The Curse of the Ravens

Whilst as a privileged reader of my blog you had a post publication notification of my intended resignation plans, I also had to inform those non-aficionados of my intentions, so (Ed: I thought you had dropped THAT word?) “as a consequence” there have been a few e-mails flying round this week. And the people on my Carsington Bird walk this morning also had to be told.

2 comments added on last week’s blog, some e-mails and some kind words have been very gratefully received and shown that amongst the 1,000+ people who have been on my walk in 13 years, I have converted some people to our wonderful hobby.   You know me as a statistics man, so I can tell you that on the walk this morning, of the 19 people that I was able to check in, we had another landmark the 2,500^th booking for the walk.

Which one was no 2,500?  So sorry! Well I knew from September when the total was 2495, that to-day the fifth person would have that secret unpublished privilege of not knowing they (he or she) was number 2,500.   I know who it is, cos I counted the first 5!!     I’ll give you a hint….it was a lady, and she was new to the walk.

Just while I am on stats, latest count on the 132 posts on my blog in 3 years is 12,275, the top 3 being from countries beginning with U !!

UK – 6,370;  USSR – 2,420;  USA – 1,020      Upper Volta and Uruguay -  Nil points.

Health?   Thank goodness for a bus pass…. 3 hospital medical excursions...        IN > B12 vitamin; Flu Jab.  OUT > Blood    Consultations Cancer; Pneumonia. 

If you read my blog a couple of weeks ago when I did my Wirksworth…….sorry Wordsworth impersonation and wrote it in verse, the poem was printed in the October edition of the Life magazine that gets delivered around much of South Derbyshire. So. AGAIN!!  Consequently, I know what it is like to have poetry printed!

Now then (try this one Ed) Ergo, what has been happening bird wise?   What was a slow week, accelerated so, to become a good week.

I don’t know if you have noticed it, but I seem to be seeing far more jays than I have in the past. Last week-end I saw 3 in a short journey, and this morning I spotted one en route to Carsington and one on the way home. They are butch looking birds, not fast fliers, but the mauve white and blue markings can be quite distinctive. They are very busy right now, collecting acorns and stashing them away for the winter. I mentioned this at the walk this morning and several people commented that they too had seen more than usual.

And drifting completely off the plot, but thinking back to my Dad, he wore a trilby, and tucked in the hat band was a Jay feather. Why? A feather in Fedoras was the fashion in the 40’s (and earlier), and may have come from  “having a feather in his cap”, or a scaled down version of the feather that Robin Hood wore?  (Either ponder or google!!)

By the way (Ed??) I was pleased to see a letter in the Daily Telegraph from a reader commenting on the excessive use of the word So. As you can see above it does so easily slip into conversation, so you are not sure at times why so many so’s are needed. When it is used to stress, like “It has been so hot” that’s OK. that is an acceptable emphasis, but my Portuguese friend (who is shortly to become my French friend) contends that so is interspersed to give a respondee a split second to think about an answer to a question. 

He’s right.  Watch something like the Apprentice and see when Sir Al asks. “how did you decide on how to split the tasks?”, the reply comes. “So I picked…..”.   If you listen carefully to interviews, or unscripted discussions you will find there is hardly any area where a superfluous So does not creep in to the conversation.

Right…………. Off the hobby horse!!

I loved the story in the Daily Telegraph about the swearing Ravens. Did you catch that? Apparently the Ravenmaster in the Tower of London wrote in his new book that he gets embarrassed when the ravens call “B----r off! B----r off!” when he is escorting (schoolchildren).

Sunday 7^th October.  The weather for the BwB walk this morning was crisp but clear, and we had 34 species to show for the morning. Somewhat surprising we had 5 species not seen before this year. Great Spotted Woodpecker on Stones Island, which they don’t visit that often; a Little Egret – voted the Bird of the Day (following a Great White Egret last month); a Pintail near the causeway; Linnet near the Janet Ede Hide, and a nice male Shoveller from the Wildlife Centre. But for me the good number of the flighty Meadow Pipits at the end of Stones Island was a good sight.

So    Right (!!) just future dates..

Sunday October 14  9.45 for 10.00am.  Day trip RSPB Old Moor 10 am > 4pm let me know if you are joining us.  

Sunday October 21  BwB   Markeaton Park.    10.30am Craft village/walled garden  90 minutes £4/£2

Sunday November 4   BwB  Carsington      10.00am., Don't forget to book. 

Happy Birding