| Introducing 'nest-cam': one of UK's rarest birds has its own CCTV cameras put in |
| The finest sight in the world for Stephen Murphy is a young hen harrier tumbling out of the clear spring sky in a breathtaking ritual known as sky-dancing, which the Liverpudlian ornithologist witnessed this week on Bowland moor in Lancashire. A huge rare raptor, with its 5ft wing span and talons strong enough to lift a lamb, soared 46 metres (150ft) over the heather fells and then fell precipitously, twisting, turning and somersaulting as it plummeted to within a few feet of the deep heather. Again and again Murphy watched its - at first spurned, later successful - attempts to woo a female harrier on the other side of a small valley. // Read More // |  |
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| Posted By Peter McCloskey on 19/05/2008 ( Reads : 1006 ) | Comments (0) | UK |
| English wildlife 'under threat' |
| England is under threat of losing its most precious wildlife to climate change and development, a government advisory body report has warned. The richness of the countryside has declined dramatically over the past 50 years, and is under increasing pressure, Natural England said. Butterflies, native reptiles and grassland flowers had all declined over the past half-century, the study found. It said "landscape-scale" conservation was needed to maintain ecosystems. // Read More // |  |
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| Posted By Peter McCloskey on 19/05/2008 ( Reads : 997 ) | Comments (0) | UK |
| Land tax will target housebuilders' profits [UK] |
| The Government is to bring in a "housing land tax" to share some of the huge windfall gains that are made when land is sold off for housebuilding. The move, which may raise hundreds of millions of pounds, could be announced by Gordon Brown in his pre-Budget report in November. A consultation exercise would follow before a final decision on the level of the new tax is taken. Individuals as well as developers could be hit by the tax, which would be paid at the moment when planning permission is granted for housing. In an attempt to stave off criticism that the plan would encourage building in the green belt, there could be a lower rate of tax for land in brownfield sites. // Read More // | ![Friends of the Irish Environment - Land tax will target housebuilders' profits [UK]](../images/fie_logo.jpg) |
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| Posted By the editors on 01/09/2005 ( Reads : 1344 ) | Comments (0) | UK |
