During a visit to the annual 'In The Rut' Bird Show a
spokesman for the IQ40 Club, Mr 'Bear' Lee Creditable, shocked the Birding
world with the news that Scottish Ospreys are soon to be tickable for members of the IQ40 Club alongside English
Ospreys. He continued by saying the Scientific Panel of the IQ40 Club have investigated this thoroughly and the facts are clear. We are on the eve of a Yes vote by Scottish Birders in
the forthcoming crucial Referendum when they will be asked to decide "Do You Wish Your List To Become Independent From The UK List". The likely result is the Scottish List will become an Independent List & clearly this is good evidence for separating these 2 species of Ospreys.
Scottish Osprey: Heavily cropped with the Canon 7D & 400mm lens. Middlebere (30 Aug 14)
Scottish Osprey: The uncropped version of the same photo. Middlebere (30 Aug 14)
Osprey: Further taxonomic work is needed on this Osprey. Kfar Ruppin, Israel (13 April 14)
Dressed in his signature white suit, 'Bear' Lee is believed to have finished
the statement with his popular sound bite "I have the whitest suit in birding, I have the
whitest List". Unfortunately, the recording of the interview became
unclear at the end, due to a prolonged bout of loud coughing from nearby birders.
Osprey: This one isn't going to go hungry. Eilat, Israel (9 April 14)
The move was backed by the Fair Birders Organisation who have sponsored the
Ospreys that have bred nearby for several years at Osprey Waters (formally Rutland Water), where they hold their annual Bird Show
gathering. This backing was seen as a cynical
ploy to push up attendance at future Bird Shows.
Osprey: Eilat, Israel (9 April 14)
When the idea of a Bird Show was first discussed, there was considerable
lobbying from the usual big interest groups, of the Yorkshire, Norfolk & Kent Bird Clubs to host this
new show. In a move to avoid a Birding War of the Roses between the White Rose
of Yorkshire, the Kentish Rose & the Norfolk Poppy-Rose, the Fair Birders
Organisation settled on the neutral ground of Rutland. It was an ideal compromise as this
county was done away with, by one of the Whitehall's
Sir Humphreys in 1972 and didn't have a Rose to compete either. It is widely believed
that the Sir Humphreys involved has historic links to Leicestershire, the only
county to benefit from this annexation. As he signed the
annexation order he was heard to mutter, "At long last, Leicestershire birders
will have somewhere worthwhile to go Birding".
Osprey: Periyar, Western Ghats, India (10 Jan 14)
Welcoming the news that English Ospreys were to become a near endemic breeding
bird in his county, investigative journalist at the Llama Times & local
birder, Andy Llama commented "it's that exciting, I might start blogging
again". In the past, Mr Llama has investigated the shady world of 'Bear' Lee and the shadowy world of the IQ40 Club and many hope he will come out of
semi-retirement and return to the world of blogging.
This is believed to be a Scottish Osprey as it's been heard to give its distinctive call. This has been described in words in the latest field guide as "I have had enough of being fed on a diet of Salmond". This is understood to be a reference to every time the Salmon communicates, all anybody hears is Pollocks (is this spelt right?).
Scottish Osprey: Digiscoped photo. Still struggling by the small pixel size from the IPhone after zooming it. Middlebere (30 Aug 14)
This Osprey has headed South to Poole Harbour in search of Pollocks, which apparently taste great. The Osprey is understood to have indicated it would love to return to breed in Poole Harbour, as they are already empty homes for it to occupy. But it was worried it would become as fat & obese, as the overlarge polystyrene Osprey models (sponsored by the Big MacOsprey Co). These have been placed in some of the nests to attact the Ospreys to their local reserve, by the RSPOB, Royal Society for the Promotion of Obese Birds.