Calming the beast within

Calming “the beast”

All photos courtesy of Dr Roger Buchanan. Roger calls his large telephoto lens “the beast”, which strikes me as a good leading line to show some of his photos taken during the last Ornitholiday’s Southern Catalonia Tour which we happily spent together. Along with his long-suffering wife, Jane, aka “the boss”. But that’s quite another subject…

Bee-eater, Merops apiaster, on a birding tour in Spain

A beautiful Bee-eater. What is man without the beasts? For if all the beasts were gone man would die of a great loneliness of the spirit. Chief Seattle.

Bee-eater’s lucky day, on a birding tour in Spain

The Bee-eater’s lucky day. The beast appears to be calmed.

Blue-spot Hairstreak, on a birding tour in Spain

Blue-spot Hairstreak. Whosoever is delighted in solitude is either a wild beast or a god. Aristotle. Maybe not “delighted” and maybe not real “solitude” but it’s surely a pleasing thing to get away from the crowds and to contemplate some of nature’s beauties, don’t you think?

Great Crested Grebe, on a birding tour in Spain

A Great Crested Grebe on nest. Every man has a wild beast within him. Frederick the Great.

 Glossy Ibis, on a birding tour in Spain

A Glossy Ibis in the Ebro Delta. I think the healthy way to live is to make friends with the beast inside oneself, and that means not the beast but the shadow. The dark side of one’s nature. Anthony Hopkins.

Moroccan Orange Tip, on a birding tour in Spain

Moroccan Orange Tip. The beast, once calmed, can be harnessed as a force for good. Steve West.

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