Last time I showed you a challenge.... to make as many bird species as you could using a English Scrabble set. As far as I know this was my idea. Coo ! Crumbs !! There's various varieties of what you're allowed to do.... nip back and have a look at it if you want to have a go. It features a terrific example of the wrong way to do it.... created by me. There's nothing better than a horrifying example of how NOT to do something. And what made me remember about it was a related challenge in JTR Sharrock's " The Birdwatchers' Quiz and Puzzle Book" ..... I'll show you it in a mo. Like me, he wants you to make bird names using a limited set of letters. But in his case, instead of the letter tiles in a Scrabble set, he gives you the names of 17 birds , and you use the letters in them. Basically, you're picking one set of birds apart to make another set of birds. The other difference is, he challenges you to " use as many of the letters as possible to form the fewest number of new birds." He also restricts it to species which have occurred in Europe ... and the book was written in 1975 ! Tantalisingly, he also tells you .... " if you have fewer than 15 letters left at the end, or 15 letters but fewer than 19 new birds, you have beaten the compiler at his own game !" So ...all you need now is his list of birds .... from which you are going to make new ones ! Here we go ... Gannet, Hen Harrier, Ptarmigan, Broad-billed Sandpiper, Red necked Phalarope, Cream-coloured Courser, Ross's Gull, Little Auk, Little Swift, Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, Treecreeper, Blackbird, Barred Warbler, Ovenbird, Tawny Pipit, Starling, Chaffinch. I think that's a very tough challenge ! He gives you an "expert solving time " of .... wait for it ..... days. (!) I reckon it's probably best to cut up some cardboard squares and write the letters on them. It makes the whole thing a lot more manageable. You might have enough Scrabble tiles to cover all that lot ( I have, but then I'm mad).... which would/might speed things up a bit. Right then .... it's music time .... and we're going to have Llwybr Llaethog and the lovely " Byd mor wahanol" ..that's "Milky Way" with " A life so different".... Yesterday a female Brambling made a brief but very welcome appearance in the garden ... the first for at least 10 years I reckon.
I was suitable chuffed. The Significant Otter said " Oh" or something similar. But it didn't spoil my tiny feeling of crikeyness.
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Sometimes there's just no birds to be seen ... or you can't be bothered to go and find any ... or the weather's terrible ... or you're not feeling well ... or to put it another way, it's a normal sort of day up in't North. So what can you do .... well, here's a nice challenge for you .... and you'll be pitting your wits against the finest brains in the UK with this one. [Not] It's simple really ... using only the letter tiles from an English Scrabble set, try to make as many different UK species as you can .... here's how NOT to do it ... As you can see, this idiot [ OK, it's me] has gone about it the wrong way ... they've only managed 8 measly species .. and not used 26 of the tiles. What a twit. Great Crested Grebe Isabelline Shrike Pomarine Skua Stonechat Gannet Fulmar Quail Jay. It's obvious what's gone wrong ... this twerp chose great long birds instead of dinky short ones .... surely they could have got a better list than that. By the time they'd done Stonechat they began to run out of options... they just managed to squeeze out Fulmar, Quail and Jay from what was left of the tiles. Look what they were left with ... what about all those o's ? Is "o" a rare letter in the bird-name world then ? Hoopoe uses up a few, but they hadn't got an H left. Then there's the Rook ... 50 bloody % o's. So .... [a] can you find another bird using what's left ? [ No dodo .. not on the UK list] [b] can you make a better attempt yourself ? [Obviously you can] As far as I'm aware, nobody has claimed a maximum number of species in this quite well-known challenge.... but that's mostly because it isn't a well-known challenge at all ... I made it up. So it's all up for grabs ... fame, celebrity, booze and fags, paparazzi following you everywhere, a fall from grace in some nightclub in Lithuania, drugs, manky women ( or men of course), poverty, destitution, and the final disgrace, appearances on late-night panel shows .. By the way, there is another variant of this, where the birds have to connect up with each other like they do in real Scrabble... there are advantages and disadvantages to it ... I'll probably show you a bad example of that too ..sometime or other. Then, of course, there's presumably the "International Version" where you can have any bird in the entire world. And also, there's the "Latin Name" version. Blimey . Also, you'll notice that I have allowed the use of the two blanks .... so in a way we've got another two versions. Blanks or not. So ... I'm sure both you ( and me) can do a lot better than that .. I'm going to have a go at improving on it, now I've actually remembered about it. And if you have any good solutions, you could email to me at ... [email protected] [What reminded me about all of this was when I found a sort-of similar challenge (in the junk-heap I call a "study") in an ancient slim volume entitled "The Birdwatcher's Quiz and Puzzle Book" by J T R Sharrock. And I thought ... hmm .. I've done something a bit like that.I'll show you exactly what triggered it next time . If I remember.] Meantime, here's a terrific Niños Mutantes version of "Como yo te amo" ... "how I love you"....with the emphasis on the "I" ... what a terrific song ... by the end you'll feel you know them all...... Chasing after rare birds isn't too bad when you're the driver ... but as as passenger, it can be anything from v.poor to an absolute bloody nightmare. For a start, there's the situation when The Significant Otter is driving. My S.O. will never ever ever stop when I spot something interesting. We've driven by all sorts of stuff... Red Kites, Hobbys, Waxwings, Nightjars, Peregrines, Turtle Doves, URBs ( unidentified rare? birds ...I'll never know ) ..... all sorts.... you can forget any chance at all of any sort of slowing down, stopping ... no bloody way. Then there's the full-blown bash-down-250-miles-of-motorway sort of thing. Uuurgh ! I've been in the passenger seat on many a shit-inducing nightmare drive .... one trip up to Montrose comes to mind, in the pitch dark, 70+ mph, ice all over the roads, frozen windscreens, even bashing a few times into the central reservation ... at least I was in the back. Still, at least we got the Ivory Gull.... but unfortunately one turned up almost on our doorsteps a week later. Typical. Mind you, it was a "plumage tick." I had another nightmare trip coming back from a southern county which shall be nameless. I was in the front passenger seat that time ... we must have been doing about 80 + a lot of the time ... on several dodgy occasions a nervous type in the back started wailing and screaming !! And then, when we were nearly safely back, our driver was tearing towards a big queue of stationary traffic and it seemed for a long time ( about 6 seconds really I suppose) that he wasn't going to stop. We all thought we were dead.The screamer in the back started actually yelling "STOP!" very loudly, and eventually the brakes were applied with such force that the car spun right round in a terrific 180 +. Shite ! You could smell the tyres. Amongst other unfortunate smells. We hadn't even seen the bird we went for. I stopped going anywhere with one particular driver who would drive around much too fast on miles and miles of narrow twisty country roads rubbing his eyes and complaining that he couldn't see very well ... on top of which, his windscreen was filthy as well. This was compounded by his frequent reaching for tissues to rub his eyes with and cake to eat. All while whizzing along at 60 . I can assure you that had anything been coming the the other way, we would have been toast. Cripes. On a smaller scale, there's the odd habits of the driver as well ... one far-flung American rarity was viewed by us all in some tatty old dump of an abandoned factory on the East coast, and we wanted to get going after 20 mins or so to get the rest of our itinerary ..so off we went for about 10 miles or so, only to find that the driver was turning back so he could get the bird we'd all been watching on his "car list" ... he'd forgotten to see it from the car so we all had to go back. I've also been with drivers who keep stopping off at all sorts of trivial places to see pathetic stuff like Willow Tits or Tree Sparrows or whatever. This can be very costly when the target mega flies off or gets eaten by a Sparrowhawk. These things happen. Oh yes. Of course, when I'm driving, all is perfect ,all target birds are seen, and everyone is perfectly happy.You knew that ! Now here's a wonderfully thematic bit of music ... also by Death Cab for Cutie ..." Passenger Seat" ... I heard this on the car radio about a year ago ...and it was so beautiful that I stopped the car !!! Plus ...I know one or two other people who did just the same thing. And even more amazingly, their other songs are excellent too. That doesn't always happen. Here we go ... prepare to be impressed.... I roll the window down
And then begin to breathe .... in The darkest country road And the strong scent of evergreen From the passenger seat as you are driving me home. Then looking upwards I strain my eyes and try To tell the difference between shooting stars and satellites From the passenger seat as you are driving me home. "do they collide?" I ask and you smile. With my feet on the dash The world doesn't matter. When you feel embarrassed then i'll be your pride When you need directions then i'll be the guide For all time. For all time. Well, it was, of course .... but Japanese geneticists have managed to re-create living Moas using an astonishingly simple idea. Recent data files of the DNA of thousands of the world's birds were searched for any links to extinct species, and up came a surprising result. Two living species, Rifleman and McGregor's Gardenerbird, were found each to have exactly half of the Moa's DNA. It seemed to good to be true, but true it was, and after a 17-year series of experimental