Comments on: Thomas Bewick’s Birds of Spitalfields https://spitalfieldslife.com/2017/04/28/thomas-bewicks-birds-of-spitalfields/ In the midst of life I woke to find myself living in an old house beside Brick Lane in the East End of London Wed, 28 Jul 2021 13:25:55 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 By: Brian Roy Rosen https://spitalfieldslife.com/2017/04/28/thomas-bewicks-birds-of-spitalfields/#comment-1389586 Wed, 28 Jul 2021 13:25:55 +0000 http://spitalfieldslife.com/?p=157032#comment-1389586 Bewick’s genius is widely recognised by many who know about his work, and yet paradoxically he still seems under-recognised in the wider sphere. Enlarging his pictures as here (thank you), brings out the sheer quality of his observation, and the instantly recognisable life-like capturing of his subjects, not to mention the fascinating backgrounds and the details of the birds’ perches – all in tiny wood cuts. Unbelievable!

As for the birds of Spitalfields, one of my sons lives not far away with his family on the 17th floor of one the apartment blocks of the De Beauvoir Estate in Haggerston, and they regularly watch the peregrines face-to-face perching on their balcony rail, and preying on the pigeons and rats round about. They’ve seen more of peregrines in the last year or so than I’ve ever seen on all of my country walks over a lifetime.

]]> By: Mary Moulder https://spitalfieldslife.com/2017/04/28/thomas-bewicks-birds-of-spitalfields/#comment-1147937 Mon, 01 May 2017 03:37:12 +0000 http://spitalfieldslife.com/?p=157032#comment-1147937 I know where all the sparrows are. There are English sparrows happily clowning in Tucson. We have heard that the first sparrows arrived with English immigrants on the east coast of the USA, and escaped their cage to populate the States. We also have purple house finches (red heads-not truly purple) who came in cages as a living memory of England. One caged pair escaped in San Francisco, and another from New England. Each group expands about 18 to 20 miles, and seem to think the interstate highways are like rivers to follow. I don’t know when or if the two populations have met mid-country yet, the the idea delights me.

]]> By: Greg Tingey https://spitalfieldslife.com/2017/04/28/thomas-bewicks-birds-of-spitalfields/#comment-1147846 Sun, 30 Apr 2017 14:57:30 +0000 http://spitalfieldslife.com/?p=157032#comment-1147846 Excepting the Buzzard (The nearest I know of live withing sight of the M11/M25 junction) all the others can be seen at some time or another on my allotment plots area, even if just flying over – like the Herons going to & from Walthamstow reservoirs.

]]> By: Chris Honer https://spitalfieldslife.com/2017/04/28/thomas-bewicks-birds-of-spitalfields/#comment-1147656 Sat, 29 Apr 2017 07:13:58 +0000 http://spitalfieldslife.com/?p=157032#comment-1147656 Fascinating but I’m pretty sure that the bird you identify as a Collared Dove is actually a Woodpigeon. Collared Doves didn’t arrive in the UK till the 1950s and they don’t look like the engraving. Woodpigeons used to be known as Ring Doves – hence the possible confusion?

]]> By: Greg Tingey https://spitalfieldslife.com/2017/04/28/thomas-bewicks-birds-of-spitalfields/#comment-1147654 Sat, 29 Apr 2017 06:51:02 +0000 http://spitalfieldslife.com/?p=157032#comment-1147654 Fascinating, especially the change in nomenclature, even in English, never mind the Latin “proper” names.
The plate labelled “The Pigeon” is the London feral one ( Or the Rock-Dove?) & “The Collared Dove” is what we would call a Wood-Pigeon.
What is now called the Collared Dove is a n other bird entirely. [ And not illustrated, because they only became common here after about 1960. ]

]]> By: Ros https://spitalfieldslife.com/2017/04/28/thomas-bewicks-birds-of-spitalfields/#comment-1147605 Fri, 28 Apr 2017 18:28:30 +0000 http://spitalfieldslife.com/?p=157032#comment-1147605 Answer to Paul Loften – the sparrows have gone to Heathrow Terminal 5. Check it out!

]]> By: Donald Parsnips https://spitalfieldslife.com/2017/04/28/thomas-bewicks-birds-of-spitalfields/#comment-1147602 Fri, 28 Apr 2017 17:54:26 +0000 http://spitalfieldslife.com/?p=157032#comment-1147602 I spotted a woodcock at Rochelle canteen .
( under the steamed spinach ) yum !

]]> By: pauline taylor https://spitalfieldslife.com/2017/04/28/thomas-bewicks-birds-of-spitalfields/#comment-1147600 Fri, 28 Apr 2017 17:49:24 +0000 http://spitalfieldslife.com/?p=157032#comment-1147600 When these illustrations were first published they would have been much sharper and better defined than later reproductions due to the effect of the printing process on the wood blocks blurring the images, nevertheless they are works of art and I much admire them. Long ago I wrote my thesis on bird illustrators and Bewick was one of those that I included together with Audubon and several others.

]]> By: Lynne Perrella https://spitalfieldslife.com/2017/04/28/thomas-bewicks-birds-of-spitalfields/#comment-1147590 Fri, 28 Apr 2017 16:37:06 +0000 http://spitalfieldslife.com/?p=157032#comment-1147590 Applause and gratitude! Not only to see these amazing, charismatic examples of Bewick’s work, large and in charge, but to hear from a mural artist-at-work (in the comments) — and to have a gaggle of birds just outside my studio claiming their spots in the various bird houses.
Happy spring to all, from the Hudson River Valley.

]]> By: Adele https://spitalfieldslife.com/2017/04/28/thomas-bewicks-birds-of-spitalfields/#comment-1147583 Fri, 28 Apr 2017 15:31:39 +0000 http://spitalfieldslife.com/?p=157032#comment-1147583 As a youngster growing up in Whitechapel and going to school in Spitalfields I was only aware of the sparrow and pigeon, fascinating to see so many species. There were so many parks and squares they must have been out in full force this time of year. A shame our schools didn’t make us more aware of our local wildlife.

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