When the parcel arrived yesterday morning it was with great anticipation and just a little excitement that I began opening it.
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| Ol' Snowy returns back to his natural homeland. |
I knew it had to be Ol' Snowy, returning back to his natural homeland of NE Scotland. As I carefully peeled back the layers of parcel I pondered briefly on how he'd faired down in Kent, so far south and such a long way for this ageing owl to migrate. I began to feel sorry for it. The last time I'd seen the poor creature it's wing was badly broken and knowing that, over a year ago, it had made the movement south on the basis of a claim of a feral great bustard must have made the journey all the more painful.
But now, back safely, and very neatly parcelled was Ol' snowy...
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| Ol' Snowy neatly parcelled in a new box.. |
"WTF"....
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| A fine piece of porcelain, but not Ol' Snowy! |
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| Check out the suspended moult in the outer two greater coverts... |
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| Full Frontal |
This isn't Ol Snowy, it's an imposter... surely some mistake. Maybe that cretin from Kent has kept the original and tried to pass off this poor imitation...
or maybe Ol' Snowy just couldn't face the long journey back home. He's now passing his remaining days in the warmer climes to be found in 'Garden of England'...and who could blame him. He's done sterling work since he arrived on the scene, having graced many a mantlepiece up and down the patch list land. His presence providing a warm reminder to those who have bagged the patch list find, the Megas (or not so Mega in some years) that have graced our patches. And for those who take on the challenge it is a prize, beyond all others, to win this much coveted trophy.
So, there we have it, a brand new Snowy, which will, no doubt, become as widely travelled across the patches in the years to come.
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| New Snowy appreciating a quality patch find. |
(That's enough of this drivel)
Happy Days
Bushveld
Excellent work on the blog.
ReplyDeleteThe demise of Ol' Snowy is of great concern, especially given the uplisting of snowy owl to vulnerable:
http://www.iucnredlist.org/news/snowy-owl-faces-frosty-future-classed-as-vulnerable-for-the-first-time
I hope this new owl has not been taken from the wild.
Shaky has a lot of explaining to do, but he'll probably side step the inquiry by passing Seppy a brown paper envelope stuffed with cash.
Indeed...Is this all part of the illegal trade in rare birds.
ReplyDeleteShaky should be ashamed of himself.
Last year's plastic bustard is pretty incriminating.
ReplyDeleteHas anyone checked that this is genuine porcelain and not plastic? Best way to check is to gently snap a wing off.
ReplyDelete