Here's the kids having a rest ... and giving us one too ;-)))

Last night’s meeting of birding club was very good.  The visiting speaker was  
Ian Butler, and he gave a talk and slide show on The wildlife of the Malvern’s.  I’ve always though of the Malvern’s as just a line of hills just outside Worcester but actually there’s a lot more to it than that, like the British Fort, a stone age fortress that is part of the area.  Of course, it does mean now that the next time Jan and I go down there I shall a lot more to think about as we walk/hobble around.  The field trip this month is to Rutland Water and Eyebrook Res;.  I wouldn’t mind going but I’m concerned about getting my scooter stuck if it’s at all muddy, so I’m not going to risk it, besides which Jan isn’t feeling very well.  Next Month it’s New Fancy View, Which is the Forest of dean I think.  Jan and I were there a few years ago looking at peregrines form the viewing area.  I may try for that one, not sure but the March trip to Newport Wetlands is a certain bet. 

 

I was hoping to get to Draycote again today but we got up far too late and with Jan not feeling at all well at all, I decided against it.  Hopefully I shall get there again soon before the smew and yellow legged gulls fly off. 

      

Sometime last November I took my 6 year old grandson to Brandon Marsh for his first taste of birding.  He borrowed a small pair of Nikon bins from his Gran and I gave him a small field guide, and off we went.  He was all questions on the drive over there, “What’s that one Granddad (a gull, black-headed I think – remember I was driving at the time); look at the one, is it an eagle (it was a starling actually); oh look Granddad, that’s a nice one, what is it (a magpie); and so. 

We arrived and I got my own bins out and we stood and watched a number of blue and great tits, chaffinch and a few other of the more common birds found there and then went inside.  Jan and I used to volunteer at Brandon a few years ago but ill health put paid to that but we met a number of really nice folk there.  One of them was Angela who was always on duty at weekends.  Sadly she was ill herself that day and I have to admit to being a bit disappointed in not having our usual chat.  Anyway, off Kile (and yes, it is spelt correctly, or at least the way his Mum wants it to be spelt!), and I made our way around the visitor centre and off down to the reserve.

Our first birds were some pied wagies down by the hard standing by the gravel works.  Kile was happy to see them but said of them, “They’re nice and pretty but I want to see some big birds.”  Eventually we got down to the first hide, the Baldwin Hide.  There were quite a few visitors in there, there was a birding party from a Norfolk birding club I think they said but I can’t remember any details.  They made room for us on the benches and we sat down and I showed Kile how to use the bins properly and he soon got the idea and was looking and pointing our birds by himself.  Suddenly he shouted, “Look at that blue flash Granddad!”  Knowing what it was all of us in hide started looking and there say on the edge of a bush was a kingfisher.  Kile was congratulated by all for seeing if before us, even if he didn’t know what it was.  Next time he asked, “What’s that big bird there Granddad?” 

I looked and replied, “That’s a grey heron, there’s another one over there, do you see it?”

“Oh yes, wow, well wicked!”   I think he liked the herons.  Then we went off to the Marsh hides opposite each other he decided that he want to go to the small one first.  There was little to see from the Teal hide apart from a few teal (of which he said, “oh, boring”), rather aptly and he soon wanted to go to the next one.  The east Marsh Hide was just a busy as the Baldwin Hide was.  Again they made room for us and as I was looking around one of the visitors pointed a green woodpecker sat on one of the islands to the right.  He set up his scope and very generously allowed Kile to have look at the woodpecker through it.  “Errr,” called out Kile, “it’s eating a rat!”  Most of the others laughed at that one but the scope owner said he was probably eating ants, not a rat.

Looking at the time I saw we had been there about an hour and being conscious of the boredom threshold of an active six year old I thought that was enough and we headed off home.  As we left the hide I heard one guy say, “Now that is what I’m waiting for, to take my granddad kids birding.”   That comment made the day for me.  As for Kile, he enjoyed it but by the time we got home the ‘rat’ had become a ‘mouse’ and he was ready to go home to Mum.  Now he keeps asked when I will take again.  That day will soon come when the weather picks up some more.

A turnstone found at Rampside, Cumbria.

A gannet at Bempton Cliffs.

 A black guillimote at Bangor, North Ireland.

Now then, I see the prime minister of Italy is in trouble yet again.  I’m not bothered about the rights and wrong of what he has or hasn’t done, however I am concerned about the difference in the Italian and British legal systems.  Don’t forget that Italy is in the EU as well as us yet their laws are so different.  On the news it said that the prosecutors had released evidence to the media of their case against the prime minister.  Here in Britain that isn’t allowed.  I’m wondering though, if the prosecution is allowed to do that, just how much of a fair trial can you get in Italy.  It is this sort of difference between the various European countries and Britain that make me despair of us being within the EU in the first place.  Mt preference would be to withdraw.  However, this is a democracy and a referendum needs to be held.  If the vote was remain within the EU, I would have to agree to it.  I might not like but there you are, democracy in action.  But hang on a minute, there are ways of wording the question we are asked to vote on that could leave things very ambiguously indeed.  What is needed is a plain and simple question.  Something like “DO YOU WISH THE UK TO REMAIN WITHIN THE EU?” or maybe, “DO YOU WISH THE UK TO LEAVE THE EU?”  In both cases there would be 2 boxes, one for YES, one for NO.  Don’t think we’ll get one though. 

Bill’s come through again ...

It's late fall and the Indians on a remote reservation in Montana asked
their new chief if the coming winter was going to be cold or mild.

Since he was a chief in a modern society, he had never been taught
the old secrets. When he looked at the sky, he couldn't tell what the
winter was going to be like.

Nevertheless, to be on the safe side, he told his tribe that the
winter was indeed going to be cold and that the members of the village
should collect firewood to be prepared.
But, being a practical leader, after several days, he got an idea.
He went to the phone booth, called the National Weather Service and asked,
'Is the coming winter going to be cold?'

'It looks like this winter is going to be quite cold,' the
meteorologist at the weather service responded.

So the chief went back to his people and told them to collect even
more firewood in order to be prepared.

A week later, he called the National Weather Service again. 'Does
it still look like it is going to be a very cold winter?'

'Yes,' the man at National Weather Service again replied, 'it's
going to be a very cold winter.'

The chief again went back to his people and ordered them to collect
every scrap of firewood they could find.

Two weeks later, the chief called the National Weather Service
again. 'Are you absolutely sure that the winter is going to be very
cold?'

'Absolutely,' the man replied. 'It's looking more and more like it
is going to be one of the coldest winters we've ever seen.'

'How can you be so sure?' the chief asked.

The weatherman replied, 'The Indians are collecting shedloads of
firewood!'