SUMMER 2006

For the second year running blue tits have nested in a hole in the trunk of the old apple tree a few feet from our back door. We have been impatiently waiting for the fledglings to emerge, anxious not to miss the big event. Imagine my delight on spotting one of them on the ground, looking dazed and vulnerable in the sunshine. I resisted the impulse to interfere and lift it into a safer position, confining my actions to keeping the dog indoors and sticking a warning notice on the door, and in a few minutes the bird had vanished. However, self-congratulation on my restraint soon turned to dismay when, twenty minutes later, I found a baby tit squashed on the road in the front of the cottage. It can only have been the same bird. Where cold weather, cats, squirrels and a host of other natural hazards had failed to extinguish this new life, the damned motor car succeeded – a sickening metaphor for Man crushing species across the whole planet.

In the article ‘What is the SNS For?’ SNS Chairman, Joan Hardingham is looking for answers to some big questions. There may be germs of answers in other articles, for example Michael Kirby (‘It’s War on Gorse’) mentions the involvement of children in the control of gorse in New Zealand. Also, in addition to the insect drawing competition, this year’s field programme has a distinct slant towards youngsters.

Perhaps we should be more vociferous about what we do stand for. Members will have read in the newspapers that NERC is going ahead with its plans to close down four CEH laboratories including the world famous Monk’s Wood experimental station. This is despite very strong and carefully argued opposition from many eminent scientists and conservation bodies across the UK. The consultation process elicited 1,325 responses, 98% of which were against the proposals. Of course it would not have made any difference if the SNS had submitted its view as a body; after all it’s a pigmy compared with giants such as the RSPB or Sir David Attenborough or the Royal Society. Nevertheless, it would have been good to express our disapproval too. We missed the chance to say how highly we value the work they do and demonstrate solidarity with our professional colleagues, and may well have got ourselves some local press coverage in the process.

It was good to see ‘Stag Beetle Man’ Colin Hawes on a couple of TV wildlife programmes recently. What Colin does brilliantly is make serious research accessible and interesting to everyone. Maybe we should provide him with a tee shirt emblazoned with the SNS logo to wear on these occasions.