The last days of summer

Someone once said that August was always quiet - a good time to take a holiday.  I am not sure that the Prime Minister would agree having been called back twice from his holiday to deal with the riots and the crisis in Libya.

I returned from my blackberry-free holiday (it was lovely thank you) to find that the good ship RSPB had been equally busy:

• In the wake of the Gannet Alpha oil spill, we opposed the new round of oil and gas licensing
• Our latest survey results showed that farmland birds in Europe have fallen to their lowest levels
• We expressed our disappointment over the lack of prominence for species recovery in the English Biodiversity Strategy
• The controversial planning reforms in England continue to polarise opinion. We have argued that they will fail to deliver for wildlife if economic concerns over-ride environmental issues

I'll try to provide a commentary on these and other issues through this blog as debates intensify over what I expect to be a pretty hectic autumn. 

One last thing...

Forgive me if I take a little time to mourn the passing of summer - I saw perhaps my last swift of the year while walking to Grantchester on Sunday night.  But, seeing a spectacular fly agaric at the Lodge this week reminds me that it's time to brush up on my mycology...