tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47306135146950115232024-03-12T23:47:10.866+00:00The PokerbirdHow To Be a Bad Poker PlayerAndyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08810215703807002357noreply@blogger.comBlogger157125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4730613514695011523.post-47522556887049228912011-01-16T15:07:00.002+00:002011-01-16T15:10:13.459+00:00Pokerbird Has Moved<p class="scene">Pokerbird has moved to <a href="http://blog.theandygibb.com/">http://blog.theandygibb.com/</a>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08810215703807002357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4730613514695011523.post-30130006126976745702010-07-19T21:02:00.002+01:002010-07-19T21:21:21.850+01:00Believe in Lucky Cards<p class="scene">For me it’s the two of hearts. You can see how a hand like two of hearts, seven of clubs instantly looks so much more powerful. I'd certainly not pass up the chance of betting on it. Raising... well, not so much really.<br /><p>Let's get more sensible. Such cards may act as random signals to bluff and as such should not be pooh-poohed. Players use combinations too. Any five and ten is a popular one on the basis that all straights contain one of these cards. So, you're going to hit your opponents with a not-so-well disguised straight.<br /><p>And then there's that old perennial favourite: ace and... ace. Ha! Don’t make me laugh. The number of times that's failed?Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08810215703807002357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4730613514695011523.post-66577068386835900092010-06-24T17:27:00.002+01:002010-06-24T17:31:48.672+01:00Don't Worry About the Size of Your Bankroll<p class="scene">You'll win soon enough to increase it, and keep on increasing it. Your cash in hand will always be sufficient to cope with the few losses you'll suffer. Oooh, half a dozen at the most; certainly not twenty or thirty on the bounce.<br /><p>Should Fate actually dare to treat you so badly, simply replenish the bankroll, make a loan to it – you know, just for the short while that you're in the red. It won't be a question of throwing more money at the game; you'll take the loan back when the winning times return.<br /><p>As they surely must.Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08810215703807002357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4730613514695011523.post-77455040375468460242010-06-23T08:02:00.002+01:002010-06-23T08:04:57.930+01:00Call a LAG Only with a Great Hand<p class="scene">Despite your lack of notes, you’ve identified the guy who’s in every hand and who bets every flop. Time at least mentally to give him the LAG label. Loose-aggressive. You’ve got his number. And you’ve finally got a good hand, better than top pair anyway. Call him all the way to the river, or the end of your stack, whichever is sooner. He'll not beat you this time.<br /><p>Trouble is: LAGs have a tendency only to stick around when they do have a chance of winning or if they can bully you out of the pot. If you start picking and choosing the hands to stand on, they'll out-guess you every time.<br /><p>THEY'RE NOT STUPID.<br /><p>But it’s so much easier to believe that they are.Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08810215703807002357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4730613514695011523.post-7757347477555532192010-03-23T17:56:00.001+00:002010-03-23T17:59:31.886+00:00Texas Hold'em Isn't Proper Poker<iframe class="rightpic" src="http://rcm-uk.amazon.co.uk/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=FFFFFF&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=thepoke-21&o=2&p=8&l=as1&m=amazon&f=ifr&md=0M5A6TN3AXP2JHJBWT02&asins=1880685396" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe><p class="scene">So seek out draw or stud games. They'll be easier to come by if you insist on sticking to cash but much harder in tournaments. You may be twiddling your thumbs a while there. Frustrating – always a bad start.<br /><p>You can overcome this by mixing your games – a dash of draw here, some stud there, a few hands of hold'em in between. Nothing like switching methods and mindset to obscure the basics of poker, which you are still trying to learn, right?<br /><p>Texas hold'em tournaments – how dull, for an inquiring mind, so make sure they're long ones that require hours of concentration. (You know sit'n'gos make sense really.)Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08810215703807002357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4730613514695011523.post-83165774894962061552010-03-21T19:35:00.002+00:002010-03-21T19:40:38.438+00:00Play Cash Games<iframe class="rightpic" src="http://rcm-uk.amazon.co.uk/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=FFFFFF&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=thepoke-21&o=2&p=8&l=as1&m=amazon&f=ifr&md=0M5A6TN3AXP2JHJBWT02&asins=1880685329" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe><p class="scene">Let's assume no-limit hold’em here. You can take a certain wodge of your bankroll to the table and replenish it from time to time. Unlike a tournament (barring the rebuy variety, which is a whole other snake’s nest), there's no limit to what you can lose.<br /><p>Uh, yes there is: your bankroll is the limit and you really don't want to lose that.<br /><p>Maybe you have iron discipline and can pull out of tables that are bleeding you dry. Even so, consider who it is that may be sucking your lifeblood away. The pro’s don't bother with tournaments. They grind away day after day on the cash tables. They keep on doing it.<br /><p>They’re not sadists. They're making a profit, albeit a slow, steady one. They're making a profit. Out of... who?<br /><p>You.Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08810215703807002357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4730613514695011523.post-43412136475892775712010-03-19T17:00:00.002+00:002010-03-19T17:05:32.332+00:00Play Many Casinos At Once<iframe class="rightpic" src="http://rcm-uk.amazon.co.uk/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=FFFFFF&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=thepoke-21&o=2&p=8&l=as1&m=amazon&f=ifr&md=0M5A6TN3AXP2JHJBWT02&asins=1880685000" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe><p class="scene">This is clearly the best way to find one that you like. You can check out all the different tournaments, varying structures of cash games, styles of players and you might even toy with the note-taking. And those bonuses... if you're finding that clearing one bonus is a tad slow-going, clearing several in parallel will be positively glacial.<br /><p>And what's happening to your bankroll? Haven't I mentioned bankroll yet? Oh, I will. Unless you're Bill Gates, there's probably a limit on the amount you can lose – er, sorry, invest in this new venture. Splitting that amount between a number of sites increases the danger of going broke on one of them. And the danger of just “putting a little bit more in there.”<br /><p>But that's not so dangerous really, is it.Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08810215703807002357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4730613514695011523.post-19055248954900266022010-03-12T20:14:00.001+00:002010-03-12T20:17:42.712+00:00Don't Play with Play Money<p class="scene">In your impatience to work towards your big, fat bonus, you will of course start playing with real cash. Never mind that a bit of finger trouble operating an unfamiliar interface may push you all-in on a beer hand. Or you don't notice that one raise and a call has already happened as you try to steal the blinds with your K2, off-suit.<br /><p>You'll get the hang of it after the first few losses. And, boy, that bonus is... just as far away as it ever was.<br /><p>(Hey, this is post number 150. Yay!)Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08810215703807002357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4730613514695011523.post-66538536162521584602010-03-11T19:40:00.001+00:002010-03-11T19:42:34.879+00:00Call a LAG Only with a Great Hand<p class="scene">You’ve identified the guy who’s in every hand and who bets every flop. Time to give him the LAG label. Loose-aggressive. You’ve got his number. And you’ve finally got a good hand, better than top pair anyway. Call him all the way to the river, or the end of your stack, whichever is sooner. They'll not beat you this time.<br /><p>Trouble is: they have a tendency only to stick around when they do have a chance of winning or if they can bully you out of the pot. If you start picking and choosing the hands to stand on, they'll out-guess you every time.<br /><p>THEY'RE NOT STUPID.<br /><p>But it’s so much easier to believe that they are.Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08810215703807002357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4730613514695011523.post-89001245068652619352010-02-09T14:26:00.001+00:002010-02-09T14:28:53.834+00:00Take No Notice Of Note-Taking<p class="scene">Every poker-room lets you take notes. But how easy is it? And how easy is it to read those notes? Can you float the mouse to do the latter? Click once, to start the former? A bare minimum, surely, given the speed of online games.<br /><p>Who’s worrying? We're not taking notes anyway. It’s far too much effort. Who needs to know if the latest pre-flop raise or bet from <span style="font-style:italic;">mrfish</span>, or some such innocent sounding name, is part of a long line. Or whether <span style="font-style:italic;">sharky</span> has been limping into way too many pots. Or <span style="font-style:italic;">mthrfkr</span> (do all online poker players have the imagination of a two-year-old?) will never shift off a hand.