Was it just me - maybe it was - but was Peter Kendall in a bit of a bad mood today?
Have a look at the Farmers Guardian debate and judge for yourself.
Peter seemed very keen to have a go at me and the RSPB whatever I said.
And how predictable to see NFU mouthpiece Guy Smith going back to criticising the FBI - there is precious little acceptance, by the NFU President or by Guy Smith, that there is a problem with farmland birds. The NFU's attitude to the environment may be summed up by Peter Kendall's phrase 'wrapping (farmers) in green tape'. Remember please, NFU, that's the taxpayers' money you get and so there do have to be some rules attached to it.
But very good to see lots of good comments - many I guess from farmers who are working closely with the RSPB in all sorts of ways.
.
A love of the natural world demonstrates that a person is a cultured inhabitant of planet Earth.
and how predictable for you to chunter on about declining wildlife,
to repeat, I was doing some crop walking this morning in some lovely spring weather and on my rounds I came across some
Swans eating the rape
Brent geese eating the wheat
Canadas and Greylags on the banks by the reservoir
Mallards and Tufted duck on the bottom pond with some Coots.
Pheasants and french partridge in the game cover
Herons and Egrets in the fleets.
A Sparrowhawk working the hedge in the lane.
A Buzzard over the wood.
A Hobby speeding across a wheat field.
About thirty Collared Doves in the yard.
A pair of Barn Owls scratching around in the box above the office in the old barn.
A Green Woodpecker on the loafing paddock, a Greater Spotted Woodpecker on the garden feeder.
A large flock (120?) of Chaffinches in the dead elms in the lane.
Some Pied Wagtails picking around on the just drilled pea land.
A Wren, several Blue , Great and Long tailed tits in the brambly hedge by the bottom pond.
Magpies and Crows lurking around up to no good by the muck hill
The point for me is that ALL these species found on my farm have increased nationally since 1970 according to RSPB figures and yet NONE are considered 'farmland' birds.
Its poppycock.
Paysan savant