ABOUT

THE BIRDS AND OTHER WILDLIFE AROUND THE DELPHI CLUB AND ELSEWHERE ON ABACO

(also featuring an eclectic assortment of random Abaco-centric material, from recipes to shipwrecks via hurricanes and shark attacks)

This blog is designed to be read in conjunction with the main Delphi website CLICK LINK —››› DELPHI CLUB BAHAMAS Also, see initial explanatory post at foot of the page for further info and an Abaco parrot…

RECOMMENDED LINKS These weblinks in the sidebar under are, frankly, at least as informative as the Posts – and probably much more useful to you. They are certainly far more professional, mostly. Don’t ignore them! But bear with me!

MAPS I have added some MAPS OF ABACO, including a couple of quasi-historic ones. The main interest of them is that very few maps actually mark Rolling Harbour itself (FACTOID: the bay was actually named after this blog). Click on the maps & most will enlarge a bit, click a second time and you get much larger (yet still legible) sizes. This wasn’t deliberate skill on my part, it just seems to happen.

NEW STUFF This imaginatively-named menu at the right-hand end of the top bar will reveal much of the activity as the blog expands, not just the significant posts (but not reshufflings / spelling corrections, obviously). So you will see all the added bits and pieces including assorted Abaco-related info and trivia, with click-throughs direct to the relevant page / post.

© IMAGE STATUS The blog images (and indeed the artfully adapted Delphi Bonefish logos) are mine, unless otherwise stated. Please assume they are all © rh and let me know if you wish to use one, because I will be using some myself elsewhere and… the legal part of my brain is already kicking in at the prospects. Old habits die hard, etc

IMAGES & CAPTIONS Clicking on an image will enlarge it (considerably in some cases), double-clicking may enlarge it further. Usually, but not always. It’s a bit hit-and-miss, frankly, and I’ve no idea why… Some thumbnails don’t always work – I sort them out as I come across them. Leaving the cursor on the image may reveal the caption (except where I forget to do this) [later note - quite often, I notice]. Some images are posted, and get a caption later: this is because I am buying time to identify the bird, butterfly, fish, whatever – and in some cases hoping some kind person will assist. Occasional caption IDs are pure inventions for the hell of it until something more realistic comes along – Lucifer’s Gonadfish, for example (you’ll get the makings of a ‘googlewhack’ for that one!).

IMAGE QUALITY: the images posted – mine, I mean – are a very mixed bag of quite reasonable ones, OK-ish ones and unarguably hopeless ones. Why include the latter? Most nature / wildlife blogs, as you will have noticed, contain wonderful photos in which every feather gleams and each pistil shines with vivid clarity. They are quite intimidating, aren’t they? Those of us with pocket cameras don’t always take professional-quality pictures. Things move quickly – often the subject itself. Or ones shaky hands. So these are the sort of snaps anyone might take on holiday, a few “wow!” and plenty of “woe!” But the poor ones give a sort of context to the rest of a post or page. Or have a quirk. Anyway, bad luck, kind reader, and please be tolerant.

USE OF ENGLISH Mostly you will find ‘english english’ is used – harbour not harbor etc. I don’t change ‘american english’ where I quote, nor when I make an exception to my rule by mistake – I see I’ve written meter for metre in a few places

DISCLAIMER (added many months later) Although the general idea is to keep things relatively light and non-controversial, I find I may from time to time have pontificated on the occasional issue. I find this because someone has brought a specific instance of pomposity to my attention… So can I make it clear that within the generally accepted boundaries of decency and courtesy I am a free agent, and any views expressed are mine alone and are not necessarily (or indeed at all) those of the Delphi Club management, staff, fellow members nor any of the wildlife in the vicinity.

STOP PRESS – pop-up ads: I realise that anyone who visits this blog or stumbles on it by complete mischance may be getting some ads, mostly Google-related. Sorry about that. I expect there’s an upgrade that avoids them, but the Nordic Scot in me forbids the outlay. [There is. It seems to be $60. So no dice.]

DELPHI DAWN

THE DELPHI CLUB: BIRDS AND OTHER WILDLIFE (EXCLUDING GUESTS)

APRIL 2011

Peter Mantle has unwisely encouraged me to start a blog about the birds and other wildlife to be found around the Club and more generally on Abaco. I expect it’s the sort of misjudgement that results from many years of friendship. I do so as a complete amateur, open to correction on all aspects. The posts will mainly be about the abundant birdlife, but I will include some other creatures that guests might come across during their stay – butterflies, lizards, fireflies and so on. There will also be coverage of various trips (e.g. birding, reef snorkelling) that can be organised through the Club or you can sort out for yourselves, together with some pointers towards useful books and websites. All of the above should be taken very lightly and I am hoping not to attract learned dissertations on the Linnaean taxonomy of the black-faced grassquit, but rather to help with the question “what the hell is that small yellow bird chirping in the bushes”.

CONTRIBUTIONS WELCOME… please see CONTRIBUTIONS page for details