tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-824385241230348874.post3636023771029982095..comments2024-03-28T21:44:36.332+00:00Comments on Not Quite Scilly: Out of SyncGavin Haighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17242398421328525578noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-824385241230348874.post-25284831998260005472020-12-31T00:05:59.555+00:002020-12-31T00:05:59.555+00:00It's funny, years ago I would have been all ov...It's funny, years ago I would have been all over it. But now? Meh.Gavin Haighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17242398421328525578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-824385241230348874.post-23934120797648939922020-12-29T17:13:26.377+00:002020-12-29T17:13:26.377+00:00Just caught up with this post. They reflect my fee...Just caught up with this post. They reflect my feelings, too. I do twitch very occasionally, but haven't the enthusiasm for an eight-hour round trip to see such a mega. Life is too short!Factorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01164747997397980883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-824385241230348874.post-47991108947948964742020-10-19T20:15:19.625+01:002020-10-19T20:15:19.625+01:00Bad habits are harder to break when they've be...Bad habits are harder to break when they've been entrenched for millenia, and I am much, much younger than the Prof. ;)Gavin Haighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17242398421328525578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-824385241230348874.post-4828584729401162792020-10-19T18:20:56.757+01:002020-10-19T18:20:56.757+01:00Interesting post. You are definitely cured. What d...Interesting post. You are definitely cured. What did you take that the Prof didn't?Jonathan Lethbridgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12791327377479687655noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-824385241230348874.post-80618633642916961972020-10-19T07:15:04.345+01:002020-10-19T07:15:04.345+01:00Birds are interesting for sure. But even more inte...Birds are interesting for sure. But even more interesting given the context under which they are observed. Under those conditions, the possibilities for extracting the greatest personal value from a bird are limitless.<br /><br />Whereas in Twitching, birds are involved, but appear to be reduced to mere items in a strange mix of competition and kleptomania. Richttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02714117508358025668noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-824385241230348874.post-8192739795617187122020-10-18T20:51:17.432+01:002020-10-18T20:51:17.432+01:00Wow, Mike! Thanks very much for relating your expe...Wow, Mike! Thanks very much for relating your experience on here. And I shan't say any more than that...Gavin Haighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17242398421328525578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-824385241230348874.post-29362935684371873892020-10-18T20:40:58.112+01:002020-10-18T20:40:58.112+01:00Yes Stew, now that I've acquainted myself with...Yes Stew, now that I've acquainted myself with your latest Twittering I get the joke! Jammy so-and-so!!Gavin Haighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17242398421328525578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-824385241230348874.post-38843828334349518792020-10-18T20:39:07.813+01:002020-10-18T20:39:07.813+01:00Photos of the bird depict a somewhat bedraggled sp...Photos of the bird depict a somewhat bedraggled specimen, Ric. Imagine a bird used to hot, dry conditions, on a North Norfolk saltmarsh. Not great.<br /><br />Yes, you're probably right. They're probably as chuffed with it as I was with the Cream-coloured Courser I saw in a soggy Essex field in 1984 or whenever it was. Unfortunately, all I can say about that is 'I was there'. In fact, you and I can both say that about loads of rare birds. Some were a real buzz, some not. Finding a decent bird locally knocks all of them into a cocked hat.Gavin Haighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17242398421328525578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-824385241230348874.post-28448911387810439232020-10-18T20:30:33.651+01:002020-10-18T20:30:33.651+01:00Yep, I reckon there are many of us feel similarly....Yep, I reckon there are many of us feel similarly...<br /><br />When I first got keen I lived in Northolt, Middx. So-called 'local' birding for me was a 20-odd minute drive to Staines Res, or to Stockers Lake in the Herts Colne Valley. I sympathise with inland birders, and know it can be a challenge. Gavin Haighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17242398421328525578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-824385241230348874.post-88131341446436428012020-10-18T20:20:36.265+01:002020-10-18T20:20:36.265+01:00Thanks Dave. And even when I was a twitcher I was ...Thanks Dave. And even when I was a twitcher I was ultra-relaxed about it. I never once wept when dipping.Gavin Haighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17242398421328525578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-824385241230348874.post-15517953966665008232020-10-18T18:22:57.834+01:002020-10-18T18:22:57.834+01:00Like many birders yesterday morning, I awoke to th...Like many birders yesterday morning, I awoke to the news of the Rufus Bush Chat in Norfolk. I immediately headed to the shower while my wife dutifully made me some sandwiches. In short-time I was on my way; a little while later I was back on my drive. Something just didn’t feel right and I had returned home. The initial fission I felt on reading the news had evaporated and I was left with the nagging question ‘just want the hell was I doing’? It wasn’t the thought of spending nearly 11 hours in the car. It wasn’t the amount of carbon I was about to generate, it wasn’t an irrational concern over Covid transmission. It was more what’s the point of wasting my time travelling to see a bird just to put a tick in a box? A bird that I had already seen several times on various trips abroad. Can I say straight away that I’m not attacking listing, I’ve done more than my share in the past and have nearly 530 ticks in boxes of my own and with a little more application could be well beyond that number. No, it was the realisation that’s been dawning on me slowly for some time but only crystallised yesterday, that the whole exercise is pointless. Now, I know some will argue that anything we humans do that isn’t concerned with survival or procreation is pointless and that’s probably true, but I also know that we can derive a great deal of pleasure from these pursuits whether it’s watching 22 players chase a bag of air around a pitch or spending a night drowning maggots but for me the pleasure of adding this bird to my ‘list’ just wasn’t there. The antidote? I went down the ‘patch’ instead. Didn’t see a Bush Chat, but had a great time…. I went down again this morning and I’ll be there again tomorrow. I think my twitching days are over….probably. Mike Morsehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06028180531257520406noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-824385241230348874.post-61795431752429309752020-10-18T17:27:34.028+01:002020-10-18T17:27:34.028+01:00Rufous Bushchat, what Rufous Bushchat? I had a whe...Rufous Bushchat, what Rufous Bushchat? I had a wheatear too though... ;)Stewarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01985665182124985194noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-824385241230348874.post-64478788181100676282020-10-18T16:13:20.399+01:002020-10-18T16:13:20.399+01:00I identify with the pleasure those who saw the bir...<br /><br />I identify with the pleasure those who saw the bird gained from having seen it. For some it was a defining moment I'm sure.<br /><br />As for the species, I had an inkling that J.T.R Sharrock in the publication 'Best Days with British Birds'; which featured Cape Clear after a gale force storm from the south, mentioned a bird -or was it two? - that sounded like A Rufous Bush Robin. He couldn't quite get onto them/it for a clear ID. <br /><br />Richttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02714117508358025668noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-824385241230348874.post-13812725117512825662020-10-18T13:05:40.388+01:002020-10-18T13:05:40.388+01:00My feelings these days are much as yours. In some ...My feelings these days are much as yours. In some ways I'd like to see the bird, but the travel & the crowds are not appealing. To be honest I'm struggling motivate myself to get out on my local patch never mind driving to Norfolk (or Durham, East Yorksire, etc.). Might have something to do with my patch being in north-east Worcestershire!Wheatearlphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07419004440102086954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-824385241230348874.post-22056120089266505672020-10-18T09:54:58.969+01:002020-10-18T09:54:58.969+01:00And that's why I read your blog and not some m...And that's why I read your blog and not some manic, overly competitive twitcher. Dave Burrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08259482046178828401noreply@blogger.com