Big Garden Bird Watch 2019

Carrion Crow

One hour looking at the back garden yields 17 species:

Blackbird (1), House sparrow (2). Blue tit (3), Great tit (2), Long-tailed tit (1), Chaffinch (3), Dunnock (2), Robin (2), Wood pigeon (2), Carrion crow (2), Black cap (1), Coal tit (4), magpie (4), Feral pigeon (2), Willow tit (1), Wren (1), Goldfinch (1).

About RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch HERE

Magpie

Black cap (female)

And turning up a few minutes after the one hour session ended:

Scenes from the Anti-whaling Rally in London Today.

Several hundred protesters gathered on this cold wet winter's day in Cavenish Square in London and then - after speeches - marched down Regents Street (through throngs of bemused shoppers), around Piccadilly Circus, along Piccadilly to the Japanese Embassy. Here are some images.

And click HERE for a Blog explaining what this is all about. 

Protesters gather in the Square - here Team WDC being photographed

Two of the organizers - Peter Hall (black hat) and Dominic Dyer (in blue)

Veteran whale campaigner Stanley Johnston in mid-speach

Wil Travers OBE also speaking

Sixteen year-old Bella Lack addresses the rally

The march moves off

Massed outside the Japanese embassy

Why is the little midwinter badger looking so disgruntled?

It's cold. The little badger has ventured out from his warm den but when he gets to one of his favoured foraging spots (my back garden), he sits down and looks around. All is not as it should be.

Just a little earlier a stranger has been in the garden - here is the first image taken by the camera trap:

Enter the fox! Who eats well and leaves. Hence the unhappy badger.

The badger does his best to find what is left. He is not unsuccessful. 

Does is matter that Japan is leaving the International Whaling Commission?

Yes it does and if you tap on this link =  HERE are some reasons why.

Japan Announces it will leave the International Whaling Commission.

My Boxing Day Holiday (the UK celebration on December 26th) was interrupted by Japan's announcement that it will

i. leave the International Whaling Commission;
ii. stop whaling in the Southern Ocean; and
iii. continue whaling in the North Pacific.

You can find the statement issued  by Japan HERE

I did a series of TV interviews discussing this through the day and a couple have been preserved on the web and can be found

CNN HERE

CGTN HERE