Still blocking after all these years

Picture the scene, Old Father Time Steve is sitting in front of a public house's roaring fire, a battered copy of British Birds at his feet, a foaming glass of beer in his hand and a young, eager twitcher at his side...

Young twitcher: What did you do in the war when you went twitching Steve?

Steve: (Chortles) Oh we didn't have pagers and mobile phones then you know...

YT: (looks up in the air and tutts) Cut out all of that 'we had it bad' guff and tell me about the birds

S: Yes, well, er, most of them are commoner now you know. When I went to see an Alpine Swift at Fairburn Ings in 1979 it was an unblocker! Even the 'big boys' hadn't seen one. People still ran for Pallas's Warblers!

YT: (looking interested) Tell me about the blockers

S: (Glassy-eyed, staring into the distance with a smile) Ah, the blockers. I'm glad you asked me that. There are some of the old twitches that still have value now, that can get most birders all agitated and needy. Take the Cornwall Varied Thrush for instance...

YT: (visual gasp)

S: Yes, that was in 1982. Unblocked now for THIRTY YEARS

YT: Any others?

S: Oh yes (warming up to the theme). The year before I was on Scilly, when an Orphean Warbler took up residence. Nice bird that was... unblocked now for THIRTY ONE YEARS.

YT: Is there more?

S: Oh yes, the best. The best till last. Have I ever told you about the Wallcreepers?

YT: No! Did you use the plural there?

S: Oh yes (looking smug). After seeing one at Hastings in 1977 I went to a quarry in Cheddar and saw the wintering bird in 1978. Unblocked now for THIRTY FOUR YEARS

Older man standing at the bar: That's nothing. I was wandering down a country lane in Suffolk in 1962 when a Houbara Bustard ambled past. Unblocked now for FIFTY YEARS...

S: (crestfallen) oh...

YT: (ignoring Steve and speaking to old man) Can I buy you a pint?

Comments

Gavin Haig said…
Ah yes, enjoy the gloating while you can Steve!

Personally I'm getting all excited at the imminent extinction of Lady A's Pheasant...
11 February 2012 at 13:12
Steve Gale said…
Good call Gavin, having made the trip to Bedfordshire myself in the early 80s, that will be a good blocker indeed!
11 February 2012 at 23:53
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Goldfinches and Lavender

Image
We have three medium-sized Lavender bushes in our back garden. Throughout the summer the flowers (which last for several months) are a magnet for insects and give off a most restful aroma. As tempting as it is to cut the dead stems in the autumn, we always leave them, as we know that during the late winter we will get visitors to feed on the seed heads... This video was taken from the kitchen window this morning. We will normally see one or two birds over a few days, but have had up to 14 at once. We never tire of watching them. Lavender is a wonderful plant to have in the garden, with year round natural history benefits. So what are you waiting for? They are readily available at a garden centre close to you right now! There is an historic association with Lavender in this part of northern Surrey and south London. Lavender fields have been harvested for many years, with one particular field close to Woodmansterne being very popular with day trippers. A significant proportion o
Read more

Time to reflect

I normally come up with the title for a post after I have written it. If I'm feeling creative it will be some sort of play on words, or if I'm not then an all-encompassing word or two will do. As for this particular post, and with a few things to discuss, I've written the title first, inspired by having just read a feature about musicians who have used the title of an album as the starting point for their creative exercise. Here goes... Firstly, blogs - yes, this very medium that I am writing in and you are reading from. - what content they derive, the reason that the content exists and what the writer should (or should not) expect from any reader that visits the blog. This was brought into sharp focus by a series of posts to be found here, at Jono Lethbridge's excellent 'Wansted Birder'.   His blogging output has recently included detailed and entertaining reports on his recent overseas trips which have received a bit of flak from certain quarters. None of us b
Read more

To tell it like it is, or not...

Image
I am grateful to Gavin Haig (Not Quite Scilly) who drew my attention to an opinion piece, penned by Matt Phelps, which appeared in the November issue of 'Birdwatch' magazine, entitled 'Positive Approach', which I have now read. In it, he suggests that there is too much negativity being posted on social media regarding the state of our birding world, which is then acting as a deterrent towards a younger generation in adopting conservation and wildlife study. He also suggests that a lot of this negativity is being generated by older birders, and that these old timers keep banging on about the 'good old days' which isn't helpful in encouraging the youth to pick up a pair of binoculars and get out into the field. Does he have a point? Now, I am undeniably an older birder, and I am also guilty of having posted, blogged, written and spoken about the slump in bird and invertebrate numbers. I also like nothing better than to revisit my notebooks and share in the hi
Read more