Rising from the ashes

Val considers why the willow tit is a modern-day phoenix

- Val Bourne

ARE you old enough to recall the cards we used to get in packets of leaf tea? Sadly, I am! The cards ran from 1954 to 1999, and there were usually 50 in each series, though I never managed to get the entire set of any. The first one published was the 20 British Birds set in 1954, and there was a Wild Birds of Britain set of 50 in 1964. Somewhere between the two, I became a twitcher, and I would cycle around West London with a huge set of war-time binoculars and a notebook.

This freedom was allowed because I was an honorary boy. I qualified due to having two burly brothers and several equally burly boy cousins. I visited some scenic places, like Osterley Park and Kew Gardens, and I still remember the lesser spotted woodpeckers I saw in the 1960s. I believe this sparrow-sized bird can still be found in Osterley Park today.