watervole: (Damselfly + rhododendron)
Judith Proctor ([personal profile] watervole) wrote2005-01-23 12:21 am

Birds and burning hair

I think I must be catching it from [livejournal.com profile] temeres...

Bird list for today: sparrow, starling, robin, magpie, blackbird, great tit, avocet, shellduck, teal, curlew.

I'm sure he'd have seen many more and identified the numerous gulls that I didn't know what they were, but I'm proud I managed the last four on the list at all.

Judith's technique for identifing birds:

It's like the one on the RSPB logo so it must be an avocet.

I've been on Brownsea Island often enough to manage shelduck - they turn up often enough for even a klutz like me to identify them and they're big and colourful which always helps.

Teal - guessed wildly at teal and was very pleased when the lady next to me in the bird hide identified it as such without me telling her my guess.

Curlew - looked it up on the chart behind me. Just kept looking until I found the right shape of bill (long and slightly curved) and was relieved when the plumage also matched.

I was out rhododendron clearing, as is my occasional wont on a Sunday. We had some good bonfires going and it has now conclusively been proven that I cannot distinguish the smell of burning hair from that of burning rhodendron.

Even when the hair in question is my own...

I was quite surprised when people told me a I had a burnt patch! It felt odd when I ran my fingers through it, still does, but I neither felt, nor smelt a thing. It didn't burn the scalp, I hasten to add, and the hair will suffer no long term harm.
kerravonsen: (Default)

[personal profile] kerravonsen 2005-01-23 08:55 pm (UTC)(link)
Ouch! I'm glad the hair thing wasn't more serious.