Bah ! Nobody told me about that. What's the point of an International Graph Week if it ain't compulsory ? Well, at least it has let me show you this rather percoulier article from The Framley Examiner .... Well, lots of room for thought there. Just in case you don't get The Framley Examiner regularly, here's it is ... well, the front page anyway ... ..and here's the back page ... I've always admired the wide range of topics it covers, the only problem is, by the time you get to the shops at 07:00 they've all gone, such is its reputation for reliable news and adverts. Here's the music spot ....
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He's showing you what my upcoming graph is doing ... Yes, it is indeed International Graph Week. Some think it's a cunning plot to get rid of words altogether and go phor the pictorial. But Van Der Graph Generator have written a special song phor it. And Stephi Graph is doing a lot of whatever sport it was she did. And a scale replica of the Graph Spee is going to sail round the world as well. So ...some while ago I showed you the prices of binoculars and telescopes ... . ...here's the link to it ... 758-a-swift-bit-of-inflation.html Right then ... and I've now drawn up a niphty graph phor the Swift Audubon 8½ x 44 bins ... Phantastic ! My/our plan was to work out how much they would cost when my grandson Archibald gets to the age when he will expect me to get him some binoculars .. around phiphteen or so. So that's a start ..let's see what my next step was ... Yes... I've extrapolated it way into the phuture ! But very conservatively .... the "this year" Phorcast is around £650. And the " Archibald at 15" phorcast is around £1100 squid. Phew ! But ... I suspect that in real life the graph would ascend rather more e exponentially ... let's have a look ... you will especially admire the phancy pencil-work .... the thing is, I can't aphphord pencils AND pencil-sharpeners....... Wow ... by his 15th birthday in 2035 it will set me back about £1300 + squids ! Ouch! But ..as I said on that phuturistic "post 758", bins will be Alter Hut by then, to be replaced by some phancy "app" on our new-phangled "smart phones." I haven't "done" the jellyscope graph yet. I dread to think what ridiculous sums of money they might reach. I'm sleepwalking into bankruptcy with all this ... Well, it's ages since I last updated you all with my very important and vital Common Gull counts ..but now you're going to get them ! I can almost hear the millions of sighs of relief all the way up the street ... and beyond . First up ... the raw numbers of those unCommon Gulls ... My scientific assessment is ..pretty crap ! But ... in the past, there's been a pretty decent correlation between overall flock size and the unCommon Gull Numbers .... like this for example ... from last winter ... ..but this winter, that link seems to have collapsed somewhat ... they're a bit all-over-the-place to use the teknickul term for it. If I wasn't such a lazy sod I would workout the correlation coefficient for the two plots, no doubt with sT t li a r n G . results ! Here it is ... in two magnificent parts ... ... and now, the third and far more useless plot .... the "%" one. So there we are ... I've added a little bit to the rapidly expanding ornithological database ... hey .. I could draw a graph of that rapidly expanding ornithological database. But I won't. Not today anyway. Maybe tomorrow. You all know that I don't think much of those Nature Notes that Derwent May does in the Times .... well, here, in my opinion, is a much better one by Matt Shardlow in the Guardian Of course, that column had the luxury of more space, so maybe it's not a fair comparison. It reminds me of the way Richard Jefferies wrote about his local area ... but a long time ago, minus the bicycles and machinery . It is bucketing down here, as it has been for centuries, or so it seems. And now, a rubbish photograph of one of the two male Blackcaps in't garden .... ..and today's music is, as usual, totally unrelated to any of the above ! Yesterday, at 11:25 GMT, I was watching "the" male Blackcap that has been a daily visitor for a good while now ...when, a few yards further back, there