tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8278510471239667560.post2972974418242490230..comments2024-03-29T01:41:15.713+00:00Comments on Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park birds: Ralph Hancockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11686354797977020917noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8278510471239667560.post-39275458957305365552017-02-24T21:38:34.096+00:002017-02-24T21:38:34.096+00:00It's a matter of scale too. If we were small e...It's a matter of scale too. If we were small enough to fit into a balsa-and-tissue glider the size of an eagle we might do quite well -- though still unable to do more than glide.Ralph Hancockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11686354797977020917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8278510471239667560.post-822712277259696792017-02-24T11:03:19.385+00:002017-02-24T11:03:19.385+00:00That's what it all comes down to, isn't it...That's what it all comes down to, isn't it? They can fly, and we cannot. On my part it is almost a visceral envy. You may feel awe and almost religious admiration for say, a tiger, an orca, a shark, but not envy. Envy is reserved for birds.<br /><br />There is a great quote that is attributed to Norman Foster, about which I don't know if it's legit, but it says what I mean much more clearly: "The most amazing lesson in aerodynamics I ever had was the day I climbed a thermal in a glider at the same time as an eagle. I witnessed, close up, effortlessness and lightness combined with strength, precision and determination".<br /><br />TinĂºvielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04794275230697959519noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8278510471239667560.post-66645915870648596702017-02-23T23:16:48.743+00:002017-02-23T23:16:48.743+00:00Wish I could have got some pictures of Carrion Cro...Wish I could have got some pictures of Carrion Crows playing in the wind, but they refused to give me a photo opportunity.Ralph Hancockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11686354797977020917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8278510471239667560.post-43793145365897296942017-02-23T21:49:58.378+00:002017-02-23T21:49:58.378+00:00The Great Tit looks very cold and hungry, poor thi...The Great Tit looks very cold and hungry, poor thing. Whoever says that birds don't have facial expressions is lying through their teeth.<br /><br />That young Gull playing while the waters around it swell and swerve is the very picture of the essence of a sea bird: laughing at storms, flying in the teeth of gale force winds like nothing, making heavy weather their playground.<br /><br />TinĂºvielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04794275230697959519noreply@blogger.com