A little bit of Shakespeare to start the week

in my english lessons at the moment we are reading William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Nights Dream. here are a few bird refenences (Act 3 Scene 1)

• "the ousel cock so black of hue"
• "The throstle with his note so true"

ok, so maybe there aren't as  many as i thought but is still got me thinking: old english names for birds are so much nicer than modern ones. what is a thrush compared to a throstle? and isn't an ouzel cock so much more politically correct than blackbird?


so for today, i shall leave you with a quote from another of Shakespreare's plays...


"What's in a name? that which we call a rose
by any other name would smell as sweet."

hello world

I've just been looking at my blog statistics and to that end I'd like to say hello to everyone from

• UK
• Switzerland
• United States
• Russia
• Germany
• Latvia
• Netherlands
• Australia
• Canada
• Japan
• Thailand

who have happened to chance upon my blog!

what birds are around in your area - i would be really interested to know!

three wonderfull things

• telescopes
• Leighton moss
• chips

thankfully yesterday had all three!
we went down to Lancaster to buy may late birthday present - a telescope (a wonderfully bright Acuter with dual focus and a removable eyepiece) then we thought why waste a perfectly good telescope, we'll give it a jolly good christening at Leighton moss.the icing on the telescope shaped cake was a glossy ibis, a smew, 3 snow geese and i have finally got a good boost to the year list (now nearly 70!)

the cherry on the telescope-shaped, smew-glossy ibis-snow goose- iced cake  were cuboid-shaped, yellow and deep fried (also known as scampi and chips eaten in the dark on Arnside main street.)

ahhh! bliss!

spot the marsh harrier!

Wigeon

little egret

a fuzzy glossy ibis (fuzzy from exitement and traffic)

good morning, good morning!

good morning world! how are you this gloriously sunny morning? i have spent the last few days languishing on my sick bed, however i'm now up and just about bouncing (well i would be if bouncing didn't leave me fearing loss of my lungs through excess coughing! )
on a more negative note, my year list has grown, since the start of february, by a miserable 1 species, and i cant even remember what that is! oh the shame!

anyway, i'll stop moaning and wish you a very happy National Nestbox Week!

get your nestboxes ASAP and you'll soon be reaping the rewards! so what are you doing sitting here reading this - you've had sincce valentines day, go put up those boxes!