appeared ANOTHER male Blackcap !! Half a minute later, it flew off. Blimey ... that's a "garden first" that is. Could it be that what I thought was one "frequent-visiting" Blackcap was in fact two of them that just by chance had never been spotted together ? Until then. Or could it be that I've made it up because of its unusual-ness-ness. To impress. That sort of thing. After all, one of my "Rules of Life" which explain How The World Works is .. " Men will do anything they think they can get away with. " The Significant Otter doesn't like that at all. She thinks I'm being mean and nasty about a whole swathe of society. BUT .... what are the prisons full up with ... men. ... what comprises 98% of "perpetrators" on the news ... men. ... what do pub brawls mainly consist of ... men. ... which half of society causes most of the trouble and strife ... men. ... who is is that ruins families with gambling/drinking/drug-taking .. etc ? ... men. But what has this got to do with us birders ? Well, they are mostly men too .. busy sublimating their hunting instincts . Especially as "society" has banned lots of things that men did in their distant past .. in fact their main job was to kill food and bring it back to the tribe, kill strangers who might attack the tribe and run off with their women, make things to kill people with ... and do very little else. So they sublimate the loss of all that exciting stuff with rugby, javelin-throwing, martial arts, formula 1, boxing, robbing banks, nicking cars, setting fire to things, ..... and fighting in the streets. Now we've got all that clear, and agreed that men are, by and large, born liars, swindlers, fighters and general nuisances .. ... it could well be that some of ... maybe a lot of ... rarity sightings ...are contrived lies and not true at all. And they might get found out. But they'll probably get away with it. So they do it. But that Blackcap thing up there ... .... it could easily be a lie. ... I might even get away with claiming three. ... but I wouldn't get away with claiming 23 of them. ...so...how many COULD I get away with ? ... that's a thought ! I forgot to put " Wütend genug" on here which I promised I would .... see, unreliable again ... Bin ich nicht wütend genug für dich Und deine Leute? Ich muss nicht heulen Denn ich kenne den Mond Nicht erst seit heute Bin ich nicht wütend genug für dich Und deine Leute? Ich muss nicht jagen Das Jagen lasse ich dir Und deiner Meute Macht dich das wütend genug Macht dich das wütend genug Macht dich das wütend Genug für mein Ziel Für meine Liebe, für mein Spiel Genug für mein Ziel Nur für dich Bleibt mir nicht viel Bin ich nicht wütend genug für dich Und deine Leute? Ich muss nicht beißen Zwischen meinen Zähnen Trage ich Die zappelnde Beute Macht dich das wütend genug Macht dich das wütend genug Macht dich das wütend Genug für mein Ziel Für meine Liebe, für mein Spiel Wütend genug für mein Ziel Nur für dich Bleibt mir nicht viel Macht dich das wütend genug Macht dich das wütend genug Macht dich das wütend genug Macht dich das wütend genug Macht dich das wütend genug Macht dich das wütend genug Macht dich das wütend Genug für mein Ziel Für meine Liebe, für mein Spiel Bin ich nicht wütend genug für dich Und deine Leute? Ich muss nicht heulen Denn ich kenne den Mond Nicht erst seit heute Bin ich nicht wütend genug für dich Und deine Leute? Ich muss nicht jagen Das Jagen lasse ich dir Und deiner Meute Macht dich das wütend genug Macht dich das wütend genug Macht dich das wütend Genug für mein Ziel Für meine Liebe, für mein Spiel Genug für mein Ziel Nur für dich Bleibt mir nicht viel Bin ich nicht wütend genug für dich Und deine Leute? Ich muss nicht beißen Zwischen meinen Zähnen Trage ich Die zappelnde Beute Macht dich das wütend genug Macht dich das wütend genug Macht dich das wütend Genug für mein Ziel Für meine Liebe, für mein Spiel Wütend genug für mein Ziel Nur für dich Bleibt mir nicht viel Macht dich das wütend genug Macht dich das wütend genug Macht dich das wütend genug Macht dich das wütend genug Macht dich das wütend genug Macht dich das wütend genug Macht dich das wütend Genug für mein Ziel Für meine Liebe, für mein Spiel
