Editorial

Sometimes seen as bordering on the eccentric, birdwatching is a pursuit that has great ecological, cultural and moral value, which encourages the conservation of nature and brings a more authentic perception of the world. LIPU has long worked to increase the opportunities for, and to strengthen the culture of, birdwatching in Italy

‘How can we put America’s future in the hands of a birdwatcher?’ When, in the autumn of 1962, Houghton Mifflin published Silent Spring, in which Rachel Carson exposed the damage caused by the abuse of chemical pesticides, she was savagely attacked, in spite of being a recognised biologist and author. They came at her from all sides, and especially from that of Big Chemicals, accusing her of being anti-American, of being a woman pretending to be a scientist (‘The minds of women are not evolved enough to do science’) and, horror of horrors, of being a lover of wild birds. ‘Why on earth should we give a hearing to someone who goes out birdwatching for a hobby?’

 

Contents

• Nature Restoration Law
• Lago Vico saved
• Protection of migrants
• Ortolan Bunting

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