" Spot the odd-one-out!"
" Spot the four odd-ones-out!"May 17th 2009
Peace and quiet before the start of the day
I left my bike at home today. The weather is cold and damp and I have a bit of a cough, so I decided to enjoy a tram ride and a ten minute walk through the fields. It is nice to do this sometimes when I start work a bit later and can miss the early crowds on the public transport as I did today.
The cuckoo
This morning I took the time to stand quietly for a few minutes in the middle of a field, listening to my first cuckoo of the year.
Every year I am somehow surprised when I hear this really quite boring note from a far for the very first time. I suppose it is because it is still so cold in May that it is hard to believe that he is already back.
The odd thing is that, although I hear him every year somewhere or other in Europe, I don’t think that I have ever seen one.
The sparrow
This makes me think about the experience with the sparrows on Saturday afternoon. Those cheeky sparrows that stole my cake!
Usually sparrows are flitting about here and there, quite scatty birds really. But here was a bunch of them who were really trusting and came close enough, and sat still enough, for me to get a glimpse of what sparrows really look like and see how extremely beautiful they are. I could see the pattern of their feathers and the shape of their beaks. I could even see the cake crumbs sticking to them!
The nuthatch
My favourite bird is one that I often see around the Conductive Education centre in Nürnberg is the nuthatch. As they scuttle up and down a tree trunk they sometimes freeze for long enough to see every detail. I am making one at the moment out of cardboard that’s quite a job, turning out harder than I imaged. I got started on this when I saw a model that a friend had made of a bird of prey and it was so realistic I thought that it was a stuffed bird!
When I discovered that it was a cardboard kit I just had to have one. Having decided that being a beginner at modelling I should start small I chose a nuthatch. Watch this spot, perhaps in a year or so there may be something to see!
The clover
I was on my return walk through the fields this evening and just as I reached the spot where I was when I heard the cuckoo this morning he started up again, singing the same old tune. As it seemed like he was singing especially for me I stood quietly again for another listen.
The pictures heading this post are what I saw as I looked around.
As I said in my “ Natural Observation” posting on Sunday, I don’t search for them they just jump out at me as did these four…..
…..and yes, I did pick them after taking the photographs!
Notes
References on my blog
Sparrows –
http://konduktorin.blogspot.com/2009/05/not-alone-for-long.html
Nuthatch –
http://konduktorin.blogspot.com/2008/03/nuthatch-csuszka-kleiber.html
Model birds-
http://www.northwestnatureshop.com/department/Educational_Toys_-_Arts_and_Crafts/Life_Size_Realistic_Bird_Mobiles/324.html
Clover-
http://konduktorin.blogspot.com/2009/05/natural-observation.html
Cuckoo rhyme –
In April the cuckoo shows his bill;
In May he is singing all day;
In June he changes his tune;
In July he prepares to fly;
In August away he must.
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