Birdsong

One good thing to come out of being unemployed has been spending more time with my kids. Other good things have been Wetherspoons selling IPA at 99p a pint, realising I can survive without an internet-enabled mobile phone (actually without a call-enabled mobile), and well, that's about it I think.
I've been doing the school run some days - my boy Billy and his friend James run that is, being chased by the Poo Monster (guess who?), and I walk briskly, occasionally roaring. It's quite a nice walk. Where we live is quite hilly and green - a lot of trees around. So one of life's pleasures is walking to school to do the pick up on my own and listening to the birdsong. I've walked up the hill hundreds of times but it was only a couple of weeks ago that I actually took time to listen to the birds and hear the beauty of their various songs.

The Beatles 'Blackbird' from the White Album of course

Alasdair Roberts 'Waxwing' from the superb The Amber Gatherers album, stark & beautiful folk delivered in Roberts' strong Highland burr. Actually I've no idea if he's from the Highlands or Islands - but he sounds like he should be - his subject matter is concerned with the natural and the ancient rather than, for example, Glasgow tenements

Jimi Hendrix 'Little Wing' my favourite Hendrix track from the incomparable Axis: Bold As Love album

Neil Young 'Birds'. Neil's probably been in my Top 3 fave artists for nearly 20 years now. Birds is on After The Gold Rush which I'd recommend to anyone wanting to dive in to his somewhat scary looking catalogue



I suppose birdsong must have been the first music that our prehistoric ancestors became attuned to appreciate, before we could even make the most basic instruments ourselves. I couldn't call myself a twitcher (not sure I'd want to) but because I've been spending time at home I have been keeping an eye out for the birds in our garden, saving leftover food scraps for them and I can now recognise a bullfinch, amongst a few other species. It's very pretty. It does you good to have a few moments with nature like this.


Oh and 'Birdsong' is also a fantasticly moving World War 1 novel by Sebastian Faulks - also recommended. If you are actually interested in learning more about birds I'd also recommend Consider The Birds by Colin Tudge, an author whose enthusiasm for his subject is infectious.