Decline of farmland birds - is farming to blame?

Earlier this month the RSPB issued a press release regarding their recent study into the changes in farmland bird populations in the EU during the last 25 years. Now I am very appreciative of the vast amount of good work the RSPB do but, in common with other 'green' organisations, they find it difficult to be totally objective in their conclusions when they bring out controversial reports.

It is vital to recognise that humans as 'top dogs' (whether they are always deserving of that appellation is another matter) are always influencing the balance of nature. Just about every activity we engage in is going to affect the numbers and distribution of species usually for the worse but occasionally for the better. This applies to both flora and fauna. Now the RSPB have done great work in bringing some birds back from the brink; a good example is the cirl bunting now doing well in South Devon and being reintroduced into Cornwall, this success being reliant on the co-operation of farmers.

Going back to this recent report we have in the red corner the RSPB and in the blue corner Anthony Gibson, the media face in the Westcountry for the NFU. From the RSPB side the 'Pan-European Bird Monitoring Scheme' appears to show that 33 of the EU's most common farmland birds have fallen on average by 44% in the last 25 years and then goes on to say "their declines are clear proof of the environmental degradation that has occurred across European farmland". Now Mr Gibson has called foul on this and in I think a measured response has flagged up some flaws in the RSPB reasoning.

To summarise Gibson's viewpoint he first refers to the British Trust for Ornithology. He states that they have a list of 21 farmland birds whose numbers have increased over the past 30 years. Just three (!) of them feature on the RSPB's list. He points out that pesticides and fertilisers are now more targeted (I assume he is right) and that there are now a lot of agri-environment schemes (can't argue with that). He then points out there is increasing predation on the smaller birds by other successful species (magpies for example).

I like Anthony's line of reasoning on this; the RSPB are notorious about not acknowledging any increased predation by magpies, crows, birds of prey generally and they disappoint me in that regard. Let's face facts: it is incredibly difficult to manage or at least influence nature to keep the various species numbers in step with each other. I'm not saying that the agricultural system in Europe is perfect but I do wish the RSPB could be more balanced in their reports and refrain from quite so much farmer bashing.

Torbay litter bin - picture link

Since writing my piece on the first of the high tech litter bins in Torbay earlier today I've come across a picture of it at this site. Looks very smart doesn't it.

Mud at Glastonbury

Mud at the Glastonbury Festival! Now there's a surprise! I must emphasise that I'm not writing from personal knowledge, just from the pictures in the media. All the tea in China wouldn't be enough reason for me to go there! It's not that I dislike my fellow human beings but the thought of joining 170,000 plus of them in a muddy field is not my idea of fun. In today's Western Morning News their reporter names 10 of the star turns but I confess none of them mean anything to me - yes I know I've led a very sheltered life!

But it fascinates me just how incredibly diverse people are in the make up of their personalities. I mean I have absolutely zero desire to attend some grand event in some vast stadium, it would be hell for me. But sharing something in a local pub or village hall well now you are talking. Perhaps this is why I am so comfortable(and lucky) living in a village.

What with Glastonbury this weekend and the start of the Wimbledon fortnight next week no wonder the weather is so unsettled! But there is still plenty of time left for a heatwave this summer.

New litter bin unveiled in Torbay

A new design of litter bin has been the subject of a media story in Torbay this week. One problem of traditional litter bins is that they fill rapidly thus demanding frequent and costly emptying whereas if their contents could be compacted somehow then you could maybe get say five times as much in. Believe it or not someone has come up with a solution - there seems to be no limit to man's inventiveness!

I'm not sure of my facts here but I believe that this idea has come from America. Inside the bin there is some sort of mechanism, solar power operated, that squashes down the contents thus significantly improving the capacity. Very clever! Torbay Council it seems will be replacing more and more bins with this high tech version.

There is such scope for the use of solar power. I think that there are some street lights in remote locations that are using the sun as their source of power. Such solar powered projects might have a considerable environmental cost in their manufacture, or maybe not - I don't know. But once in situ the benefits start mounting up. So if solar rubbish bins are possible it makes you wonder what other things powered by our sun might appear in the future.

