Must try harder

Maybe I'd find one of these Wrynecks, Barred Warblers or Melodious Warblers if I actually went out into the field, rather than watch re-runs of Mad Men, listening to The Fall and reading William Boyd. Oh, and there is the debacle of staying in to pay Sky for the privilege of observing Tottenham getting a spanking from Liverpool.

Must try harder. Must try harder. Must try harder. Must try harder.
Must try harder. Must try harder. Must try harder. Must try harder.
Must try harder. Must try harder. Must try harder. Must try harder.
Must try harder. Must try harder. Must try harder. Must try harder.
Must try harder. Must try harder. Must try harder. Must try harder.
Must try harder. Must try harder. Must try harder. Must try harder.
Must try harder. Must try harder. Must try harder. Must try harder.
Must try harder. Must try harder. Must try harder. Must try harder.
Must try harder. Must try harder. Must try harder. Must try harder.

There, that feels better, just need to beat myself over the back with a birch branch, rub salt in the wounds and then get up tomorrow morning, polish the bins and stride out onto a prime Surrey inland patch and pretend that I'm on the east coast. One of those drift migrants will surely be waiting for me...

Comments

laurence.d said…
Steve,your a Spurs fan? (me too) you suffer enough!
1 September 2014 at 21:08
Steve Gale said…
I feel your pain Laurence...
1 September 2014 at 21:13
Unknown said…
I shall quote the famous Nelson Muntz, "Ha, ha!"
1 September 2014 at 22:04
Steve Gale said…
Andrew, The Simpsons has not been on my viewing list, but I will respond with a "Doh!"
1 September 2014 at 22:42
Rob said…
I've been feeling the same. Between weddings/stag-dos to attend and giving up a weekend to see the fringe festival I was really feeling like I've not been out nature watching for far too long. Then I went and broke my foot on the last day of the fringe and I'm looking at a couple of months before I can really get around much :(

Enjoy the migrations!
2 September 2014 at 13:22
Steve Gale said…
Rob. Broken foot = more time to swot up on ID features. When you return to the field you will be on fire!!!!
2 September 2014 at 22:47
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

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

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