Robin Page writes, or rants, about forests, grey squirrels and conservation charities in the Mail on Sunday.  As usual with Robin, everybody is doing everything wrong in a rather unspecified and vague way - but he's very cross about it. 

For a more thoughtful piece, which you won't find on line, try the Sunday Express and Stuart Winter's regular Birdman column. Stuart is right to point out that our woodland…

I got off a train at Wellingborough station at noon on Thursday and was talking on the 'phone as I tried to remember where I'd left my car on Monday morning. 

I couldn't remotely describe myself as birdwatching at that time and yet I noticed a flock of birds flying in the distance.  Something about them made me look closer and even though they were distant, I knew they were waxwings - about 50 of them. 

I had thought that I would be on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme this morning - but experience shows that you can't count a Today Prog interview until it's broadcast.  The democratic future of the people of Egypt really is more important than whether we get a Forest and Wildlife Service which can deliver a better future for our forests.  But I will come back to that idea on Monday. And just in passing, I wonder what…

The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Caroline Spelman)     As in previous years, the selection criteria for land in the Forestry Commission England’s forthcoming assets sales programme were published on 27th January.  In light of the Government commitment to increase protection for access and public benefit in our woodlands, the criteria for these sales will be reviewed so that protections…

I spent a lot of time as a kid, and since, in the New Forest and there are two things I know about it - it's not new and it's not all forest.

This mix of ancient woodland and modern tree farms, grassland grazed by ponies and heathland alive with Dartford warblers is a very special place.  And a very complicated place with a long past and we hope a long future.  But the government consultation on forestry suggests…

This blog first wrote about this awful Bill back on 31 October when I wrote as follows:

Quango bonfire: In order to carry out some of its plans for the Forestry Commission, but also for a host of other 'Arms Length Bodies', government has announced the legislative route for changing the structure and role of a large number of agencies.  Legislation will start in the House of Lords where it is likely that the new…

Pasted below is a blog I wrote on 4 November 2009 (not 2010) but you can go back to the original to check I haven't changed a word.  I am relieved to see that what I wrote then still seems pretty true well over a year later, after a couple of autumns and a general election.

The blog below highlights the likely cuts to environmental spending and changes to organisational structure that would follow a change of government…

Signs of winter...

I've seen a few reports on Northants birding sites of sightings of white stoats - stoats in ermine.  And a report of one in Norfolk from Twitter.  I'm envious, I've never seen a white stoat (but they still have black tail tips).  Except this Sunday, when out for my normal walk, a stoat ran across the path and it was half white - a half ermine!  I wish I'd seen it for longer and closer and better…

Damian Carrington writes well on the joint issue - as they are very similar - of NNRs and heritage forests.

And I don't just say that because he likes our vague idea of a merged FC and NE being a wildlife-friendly, public-friendly organisation to run state land - although, of course, that doesn't reduce my high opinion of him.

On a personal note, having a strange man rubbing your back always feels a bit odd but I could hardly walk yesterday afternoon and now, although I am not, in the words of Van Morrison, 'Laughing and a running hey, hey Skipping and a jumping', I am able to blog and respond to comments!

Yesterday the Guardian posted our comment piece on the real battle for our forests.  It is based on an earlier blog from here so…

In the Sunday Times yesterday Rod Liddle writes about Songbird Survival and interviews one of their trustees Nick Forde.

You have to pay Rupert Murdoch to read it or watch the video but you might just find it worthwhile.

Liddle tests Forde on his songbird identification - with, it has to be said, some pretty tricky species (meadow pipit, corn bunting and lesser whitethroat - and he fails.  But he can recognise a pheasant…

Do you use peat in your garden - I wish you wouldn't!  About 70% of UK peat use is through retail sales to you and me (except not me - so it must be you).

Peat doesn't come from bags - it comes from peatlands and its mining destroys peat habitats and its use leads to totally unnecessary increased carbon emissions.  Annual carbon dioxide emissions from horticultural peat use are 630,000 tonnes.  That's a lot of carbon…

Forests and NNRs have captured my attention for the last few days - and they aren't going to go away.