Further section of Goss Moor diversion set to open

I had recently noted on this blog that part of the A30 improvement at Goss Moor in Mid Cornwall had been opened. From next week another section of this vital road link will come into operation: this is at the eastern end between Victoria and Innis Downs. There is some further work to be completed at the western end of the new dual carriageway and it is anticipated that the whole scheme will come to fruition later this summer.

Flooding at Boscastle - midsummer 2007

Less than 3 years after the epic flood of August 2004 Boscastle on the North Cornish coast has again been the recipient of a deluge. Reports indicate that damage now is not comparable with that earlier event but having said that there is two feet of flood water in some properties with the approach roads to Boscastle being impassable to normal traffic.

Good news is that the rivers Valency and Jordan appear to be containing their water, the flooding is due to run off from the surrounding hills and fields. But the rainstorm must be a horrible reminder of what happened before. The Environment Agency will be witnessing how things are working since they started implementing the flood scheme. No doubt today's events will be quite a news story tomorrow.

Intense rain - an indication of climate change?

As I type this the skies are leaden outside, and the early darkness to the evening is intensified by the dark dense green of the summer foliage which abounds in this part of the valley. Although quite windy at the moment we have so far been spared the very heavy deluges that places like Kent and the Midlands are enduring.

So the question is this: are the incidents of flooding an indication of the much talked about climate change? First we have to accept that there have always been extreme weather events in this country. I'm old enough to recall the Lynmouth flood disaster of 1952 and the devastating North Sea floods of the following year, both sadly with significant numbers of deaths. Yes we always have had freakish weather but to me it seems as if almost every year now some part of the country has such heavy rain that many properties are severely flooded.

One of the problems I find in making comparisons with yesteryear is that rainfall figures quoted are usually for a 24 hour period. What seems to be happening is that the rain is more intense but over a shorter period - I can't help thinking that 4 hour comparisons would be more meaningful. In fact the statistics I would find particularly interesting are year on year comparisons of intense 4 or possibly 6 hour rain conditions and also from insurers the numbers of homes so badly damaged by the weather that their occupants have to seek temporary accommodation elsewhere. Also how many cars get written off each year because of water damage. Publishing these sorts of figures would I feel give some sort of indication of the economic cost of the weather.

But this is where one has to be careful. As more houses are built, more gardens paved over for the parking of cars, more roads constructed then the potential is there for more flooding. You have to be cautious with statistics!

Climate change is certainly taking place (whether man made or part of a natural cycle is an argument I'm not venturing into at the moment!) and the increase in average temperatures, the reduction in frost and snow, the long periods of dry weather such as we had in April this year and the increased prevalence of outbreaks of almost tropical rain all indicate this. Tornadoes and severe thunderstorms seem to be on the increase as well.

One thing is for sure: the fierceness of the weather comes at some cost to our comfort and well being and affects the economy in numerous ways.

Sloppy journalism

Just what do we mean by the South West? I have my own ideas on this but others might have a different definition. The reason I am posing this question is because of the wording of a report in today's Western Morning News. It's all about the "draft South West Regional Spatial Strategy" by the National Housing Federation, the Chartered Institute of Housing and the South West RSL Planning Consortium apparently. I don't know anything about the remit of these three organisations either.

We are told that they are calling for the planned number of homes in the South West to be upped from 7,500 to 10,000 a year. But exactly how far does the "South West" extend? We are not told and we seldom are in other reports. It would be nice to have it spelt out as to what our region consists of; perhaps different organisations have their own definitions. Whatever I find this sloppy journalism quite tedious because if the geographical context is open to doubt then quoting figures is meaningless.

Is he a BNP councillor or an independent

It's very seldom that the political allegiance of a parish councillor becomes the subject of a media story but this has happened at the village of Kingswear just across the river from Dartmouth in south Devon. Peter Pirnie, who is a member of the far-right British National Party, has been co-opted on to the parish council along with two other people who are not members of the BNP.

What is causing consternation seems to be that one moment Mr Pirnie is stating that he is an independent and then suggesting he is a councillor for the BNP; certainly the BNP website had been boasting that they now have a second councillor in the south west, but that item appeared to have been removed when I looked just now.

