It began with an awakening, a rude and yet joyful awakening, at the imminence of dawn. Somewhere in the distance, from the village of Dial Post, a cockerel crowed – once, twice, and then, thrice.Then a Cuckoo called, dutifully, from a faraway shadowland of Oaks in the monastral west. Out there, shapes and patterns were […]
Archive | Diversifly
Call out to POETS and ARTISTS!
Please do check out our Arts Council England-funded project on the EVERYDAY ENCOUNTERS with BIRDS in BRITAIN”S TOWNS and CITIES Details are here Deadline is end of August 2017 Free entry Your work could be included in a full colour hardback book on Britain’s Urban Birds along with: artwork by ATM the street artist and poems […]
A bit of a tit : DIVERSIFLY BLOG #12
First things first: let’s just for a moment deal with the word ‘tit’. Since the nineteenth century, it has been used as a slang word for breast, but its origins come from early-fourteenth-century usage meaning ‘small’ or ‘a small creature’. Hope that clears things up. So says Bill Bailey in his Remarkable Guide to British […]
The trouble with Seagulls… : DIVERSIFLY BLOG #11
The BBC in May 2017 reported that “People caught feeding seagulls on beaches in Devon face £80 fines from Monday.” The Economist, in February 2017, reported on the financial implications of lifting the protection of all gulls and attempting to cull them And also points out – what is always the case with rats, pigeons, […]
Two for joy: DIVERSIFLY BLOG #10
About ten years ago, I was an eBay addict – when I opened one of my impulse buys I made myself jump out of my skin… it was a taxidermied magpie. Perhaps because of the song* – I ended up buying two. As I write this I wonder if I have grown in some way […]
The sky as Sea : DIVERSIFLY BLOG #9
Watching a murmuration of starlings is so close to watching underwater films of shoals of small fish it makes me realise how similar these two mediums are… both with oxygen and water – just in different ratios: they have the same challenges, the same opportunities for both predator and prey being very much three or […]
Late Night Out?: DIVERSIFLY BLOG #8
or early start to your day? and you have a chance to see the birds of the night…or hear them…. This Blog is part of the DIVERSIFLY project: For more details on the project go here Uncertain about whether owls would set up home in urban territories, as successfully as say the peregrine falcon I decided to […]
Little Brown Birds: DIVERSIFLY BLOG #7
Do you have a problem working out just what little brown bird you are looking at? I do! So I have been looking at the RSPB chatroom on this subject and found the following really useful: Posted byRoyW on 21 Jan 2013 7:46 PM It takes time to get to know what you need […]
Towing the line? Or making the most of a shortcut? DIVERSIFLY BLOG #6
It was during the second half of the eighteenth century that the great age of canal building in Britain started. This was a time when Britain was bursting with trade, industry and commerce. By the end of the eighteenth century the boom was over, and most British canals were completed by 1815. Within ten years […]
Fancy Pigeons?: DIVERSIFLY BLOG #5
The poor old pigeon, it’s not very well liked is it? Even its name “Feral Pigeon” sounds dirty and unwanted. But wherever you live in Britain, if you are in a town or city – you will be lucky enough to see them, often I know, I know – Sky Rats, they are called, and […]
