Of Marsh Harpoons and Bearded Breasts

Just looking for a nature reserve that I may have missed in our local area when I found a website that discusses the many and varied places you could visit: The Water of Grafham (Grafham Water), for instance Then there was Ouse is Washing (Ouse Washes) Cherries Hinton Chalk Pits (that would be Cherry Hinton) … Continue reading "Of Marsh Harpoons and Bearded Breasts"

Just looking for a nature reserve that I may have missed in our local area when I found a website that discusses the many and varied places you could visit:

The Water of Grafham (Grafham Water), for instance

Then there was Ouse is Washing (Ouse Washes)

Cherries Hinton Chalk Pits (that would be Cherry Hinton)

But, I’m definitely going to RSPB Ouse Fen again where:

The bitters are joined by a support group composed of marsh harpoon hovering above and pretty bearded breasts hanging on the reeds, like small trapeze artists.

Presumably, they’re talking about Bitterns, Marsh Harriers, and Bearded Tits, but I could be wrong…

The only explanation for such a ludicrously badly written web page I can think of is that they ran the copy through an automatic grammar checker and accepted all changes without reviewing them. However, the site looks like the content is originally from the Cambridge News, so maybe the awful edits were done to make it subtly different from the original material.

Indeed, the original Cambridge news article uses this phrase in talking about the arrival of spring:

Pop on a jumper and some sturdy shoes

the “archive” site has:

Put on a sweater and solid shoes

The  site also talks about “forests” whereas the original Cambridge News pages says “fenland”. As far as I know, there are no forests near Cambridge but plenty of local fenland; woods and spinneys yes, but not forests.

Oh and the Cambridge News talks of:

The bitterns are joined by a supporting cast of marsh harriers that soar overhead and charming bearded tits that cling to the reeds like little trapeze artists.