Two major points to consider here I feel. Firstly it is a nonsense to suggest that a BNP member has been elected as he has clearly been co-opted, in other words it was the council itself who agreed that he could join them. Secondly I get annoyed when party politics get in the way of the lower levels of local government. There might just possibly be reason for a county councillor to stand on a party ticket, little if any reason why party politics should feature in the affairs of district councils whilst at parish level there is zero reason for councillors to display a political label. When they are objecting to the position of a street light or trying to get extra equipment for a children's play area then you have to ask why on earth political considerations would ever come into their deliberations.

I don't really know Mr Pirnie's motivations. Perhaps he has just wanted to generate publicity for the BNP, better if he had never mentioned his party I think.

More on level crossing accident

Time for some self criticism Brian! I like to get my facts right and expect that what others write should also be factually correct. Yesterday I let myself down by a misleading bit of commentary on the systems used on some level crossings. At the crossing near Chapel on the Par to Newquay line where this most recent accident occurred there are in fact no barriers just the flashing lights warning drivers not to cross. I should have remembered this as the lack of barriers has been the subject of much debate in the past. According to the Western Morning News this particular crossing has seen three such accidents in the last 4 years - an unenviable record. And this crossing is not unique because there have been similar mishaps on some of the other crossings on this line.

Obviously a full investigation is being carried out; a possibly significant fact is that the injured driver wasn't local, he came from Merseyside we are told.

Katie walks and then gets her marching orders

Katie Hopkins from Exeter - are there any more surprises for us? Katie you may recall was the contender in the TV programme 'The Apprentice' who after being told by Sir Alan Sugar she was in the final two decided to walk from the show. Interestingly Sugar has subsequently said that if she hadn't taken that action he would have changed his mind and fired her! Now we learn that she has lost her job as a global brand consultant with the Met Office; they have a 12 month probationary period system and she has failed to complete it.

I have been following this series of 'The Apprentice' and never warmed to her whereas her arch rival Kristina was someone I could empathise with. Katie was thoroughly nasty in relation to the others and had every reason to be disliked. Now I appreciate that in the Alan Sugar type of business you are not there to be Mr or Ms Nice but Katie seemed to be there purely as an ego trip. In the followup programme 'The Apprentice - You're fired' she was absolutely torn apart by a businesswoman on the panel of three. She just had to sit there and take the devastating criticism.

Normally I don't watch reality TV of any kind but I get the feeling we all love to have a person to hate - a bit like booing and hissing in a pantomine. Well Katie filled the slot admirably.

Another collision on the Newquay branch

I can recall various instances of car/train collisions on the Par to Newquay railway line in mid Cornwall. The latest of these occurred this morning on a level crossing at Chapel which is close to the Newquay end of the line. Although the car driver was injured and his car severely damaged there were no reports of anyone on the train being hurt.

Off the top of my head I can't recall whether previous accidents occurred at this crossing or maybe they have happened at the various level crossings on this length of track. It is difficult to understand why such level crossing accidents should occur. On our Tamar Valley Line we do have ungated crossings where the train driver is obliged to stop and sound his horn but I think the Newquay branch has barriers and flashing lights - I really ought to know this. So if there was no failure in the system it might be an instance of jumping the lights and weaving round the barriers. If that proves to be the case then the car driver needs to be prosecuted.

Olympics logo

As thousands of bloggers have been commenting on the new logo for the 2012 London Olympics I suppose I'd better throw in my twopenneth... Other than saying it doesn't do anything for me I would make two points - firstly I will own up and admit that I didn't recognise the figures 2012 were contained in the logo until told and I understand that more than a few others were also bemused. The second point is the sheer unbelievable cost in coming up with it, £400,000 I'm led to believe. Of course there are two ways of looking at this latter point; if you look at the cost as a one off spread over 5 years then in financial terms it starts to look more reasonable. But I tend to look at as the physical cost of coming up with the idea, doing some market research and then fleshing things out and it just seems crazy to cost this money. No doubt it's more complicated than appears on the surface and they also had to produce a video but for someone in the sticks down here it's what I call 'funny money' or 'telephone numbers money'.

Someone who also didn't like it put up an online petition criticising the logo and got over 48,000 to sign it within two days! Controversial indeed but all this publicity is definitely putting the 2012 Olympics on the map. However I still wish France had won it!