trials the DNA of both birds was recombined to create Moa DNA ..and two years later , using a Turkey as the mother, the world's first living Moa in thousands of years was hatched, and survived. Since then, not only have 11 other Moas been created, but they have also interbred to produce, as of last year, 14 young, all but three of which are still living. This was all done in total secrecy, and has only come out towards the end of 2016. That seems all very good .... but is it ? The thing is, I wrote almost exactly the same article in my previous birding blog .. .the one that disappeared mysteriously ..... assuming that everyone would realise that it was a joke ..an almost plausible joke ..... but a joke nevertheless. However, as time went by, it got hundreds of hits every day, week after week ... and I started to get worried that students all over the world were being given essays to do about extinct birds and were using my article in their work. Cripes !! I eventually stuck a notice in the article asking "anybody who was reading it" to let me know why ... and warning them that it was, actually, completely made up, fictional .. what The Donald might call " fake news." But as Michael Nesmith nearly said, " The Hits Just Kept on Coming" and nobody ever told me why. Now of course, you, dear reader, were not fooled at all by my silly story. however, both of those bird species ARE true ... Rifleman ( one word!) and McGregor's Gardenerbird both exist. Strange, but true. ODD UPDATE Here's a ridiculous coincidental thing that I found in Saturday's "i" ......you could hardly make it up ... So, having written this made-up story twice, and made it clear that it's pure fantasy twice, a few days later I find out that the Moa might well be re-created.... but not in such an interesting and silly way as my method. Hey-ho! Now here's top band Death Cab for Cutie, and one of their anthemic songs ... "Transatlanticism". There's so many wonderful versions of this on the net, millions of watchers, all in tears! Of course, big strong old me didn't burst into tears. Seeing as I featured "boobtubers" in the previous post, I thought I should tell you more about various slangy birding words I've invented .. Years ago I invented a bunch of "new" birding word to suit many situations and needs. It all started off with ...surprise surprise ...some Welsh ones .. well, based on Welsh anyway .. GWIBBERS ... these are birders who have itchy feet ... they get to rarity 1 for the day, and only look at it for 17 seconds and they're chivvying everyone in their gang to get on to the next one. I know a good few of these. And so do you most probably. It comes from the excellent Welsh word " gwib" .. a jaunt, a "wander." DUCKMUGGERS .. these are people...we won't dignify them with any more advanced term ... who have an over-vivid imagination, bird-wise. They see a distant cormorant, and report it as an albatross. They read somewhere that a local wood contains Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers and the very first bird they see is a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker .. despite the fact that they've not been seen there for 17 years. We all know some of those. It comes from the Welsh verb dychmygu .. to imagine. Isn't this blog educational folks ! DRUGDUBBER .. they don't believe anything you've seen. I saw a Rosefinch at Salthouse on Tuesday ... Rubbish ... it was probably a Linnet you bloody halfwit. It's from the Welsh adjective drwgdybus .. suspicious. Right .. onto some non-Welsh ones now ... I'm quite proud of some of these .. AZTEC ... an Aztec is a person who only ever looks at bird through his/her bloody huge camera lens. This habit has got to the point where there are notices in some hides asking these bloody Aztecs not to hog the front seats for hours on end. Oh yes. They don't take any notice of the notices though. The term comes, of course, from wonderful Scottish band Aztec Camera .. BOOBTUBER ... you all know these ...they're people who have loads of birding equipment, posh telescopes, whizzo bins, all the gear, but haven't got a bloody clue. This can lead to major-league duckmugging. They've got their "tubes" ..telescopes, bins... but they're always getting it wrong ... the boobs. Simple. BEE .. I once came across an acquaintance of mine, whom I had not seen for ages, sitting on an upturned boat on St. Mary's. I've hardly ever seen him birding where he actually lives. He "Birds Everywhere Else" ..he's a BEE. SIBLING ... this is an easy one.. you know those people that, whenever you say you've seen something, they've seen it before you. I saw a Gannet fly over my house yesterday... oh, I saw it 10 minutes before from my yacht.... anyways, they're SIBlings ... Seen It Before you. TOE-RAGS .... similar sort of thing ..except that when you see something, they've seen two. Hey, there was a Bluethroat on the dunes yesterday .. oh, I saw two actually. Two Of Everything. That's enough of those for now ... music time ... Aztec Camera ... how thematic .... "Walk out to winter" ... includes seawatching possibilities ... It's just occurred to me that the Cure's " 17 seconds" would have also been a good choice. Next time then ..
