Before moving on to more pleasant matters, a quick follow-up on yesterday’s post about the Green Party, Zack Polanski and the right-wing media’s traducing of him. I have since come across two more disgraceful interviews, one by Mandelson’s friend Trevor Phillips and one by Laura Kuenssberg. Far worse than either is the cartoon which appeared in The Times depicting Polanski as a hook-nosed Jewish stereotype kicking the head of one of the policemen involved in the Golders Green arrest. Is the irony really beyond the wit of the editorial staff at that newspaper?
I quite often watch The News Agents podcast for the analysis by Emily Maitlis, Jon Sopel and Lewis Goodall. I could not help noticing and cannot resist showing the rather unfortunate arrangement of the Snoopy stickers on the back of Maitlis’ laptop. You would think someone would have pointed it out to her. Or perhaps she is being mischievous.
I was intrigued by this by the turnstile entrance to the village allotments. Apparently it may be a utility signage or boundary marker, any plaque having long since fallen off.
I picked up three issues from 2025 of the British Trust for Ornithology’s Bird Table magazine at their conference earlier this year. The name clearly needs to be changed but my impression was that there is some resistance although current advice is not to use any flat feeders because of the risk of transmission of disease.
I feel I should be able easily to identify the bird silhouetted on the cover of the Spring issue but struggled a little. Eventually I guessed, correctly, Wren.
I tend to forget that the thrush family of birds includes not just the Mistle and Song Thrushes but also Blackbirds, Redwings and Fieldfares. A response to a letter wondering whether Blackbirds copy the anvil technique used by Song Thrushes to access the meat inside snails suggests that they occasionally do but are more likely simply to steal the snail once de-shelled. I also learn from this issue that birds have an internal ‘circannual clock’ and so are not wholly dependent on external visual cues to alert them to the changing of the seasons.
This, on the cover of the Summer issue, is a female Orange-tip which I have never seen. It is only the males which have orange tips to their wings. I love that the magazine, like that produced by the RSPB, does not just cover avian life.
It’s a young Blue Tit for the Autumn issue which includes an identification guide to the various tit species. I have just once seen a Long-tailed Tit here and have not seen Coal Tits for years, regrettably. But as I write I am enjoying the sight of a sleek, handsome Magpie at the bird bath, one of a pair who have become regulars this year.
The latest Connect from Greenpeace emphasises their court action against the government to stop deep sea mining and protect our oceans. DSM is supported by big mining companies of course and “a small handful of political leaders” including Trump who wants the minerals to use in weaponry.
But there’s a lot of good news of successful campaigns too. Agricultural company Syngenta has agreed to stop making paraquat, “the world’s most lethal weedkiller”, four out of five nickel mining permits have been revoked in West Papua, a Dutch court has ruled that the Netherlands was in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights by failing to adopt a climate plan to protect the people of Bonaire in the Caribbean, the Global Ocean Treaty has become international law, and no new licences will be issued in the UK for oil and gas exploration. These are huge.
The Spring 2026 of the Norfolk Wildlife Trust’s Tern magazine has also arrived and again the enclosed list of events, workshops, walks and talks makes me envious. The NWT is celebrating 100 years with a Common Tern on the cover.
The cows at Roydon Common whom I saw when I visited have been fitted with high-tech collars to monitor their grazing and the difference for nature they are making. The Trust works tirelessly to improve and restore its sites and there is a report on the success achieved backing a ‘Rights of the River’ motion for the River Wensum. These include the right to flow, to be free from pollution and to have native biodiversity. What a wonderful concept.
I am not sure where my sense of affinity with Norfolk comes from, but it was certainly bolstered by my wildlife trip under the aegis of the wonderful Nick Acheson in 2024. Cley Marshes, which we visited, is featured here and it is no surprise that the visitor centre is award-winning. The purchase of Cley was led by NWT founder Dr Sydney Long in 1926, born from love of the natural world. I am proud to continue to support the NWT and am sure they will celebrate their centenary with panache … and love.
Nature Conservation Officer Robert Morgan, as part of that celebration, provides an illustrated top ten list from 100 species iconic to Norfolk: the Common Crane, Fen Mason Wasp, Norfolk Hawker, Bittern, Fen Orchid, Swallowtail Butterfly, Milk Parsley, Silver-studded Blue, Stone Curlew and Marsh Harrier.
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