<br /><p>God knows it’s hard enough to put opponents on a range of hands without muddying the waters with their tendencies. You don't need a casino’s note-taking ability.Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08810215703807002357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4730613514695011523.post-51884121890119203292010-02-03T12:37:00.001+00:002010-02-03T12:39:53.080+00:00Choose the Biggest-Bonus Poker Room<p class="scene">That's right. There are loads of online casinos out there, all desperate to fleece – er, sorry, establish a meaningful customer relationship with you; and they all offer humungous cash bonuses to reel you in. It makes sense to pick the biggest one and deposit to the max. So you have to play a bit to earn points, and what do points mean? Points mean unlocking the bonus.<br /><p>Then you start grinding away at the tables. And probably losing. Still, you're earning all those points towards your bonus, so you check them just to make you feel better. Uh-oh.<br /><p>Unless you're playing at ridiculously high stakes for a tyro (and I’ll have something to say about that too!), it'll take you the rest of the century just to release the first five dollars.<br /><p>Never mind: it is a big bonus.Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08810215703807002357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4730613514695011523.post-68604002179597864872010-02-02T14:30:00.002+00:002010-02-02T14:41:21.503+00:00How To Be a Bad Poker Player<p class="scene">With apologies to Simon Barnes, but this does not even intend to turn you into any sort of poker player. It should warn you off by listing all the traps I've fallen into on my way to becoming a poor poker player. If it doesn't, then follow my advice to play a worse game than I do. And, please, end up playing on my table. Please.<br /><p>OK, so you're not listening and the first mistake you must make is your choice of poker room. Or even whether to play live or online.<br /><p>Play live. It’s so much more expensive and you can lose far more than you ever could online, quite apart from having to spend on travel, drinks and food. Still, for a night out with the lads, it beats a strip club. And if you're a girl – yes, even girls get tempted by poker – it definitely beats a strip club.<br /><p>Now we're sitting nice and comfortable at home in front of the Web, still reading this, I hope. And I’m going to make you wait for the next nugget. And the next. And so on.<br /><p>Watch this space.Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08810215703807002357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4730613514695011523.post-86295227286145052572009-11-05T09:50:00.003+00:002009-11-05T09:57:22.864+00:00It's Really Happened<p class="scene">As I hinted in my last post, the Pokerbird has completed his <a href="http://theandygibb.com/blog/">transformation into Andy Gibb</a>, which is what he was all along. This blog will continue to hold occasional poker thoughts but the bulk of my "stuff" will be on the new one. <a href="http://theandygibb.com/blog/">⇒</a>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08810215703807002357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4730613514695011523.post-50230643727796648362009-10-19T11:29:00.002+01:002009-10-20T16:27:57.205+01:00Approaching the Ultimate Limits?<p class="scene">Modern analysis of a generation-old book about <a href="http://naturalpatriot.org/2009/09/18/approaching-the-ultimate-limits/">population, production, consumption and pollution</a> seems to show that its nightmare scenario is winning the race to be the most accurate. Prepare for meltdown somwhere around 2050. Thankfully I should be dead by then.<br /><p>Prepare also for the migration of this blog to WordPress on my main website and its transformation into a <a href="http://theandygibb.com/blog/">journal about transformation and birds</a>, of course.Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08810215703807002357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4730613514695011523.post-58924648805696564552009-10-17T20:32:00.003+01:002009-10-17T20:45:43.056+01:00Semi-Bluff Reraising: A Winning Poker Play?<a target=”_blank” href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mooranguinho/2198422792/"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2413/2198422792_86613f2187.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 250px; HEIGHT: 334px;" alt="Girly poker?" title="Entirely gratuitous photo selection on my part © Priscila Darre"></a><p class="scene">For fun, I've incorporated strict suited connectors (down to 54s) to my starting repertoire, which has increased the flops giving me four to a flush or straight. I have no problem semi-bluff betting them when I’m first to act, even if I've been sucked into calling a pre-flop raise. As far as I know, the board hasn't hit my opponents and I may as well bet for information at least or to steal the pot at best.