Category Archives: Latest GOB Articles

Birding 101 (This article first appeared in the July 2016 edition of ‘Birdwatching’ magazine) How enamoured are you of today’s birding scene? Do you relish the technological advantages today’s birders have or miss the old ‘anything about mate?’ days? Like … Continue reading →

Plan Ahead (This article first appeared in the June 2016 edition of ‘Birdwatching’ magazine) In 1872 President Ulysses S. Grant created the world’s first National Park, Yellowstone. Between 1905 and 1909, several European countries also established them, more as symbols of … Continue reading →

Fings Ain’t What They Used To Be (This article first appeared in the May 2016 edition of ‘Birdwatching’ magazine) The thing about ageing is that you tend to look backward at things with more than a hint of roseate tern … Continue reading →

Good Things Come In Less Packaging (This article first appeared in the April 2016 edition of ‘Birdwatching’ magazine) Today I bought what I thought was an ordinary box of tissues at the supermarket. I’m an old-fashioned red-spotted handkerchief man really, … Continue reading →

Clear Fell (This article first appeared in the March 2016 edition of ‘Birdwatching’ magazine) Regular readers will know how genuine my affection is for undisciplined dog walkers. They will also know how I believe that our over-romanticised idea of the … Continue reading →

The Little Lady Will Have A Sherry (This article first appeared in the February 2016 edition of ‘Birdwatching’ magazine) Have I banged on lately about sexism in birding? It’s still as prevalent as feral pigeons in Trafalgar Square. It doesn’t … Continue reading →

Missed Opportunities (This article first appeared in the January 2016 edition of ‘Birdwatching’ magazine) I’ve eaten Chicken Kiev in Kiev; bought Moroccan leather in Marrakesh and sat listening to the Beach Boys sing Californian Girls in Long Beach with a … Continue reading →

Blackcaps & Spadgers (This article first appeared in the December 2015 edition of ‘Birdwatching’ magazine) Not so long ago I told you the tale of my overwintering Blackcaps… well it turns out I will not have been alone. Blackcaps are … Continue reading →

I wandered lonely as a cloud… (This article first appeared in the October 2015 edition of ‘Birdwatching’ magazine) I blame Shakespeare, Wordsworth, Hardy, Brontë, Burns & Tolkein, Turner, Landseer & Constable. Between them they have led us to believe in … Continue reading →

Sound Advice (This article first appeared in the November 2015 edition of ‘Birdwatching’ magazine) I suffer from progressive hearing loss; I am profoundly deaf in one ear, and get periods of complete deafness in the other. I share this not … Continue reading →