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TomMckinney

The Greatest Lie Ever Told – chapter 4

Thumbnail image for The Greatest Lie Ever Told – chapter 4 by TomMckinney 30 December 2011

The Greatest Lie Ever Told by Morton Cubberd Chapter 4 “Please state your names and the purpose of your visit,” the voice said through the intercom. Two closed-circuit surveillance cameras swiveled into position to look down at the two detectives standing at the gated entrance to Bramblebay Castle. “Detectives Paddy Rogue and Timmy Keen,” Rogue [...]

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The Greatest Lie Ever Told – chapter 3

Thumbnail image for The Greatest Lie Ever Told – chapter 3 by TomMckinney 27 December 2011

The Greatest Lie Ever Told by Morton Cubberd Chapter 3 By midday it was already pitch black night on the outskirts of Reykjavik at the Skurglast Zoological Gardens, where Dr.Heijning Mork Karlsson was stirring a large bucket filled with mashed pilchards, lambs’ livers and boiled oats. For extra nutrition he added a dozen chopped apples [...]

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The Greatest Lie Ever Told – chapter 2

Thumbnail image for The Greatest Lie Ever Told – chapter 2 by TomMckinney 22 December 2011

The Greatest Lie Ever Told by Morton Cubberd Chapter 2 The profoundly gifted, extraordinarily talented rookie detective Liz McAubrey stood at the front door of 37 Portobello Terrace, a five minute walk from Asstermowth town centre on the notorious Deaddog Estate. She had managed to get a spare set of keys from a neighbour, but [...]

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The Greatest Lie Ever Told – chapter 1

Thumbnail image for The Greatest Lie Ever Told – chapter 1 by TomMckinney 19 December 2011

The Greatest Lie Ever Told by Morton Cubberd   Chapter 1 “Sorry sir, I’m afraid you can’t drive up to the house,” the police officer said to the driver of a battered old Ford Capri. Detective Inspector Paddy Rogue, hungover and unshaven, grunted an unintelligible obscenity to the officer. He parked his Capri, stepped out [...]

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Scilly – the final day

Thumbnail image for Scilly – the final day by TomMckinney 22 October 2011

Two things about this trip to Scilly were inevitable – 1) it would have to end at some point; 2) despite me working my arse off trying to find a Pallas’s Warbler, someone else would beat me to it by finding one on the island of Bryher yesterday. Not that I’m complaining, I mean with [...]

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Scilly – day 29

Thumbnail image for Scilly – day 29 by TomMckinney 20 October 2011

“What’s your favourite bird?” Stupid question, and for me it’s impossible to answer. However, when pushed I might well say Pallas’s Warbler. I absolutely love them. I’ve seen quite a few but never found one of my own, so this week I’ve been secretly determined to find one by working Carreg Dhu gardens and Holy [...]

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Scilly – day 17

Thumbnail image for Scilly – day 17 by TomMckinney 18 October 2011

Having now seen all the good birds, today was supposed to be a proper holiday. Sarah bought a bucket and spade, I bought a Super-Pro Stunt Kite. Excellent! Walking to the beach I bumped into a few birders who were excited by the prospect of westerlies bringing in something good from wherever it is that [...]

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Scilly – day 4

Thumbnail image for Scilly – day 4 by TomMckinney 17 October 2011

Two boat loads of birders, including some of our party, were disappointed and frustrated on a trip to the island of St.Martin’s where they dipped on Blyth’s Reed Warbler (reported late yesterday) and narrowly missed the long staying American Golden Plover. Back on St.Mary’s we mega-serious-hardcore birders were thrilled by a trip to Hugh Town [...]

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Scilly – day 2

by TomMckinney 15 October 2011

Two days in and I haven’t seen the Waterthrush. It’s not for lack of effort. It’s complicated. It makes me angry. If I think about it too much I start throwing things around, chairs out the window, televisons through doors. I kicked out at the dog this morning, which is pretty worrying because we don’t [...]

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Isles of Scilly – not even day 1

Thumbnail image for Isles of Scilly – not even day 1 by TomMckinney 13 October 2011

Great start. Fog has stopped all flights to Scilly. Excellent. We’re due to fly tomorrow, but the forecast looks bad again for most of Friday. And so tomorrow morning we’re transferring to the Scillonian 3, the best boat ever. Sort of. Since I first went on it, just some time before my balls dropped, people [...]

