Wildlife News: 1st December 2011

The big wildlife news this week is the Government's Autumn budget statement... where, tucked in amongst the headline-making stuff about the continuing decline of the economy, was the statement that ��we will make sure that gold plating of EU rules on things like Habitats aren�t placing ridiculous costs on British businesses.� Hidden behind the use of the kind of language that implies the hoisting of extra red tape by 'those pesky Europeans' is the fact that the Treasury would like to see the protection for Britain's wildlife reduced, to clear the way for development, development, development...

Remember, this is the Government that said it aimed to be "the greenest administration ever".

The conservation community is, predictably, alarmed...

Reaction from The Wildlife Trust, The Wildlife Trust for Beds, Cambs & Northants; RSPB.

(updated: an opinion piece from BirdGuides)

The Impossible Hamster from new economics foundation on Vimeo.

Earth Music Bristol Festival

More from the Earth Music Bristol festival, via Radio 3.

Radio 3: The Essay: Bird Song

Behaviour expert Professor Tim Birkhead explores how birds learn to sing (probably only available 7 days...)

Wildlife News (ish): 7th November 2011

Two Parid-related links:

Some amazingly friendly Siberian Tits and the work of Matt Sewell on film. (Speaking of whom: this is wonderful!)

Occurence Of Birds from R & A Collaborations on Vimeo.

Ghosts continued

More from the pen of Ralph Steadman, including Labrador Duck, Colombian Grebe and North Island Takahe.

Some of the coverage of the Ghosts of Gone Birds exhibition: it's not only me who thinks it's great!

BBC website
BBC London: go to 1 hr 36 minutes in.
Today Programme, Radio 4: go to 1 hr 43 minutes in.
Midweek on Radio 4
Culture24

(I'm a bit of a fan of this project: can you tell?)

Ghosts: Shoreditch, 2nd November 2011

Waved Albatross, by Gail Dooley

As I may have mentioned before, the Ghosts of Gone Birds exhibition has finally arrived in London, at the Rochelle School in Shoreditch, a three minute walk north from Shoreditch High Street station.

A beautiful, thought provoking and in places genuinely moving collection, much more (oh so much more!) that 'just' bird paintings, this is really good art with a story to tell. If you get the chance, do make an effort to go and see the exhibition: it's free entry, and is also a selling gallery, so if you like what you see, spend your money and raise money to help prevent any more bird extinctions.

(And if anyone has a spare �7K, Darren Rees's spectacular canvas of a flock of Carolina Parakeets would look great on my wall!)

Carolina Parakeets, by Darren Rees

King Island Emu, by Harriet Mead

Jamaican Red Macaw, just one of the entire room full of paintings from the prolific (and somewhat bonkers!) mind of Ralph Steadman

'Ula-'ai-Hawane, one of the beautiful Hawaiian Honeycreepers by Michael Warren

Gone, by Brigitte Williams.

Simple, beautiful, moving

Double-banded Argus, by Angie Lewin

Auckland Island Merganser, by Matt Underwood

Moa, by Katrina Van Grouw

St Helena Hoopoe, by Jonathan Edwards

Ghosts of Gone Birds: coming soon!

Dodo by Ralph Steadman, part of the forthcoming Ghosts of Gone Birds exhibition.

A little late for Halloween, but hopefully with a lot more treats in store, the Ghosts of Gone Birds extravaganza arrives in London on 2nd November. Admission is free, and the exhibition is on for three weeks, so if you're around in November, get yourself along to the Rochelle School in Shoreditch and enjoy, amongst other things, Margaret Atwood's knitted Great Auk...