But there are other things too - and tomorrow's blog - or at least the first one - will be about peat.

I also want to talk about signs of spring and signs of winter, the Sussex Ornithological Society meeting I attended last weekend, the Natural Environment White Paper and a range of other things.

Oh yes, and…

I've already mentioned the Sunday Telegraph piece on non-sale and non-lease of National Nature Reserves but it's also covered in the Sunday Times. In both it's portrayed as a U-turn which is a little unfair as I don't think the decision had ever been made so it never had to be unmade.  We welcome this clarification and we have said all along that state retention of NNRs (and forests - and the two are similar…

Jonathon Porritt's blog is well worth reading even though he lashed out in several directions in its current incarnation.  As a fellow blogger I notice that he writes less often and gets fewer comments than I do (although his current blog is receiving corrections from other NGOs).  Perhaps Sooty, trimbush and other regular commenters on this blog might like to give Porritt a comment or two.

But if you do visit that…

Phewww! It's rather blowy out there.  Most birds are keeping their heads down.

I am looking forward to the rugby this afternoon where Italy must be in with half a chance at home to Ireland.  But the racing looks a little straight forward.  I can't see past Binocular (Sandown, 155) and feel people will be raising their glasses to Oscar Whisky at new Welsh racecourse, Ffos Las (240) - but neither horse, even if winning…

Given the media contacts we've had over the last few days I am fairly sure that you will see the RSPB mentioned in the weekend papers on Saturday and Sunday.  Some mentions will be favourable and some unfavourable.

Think I'll go out for a walk and see some birds before I read the papers.

The rugby was good last night.  The land of my father beat the land of my mother.

Governments often find the environment difficult to deal with.  In today's Independent Environment editor Mike McCarthy has a real go at the government and at Defra. 

McCarthy says that based on what the government is actually doing, its aspiration to be the greenest government ever is risible.

He uses the sell-off of forests, proposed disposal of NNRs and the failure to do anything about some pesticides as examples…

A few weeks ago the prestigious scientific journal Nature published an editorial in favour of landscape-scale conservation. 

I was pleased to see that the UK example they gave was the RSPB's Futurescapes programme.

Songbird Survival have been in the news a bit recently - and I wrote a blog concerning them just recently (here) to add to a few mentions they have had in the past (click here, here and here).

One of their supporters appears to be Mr Mark Osborne, a game manager from Banbury, who wrote recently in the Farmers Weekly about the 'extraordinary imbalance' of raptors.  I've met Mr Osborne a couple of times and he is…

This is the area we are talking about when we talk about FC land.

And I see that FC has announced job cuts of 450 posts in England and Scotland today.

At the moment Mrs Spelman is in full flow in the debate in Parliament and is being highly critical of scaremongering and "ludicrous speculation in the media".

The RSPB and National Trust have joined forces to take on the management of a large chunk of the Peak District called the Eastern Moors.  This is the first time that we have worked together in quite this way, and we are very much looking forward to it.

Here's what the Yorkshire Post said about it.

Plenty of news today about forest sell-offs and lease-offs but here's an interesting twist.  Some Natural England staff are coming together to offer to manage NNRs through creating a new company to do the management work.  They may see their jobs at risk and this is a way of saving them.  It's an interesting idea.  But would it lead to any real savings in money for the taxpayer I wonder?

And 'Would forest sell-offs…

Natural England has been seeking 400 voluntary redundancies and early retirements amongst its staff - and has had, in round terms, about 300 offers.  So it is looking for another 100 non-voluntary job cuts.

This is from a staff of about 2400.  And the next few years will see another 400 jobs go - the consequences of c30% cuts in money from government.

No-one has suggested chopping down 30% of England's forests - it's…

Fernando Torres can kick a ball about and is worth £50m, apparently.

40,000ha of England's forests, that's 40,000 football pitches, are worth £100m.

Are our values quite right?