<br /><p>It’s less fun responding to another player’s post-flop bet. I’m not sure that reraising is working. For a start, I already have information: that my oppo likes his hand, unless he's continuation betting. So, the only motivation for reraising must be to steal the pot. And players are fighting back by re-reraising, damn their eyes. Then not only have I failed in my steal but I’m getting shite odds to call. And to call with a fair proportion of my remaining stack, indeed maybe committing all of it to the hand – not what I had in mind with marginal starting cards.<br /><p>What if my opponent merely calls my raise? Do I continue the semi-bluff on the turn? Again at far greater cost than my budget for the hand? Basically, I’m getting into scary territory.<br /><p>I think that floating is the answer. Call the bettor despite the lousy odds, even the implied odds, on the draw. There's still a chance to win the pot on the turn if he gives up the lead. I don't have to worry about distinguishing continuation bets either; I can treat them all the same.<br /><p>The float doesn't work well against serial bettors, so it’s important to read them. It’s not good against multiple opponents either although, with a draw, they may generate good pot odds by calling. Really, it’s just any old excuse to stay in the hand and chase down a beautiful thing. The hard maths would determine the effectiveness of reraising versus floating but for now I’m going on instinct. <br /><p>So much for a cash game. The situation in a tournament is different. In the name of pushing on, fast, early doors I'd reraise, even put my entire stack at jeopardy. A 2-1 chance to double up? Ease the next few levels? Be the table bully? Against spending an hour or two struggling to some grisly end, probably against the same odds?<br /><p>In fact, I’m tending also to play one-gap suited connectors early in tournaments, which increases the reraising dilemma. But it’s a damn sight more fun than waiting for monster hole cards, especially when they’re overtaken to knock you out anyway.Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08810215703807002357noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4730613514695011523.post-81760324801758123702009-10-16T19:20:00.003+01:002009-10-16T19:39:43.328+01:00Common Scoters, Bittell<a target=”_blank” href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cradlehall/3192687812/"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3510/3192687812_730e1643e4.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 250px; HEIGHT: 113px;" alt="Common Scoters" title="Common Scoters, Moray Firth © Duncan Brown"></a><p class="scene">My Worcestershire list moves on for the third time this month after the earlier <a href="http://pokerbird.blogspot.com/2009/10/great-white-egret-nr-pershore.html">great white egret</a> and <a href="http://pokerbird.blogspot.com/2009/10/impressionist-mandarin-duck.html">mandarin ducks</a>. It takes unusual visitors to notch it up and these were sea ducks about as for inland as they could get. A mixture of fifteen females or juveniles treated me to a flying display when I got to the reservoir. Why no males?<br /><p>I don't know. Much is not known about our only Red-Listed breeding duck except that it may not remain a native breeder. Mink, forestry and oil seem to be the main threats. The species is badly enough off to warrant its own <a target=”_blank” href="http://www.ukbap.org.uk/UKPlans.aspx?ID=444">Action Plan</a>. So that's OK, then.<br /><p>I don't know. Again. How about one great big Action Plan? Something inspired by the observation that “if we keep doing what we do, we'll keep getting what we get”, say.<br /><p>Now let's talk about me. Or specifically my Bittell list, which has some weird omissions. Today I fixed some of them with little grebe, kestrel, pied wagtail, wigeon and shoveler. So I did well for ducks although I’m still missing teal and pintail, and will probably never add <a href="http://pokerbird.blogspot.com/2009/09/our-population-of-ruddy-ducks.html">ruddy duck</a>.<br /><p>It’s been a ducky sort of month so far but it is the time of year when they start to fill our reservoirs, lakes and coastal waters. They're one of the joys of a British winter among... er, not many joys actually. And I’m not getting an escape to <a href="http://pokerbird.blogspot.com/2009/05/birding-australia-2008-9.html">Australia</a> like last year’s. (Did I ever mention that?)Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08810215703807002357noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4730613514695011523.post-5619961880219628232009-10-15T14:08:00.002+01:002009-10-15T14:36:03.714+01:00Do Ya Feel Lucky?