car because this would have scared the bird) and using my Canon powershot, I managed to get this photograph through the sun roof.
Sunday, 6 May 2012
Rain has been disastrous to birds
The rain that most of the country had over the past 2 weeks has had a disastrous effects on birds. Ground nesting birds nests and breeding grounds have been destroyed. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) has written an article which can been seen here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17966324.
In Nottingham the peregrine falcon family lost 3 of their 4 chicks to the prolonged and heavy rain last week, which caused much upset to a lot of people. The remaining chick is doing well though on the other hand. A family of peregrines in London seemed to cope a little better than the family in Nottingham, but their nest is sheltered.
Ogston Reservoir (my local bird club) had many nesting pairs of lapwings which due to the rising water levels in the reservoir have unfortunately been lost. On the other hand there have been rumors that Severn Trent have let water from Carsington Waters into Ogston, they know birds breed by the edge of the reservoir so why do it?
In Nottingham the peregrine falcon family lost 3 of their 4 chicks to the prolonged and heavy rain last week, which caused much upset to a lot of people. The remaining chick is doing well though on the other hand. A family of peregrines in London seemed to cope a little better than the family in Nottingham, but their nest is sheltered.
Ogston Reservoir (my local bird club) had many nesting pairs of lapwings which due to the rising water levels in the reservoir have unfortunately been lost. On the other hand there have been rumors that Severn Trent have let water from Carsington Waters into Ogston, they know birds breed by the edge of the reservoir so why do it?
Sunday, 15 April 2012
Monday, 2 April 2012
Orangutans killed in forest fires
I use Twitter, but not for saying what I'm doing every minute of everyday, I use it to find out what's happening in the environment around the world. I only link up to environmental bodies and post about environmental issues.
One Tweeter this morning has posted a news article which some of you may find distressing, I know I did! The first sentence hits home: "Wildlife experts warn that in as little as just a few weeks, the rare Sumatran Orangutans could become extinct."
There's only one species to blame here and that's us!
I have 'blogged many times about palm oil, but it's something I believe we should all know about. You may think there's nothing we can do about it, but there is....if we all change our lifestyles, the products we buy from the supermarkets, there may be a chance that we can help this threatened species.
To recap on the effects of palm oil; thousands of hectares of land are destroyed to make way for palm oil plantations, thus leaving orangutans and other species, trapped and dead.
Palm oil factories are being accused of intentionally setting the forests on fire. The orangutans are then being forced into moving to less suitable forests, but the palm oil factory workers are apparently chasing the orangutans back into the fires when they're trying to move to safer grounds away from the fire. The bad news doesn't stop here unfortunately, factory workers are also being accused of paying poachers to kill the orangutans because they are destroying the young palm trees.
Palm oil factories are being accused of intentionally setting the forests on fire. The orangutans are then being forced into moving to less suitable forests, but the palm oil factory workers are apparently chasing the orangutans back into the fires when they're trying to move to safer grounds away from the fire. The bad news doesn't stop here unfortunately, factory workers are also being accused of paying poachers to kill the orangutans because they are destroying the young palm trees.
If this is the case what on earth has this world come to? Whether the palm oil factory workers are definitely doing this, they are still causing the orangutans habitat to diminish. What are your opinions on this?
(*This blog article was written in reference to the following news article: http://www.nodeju.com/20617/hundreds-of-orangutans-killed-in-forest-fire.html*)
There are ways we can help to protect this magnificent species, and that is to look at the products we buy on the shelves. There are numerous websites that provide lists of products that do not contain palm oil so why not try these:
Palm oil alternatives 02 (You can download a palm oil free shopping list from here too!)
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