Wheatear Trophy update

There are just 28 days to go until the prizes are handed out at the annual North Downs and Beyond Wheatearfest! My attempts to secure the services of a celebrity to present the trophies has hit a snag, as Jeremy Clarkson has had to withdraw due to unforeseen and ongoing matters. Being a birder meant that he was prepared to carry out the Master of Ceremonies role very cheaply indeed - my budget might just about stretch to Rolf Harris (if we can secure his day release from prison, that is).

At the moment there are three front runners for the big prize - of most images posted on a single blog. They are:

Wanstead Birder (Jono Lethbridge) 14
Cowboy Birder (Tony Brown) - 8
Non-stop Birding (Peter Alfrey) - 7

The current holder of the title, Martin Casemore (Plodding Birder), has not been defending his title with anything but a great big dollop of apathy, as just two Wheatear images adorn his blog (although there are 564 images of the Dungeness Cattle Egrets to compensate). If I were a betting man I'd suggest that this year the trophy will be heading towards Essex... but there's still time to put in a challenge. If you don't know what the hell this is all about then you can read the rules by clicking here.

Comments

Warren Baker said…
be nice to have a wheatear visit Steve, not had a sniff of one yet!
2 April 2015 at 18:57
Steve Gale said…
That makes two of us Warren :-(
2 April 2015 at 19:17
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