tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-824385241230348874.post5649542800672371308..comments2024-03-28T15:59:14.610+00:00Comments on Not Quite Scilly: Bird News - Part 4: Ripe for the PluckingGavin Haighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17242398421328525578noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-824385241230348874.post-18726247982572904612021-12-07T20:27:20.011+00:002021-12-07T20:27:20.011+00:00Kingbird Highway ordered. If it was just a twitcha...Kingbird Highway ordered. If it was just a twitchathon I wouldn't bother, but sounds like there's a lot more to it than that. Cheers.<br /><br />And yes, no one wants to be a dude...Gavin Haighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17242398421328525578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-824385241230348874.post-54946574399724136502021-12-07T12:12:31.972+00:002021-12-07T12:12:31.972+00:00Kingbird Highway is an absolute must-read Gavin - ...Kingbird Highway is an absolute must-read Gavin - an incredible book! Perfect for re-motivating you when that phasing feeling comes on! One of my favourites. But I didn't read that till a few years a go. Do remember getting a copy of BOLLBB for christmas 1980 (i was 10) from my granny - remember being shocked when reading about "cosmic mind-f*ckers" and also trying to fold down my wellies and going out birding in the rain to prely to try and avoid being a dude! seppyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01109126431048614816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-824385241230348874.post-50188087418930778192021-12-07T10:14:18.814+00:002021-12-07T10:14:18.814+00:00Don't think you'll regret it Tony.
Incide...Don't think you'll regret it Tony.<br /><br />Incidentally, when I say 'a challenging read', that's down to Ian Wallace's writing style rather than anything else. Some long, convoluted sentences and enough unfamiliar words to test most vocabularies - well, certainly mine!Gavin Haighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17242398421328525578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-824385241230348874.post-72608280645343167562021-12-07T10:06:23.930+00:002021-12-07T10:06:23.930+00:00Thanks for the recommendation. For whatever reason...Thanks for the recommendation. For whatever reason, I've never got around to reading 'Kingbird Highway'. One day...<br /><br />Steve Webb's account of the epic twitch from Scilly to Fair Isle for Yellow-browed Bunting in October 1980 (as told in 'Best Days With British Birds') nicely captures the zeitgeist of that era too. We certainly live in a very different world now. Gavin Haighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17242398421328525578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-824385241230348874.post-63350896306553876342021-12-06T23:33:59.835+00:002021-12-06T23:33:59.835+00:00Suggest reading "Kingbird Highway" which...Suggest reading "Kingbird Highway" which really captures the zeitgiest of that era. Although set in America it parallels the roadtrips that were being trod across Britain & Ireland from Shetland to Scilly Cape Clear and beyond. One minute at the bar in the Queens the George or the Mermaid the next on an overnight adventure chasing an ephemeral Sprite that would usually be gone before you had time to arrive! Birdline brought order to that chaos and today it's all about timetables for the retired boomers.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08089734327678119907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-824385241230348874.post-80923278920872374012021-12-06T21:50:10.966+00:002021-12-06T21:50:10.966+00:00Thank you Gav. I'll get a copy.Thank you Gav. I'll get a copy.Tony's Journal of Angling & Naturehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09537279784435125791noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-824385241230348874.post-84758942316800243442021-12-06T13:25:16.620+00:002021-12-06T13:25:16.620+00:00Thanks Tony. For a fascinating insight into Britis...Thanks Tony. For a fascinating insight into British birdwatching history I can recommend Ian Wallace's 'Beguiled by Birds'. A challenging read, but well worth the effort.Gavin Haighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17242398421328525578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-824385241230348874.post-35756755478906208402021-12-06T13:18:57.260+00:002021-12-06T13:18:57.260+00:00I remember reading that. How daft. Like twitching ...I remember reading that. How daft. Like twitching was the new punk or something.Gavin Haighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17242398421328525578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-824385241230348874.post-21280575133413640322021-12-06T10:13:15.549+00:002021-12-06T10:13:15.549+00:00Thanks again for a great read and a trip down memo...Thanks again for a great read and a trip down memory lane Gav. I see Ian Wallace only passed away recently, Nov 4th. I have his book Birdwatching in the Seventies, which I am still reading. <br />I had recently purchased the first four copies of Bird Watching magazine again, starting from March 1986 that Richard wrote a column for. This prompted me to get his book which thoroughly enjoying.<br /><br /><br />Tony<br />Tony's Journal of Angling & Naturehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09537279784435125791noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-824385241230348874.post-77244623802475817602021-12-06T10:13:13.610+00:002021-12-06T10:13:13.610+00:00I had those three books you mentioned, Gavin, alth...I had those three books you mentioned, Gavin, although somewhere along the way I have lost the Wallace one. Regarding Richard Millington's book, Mark Cocker in Birders: Tales of a Tribe mentions that the RSPB censored an advert which featured A Twitcher's Diary by putting a black strip across the main title, which he condemns as "corporate prudery". Shameful but kind of hilarious as well, I think.<br /><br />MalcolmMalRhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13677360591428468754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-824385241230348874.post-88139140408850530392021-12-06T09:29:50.175+00:002021-12-06T09:29:50.175+00:00Cheers Dave. Yes, I do wonder where things might h...Cheers Dave. Yes, I do wonder where things might have gone had I got into birding in my early teens. But by 1981 I was married, with a mortgage, and therefore skint. The whole scene was incredibly alluring, but I was simply not in a position to get fully involved. With hindsight, thank goodness! Gavin Haighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17242398421328525578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-824385241230348874.post-85519636970490052692021-12-06T09:05:01.567+00:002021-12-06T09:05:01.567+00:00The overwhelming feeling I get from those early da...The overwhelming feeling I get from those early days Gav, is a breathless pursuit of rarities and the urgent quest to pass it on/gain some credibility. I can see the appeal, really I can but, I also see why I am more than content seeing the occasional notable bird in my own locality.<br /><br />Thinking back, I married young, had no money and strong work commitments but, in another world where I wasn't an angler, maybe, just maybe.Dave Burrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08259482046178828401noreply@blogger.com