Category Archives: Latest GOB Articles

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 →

Swift Justice  (This article first appeared in the Autumn 2015 edition of ‘Birdwatching’ magazine) Six swifts sped past my office window distracting me from my keyboard slavery. The screen’s hypnotic grasp eluded, I nipped downstairs for some fresh air and … Continue reading →

What will they think of next…. (This article first appeared in the September 2015 edition of ‘Birdwatching’ magazine) “I’m not sure, I didn’t look to see if there is anything about”… was my reply to Hawkeye as we drove towards … Continue reading →

Road Rage (This article first appeared in the August 2015 edition of ‘Birdwatching’ magazine) I was asked to speak at the Scottish Bird Fair – or to give it its proper title ‘Scotland’s Big Nature Festival’, and knowing that there … Continue reading →

Vintage Birds… (This article first appeared in the July 2015 edition of ‘Birdwatching’ magazine) Waiting while Hawkeye found more ways to spend my ‘hard earned’ in ‘George’ at Asda my eye’s corner spied the Herring Gulls on the grass verge … Continue reading →

Blackcap… (This article first appeared in the June 2015 edition of ‘Birdwatching’ magazine) There is something immensely charming about a Blackcap. Their Jet black or red-brown bonnet setting off the subtle grey throat and belly and washed out olive wings, … Continue reading →

Listing to one side… (This article first appeared in the May 2015 edition of Birdwatching Magazine) Somewhere wreathed in mist and hidden by a time vortex is the schism that divided those who need to note their observations and those … Continue reading →