My dear and almost oldest pal Alex (aka Walter Mondale) is currently disporting himself in the fair county of Norfolk in our native land of The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Island, Overseas Territories, Crown Possessions and Dependencies (Inc). During his visit two rather cool things have happened with regards to Norfolk's native fauna, which I shall reproduce in brief below.
First, for the edification of Country Mouse:
"Successful season for barn owls
Barn owls are thriving in Britain because of a good supply of the food they live on, say wildlife experts.
The birds' progress is followed by the British Trust for Ornithology-led Barn Owl Monitoring Programme. Initial reports showed prolific sites were in Sussex, Hampshire, Devon, North Lincolnshire and Salisbury Plain. East Anglia, Northamptonshire, parts of the East Midlands, Nottinghamshire, East Yorkshire, Cumbria and the Solway Plain were also successful areas.
Colin Shawyer, from the Wildlife Conservation Partnership, said: "These are the earliest egg-laying dates we have seen in 20 years of barn owl recording in Britain. Most clutches were started in the first week of April, over two weeks earlier than average."...(read more)
And courtesy of both the BBC website and my dad's sharp eye:
"Frog with Norfolk accent returns
A frog species which had a distinct Norfolk accent, but which became extinct in England in the 1990s is being reintroduced. About 70 northern pool frogs - one of Europe's rarest species - will be reintroduced to Norfolk by English Nature and partners on Friday.
The frog was thought to be a European import, but researchers have now found they are native to East Anglia.
Recordings of mating Norfolk frogs show they had a characteristic inflection."(read more)
As in "cum orn mawther, les' get orl sexy daaarlin. Wudyuh mean werin public? Blust yew! Thus is a three sided bus shelter so gorn get yer knickers orf and stop yer rorplin'!" Or is that the characteristic inflection of the Norfolk rural male homo sapiens? No matter.
Anyway, both of these things have been observed while Alex is over there buggering about on tractors, boats, and in saloon bars. And England are doing jolly well in the cricket. No coincidence, surely?
2 comments:
A frog species which had a distinct Norfolk accent...
Does it know the song about the tractor?
It certainly can't read or write, but that don't really matter because its a Norwich City frog and it can drive a tractor.
Well, get run over by a tractor more likely, or rather at this time of year get mangled in a Klaas combine harvester, but you central point is correct...
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