Being observant

My new found love comes in a small, orange, course textured pocket sized bird book. I'm not one for twitching, but this book is gorgeous! Sat lonely on my mums table, next to the window, facing the many bird feeders in our small garden (usually being traumatised by cats) lays The Observer's Book Of Birds, a second edition published 1954.



I have to admit, I usually just walk on past, ignoring the book as one of my mum's bird paraphernalia. But on this one occasion, the book caught my eye and within minutes I was hooked. Firstly the illustration of the birds are hand drawn with beautiful details in both colour and black and white. Then there's the copy, the layout of the text hasn't really been considered with 'widows' and 'orphans' flying everywhere and the type size varies from start to finish. But this unfinished type style adds to its appeal. It gives it a somewhat more personal, naieve feel which stands out in an arguably "over designed" modern world.





Even if you don't like birds you can't help but love the "notes" section. In this section each individual bird song is described. Now, please read the following out loud.....

* Raven - A deep "Honk"
* Brambling- A long drawn "weeeeee"
* Yellow Bunting- The song is " tit, tit, tit, tit, tit, tit, tee"
* Great Tit - "Si, si, si" and a sharp "chink"

Perhaps the best...
* Song Thrush- Sometimes resembles " did he do it, did he do it, judy did" and "come out, come out" (Poor Judy, what did she do and where was she hiding!?)

After looking at all 236 species, for immature reasons the "Shag" bird has to be one of my favorites. Everyone's familiar with the common Tit, but the Shag brings out another humorous side to British Birds. For instance did you know the song of a Shag is described as " an occasional deep croak" and it "wears an erect crest on it's head"? I supose if you had to write 236 descriptions on birds, you'd quiet like a small joke to lighten things up a little. So next time, when you see a bird casually gracing your garden, have a look, have a listen and ask yourself how would you spell out it's song in words?


Above - The common Shag Bird

But apart from the birds, after a little research I discovered there are actually 100 different Observer Book titles. These include topics such as Fungi, Cats, Ferns, Geology, Grasses Sedges and rushes, Mosses and Liverworths, Architecture, The larger Moths (not the little flappy small ones) and even the 99th book is named The Observer's Book of Observers books. So I've decided, I'm going to collect the beauties. If anyone has an Observer Book, i'll be interested in grabbing it off you, or keep a eye out in charity shops etc, and I will love it if anyone manages to get there mits on them. I will need some help, there are 100 of the buggers, and I have, well one (if I steal mums). This shall keep me busy until I get a job!