The democratic deficit (1)

This is the first of an occasional series of comments I want to make about what I perceive to be failures in our democratic system. One major problem of being a government minister or even the prime minister is that you are still an MP representing a constituency. We are led to believe that holding a ministerial post or being an MP are each full time jobs if performed properly. Now MPs have to respond to lots of concerns raised by their constituents many of which are not party political but still requiring some investigation and a reply. Fortunately my MP is not in the government so that on the very rare occasion I have written to him a prompt reply was forthcoming.

So if I lived in the Sedgefield constituency how long would it be to get Tony Blair to respond to a problem. Even if he has a good team of helpers I can't see him getting too involved with the minutiae of day to day queries and problems up there. Presently of course he is saying (at our expense thank you) one of the longest goodbyes in history. The question I would pose is this: should the Prime Minister and members of his cabinet and possibly other government ministers be drawn outside of the normally elected MPs. No I don't quite know how this could be done in practise but it seems to me that we could well benefit from using the talents of people who really understand how to run things as ministers. Just a little food for thought!

Problems with fallen stock

Fallen stock are those farm animals that die for whatever reason on a farm. Former practice was to dig a pit on ones farm away from a watercourse and bury the beast there but the BSE crisis caused a change in policy regarding this procedure. Under EU rules that came into effect some 18 months ago carcasses have to be rendered or incinerated. With the almost total eradication of BSE it might be thought that we could revert to the old far cheaper method but no.

There is an anomaly here: should the animal concerned be a horse, dog or cat then the ruling doesn't apply. And it seems that if you had an odd field with your property and kept a pet cow then probably again you would be outside the scheme. So it's all a bit of bureaucratic nonsense really.

When the EU edict came in the government paid a subsidy of about a third of the cost of disposal. Not unexpectedly that level of subsidy was not going to be maintained and it has now significantly lower at 10%! Some EU states reputedly pay all the farmers costs in removing fallen stock. Yet again British farmers are disadvantaged when compared with some of our neighbours.

Calendula sown

A friend has recently sown some calendula seeds (English Marigold) and she has kindly passed on the remainder of the packet she didn't use. Like her I'm very fond of these flowers and prefer them to the other types of marigold which I believe are more susceptible to slug attack. In the past I've bought already established plants so am crossing fingers that I will be successful. They are 'Orange King'; not only do I like orange flowers but with golden rod and evening primrose everywhere I have plenty of yellow flowers. And this year I also have yellow loosestrife kindly donated by another near neighbour.

The woodland across the valley has already lost its fresh green look and taken on the dark green mantle of summer. I always want to slow the clock down in May - it would be nice to have that delicious new green of the trees for just a little longer and of course the bluebells flowering. We are so lucky with our bluebells in the westcountry because they appear not just in the traditional woodland setting but in hedgebanks, on the moors and on the coast. So far as the last named habitat is concerned a particularly good location is along the north approach to Start Point in south Devon. Although the UK is I understand the best country in Europe for the bluebell there is concern that it might eventually be replaced by its more vigorous cousin the Spanish bluebell. These are the ones often seen in people's gardens but can't be compared surely with our native ones. Then there is the potential effect of climate change on their distribution I suppose. A worrying future for the bluebell.

No extra runway space at Exeter or Plymouth

In the same week that has seen the start of the enquiry into providing a second runway at Stanstead north east of London it is good to read that the managements at both Exeter and Plymouth airports have declared that they are not seeking extra runway space. Well hooray for that at least. Exeter International Airport have now got new owners of course and I'm pleased that they have made this statement that they do not need another runway even with the rapid growth of numbers flying from there. Plymouth had thoughts of relocating its airport but I'm glad that idea hasn't resurfaced. The owners say they don't plan to lengthen the runway which idea had also been mooted.

I accept that in terms of the British economy civil aviation has been a great success and that government is keen to further expand airports. But I would say "enough is enough". From an environmental point of view surely we have sufficient planes flying around and that there has to be a top limit to the amount of flying permitted. As usual our politicians set a poor example: we had David Cameron making a private flight from Oxford to Hereford and we had Tony Blair flying up to Sedgefield in the north east to make his resignation speech. So, as ever, do as I say not do as I do.