<a target=”_blank” href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/16376452@N03/4014272658/"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2512/4014272658_e3be66a3ea.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 139px; HEIGHT: 250px;" alt="We're Destroying the Planet" title="We're Destroying the Planet!"></a><p class="scene">Well, do ya, punk? Clint’s immortal line in <a target=”_blank” href="http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0066999/">Dirty Harry</a> could stand for our attitude to climate change. Asking if global warming is true or not is futile. Who knows? That question is a sideshow and begs the real question, which runs akin to <a target=”_blank” href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pascal%27s_Wager">Pascal's wager</a>. Whether we believe climate change or not and the worst happens, we're fucked. If we don't believe and we're right, what have we lost? Relatively a little time, a little energy, a little prosperity. Maybe a lot but still nothing compared with everything.<br /><p>So, our baleful effect on the planet needn't be true, just possible. A drunk after a fine old all-nighter in the pub could have come up with the concept and we’d still have to take notice of it. Or a bunch of old men compiling a book many centuries ago. How if the authors of the Bible had warned of worldwide destruction by not believing in global warming instead of personal damnation by not believing in God? Would climate change be a religion now, along with the same compelling reason to bet on it?<br /><p>As it is a great many respected scientists and thinkers have devoted a great deal of observation and experiment to reach the same conclusion. Doesn't that make it more convincing? If not absolutely compelling. The nay-sayers insist at least on a debate. What a smokescreen this is, the old delaying tactic. When exactly does debate stop and action start? Again, who knows? It may be too late already. It may be time just to believe or not believe.<br /><p>It is possible not to believe and yet still act. The wager allows this: we're not choosing a belief but a lifestyle. Do we feel lucky? I hope the environmentalists do. An article in the <a target=”_blank” href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/3304496/Be-lucky---its-an-easy-skill-to-learn.html">Telegraph</a> suggests that learning to be lucky generates good fortune. Lucky people are more receptive, more aware, more apt to spot luck. We may need it.<br /><p>For the sake of <a href="http://www.blogactionday.org/">Blog Action Day</a>, feel lucky, punk.Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08810215703807002357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4730613514695011523.post-81967701949835797032009-10-14T13:08:00.003+01:002009-10-14T13:32:41.076+01:00Redwings & Fieldfares, Upton Warren<a target=”_blank” href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/hiljainenmies/3341132629/"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3384/3341132629_bd448c7188.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 133px;" alt="Fieldfare" title="Fieldfare © Mikko Karvonen"></a><p class="scene">Bang on schedule, these winter thrushes are back. Last year I picked them up a day earlier; but what's a day between reuniting friends? The redwings are already numerous, the fieldfares less so. We saw only one small flock. Skylarks too were on the move. They're not an obvious migrant, being a native breeder, but large numbers fly down from their upland breeding areas and in from the north. Whether this means just Scotland or northern Europe, I don't know.<br /><p>The fieldfares are an especial thrill with their bold patterns and chattering calls. They also have the coolest nest defence mechanism. Basically, they fly above predators and “shit on the bastards below”. Remember that from football songs of yore?<br /><p>The two thrushes pushed me closer to my <a href="http://pokerbird.blogspot.com/2009/09/long-billed-dowitcher-chew-valley.html">goal of 600 species</a> for the year, as I predicted the winter birds would. The list stands at 578 with a trip to Scotland in the offing at the end of the month. Whooper swan, pink-footed goose, velvet scoter and turnstone should be easy, with maybe red-throated diver, purple sandpiper, crested tit, Scottish crossbill and twite depending on where I go. Locally I could still expect Bewick’s swan, grey partridge, Mediterranean gull, little owl, brambling and that darn <a target=”_blank” href="http://www.birdforum.net/showpost.php?p=1606341&postcount=245">bittern, reported on BirdForum</a>, which didn't show again today. I’m also missing barn owl, lesser spotted woodpecker, tree sparrow and corn bunting, but Lord knows whither they've retreated.