Its Olympic Eve and things are a bit crazy in East London. There are a number of things I dislike about the Olympics, the transport situation, the security, the sponsorships, the sycophantic BBC, but most all, Rizzlekicks. My teenage daughter has been to five Olympic events over the past couple of weeks and Rizzlekicks have played at most of them. In the early seventies I saw the Groundhogs three times in a week, but they were a decent band (apart from the half-hour drum solos). Also I am not averse to modern music, I am very impressed with Bon Iver, First Aid Kit and quite a few others, but Rizzlekicks, was is it about. At best its nonsense, at worst its cobblers. A great opportunity has been lost with the Olympics to promote small British business and our heritage music and culture, instead they have sold their soul to the corporate devil. It needed people with vision to look at alternative ways of promoting the games. We have some great small breweries almost on the Olympic Park doorstep, but they have been shut out for the big boys. I could go on about the Olympics for hours but this a birding blog so onto today's sightings.
In the first hour the birding was as slow as a Red House Painters album, that's not to deride the Red House Painters who were a fine band. Very little was moving on the Thames and the basin was very quiet. I decided to check out the northern scrub perhaps for early autumn migrants, even though the clear skies and hot conditions are not usually favourable. A few birds were around, Reed Warblers were feeding young, a Whitethroat (possible migrant) and some Greenfinch. Then a bird popped into view, a Sedge Warbler, only the second record this year and site year tick for me and a definite migrant. I then went to check the copse and as I approached a Ring-necked Parakeet flew out, again only the second record this year and another site year tick. After that things went back to being quiet.
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