Councils and "pay as you throw"

Of late the media have been full of stories and comment on the question of paying additional charges for waste disposal to landfill - the so called "pay as you throw". It is understandable that this has become a major issue because this is a very obvious way we interact with our local authorities and the whole question of council tax is something that generates a lot of opinion. What is interesting is that councils in Devon and Cornwall are unenthusiastic about these "pay as you throw" charges and that for Teignbridge at least there is a move to abandon the fortnightly landfill rubbish collection and revert back to the old weekly cycle.

Now I understand that some countries in Europe have successfully implemented "pay as you throw" and driven up their recycling rates so shouldn't we therefore do the same here. The answer from this passionate environmentalist is an emphatic "No!". Let me say why -

• Firstly we are very different to the environmentally best European countries, witness our appallingly bad record on litter dropping and fly tipping. "Pay as you throw" would lead to an increase in these anti social activities unfortunately. Furthermore if you dislike your neighbour you will be tempted to sneak some of your rubbish into his bin. In the real world some of this will inevitably happen.
• Where I live in the Caradon District area we don't use wheelie bins, our rubbish goes out in black bin bags or, in my case, an old fashioned dustbin. Many other places do use wheelie bins of course and here the technology is available to weigh the contents. For those councils not going down the wheelie bin route I understand that one solution to "pay as you throw" is for the council themselves to issue special bags at some cost to the consumer and the disposal operatives to take these only. Thus you would have the wheelie bin councils charging by weight but the refuse sack enthusiasts having a charging regime based around volume. In other words no consistency. And although landfill tax is I think dependant on weight (tonnes) it is the volume available for landfill that more concerns councils. It might be argued that there is a consistent relationship between weight and volume so far as rubbish is concerned but my point is that I foresee difficulties in establishing fairness between different councils.
• On the subject of fairness consider two neighbouring households; the first one has just one person who produces one bin full of rubbish per week. Next door the family of six produce two bins worth of rubbish and so get charged twice as much even though if you do the arithmetic they are producing only a third as much rubbish per person. So effectively they are being penalised for being a large family. Is this fair? I think not.
• Self catering holiday accommodation is popular in Devon and Cornwall. If "pay as you throw" came in the accommodation provider would have to pick up the tab regardless of the amount of rubbish left by the guests. Would that be reasonable?
• There are significant numbers of people living in blocks of flats with communal facilities. How can you distinguish between the rubbish left by the various residents? And what about those people always on the move from one residence to another? By the time the bill arrives they have moved on.
• The existing process of sending out council bills is relatively straightforward in the sense that ones payments are consistent over a year. With "pay as you throw" the amount to be paid could vary enormously causing a nightmare both for the council and for those trying to budget their outgoings.
• How often would homeowners be billed? Monthly? Quarterly? Annually? So what about the family who move house midway between payment dates? I can see all sorts of problems arising.
• From the bureaucracy point of view it is self evidently going to be an expensive process with these extra costs falling on the homeowners. And the extra paper required for the bills isn't environmentally friendly is it!

From these points, which are not necessarily exhaustive, it can be seen that "pay as you throw" might be superficially attractive but has too many things against it in this country. It is a big subject - I could talk about the excess packaging that is produced, the fact that different councils do not all recycle the same things thus introducing another variable, the list goes on. But I think I've written enough for now. Suffice to say that our policy makers are very good at making policy suggestions without thinking through the possible ramifications. I'm getting used to that.

Early start for blackbirds

I have commented before about the pleasure one can get from listening from birdsong and some species start singing before dawn. One such is the blackbird. Sometimes I awake early, today being an example and a blackbird started its melody at 4.26! This is nothing unusual at this time of year but it seems as if the song is a little gentler, not quite so penetrating as before.


Now I've always understood that birds tend to sing in spring when they are establishing territories and attracting mates. But I guess that the whole question of why they do it is more complex. Do some birds also sing for pleasure? Not for the first time I am amazed at the sheer variety of sounds different bird species produce from what one would imagine are physically similar voice boxes.

Still on the subject of our feathered friends I had the pleasure of seeing not just one but four kingfishers flying one after the other down by our river bank the other day. What a moment that was!