<br /><p>What's that? 19 off the top of my head. It sounds easy but, like many birders, I over-estimate. The game is much harder than that.Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08810215703807002357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4730613514695011523.post-74033109064775212032009-10-13T21:51:00.005+01:002009-10-15T10:25:10.306+01:0010 Species You Can Kiss Goodbye<a target=”_blank” href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/hotair2112/91353854/"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/18/91353854_17c2a1368d.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 230px; HEIGHT: 196px;" alt="California Condor" title="California Condor © Michael J. Slezak"></a><p class="scene">An interesting <a href="http://www.livescience.com/animals/top10-species-kiss-goodbye-1.html">population countdown</a> from LiveScience. I've actually seen one of these species in the wild - the condor, almost a dead cert (no pun intended) down the Big Sur coast of California. I wonder if any bookmakers are running bets on which will be the first species to go.<br /><p>This sounds like poor taste but it could be the best publicity: get William Hill or someone to sponsor an endangered species and offer a price on its extinction. They'd have a strong motivation not to pay out on those bets.<br /><p>Mind you it may also give criminals even more motivation to push them to extinction. I'd bet on the publicity winning out.Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08810215703807002357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4730613514695011523.post-85518909331208400822009-10-13T13:28:00.006+01:002009-11-21T20:20:37.854+00:00Australian Roads & Shopping<a target=”_blank” href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/elkinator/3421609835/"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3577/3421609835_0e9ee1106d.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 287px;" alt="Kangaroo Road Sign" title="Here Be 'Roos! © Mark Elkins"></a><p class="scene">You know those roadside warning signs? Low-flying aircraft. Slippery when wet. Old people – always bent double; I’m not going to be like that, surely? Wild animals. And in Australia, kangaroos. They get their own special sign. And you know how you ignore them because the hazards never happen?<br /><p>A mistake for the first one I passed on my way to <a target=”_blank” href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armadale,_Western_Australia">Armadale</a> from Perth. Just minutes after it, a large ‘roo bounded across the road in front of the car. No worries yet. The animal was far enough ahead and gone quickly enough that it presented no danger but the nether regions of my mind were firing synapses. I was on the brake pedal and checking for tailgaters without a conscious thought. “They travel in pairs,” I had read.<br /><p>Sure enough, a second, smaller creature appeared under my left bumper. I had time and space to swerve and the animal must have sensed me too, because when I looked behind, the road was clear. No squished carcass. No thud either. No damage to the car. That would have been a good start to the trip.<br /><p>Aware of the inverse irony of the situation, I drove more slowly that day, that week and for the bulk of the holiday, all the way from Adelaide to Cairns. It was truly ironic, then, that not a single other kangaroo road-hopped in all that time.<br /><p>I stopped at Armadale, which seemed basically to be a shopping centre, as unremarkable as <a target=”_blank” href="http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Redditch">Redditch</a>. Except that Redditch folk don't shop in bare feet. Nor does everyone in Armadale and at first I thought I was seeing some grossly underprivileged section of Australian society. It was weird and a little unnerving. Didn't these people even worry about broken glass or dog shit? But that was me being particularly British. Australia is relatively litter-free. The roadsides, for instance, are pristine compared with our corpse- and <a href="http://pokerbird.blogspot.com/2009/09/another-environmental-yardstick.html">McDonald’s</a>-strewn motorways. Down under, you only have to watch for the wildlife. <a href="http://pokerbird.blogspot.com/2009/08/2008-whither-from-perth.html">⇐</a> <a href="http://theandygibb.com/blog/index.php/2009/11/21/the-winding-road-to-black-cockatoos/">⇒</a>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08810215703807002357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4730613514695011523.post-30535389134058872862009-10-12T20:35:00.003+01:002009-10-12T21:01:36.073+01:00Impressionist Mandarin Duck<a target=”_blank” href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/16376452@N03/4005330067/"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2567/4005330067_ac8f2aa3da.