Country diary: On the bluest of days, the plaintive call of a pipit | Mark Cocker
Nature writer Mark Cocker reflects on the declining population of meadow pipits in the Derbyshire moors. He connects the species' struggle to broader concerns about environmental degradation and the potential for ecocide legislation.
Why it matters
It highlights the ongoing biodiversity crisis and the philosophical debate over whether the loss of species should be legally classified as a crime.
A meadow pipit on Combs Moss. ‘They were once a default species on every moor.’ Photograph: Mark Cocker A meadow pipit on Combs Moss. ‘They were once a default species on every moor.’ Photograph: Mark Cocker Country diary Birds Country diary: On the bluest of days, the plaintive call of a pipit Combs Moss, Derbyshire: There is plenty to be gloomy about, but today was not the day for it up on the moor
Mark Cocker Tue 6 Oct 2026 05.30 BST Last modified on Tue 6 Oct 2026 09.22 BST Share Prefer the Guardian on Google The morning was sunlit and the sky the sort of deepest blue dome that makes your heart sing – and all the louder for being at the time of least natural sound.
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