Retired Man of Kent living in Herts. Bird both counties but mostly N. Kent, Hoo Peninsula. Avid BTO surveyor, on KOS & HBC Committees. Love real ale & pubs!
North Hertfordshire
Joined November 2013
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Halloween walk around Standon this afternoon. Calm and sunny….but shockingly bird-less. Did see 120 Starlings, a Kestrel and a pair of Egyptian Geese🙄
Not a winter thrush in sight!?
Be glad when I can drive again!
(recent eye op, so out of action for a few weeks😩).
Murray Orchard retweeted
Scottish Ministers have rejected a second proposal to build an 18-hole golf course at Coul Links, one of Scotland's most important coastal wildlife sites, following a public inquiry that recommended refusal: bit.ly/4sMZY0F
Murray Orchard retweeted
Birders around the world are being encouraged to take part in the 13th Wader Conservation World Watch on 31 October and 1 November, recording the waders they see and celebrating those working to conserve them: bit.ly/3UkuQZi
N Herts. A stunning autumn day today😊 Our local chalk stream, the River Rib, still flowing. Others have suffered this year. Not sure of water quality, but a dashing Kingfisher flew under the bridge, so hopefully fairly healthy. Skylark overhead and young Buzzard still calling.
Murray Orchard retweeted
A remarkable birding achievement: all 19 species of raptors and owls that breed in England have been recorded at Wild Ken Hill in Norfolk this year!
Read more: britishbirds.co.uk/news/all-…
📸David Tipling
I just signed the open letter calling for an independent commission to scrutinise tidal energy generation in the Mersey Estuary. Sign here: actionnetwork.org/petitions/… @CheshireWT
Murray Orchard retweeted
The amount Jackdaw will cut bills: £0
The number of jobs it will support: 27
The net cost of Jackdaw & Rosebank to our economy: at least £90 billion.
Life's too short to pretend that calls to drill baby drill are anything other but a fast track for us all to burn baby burn.
Murray Orchard retweeted
KOS Weekly Highlights: an excellent and very busy week in Kent, with Pied Wheatear, Pallid Harrier, Hume’s Warbler, Cory’s Shearwater, confiding Lapland Buntings and much more! See full report on kentos.org.uk. #kentbirding
Murray Orchard retweeted
I wrote to the Government with cross-party MPs last night opposing this decision.
Rosebank and Jackdaw won’t cut bills they'll just boost profits of fossil fuel giants.
If every country pursues its own deluded self interest the costs of climate breakdown will be unbearable.
Energy Secretary @Miatsf has agreed that the regulator can grant consent for gas to be produced at the licensed Jackdaw field.
Gas from Jackdaw is expected to start reaching British homes and businesses as early as the end of this month.
ALT Jackdaw gas field gets green light to begin production
Murray Orchard retweeted
The Planning Act promised a win-win for nature and housing.
But the first scheme under these new rules now risks killing chalk streams and appears to breach the law.
The Office for Environmental Protection must step in before a "pay cash to trash" precedent is set.
Murray Orchard retweeted
📅Starting tomorrow for 2 weeks the Great Coastal Birdwatch is back 👏
🥾We've got lots of guided walks or your can do your own watch 🔭
🦆All the details on our website 🔗northkent.birdwise.org.uk/gr…
#birdwise #kent #birdwatching
Murray Orchard retweeted
When "growth" is measured only by GDP we all lose out.
Wild birds are disappearing because a system built on greed doesn't value ecosystems that sustain life.
Birdsong falls silent. BlackRock profits.
We should measure progress by what actually makes our lives better.
Murray Orchard retweeted
Europe’s biggest salmon producers are beginning to feed chicken to their fish, breaking a longstanding taboo in the hunt for cheap protein.
Supermarkets in Britain and other European countries have for years declined to stock salmon raised on livestock byproducts for fear of a backlash from consumers who may find the practice “unnatural”.
ft.com/content/8f1e2cc9-4e2a…
Disappointing @WeBS_UK at Cliffe RSPB yesterday. No big Avocet roost🙁- just 17, and no big Bl/T Godwit flock, although latter have become variable in recent years. Water levels even lower, so virtually no ducks - and 0 Dabchick🥲
Still 173 Curlew, 36 Ba/T Godwit etc at FP roost.
Murray Orchard retweeted
A bumper October issue featuring the 2025 BBRC Report – Report on Rare Birds in Great Britain in 2025.
Packed with fantastic images, fascinating context surrounding some of the rarities recorded throughout the year.
Read more: britishbirds.co.uk/journal/v…
📸 Cover by Graham Jepson
Murray Orchard retweeted
Small sandpipers can be a complex challenge, but structure and plumage hold the clues. 1984 paper; ‘Identification of Stints and Peeps’ gives readers a complete run-through of autumnal wader ID.
Read more: britishbirds.co.uk/journal/a…
📸Thomas Willoughby
🔑Subscriber content
Medway Islands WeBS yesterday. Bit choppy! Plenty of waders (6,000+) but wildfowl not arrived (<500). Best:-
Oystercatcher 2,701, Dunlin 2,104, Bl/T Godwit 1,100, Curlew 404, Greenshank 28, L/Egret 54, Teal 250, Brent Goose 8,
Peregrine & 7 Marsh Harrier.
@WeBS_UK