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 250px; HEIGHT: 212px;" alt="Impressionist Mandarin Duck" title="Impressionist Mandarin Duck"></a><p class="scene">Were I sneaky enough, I'd assert that today I dashed this little watercolour off while watching a colony of mandarin ducks on the River Severn at Trimpley, Worcestershire. No-one who reads this blog knows my dismal 9-grade for art O-level aeons ago. However, the picture is the best I can salvage from my Olympus SP-560 stretched to full capability in trying to capture the flock right across the other side of the river. The Severn is wide at Trimpley! The ducks also refused to venture from the very strong shadows cast by the Wyre Forest and a blazing southerly sun.<br /><p><a href="http://pokerbird.blogspot.com/2009/09/dont-worry-about-alien-species.html">Alien species</a> seem also to be a Pokerbird theme but these guys are so handsome and apparently innocuous that they're worth a fifty-mile round trip, especially to become my 145th county bird. The list joins Hampshire, my birthplace, on this total, but both still lag Angus on 178. Santa Clara, over in Silicon Valley, beats everything hollow with 219. I know, I know: these figures are not a patch on the real <a target=”_blank” href="http://www.surfbirds.com/cgi-bin/surfbirds/display.cgi?list=list10&lowVal=0&highVal=49">record holders</a>.<br /><p>On the subject of dismal tallies, the Walkwood Watchers attempt at the <a href="http://pokerbird.blogspot.com/2009/10/buzzard-brings-down-curtain-on-big-sit.html">Big Sit!</a> yesterday actually bettered some other <a target=”_blank” href="http://www.birdwatchersdigest.com/site/funbirds/bigsit/results09/circles.php">teams’ scores</a>. Goddammit, we can't even win the wooden spoon!Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08810215703807002357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4730613514695011523.post-90959174826521430492009-10-11T20:48:00.005+01:002009-10-11T21:18:42.236+01:00Buzzard Brings Down the Curtain on Big Sit!<a target=”_blank” href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ferranp/2112654159/"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2328/2112654159_ebb88b2ac9.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 150px; HEIGHT: 200px;" alt="Buzzard" title="Buzzard, Barcelona © Ferran Pestaña"></a><p class="scene">A raptor would have to figure prominently in a <a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/08810215703807002357">Pokerbird</a> adventure, this time to bring the Walkwood Watchers’ day tally to a meagre 18 and prove my earlier prediction wrong. But what a great 18th bird and so nice to enjoy it without the fear of <a href="http://pokerbird.blogspot.com/2009/09/death-in-afternoon.html">Maltese bastards gunning</a> it to shreds. Not that they get a chance at our common buzzard; they pick (as though there were anything selective in their slaughter) on the honey buzzard, which isn't even in the same genus despite having a similar name. Buzzard clearly got applied liberally to birds of prey.<br /><p>The local <a href="http://pokerbird.blogspot.com/2009/08/eeny-meeny.html">magpies</a> took exception to it and at one stage four of them were trying to see it off. One persisted much longer than the others and at times I thought I would witness one of those moments photographed recently of the <a target=”_blank” href="http://www.getalookatthis.com/2008/04/15/free-riding-bird-on-hawk/">bird riding on the buzzard</a>’s back. It didn't happen.<br /><p>Nor did the Big Sit really. Unless we pull out a late tawny owl, not heard in these parts for nearly a year, or redwings fly over; and they were reported from the Wyre Forest this morning. The big miss was bullfinch. You expect one or two of those in a day but you also expect compensatory irregulars. We could have had several of woodpecker, <a href="http://pokerbird.blogspot.com/2009/10/movie-star-at-arrow-valley-park.html">nuthatch</a>, goldfinch, starling, <a href="http://pokerbird.blogspot.com/2009/09/marsh-and-willow-tits.html">marsh tit</a>, lesser black-backed gull, sparrowhawk or pied wagtail without raising eyebrows.<br /><p>Ah well, here's to next year. <a href="http://pokerbird.blogspot.com/2009/10/big-sit-score-struggles-to-17.html">⇐</a>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08810215703807002357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4730613514695011523.post-39156669644122514702009-10-11T16:08:00.004+01:002009-10-11T21:15:31.959+01:00Big Sit! Score Struggles to 17<a target=”_blank” href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/foxypar4/487768788/"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/201/487768788_d4f0b2c44a.