Amsterdam Russ

Three spoonbills overhead this evening. By the time they were close enough for me to identify, it was too late to take a quick pic. Damn!

Our ‘garden’...

Off topic, but did you take those pics of Lou at the 100 Club, and if so, is this you with the camera in the pic below? The position would be about right as I can just make out myself in your 2nd pic (white shirt and spectacles with face obscured by the mic stand), just as I can see the photographer opposite in my pic! Just curious...

Terrible news. I'll never forget seeing Lou perform at the 100 Club - I presume 1990, from what you've said about dates. He was, I thought, a bit nervous and hesitant at first - perhaps he was just unsure about how the crowd would react to him. But he quickly settled down, everybody loved him, and he performed magnificently. What a star! It's a night I'll never forget, that's for sure! Here's a photo I took of him that night. I wish you peaceful and pain-free days in the difficult times ahead.

Sorry - seem to have run out of "likes" today, but take them as given!

Sitting on the balcony when the sun is out doesn't give much chance to take pics. We face south-west, so the sun is shining directly at us from about 2pm until it gets dark, which means anything in front of us is usually silhouetted unless it's far left or right. I did get this close-up of a jackdaw sitting above us on the railings of our building... Silhouetted ring-necked parakeets... Silhouetted collared dove on top of a chimney. The sun was going down by now, as you can tell. Silhouetted crow heading home to roost...

Here you go - a pretty meaningless pic of a newly arrived swift that only shows that it's actually here. But what a welcome sight!

A swift spotted in the skies of Noord-Holland. Heard it first. Long-distance pic of a very tiny object to follow. More swallows in the sky as well.

Happy to oblige, and absolutely my pleasure!

Oh, you're in for a treat!

Not this one. Maybe you're confusing it with Lieutenant Pigeon.

On the subject of birdsong... There's a wood pigeon around us somewhere that coos "That ol' man river". Noticed it last year and have heard a number of times again when sat on the balcony these last couple of weeks.

You can listen to the Yellowhammer’s song here: https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/yellowhammer/

Thanks, Timmy. Looked a bit further but still can't find any reference to a Canadian vocal release. No idea what made me think it was re-pressed.

Well, I might just be talking nonsense. I've always taken it as fact that the vocal tracks did get a Canadian release, but now I can't find anything to prove that. Discogs has 38 listed, but only one Canadian - the instrumental. Can anyone confirm if there was actually a Canadian release of the vocal tracks?

Just looked and there's one listed on Discogs at $99. Link here... https://www.discogs.com/sell/release/13595471?ev=rb

No idea. If memory serves me well, Anglo American had one for sale a few years back at £200, but I really wouldn't swear to that. Pretty certain though that it's the only time I've seen it on a dealer's list. Could be wrong, but I don't think it's widely known that the mis-press exists.

As I mentioned earlier, it was repressed with the vocal tracks on. The 45 with the instrumentals on it is not common at all and would have been withdrawn from sale once the mistake was spotted.

Had completely forgotten about that, and you're spot on - they are reversed.

The Canadian mis-press, which features the instrumental tracks on both sides, is actually quite rare. Clearly a cock-up somewhere down the line - I can only think the pressing plant was sent the instrumentals by mistake. However, it’s clear the mistake was soon spotted and I guess the 45 was swiftly withdrawn and then repressed with the vocals. Have to say I like both the instrumental tracks very much. Here’s Destination You...

Good evening and good night from our tiny Dutch balcony. Here’s hoping for brighter, sunnier, and safer days ahead.

Friday evening on the balcony. Just us and a couple of seagulls...

Sitting on the balcony right now enjoying a lovely sunny evening and had six or seven swallows fly past. Lovely to see. Hope they brought summer with them!

Thanks. Saw it coming a couple of evenings ago, but missed the opportunity to get a pic then. Should have got my zoom lens out so I could get closer to the stack. Maybe tomorrow!

Taken with my iPad from our balcony just a couple of minutes ago - the sun balancing on top of a chimney stack.