LETHAL WHITE BY ROBERT GALBRAITH
These are my thoughts on JK Rowling’s fourth book, Lethal White, in the Cormoran Strike series written under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. Having finished it a word that comes very easily to mind is ‘complex’ and it is.
Okay, the story follows on from the first three book and my advice is to read them in order they were published in. I like the two main characters, Strike and Robin. I like the way that JK writes about them and you may have seen the TV vision of them and I think they nailed them bang on too.
The main characters are not perfect and their ‘foibles’ are exploited which makes them have sharp edges. I liked that. The other participants all have depth and bring so much more to this book. These characters and the locations she uses are what drives the weaving of her threads. It is most certainly about people and which thread will be the most interesting. A question I asked when I was only a quarter way through.
The locations should be familiar to many with Parliament, Lancaster House, Soho but maybe not so, some salubrious streets included in the text. I enjoyed knowing where the detectives actually were, but having no knowledge of London does not detract from the telling.
Corm’s stump and the prosthetic is a recurring problem for him as he tends to do as much with one good leg as most people would contemplate doing with two. It is frequently mentioned and although it is mildly irritating it fits with the man and his past. Of course, it is topical to.
Lethal White ís a tome and consequently it is long in the telling. In 647 pages there are descriptions of places and incidents and it still moves forward at a pace. It is not a book to casually pick up, to put it down for a while and carry on again. It is one helluva read.
It is wrapped up very neatly in the end, but attention is required as it is complex.
Wednesday, 21 November 2018
Tuesday, 20 November 2018
Higueruela, Corral Rubio & Bonete again
After heavy rain and high winds prior to Tuesday 20th we saw a gap in the weather to allow us to explore Higueruela, Bonete and Corral Rubio again. Temperature at the coast would only get as high as 17, but the forecast inland was a high of only 9 so it was going to be cool. We arrived just after 9am with a clear sky and sun which was to give way to cloud and a strengthening wind by mid afternoon.
We stopped at the service station prior to leaving A31 and here we viewed an adjacent field that revealed a flock of Corn Buntings. There were other birds mixed in, but difficult to identify. At the Higueruela turn off, we took a circuitous route along the caminos before ending up at the corner by the railway line. We had explored this area before and again we encountered flocks of finches and other small birds. We had a clear view of a perched Meadow Pipit. There, both species of Starlings, perched on the wires and flying. Common Buzzards were seen and we had a good view of a flying Sparrow Hawk and that was the second one of the day as we had passed one on route. Later in the afternoon we had a third bird that could have been a juvenile.
Our target birds for this area were both Great & Little Bustards and although we worked hard we were not successful. However, something good generally turns up, and this time it was a flying Peregrine that perched on a distant pylon. We paid attention to all the Larks that we saw and both Crested & Thekla’s were identified. There was a lot of activity in several locations and these included Sky Larks, both flying and settling on the ground. Calandra Larks were so numerous and we saw several flocks of them with good numbers. Somewhere along one of these rural roads a Water Pipit was seen. Here also we saw Buzzard again, Common Kestrel and Marsh Harrier.
We moved on and took the direct route back towards A31 and then on the bridge across the railway we scoped the water. Here there were numerous ducks that included two Ferruginous, Shovellers, Common Pochard and Mallard, but no waders. Over the reeds Buzzard and Marsh Harriers flew. Then a Golden Eagle flew into view, disappeared into a distant tree, but emerged again to be identified and showing clearly white plumage. We were able to watch it for several minutes. A Lesser Kestrel was also identified.
The wind had now picked up necessitating warm clothing and, again, Lagunas de Petrola was even more devoid of birds this time. There were no Flamingos, not one ubiquitous Black Winged Stilt and only a good number of Mallard and a flying Black Headed Gull. That's sad!
Leaving there we headed for open countryside with good vistas. We were still surprised by the lack of standing water and although there had been heavy rain the causeway into Corral Rubio was dry. Just before this we had great views of a young Sparrow Hawk.
We now headed for where we have seen Great Bustards and our diligence found a strung-out- group of about 30 birds. They are always good to see and we would have been disappointed if we had not found them.
The water on route to Montealegre del Castillo held some ducks and other water birds, but the variety was disappointing. The weather had now turned with a cold strong wind and rain. To our surprise six large birds were flying in the distance. Sadly not Bustards but they had to be geese - and possible Greylag and that seemed to be the best option. We will persevere with this location and we suspect that it could be very good when the weather turns warmer.
Bryan did not take one photograph and so none will be posted here and I have not listed all our sightings, but whatever is mentioned above we saw with some very good views. It was great to be out again.
We stopped at the service station prior to leaving A31 and here we viewed an adjacent field that revealed a flock of Corn Buntings. There were other birds mixed in, but difficult to identify. At the Higueruela turn off, we took a circuitous route along the caminos before ending up at the corner by the railway line. We had explored this area before and again we encountered flocks of finches and other small birds. We had a clear view of a perched Meadow Pipit. There, both species of Starlings, perched on the wires and flying. Common Buzzards were seen and we had a good view of a flying Sparrow Hawk and that was the second one of the day as we had passed one on route. Later in the afternoon we had a third bird that could have been a juvenile.
Our target birds for this area were both Great & Little Bustards and although we worked hard we were not successful. However, something good generally turns up, and this time it was a flying Peregrine that perched on a distant pylon. We paid attention to all the Larks that we saw and both Crested & Thekla’s were identified. There was a lot of activity in several locations and these included Sky Larks, both flying and settling on the ground. Calandra Larks were so numerous and we saw several flocks of them with good numbers. Somewhere along one of these rural roads a Water Pipit was seen. Here also we saw Buzzard again, Common Kestrel and Marsh Harrier.
We moved on and took the direct route back towards A31 and then on the bridge across the railway we scoped the water. Here there were numerous ducks that included two Ferruginous, Shovellers, Common Pochard and Mallard, but no waders. Over the reeds Buzzard and Marsh Harriers flew. Then a Golden Eagle flew into view, disappeared into a distant tree, but emerged again to be identified and showing clearly white plumage. We were able to watch it for several minutes. A Lesser Kestrel was also identified.
The wind had now picked up necessitating warm clothing and, again, Lagunas de Petrola was even more devoid of birds this time. There were no Flamingos, not one ubiquitous Black Winged Stilt and only a good number of Mallard and a flying Black Headed Gull. That's sad!
Leaving there we headed for open countryside with good vistas. We were still surprised by the lack of standing water and although there had been heavy rain the causeway into Corral Rubio was dry. Just before this we had great views of a young Sparrow Hawk.
We now headed for where we have seen Great Bustards and our diligence found a strung-out- group of about 30 birds. They are always good to see and we would have been disappointed if we had not found them.
The water on route to Montealegre del Castillo held some ducks and other water birds, but the variety was disappointing. The weather had now turned with a cold strong wind and rain. To our surprise six large birds were flying in the distance. Sadly not Bustards but they had to be geese - and possible Greylag and that seemed to be the best option. We will persevere with this location and we suspect that it could be very good when the weather turns warmer.
Bryan did not take one photograph and so none will be posted here and I have not listed all our sightings, but whatever is mentioned above we saw with some very good views. It was great to be out again.
Friday, 2 November 2018
CABO DE GATA - BIRD LIST
This is my first blog for November and the copied pages below are the list from Monday to Wednesday evening. It is Trev's list one of the 'Birding Costa Blanca Birding Buddies'
MONDAY 29th
TUESDAY 30TH
WEDNESDAY 31ST
MONDAY 29th
TUESDAY 30TH
WEDNESDAY 31ST
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