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; HEIGHT: 150px;" alt="Chaffinch" title="Chaffinch, Scotland © John Haslam"></a><p class="scene">A flyover chaffinch has just added to the expected coal tit, jackdaw and jay in the last few hours. The mizzle – it could hardly even be called a drizzle – lasted until mid-afternoon; it doesn't really stop the birds coming in but it does stop the birders going out. A good thing I included four feet of dining room within the circle; this is England after all. At least we could watch the feeders.<br /><p>The next targets are bullfinch and, strangely, buzzard. I see both every month but that doesn't guarantee every day. And the evening is already beginning to draw in. I’m guessing that, unless we get a last burst of sun, there's no chance of any raptors.<br /><p><a href="http://pokerbird.blogspot.com/2009/10/meaning-of-chiffchaffs-autumn-song.html">Chiffchaff</a> and great spotted woodpecker bring up the second rank of birds I've seen frequently around Walkwood. Well, chiffchaff informs you I've not endured a winter here. Great spot though is a good candidate for at least being heard. The next two hours will tell. <a href="http://pokerbird.blogspot.com/2009/10/slow-start-to-big-sit.html">⇐</a> <a href="http://pokerbird.blogspot.com/2009/10/buzzard-brings-down-curtain-on-big-sit.html">⇒</a>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08810215703807002357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4730613514695011523.post-35866440467329649552009-10-11T10:00:00.005+01:002009-10-11T21:16:32.081+01:00A Slow Start to the Big Sit!<a target=”_blank” href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/16376452@N03/4000673370/"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2671/4000673370_676e952421.jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 213px; HEIGHT: 151px;" alt="Jay" title="Jay, Missing Suspect!"></a><p class="scene">Slight drizzle is keeping the bird numbers down from within the <a href="http://pokerbird.blogspot.com/2009/10/free-games-1-big-sit.html">Walkwood Watchers</a>’ 17-foot circle. Before I did a quick stint out in the damp just now, only eight species had appeared, among them the usual suspects of blackbird, <a href="http://pokerbird.blogspot.com/2009/09/21-robins-singing-in-walkwood.html">robin</a>, wood pigeon, dunnock, greenfinch and blue and <a href="http://pokerbird.blogspot.com/2009/10/great-tits-in-walkwood.html">great tits</a>. Long-tailed tit is never so numerous but they too were on the list.<br /><p>The last five minutes added <a href="http://pokerbird.blogspot.com/2009/08/eeny-meeny.html">magpie</a>, crow, a yaffling green woodpecker, wren and black-headed gulls calling somewhere over Morton Stanley Park. So, we're up to unlucky thirteen. Notable absentees thus far include coal tit, jackdaw and jay, which has been plentiful and obvious, collecting acorns over the last few weeks.<br /><p>Hopeful of a few of the less regular species, we're still on for around twenty. There's time left to sponsor as well if you’d care to support BirdLife Malta and the RSPB. <a href="http://pokerbird.blogspot.com/2009/10/free-games-1-big-sit.html">⇐</a> <a href="http://pokerbird.blogspot.com/2009/10/big-sit-score-struggles-to-17.html">⇒</a>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08810215703807002357noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4730613514695011523.post-42403500518783002322009-10-10T10:24:00.004+01:002009-10-11T16:24:28.331+01:00Free Games #1: The Big Sit!<p class="scene">Tomorrow sees the world’s best <a target=”_blank” href="http://www.birdwatchersdigest.com/site/funbirds/bigsit/bigsit.aspx">non-competitive competition</a>, organised by the Bird Watcher's Digest. Basically a team counts all the species of bird seen or heard from within one 17-foot diameter circle. Note that it’s the team not the birds who are restricted to the circle! A flyer (no pun, I’m sure) details the full rules of the <a target=”_blank” href="http://www.birdwatchersdigest.com/site/bigsit/downloads/Big_Sit_Flyer_7_09.pdf">challenge</a>.<br /><p>The Walkwood Watchers, that is Dave (who doesn't know it yet) and I, will probably struggle to get much beyond a count of twenty but is inviting sponsors. I’m in for 50p a species. We'll send the money to <a target=”_blank” href="http://www.birdlifemalta.org/">BirdLife Malta</a>, whose current home page video is just sickening, and the <a target=”_blank” href="http://www.rspb.org.uk/news/details.asp?id=tcm:9-231306">RSPB</a>. I have to include them: any organisation whose president says “vagina” on the <a target=”_blank” href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/autumnwatch/">telly</a> has my vote! Good on yer, Kate.<br /><p>Back to the Big Sit! Anyone out there fancy taking on the might of the Walkwood Watchers? Or at least sponsoring us? <a href="http://pokerbird.blogspot.com/2009/10/slow-start-to-big-sit.html">⇒</a>Andyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08810215703807002357noreply@blogger.com0