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The Isles of Scilly 2011

Thumbnail image for The Isles of Scilly 2011 by TomMckinney 12 October 2011

Northern Waterthrush, Upland Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, 2 Lesser Yellowlegs, American Golden Plover, Red-throated Pipit, Bluethroat, Short-toed Lark, adult male Red-breasted Flycatcher, Pectoral Sandpiper, up to 5 Wrynecks, Red-backed Shrike, Common Rosefinch, 2 Yellow-browed Warblers,7 Lapland Buntings, Spoonbill, Sibe Chiffchaff, 2 Firecrests, Black Redstart, Jack Snipe, Yellow-legged Gull & 4 Great Shearwaters from a pelagic. So [...]

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Sandhill Crane

Thumbnail image for Sandhill Crane by TomMckinney 26 September 2011

The big bird in Britain over the weekend has been a Sandhill Crane found at the Loch of Strathbeg RSPB on Thursday afternoon, only the fourth over here, all of which have been in Scotland. Being so skint at the moment I couldn’t justify going to see it, though thankfully I did see the 2009 [...]

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Are you a real birder?

Thumbnail image for Are you a real birder? by TomMckinney 22 August 2011

So you’ve just come back from the Birdfair with bags full of new optics and cutting edge bird books, you’ve built up a big list and you’ve got a few foreign trips planned. But are you really a birder? Answer the following questions as honestly as you can, then total up your answers and check [...]

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Rancid Bird Tours: 2012 Brochure

Thumbnail image for Rancid Bird Tours: 2012 Brochure by TomMckinney 15 August 2011

Rancid Bird Tours. The very best of birding! It’s almost time for this year’s Birdfair at Rutland Water, and as usual we’ll be in Marquee 15 on stands 73-91, so please come along and see us for a chat and a plastic beaker of Mad Dog 20:20. We’re launching a number of exciting new tours [...]

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Sat on a rock

Thumbnail image for Sat on a rock by TomMckinney 7 August 2011

Yo! I’m back down in Cornwall for a week taking part in the final year of the Seawatch SouthWest project, something I’ve done each year since it began in 2007. I got married in August 2007 and have spent three of our following four wedding anniversaries at Porthgwarra seawatching. I believe the expression is “seriously [...]

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Some stuff I did last weekend, like watching a Bonelli’s Warbler

Thumbnail image for Some stuff I did last weekend, like watching a Bonelli’s Warbler by TomMckinney 4 July 2011

Wednesday 29/6 We go out in the evening and we look for birds. We see young Merlins at undisclosed locations (because you rotten bastards will no doubt go out and chuck bricks at them). We watch them learn to fly and crash into the heather. Back on the roadside we get shouted at by a [...]

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Saturday night’s alright for fighting

Thumbnail image for Saturday night’s alright for fighting by TomMckinney 27 June 2011

I want to tell you about the best Saturday night I ever had. It was July 5th 2008 at Twickenham in west London. Travelling down from Manchester with my friends Shilli and Metal Dave, we arrived at Twickenham in time for a few plastic bottles of over-priced Carling before pushing our way to the front [...]

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My top nine bird books

Thumbnail image for My top nine bird books by TomMckinney 20 June 2011

Here are my top nine bird books which are still in print, therefore I couldn’t include my first edition Audubon which I keep in a super-strongbox in a super-secret hiding place, along with my first folio of Shakespeare and the first ever copy of Razzle. Why nine? Why not ten? Well I simply ran out [...]

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White-throated Robin in Hartlepool, UK

Thumbnail image for White-throated Robin in Hartlepool, UK by TomMckinney 6 June 2011

Monday morning, no blogpost written, what to do? Pager kicks into life and there’s a White-throated Robin in Cleveland at Hartlepool headland. Trapped by ringers and released by the bowling green at 08.30, it then started showing nicely just after 09:00. Apparently ‘only’ a female, but rare birds be rare birds, so let’s not be [...]

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DSLR photographer slumps to whole new low

Thumbnail image for DSLR photographer slumps to whole new low by TomMckinney 16 May 2011

So another absolute disaster in British birding this week. You’ve probably all seen it, but in case you missed it, this was posted on Boltforum.diy the other night: Wingnut_1979 wrote: Hi all, I’m fairly new to birdwatching and mainly just like to take photographs of the birds I see out and about. Can anyone identify [...]

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