Here's an extract from a book about how to watch birds, aimed at beginners ...... this is the bit about " basic equipment" ... First of all, your own "basic" equipment : stout, old clothes and footwear are essential ( your mother will agree here).Don't wear bright colours or even "unnatural" shades like navy-blue, which show up badly against light backgrounds. Drab raincoats, or tweeds that blend with the vegetation, are very good. You should carry a light stick in the nesting season, so that you can probe bushes and herbage without disturbing them; a stick is also useful to lay over the points of a barbed-wire fence that you wish to cross. Always carry a notebook and several pencils and a pocket-knife ( pencil points break easily when you are excited); a map of the district, for any long expeditions, is important. You are not likely to forget your field-glasses, if you have a pair, and I'm sure all good bird-watchers should carry a compass. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Well .. that was interesting, was it not ! It's amazing how things change, even in birdwatching. Not that it's hardly ever called that these days. Go on ... have a guess at the date of that book .....you might even have an idea as to the book's title ... and its author. The answers to all of that will be after the music...... which is going to be from the stunning Wir sind Helden ... here they are with a brilliant video for " Kaputt" ... Dein Vater ist kaputt
Aber du bist es nicht Zerbeult und verbogen Und vielleicht nicht ganz dicht Aber irgendwo darunter bist du seltsam o.K Beinah unversehrt unter allem, was weh tut Ich weiss du willst helfen Ich weiss du grämst dich Ich weiss du willst abhauen Ich weiss du schämst dich Es ist okay jeder soll fliehen der kann Wenn du den Fluchtwagen fährst Schnall dich an So viel kaputt Aber so vieles nicht Jede der Scherben Spiegelt das Licht So viel kaputt Aber zwischen der Glut Zwischen Asche und Trümmern War irgendwas gut Deine Mutter ist kaputt Aber du bist es nicht Du trägst dieselben Verbände Schicht über Schicht Aber irgendwo darunter Bist du längst schon verheilt Du hast viel zu lang Ihre Wunden geteilt Ich weiss du willst helfen Aber du… OK ... that was good ....now that book was in its 1st edition in 1952. How close did you get ? It was written by the excellent Bruce Campbell. And it was called .... Here's a theory for you ... If you invent a new species of bird, and get it into a magazine, or even better a bird guide .. well, eventually people will start seeing it, and reporting it. Oh yes ! You know what happens ... some boobtuber has a big book of European Birds and looks at a dinky warbler through his fancy new scope ( the "tube") and then looks at all warbler pages in his new book and picks the wrong one . ( that's the "boob"). No doubt he/she will decide it's something quite rare .... and then they'll report it .... and then lots of people will waste their time going to see a chiffchaff or a garden warbler or whatever. So ... I cut up various bird pictures from magazines and "created" the "Spring Crosby" ... there it is up there in all its glory. I've described its nesting habits, its eggs, its rasping calls and enthralling whistling song which starts on the 8th of April and stops on the 19th of July ... all the details are available. I even gave it a Latin name ... Sibillus certus. All I need now is to find some bird book publisher who will buy into the idea.... I hope you see one soon... or maybe you can make your own fake bird and ...well, if there were enough of you doing that we could make an entire Field Guide out of them. That would be one hell of a book ! Go on ... why not invent ...and create ... a species of your very own like what I have ? My blogs usually end with a song... often in some foreign language ...and here's today's.... the unlikely combination of John Cale singing the beautiful traditional Welsh song " Myfanwy" After my HUGE birding blog collapsed a few years ago ( it totally disappeared ) I went into a sulk and didn't do anything blogwise for a few years. Then I started up again on a new platform, Wix. But it's not very good at all. So I'm trying again on Weebly. My plan is to try it for a while, and if it works OK I'll transfer the Wix posts onto here bit by bit as well. But why "mini-birding" ...well, I did a fair bit of birding right from my early teenage years, but it didn't get "serious" until I had a car ... a Mini. I would always tell my partner in life, known as The Significant Otter, that I was going mini-birding ... and even though we've been through a number of cars since then, it's still mini-birding as far as I'm concerned. Here's an amazing and fantastic picture ( not) I took about an hour ago in my garden ... there's a female Blackcap, a tiny one actually, to the left of the table-leg on the gravel... it's been sporadically visiting for the last week or so. I hope you like that drawing of mine at the top there.
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AuthorThat's the author up there ... I was young and sprightly then. Archives
October 2022
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