We haven't had an index lately .... so here's one .... About, camping, 96 Account, David's 96 Aggravated, positively 96 Anglia, East 96 Anglia, East , living in 96 Binoculars, Zeiss, flashing 96 Binoculars, Zeiss, dangling 96 Birds, chasing 96 Birds, passage, leaving of, 96 Book, impending 96 Botswana, back from, Tim 96 Cley, getting up to 96 Cliff 96 Cottage, Angel 96 Friday, 13th 96 Friday, 15.00 , Angel Cottage at 96 Giggling, stopping, 17:00 96 Gooders, John 96 Hampstead 96 Handshakes, happy 96 Harrier, Hen 96 Hill, Whalsey 96 Hour, next, the 96 Indeed 96 John, it, knowing well 96 Kittiwakes, dazzling of 96 Kittiwakes, rumours of 96 Life, Country 96 London, up from, driving 96 Lot, about, a lot, not 96 Minsmere, road to, right 96 Moment, very, that, leaving at 96 Movements, migrational 96 Mutters, discouraging 96 Names, sponsors to, flashing about 96 Off, trotting 96 Place, Cliff's 96 Radio, what, 96 Recorder, tape, Sanyo, little, talking into 96 Routes, possible 96 Rules, Start, changing of 96 Rumour, Kittiwakes, Dazzling of, 96 Saab, sprawling over 96 Saxmundham, 35 miles within 96 Score, predicted, low 96 Shirts, T-, in and out of, slipping 96 Sites, checking of 96 Skies, clear 96 Species, problem 96 Sponsors, proving to 96 Suffolk 96 Sunny, almost 96 Team 1981 96 Thursday, May, 12th, Gooders, John 96 Tim, Botswana, back from 96 Time, photo- 96 Tomlinson, David 96 Warbler, Wood, likeliest spot for 96 Weather, stormy 96 Wind, south-west, stiff 96 Yesterday 96 And the obvious question is ... where did that all come from ? Well, for most of my ardent readers, that should be easy enough. And as for the others, you could be described as "Ardent, enough, not." And I did all that for you .. at last you will know where you need to look for all those things.. C'est pour toi ! C'est pour toi que je trace
C'est pour toi que j'ecris Ces quelques lignes force je m'enlise,je drive Pourquoi faut-il tant d'amour Pour vivre Moi je veux des histoires Oh oui moi je veux faire des jaloux Toutes ces choses Pour te rendre fou Oh oui j'aimerais Te voir a genoux C'est pour toi que j'cume Ces sales endroits O les coeurs se vident Un jour J'y prendrais place Srement Il me faut tellement D'amour pour vivre Moi je veux faire des histoires Oh oui moi je veux Faire des jaloux Celles qui durent Celles qui poussent a bout Oh oui j'aimerais Nous voir a genoux genoux Nous pousser jusqu'au bout genoux ..and if you want more index-related things, and who doesn't, here's some links .... What seems like decades ago I wrote about my lists of " birds of the day" ... I'm still doing it to this day ... but in the pictures below is a big chunk of my list from some of 2009 ...... if you want to read what I wrote about it back then, here's the link .............. 294-bird-of-the-day.html As you can see, "bird of the day" on 28/7/09 was a Dartford Warbler, my 3/9/09 selection was a Comma butterfly, later on we have a Nightjar in a cardboard box (!?), yet another Nightjar which slept all day on a Leighton Moss Grit Tray, attracting hundreds of tickers etc ..and so it goes on. Most of it was about Lancaster-based birds, which was where I lived at the time....but I did get about a bit as well. There are also a few blank days .... usually because I don't write it down .... and when I do get round to it I've forgotten which day it was .... I'm not perfect, as The Significant Otter would confirm. Plus ... the first lot of "month 9" should have been 8 .... I don't know why that happened ...some sort of idiocy, or perhaps gormlessness. But for a whole month ? What ? Why ? Wutend genug ! Anyhow, I thoroughly recommend it . As for today's BoTD, I don't know yet, it's only 10 am ...but I've "had" 300 + pinks going v. high North at first light ... and that corking male Blackcap keeps turning up every day .. ...and talking of " first light", I have at last completed a whole year of keeping a record of when it got " birding light" ... it isn't an exact science, but I'm going to ... .. wait for it ...wait for it ... DRAW A GRAPH ! Here's a gorgeous song that we haven't had for a while .... I've got many a " bird of the day" from the passenger seat .... I can't believe that some people didn't like that song .... er, what ?
