Defending the Patch- Birdwatch Magazine

An article in this month's Birdwatch about Beddington Farmlands, the conservation issues, the failings of the planning system and the work of the local community groups.
Looks great - thanks to Dominic and Rebecca at Birdwatch!

Grey-headed Gull on the Beddington Farmlands List?

Post by Peter Alfrey.

Spring Trickle

A few migrants today at the farmlands- 1 Common Buzzard (above), Yellow Wagtail, a few hirundines, LRP and still one Green Sandpiper around. Also quite a few Lesser Black Backed Gulls about which have been staging in numbers recently. Derek had the first Reed Warbler of the year.

The wind is a bit cold so not many insects out. The frontal conditions are still due tomorrow but the wind is cold so not sure what affect it will have- I am down grading my forecast of birds (from below) but still expect something of interest.

As usual all bird news from Beddington Farmlands here

Maltese hunting and Celebrity Suicide - click on 'Comment' in box to view discussion

Post by Peter Alfrey.

Easter Local Birding Forecast

Tomorrow: Light north winds, high pressure. Presumably clear skies with little or high cloud.
Birds: Raptors moving from late morning to mid afternoon, altitude of migration will be high if clear conditions prevail. Further arrival of summer breeders eg. more Whitethroats, Sedge, Reed Warbler etc.

Saturday: Light easterlies with some chance of cloud cover.
Birds: East winds could encourage tern and wader movements to track this direction but cloud cover need to bring them down to visible height. The odd one might drop in. If cloud is present good chance of a tern or wader or other drift migrants.

Sunday: East winds with frontal rain.

Birds: YES! If this forecast is correct than waders, terns and grounded migrants are more or less guaranteed. Will require the winds to be moderate easterly with low cloud and steady rain preferably with broken spells and not too persistent or heavy. 

Wheatear

Popped over the farm yesterday for a quick break in the midst of loads going on with the judicial review. 3 Wheatears on the mound, my first Whitethroat for the year and a Common Buzzard in an hour so a good little break.

PLANES

Here's a track from an apocalyptic minstreling monk from Thee Bryans suggesting the only way to avoid environmental and social catastrophe is for individuals to fight for what is of true value by developing a deep self awareness and addressing personal behaviour as the driving force towards a sustainable future.

The song promotes the avoidance of putting the blame elsewhere other than self and asserts that even though an advanced society may consider itself civilised by adopting pacifism it should not forget that the greatest battle is the personal internal battle that each individual must face with their own negative and destructive emotions. It is those emotions and the projection of that consciousness which is the cause of the environmental crisis- a breakdown of the value of self, the loss of self complexity, the loss of positive energy and a decline to increased state of entrophy, apathy. lethargy and hopelessness which is projected in the material world as low grade lack lustre and reduced diverse environments . It is fundamentally a crisis of consciousness that can only be addressed at the individual level by individuals making a conscious choice to rebel against that part of themselves which is self destructive- the cumulative effect of which, if left unchecked, is to slowly be destroying the world around them.

A sustainable future can only be formed by individuals (or enough of them) which have adopted that choice.