Yes, I did ... I staggered downstairs and opened the front door .... and, dear readers, a full-blown, dreadful tonking of torrential rain + a ferocious wind was in full power. We have had lots of hefty rain lately, with many-a-day of continuous soggyness. And, of course, nights. And being a soppy old twit, I felt very sad. God only knows how the birds survive this sort of stuff.....can you imagine the sheer misery of it all. Any sensible birder would live in East Anglia ( Norfolk-and-Suffolk) if they've got any sense. The weather is good .... the birding is good...... woo ! Anyway .... I'm going to venture outside now .... and I hope you will too. But why not listen to this first ... Transatlanticism.....................
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I wrote this awhile ago ..but the computer keeps collapsing .... This morning I saw a male House Sparrow do something odd ..... it hopped backwards a few hops ! Maybe the ferocious wind ( see above) blew it backwards (?) There was nothing in front of it.... or anywhere near it to disturb it or frighten it. Moving on ... I drove down to the river first thing, but the weather was atrocious. I could hardly open the door such was the wind .... and rain was torrential. See pic above. Anyway, me and the TSO are going to get out of the aforementioned weather and she will take me to a swish eatery with big windows for spotting things. And ..by the way .... I've done so much of " birding from the garden window" that I've got to the stage where I can recognise quite a lot of my avian visitors individually. ... and I've given them appropriate names. Yes, it is a terrific book .... and yes, I know it falls apart quite a lot ( the hardback is much better) but I have recently got the said hardback version of it ...much better.
BUT ..... there is an interesting flaw within it. Have you ever checked the ever-growing number of species each team has spotted ? Well folks. I have. Try tallying them yourself and you will see what happens as the totals increase. That should keep you busy for a while . Hey-up ... TSO is summoning me downstairs and we're going into town. Woo !! Here's the ideal bedtime reading ... 34 short-ish articles about 34 different birdy places ...such as Minsmere, Cley, St.Agnes, Slimbridge, Central Park New York ...plus lots of smashing drawings. 184 terrific pages of top birding stuff. You'll love it. Maybe some of my readers might be able to recommend other similar bed-time birding books . Now is the time of year when the summer birds bog off back to wherever they came from ..... but now there's a fair old wait for the winter ones to turn up ..... which is not very good .. and I don't like it. Who does ??
Well, you can lengthen your spotting season by following them down south until you bang into the channel. Or you can get all your birdspottingbooks and read them assiduously . ( Right now 11 Pinkfeet have flown over the house. ) Being old and knackered I truly really want to see some Waxwings this winter. And Redwings.....but another right swizz is all the well-off birders can whizz of to warmer climes. As u awl no, my compewter is very erratic. The Significant Otter ( TSO) has got a swish one of her own, but she won't let me go anywhere near it. I've got a topping thing to write about next time the compewter works which might take the lid off a right dodgy birding scandal . As you all know, I'm enjoying working my way through all of Bills books ..I'm calling it the " Oddie-Thon." And the one I'm concentrating on right now is "BILL ODDIE UNPLUCKED". Here's what "they" are saying about it...... From a press trip to the Galapagos to encounters with orcas in Argentina, the presenter and ex-Goodie reminisces about a life of globetrotting and animal-watching. (The Daily Telegraph 2015-05-18) Engaging, funny and, surprisingly often, thoughtful. (British Trust for Ornithology 2015-03-26) As you would expect, there is a lot of humour in his wanderings and wonderings around the world. (Birdwatching magazine 2015-03-16) A great read, helping birding continue its rise and rise. (Birdwatching magazine 2015-03-16) Written in his witty and inimitable style, this enthralling book is also illustrated throughout with Bill's charming and comic line drawings. (Birdwatch magazine 2015-03-02) In this compilation of blogs, articles and anecdotes, the genuinely inventive and much-travelled naturalist mines his rich archive of experience. (BBC Wildlife magazine 2015-04-01) Witty, entertaining, educational and essential - words of passionate wisdom. (Chris Packham) This book is Bill Oddie personified... not short, stocky and with a beard, but belligerent, hilarious and eclectic. (Mike Dilger) Once again the incomparable Bill Oddie turns his quirky gaze on the bizarre world of birds, birding and nature conservation, reminding us what really matters. (Stephen Moss). Plus .... don't forget all those quirky and excellent drawings. And as for the music ... what else could it be ? I first heard it in (the only) pub on Walney Island...... A few days ago I fetched the milk bottles in, and I noticed an excellent moth on next door's Valerians. I haven't seen one for a long time ...... here it is ... .. and this morning we were in a cafe and flapping into the windows was another one. You should be able to work out what it's name is. I'm wondering if there's an "invasion" of them. It can happen. And secondly, as you all know, I am doing an " Oddie-thon" which means I'm going to read through all of his books. Well, all the ones I've got. And there's a lot. I am making excellent and entertaining progress. Currently I'm reading " Bill Oddie Unplucked" and I've enjoyed every bit of the first 145 pages. We have had several consecutive hot and humid days ...so surely we're going to get a thunderstorm ..... we've had NO rain at all for many days. When Bill Oddie's Little Black Bird Book burst into the birding world many people didn't like it all at all. But for many of us back then in the dark ages, it was a revelation ..for a start, it was funny ! Oh Calamity !!! There was certainly a great wave of not-liking-it-and-actually-hating it ! BUT ..... I loved it, embraced it, and as more Oddities appeared in print I lapped them up . And yesterday I thought ....I'm going to read through all of his books as a mini-marathon. Here's a beautiful song .... bloody wonderful ! I hope you keep a " Garden List" ....... and mine is teetering on 97. I think . Having lived here for 40-odd years, new ones are a trifle scarce. But three days ago I heard a v. loud bird singing, and I could hear it through the double-glazing ! I opened said door ..... and crumbs, there it was, hopping around in a dense-ish hedge. Well folks, it was ..... oh yes ... a Cetti's Warbler. It is still around the garden BUT ..... will I live long enough to get to my 100th Garden Tick ? And what might the "vital extra 3" be ? I'm still thinking about those three. What about Black Tern, Waxwing ( they've been close) and Crossbill ? All I've got to do now is wait. I've not put a picture of a Cetti's up there .... as you all know the computer is rather erratic .... and this time is has erraticked it. Of all non-human creations , the birds give the most powerful impression of being up to something, of knowing something. In their quick, giggling, hopping, jerking, twitching, twittering way they seem to have a direct, intuitive contact with the secret of life. We have to get there by careful and disciplined thought, we have to wrestle with time .. .. and even then we can't be sure of the sudden liberation, that sudden flash of truth and ecstasy; we can't make it happen, But birds live there all the time. Birds are not single either. They know whatever it is they know together. They are not allowed to tell us, but they know about us too, they swoop mimbling and tweaking at us, turning away in a perfect swift curve, with a hint of a message for us ; but it is too quick. Of course, they don't know it all, they just know the part we don't know, and vice versa; the ones who know everything are a combination of man and bird .... the angels. ( I wonder if any of my readers have any idea where that came from ) ( There's more of it in the pipeline arriving shortly.) |
AuthorThat's the author up there ... I was young and sprightly then. Archives
October 2022
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