And anyway, why didn't I put on the famous German song "Wutend genug" ? I'll put it on the next one .... So, a little while ago I told you about our upcoming " Big Sit" but I haven't told you the results ..... and I know how keen you all are to see them. So, here's what I wrote then ... because you'll need to see how it works... 731-new-rules-for-our-new-years-day-big-sit.html So .... us lot, the Flintshire Bird Club, scored a massive 85344 points !!! So .. the Flintwitchers scored a measly 63365. So ... how many more species did we get than they did ? So ... that must be the shortest post for ages. So ...I've chosen this song ... but why ? A short while ago, I mentioned that I was going to try to predict how much it will cost me in about 15 years time to buy my grandson a decent pair of binoculars. Assuming, probably wrongly, that I'll be alive and alert ... most unlikely. And I was going to do it by finding out how much they cost in the past .. which I was going to find out by digging out ancient copies of such venerable sources as British Birds, Twitching, Birding Scotland and the like. Here's my findings ... for the Swift Audubon 8½ x 44 ... 1976 1979 1983 1992 1996 ? £94.50 £96.68 £109.60 £239 £289 ? And here's what I got for the Zeiss Dialyt 10 x 40B ... 1976 1979 1992 1996 £235.56 £273.91 £639 £769 Of course, this all assumes that "binoculars" as we know them will still exist in 15 years time. It wouldn't surprise me if they were totally replaced by some app on your smartphone that turns it into a pair of binoculars ... and then we will be sidelined by another app that tells you what the blasted bird is. And that, dear readers, will be the end of us. It might even identify all the ticks and lice on its feathers. Oh gawd !!! Anyway ... you draw your graphs, and I'll draw mine. And we will each make our predictions. Assuming prices will go ever upwards .... Now here's an amazing thing .... you might remember that I wrote about the author of The Observer's Book of Birds some while ago, but I wasn't able to find out anything at all about the author, S. Vere Benson, who was also the Hon. Sec. of The Bird Lovers' League ..... I couldn't find any trace of that either. I wasn't even sure of his/her gender. But everyone knows his/her nickname ... "Severe Benson." Especially me ... because I invented it. BUT ..this very morning I found this little book, hardly bigger than a playing card, in a charity shop for the extortionate price of £1 !! ... and here's the flyleaf .... and there is her real name ... well, I suppose it is. ...and right at the end of the preface ... we find out something else ... woo ! Oh yes ... it appears that she lived in Kendal. So I'm going to see if I can find out more ..... The book itself, published in 1943, is ,er, OK, but it is a bit impaired by the monochrome pencil drawings ... which are reasonable, but colour would have made them far more useful for beginners. One thing about it is very much of its time .. the tendency to give the birds human attributes, and to be lacking any moral sense ... er, what ? The cuckoo, for example, gets this ... " Though a very popular bird, it causes the destruction of many useful, innocent smaller birds." And for the Jay ... we get .. " It is a coward, taking cover in trees, with raucous cries, and it is very mischievous and robs the nests of other birds, devouring eggs or young." As for the Great Black-backed Gull .... " It is a slayer of sea-birds and also devours eggs and young, is fond of carrion, offal and fish. Known as " the corpse-eater." ( Is it really ? ) There is a rather odd section at the end about bird footprints. Hey-ho ! Well.... I honestly cannot think of any suitable music to go with that ... .. so ..... we will have this instead .... |
AuthorThat's the author up there ... I was young and sprightly then. Archives
October 2022
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