George A Magpie Memoir by Frieda Hughes

 

The author had recently moved to Wales, when she rescued three injured magpie chicks that had fallen from their nest and been abandoned. Only one of these survived, she named him George. 

This is the story of Frieda Hughes' life with George, who for a few short months was a huge presence in her life until he flew away back into the wild. 

The book is a very engaging tale of looking after a mischevious and very intelligent wild magpie who had a 'tangible sense of humour'. Interwoven with this primary narrative are details of Hughes' work at renovating her new home and garden, while suffering from chronic health problems and the breakdown of her relationship.   

George develops a good rapport with the author's three dogs, and we are treated to many scenes of how they would play together, George often hiding dog treats and the dogs finding them. George in fact seems to think he is a dog! 

He also developed a very close relationship with the author herself:

"He was also happy just sitting in my hand as I loved around doing chores: cooking, tidying up, whatever I could do one handed. Sometimes I held him in one hand and painted with the other; and he'd watch my face or my pantbrush as it moved, and seemed captivated. So was I. Of course I realised that everything took twice as long to do with a magpie hanging off me, but I also wanted to make  the most of every minute. His warmy feathered presence was like having an emissary of the natural world grounding me daily."

This ia a very readable account of life with a wild bird, with fascinating insights into the intelligence of magpies.  

George: A Magpie Memoir by Frieda Hughes, published (2023) by Profile Books. 

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Today is World Book Day! To celebrate this fact, yesterday's Crafty Green Poet Substack post was all about books! You can read it here.  

In the Dells

Spring is definitely here! I did my regular volunteering session in the Dells alongside the Water of Leith this morning and took these photos. 

The Scarlet Elf Caps are more hidden away this year than they normally are, in the place where I've found them over the past few years, but I did manage to get this photo

The Hazel Trees are in full bloom just now, with all the catkins out and lots of the tiny red female flowers too, if you look carefully along the branches.  

In the corner of Colinton Cemetery, there's a lovely patch of Winter Aconite and crocuses

This is one of the few places where I regularly notice Winter Aconite, it's a lovely flower  

As well as all the Spring flowers, there were lots of birds around. Among others, I saw Bullfinches; Buzzards, Dippers; a pair of Coal Tits checking out nest sites; and a Nuthatch that looked like it was carrying food to a nest. I also heard Great Spotted Woodpeckers drumming and Song Thrushes singing. 

 

Blackford Pond and Hermitage of Braid

 Yesterday we walked round Blackford Pond and then through the Hermitage of Braid. Here are some of our photos. 

There were quite a few birds on Blackford Pond, including Moorhens, Coots, Mallards and Black Headed Gulls.  

 The Hermitage is looking very green just now with the fresh leaves of Ramsons and Few Flowered Leek 

I like the patterns formed by the Turkey Tail fungus on this fallen log. 

and the Hazel Trees are wonderful at the moment, with both the male catkins and the tiny female red flowers out 

 

A Walk at Cramond

 Yesterday we took a bus to Cramond and had a walk along the River Forth. The tide was well out, so we didn't get close views of any of the Oystercatchers, Curlew and other wading birds that were hanging around further out on the mud flats, but the light was beautiful so we managed to get some decent photos.

 

This Carrion Crow posed for us nicely.

 We were delighted to hear a Song Thrush singing a little bit, almost as if he were tuning up for the Spring. 

Snowdrops

 

I love seeing snowdrops, one of the first signs of Spring every year, these are in North Merchiston Cemetery, which, just now, has more of these lovely flowers than I've ever seen before. 

Linlithgow Loch

 Every year we visit Linlithgow Loch at this time of year, hoping to see Great Crested Grebes performing their courtship dance. Saturday was a beautiful day, though very cold, so we made the trip. 

Linlithgow Palace dominates views across the Loch 

The loch is beautiful and a great place for wildlife. We saw about three or four distant Great Crested Grebes, but none seemed in the mood for dancing. However, we were delighted to get very good views of a pair of Slavonian Grebes, rare cousins of the Great Cresteds. Adorable looking birds that we spent a good few minutes watching, though the light wasn't entirely kind for photos, but here they are, in their winter plumage (so lacking their distinctive breeding plumage).  

We were also happy to see several Tufted Ducks, the males in their smartest breeding plumage 

 The Coots were clearly annoyed about something (though this could be part of a courtship display)

and the Grey Herons were generally happy to pose for photos 

We saw lots of friendly Robins too, one of which sang to us. 

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Edited to add: Grebes also feature in this week's post on my Crafty Green Poet Substack. 
 

Two Books about Dinosaurs

 Dino Gangs: Dr Philip J Currie's New Science of Dinosaurs by Josh Young 

 This is a very engaging introduction to the science (carried out by Dr Philip J Currie and others) behind the claim that dinosaurs such as Tyrannosaurus Rex, may have hunted in packs. Dinosaur finds from Alberta, Canada, and the Gobi Desert in Mongolia are studied, and insights given into how the paleontologists work, both in the field and in the lab. Predatory dinosaurs are compared to modern day ostriches, Komodo dragons and lions to try and work out how the extinct creatures may have hunted. 

The book was written to accompany a TV series and feels like it was written for teenagers, with lots of repitition to drive home the points. This probably means that it's a particularly good read for people who aren't so scientifically minded, but makes it a less satisfactory (though still interesting) read for those who have a scientific background. 

Dino Gangs by Josh Young, published (2011) by  Harper Collins. 

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The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs by Steve Brusatte  

 

This is a fascinating overview of the development of dinosaurs from the first small examples that appeared so many millions of years ago to the modern feathered varieties we now know as birds. Brusatte is an enthusiastic expert in the field and gives a focussed and interesting overview of the evolution and decline of dinosaurs and the istory of paleontology as a science. He also shares stories from field trips and conferences. I found him an engaging and entertaining writer, though I know some people aren't so keen on his style. 

The science is fascinating enough to keep any interested reader gripped until the last page. Dinosaurs ruled the earth for an unimaginable length of time. I still find it astonishing that my childhood favourite dinosaurs Stegasuarus and Triceratops would never have met because Stegasaurus went extinct millions of years before the first Triceratops appeared.  The book has a bit of a focus on the tyrannosaurs (the best known of these being Tyrannosaurus Rex with its 'pathetic little arms' that are referred to possibly slightly too frequently).

Definitely a good book for anyone interested in dinosaurs.  

The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs by Steve Brusatte, published by Picador. 

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I wrote about Dinosaurs and Birds in my latest Crafty Green Substack post, which you can read here.