Posts by author:

TomMckinney

A Christmas Carol (part 2)

Thumbnail image for A Christmas Carol (part 2) by TomMckinney 27 December 2010

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens Part 2 THE FIRST OF THE THREE SPIRITS When Scrooge awoke it was so dark, that, looking out of bed, he could scarcely distinguish the transparent window from the opaque walls of his chamber. He scrambled out of bed, dressed, grabbed his torch and went outside. He worked his [...]

3 comments …continue reading

A Christmas Carol

Thumbnail image for A Christmas Carol by TomMckinney 20 December 2010

As a special Christmas gift, BirdingBlogs presents… A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens Marley was dead to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that. The register of his burial was signed by the clergyman, the clerk, the undertaker, and the chief mourner. Scrooge signed it. Old Marley was as dead as a Mute [...]

5 comments …continue reading

Campaign to get Surfin’ Bird to Christmas number one!

Thumbnail image for Campaign to get Surfin’ Bird to Christmas number one! by TomMckinney 10 December 2010

Mark Avery rocks! There was a time when the British music charts were filled with harmless yuletide fun every December; when Shakin’ Stevens and Cliff Richard were as important to Christmas as Bethlehem and egg nog. But since the rise of evil Simon Cowell’s X-Factor on ITV, our Christmas charts have been diluted by tepid [...]

1 comment …continue reading

Audubon fetches millions at auction

Thumbnail image for Audubon fetches millions at auction by TomMckinney 7 December 2010

Breaking news from David Lindo via Twitter, an original hand-coloured copy of Audubon’s Birds of America has just been sold at Sotheby’s in London for… … wait for it… £6.4 million! Yes, £6.4 million Global recession? What global recession? Associated Press story HERE

1 comment …continue reading

Insert pretentious title *here*

Thumbnail image for Insert pretentious title *here* by TomMckinney 6 December 2010

Today’s post is called Le chant du rossignol. That’s French. It means “the song of the nightingale”. I could have spared the French title and just called today’s post the song of the nightingale, but putting a French title is very pretentious, especially if you don’t speak a word of French. I don’t speak a [...]

3 comments …continue reading

Birds flying in the Prado Museum, Madrid

Thumbnail image for Birds flying in the Prado Museum, Madrid by TomMckinney 2 December 2010

Currently on Birdlife International’s website, a new book detailing the 136 species of birds found in paintings in the Prado Museum collection: http://www.birdlife.org/community/2010/12/birds-flying-in-the-prado-museum/ In 2008 I was lucky enough to visit the Prado museum in Madrid, probably the world’s greatest art gallery – it’s an incredible place. The painting that grabbed my attention most of [...]

4 comments …continue reading
Thumbnail image for MEGA breaking news from Norfolk

MEGA breaking news from Norfolk

by TomMckinney 8 November 2010

The International Journal of Avian Science proudly presents… A Prisoner of Birds by Jeffrey Archer 1) The ceiling fan rotated slowly as a hovering fly lethargically dodged each approaching blade. The air felt thick with malaria in the sticky Rangoon heat, it slowly drew life out of every pore in your skin. Outside the hotel [...]

9 comments …continue reading