Andy Gibb: Twitching with Transformation

1999: Tree Sparrows at Usan, Angus

Andy — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:24:34 +0000

Not a headline you can get today but from October 1 at the end of the old century:

“Scotland again! Yipee! I did not seem to have suffered after a day’s gruelling drive up from the Midlands, including 45 minutes waiting for the police to clear a horse-box from the M80. God, I hate horse-boxes [...] Related posts:

Back Up? Even WordPress?

Andy — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:04:36 +0000

Of course I do. Religiously. Don’t you? From my trusty old laptop my Documents and Pictures folders are squirreled away with SOS Online. And I even download this site to my hard drive. But I’m also a big believer in testing any backup. Can I recreate my data from it? Could I recreate this [...] Related posts:

Aren’t All Dogs Dangerous?

Andy — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:18:25 +0000

Snapping at the heels of pets as slaves, which I fully expect the government to ignore, Labour has dangerous dogs in its sights at least. Compulsory insurance for all pooches may be their answer. I’m sure we’ll get the usual whining about “the small minority” of irresponsible owners.

Not such a small minority that dog [...] Related posts:

High Tide, Redux

Andy — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:18:42 +0000

Further to my ignorance about the highest tides, a lively debate has ensued on BirdForum. Maybe not the ideal platform but here’s our understanding as I understand it.

Several factors determine the tide’s height. Yes, proximity of the Sun is one. Newton’s calculation for gravity, by which the Sun (or the Moon) pulls Earth’s oceans, [...] Related posts:

Eastwood, Portishead

Andy — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 13:37:03 +0000

For non-urbanised passerines the best spot in town, bar Weston Big Wood, which is not really in town. From the Royal Inn a few minutes amble along the top path usually nets me pheasant… OK, it’s not a passerine but I’m always amused that one chooses to live up there. Great spotted woodpecker, jay, [...] Related posts:

RSPB, for Birds, for People?

Andy — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 11:12:46 +0000

For ever? It seems I’m a good two tag lines out of date. They’ve been “a million voices for nature” since and are now “nature’s voice”, which I do prefer. The being for people business seemed to play to the baser instincts of hom sap.

“What’s in it for me, guv?” the cynical ear would [...] Related posts:

High Tide but No Green Grass

Andy — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 13:18:04 +0000

Nor no mud neither. That’s what happens when the Earth gets too close to the Sun. Actually, I’ve never understood this. We’re only 147 million kilometres distant around the beginning of January, compared with 152 million in July. Since the highest tides occur when the Sun and Moon line up, shouldn’t the very highest [...] Related posts:

2008: The Narrogin Lesson

Andy — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 21:09:31 +0000

Also like many small Australian towns, Narrogin had its resident flock of galahs. Sometimes a place would have corellas and sometimes, in the east, cockatoos; but galahs it was for Narrogin. Come the evening and time to roost, the birds would make the fact obvious with mass screeching flights. I’d wonder if there would [...] Related posts:

Gull Identification Solution

Andy — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 13:06:17 +0000

It’s a tricky problem, especially with the big buggers who keep getting split along ever finer colour/structure lines. My yellow-legged gull was a case in point. Now we have the perfect excuse thanks to Thing, who also counts coots.

Related posts:Herring Gull, Redditch Mediterranean Gull, Portishead Cetti’s Warbler, Chew Valley Lake

2009: New Zealand Honeyeaters

Andy — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 21:52:06 +0000

A year ago to the day I had just disembarked on Tiritiri Matangi and was wondering which would be my next new land bird for the trip.

“Only the most obvious and the bird most likely to be seen on the mainland. Indeed, one I had seen both north and south back in 2003, so [...] Related posts: